Interrogation And Celebration

“Say 'Aaah'...”

It was a sunny day and the chirping of the birds were heard in the hospital. Days passed since the incident in the factory.

Kazuma, who was injured heavily, still had to stay in the hospital. His entire body and face was covered with bandages like a mummy.

“S-stop it, it's embarrassing! I can eat on my own!” he blushed a little.

Currently, Yui was visiting him. She brought sliced apples with her and tried to feed him.

But Kazuma still had his pride and grabbed her hand which she used to try to feed him.

“Gosh, don't be so stubborn. You're injured so let yourself be spoiled.” she applied more force on her arm.

“H-hey, stop!” he struggled to push her away.

“Just open your mouth already!” Yui did not back down and pushed her hand further.

“Ah, fine!”

Finally accepting his fate, Kazuma let himself get fed.

“Hehe, good boy.” she patted his head as if he was a child.

Kazuma sighed.

“And? Why are you here today again? Don't you have to study?” he asked her with crossed arms.

Starting next week, students at Tokubetsu High had to take the final exams of their first trimester. Therefore, many students would usually spend the days or weeks before the exams to prepare.

“I'll manage somehow. After all, I took the 19th place in the midterms!” she puffed her chest.

“I-I see...”

“And what about you? Did you at least prepare a little?” she asked.

“Not really. But I'm confident that I'll still place somewhere in the top 5.” he shrugged his shoulders while he had an arrogant expression.

Since he entered high school, Kazuma never failed to achieve first place in any test or exam.

Knock. Knock.

“May I come in?”

“Hm? Ikari-san? Ah, yes, sure!” Kazuma replied to the carefree sounding person.

Then, a middle-aged man entered the room. His long brown hair, whose color resembled the eyes, reached to his chin. In addition, he wore a police uniform.

“Yo, how are you doing? Oh, did I disturb you two?”

“Oh no, it's fine. Hey, Yui do you remember him? He's the police officer who accompanied us during that time. His name is Ikari Yousuke.” Kazuma introduced the man to Yui.

“Ah! I remember now!” she stood up.

“Thank you everything, Ikari-san!” she bowed to express her gratitude.

“Oh, it's fine. It's my job after all.” he said.

Yousuke proceeded to stare intensely at Kazuma.

“Is something?”

“Ahem. Could I talk to you for a minute?” Yousuke cleared his throat as he switched his gaze between Yui and Kazuma.

“Oh, I forgot! I had to buy some things for mom! See you later, Kazuma!” she nervously packed her things and left the room after she took the hint.

After that, he took the seat beside Kazuma's bed.

“To be honest, I don't want to do this yet but the authorities pushed me into this...” he took a recorder out of his pocket.

“I see... Well, it's no problem. After all, I've almost recovered completely.”

Kazuma knew what the recorder meant. It was time for the interrogation.

“I'm truly sorry... How about I treat you to dinner after you get discharged?” Yousuke suggested nervously.

“That sounds good.” Kazuma smiled slightly.

“Alright! Then, let's start.” his tone became more serious as he started to record their conversation.

Thus, the interrogation began.

It was a long interrogation. Hours passed and the sun began to set when they were almost done.

“... I see, so it was true that they were not involved with the kidnapping.” Kazuma said pensively.

The police took the 11 people, who were knocked out by Kazuma, into custody and were also interrogated when they finally regained consciousness.

During the talk between Kazuma and Yousuke, the testimonies of each party were identical.

“Yes. The main suspect in this case is therefore Kanzaki Shinya.” Yousuke stated.

Kazuma gripped the blanket tightly as his body got tenser after hearing his name.

“However, the problem is that we have no clues about his whereabouts.” he added.

“...”

“Well, this concludes the interrogation. Thank you for your testimony.” Yousuke stated and proceeded to stop the recording.

Then, he put the recorder back in his pocket as he prepared to leave the room.

“I will solve that problem.” Kazuma said.

“What do you mean?” he asked puzzled.

“Kanzaki Shinya and 'The Owls of Tokyo'. I will find them and take every last one of them down.” Kazuma stated with a determined eyes.

“Geez, you just had a fight against more than 20 people and now you want to beat the entire gang up? Stop the nonsense and leave it to the adults.” Yousuke heaved a sigh.

“Ikari-san, I ...”

"Hm?"

"I-I am-"

Swoosh.

In that moment, a strong wind blew through the open window. The curtains flattered strongly causing a loud noise.

“...What?!” Yousuke was more than just shocked after he heard what Kazuma said.

“...” Kazuma's facial expressions remained serious.

Yousuke rubbed his forehead with his finger as he tried to process Kazuma's statement.

He sighed.

Then, he took out a piece of paper and a pen and began to write something on it.

“Here, be sure to keep it.” he handed Kazuma the note.

“Is that your number?”

“Yes. Call me if you have new information.”

“Alright, I will keep it in mind.”

Yousuke stood up again.

“I guess, I will leave now.”

“Yeah, goodbye.”

He opened the door and was about to leave until he remembered something.

“Oh, sorry again that I interrupted your hospital date with your girlfriend.” he remarked with a playful grin.

“W-w-what?! We're just friends! Now leave!” Kazuma reddened and threw in rage his pillow against the now closed door.

It was once again silent in the room after Yousuke left.

“That damn old man... Yui and I? No way.”

Kazuma spent the following days with check-ups and preparing for the exams after Yui brought his materials over.

Then, the day, when Kazuma finally got discharged, arrived.

“Ah, finally! How long has it been since I was home?” Kazuma stood in front of his front door.

He was in a good mood. After spending many days in the hospital, he was eager to finally go home. The only thing he would miss were the nurses but it was nothing compared to his longing for his bed.

Kazuma opened the door.

“Hm?”

He saw three pairs of shoes at the entrance. There were black boots, pink and glittering shoes with the size of a young child and then there were a pair of black low heels.

“Have I seen those somewhere before?”

No lights were on despite people being there.

Kazuma carefully walked in the house and checked every room he passed by.

“Must be the living room.” he concluded after he checked the other rooms.

He slowly opened the door of the living room and turned the lights on.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

“!” he raised his arms to guard himself.

“Congratulations on getting discharged!” three people shouted.

“Huh?”

Kazuma let his arms slowly down and realized who the people were. In front of him was the Nagisa household. They all smiled brightly at Kazuma as each one of them held a confetti cannon in their hand which they already fired off.

“We are really glad that you are back.” Nagisa Shizuka, the mother, said.

“And? Surprised?” Yui commented with a huge grin on her face.

“Kazumaaa!” Nagisa Rika, the four year old daughter and therefore the youngest member of the family, yelled as she hugged his leg.

“Y-yeah, I'm really surprised...” Kazuma admitted while he pat Rika's head.

Yui grabbed Kazuma's arm.

“Come, sit down! We've prepared lots of food and a cake for you!” she said happily.

“T-that's really a lot of food...” Kazuma began to sweat after he saw the amount of food on the table.

It was more than enough for at least six people.

“I-I see, surely your father will join us, right? Right?”

“Dad? No, he won't join us sadly. He's at work.” Yui answered.

“And who will eat everything?”

“No need to hold back!” she smiled as she slapped his back.

“I really appreciate your sentiment but you didn't have to make a big deal of my discharge...” he scratched his head.

“No need to be so humble! Today, we are going to celebrate!” Shizuka raised her arm energetically.

“Celebrate!” Rika imitated her mother.

“Yay!” Yui was also full of energy.

“Y-yay...” the same could not be applied to Kazuma.

Thus, they joyfully celebrate, ate, talked and laughed together until it was dark outside.

At some point of time, Kazuma went to the bathroom while was musing about his current situation.

The house he lived in was quiet most of the time. Having such a lively atmosphere in this very house was something that rarely occurred.

“Not bad at all...” he muttered to himself with a slight smile on his face.

This was something he yearned for since a long time.