I didn't have the heart to make this chapter any longer. I just wanted to focus on Akane's past alone. This is a violent chapter but I did try to tame it down as much as possible. I tried to only get Akane to share what she went through but not go into too great detail having to relive it.

Chapter 36

"It seems you are a wanted criminal in a small town called Saku. It says here you assaulted a man who ended up in the ICU for a month as a result of his injuries. Care to explain yourself? Or should we just take you into custody now?" Captain Kita seemed quite confident in the information he just laid out. He couldn't know all the details of the situation though since this information had just recently fell in his lap.

It wouldn't matter to him when Akane told him the truth. She sighed. He wouldn't believe her. But she had to try. She had to at least stand up for herself and give him the true facts. "I know you won't believe what I have to say. But, those records are falsified. The papers notate the officer who made the report correct?"

Captain Kita was sure she was about to hand him a bunch of malarkey but still he was intrigued to discover what she was about to tell him. "Yes," he consulted the paperwork once again to find the name. "It was Off—"

"No, don't bother to say his name aloud. I know who it was. It was an Officer Matsumoto Junichi. Does that report also state that he had recently been on medical leave? Does it state his actual job title and rank? I can tell you he wouldn't be in the position to fill out that kind of paperwork. He's not a detective, or at least he wasn't when I knew him." Captain Kita opened his mouth but Akane knew he was about to say some kind of negative response. "Of course it doesn't state any of those things. You should look into the date of his return from medical leave. I think you will find that it coincides with the date that report was made."

"Why do you believe this Officer Matsumoto would falsify evidence against you?" Captain Kita was now more than fishing for a suspect. He was generally concerned for the woman seated in front of him.

Akane sighed. "Look before we sat down here you stated that you didn't want to get into the mumbo jumbo of our paranormal abilities. You stated you didn't believe in all that crap. I can't explain properly unless you at least put some stock into it being possible. Heck, I can demonstrate my ability if you like. I don't like to do that, but if it helps me prove my innocence I will."

Captain Kita groaned and shifted in the not so comfortable office chair. "Fine, what is this supernatural ability of yours?"

Akane shifted her gaze onto Officer Aki. He had been nothing but rude since she had been sequestered into this room with the two policeman. She didn't really enjoy inflicting pain on anyone but neither would probably believe her if she simply put him to sleep. "I do apologize about this but it's the only way I can show you."

Suddenly the younger officer was grasping at his temples. His facial features contorted from the pain he was experiencing. Akane didn't linger long to inflict much more than a pulsing headache before pulling away.

"Aki, are you okay?' Captain Kita asked.

"Yeah, just a crazy headache all of the sudden."

Captain Kita eyeballed Akane. "Are you saying that you caused that?"

Akane felt the corner of her lips turned down. She worried that this would be exceptionally hard to explain. After all, this only explained her ability. She still had to offer up the details about why Officer Matsumoto would falsify evidence to put a target on her back. "Yes, I'm able to inflict injury on others with my mind. I'm sorry I had to use it like that just now. I could have merely put him to sleep but I worried that it wouldn't have quite the impact that giving him a migraine would." She turned to look at Officer Aki. "By the way, I did attempt to only give you a minor headache. I do apologize for causing you even that small amount of pain."

"So, what happened to this Officer Matsumoto? Why does he have it in for you?"

"Well, it's not just the fact that he went on medical leave because of what I inflicted on him. In fact, I don't think he would believe that I was the one that made him feel...ill at ease." Akane didn't want to describe in detail to the officers what she did to the officer in question. She wasn't even completely sure what she inflicted upon him herself. "He was working on a case. Well, he was supposed to be. He was charged with assisting in an investigation against a perpetrator who was raping and murdering homeless women. He isn't high on the pecking order in police rank, more like a beat cop that happened to be charged with keeping an eye out in the areas he was given to patrol." She sighed.

"It was one of those small towns that I was just passing through. I don't tend to stay in one place too long. Because of my ability I don't really require to eat many meals. But at that moment that he came across me I hadn't eaten in a couple days and was starving. I didn't have much money in my pocket. In fact I am pretty sure there was more lint in my pocket than money." She tried to grin at her poor joke. Her attempt to take away the pain from the memory before she completely had to relive it.

"I was looking into the window of a bakery, crumbling the money I had in my pocket within my fist. He caught me off guard when he walked up behind me. I can't recall what exactly was said. I remember him saying I shouldn't be loitering and something about the bakery losing business because of my appearance. I remember my eyes glancing over his badge on his chest and the name on his uniform emblazoned above it. I don't really know why in that moment I had taken those things into account, maybe assuring myself that he was an actual cop and not just hassling me. I am quite glad I did take that moment though."

"I remember frowning up at him. I wasn't pleased that just because I was dirty I had to move away from a shop. I would have been a paying customer, or at least have attempted to be with the little cash I had. But I didn't hesitate long and listened to his instruction. I sadly walked a few steps away. I should have been paying closer attention I guess but he was an officer I shouldn't have had to be afraid of him. I turned and started walking down the alley that ran parallel to the bakery. I think I was hoping to find some stale goods in the dumpster. But I never got that far because suddenly I was thrust against a wall. He must have slammed my face hard into it and broke my nose because I remember blood pouring down my face. I...I tried to fight him off. My abilities aren't good to me unless I can physically see who I am using them on. He was behind me. I..I couldn't see. I...I couldn't fight him. I..I could hear the jangle of his belt buckle. I felt his hands claw up my skirt. I..." Tears began to pour down her face. She hoped that was enough information to let them know what he had done. She didn't want to relive that again.

"When he was done he momentarily lost focus and stepped away from me. I turned around and saw that it was the same cop that had told me to move along. I was his latest victim but I would be the only one to live to tell about it. It was obvious he didn't expect me to regain lucidity so soon. Perhaps he thought bashing my face into the wall had incapacitated me for long enough. I honestly don't completely remember what all I did to incapacitate him through my abilities. I know I gave him a headache ten times as powerful as the one I just gave Officer Aki. I think I also gave him some kind of digestion infection. I was fueled with anger and adrenaline so I was also able to physically knee him in the groin while he was busy coping with the other pains I inflicted upon him." She sniffled again.

"So you are saying that he was charged with watching out for himself? That he was the one that committed those crimes?" Officer Kita actually had grown quite sympathetic to her situation when he had heard her story. But he still had to get all the information before he could outwardly show that he believed her.

She shrugged. "I couldn't say for certain. I know he raped me. I know he wants to keep me quiet. I couldn't imagine why that would be so important to him if I was his only victim."

"How does he even know your name?"

"My ID fell out of my pocket during…" She bit her lip. "I didn't even notice it was gone until later that night."

"Do I want to know how you were able to get it back?"

"I did have to retrieve it by unlawful means but I can promise that I didn't cause him any more pain. I was able to face him eye to eye one more time when I retrieved it. I got away from him easily but not before he threatened to make my life a living hell. I called him all kinds of a monster and basically told him that he had already done that."

Captain Kita couldn't keep from reaching out to grasp her hand and offer her some solace for what she went through. He would still have to look into the details she had shared with him but he wouldn't be turning her into the Saku police. "So, I'm assuming that you also inflicted pain into our recent murder victim and that's how you got away from him."

Akane once again went over how she got away but this time she didn't fear she had to work around her abilities to do so. She confirmed that she caused a migraine in him too but that she had left him unconscious in the room with the hospital equipment. Not where they found him in the pathway leading back to the warehouse. This time the two officers felt more compelled to believe her.

I really wanted to have more Mai x Naru moments in this chapter but it just didn't feel right to add something lighthearted to a chapter full of so much pain.