Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Interview

While I’m leaning against Chinatsu with my head resting against her shoulder the door intercom chimes.

Who in the world would show up at this time of day? I lift my head to look over my shoulder at the entrance to the living room. Dad comes back into the room closely followed by Honoka. Why is she here?

“Good morning everyone.”

“Good morning Honoka. Would you like some tea?” Mama asks her. Honoka glances at her watch.

“Thank you, but we don’t really have the time.” She replies and walks over to the couch.

“Hi girls. How are you doing this morning?”

“I’m fine, but Sora-nee isn't feeling too well this morning.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, what’s wrong Sora?”

“Nothing much. I woke up stiff and sore which Chinatsu dealt with, but on top of that I started my period.”

“It’s her first one too Honoka!” Chinatsu chirps energetically.

Honoka kneels down in front of us and gently brushes my bangs out of my face. “Congratulations Sora.”

“Thank you I guess. It feels weird for everyone to be congratulating me for something that’s making me feel this bad.”

She chuckles. “Of course it does. I felt the same way as you do when I had my first one and my family had a huge celebration because of it. It’s something worth celebrating, especially in your case since you are fertile.”

“How do you know that?! No one is supposed to know!” Chinatsu snaps out the question while staring intently at Honoka with her eyes blazing.

“It’s okay Chinatsu. I told her. After all, she’s going to be watching over Sora from now on.” Dad says from the dining table.

“Don’t worry Chinatsu. I’ll never tell anyone else and yes, I’ll be watching over Sora from now on.” She looks at me. “Sora, is that alright with you?”

I suppose I should tell you a little more about Honoka. She and I talked a lot yesterday when we were on the lazy river. I already told you what she looks like, but she is twenty-two years old and looks nowhere near her age. It’s one of the reasons I was so surprised when she introduced herself as a section leader. She looks as if she is maybe fifteen.

Her mother is Australian and her dad is only half-Japanese, his mother is from Russia and his father is Japanese. Her father was in the JSDF Special Forces with my dad and they have been friends ever since.

Honoka was like I used to be very small and thin for her age, but of course, she’s not that way anymore. Anyway, she started taking Krav Maga lessons when she was little and kept it up ever since. She took the junior women’s championships from 2049 to 2053. Basically, she isn’t someone to mess with.

I’m guessing the fact that she and I got along so well yesterday is one of the reasons Dad asked her to watch over me. It will make it a lot easier for me to deal with since I consider her a friend. Come to think of it, if we put her in a school uniform she wouldn't look out of place at TNA (Tokyo National Academy.) Sneaky Dad, really sneaky.

“Of course it is Honoka. Chinatsu and I will get to spend more time with our friend this way,” I say and Chinatsu nods in agreement.

Honoka smiles at us, then says, “I’m happy you girls feel that way about me. I don’t have many friends.” Her expression turns serious as she says, “That really does make me happy, but I want you two to promise me something. You two are exactly like me, you would never leave a friend who’s in trouble, but you have to do it if something happens and I tell you to run. I mean it, if you don't promise me that you’ll listen to me right here and now, I'll tell your father that I won’t do this.”

She leans in a little closer to us and whispers, “I had a lot of fun yesterday and I want to spend a lot more time with you two, I’ve never had any girls as friends before and I also want to keep you safe as well. I’m sure you will have a lot more fun with me than with some all too serious man as your guard. You have to promise me that you will do what I tell you though since you are far more important than I am.”

I start to argue with her when she says that, but she touches my lips with a finger to stop me.

“I already know what you were going to say. Don’t worry about me, I’m fine with it. I want to do this and be there for you. If you promise me this, it’s a double win for me. I get to spend time with my friends and I get to keep them safe too.”

I look at Chinatsu, who nods at me. I want to say yes because I would love to spend more time with Honoka, but at the same time, I don’t want to see her get hurt either. Although, I don't want some man I don’t know to watch over us either. She’s right, I think we would be a lot better off with her to watch over us.

I reach out and wrap my arms around her neck to pull her to us, rest my chin on her shoulder, and say, “I promise, but you also have to promise us that you won't needlessly put yourself in danger too.”

As I say that, Chinatsu slides her free arm around her as well and tells her, “I promise too Honoka, but I agree with what Sora-nee said. Don’t put yourself in danger for no reason, okay?”

“Alright. I promise too.”

“Good.” Chinatsu and I tell her.

“Girls, Honoka is here mostly to keep annoyances away from you. There are other people for any large threats, so try not to fret about it. Alright ladies, it’s time, we need to get moving if we are going to make it on time.”

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

Dad tells us on the way to Tokyo Central Police Station that I will be interviewed by Lt. Aoki Mitsuo. He’s a detective now, but he used to serve in the JSDF with Dad.

Personally, I hope this doesn’t take a long time because I really don’t feel well at all. Oh, to hell with it. Dad said it would take forty minutes to get there.

“Chinatsu can I lay my head down in your lap?”

“Of course you can Sora-nee. Are you alright? You’re really pale.”

I lay my head down in her lap, close my eyes and reply, “I’m fine. I’m just having really bad cramps at the moment.”

“Mr. Kobayashi, we have enough time to stop at a drugstore. Let’s stop at one on the way and I’ll run in to get her something to help her feel better. If her menarche is anywhere near as bad as mine was, she’ll need it.”

“Okay. We can do that even if it makes us a little late. If need be I’ll call Mitty and reschedule this for a time when you feel more up to it Sora.”

“No, thank you Dad. I want to do this today. I want Akiyama to pay for what he did. Sooner rather than later.”

“If you are sure, then I won’t say any more about it.”

“I’m very sure. I want him hang for what he did. This world has enough problems already and people like him just make it worse. I’m also very sure he had something to do with Mother’s and Father’s deaths.”

“Let’s deal with this first sweetheart, if there’s something to find after this I’m sure the police will find it.”

A few minutes later, the car stops and Honoka gets out. She soon returns with a bag and a bottle of water in hand. She sits back down beside me and hands me the bottle of water. She opens the bag and then takes out a couple of pills.

“These might make you a somewhat drowsy, but they’ll stop your cramps,” she explains as she hands them to me. I don’t really care about being drowsy, I simply want these never to be sufficiently damned cramps to stop. They are getting bad enough they are about to bring tears to my eyes.

“Thank you Honoka.” I open the drink, take the pills she hands me with a couple of swallows, and lay my head back down in Chinatsu’s lap. A moment later Dad starts the car and heads toward the police station again.

“Sora-nee? ...Sora-nee?”

“Nnn~”

“We’re here Sora-nee.”

“I must have dozed off. Sorry.”

Chinatsu smiles at me. “Don’t worry about that. How do you feel?”

“A little groggy at the moment, but my cramps are gone.” I say as I sit up, which makes my head swim.

“Take it slow Sora. Those pills I gave you are fairly strong. If you move very fast you will get dizzy.”

“Too late,” I tell her with a wry grin.

“Are you alright Sora?”

“I’m alright Dad, I just got a little dizzy. It’s gone now.”

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Chinatsu tells me, “Okay, let’s get this over with so we can get you home where you can relax.” She then steps out of the car and offers her hands to me. Taking her hands, I gingerly stand up. She takes my arm to help steady me and we follow Dad into the police station with Honoka a step behind us.

“Sit down girls, I’ll go tell them we’re here.”

Finding an open spot, Chinatsu holds on to me as I sit down, then she and Honoka sit on either side of me. I look around me at the almost completely full lobby. Quite a few of the people waiting look as if they have been here far too many times, while some others look a little bewildered.

I spot a familiar face as she walks in the door. I raise my hand to wave and call out, “Over here Airi!”

Turning at the sound of my voice, she smiles when she catches sight of me, waves back and heads over to me. “Hi girls. How are you doing?”

I begin to answer her, but Chinatsu interrupts when she stands up and whispers something to Airi, who smiles.

“Congratulations, Sora.”

Of course, I blush furiously. Really? Is everyone we know going to be told I started my period? Enough already. Ugh!

“Other than that, how are you feeling Sora?”

“Great. Oh, this is my friend Honoka Ikeda. Honoka this is one of my doctors, Airi Sasaki.”

“Pleased to meet you Dr. Sasaki.”

“Airi please. Nice to meet a friend of Sora’s.”

“Then it’s Honoka please.”

Airi looks at me again. “Where’s your dad?”

“He’s letting them know we’re here.”

“Sora, I know you said you’re doing great, but how are you emotionally?”

“Honestly Airi, I’m a little nervous because I don’t know if Akiyama is going to be here or not. More than anything else though, I’m angry. That man took most of my life and turned it into a living hell. It’s a little strange, I can remember what he did to me and it makes me angry, but at the same time it somehow doesn't seem like it was me that it happened to. Sorry, I know that has to sound a little odd. I guess I just don’t know how to explain it properly.”

“It’s perfectly understandable Sora. I would be surprised and worried if you didn’t feel that way. Let’s simply say that it’s a coping mechanism and leave it at that.”

“If you say so.”

As I am replying to Airi, I see Dad walking toward us with a man who’s even larger than he is, which is really saying something considering Dad is several centimeters taller than most other Japanese men. Dad is 183 centimeters tall and the man beside him is easily 5 to 7 centimeters taller.

“Hello Airi, thank you for coming.”

“It’s my pleasure Eiji. I’m here for Sora after all.”

“Sora, this is Lt. Mitsuo Aoki. He’s the detective that has been assigned to this case.”

“Pleased to meet you Lt. Aoki. I’m Sora Kobayashi.” I tell him with a slight bow. I would have bowed farther, but I’m afraid that I might fall over if I do so since I feel a bit wobbly.

“Mitty, you’ve met Airi before. This is my other daughter Chinatsu and their friend Honoka Ikeda.” They both bow to him and he bows in return.

“Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, let’s go to my office and we can talk a little. It won’t take long, your Dad told me that you aren’t feeling well, so I really appreciate you coming.”

　◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

After we are all seated, he asked us all if we wanted something to drink. He sits down on the edge of his desk close to me and turns on a recorder.

“Do you mind if I call you Sora?”

“No, please do.”

“Thank you Sora. This won’t take long as I said. I’ve already heard the recording of your session with Airi and talked to her about it. I also asked your dad to show me your house. I noticed it has security cameras in virtually every room, but I found no hard drives or any other form of recording device in the house. Do you know where it would be at?”

“If it’s not in any other part of the house, I'd think it would have to be in the basement, Lt. Aoki.”

“That is what your dad said as well, but I thought I would ask. He told me you would help us try to get into the basement, but that can wait until you’re feeling better. Now, can you tell me what you remember from the incident at your house that you recounted to Airi?”

“Sure Lt. Aoki. Let’s see, we had just eaten dinner, cleaned up, and we were watching TV when the door intercom chimed. Father went to answer it and came back to the living room with Mr. Akiyama. At first, they were just talking normally, but it wasn't long before Mr. Akiyama was yelling angrily at them. He accused them of destroying research at the lab, which they swore they had never done.”

I take a breath and continue, “Mother tried to ask Mr. Akiyama how he thought they could do that without anyone knowing since there are security cameras all over the labs and offices. Mr. Akiyama continued to yell at them, saying that they were trying to take over the company and unseat him as the CEO. It didn’t make much sense to me honestly.”

I take another breath and think for a moment to make sure I’m not missing anything important. “When Mother and Father denied trying to do anything like that, he started ranting about them needing to spend more time at the lab and how they should be staying over at the lab more. They tried to calmly tell him they weren’t going to be doing that because they needed to be there at night for me.”

I stop for a moment and gently bite my lip, I don’t really understand how I can talk about this so unemotionally. Well, Airi did say it must be a coping mechanism, so that has to be it, right?

“Uh, sorry. Umm, where was I? Oh, yes Mr. Akiyama, bent down to where I was sitting on the floor, grabbed me by my throat, picked me up, and began choking me. He told them he would make it to where they would never have to come home if they didn't obey him, because he would kill me then and there.”

I glance at Chinatsu beside me to see she has tears running down her cheeks. I reach over, pull her to me to hug her and gently stroke her hair. I then look back at Lt. Aoki again.

“Mother and Father immediately agreed to do what he demanded. He told them “You’re Goddamn right you will!” and threw me into a wall. It dislocated my shoulder and gave me a concussion. He then told them if they ever disobeyed him, heard they were hiding anything from him, or ever told the police about this that he would kill all three of us. That was the last time I ever saw him until this past Saturday. I rarely ever saw my parents after that incident.”

“Thank you Sora. I appreciate you telling me all this. This is going to sound odd, but I’m required to ask this since you are female. Are you fertile Sora?”

I blush and look at Dad, who nods at me. If he says it’s alright, it must be. “Umm, yes, I am. May I ask why you asked me that?”

“Of course you can. It’s a rather simple answer, crimes which endanger a fertile female carry the death penalty, Sora. In other words, when he is convicted, he will hang for what he did to you, even if nothing else comes to light. We still plan to look into your parents deaths again as well. I’d like answers there just as much as you would.”

Tears began trickling down my cheeks and I bury my face in Chinatsu’s hair. I’m not sad or upset, I’m actually extremely happy to hear him say that, so I have no idea why I’m crying.

I feel someone touch my back and hear Airi’s voice come from beside me. “Sora, are you alright?”

I lift my head to look at her and nod. “I’m fine, I don’t know why I’m crying. I’m actually very happy after what Lt. Aoki told me. Thank you Lt. Aoki. Thank you for believing me.” I tell him as I blot away my tears with a handkerchief while doing my best to not smear my mascara.

“Sora, I’d have believed you anyway, but Tessa told me you were being absolutely truthful. She’s our AI and she’s really good at knowing when people are even shading the truth. She didn't even twitch when you were talking. Tessa say hello to Sora.” He gestures to something behind me. I turn to look and see a screen on the wall with a multi-colored, shifting pattern displayed on it.

“Hello Ms. Kobayashi. I’m Tessa, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Lt. Aoki is correct, it is very rare when someone doesn't lie even slightly.”

“Hello Tessa. Nice to meet you as well.”

“Sora, that’s all I need from you today. Eiji, when Sora is feeling up to it call me about the basement. Thank you all for coming.”

Dad replies that he will and we all say our goodbyes.

After we exit the building, Airi turns to me and kneels down. She gently brushes my bangs out of my eyes while smiling at me. “I’m happy to see you’re doing so well, but I still want to see you Monday.”

“I’ll be there Airi. Thank you for being here for me.”

“You’re welcome Sora. I’ll see you Monday.” She tells me as she stands up and waves to everyone.

Honestly, I’m glad I did this today. I almost feel like another weight has been taken off of me. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to getting home again. I still want to curl up in bed with Chinatsu and not have to worry about anything.

Aww~ damn it. Mama has a big celebration planned for this evening!

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