Saiki was thinking. He had a hundred ways to make the man in front of him disappear in a puff of smoke, but doing something like that in broad daylight with so many people around didn't seem like a good idea. Better to handle it in a gentler way.
"Oh, uncle, you dropped something."
The man in the trench coat turned his head and saw Shin-chan holding a necklace. When opened, it revealed a photo of a woman with pink hair on top.
"Give it to me."
The trench coat man quickly snatched the necklace.
Shin-chan: "Oh oh, looks like this thing is really important to you, uncle."
The trench coat man looked at the woman in the necklace, then glared angrily at Shin-chan: "What nonsense are you talking about? This isn't important at all, and it's not even mine."
Saiki pulled Shin-chan back.
"But uncle, you look like you care about it a lot."
The trench coat man threw the necklace onto the road. "This isn't mine."
Shin-chan looked at the necklace on the road: "Yoshinaga-sensei said you're not supposed to throw things around on the road."
(You're remembering that rule perfectly right now, huh.)
"Shut up."
The man pulled out a knife and pointed it toward Saiki and Shin-chan.
People on the street began to back away.
"That's dangerous. What's wrong with that guy?"
"He's carrying a knife. Stay away from him."
Passersby started whispering among themselves…
"Uncle, why are you holding a kitchen knife out here? That's really dangerous."
Shin-chan curiously stepped forward, wanting to touch the knife, but Saiki pulled him back.
[You really can't tell how serious this is, can you, Shin-chan?]
The trench coat man looked at Saiki and said: "That brat looks a lot like that woman. That woman is a total jerk. After I kill you, I'm going to kill myself too."
(Is this what they call lashing out in embarrassment and anger?)
Shin-chan: "Oh, why do you want to kill Saiki-oniichan? Does he have a grudge against you?"
The trench coat man shook his head: "He just looks a lot like the person I hate."
(They don't look alike at all except for the pink hair.)
Shin-chan asked the soul-piercing question: "Then why aren't you going after the person you hate? Why come after Saiki-oniichan?"
...
Shin-chan smiled and said: "That person isn't actually someone you hate, right?"
"Of course not! She did something really awful to me!"
Shin-chan sat cross-legged on the ground: "So, what happened?"
(Now's the time to ask about that?)
The trench coat man looked up, still lost in memory as he told his story: "It was like this…"
Shin-chan: "Hurry up and tell it so even a kid can understand."
(You're actually going to tell it?)
"I had a girl I really liked. Her name was Koharu. We were childhood friends, so our relationship was especially close. For the first twenty-something years, we were basically like lovers…"
In the scene, a young girl with a ponytail appeared. During high school, a boy came down from the dormitory building and handed her breakfast he had prepared. The girl took it with a smile: "Thanks, Koji. You're such a good guy."
The young boy grinned foolishly: "It's nothing. As long as you're happy."
During university, the boy stayed up all night lining up to buy movie tickets for the entire dorm of the girl he loved, just to see her smile.
Even though the girl tried to refuse, the man still volunteered and insisted on going to buy them.
Later, when he saw the girl he loved looking enviously at someone else's handsome boyfriend giving her a handmade sweater, he stayed up all night knitting one himself. Even though she refused, he still gave it to her. She was never seen wearing it afterward.
But the boy firmly believed she loved it so much that she kept it stored away.
(Are you sure she liked the sweater and not the handsome young boyfriend?)
Later, when the girl was in financial trouble, the boy gave her almost all the money he had. Even when she didn't want it, he told her she could pay him back later. That period, the boy survived mostly on instant noodles.
Even after the girl insisted on paying him back later. In his heart, the boy thought: She's so kind, worrying about my situation and still returning the money.
Until graduation was approaching. The girl found a new boyfriend and introduced him to the boy. The boy's heart shattered instantly.
Even afterward, the boy kept clinging to the girl, but she finally said one sentence: "You should come see me less from now on. I'm afraid my boyfriend will misunderstand."
...The scene ended there.
Trench coat man: "And just recently she even sent me their wedding invitation, saying she'd introduce me to some nice girls. It's straight-up psychological murder."
[Isn't it possible she really just wanted to introduce you to some nice girls for your own good?]
"Oh oh, that's an interesting story. That big sister was really nice to you, even trying to introduce you to a girlfriend."
The trench coat man started refuting after hearing Shin-chan's words: "What nonsense? Where was she nice to me? I was so sincere to her, and all she left me was a scar right in my heart. Nothing else!"
"But I think that big sister didn't do anything wrong. And you still kept that necklace, didn't you?"
(Shin-chan's got a point.)
The man seemed unable to find any counterargument and got angry: "I don't care. If I say it's that woman's fault, then it's her fault!"
(He's just completely refusing to face reality.)
Shin-chan shook his head and waved his hands: "Geez, doing it like this isn't good at all."
The man raised the knife toward Saiki: "Anyway, we're both going to die."
Saiki: ...
At that moment, a car on the road came forward, preparing to cross. The man's expression grew tense. Finally, he charged toward Saiki.
"Watch out!"
"Young man, get out of the way!"
Shin-chan stepped in front of Saiki: "Saiki-oniichan!"
Saiki didn't move at all. He simply watched as the man ran past them, dashed to the roadside, picked up the necklace, then ran back—but he was still hit by the car and sent flying more than ten meters.
The man now had blood pouring from his injured arm, but he still clutched the necklace tightly. He opened it, looked at the woman inside, and murmured: "Koharu… Koharu…"
People gathered around to watch.
Saiki looked at the man. He had known exactly what the man intended from the beginning.
[So you never really let go. Were you actually trying to kill me, or were you trying to get yourself killed?]
Shin-chan: "So that big sister really was someone important to you, uncle."
The trench coat man finally couldn't hold back the tears streaming from his eyes. He gritted his teeth: "Koharu, I'm sorry… Koharu… I really couldn't bring myself to see you get married…"
The police arrived and took the man away. Saiki had already used telepathy earlier to call them.
Saiki patted Shin-chan on the head. [Now we can leave it to the police. You were really brave just now, Shin-chan. Thanks.]
Shin-chan: "Oh, so that means you owe me one now, Saiki-oniichan."
Saiki knocked lightly on Shin-chan's forehead. [We're even now, you little rascal.]
"Hehe."
...