Lloyd and Makoto were walking through the northern strip of the market district on their usual patrol at noon that day.
Their usual cheery conversation had grown dry. I mean, how could it not after what they had seen the day before?
Taro Suzuki, the merchant Lloyd had personally apprehended, was tried in front of the entire guard.
He was accused of malpractice, hoarding, and pest breeding and was found guilty. The verdict was gruesome.
Lloyd could see it play back every time he closed his eyes. The tears in his eyes as he stared back at him before they blinded him and cut off his tongue and hands.
His two daughters were cast out of the shrine, and the three of them, along with only their current assets, were banished from the town.
"What more could I have learned if I had let him go just to increase the distance between us and the rest of the guards?" Lloyd thought. "Is it possible that he could have even known the identity of the person who was supposedly calling all the shots?"
That image ran through his mind again, and he shuddered so noticeably that Makoto heard him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lloyd replied, lifting his head, but Makoto saw right through him.
"You're thinking about yesterday, aren't you?" he asked.
Lloyd didn't reply.
"We have to be grateful," Makoto continued. "At least they didn't execute him or punish his daughters. It's as dignified a verdict as he could've gotten after being found guilty."
"But you know the truth, don't you?" Lloyd said. "He was innocent."
Makoto turned away, and Lloyd shot back, "Don't you even try to deny it. You saw the look on his face when we found those bags and the way he was begging. It doesn't take a genius to know that he wasn't lying, but you, the Chief, and the others dismissed his side of the story completely. Why?"
"We have no say in these kinds of things, Kageto," Makoto said, looking back at him. "His fate was already decided."
"No, it wasn't," Lloyd shot back. "It only was when we decided to look away."
"No one in their right mind could risk supporting him and being accused of collusion, and you know it, so stop acting ignorant!" Makoto yelled abruptly, but he immediately pulled himself back.
"This isn't right," Lloyd said, clenching the fist with which he carried his snare pole. "We should've saved him."
He started walking away, and Makoto chased after him, saying, "Hey, where are you going?"
He didn't respond and just kept walking.
Makoto caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? But what's done is done. We can't fix the past."
"What if it happens again today?" Lloyd asked. "What would you do?"
"Of course I would save him if I could," he replied.
"Do you really believe that?" Lloyd asked, "or are you just saying that to calm me down?"
He didn't answer, so Lloyd just kept walking, and he followed closely behind, not knowing what to say.
They found themselves wandering into the northwestern side of the town, where the slums were.
The vibrant atmosphere just a few blocks away in the market district was completely gone.
All there were were worn-down houses as far as the eye could see and slim children playing with rocks on the dusty road.
As Lloyd kept his gaze fixed on them, a man bumped into him. He was panting wildly and had his hand pressed over his shoulder.
Once he looked up and saw their uniforms, his face lit up and he yelled, "Please help us."
Lloyd caught him as he collapsed onto his knees. It was then that he noticed blood pouring out of a wound on his shoulder.
"What happened?" Makoto asked.
"They came out of nowhere and attacked us," he mumbled.
"Where?" Lloyd asked. "And how many?"
"In a large alley up ahead," he mumbled. "There were three of us and five of them."
"Please just let me go," he begged. "We didn't do anything wrong, I swear."
The two of them turned toward the direction he was pointing, and the moment they did, he broke free from Lloyd and ran away as fast as he could.
They stood ready to pursue him, but their attention was drawn by a group of children frantically running away from the scene.
For a moment they stood conflicted over whether to chase after the man or see what was happening.
Makoto chose first, deciding to run toward the alley.
"There's no way I can let him go by himself," Lloyd thought as he chased after him. "He'll be up against five men."
They ran as fast as they could to the scene, and right before they reached it they saw a bloodied man stumble out of the alley, limping desperately. But a hand suddenly grabbed him by the collar, and he was pulled back inside.
A shrill scream filled the air, and the two of them exchanged glances.
They carefully approached the alley, and the moment they turned the corner they were shocked by what they saw.
Three men lay dead on the ground, one of them being the man they had just seen trying to escape.
Lloyd caught sight of a silhouette slipping out through the far end of the alley just as they entered, leaving only one man behind.
He held a knife soaked in the same blood that stained his robe. The moment he saw the two of them, panic flashed across his face, and he turned to run.
Lloyd chased after him as he sprinted out of the alleyway, but just as he rounded the corner the man slammed into someone and dropped his knife.
Looking up, Lloyd saw the last person he expected to meet at that moment.
It was Chief Nishimura.
Before Lloyd could say anything, Nishimura merely glanced at the fleeing man, then silently watched as he disappeared out of sight.