Guilty

Akira didn't ask many things from me, just simply said don't be that late again... But then again, why didn't she worry? A suspicion came to my head.

But I didn't take it any seriously, cause I knew that she loved me with all her heart.

And before I knew it, it was 4 pm. I spent my regular day, writing, playing with Mitsu, and flirting with Akira... hehe... And at 04:05 pm... There was a knock on the door.

"Tsu! Can you check the door, please! I'm a little busy right now..." Akira called out from the room. I was reading a manga on the couch.

'Huh? Who's knocking on the door. We don't know any relatives...' I thought.

I walked to the door and looked through the peephole. "Oh shit!" It was the Rings. What are they doing here? Did they find out that I'm the Glitch??

"Tameoshi-san... Can you open the door? We know you're in there... I can see you from the heat signature. We know your secret..." a familiar voice called out to me.

I couldn't recall whose voice it was, but I knew it was someone I knew.

'What the hell should I do?! I can't contact the Reapers now! My wife... Mitsu....'

"Please Tameoshi-san! Don't hesitate! We are your fans! We love your books!" The guy said once more.

"Eh?"

I laughed out loud. 'These fools didn't know anything. They just knew that I was a damn author. Nothing to be scared of....'

I opened the door and let them in. There were two men, suited in the Rings' jackets. The Red Rings, as they call it.

"It's an honor to see you, Tameoshi-san. Really a pleasure," the one who had blonde hair over his helmet said to me. Then, I remembered who it was.

The guy who helped me during the attack in Akinoshita. What a pleasant surprise.

"Oh... You're that guy from the attack... It's really an honor to meet you..." I extended my hand for a handshake.

Then, I invited both of them in.

After taking a seat on the couch, Akira came to the room too.

"Oh... Tsu! I forgot to tell you about these people. They came here yesterday, looking for you..." she said to me.

I was surprised to hear that. Just when I was gone to the Blue Lotus, the Rings had arrived. I don't even know how they managed to find me but... In this day and age, the Government could do anything.

"Hmm... Do you know why we're here, Tameoshi-kun?"

The other guy asked me. He sounded more serious than the blonde dude. "Hmm... I don't know, actually..." I said.

"Well... We're here to question you about the thing you witnessed during the attack... A floating cube. Is there a possibility that you saw something like this? Please be true to your word or this case would drag many innocents into it..."

I was speechless. 'Be true to my word and lose my peaceful life huh? No can do sir....' I thought.

"I... Didn't notice anything strange though. I didn't witness the so-called cube...." then I paused. I remembered something... What went wrong during the attack? I asked myself.

"Sir? Did you notice something? Can you recall something?" The guy kept questioning me. It raised my heartbeat... Not his question, but the moment I shot that terrorist to death.

-

-

[ Jason Winters ]

'Dammit, man... Take it easy!'

The fool was putting pressure on Tsujii. He would be scared if he did that. Moe-chan didn't get to join me so Takata sensei sent me with Miyaki.

The bastard was the most stubborn guy in the squad. And now... He was putting pressure on Tsujii, a popular author. I wonder if he knows how to read even...

"I— I didn't notice anything. A lot was happening... I didn't witness the cube," he finished. For some reason, he looked like he was sweating.

Maybe it was because Miyaki was putting pressure on him, and yet... There was one thing Tsujii was definitely accused of.

'The death of that Gear...'

Miyaki narrowed his eyes and stared at Tsujii's face. The situation was getting disastrous by the moment and Miyaki decided to drop the bomb.

"Jason... The bag..." he asked me. I looked at Tsujii's face when he said that. He looked astonished when Miyaki asked me for the bag.

"Here..." I gave it to Miyaki.

Miyaki opened the bag and pulled out the tab. Then, he showed him the photo. "Remember this, Tsujii?" He asked from him.

Tsujii suddenly calmed down. "Yes... I shot her with the gun he gave me to protect myself with..."

'Yes... I gave that to him, but it wasn't the bomb. Behind that...'

"And Tsujii-kun... Did you notice anything strange with this picture? We tried to question this little girl but remember the other day on the news? Among that crowd... She was there. She died and now you are the only witness remaining..."

Tsujii's face went pale when he said this. But Miyaki continued.

"So Tsujii-kun. Can you tell me? When you went out to save that little girl... What did you really witness? This was a mutation that attracts anything powerful... It's called the Glitch. Did you see any terrorists seizing the cube? Don't hesitate to tell us even if they threatened you... We will ensure you and your family's safety."

Tsujii suddenly had a calmed expression in his face.

"I did not see the cube. If the cube is gone, it might've been seized by the terrorists before I got there. There was another Gear aside from the girl... He must've seized it... He had something in his hand when he flew off..."

Those words... If he had witnessed the cube, he could've known the size. He wouldn't say that it was carried in hand.

"Huh? Hmm... Sir, you're good to go. Sorry for suspecting you, and for your wife, if he hadn't shot the Gear at that moment, there won't be a father for your daughter anymore..." Miyaki told the wife who was looking frightened after hearing that her husband had shot a person.

Then, both of us stood up.

I looked at Tsujii and felt a little sad for misjudging him. "We're really sorry for barging in and... Ruining the day for you...."

Tsujii looked up and he didn't frown, he smiled and scratched his head with a shy face. "No worries Senpai... It must be something really important... I was glad to help," he said.

"I forgot to introduce ourselves... I'm Jason Winters and back there is Miyaki Hoshiro... Again, please forgive us. We love your books and you're a hero to us," I said, giving him a handshake.

"Haha... Well, I guess you guys already know mine. Thank you for understanding, let's hope to see each other again..."

Now that settled the case. We took the bag up and started to walk out of the door. Suddenly, I remembered something.

'If the Gears ever find out that he killed one of them, there's a chance for him to get hurt....'

"Hey, Tameoshi-kun... Just in case you have some trouble, here's my number," I raised my phone and held it up for him to scan the code.

He scanned it from his phone and it was settled. "Thank you, I'll call if there's a matter that concerns you..." he said.

I saluted and left the apartment with Miyaki.

"Hmm... That guy's really suspicious," Miyaki said to me in the hallway. When I heard this bull shit, I felt like punching him in the face.

"Dude... Just stop it, man. Don't go after innocent people... Jesus! Just fucking stop..."

Miyaki sighed and went on. "You know, you're too soft, Jason!"

———————-

- Please vote with power stones and golden tickets for the book for daily updates and help me climb up the ranks so I can provide more of my work to u guys.

Discord server is open! Join and have a fun time!: https://discord.gg/bmmWvZRT