Disclaimer: Yugi-Oh GX does not belong to me nor its characters or rights over the story.
Warn: This story may have heavy and uncomfortable themes/situations like use of drugs, violence, abuse, sexual harassment, rape, depression, trauma and bad language. If you do not like such, Do not read this.
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Chapter 2: Inquisition
Ryo sits across from a strange man. The room they are in looks like an office of sorts for the academy, the blinders and door are closed shut, there is only him and the other man. He is covered by a mantle the guards gave him, but he still didn't get the chance to change clothes or bat an eye.
The man is using some sort of security uniform, but his way of speaking is that of a detective. He has strict blue eyes, it is written on his face that he wants to put pressure on the student. His fingers are entangled and his elbows supported on the table as his deadly tone refers to the boy.
"Let's go over the facts once more." hearing the silence he continues on his own. "I know we are both tired, but this is important. I'll ask you again: is it true you were near the lighthouse last night? What were you doing there that late?"
"I like to go to the lighthouse during some nights to watch over the waves and the horizon, then I go to my dorm and sleep."
"Can anyone confirm you were there the whole time?"
He sighs deeply and stares at the man, he asks that question again, the man gestures and continues in a calm, yet stern tone, almost sarcastic:
"I am just trying to confirm."
"No, no one was with me. I was alone at that time until I decided to go back, that was when I saw that girl on the edge of the cliff."
"Can you explain what happened then? You said..." he skims through some printed pages and looks at the line, repeating the words "You were going back to the obelisk dorm, and you thought it is strange that someone is there this late, but ignored the fact because the said person had nothing to do with you. This is when you first saw miss Rie Kinomoto"
"Yes. I was about to leave when I heard the sound of the water splashing as if something fell into the ocean."
"Mister Marufuji, you are telling me that miss Kinomoto which my men found crying desperately at the coast, wearing only her underwear and your coat had nothing to do with you, and whoever hurt her, escaped and she decided to attempt suicide, an attempt you prevented by diving into the ice-cold sea to save a girl you don't know or didn't care about at first. Even though the said girl has scratches and bruises as if someone grabbed and forced her wrists. And hell!" he slaps the table with a bang "We both know, they did much more than just that."
He awaits for an answer from the teen that frowns profusely, but remains collected. The tone of the investigator suggests he is testing Ryo's patience, seeing how much he will let go under accusation, however he does his best to answer calmly.
"Yes. I don't know who this girl is, I didn't know her name until you said it."
"Strange, she studied in your class last year from the records I have here. And she came back as third year, in your class too."
"Should I remember the name and face of every student in my class and academy?All I did was jump and take her out of the water because I couldn't stand still after knowing someone jumped off a cliff, only after coming out of the water I noticed something was wrong… It was only a couple minutes before the guards arrived."
"Yes, and you gave her your coat to help. Very gentlemanly."
He can't tell if the last part was genuine praise or if there was a hint of irony. The investigator skims through the pages again.
"Is there anything else to add, Mister Marufuji?"
"What do you mean? I gave my full testimony."
"Did you maybe touch her or thought about it?"
"What?"
"Well, you were there alone, you are young and saw a girl barely clothed before we arrived… We can't know for sure what happened. We could prove someone touched her, but there is no DNA left to conclude who did it. In the end, it will be useless if we can't know who the culprit is." He takes a deep breath, asking earnestly "Did you attempt to rape her, Ryo Marufuji?"
"No! I didn't!" His answer was decisive and a dark dim shadow makes his face look annoyed. "I don't know what happened, but if you think I did something, why not just ask her? It should clear any misunderstandings."
The detective lets out a snort as if he said something funny, and rests the back on the chair, satisfied with the results of the questioning:
"You don't know? She can't speak a single word. We asked her, she can't remember or talk about last night properly. It is common when people have traumas, you know? She most likely won't remember you or any other person she met that night, a self-defense mechanism."
The assertion came as a surprise, Ryo's lips opened in bewilderment, and the detective seemed to get out of him just the right reaction.
His eyes distance from the sight of the man a bit, diverting to the table in between them, confused, the scenes still fresh in his memory. Was the reason she never said anything to begin with because she couldn't speak…? A headache pains him the moment he thinks about it, it just makes it all even more infuriating.
"Surprised? Why? Did she speak to you?"
"N-No. I told I don't know her. She didn't say a word."
"Do you understand now why your testimony is important? We won't get any talking from her, she is mute, by the time her psychologist can tell us something, the criminal or criminals might be out of this island already. But you can tell us what you saw, the truth."
"I already told you what I know."
"Don't lump me in together with those pieces of garbage that would abuse a mute girl!" Are the words stuck in his throat, but he holds it back and swallows them.
"I know, you are the honor student here, I hear. I really want to believe you, but I need to consider all possibilities, it's my job, so forgive my ways of doubting. I guess we went over this many times, didn't we? I'll let you go. I know you have classes and we will request your presence again if we need. Have some rest and we may talk again another day."
He stands supporting his hands on the table, the movement scratches the ground making a loud noise, his mantle falls from his back, he grabs it and quickly folds it, hanging it on the back of the chair. He then turns around and walks a few steps before stopping and looking at the detective again.
"What will happen to… the girl?"
"Are you worried?" He scoffs "You don't need to, she got an extension to her therapy sessions, but she will be fine with time, though she will have a scar for the rest of her life, she will be able to live on. It might affect her comeback to school, but I am sure the school's psychologist will take care of it and we will take care of finding what happened that night and the ones behind her 'wounds'."
"Psychologist..." the word echoes in his mind. "Our school had one…?"
It was not unexpected, but still it gives him the notion of how messed up the whole situation was. With that in mind he breathes deeply, turns around and leaves the room. As he walks through that long and empty corridor, his mind rides on his thoughts.
It is unusual for him to be so ponderative and depressed. He touches his long sleeved black shirt, his steps ceasing right there, the shirt is not wet anymore, but very sandy and it smells like saltwater, he doesn't have his coat and neither he knows what will be of it, but that is not a problem, he has spare uniforms. It is not that what bothers him, but the scene that won't come out of his mind of that girl, she looked completely devoid of life.
He even felt a bit of relief in hearing her cry, because at least he knew she was still alive and there, but it didn't make anything better. It shouldn't matter to him what happened or not, he should concentrate on his duties as a student, but is this really something his mind can ignore? His steps halt, his eyes blink unfazed upon the sight of a familiar face.
"Asuka…?"
She is leaning on a wall, but fixes her posture and approaches him worriedly, her eyes scrutinizing him to check if he is fine, blocking the way ahead.
"Ryo! I was told you didn't come to classes because something happened and you were called by the guards. I never expected you of all people would get into trouble."
"I am not in trouble."
He answers stoically, but his lips curve down subtly after that, she can see the hints of bother in his expression even if they are almost none and his eyes are the same cold, serious eyes of always.
"What happened? You don't look very well… Your face looks a bit… gloom." She reluctantly pronounces the last word.
"I am fine."
He assures, but his tone can't even convince himself. She crosses her arms and sighs looking at him with disbelief.
"You are not even wearing your full uniform, Ryo, tell me, just what happened…?"
"I am sorry if this worried you, I am fine, really. It is just… I am not sure of what has transpired. I couldn't sleep last night, so I will be going to the dorms now. We can talk another day."
Her brows curl upwards wondering what has shaken him so much for him to be in that state, asking for more time, but she nods and steps aside, whatever it is, it makes her sad to watch his proud back going away, that sight feels somewhat lonely.
On the way to the obelisk male dorms, he listens to a familiar voice calling him out of breathe:
"Brother! Wait!"
"Shou?" he turns around, surprised to see the face of his little brother. "What are you doing here?"
"Brother… huf… huf..." he supports his hand on his knees, bending down a bit, squinting his eyes and trying to recover his energy "I..."
"Calm down, breathe before you speak."
"I heard you got called to be questioned by the guards! Is that true? I came here running after hearing that? Did something happen?"
"Shou… No, it's fine, I just happened to be somewhere and witnessed a situation the guards wanted to ask me about."
"Really? Was it nothing serious?!"
"Yes." his lips curve in a smile filled with some fondness as he looks at the brother.
"I'm glad!" he sighs in relief "Oh, I'm sorry for coming so suddenly..."
"That is not a problem."
"I-I'll be leaving now then, s-see you!"
He waves shyly, walking in hurry back to his dorms while the older brother watches with a softer expression, soon that fondness disappears without a trace, giving place to other thoughts with a more dark and depressing tone.
Since then, a week passed by, Ryo catches his attention switching everywhere, looking at the empty seats in the class, at the entrance door of the classroom. But what is he waiting for after all? He never thought those girls who fawned over him were talking more than rumors, but it turned out to be half true…
His expression is calm like the plains, but his heart is determined to go through with it until the end, it is time for him to stop sitting still, waiting for a solution to drop on his lap, and get over with it.
After classes are over he walks towards an unexplored area of the school, one not even him had been to since he first came. Stopping by a door, he knocks.
"You can come in."
Inside that room there is a man with plain looking office clothes and a gentle look on his eyes, it is the psychologist's office. He closes the door after him and watches the surprised expression of the man that adjusts the frameless glasses slightly.
"Ryo Marufuji." he affirms, even though the teen had never seen him once in his life "That is unexpected, do you need to talk something with me?"
"Yes. I wanted to ask a few questions."
"Sure! Sit down, please." he shoves aside some paperwork and points with his hand to the chair in front.
"What is it you wanted to ask me?"
"About Rie Kinomoto."
The man nods as if he had predicted already it was related to the incident and smiles faintly before putting up a blank face in an attempt to not influence his emotions.
"I understand, but I would like you to know that as a professional, I am not allowed to reveal information about any of my patients."
"I know, I only wanted to ask what happened to her. Will she be coming back to the academy as a student or will she not?"
"That is yet to be seen, but she has been through a lot and we will settle that once the moment comes. I am surprised you seem worried, I heard you didn't know her before that day."
"I didn't, but I need to know some things to get a closure on this situation."
"Closure. That is an interesting choice of word. What does that mean to you?"
"Is it true she is mute? I heard rumors, other students don't stop talking that she is mute and has brain damage and this is the reason she couldn't come back..."
"They said this? Whoa!" he seems bothered "No. It is not true, but it is true she can't speak right now. Some people stop speaking after a trauma."
"So she really had problems before too." he puts a hand to his chin, reflecting about it.
"I admire you for worrying about it. You didn't know her, and I know you saved her life, but you don't need to worry too much about her problems. It is good to see there are people like you who care about someone else, I am impressed. It is very noble of you."
"Is it true she had problems after visiting the forbidden dorm?" his eyes and question were sharp, it made the calm expression on the man in front of him falter for a moment.
"Is this also what other students said? This doesn't matter, what is important is to know she is currently in a very delicate state, and those rumors and behavior is all that she doesn't need right now. Do you understand?"
"I see." he gets up without any ceremony "I will be going now. I apologize for taking your time without any previous invitation."
He turns around, the psychologist is amused with his cold demeanor, but stops him with a word:
"Wait!"
Ryo turns around with his inexpressive frown and stares at the man wondering what is the problem.
"Kinomoto-san may come back to the classes next week, but I worry it might be too much for her, especially after that night and hearing from you what the students keep saying, it is worrisome, so when she is back, could you help? I see you are a good person, so if anything happens to her and you notice it is being difficult for her to adapt, you can come and tell me. Don't pressure yourself too much though, just come. I will do my best to help her. Will you do that for me?"
"I won't sit still. I will contact the right authorities if something comes up. Is that all?"
"One more thing, if you need to talk about what happened, you can come to me, I will get some appointments for you too."
"I don't need it, thank you."
His fists clench subtly and he leaves the room with a deeper frown that he had before. He wishes he could've asked more, but it is not like he should be interested in all details of her life just because he saved her once. It's troublesome enough that now he was asked to help again. What is wrong with him barging in like this?
When he is distracted with thoughts, someone passes by him, he only sees the strands of pink hair floating and disappearing from his side, his eyes follow the sight inadvertently. It is that girl, she is accompanied by a man that looks like a guard from school. Her eyes look soulless again. That is right, the reason he is even interested in this whole story is only one:
"If she was in the abandoned dorm and came back without her colleagues, that can only mean she knows something important about it… In that same place Fubuki… Yes, this is the reason I need to get to the bottom of this, if I could only ask her and find out the truth… I need to do this!"
That girl holds the key to a secret that will help him understand what transpired to his long lost friend. He must discover what it is that made her so afraid she can't speak and what happened to all the other people that were there.
With determined eyes he vows to himself to find the truth. Little does he know how dark and dangerous that path he chose will be.