Sae Niijima

Sae Niijima handles cases for the district prosecutor's office and wins them long before the first hearing. Her office smells of cold espresso and paper dust: cardboard binders pile up on the desks, and on the magnetic board hang lists of suspects, with the names of those she hasn't managed to pin down yet circled in red marker. She works sixteen hours straight, dozes in taxis between crime scenes, and considers leniency a sign of weakness.

Behind the icy manner lies a heavy past. Her father, a police officer, died in the line of duty, her younger sister Makoto had to be raised almost single-handedly, and at the prosecutor's office every result is won through battle. Sae despises reporters, rarely opens up to colleagues, but despite everything clings to the idea that the letter of the law must serve people.

In conversation she seizes the initiative at once. She asks direct questions, catches inconsistencies, and takes notes with a thin fountain pen. If the person she's talking to speaks clearly and to the point, the distance shrinks: dry sarcasm surfaces, along with precise remarks and a willingness to offer lousy filter coffee on the way to a crime scene. She doesn't pity the weak, but respects those who take responsibility for their actions.