Chapter 6: (Atsushi's POV)

"I'll be expecting another call from Junichiro soon. At one point when I leave, I'll need you to take over and ask him a couple of questions." Kunikida tells me as we both stood outside the room where Mr. Miyazaki was held. "Even if he refuses, keep asking. Even the smallest answers he could give us could prove to be relevant in our investigation. I'll be outside if you need me, got it?" I nodded in response. "Yeah." Kunikida opened the door Mr. Miyazaki was sitting in a chair facing us, with had his arms crossed against his chest. His eyes shot up as if he was in deep thought, and lock onto us as we walked into the room. "Why am I still here?" He demanded Kunikida as he paid no attention to me. "I've waited long enough. I should be out there looking for my daughter."

"Not yet." Kunikida told him as we both seated ourselves in the two vacant chairs across the table from him. "We just have a few questions to ask you before you're cleared to leave." He says almost in a growl, "If this is about Kaiya, I've already told you, I don't know where she is!" His hand angrily slams on the table in a tightly clenched fist. Though I found myself startled by his outburst, I noticed that his blue eyes slightly glowed, and his teeth began to sharpen and grit as if those of an animal. I quickly turned away just as he found me staring at him, and as if realizing why I was looking, he closes his eyes and mouth, takes in a long deep breath, and let out a sigh as he combs a hand through his white hair. He opens his eyes to us, the glow in his eyes faded as he speaks again in a more composed voice. "Look, I'm very sorry about what happened to your friend, I truly am. But if what you said earlier is true, and if they're dangerous people looking for Kaiya, then that is more of a reason why I need to be out there to protect her and not sit around in here. I have nothing to hide."

"Really?" Kunikida saids this as he opens the small folder he was carrying before. From beside him, I saw that from inside the file, there were only a small handful of pages that were stapled together by the top left corner. As I see him flip through the first couple of pages, he then stops on a page that subheads; Tokyo City Hall Citizen Records. Kunikida reads through the page as he speaks. "According to Tokyo City Hall, although Kaiya records are claimed to be a citizen of Japan, we were not able to find any birth certificates or any education records under her name to back up that statement. Do you have any idea why?" Looking up from the folder, he waited for Mr. Miyazaki's response.

"For starters, Kaiya is homeschooled." Mr. Miyazaki explains. "Due to her Tuberculosis, I found that it was risky for her to go to any public schools because of her occasional coughing fits and the air pollution that was preventing her from breathing properly. We take trips outside the city to the countryside so that her lungs could recuperate and breathe in a cleaner environment. However, for the birth certificates, the caretakers at the foster home she lived in claimed that her birth certificates were intact and kept on record, but at the time, I didn't confirm their claim so I was not aware that they were not. I don't understand why are those matters relevant?" Kunikida's brow slightly cringed into a frown, which I thought was a little strange. It was almost as if he was expecting a different answer from him. Kunikida's expression softened, he regained his composure. He gets out of his chair and begins to slowly walk around the table, with a folder still in hand. He asks, "Then about her disease…"

"What about it?" Mr. Miyazaki asked, looking at Kunikida raising an eyebrow in response. "It's just that there were no medical files under her name that regard to her being diagnosed with Tuberculosis." Mr. Miyazaki scoffs as he answers, "That's because we don't go to hospitals in Tokyo. Since I own a small clinic and have a medical degree, I have always been able to handle her illness myself. However, only if Kaiya was experiencing more serious symptoms like chest pains or heavy breathing, we go to hospitals for checkups." He continues explaining, adding on and on to the question as I sit there silently listening, while also eyeing Kunikida who wore a dark expression. I couldn't figure out what was happening in his brain.

From what I am able to gather from Mr. Miyazaki's statements, most of what he explained was well detailed and seemed to make some sense since I know very little about Tuberculosis. However, in the way, he talked to us… I don't know, it was like he was too… 'careful' with his answers. His natural and calm tone of voice almost sounded as if it were forced, and though the answers and reasons he has given us sounded rational, they were somehow a little too hard to believe.

Abruptly forcing me out of my thoughts, Kunikida madly slams the folder down on the table in between me and Mr. Miyazaki. "If all you're gonna do is keep spitting lies in our faces, then how about coming up with one that explains why Kaiya's record states that she has been dead for two years!" He yells at Mr. Miyazaki who only widens his eyes in response. I was frozen in shock and baffled by his claim. What was he talking about? Kunikida then noticing my face. He then saids to me, his voice returning to a serious tone. "I didn't want to tell you earlier kid, but when we called Kaiya's previous foster home for her adoption papers, and they claimed that she died in a fire outbreak that happened over two years ago."

From underneath his hand where he slammed down on the table, I see that the folder was showing a different page. A picture of Kaiya was on the top left-hand corner of the page, with small details of her profile written beside it. Upon squinting at the small writing that was just barely showing between Kunikida's long boney fingers, I noticed the text next to the date of her birthday. I felt my face go pale and my heart sink as I see what was written;

Born 12/4/04 - Died 17/6/19.

"She was never adopted," Kunikida continued. "and she was never diagnosed with Tuberculosis. After we collected the blood sample from the alleyway from the café earlier this morning, we put it through a DNA scan and found that there are no hospital records of any kind that are under her name." I lift my head up back to Mr. Miyazaki, who was also looking at the folder as Kunikida raised his hand for him to see. His eyes slightly narrow irritably as he saw closely what was written on the page. "Is there anything more about Kaiya that you want to tell us?" Kunikida asks him, sounding as if this was Mr. Miyazaki's final warning. "Well, that all depends." Mr. Miyazaki said, his voice turning dark. "Do you think Kaiya was responsible for what happened? If your answer isn't good, this is all I haft to say." Kunikida's face looked as if he was about to burst out screaming as I vividly see a small vein pop in the middle of his forehead. Intense silence fell between them as they both glared threateningly into each other's eyes. It was like they were both waiting to see what the other person would do or say next. Kunikida huffs, almost in a way that can you see fumes coming from his nostrils as he slowly says to him deeply. "Either you talk, or I'll—"

Then cutting off from Kunikida and making me jump a few inches off my chair, there was a vibrating sound of a phone coming from Kunikida's pocket. "Aren't you going to get that?" Mr. Miyazaki asks, a small smirk appeared on the corner of his lips. He looked as if knew that was going to happen. Clicking his tongue irately at Mr. Miyazaki's remark, Kunikida reached into his back pocket and pulled out his flip phone. 'That must be Junichiro.' I thought. Seeing him read the screen, his eyebrows narrow and he grips the phone in his hand as I hear him curse under his breath. 'Guess it is him.' He slightly eases his grips and clears his throat before turning his head to me. "I'll be right back." He says to me. Walking to the door, he gives Mr. Miyazaki one last threatening glare before opening the door and closing it as he steps outside. Now, with Kunikida gone to answer Junichiro's call, me and Mr. Miyazaki were both left alone together in the room in silence.

I was supposed to start questioning him as Kunikida said, but I didn't know what to say. After hearing all that, I was speechless. I grabbed the folder that was left wide open on the table and looked through her profile. I checked it, then double-checked, but to no avail, I saw that Kunikida was right. Kaiya's birth info was labeled, 'deceased', and there was certainly no other known record that was under her name. I was confused, and I couldn't make sense of what I was reading. All of what Kunikida said, about Kaiya being dead and her profile data being false, made me question my beliefs on Kaiya. I thought that had a clear impression of her as a kind and shy person, but now I don't know if I should even trust the feeling I had to think she was innocent for what happened with Ranpo. I glance over from the folder to Mr. Miyazaki, who was just looking down at the table and avoiding having any eye contact with me. We sit there for a few minutes more in awkward silence as I tried deciding what my next move should be.

'What should I say?' I didn't know how I should play this out or what kind of questions would be appropriate to ask him. I then heard Mr. Miyazaki's voice cut through my train of thoughts and heard him say, "Do you what happened?" I realized that my eyes were staring in this direction the entire time I've been thinking, and I had misheard the question he asked me. His blue eyes look at me in a steely expression, but not one that was intimidating. "I-I'm sorry?" I asked him, my voice sounding slightly shaking for some reason. "Before Kaiya ran away," He clarified, making his question more clear. "do you know what happened?"

"I…I don't. Sorry." I mean I do know what happened to say, more or less, but I wasn't sure if I should tell him since I didn't really know the full story of what happened. I didn't know what to say, or how to answer his question without making it sound as if it was Kaiya's fault. "Hmm." Mr. Miyazaki gives me an unreadable look before averting his eyes from mine. Moments passed in silence. I was getting a little impatient and wanted Kunikida to come back so that this awkward tension would finally end. For all, I know he could be standing right outside the door and finishing the phone call right now. 'No.' I unconsciously told myself. 'Sitting here and waiting for him isn't going to help find Kaiya. You can worry about the facts later. Right now, you need to say something. Anything.' I cleared my head and began to speak as I tried not to make myself sound forced. "Mr. Miyazaki—"

"No need for formalities." He tells me, cutting me off. "Please, call me Howl." Howl. He looks at me with a cold glare as I continued from where I left off without taking my mind to his sudden request. "I don't want to be blunt, but is there a reason why you won't cooperate with us?" In response to my question, he scoffs under his breath and turns away from me to avoid eye contact. Not really letting it bother me, I continued. "All that we are doing is so that we can help Kaiya. However, we can't do that if you continue to detest us and stay quiet about what you know."

"There are some things that aren't meant to be said." Howl mumbles in a volume that was loud enough for me to hear, as he still did not meet his eyes with mine. "The more that you don't know the better." That was the same thing he said earlier about Kaiya's ability. "I don't understand what you hope to achieve or gain by detesting us like this," I said to him in a low mumble. "Well, maybe it's best if you didn't understand." He says to me in a growl, turning an eye to me almost threateningly. "If I was out there right now, I would be able to find her in no time at all and we'd already be gone. We should have never come to this city. This crap was all for nothing."

"What do you—" Bust just as I was about to ask what he meant, I was once again cut off by him as he stands up from his chair and slams a closed fist on the table. "I MEAN THAT I KNOW THAT OSAMU CAN'T HELP KAIYA!" He yells, his voice sounding as of a roar. I nearly leaped out of my seat startled as I got out of my chair and moved a few steps away from the table. Howl looks at me, and again I could vividly see his eyes show off a dim glow. After taking a few breaths, he closes his eyes and sits back down on the chair looking down on the table as he combs both hands through his strains of white hair. "Your President and explained everything to me." He said to me, in a voice that was contrite. "I had… a feeling, that it would turn out this way. We were fools in believing those rumors."

"If you already thought they could've been fake, why did you come all this way?" I asked him. "Kaiya." He told me, his voice becoming less stern and more hurtful. He sighed deeply as he continues, "All that she ever wanted…was to live a normal life. She never favored her gift to be anything special. When we heard the stories, about the gifted user that can remove an ability with a touch, she thought that maybe this would have been her chance to have a normal life. She wanted me to come with her, and I knew that I couldn't let her come here alone." My chest slightly tightening. "You really care about her don't you?" I asked. "I do." He replies, a sad smile appearing on his face, similar to the one he gave Kaiya from earlier. "Very much."

"Then if you care about her, do you really think that what you're doing right now will make things any better than what they already are now?" I ask him, feeling my heart beating at a strong pace. Howl was about to snap something back at me in response, but I cut him off as I continued pressing on without thinking it through. "Do you think that by sitting here, you think everything's gonna turn out okay because you think you're doing the right thing? Kaiya is out there on her own, probably scared because of what has happened. Some of us think that the explosion was her fault while few believe that it was all just a misunderstanding. With Kaiya running away and with you refusing to tell us anything, you're only making us further assume that she really was the culprit. Although you think that we are the enemy, remember the Port Mafia agents looking for her all over the city and ask yourself again if this is going to help Kaiya."

I give out a rough sigh as I finished, I sounded as if I had run a marathon. Howl looks at me with an astonished look on his face, his eyes widened and astounded. He looks away from me as we once again fall under still silence. We were like that for a few minutes, and I slowly started thinking that I made a very big mistake with my outburst. I was way out of line, and I had let my emotions get in the way of my questioning. I couldn't stop the words that came. "Do you think that she did it?" Howl then asks, looking at me through the strains of his white hair that dropped over his right eye. It felt as if he was asking me what I was thinking about the entire time about Kaiya. "I don't think she did." My lips moved on their own and I replied, but only just hesitantly. "How do you know?"

A moment of silence passes as I was in deep thought, and asking myself the same question. After the short period of time I've spend knowing Kaiya in person and after what I'd come to learn from the intel from Junichiro, I honestly still had no idea what to think or what I should believe. Was this really all a misunderstanding, or is Kaiya someone who was dangerous, and maybe someone I shouldn't trust? I looked through Howl's steel cold eyes and finally answered. "I don't really know. I mean— I don't have a straightforward reason as to why I believe she is innocent, but there also isn't any evidence that she caused the explosion, plus what would be her motive for doing so after waiting for so long to see Dazai. I don't know if it is because I relate to her in some way or because I pity her for all she went through with losing her parents, but I think the only other reason I would have for thinking this… Is because I genuinely think that she's not that kind of person. But even if there wasn't a reason at all, I still think that she would need to explain her side of the story before we could assume that she is to blame for what happened."

I finish, and we once again went back into a moment of silence. I turned my head to the wall and away from the observant stare Howl gave me, thinking that my answer was probably not satisfying for him to believe. However, after a minute, he finally responds. "7 questions." He saids bluntly. Confused and stunned, I look back at him just as he turns his eyes away from me to the wall where I was looking to. "I'll answer only 7 questions, so pick carefully. Got it?" I quickly nodded, and sat back down in my seat, feeling almost a little eager. A part of me thought it would be wise to wait for Kunikida to come, but another part of me was impatient and was just wanting to know more about Kaiya out of curiosity.

However, I had to pick my questions carefully, just like how he warned me. I assumed that he would be careful of answering his questions without giving too much away, so I had to be more specific with my questions and hopefully get more detail out from his answers. I decided to keep track of each question as I was the first to ask along. The first question I had come to mind, was the very first thing I wanted to know.

First Question. "Can you tell me why her profile claims that she is… deceased?" I hesitantly asked, swallowing a small lump in my throat. "It's because they thought she was dead." He replies to me, his voice low and straightforward as his blue eyes look into mine. "No one ever thought to look for her body after the fire cleared down." Second Question. "If Kaiya wasn't adopted, then can you explain how you both met?" I then asked. Howl nods. "Two years ago after Kaiya's parents died in a car accident, she was transferred into the system." He explains, "At that time… I was living on the streets after losing my job and getting kicked out of my house. I had to make a new home in an abandoned warehouse out of nothing, and find small jobs every day that would earn me a little money so I could buy food." He sighs before continuing. "One day when I was walking around the neighborhood, I found her alone, cold, and starving from days without food or water. I took care of her till she was back to health. She told me everything about her parents and the fire. I was gonna maybe find a police station to bring her to or tell her to just go back, but in tears, she urged me to let her stay."

"Why?" I asked, the question came out of the mouth without me even thinking, and I was compelled to know. "Because she was the one who started the fire." From the door, Kunikida walks in back into the room and saids this as if on cue. He looks past me and straight at Mr. Miyazaki with a serious expression that only showed a small bit of empathy. "Didn't she?" Third Question. "It was an accident…" Howl's stoned face that he gave Kunikida faded into a wounded expression as if what Kunikida was inquiring was partly true. "She told me that the other kids at the home bullied her ever since she got there, and the staff did nothing about it to help her or stop them. On the night of the fire, they ganged up on her. They hit her, kicked her, all while she screamed for them to stop. Then her ability acted up, and things immediately went out of control. She didn't know how it happened, but the next thing she knew, the home was on flames and was burning down to ashes. She was afraid of hurting everyone else if she continued to stay there, and after I found her, she's lived with me since." I was flabbergasted about what I was hearing. I never would have imagined that Kaiya was living that kind of life. Growing up on the streets? Running away? When I think about things like that, I probably would have done the same thing if I was still living at my old orphanage today. Howl's eyes averted mine in remorse, and my chest tightens as I felt sympathy for both him and Kaiya.

"So for the past year, everyone thought that Kaiya died in the fire when really she was still alive after all." Kunikida stated, clarifying only a little of what was explained. It was like he was only listening to half of the story. He continues, "I don't get it though if it all was an accident, why didn't you both just go to the police and try explaining it to them?" Fourth Question. "You think we didn't try that." Howl grumbles as he shakes his head. "When I first brought the idea up, Kaiya was still scared that she would hurt anyone that tried coming too close to her, so she refused. At one point in time, we decided to give it a try, but her ability started acting up halfway and we couldn't afford to cause a scene in a public setting. Since Kaiya didn't know how to properly control her gift, people who've probably assumed that she was using it recklessly and I was afraid of her getting looked at the wrong way. The only thing that we thought we could do was to try and find some kind of way to control or erase her ability."

Fifth Question. "Did you at least figure out why her ability would act up like that?" Kunikida asked. "More or less," Howl mutters in response, tilting his head left to right. "After she started living with me, we both practicing in abandoned parks, old train tunnels, and warehouses, to see if she can try controlling her ability. The attempts were dangerous and they were always unsuccessful. Around half the time Kaiya would sometimes lose control and afterward, she would spend hours refusing to do it try it again. Though we didn't make much progress in controlling her ability as we wanted, she was able to control only a little of her gift that was not too risky to manage. I realized that the more she was afraid of her ability, the more stronger and dangerous it was to control. To put it simply, her gift is conducted by her emotions, or whether she is in a state of fear, sadness, and maybe even anger."

Then if her ability is triggered emotions like fear, does that mean she was scared around the time when she was with me or Ranpo? I coughed to clear my throat as I then asked him, "If you don't mind, I would like to ask a question about her ability." He nods in approval of my request. Sixth Question. "Be honest with me. From what you've told us, is Kaiya's ability really as dangerous as you say?" Howl hesitates at my question for a moment, but he answers, his voice sounding grave. "Her ability is not dangerous, but it appears to be like that even though we know very little about it." His response was not very accurate to the answer I was hoping for. We only had one more question left remaining. If Kaiya can't properly control her gift could that have meant that she was the culprit who starts the explosion? But could have either been an accident, or deliberate?

I would have asked him to give a more detailed answer about Kaiya's gift, but I thought that we may haft to use the last question for something more important. It was a tough call to make still. His finally answering some of our questions with this arrangement was somehow manageable and we were making remarkable progress with what Howl had told us. "Although we gradually appreciate you confessing to everything about Kaiya," Kunikida then said abruptly, eyeing Howl with an intimidating and suspicious look. "we still need to discuss another topic on the case. The case about you."

I turn to Kunikida with a questionable glance. "The call from Junichiro." He saids to me, "He told me that though there were able to find some intel on Kaiya when we asked for Mr. Miyazaki's profile, they said that they weren't able to find any. No job records, no license, no medical degree, not even any citizen certificates under his name or description in their database." He looks back to Howl. "As far as the Special Operations Division is sure of, 'Howl Miyazaki' doesn't exist." I look at Howl, who only turns his head away from me with a scornful look on his face. Kunikida walks to him as he places a hand on the table beside him. "I believe you owe us one last question." He saids to him intimidatingly, as he leans towards his face. "I'll ask you this once, who are you really?" Seventh Question.

Silence filled the room as my thoughts froze, waiting for what kind of answer Howl would give us. However, just as his mouth opened and he was about to speak, a loud ringtone abruptly goes off. It was coming from Kunikida's pocket. I thought at first it might have been his phone again, but the ringtone that was resinating sounded different from the one I heard earlier. "Is that my phone?" Howl asks leaning his head to look at Kunikida's pocket, then to him with a glare. Ignoring his question and his glare, Kunikida pulls out a phone, a light blue one that wasn't his which was his. He flips it open with a finger as his eyes scan the screen. "It's her." He tells us, holding the phone out to show us. The screen read; 'Kaiya.'

"Please, let me talk to her." Howl pleaded, raising out of his chair and to his feet as he places both of his hands on the table. "Your request is denied," Kunikida said, putting a hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down in his seat. "You're still under questioning. Atsushi, you answer it." As he said this, he tosses the phone to me and I barely catch it just as it nearly slips from my hands. I pressed to answer, and I held the phone up to my ear, where on the other end I could hear the sound of heavy panting. "Kaiya?"

"A-Atsushi!" I hear Kaiya speak into the phone, her voice stuttered, sounding as if she was frightened by something. Even though she had only said my name, I immediately start to feel small hairs rise from the back of my neck. "I need your help, I-I'm being chased by— …*beeep*…" The phone goes silent and I no longer hear her voice. "Kaiya?" I speak into the phone expecting her to respond. "Kaiya?!" Hearing no reply, I spoke a little louder, but the phone was dead silent. I hang up the phone and I see Kunikida standing beside me next to Howl, who looks at me with distress. "What happened?" He demanded with a breathless tone. "I'm not sure," I replied. "She picked up, but then the call disconnected." Kunikida suggested, "Try calling her again." But I was already dialing her contact and pressing the call button again and then placed the phone to my ear. I waited for the other end to answer, as I could hear it continues to ring, and I began feeling as if something bad had happened to Kaiya. I finally hear the call answer on the receiver's end, but I stopped mid short from saying her name as I hear a different voice speak through the phone."The person you are trying to call is currently unavailable. Please leave a message after the 'beep' or try calling again later…*beeep!*…" I hung up the phone as I slowly lowered the phone from my ear and turn to Kunikida and Howl. "…Nothing," I told them. "It was sent to voicemail." I felt my voice shaking at that last part before I had stopped speaking. Something was wrong.

"What is it?" Kunikida asked, instantly noticing my hands tremble as one of them grips around the phone that were still in my hand. I told them both what I heard, my voice shaking with an unwanted quaver. "She told me that she was being chased…I think she was—" Just then, a very loud and forceful knock pounded against the door. I felt my heart skipped a few beats. Geez, again? "Come in." Kunikida calls to the door. It opens, and Yosano, who was looking more well-rested than when I saw her in the last hour stood by the door's frame. "Guess who just walked in?" She asked us almost as if it were a rhetorical question. However, before anyone could answer, a familiar voice called out to us from in the hallway. "Hey, Kunikida~!" Yosano, moving aside from the door and opening it widely for all to see enters Dazai, staggering into the room almost stumbling just as Yosano catches him. He looked as if he were drunk senseless. "Sorry that I'm late~!" He wails, waving his arm at the three of us.

As if like a kettle that bursts, Kunikida briskly storm over to Dazai with heavy steps, and takes ahold of him by his shirt collar, shaking him hard and yelling madly in his ear. "WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS, AND YOU FINALLY SHOW UP NOW?!" He said a couple of other cursive things, but I ignored it while sighing to myself. 'I should have seen this coming.' I glance at Howl, who is just sitting there with his eyes widened, and it was obvious that he was surprised by watching this, but maybe even a little confused. Taking in a long breath when he was finished, Kunikda blasted into Dazai's ear again with more rage in his voice, "WHERE IN THE HELL WERE YOU ALL DAY?!"

"What do you mean~?" He asked Kunikida, his voice sounding dopey and his eyes widening with insanity. "I've been here the entire time~." Me and Kunikida look at Yosano, who gives us an annoyed look as she responds. "I found him while passing the storage room. His feet were tied together and he was hanging upside down from the ceiling." She explained. "I think the man may have lost some brain cells. He told me that he did it himself, and he also said something about, 'reaching enlightenment? I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders as Kunikida looks back to Dazai, still not quite getting the entire picture.

Dazai then tells us with a goofy smile, "You see, last night I was experimenting with a new SUICIDE TECHNIQUE!" He explains this, sounding like the whole ordeal was fun, like a kid waking up on Christmas morning. "Hanging upside-down can deplete lungs of their oxygen whilst the blood from my body redirects itself to my brAIN—" Before he could even finish his sentence, Kunikida was shaking his neck up and down by the collar of his shirt once again. "YOU THINK I GIVE A DAM ABOUT YOUR ATTEMPTS FOR AN EARLY GRAVE!?" He yells into his ear as his grip on Dazai's shirt tightened around his fist. "JUST DO YOUR JOB SO I DON'T HALF TO!" ('That's just like them.' I thought.) "Excuse me?" Howl's voice cut through the constant yelling, and we all turn to him as Kunikida also stops shaking Dazai so as to hear what Howl wanted to say. He continued, "Sir, are you Dazai Osamu?" At the mention of his name, Dazai shot his head out of the limping state Kunikida held him in as he flashed a debonaire smile. "That's my name~" He sang in response before his drunk-like expression changed into a confused blank stare. "I'm sorry, am I suppose to know you?" Kunikida groaned, "No you're not." He let loose of Dazai's shirt collar as he straightened himself back up. "Earlier he and his daughter came to ask for your assistance. To put long stories short, all the events that have transpired and lead up to this moment are entirely your fault."

"Really?" Dazai looks back at Howl with an astonished glance, (by now he probably was already out of his absentminded state and was now back to reality.) "I am sorry you had to go through all of that trouble to see me." He saids this, approaching Howl as he extends his arm and hands it out to him. "Although due to the situation with your daughter missing at hand, as soon as she is found I can help with whatever need you requested me for as soon as this is all settled." He holds his hand out as if waiting for a shake. Howl did lift his hand and was almost about to touch his, but he pulled away as if he just remembered something that he wasn't supposed to do. "Um, thank you." He mumbles, but only just loud enough for the three of us to hear. "Your offer is appreciated, but I don't think we will no longer be asking for your services at this point." Dazai mildly reacts to Howl's response with confusion written on his face. "Dazai, we need to talk a moment." From behind Dazai, standing at the door, I see Yosano whispering something to Kunikida just before he called Dazai over to leave. He follows Yosano out the door and Kunikida turns to me. "You as well Atsushi." He adds turning his eyes to Howl and gives him a final glare before I exit the room with him following behind me. We only walk into the next room which was a recording station for the interview room Howl sat in. It only had a few chairs, a table full of taping equipment and monitors, and also a dark tinted window that looked into the room where Howl sat on the table looking on the table almost downhearted.

"We got word from the search teams," Yosano tells us, as Kunikida closes the door behind me, Dazai sits himself down in a vacant chair beside Yosano as she continues. "They say that they still haven't found her yet. We heard that in the nearby market district, some people claimed that they saw a girl matching Kaiya's description run out onto the street and nearly got hit by a truck. She wasn't hurt, but afterward, she ran away towards the port. We sent the teams out there to look, but so far they turned up with nothing. It's almost as she disappears from the face of the city." Kunikida and I exchanged knowing looks before he turns back to Yosano. "It's funny that you bring that up." He saids, "We think something may have happened to her."

"How do you know?" Dazai (who has by now has gotten a hold of his senses) asks, turning his eyes from Kunikida's to mine. Straightaway, we told them about what Howl has told us in the interview and also the call that came in from Kaiya. How she sounded scared, mentioned being 'chased' by someone, and how she didn't respond when we tried calling her back. Yosano for some reason thought that she may have deliberately cut off the call to make us assume she was in trouble, or that she was only trying to get them off her trail by getting rid of her phone. "I was afraid it wouldn't come to this," Kunikida said to Yosano and us as he leans himself against the wall by the dark window into the next room. "but we may need to assume the worst of the situation. Kaiya has been missing for 3 hours, with no signs of her being found, and with the report you've told us, we can only estimate that the Port Mafia has abducted her in their custody." Like Yosano, I didn't want to believe the fact either. The way Kaiya spoke through the phone, her voice trembling with beseech and the way the call cuts off has 'help' written all over it.

"Hang on though," Dazai spoke up to Kunikida, canceling me from my thoughts. "I know it's a little late to ask, but since when did you knew that Mr. Miyazaki had a phone?" I and Yosano turn to Kunikida (as we slightly wondered the same thing.) "I had it on me before we started the interrogation." Kunikida explained, "After the meeting ended, I went through his belonging and found that he had a phone with him. I looked through it and I was able to find Kaiya's contact. I tried calling, and she didn't answer, so I left a voice message telling her to come back to the agency. I thought that holding onto the phone would be a good idea in case she called back, so I had it on me." Yosano looked at him in disbelief. "And you didn't bother bringing that up until now?" She asked, her eyes narrowing with annoyance. "At the time we were in a hurry and I didn't think you knowing about it would be relevant." He replied bluntly. Yosano's face disfigured into a pissed expression and almost looked as if she was about to lunge at Kunikida. Then Dazai stopped her mid-short, just as she was about to take a foot forward. He asks, "Just asking out of curiosity; in the message, what did you say exactly? No details left out please." A mischievous smirk was plastered on his face as he added to that last bit. I could tell what Dazai was thinking. He thought that Kunikida may have probably said something to Kaiya that might have made her not want to come back instead of the opposite. But Kunikida wouldn't do something like that. Sure he's… but he wouldn't say… ('…Would he?')

Kunikida clears his throat as he explains, "I told her that for her own safety she needed to come back to the agency." He then stopped for a moment, so I assumed that that was it, but he continued, "I also told her that due to the situation, she could be a danger to public safety if she wouldn't come back and that Mr. Miyazaki would be in our custody until she did." The room then went silent. The tension in the air around us literally screamed 'Is he for real?'. I didn't know if I was the only person thinking this, but it was as if Kunikida was that unbelievably oblivious. He looks at each of us with a confused look. "What is it?" ('Oh god, he's serious.') "Um, Kunikida." I then began, trying to find the right words so as to put them down. "Don't you think saying that part about 'her being a danger to the pubic' would have been a little too… straightforward?" He raises an eyebrow. "I don't follow." He replied, he looked confusingly honest with his answer, and I was stunned.

"You are oblivious," Yosano mutters, putting a hand over her face. "Now we know for certain; you are terrible with kids."

"Teenagers especially," Dazai adds, a playful smirk slightly spreading into a little wider.

Just as Kunikida was about to say something back at Dazai's comment, there came a knock on the door. Yosano, who was the closest, opened the door wide for us all to see, and I could hear all our breaths seize as our eyes widened in astonishment. "Ranpo!" I exclaimed without thinking. "Your awake!" Standing in front of the door, barefoot whilst leaning against a single crutch, was Ranpo, wearing his brown hat and still in the blue hospital robe. Although there didn't appear to be anything wrong with any of his legs, he could've been using the crutch to help him move around since he was lying in bed for several hours and could barely walk.

Ranpo then gives me an annoyed frown, looking at me as if I had said something offensive (or most likely in his word; 'something stupid.') "Well, I'm not dead if that's what you're implying." He said to me in a distasteful tone as he struggles to walk into the room with his crutch holding him up. Yep, that's Ranpo alright. I let out a sigh of relief. At this point, I didn't even care what kind of remark he gave me. I was only glad that he was alright. "What are you doing?" Yosano then said, rushing to him just as he almost stumbled, but luckily manages to gain his balance. "I told you to stay in bed. You're not cleared to walk around yet." Ranpo clicked his tongue turning his head away from her arrogantly in response. "And when by chance were you going to tell us that he was awake?" Kunikida asks Yosano, crossing his arms on his chest while giving her a serious glare. "Well it's not like the news slipped my mind," she replies in a mumble. "Before running into Dazai in the storage room, I was on my way to tell you both. He only just woke up and he could barely walk, so I told him to stay in the infirmary while I went to get you guys." She then turns to Ranpo. "Anyway, as I said, you shouldn't be up in the condition you're in. You need to return to the infirmary for a proper examination."

"Hold on," Kunikida then exclaimed, stopping Yosano just as she grabbed ahold of Ranpo's robes sleeve and pulled him towards the door. "Ranpo was the last person to see Kaiya before the explosion. He is a key witness who knows what happened, so he may know something." Seeing Kunikida's point, Yosano realized Ranpo as he shrugged her off his shoulder. "Tell us what you know." Kunikida told him. "Kaiya is innocent." Ranpo saids in a low voice after a few moments as his eyes didn't have contact with his. "The explosion wasn't her fault, but…" Ranpo's voice trails off just as his eyes and head turned to the tinted window, and look straight in Howl's direction. "What did he tell you?" He asks Kunikida, not taking his eyes off the window. Without questioning or hesitation Kunikida told him informality, "Only a few things. It turns out he didn't adopt her from the orphanage. We found out that Kaiya runaway after she had burned down two years ago due to losing control of her ability. She doesn't have Tuberculosis as we thought, and although we were able to get some decent information off of Mr. Miyazaki, there are still other areas that we failed to talk over with him, like Kaiya's no-existing birth certificates. Not to mention we still haven't gone to figure out why we weren't able to find any known records on Mr. Miyazaki either."

Kunikida told Ranpo about everything else that went on in the interview and handed him the folder. Ranpo still didn't remove his eyes away from Howl without batting an eye, and it was hard to tell if he was listening to a word Kunikida had said. To me, it was strange and almost scary, I've never seen Ranpo act like this before. Never have I ever seen him so focus or his face so dark. Was there something about Howl that saw but I didn't? After Kunikida finished, without turning to any of us, as his eyes were still fixated on Howl, Ranpo saids in a serious tone, "Let me in to speak with him." Kunikida, Yosano, and I didn't exchange looks, but I could tell that all our eyes were wide with aghast and our jaws slightly open while Dazai, who was only standing a little aways besides me, didn't show much of a reaction at all. His face was mutually serious as he stared straight at Ranpo and asked in a deep voice, "Can you tell us your reason?"

"I know why he's lying to us," Ranpo replies to him in a mumble. "Before the explosion occurred, I used my Ultra-Deduction, and I saw… things. Bits and pieces of a life Kaiya had forgotten. Kaiya is not the culprit, she's the victim, not me. The reason Kaiya is unable to control her gift is that she's not the one pulling her own strings. I know that I'm not making much sense explaining this, but I need you all to trust my instincts on this. The only way that we can find out what we are dealing with, is if you let me in with him." Kunikida was about to protest to his request, but was stopped by Dazai, who places a bandaged hand on his shoulder as he slowly shakes his head and wearing a serious frown. It was as if he was saying that he— or any of us shouldn't question Ranpo's choice. Kunikida withdrew from what he was going to say as he shrugged it off, and Yosano, who also saw Dazai's memo to Kunikida, stood there silently. "Atsushi, help me out." He orders as he slowly staggers and skids towards the door with his crutch as I quickly walked to the door. Dazai, Yosano, and Kunikida only stood there silently as the three of them watch us leave the room. (I didn't know why, but I guess Ranpo needed someone to open the doors since both of his arms were already occupied with trying to hold onto his crutch.) We entered the interview room, and as Howl looked up at us, his face widens in shock as he sees Ranpo enter in his robe and crutch. "Are… you the one who was with Kaiya?" He asked. Ranpo didn't reply to his questions, nor did he even look him in the eye as I helped Ranpo into the chair and put his crutch against the side of the table. With him no longer fixing his eyes at Howl as he did in the next room, I found it a little odd. Howl's face turns to dismay and I feel a little mad at Ranpo for not being polite in answering, although I could kinda guess he wouldn't want to speak because of what happened between him and Kaiya.

I sit in the chair beside Ranpo, and as if trying to not waste any time, Howl starts speaking, almost shouting the words at Ranpo as he looks at him with cold eyes. "If you're here to talk about what happened, then on her behalf, I am truly sorry for what you've gone through." He then bows his head to Ranpo apologetically as he continues. "I understand if you don't accept the apology, but please know that whatever Kaiya may have done was accidental and was not wrongful intended on you." Silence falls upon the room and Ranpo saids nothing in response, only looks down at Howl with a blank expression. I wish I could tell you what was happening in his brain, but like Yosano, I've known Ranpo for a really long time, and I knew him well enough to know, that he would treat any investigation as if it were some kind of game to him. After using his Ultra-Deduction, instead of revealing what he knows, he would toy the culprit, until they unwillingly confess or break down while trying not to. Not once has Ranpo failed to solve a case without making the other person submit to him first. I suddenly see a small mischievous smirk slowly rises from the corner of Ranpo's mouth, and I hear a small snicker in his voice as he saids this in a cold-hearted tone, "Wow, you're a very convincing actor."

I look at him shockingly with wide eyes as Howl lifts his head to Ranpo with a startled and conflicted look on his face. "I'm sorry?" He asks, as if not sure that he heard what Ranpo said. "Gee, you really are like Kaiya." Ranpo continued with a carefree expression, as if not hearing Howl's question. "I told her the same thing I told you, and she looked at me like if I told her the world was gonna end." I couldn't keep my eyes on Ranpo as he was the only one laughing at his own joke of it all. I wanted to hit him hard on the head, I can't believe what he was saying to him right now. "Are you saying that I'm lying to you?" I hear Howl then ask in a low growl like a grumble. I turn from Ranpo to see his face, and I freeze as his expression changed to a threatening glare, as if giving the warning to watch what we say. Ranpo also saw this too, and his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Well, that was the last thing I was trying not to say." He saids as he flashes a knowing smile. "However, I am only just clarifying that you are twisting the truth with us and not revealing what's behind the door you're hiding."

"In the interview, you said that due to Kaiya's sickness, she could never fully control her ability, right? Kunikida told me that you claimed that you make your own medicine, but since you both are dirt poor, I could only imagine the amount of money one would need to buy antibiotics. At first, I thought that the sickness could've been a lie to throw us off considering the non-existing hospital records, but with the bacterial infection that was found in her blood that we collected from the scene at the café, we are for certain that Kaiya didn't get hurt, so she had to be sick. But not with Tuberculosis, no, it's something else, isn't it?" Howl's eyes narrow at Ranpo, and he looked as if he was struggling to think of something to say to cut him off. "That's—" But just as he spoke, Ranpo then cuts Howl off instead. "There's also another thing too. You told us that Kaiya's ability, quote-on-quote, "appears to be dangerous." But before that, you made it perfectly accurate that her gift is indeed dangerous, even for others to be around, and yet you say it 'appears'to be dangerous. In that context, it almost seems as if you already know more about her ability than you appeared to have explained to us." I couldn't make sense of all of what I was hearing, but I could see what points he made and how all the facts that we were missing were coming together. A bead of sweat trickled from Howl's brow as he could barely get in a word to defend himself before Ranpo had cut him off again and continues.

"There's also the case on the accident from 2 years ago," I look at Ranpo startled, and I also see Howl's eyes perk up as if this was something he didn't expect to be brought up. "Now normally, people would have seen this as just an ordinary tragic accident right? However, when looking further into Kaiya's previous records from her belated family, the application date for her certificate was only verified a year ago before their accident took place. This means Kaiya's known existence in Japan wasn't filed until only 5 years ago in 2016, not 2004. The people who were filed down and claimed to be Kaiya's legal parents had no marriage certificate or any hospital records of ever giving birth to a child. Their background profiles show that they were not ever her true biological parents. They were able to make a fake record and birth certificate without anyone knowing, was because they were both gifted users. One with the ability to manipulate technology and one to manipulate memories of others. The reason why Kaiya thought those people were her parents, was because her memories were erased and replaced on the same night of the accident just before they died."

"Which leaves me to my conclusion to you. You knew all along about Kaiya's accident, didn't you? Even before she told you about it, and you didn't know why. However, after spending the past two years with Kaiya and learning about her gift, you knew why her memories of her ability were erased, and why thought she thought she was just normal. You refused on wanting to come to Yokohama because you knew what could happen, and the only reason why you wouldn't tell Kaiya about her gift or her memories is that you don't want her finding out the truth that you are so desperately trying to hide from her, and not admit to yourself." My mind puzzles with Ranpo's unbelievable discoveries of these turn of events, Howl's eyes widened with freezing fear as if he was reminded of a horrific memory that he didn't want to remember but wish he had forgotten. But even as he noticed Howl's fearful expression, he continued on, his voice narrating. "On that day, she was lying cold on the streets and nearly verge of death. She thought she was gonna die, and she only wanted one thing."

"Stop." I could hear Howl's voice in a whisper, but Ranpo still continued on not minding or listening to him, "She could've wanted or wished for food, water, blankets. She could've wished for her parents to come back from the dead, even if she couldn't remember their faces."

"Stop." Howl's voice began to sound louder as it somehow choked him to speak.

Ranpo kept going, "The only thing she wanted, was to have a friend to love and remember her if she was ever forgotten. So tell me, since we already know so much about Kaiya, do you know who are you? The names of your parents, the place you were born, your real surname if not Miyazaki? Can you answer any of them, or is it that you don't have an answer because you don't remember, or that the answers to those questions were never even there?" I was as close to call out and stop Ranpo, however, just as I was about to step in, Howl let out a tormented yell which made me froze in shock, "I SAID STOP!"

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Ranpo finally spoke as he pleaded, and after only a brief moment of him taking in heavy panting, his voice cracks as he silently broke down and tears streamed down as he buried his hands into his face.

"Please… stop…" he whispers, his words cracking as he struggles to speak. I am surprised, as well as conflict with him looking like he was suffering a breakdown as if it were the end of the world. Ranpo was merciless, he had Howl right where he wanted, and he had won. Ranpo spoke over Howl's sobs as he didn't care if his words were being heartless to hear "You can try to hide the truth all you want, and you can continue lying if you think it might do any good, but know that I could keep on piling the facts for hours. If you want this to stop, there are only 2 ways to end this, and only you could decide which one gets to play out." Reaching into the pocket of his robe, he then pulls out a familiar pair of glasses and folds them out as he places them on and stares at Howl bitterly through one of its cracked lenses as his smile turns spiteful. "Either I tell everyone what I know, or you can be the one to tell us why Kaiya's life could mean the end of the world. What's it gonna be?"

END OF CHAPTER

Okay, I may have written a bit too much, considering I worked on the rest of this for the past 2 months.

I'm sorry if this is too much of a read for you, but I wanted to try and make this chapter more intensive and real to seem like a real interrogation in the ADA's own way. Anyway, for the next two months or so I will be taking a break from Girl Who Wanted No Gift so I can work on another Bungou Stray Dogs short story while also try set up Chapter 7 and the final chapter of Part 1 - Ability.

Again, sorry this took so long, but I hoped you enjoyed it a little. (I had to make very good reasons and theories and scenarios in this because I tried sounding more like a genius detective and manipulative schemer like Ranpo was.)

Look out for my next post in October! Later!