This chapter is shorter than the previous one (because there isn't much to tell :p). If you've read the early access, the ending is different. I'm also removing the chapter titles because I'm running out of words. ;_;

Happy reading!


Chapter Nine

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Good afternoon, where are you now? 3:10 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:23 PM Good afternoon
3:23 PM I'm at Yamakami Park

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Why there?
3:23 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:23 PM I'm changing my clothes
3:24 PM I can't do it at my apartment since there's a high chance of people I know seeing me when I leave
3:24 PM My classmate lives a floor below

Tsukauchi Naomasa
I see 3:24 PM
Anyway, please use the left gate 3:24 PM
Once you get out of the bus, walk straight and turn right when you see Lotteria. Tell the guards that you're meeting me 3:24 PM
I'll be waiting at the interrogation room 3:24 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:24 PM There's a left gate?

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Of course 3:24 PM
We don't carry the prisoners through the main door. Only the visitors and officers use it 3:25 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:25 PM Understood

Tsukauchi Naomasa
If people see you entering the prison, what will you say?
3:25 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:25 PM I'm sending a package to someone

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Who?
3:25 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:25 PM They don't need to know

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Smart girl 3:25 PM
But once you're in the prison, don't give anyone your name and age 3:25 PM
You only know me 3:25 PM

Ito Kazuna
3:26 PM Noted

Tsukauchi Naomasa
Good. I'll be waiting for you
3:26 PM

Kazuna locked her phone before staring at her reflection in the mirror. Although nobody really saw her yesterday, she still wanted to be careful by wearing a different jacket and hat, then a white mask as it was the only color she'd purchased when she moved here. Her uniform was kept inside a black backpack that she'd owned since she started middle school with no brand stitched on it. With this, it was guaranteed that she'd be less discernable. As long as she didn't talk, her closest friends could stand next to her and thought of her as a stranger passing by.

Her timing was perfect when she got into the bus stop in front of the park as it could already be seen decreasing its speed from a short distance away. It took her around thirty minutes to arrive at the stop near the prison, which was ten minutes longer than when Jun drove her. She had to walk for only a bit more to find Lotteria at the intersection. She crossed the road with some other people—two of them wore a Yuuei uniform, but she'd never seen their face before—and reached a place that was surrounded by barbed wire fences.

An officer stopped her and she told him Naomasa's message. He went to the station behind them and came back a few seconds later with another officer. The gate was opened and the new officer brought her inside, through the areas that she didn't have the chance to explore yesterday. The first group of people that welcomed her was inmates without handcuffs and guards who were on their way somewhere. They were quite happily chatting each other, proving that the worst crime they'd committed was probably rob a bank so that they weren't punished as bad as the others.

She thought Naomasa would be waiting somewhere near the longue room, but she was led to a two-floor medium-sized building called "The Interrogation Chamber". As she stepped in, the wave of negative emotions when she was near Noumu crawled back in. She kept mulling over the word "chamber" instead of "room" and why would a normal interrogation have its own special place. As most of the citizens out there, she had a common perception of an interrogation room; a dreary room with one-way glass, a dilapidated wooden table, and two cheap chairs. But this place seemed to be more threatening than that.

"There you are." Naomasa who sat on a sofa in the middle of the hallway stood up, heading towards her. "Good afternoon. How was the trip?"

She was confused by the question because it felt as if she just came back from traveling abroad, but she opted to show her gratitude by bowing. "Good afternoon. It was okay. Thank you for asking."

"Thank you for your help." Naomasa smiled at the officer. "Can I also ask for you to bring her bag to my office?"

"Absolutely," the officer said. As soon as she took off her bag and handed it to her, he left the two without unnecessarily prying into their business. He wouldn't know the reason why she was here. She believed that he was simply being professional and it was nice to see.

"Well then." Naomasa breathed a sigh. "Are you ready?"

She faintly nodded. "I am."

"All right." He turned around. "Let's go."


The main hallway was connected to six shorter hallways with three-seater black waiting chairs, vending machines, and people in suit rushing to and fro with phone or papers in their hands. As Kazuna walked in one of the hallways, she saw two women standing closely near the elevator. One of them had a red face from crying too much—like she had the burden of the entire world on her shoulders—while the other one tried to provide some comfort through sweet words and a hug.

"Don't stare like that," Naomasa scolded her in a joking way, before opening one of the doors in the middle of the hall.

"Ah, sorry…!" she exclaimed, proceeding to follow him inside like how a chick treated its mother.

Since she'd prepared herself for this, she wasn't too nervous facing the real interrogation room with a woman sitting inside that could be seen through the glass. Her head was tucked down and her long brown hair was clouding both sides of her face, as if she tried to squash her embarrassment for being here even if it was just for a bit. Besides her, a young guy in a brown suit stood outside of the window glass, waiting for them. He gave Kazuna a look from the top of her head down to her feet, but she responded by giving a little bow with her head.

"He's my assistant." Naomasa pointed his hand at the guy. "Miura, this is the girl I told you about. She still goes by no name, so don't try to ask."

"Yes, I understand. My name's Miura Arata. Nice to know you," the guy introduced himself and before Kazuna had the chance to do her part, he handed out a piece of A4 paper that he'd been holding even before she was here. "This is the report case. Thank you."

"Report…" She took the paper, feeling lost. "…case?"

"It's the explanation of what's happening to that woman inside. Sure, you can know everything by reading her memories, but I suggest you get the overall picture of you're about to see," Naomasa explained on Arata's behalf.

"That's true…" she muttered as she began reading what was written on the page.

Case Number: MS 04/03/0207419
Date: Saturday, April 3th 2XXX
Offense: Malicious Wounding
Reporting Officer: Tamura Ieyoshi

Details of Event
On Friday, April 1st 2XXX at 3:41 a.m., Omura Saori (36) poured boiling water on her mother-in-law, Omura Akiyo (65), as the latter was sleeping alone in her room. Saori immediately left the house by taking the family's car and went missing. At that time, they were home alone. Saori's husband, Omura Daiki (40) was doing an overnight shift as a paramedic at Musutafu Memorial Hospital. Okiya's husband, Omura Shinji, passed away two years ago. Saori and Daiki have no children.

Holding the pain, Akiyo went to the neighbor, Tanaka Sara (38), and asked for help. Sara was the one calling 110 at 03:45 and gave the first testimonies. According to her, the family seems quite average. They've never seen fighting in public and although she's never witnessed them spending a family time somewhere together, Saori and Akiyo are often seen doing household chores together like hanging clothes and cleaning the yard.

Saori is a librarian at Musutafu Central Library and Akiyo is a homemaker. According to Daiki, Saori doesn't seem to have any complaints about Akiyo or their marriage. They're both happy women with a healthy relationship between each other.

Saori was arrested on the same day at 2:20 p.m. at Freshness Burger near her workplace. She was driving all over the town until she gave up and parked the car at her workplace and walked to Freshness Burger to get lunch.

Wasn't this a little too much for someone who just got out middle school two months ago? When Naomasa mentioned "tiny villains", she assumed it was going to be a shop robbery without violence or investment fraud. She didn't think that he'd give her such a complicated case that she wished she wouldn't experience once she started her own family.

"You're good?" Naomasa asked. "Tell me if it's too much."

"No, it's good," she answered. In a way, he stayed true to his words of not letting her read psychopaths. She couldn't use her inexperience to draw back from this training, but she wouldn't have the courage to be near someone who'd mutilated thirty people and bathed in their blood. Cannibalism was also a big no.

"Then we shall start," he said and without having to be told, Arata went into the room, startling Saori as she finally lifted her head.

Arata informed her that they would continue—implying that this had happened before and most likely she didn't want to confess the motive of her wrongdoing. He grabbed a blindfold from the long table at the back of the room and slipped it over her eyes. She seemed to have had enough of this life as she stayed motionless while he did whatever was necessary to her. When explained that the blindfold was part of the procedure, she didn't even question the reason. Her lips were shut tight and her countenance was unexciting.

"Don't let your voice be heard by her. Just walk to her and do your job. No need to wait for anyone's sign," Naomasa remarked before opening the door and inviting Kazuna in.

The room was only around three by three meters, which was smaller than most bathrooms she'd ever been in. It was also very cold as it had its own air conditioner that seemed to be cranked up to the highest setting. She took her gloves off and left them on the empty table in front of Saori. Her usual manner almost let her say "excuse me", but she remembered that she couldn't speak. She placed her hand on Saori's head and all at once, stories after stories flashed before her eyes.

"Of course he'd do that. You can't give him what he needs. You can't give him children he wants and your personality is just… you're too insecure and dependent. Just wait for a little bit longer; he'll file for a divorce."

"But he was cheating on you. What kind of woman is willing to stay in a broken marriage?"

"Her marriage was broken when she was younger than you, so she somehow took it on you. I'm your best friend. I have your back. Tell me everything."

"It's our fifth anniversary. Do you still love me?"

"No, my mother wouldn't talk that way. Maybe she was just joking around. You know she likes to do that."

"Without this family, you're nothing. Your parents are poor."

"When will you have children?"

"My son married you because you're available, a bit pretty, and desperate. He felt bad that no one could take care of you."

"I would never leave you."

"Are you sure with this? You'll be stuck with me for the rest of your life, unless if we get divorced like what happened to my parents."

She yanked her hand to stop herself from reading any further. Tears started forming at the corner of her eyes and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide it from the two men glaring at her. Her chest was burning with anger and sadness. It was only a small part of Saori's memories, but it made her feel like they'd become one—she understood Saori's emotions, thoughts, struggles, and so much more. This aftermath often happened whenever she used her quirk on someone, but before Saori, all the problems she read was very childish.

"Please wait for a moment, Omura-san," Naomasa said before stepping out. Both Miura and Kazuna caught the sign as they also left the room—she didn't forget to grab her gloves because she wasn't sure if she'd come in the second time to read Saori. She could finally stop holding back the sniffing sound she made. She really wanted to take her mask off and pour her feelings out, but again, she couldn't. She must take this suffocation like a champion.

"I'm sorry," she muttered after a while. "It was nothing bad. I was just surprised."

"Let me assume… Do you feel like you've known this woman for a long time from her memories?" Naomasa asked.

"Kind of, but I didn't read everything… I stopped after the beginning of her marriage…" she explained, sight falling to the floor as she recalled the things she'd read. "Her mother-in-law dislikes her, probably because she doesn't come from a great family. Her husband's going to brothel all the time and her mother-in-law blames her for it, saying that it's because she can't satisfy him and give him a family he's always dreamed of. Her husband never believes anything she says about his mother. Maybe her mother-in-law is also jealous because she had an awful marriage when she was young herself, and uh… I will write everything in detail on the report…"

"Tsukauchi-san," Arata called his boss. "She's still too young for this, don't you think? Can't we give her a case that's more suitable for her age? There are thieves who don't confess until they're at the court, so can't we give her that?"

Naomasa went soundless for a few seconds before shaking his head, completely ignoring the suggestion. "No. This is perfect. Not too easy, but not too mad. Are you still capable of reading some more?"

"Yes, I am." She wiped the last bits of tears with the back of her hand. "I'm okay. I'll tell you once I can't take it anymore."

Arata sighed. "I'll prepare the laptop. See you at the office."


In less than fifteen minutes, Kazuna finished writing her report in Naomasa's private office. Some officers walked in and questioned her existence as she'd never been seen here before, but Naomasa always laughed it off without revealing anything. When asked, the only thing she did was smile. Arata also did exactly the same and she wondered on why Naomasa didn't trust him that much to share their secret. She hoped there would come the day when he'd finally learn her name.

Once done, they told her to wait in front of the room from before as they fetched the next people to process. Two male college students were captured because they'd tried to "sell" their own friend to a sex trafficking industry. They couldn't stop accusing each other with stories that didn't match, so they were blindfolded and read. The perpetrator was the guy who talked the most. A quote saying that "it's always the ones with the dirty hands pointing the fingers" seemed to carry weight after all.

The third one was even easier—she thought perhaps Naomasa did it on purpose retain her sanity for the day. It was a twenty-five-year-old male. According to the report case, he was arrested at the town's airport for bringing five kilograms of cocaine. He stated that he didn't know why it was inside of his luggage. She went to read his memories and it wasn't as difficult as Saori—he was a just an ordinary guy from Tokyo who worked here. He went to visit his family over the weekend and got unlucky when someone randomly chose him as their victim. He wasn't lying.

"Ah, please wait…" When she left the interrogation room to write the newest report, she felt a sudden pang in her head and her vision turned hazy. She stopped moving her feet and put some pressure on her right temple with the tip of her fingers, but doing so never helped anyone. Within seconds, the pain became too overbearing that she had to cling onto Naomasa's back.

"Feeling dizzy?" Naomasa held her back with his dominant arm.

"Yes, sorry…" She squinted, attempting to be calm and collected because she knew it'd soon pass. She'd never suffered from a strange headache that attacked her out of nowhere. She'd heard people getting brain freeze from consuming something cold too quickly, but it'd never happened to her either.

"It's the effect of her quirk. Three is her limit for now," Arata speculated. He'd been acting quite uncongenial ever since he met her, but this time he looked kind of worried.

"I think so. Can you still stand on your feet?" Naomasa asked. After she nodded, he helped her walk to his office that was quite far from where they were. As soon as they arrived, she instantly lied down on the sofa with her head on the arm and legs straightened up like she was at her own living room. She felt very frail and ill.

Arata opened a mini fridge at the corner of the room, took a bottle of water, and gave it to her. "I'll get you food and medicine. Please wait."

"Thank you very much…" She lifted her back up and sat on the sofa, opening the lid and chugging down the bottle as she watched Arata excused himself from the room. The freshness of the water helped her little by little, but she needed a long time to fully recover. Just like yesterday, a long sleep would help a lot.

All she heard after was that the report could be done the next day, that they were done for the day, that they were grateful of her help, and that Naomasa would bring her home after she ate. She took a look at the round clock on the wall behind Naomasa's desk. 5:12. He did keep his promise that they'd be done at five, more or less.

"I'm sorry, Tsukauchi-san… Can you please bring me my phone? It's inside of my bag," she plead, closing the bottle and putting it beside her.

Naomasa did what she asked. With a "thank you", she grabbed her phone and went to LINE, tapping on the personal chat between her and Hitoshi. Since they met each other every single day, they barely talked online unless it was necessary. The most common topic written here was that they'd be late for their meetup because of something urgent, and what she was about to write was just adding to it.

Ito Kazuna
4:11 PM Shinsou, I think I'll be done in 30-40 minutes

He must be on his phone because he straightaway read it and wrote back an "okay". And with that, she laid her head back down again.