NPA: National Police Agency
Nakano Kenta
Chapter 10
He walked between the antiseptic and melancholy stinking aisles. When he reached the room he'd been looking for, he gently clicked open the door and stepped inside the confined space of pure white walls.
In the private room, there was a regular size hospital bed and a chair next to it. The thug he had shot was lying in the bed, handcuffed to it and Susa's partner Suzuki was sitting beside him.
"Aomine, what are you doing here?"
The bluette pointed the criminal.
"I came to talk to him."
"Oh, I see. Good timing. Then I'll go wash my face and get some coffee." Suzuki rubbed his tired eyes with the heel of his hands before standing up. "I'll leave him to you."
"Yeah."
Aomine took the vacated seat after Suzuki left the two alone. The criminal was yet to look at him since he'd arrived; blank eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
"I heard you confessed."
The thug didn't reply; Aomine didn't expect him to. He examined the injured man's features. The officer hadn't been sure of the criminal's age as the hood and scarf had covered his face. Now that they were taken off, he turned out to be so young – just a boy in his teens.
"That was a smart move. You made the right call. It'll be taken into consideration and your sentence will be most likely lessened."
The juvenile delinquent turned his head then to glare at the officer, eyes sparkling with fury, loathing and something else Aomine found familiar.
"I didn't do it for-! I don't-!" He took in a deep breath through clenched teeth, "'Course I ain't gonna deny. I don't regret what I did. If I got the chance, I'll do it again. Y'all fucking coppers deserve to die."
Aomine acknowledged his words for a silent moment, face stern but understanding, and then he admitted, "I looked into your file."
The youngster's mouth twitched.
"Nakano Kenta, grew up in an orphanage with a brother older by 4 years, been living in the slums for the last 5 years. Have a record of stealing cars, pickpocketing, mugging, trespassing but nothing close to murder."
The teen returned watching the ceiling as a stubborn crease descended between his eyebrows.
"Then this December, only a couple of months ago, you mixed up in a crime your older brother committed," Aomine saw the widening of his eyes.
"Shut up," the young man whispered.
"It began as a small incident but turned into a big mess. Your brother-"
"Shut up!"
"-messed with 3 drunk cops and was killed in the scene-"
"I said shut your fucking trap!"
"-even though he was unarmed and didn't pose a threat to the officers. He was killed because of the pride of those cops. But it could've been a big damage to NPA's reputation if the incident leaked out to the media, so it was covered up. And those cops walked away freely without a charge."
The teen eyed Aomine in bewilderment.
"How… how can you know?"
"It's a confidential case, been hard to find all the details but I filled in the blanks."
"I thought you were just a cop."
"I was a detective, now I'm just a cop."
The boy gulped and closed his eyes, deleting the swarming emotions from his face. Then he looked at Aomine indifferently.
"So? Who cares if you know? What's your point?"
"I'm saying you're dealing with it in the wrong way." The officer was aware of the rotten parts of the organization he worked for. He knew them better than anyone. He didn't blame Nakano but that didn't mean he agreed with his methods.
The teen fronted him with a feral grin, "Pff, sure you think that. You are just another cop after all." The grin was dropped and replaced with fierce sorrowful lines. "How can you even get-?! My aniki was the only one I knew – only family I ever had! You goddamn coppers have it all good, don't ya? When aniki died—murdered by your kind, no one cared about me and what I said!"
Voice cold, the young man concluded, "There ain't no justice, so I look for my own. You better finish the job you started because I'm gonna kill you and each one of you."
He seemed to expect Aomine to be fazed by his promise but the bluette only raised an eyebrow and snorted. "What the hell? So you kill me and a bunch of cops, then what? You'll be spending the rest of your life in jail. You think you scare anyone? Who gives a shit about an addicted orphan brat from suburbs?"
"Fuck you-!" The teen tried to get up and jump on him, flipped with anger. But Aomine was faster; he pushed the boy to the mattress, pressing on his chest where the wound was. Nakano cried in pain. He struggled with no avail against the officer.
Aomine leaned down and spoke into the thug's ear in a low tone, "Feel this pain? You can't even handle being shot. You're only a dumb helpless kid who couldn't protect his brother. What do you think you can do?"
The teen stopped struggling as his strength drained from his body. Tears trickled from his eyes with a quiet sob. Aomine let go of him and straightened. He stared down at the teen's miserably distorted face.
"You can't do anything and nobody takes you seriously. You know why? You're uneducated, have no clue how the world works, and you don't even have power over your own life because of your addiction. Do you see yourself as an honorable avenger? Out to seek revenge for your brother? What a goddamn fucking funny joke. Even if you join yakuza, you won't be doing what you want. You're pathetic as you are now. And you won't be any different from those cops who killed your brother… if you don't change your way."
The young thug was glaring at him, trembling with hatred, but Aomine didn't budge.
"You're right about one thing, Nakano. If you want justice, you gotta snatch it. Wanna honor your brother? Come see me when you get out. If you still think as you do right now, then I'll give you a shot to kill me. But I'll make sure that'll be your end too. If you do change your mind… I want you to be my informant."
