Author's Notes: Hey everyone, AnotherAnonymooseWriter here. I'm happy to announce that I'm back. I'm still patching up some things, so upload schedule will be a little weird, but I'll be going with a weekly upload schedule, and I will keep it with that until I'm ready to go back to the 4-day upload schedule. With that, please enjoy Chapter 28 :)

(Wednesday, 10:00AM; House; Akihito's PoV)

BEEP BEEP BEEP

I wake up, and turn off my alarm. I set an alarm for today so that I don't wake up late. I get out of bed and do my morning routine. Before heading downstairs, I call Monika. After a few seconds, she picks up.

Monika: "Hello?"

Aki: "Hey, it's me. You ready?"

Monika: "Yeah, I finished getting ready, Natsuki's currently getting ready."

Aki: "She stayed last night as well?"

Monika: "She said that she's scared to go back home. Her father is probably extremely pissed at her for running away."

Aki: "That makes sense. Alright, is it okay if I head to your house in like twenty minutes?"

Monika: "Sure. Want me to save you some breakfast?"

Aki: "That's fine, I'll have it here. Mom's probably made something and she won't leave me alone if I don't eat, heh."

Monika: "Ahaha, alright then. I'll see you soon. Bye, Aki."

Aki: "Bye, Monika."

I cut the call and head downstairs.

Akira: "Aki? Is that you?"

Aki: "Yep."

Akira: "Are you slowly fixing your sleep schedule or something? You never wake up this early on breaks."

Aki: "Heh, I'm actually going on a date with Monika today."

I can't let Mom know what the actual plan is.

Akira: "Didn't you meet her yesterday?"

Aki: "Yeah, I guess she misses me a lot, heh."

Akira: "Ahaha, okay. Would you like some breakfast?"

Aki: "Yes please, I'm gonna be out for sometime. We plan on having lunch outdoors too."

Akira: "Ooh, sounds fun!"

Mom then gives me a plate. On it is some classic bacon and eggs. I quickly eat my breakfast, and head out to Monika's house for the second time this week. Once I reach Monika's house, I knock on the door. A few seconds later, Monika opens the door.

Monika: "Hey Aki! Come on in."

Aki: "Thanks."

I head inside her house and she leads me to the living room. I look around, and Natsuki is nowhere to be seen.

Aki: "Is Natsuki not here?"

Monika: "She's upstairs taking a shower. She'll be here soon."

Aki: "Alright."

Monika: "What's the plan for today?"

I explained to Monika the plan for today, and answered any questions that she had. Just then, Natsuki comes downstairs with a nervous expression.

Monika: "Natsuki? Something wrong?"

Natsuki: "I-I… I can't do this…"

Monika: "W-What?"

Natsuki: "I don't want to lose him like this…"

Monika: "But-"

I place my hand on Monika's shoulder, and she stops talking. She looks at me, and I nod my head to indicate that I will talk to Natsuki.

Aki: "Natsuki, I know you're scared. It's completely fine, really. But we put in a lot of work into this, and as we said yesterday, we don't have another option."

Natsuki: "B-but what if he finds out?"

Aki: "He's gonna find out one day. I mean, we are pressing charges against him, and not small charges. But we're gonna try our best so that he doesn't know until the day he's going to jail."

Natsuki: "I-I don't know-"

Aki: "Natsuki. I care about you. I know it doesn't seem like I show it, but I really do care about you. Seeing you in this state pains me, and I want to help you. I'm sure the rest of the club feels the same exact way. So please, if not for me, then do it for the rest of the club. I promise, you can trust me."

Natsuki starts to tear up, and Monika goes to hug her.

Monika: "It's okay, it's okay…"

Natsuki: "A-Aki?"

Aki: "Yes?"

Natsuki: "I-I want you to promise me something."

Aki: "What is it?"

Natsuki: "Promise me that nothing out of line will happen, and he will go straight to jail."

Aki: "I promise. You won't have to deal with him ever."

Natsuki: "Okay…"

Aki: "Now, today will be scary, that's no doubt. But once we get through this day, we'll be one step closer to our happy ending."

Natsuki: "Yeah… happy ending…"

Monika: "Is something wrong?"

Natsuki: "It's just that… this is what I've wanted… to escape from him… but I can't believe it's actually happening…"

Aki: "It's gonna take some time getting used to it, trust me."

Natsuki: "Okay then… let's go."

Aki: "Alright."

The three of us head to the police station. Once we arrive, one of the people there tells us to wait at a bench nearby. After a few minutes, we are called to the front desk.

Receptionist: "How can I help you today?"

Aki: "U-um…"

Not gonna lie, being here makes me nervous. I can't even bring myself to speak.

Receptionist: "Is everything alright, sir?"

Aki: "Y-yeah. W-we'd like to p-press charges against s-someone."

Receptionist: "You're gonna have to be a little more specific, sir."

Aki: "I-"

Monika: "It's okay. I got it. We'd like to press charges against our friend's father for child abuse."

Receptionist: "Who is the victim?"

Natsuki: "T-that would be me…"

Receptionist: "Alright. And you two are?"

Monika: "We're both friends of her. We found out about her father abusing her recently, so we decided to come here."

Receptionist: "I see. Do you have any evidence?"

Monika: "We have photos."

Receptionist: "May I take a look?"

Monika: "Sure."

Monika then takes out her phone to show the receptionist the photos.

Receptionist: "Yikes, that looks bad. May I speak with the victim in question?"

Natsuki: "O-okay…"

Receptionist: "I'll take you to an interrogation room, where you will speak with one of the officers here. Can you two please wait out here? We will be receiving a witness statement from each of you once we are done with her."

Monika: "Yes ma'am."

Monika and I then sit at the bench we were at earlier, and we watch Natsuki being taken to an interrogation room by an officer.

Aki: "You think she'll be okay?"

Monika: "I hope so…"

Monika leans her head on my shoulder. Bored, I pull out my phone. At least I'll have some entertainment.

Monika: "Whatcha doing?"

Aki: "I was just gonna browse some memes, it'll pass the time."

Monika: "Okay. Mind if I rest my head on your shoulder?"

Aki: "I mean you're already doing it, but I don't care."

Monika: "Ahaha, okay."

Aki: "Plus you'd get mad if I didn't let you."

Monika: "Hey! You don't know that!"

Aki: "Oh really? Alright then, you may not rest your head on my shoulder."

Monika: "Meanie!"

Aki: "Point proven."

Monika: "...alright you win."

I chuckle to myself as Monika rests her head on my shoulder again. After around 10 minutes, Natsuki comes out of the interrogation room with an officer, and they both come towards us. Natsuki looks like she was crying.

Officer: "Okay, may I ask one of you to come with me for a witness statement?"

Monika: "I'll go."

Aki: "Alright."

Monika gets up and follows the officer. Natsuki comes over to where I am, and takes a seat where Monika was. She doesn't say anything for a while, so I decide to lighten the mood.

Aki: "So… what are the answers?"

Natsuki: "H-huh?"

Aki: "They asked you questions right? What were the answers?"

Natsuki: "W-what do you mean?"

Aki: "It's just that I'm super nervous about the test, I don't wanna fail it."

Natsuki giggles a little, which is a good sign. I cheered her up a little.

Natsuki: "Y-you can't fail this, d-dummy. It's not a test."

Aki: "It isn't? Then what did I study for?"

Natsuki: "I guess nothing."

Nice, I managed to lift her mood a little.

Aki: "On a serious note though, are you okay? You seemed like you were crying when you came out."

Natsuki: "I-I'm fine… it's just that, talking about everything and having to remember all that was just…"

Aki: "It's okay, I understand."

Natsuki: "Thanks…"

Aki: "Would you like a hug?"

Natsuki: "Pfft, as if. I don't want your gross hands touching me, I'll let Monika deal with that."

Aki: "Alright alright, it was just a question."

Natsuki: "A stupid one."

Aki: "Fine, a stupid question."

Natsuki giggles a little bit more. I think she's better now. Just then, Monika comes out of the room, and comes towards me.

Monika: "The officer is in the room, they said to call you inside."

Aki: "Alright, wish me luck."

Monika: "Luck? For what?"

Aki: "Heh, just a joke. You can ask Natsuki about it."

Monika: "Okay…"

I get up and head towards the interrogation room. Inside, the officer is sitting at a desk, and there is another chair across from them. I sit down in the empty chair, and try to act calm.

Officer: "Greetings sir, how are you today?"

Aki: "I'm good, how about you?"

Officer: "I'm good, thanks for asking. May I have your full name?"

Aki: "Akihito Yamada."

Officer: "Gotcha, is there any other name you prefer to go by?"

Aki: "My friends call me Aki for short."

Officer: "I see, do you prefer Aki or Akihito?"

Aki: "I prefer Aki, sir."

Officer: "Alright. Well, thank you for coming in today, Aki. Are you nervous?"

Aki: "A little."

Officer: "Don't be. There's nothing to be worried about here. You're simply here for a witness statement, not a victim or assaulter statement. But, since you're nervous, I'll start with some basic questions, just so you can calm down before the actual interrogation, okay?"

Aki: "Okay."

Officer: "So, tell me a little bit about yourself."

Aki: "Well, I'm a senior at high school, and I don't have a job at the moment."

Officer: "What are some of your hobbies?"

Aki: "If I'm being honest, I'm not that interesting."

Officer: "Why do you say that?"

Aki: "Well, my only hobbies are really playing video games."

Officer: "Can you give me a rundown on how your normal day would go?"

Aki: "Well, I wake up at six to get ready for school, go to school and come back at around 4. Once I'm home, I do my homework. If I have some free time, I play some video games. After that, it's dinner and bed."

Officer: "I see. Do you live with your parents or alone?"

Aki: "I live alone in my parent's house."

Officer: "What do you mean by that?"

Aki: "Well, my dad left us a few years ago, so it's just been me and my mom. My mom travels a lot for work, so she barely has any time to be at home."

Officer: "I see. Well, I think we start with the actual interrogation. How do you know the victim? Natsuki was her name, I believe."

Aki: "We're both classmates, and we're in the same after school club."

Officer: "What's the club?"

Aki: "The Literature Club. It's very small, only five members including me. The girl from before, Monika, is the president."

Officer: "I see. How did you come to know about the situation?"

Aki: "Well, one day during the club, Natsuki fell down from a chair and fell on her arm, where I saw severe bruises. I had suspicions that she had the bruises from beforehand, so I asked Monika to talk with Natsuki about it."

Officer: "May I ask why you asked Monika to do it, and not someone else?"

Aki: "Monika is a close friend of Natsuki, so Natsuki would open up to her. Also, Monika is my girlfriend, so I knew I could trust her."

Officer: "I see, continue."

Aki: "After Monika spoke with Natsuki, Monika told me that Natsuki confessed to being abused by her father. Hearing this, I made the decision to come to the police and convict her father of child abuse, after asking both Monika and Natsuki of course."

Officer: "What did they both say?"

Aki: "Well, I first talked to Monika about it, and she didn't like it. But then she took some time to think over it, and decided that that was the only viable decision. She then talked to Natsuki about it, and obviously she didn't like it either. Monika and I tried to convince her, but she was still hesitant. After some talking, she agreed to go along with the plan. After that, we came here."

Officer: "I see, I think I've heard enough. Thank you, Aki. I'll lead you to your friends."

Aki: "Thank you, sir."

We both get up, and the officer leads me to the others.

Officer: "Okay you three, thank you for coming in today. We will look into the situation, and we'll contact you soon."

Monika: "Thank you, sir."

Officer: "You are free to leave."

The three of us leave the police station.

Aki: "Well, that was certainly something."

Monika: "Yeah, you can say that again."

Aki: "You guys want lunch? I'll pay."

Monika: "Sure!"

Natsuki: "Hell yeah, I'm starving."

Aki: "Alright then, let's go."