Chapter 11

When I saw the paramedics take Saboru and go right in front of us to take him to the ambulance, something broke inside me. He was very badly beaten, and that he had been forced to suffer such a thing while the black-clad fellows were not even after him, made me feel even more remorse.

We had not yet been given a chance to hear the story from his side, but I could not have cared less for it by seeing him in this state.

I expected if not to go up with him in the ambulance, at least to observe his condition outside his hospital room. If he ended up with a chronic injury or problem, I would be the one to blame and no one else because quite simply not only should I have been in his place but at the same time without him, we would have not been saved or have caught the criminals.

I wanted to get down on my knees and put my face on the floor the moment I saw his family to apologise for having turned their son into this. But they didn't let me do any of that. I was immediately taken to the police station for further questioning as if I would have something different to say to them. They wouldn't even let me see my parents, who would be certainly worried to death since I'd been gone two days.

"Can you at least call them and let them know that I'm all right?" I had pleaded even though I was boiling inside. I was kidnapped at such a young age and that really could have traumatized me psychologically so I needed my family by my side to feel safe. But they treated me as if I were the criminal and the suspect and that sucked my patience little by little.

The policewoman, who had heard us when the others were looking for the villains, looked pensive, and then hesitatingly nodded. She asked me to tell her our home phone number informing me that they would not allow me to speak to them and she would just tell them that I was at the station and I was safe.

I went to tell her that I didn't feel safe in there with so many suspicious eyes on me, but I let it pass because I didn't want to make my position more difficult.

There was one thing more, however, which was very weird in the whole situation. As soon as we reached the station, I was separated from Kaoru and taken to some separate room.

I was not sure because I did not know them, but it had seemed to me that the clerks who surrounded him were more skilled. As if they were responsible for affairs of a certain kind. There was something about this secrecy and the fact that we were treated like suspects who had not yet proven their innocence. I could blame all this on the system and the way the police operated but maybe it was also about what Kaoru had whispered to the police officer.

What was certain was that when they had entered that room with the president it was still sunny outside, and now the sun had now set for good, they had not yet finished whatever it was that they were doing.

I hadn't eaten or drank water for two days, but nobody seemed to care about it, so I curled up on the uncomfortable couch in that policewoman's office and tried to sleep to forget my hunger and thirst.

She had left a little while ago on some business and had not yet returned. I might not have been put in a cell, but I still felt like a prisoner with the police officer watching my movements all the time. Of course she certainly would have preferred to go home for the night rather than stick with me as well.

I was sleeping very lightly because I couldn't get comfortable and I was getting cold but I think that even if I were dead,I could perceive that wonderful smell that filled the office. I immediately opened my eyes and sought the source to see the policewoman enter the office with bags of food in her hands and head for the chair.

My mouth grew even more parched, and I could feel the desire glistening in my eyes like some sort of madness and despair. I licked my lips but my saliva had basically dried so I didn't feel them getting wet. If I had sat and seen her enjoying her food in front of me, I would have suffered worse punishment than the worst criminals. They at least ate food in prison.

"Don't look at me like that. Of course I brought some for you."My eyes must have filled with stars, and I clasped my hands with an expression as if I had some holy man opposite me.

I could see her holding back so she wouldn't laugh at my crap but I didn't care much since she was going to give me food. Once she passed me one bag and I opened it, I didn't know when the food was gone from inside. The satisfaction it left behind, however, was certainly felt, and the drowsiness it brought me likewise.

"Thanks for the food."I said trying to hide my yawn since it wasn't polite to open my mouth like that in front of her. My eyes started to close but now that she was there and that space was her office, I didn't feel comfortable trying to sleep so I was trying to keep myself awake.

My head was falling forward from fatigue but I managed to pull it back and wake up before I slept too deep. Then I felt a sharp pain in my forehead and raised my face to see her standing over me with her thumb thrust into the forefinger and preparing to strike me again.

"If you're sleepy, sleep. It is a human need and the time has already passed for good."I had not met many people who were so straight and spoke so frankly, but I could not say that I was displeased with her manner. To be honest it made her a lot more sympathetic that in my eyes.

I accepted her advice and laid down again on the couch, using my hands as a pillow. Sure, it was a little harsh and uncomfortable, but when you've slept on the cold floor for two nights in a row, you don't really care.

The food had helped to release the fatigue that was gathering within me, and now I was ready to sleep deeply and rest at last after what we had gone through. I think I did not yet realize what a situation I had been in, nor what a situation I would have been in if Saboru had not appeared.

All the police knew was that he called them and informed them of the location. The rest he could only tell me himself.

"Boy, wake up!"The loud voice of the policewoman, who did not care much whether to wake me suddenly or not, made me shake as if I had suddenly fallen from somewhere high, and I rubbed my eyes before opening them. I wanted to stretch my gripped body but I knew this wasn't my room and I definitely wasn't able to behave familiarly in there.

"What's the matter?" I asked in a voice hoarse from sleep, and sat up on the sofa. I wanted to look ready and not irritate her with my sleepiness but I had just woken up and kept rubbing my eyes because they wouldn't stay open. If they had let me, I would have slept till late in the afternoon and perhaps even then feel tired.

"You may go."She said to me without any emotion in her voice as if it were the simplest thing in the world. I looked at her with eyes wide open this time as if I couldn't believe in my ears.

"So simply? You won't keep me here any longer?" I knew that what she had said had already answered my question, and it was essentially unnecessary to ask, but I wanted to look for confirmation before I was unnecessarily happy.

"Did you like it so much here that now you want to stay? "she raised her brow, and while I could see that this was pure sarcasm, I was frightened at the idea of staying longer there.

I shook my head sharply negatively. I wanted to go home. It was the first time I had missed it so much. I felt like the little kid who was asking for independence but once it was given to him, he just ran back into his mum's arms. That's exactly what I wanted to do.

"Do I have to do something before I go?" I'd already gotten up, and if they'd let me, I might have run out of there.

"No. Everything was arranged with the testimony of Nishimura Kaoru. I'll ask a patrol car to drive you home for more security."She answered professionally, and that piqued my curiosity even more.

What the hell was going on with Kaoru?

They had kidnapped him and me together for some strange reason, and they wanted to force him to do something that I still didn't know what it was, and now he seemed to have some connection to the police.

When I had a feeling that he could not be as perfect as he seemed, I certainly did not expect such inexplicable and mysterious things to be revealed about him. And apparently no one was interested in giving me any more information as to what was going on.

"Won't Kaoru come with me in the patrol car?" I knew that was all I could ask, but still the look of the policewoman seemed to rebuke me. What the hell was going on in there?

"No. Nishimura-san will be under the supervision and protection of the police from now on."Her tone seemed even colder when she answered while threatening me to not dare ask another question.

I didn't intend to do it in the first place because I knew there was no way they would answer me. The fact that I didn't have protection from the police made me feel a little weird but at least that would mean that I wasn't in danger and it sufficed for me for the time being so I could calm down.

"Thank you for taking care of me" I said to the policewoman, bowing my head a little. She was the only one in there I really wanted to thank. Everyone else was pissing me off.

That's why I paid attention to having a look at the name that was sewn on the label of her uniform. I wasn't sure if I'd remember it after a while but I just wanted to keep it in mind. I could only see her last name and it was Amakiji.

I climbed into the patrol car and told my home address to be taken by the officer who was driving it. When I began to recognize the streets and the shops we were passing through, I began to have a feeling of nostalgia as if I hadn't been here in years.

It had indeed only been two days; my eyes clouded but I drove away the tears. I would only let them spill after I went through the house door and found myself among people I could trust and I knew they loved me. I didn't know who I could trust out there in the dangerous world we were living in.

"Thank you for bringing me."I said to the policeman, and he smiled kindly at me before he stepped on the throttle and went back to his work. I turned to my side of the house and took a deep breath.

I felt a restlessness and agitation. Could they accept me back as if nothing had happened or would they consider me a criminal before I could even explain to them why I was at the station? I really did not know and that frightened me. If my own family turned their back on me, where would I go?

I swelled up my body and mustered up as much courage as I had to ring the bell. I would have preferred to have used my keys to be in the house already since now I was afraid that they would not even let me in.

But those were in my bag that I guess was left at school. As soon as I thought of that I remembered that I was still wearing my school uniform and I felt really dirty. I urgently wanted to go into the bathroom and never go out again.

"Who is it?" The voice of the little girl on the doorphone put me out of my irrelevant thoughts and hurried to answer even if I had hesitation.

"... I..."I said without even using my name hoping she would understand me by my voice. The doorphone was heard to close and for a while nothing happened making me more and more afraid until the door suddenly opened and Echi jumped on me wrapping her limbs around my body. She was rubbing her face against my chest as if she wanted to recognize my smell to make sure I was actually there. I stepped inside without letting her off me, and spoke as softly as I could. "I'm back..."

I hardly had any time to realize it when I found myself falling to the floor with the other four having fallen headlong upon me and tightening more and more without leaving me for a moment or loosening their grip. I could see the tears in their eyes and that was enough to take away all the fear and psychological exhaustion I had felt. I started crying like a baby, and it took me a long time to slowly calm down.

Then they turned away and all turned to look at me with the same questions burning in their eyes. I knew that if I answered those questions, I had to tell the whole story from the beginning. Surely the time had come for them to learn the truth. But I was hoping to avoid it for a while.

I could have enjoyed the attention they gave me before they started looking at me like I was the disgrace of the family. They may not have understood this desire but they certainly understood that I had been through a lot and for a whole day I told them over and over again to the police so they decided to hold back as long as they could and not pressure me.

"You are hungry? I am sure you must be very hungry!'They tried to act like everything was normal and we had a normal conversation. Dad got up when he said this and beckoned to the other two to help him with the table.

"And I'm sure you'll want to take a bath to get all that..."She didn't know what it was I wanted to get off me and in order not to embarrass me, mum rephrased the suggestion"I'm going to get clean clothes and towels."

I couldn't help but appreciate how much they were trying to look normal even if it had the exact opposite effect. The bathroom, however, made me feel better and lighter, but I was also struck by the realization that all this was real and not some bad dream.

I understood this when the water poured on my head and I bit my lips so as not to scream when the water fell on the wound at the back of my head. I could see the water running in a pale pink hue and it really took everything I had and didn't have in me not to freak out.

If I let my thoughts go free, I'd think I had a hole in my head where air was coming in. I had forgotten this one, and it needed proper care to close it. I would worry my parents even more but I promised myself that the next day I would tell them everything.

"Mum! Where do we have the first aid kit?" I asked her as soon as I came out of the bathroom with the intention to take care of it myself so as not to make her freak out. It was at such a low position that I had no way of seeing it to know what she would see. It may have been more serious than I realized.

Of course she wanted to know why I had asked that question, and I heard her shriek close to my ears when she saw the wound.

".."Her lips were heard to open and close, but she said nothing, even though it became more and more difficult for her. I understood her. Surely I, too, would like to know what had happened.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" was all she asked in a rather calm voice. She was trying so hard for me. I couldn't know if the wound was that bad or it was just her excessive nature that caused her reaction, but I wanted to be at home. It was the only place I felt safe. I didn't want to be locked up again.

"Yes."It was all I answered without explaining the reason and I could feel her sigh before she began to pick up various tools and materials and try to do her best. It was better that he had asked me why I wanted them because at that point where the wound was, I couldn't have done much to heal it or even wrap it properly. Her thin fingers were far more experienced than mine, after all.

Her hands stroked my hair as soon as it was over and then she let me have a gentle kiss on the spot I had hit before clasping me in her arms from behind. She was shaking all over.

Of course she had not been able to calm herself just because I had returned. My eyes began to tingle again. I didn't like him making her feel that way. I could hear her heart beating like mad at my back.

Not only had they just accepted me back but they hadn't asked anything as well. That much was their love but we humans are weak creatures and how is it supposed to calm a mother's heart if the son was gone for two days and then she received a phone call from the police?

"Sorry."It was all I murmured in a voice that trembled. We stayed for a while like this before she got up and I felt her heat go away.

"Let's go and eat now. Don't worry the others!"She sounded more cheerful, but she certainly wasn't. If I had her opposite me and seen her face, I could have understood it at once.

I didn't comment on it, though, because it certainly didn't make any sense to me. I tried to enjoy lunch with the whole family as if everything was like four days ago. I needed it, but I couldn't imagine what was waiting for me around the corner.

The truth never stays hidden for long.

I had hoped it would come from my own lips, but someone beat me to it and presented it exactly the way he wanted. I thought I had just been saved but now the second phase of that difficult situation was beginning.