I did not get too much of a positive feedback for having Aoyanagi's head smashed in the last chapter on my Tumblr. It was great XD
- Chapter 8 -
Kougami
"Hey… You alright?" I ask as I touched his shoulder.
He flinches at the contact as he quickly looks up and lowers his arms from his head after a few seconds as if making sure I wasn't going to attack him the moment he dropped down his guard and studying my expression like he wasn't certain if I was sincere in my concern for his wellbeing and not some sick joke.
"I'm fine…" He mumbles after a few seconds of odd silence as he avert his eyes away from mine as he spoke and instead stared down to the floor as if he's trying to hide from my gaze for some reason but considering what just happen it's understandable.
I pick up the broken glasses off the floor and I can't help but sigh as I look at them before handing the broken frames to an almost matching owner which he takes after a bit of hesitation, placing the broken frames in his pocket.
"You're bleeding. You sure you're alright." I ask trying to catch his eyes but he keeps avoiding me like I'm the plague.
His right cheek is red and starting to swell, from what I can tell it was caused by a solid punch. His lower lip is busted and bruised. There's blood coming out of his nose but it's doesn't look too bad, it doesn't look broken or anything and he doesn't seem to have any other injuries either other than an old bruise near his neck so I'll assume this isn't the first time he's been attacked like this and from the looks of that old bruise I'd say he was strangled.
"Yeah…" He finally answered, whipping his bleeding nose with the top of his hand; starring at the blood for a few seconds before looking away and although he just got beaten pretty bad there isn't a bit of emotion in his eyes. The look in them are rather lost, numb even and for some reason it bothers me, this isn't right it just isn't.
"I've seen you at the opening ceremony yesterday and you're in every single one of my classes but we never had a chance to speak before. I'm Shinya Kougami and you are?" I introduce myself as I extend my hand which he takes after a few seconds, as if trying to process what I had just said in his head, hesitating to give me his hand like he was afraid that I'd hit him once he'd take it meaning it must have happened before and just assuming that makes my blood boil. You just don't play with someone's trust, you just don't.
I help pull him up to his feet as he touches his lower lip, wiping the bit of blood with his thumb. Still not very much fazed with that same numbness in his eyes and I just can't help but wonder how many times as he seen his own blood spilled like this? Maybe one too many if you ask me…
"Nobuchika Ginoza." He answers. His voice was low, almost in a whisper as he turned his attention to picking up his books that had been scattered on the floor.
I pick up one of his textbook that was near me, wanting to help as much as I can considering he no longer has his glasses to properly see but the question as to if he truly needs them comes to mind when I watch him in silence. He doesn't seem to be having any problem to see so maybe he just wears them for show and if that's the case well I guess I feel less terrible that they are broken, he can see just fine without them.
I hand over the book I had picked up and wait as he finishes picking up all of his belongings before turning around to walk away when I stop to look back to see that he wasn't even following me like I had hoped and was instead walking the other way instead.
"Hey Gino! You coming or what?" I shout back much to his surprise as he does a little jump and turns around to look at me confused and a bit panicked even. I give him a gesture with my hand, telling him to come along with me instead of walking alone.
He walks up to me holding his books firmly against his chest as I put my arm around his shoulders, ignoring the slight flinch he did and we made our way home…
XXX
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… It was just a dream… I'm going to need more than a dream of the past to find the answers that I need to solve this case… What on earth are you enduring right now Gino, that's the one thing that always lurks in the back of my mind?
It wasn't very surprising that Izaya turned out to be innocent after all. The thing is that Izaya is just as much of a victim as Gino; he was used to simply further that sick bastard's game. Izaya was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or was he really? The fact that Izaya is a talented technician, our sick bastard could have specifically chosen him as another way to get us on the wrong track. After all its only logic for us to pursue the idea and he had us, he played us like violins.
To say the least professor Saiga called it right and from what he believes the guy we're after is someone we'd be least likely to suspect. From looking at the files, Saiga does not believe that our suspect is young, that our best bet is to look for someone older but not too young, more likely to be in his late thirties or early forties.
If that's the case and that the bastard is that old and Gino has always been the primary target right from the start then this man must have known Gino for some time and if so I should also have seen him at some point in the past, probably a few times too so I should have a memory of this creep somewhere.
The first time I saw Gino was at the opening ceremony of our high school. He would always be sitting in a corner alone studying, not bothering to talk to anyone unless talked to first which was a rare occurrence alone. To be more accurate, it was like Gino was trying to isolate himself completely from the rest of us.
At first I thought he was a total snub, the kind of guy who thinks he's better than all the rest because he so happens to be smart but that thought quickly changed when I learned that the reason for his silence is because of the constant bullying he receives just because his father fell from grace and became a latent criminal.
Apparently his old man was a detective and his hue became cloudy to the point that there was no longer any chance of a recovery and because of that he was taken away from his family.
From what I had learned from the other students back then, Gino hadn't seen his old man since he was nine so basically that day I learned two reasons for his complete silence towards others which were justifiable and it just made me sick to think someone had to deal with being tormented daily for something that's not even their fault to begin with and being constantly reminded of what you lost is cruel… Being beaten daily because you lost your father due to deteriorating psycho-pass, it's just sick and it's wrong.
The next day I found him in the hall being attacked by five senior students while other students just stood there and watched as Gino was on the ground covering his head with his arms as he received kick after kick.
What angered me the most was that I could hear others laughing and enjoying seeing a defenceless kid being beaten up by five guys who were larger and much stronger than he was and in that moment I just lost it and my body just moved, not taking a second to think about what could happen to me if this turned ugly.
I just lunged into the first guy who seemed to be the leader of the pact, my fist slamming right into his jaw knocking him out in one blow causing the rest to back off as if they weren't sure exactly what had just happened and no one dared say a thing as they watched to see what else would go down.
I readied myself to fight back. I was sure they'd come at me but no, they instead helped their unconscious friend up and walked away like the bunch of chicken shit they were. The rest of the students awkwardly returned to do what they were doing before the whole commotion had even begun as they passed by giving me a wary eye but none dared to speak against my action.
I helped Gino get back on his feet and I just couldn't help but see just how broken he was back then. His eyes so numb, so empty… Eyes that were so used to being beaten and tormented at it almost came to be normal for him but after that day, Gino never left my side and instead of going into his usual quiet corners he'd actually come and find me instead.
Our first conversations were dull, boring and silent but I never gave up and always tried to get him to open up a bit, to get to know him a little better and after a few days my efforts had paid off. After a few days Gino had become more at ease with me and before we knew it, it was like we had known each other for many years.
A few weeks later we met Risa and gradually the three of us just became inseparable from that moment on, actually she first approached us to get closer to Gino but then I was able to befriend her after a while but it was so obvious that she had a major crush on him and with Gino being so oblivious to it, it was just hilarious as I occasionally teased her.
Gino had told us his dream of wanting to become an inspector just so he could protect the innocent and at the time we also wanted the same thing. We wanted to protect people but we all had other motives for going into this field. I wanted to protect people but I also didn't want Gino to be on his own so I followed him and Risa also wanted to be closer to him and Gino… Well… He never said it out loud but I know it wasn't just to protect people but that it was the only way that would allow him to see his father again whom apparently had become an enforcer.
The reality of this job sure wasn't what we thought it would be. In a society that should be filled with peace and prosperity. Once you're in this job you soon learn that it's only one big fat lie. The truth is that we don't live in a world where there are less crime, there is just as much crime as in the past but it's just hidden away by the Sybil system. It only shows what it wants you to see, and that is nothing but an illusion.
"Mr. Kougami. Do you think this man is out to get revenge or that he has some sort of grudge on Mr. Ginoza for something?" Akane ask taking me out of my thoughts.
I honestly don't see why anyone would want revenge on Gino for any particular reason; he wasn't the type to make enemies back in high school. The only problem he had was with bullies that only picked on him because of Pops' status and not because of whom he was per say.
"No… Gino wasn't the type to go running after trouble." I reply letting out a sigh before adding the rest. "He was a victim of severe bullying when I met him but it wasn't because of Gino per say, it was all due to Pops being a latent criminal"
After I met Gino, all the ones who used to pick on him and beat him up stopped altogether. Not a single one of them ever laid another finger on Gino because I made sure of it. I never told him what I did, Gino would have been the first to scold me for using violence to end the circle of violence that had followed him for so long but I don't regret doing it.
Thinking about all that's been happening lately, I can't help but wonder if Gino is in this predicament because of what I did in the past. That this bastard has a vendetta against me and is using Gino as a way to hurt me sounds plausible and now that I'm a latent criminal he knows I can't just go after him so freely. I have to admit if that's the case; it's an excellent form of torture.
"Do you think it might be someone who wants to hurt Mr. Masaoka?" She inquires and yeah that too could be a plausible theory but I highly doubt it.
"The only way I see that it could be plausible is if that freak knew Gino when Pops was still a detective." I state. "Meaning that our sick bastard would have been stalking Gino since the age of nine and if you ask me it's not exactly something I'd want to imagine." I further explain and just saying it out louds makes my brain wander. Just the very thought of a grown man stalking a small boy is just beyond sick and that's not assuming that this freak hasn't taken a bunch of pictures of Gino during the course of the years for his own amusement.
Besides the ones we went to school with had no idea who Pops was because Gino was given his mom's surname instead after Pops had been taken away. Apparently it was something she had agreed with her parents that it be better for Gino if he did not wear the name of a latent criminal. They believed by giving him his mother's maiden name that it would have protected him from the tormenting not that it did any good in the end unfortunately.
By the time I met Gino, his mom had been ill for a very long time and she passed away in the start of our second year of high school but from the short amount of time I've known her, I could easily see that she loved Gino more than anything in the world. I think the only thing that made her fight her fatal illness was the fear that her only son would be left alone in this cruel world and after I came into the picture it's as if she allowed herself to go.
I don't know what illness she had, what was her disease. Gino never told me and it wasn't something he liked to talk about. His mom's health constantly deteriorating was something that bothered him to the point that he believed that she was getting better instead of worsening, he ignored the signs that she was in fact dying. Ignored… More like refused to accept it so I made it my duty to go over to his house as much as I could. Stayed overnight when my mother allowed it which she didn't mind the least. I just didn't want Gino to be alone through that process, I knew it would hurt when she'd go and I was right to think so.
By the start of our second year of high school, actually it was the first month on the second week. On a Thursday evening, his grandparents had gone out for something I don't remember exactly what for. It had started raining with a roaring thunder and flashing lightning. Gino had gone to see his mom in her room if she needed anything before we started our homework and I'll never be able to forget that evening. No matter how hard I'd try to forget, that scene will always be trapped inside of my mind like it had happened just yesterday.
Gino had called out to me, saying that there was something wrong with his mom so I bolted in the room in all haste and he had this horrified expression on his face and he was on the verge of tears but all I could hear was his mother's rattled breathing and I knew at that moment what was happening.
When I entered the room her eyes were glassy and not long after she closed her eyes and honestly I don't know if she was even aware that we were in the room before she closed them but after she did, her rattle breathing lasted not more than a few minutes and then all went quiet. By then Gino was in tears and I had to take him by force to get him out of the room and he broke down in my arms.
His grandparents arrived not long after during the time I was trying to calm Gino down in the living room. I didn't have to say anything that they understood what had happened and tried to help to calm Gino down but to no avail and left him for me to handle while they handled to call an ambulance.
Gino cried and fought so much for me to let him go that he had completely exhausted himself in my arms and the next day bruises had formed where I had held him.
I knew his mom didn't have long left to live, I knew her hours were counted just by looking at her but I never expected her death to be like that. It was calm but it was the rattling breathing that bothered me the most and after that it was all I could hear for a few days and it followed Gino for a while too as he'd constantly wake up in sweats from nightmares about his mom dying.
After his mom's passing, Gino was forced to leave his parents' home and had to live with his grandparents instead since they were his only living relatives he had left and in a way I guess it was better this way since the constant memories of his mom dying just in the room next to his was a little too much for him to bare but after she died, for a while I thought Gino had too in a sense.
He had completely shut Risa and I out and instead threw himself deeper into his studies to the point I had to intervene to get him to stop… That had been our first fight since we had become friends, the first time I had to raise my voice at Gino to get him to listen to me and I promised myself that it be the last time.
"Mr. Kougami? You're more quiet than usual."
Akane's voice snaps me back to reality as I look at her from the corner of my eye, she often looks at me and then back to the road as if trying to get something out of it. As if she's trying to study me or something which is funny in a way.
"Just lost in thoughts…" I blurt out. "Just trying to remember faces." I add but I keep ending up reminiscing about the old days of Gino and I just like some old man, I'm not getting anywhere with this.
"That's over ten years ago, a lot has happened since then Mr. Kougami." She states and yeah tell me about it. I wouldn't be able to fit everything I've seen in the past two years in a single book but the answer is somewhere in there, I just have to remember it.
"Yeah that's why I'll get Shion to do a memory scoop-"
"Mr. Kougami! But that will mean you will have to relive the Specimen Case." She suddenly cuts me off, not bothering to hide the panic in her voice with a worried expression on her face as she looks at me.
I give her a smile to reassure her that it was okay not that it did much to make her feel better though much to my amusement especially that she knows about that case in particular not that it surprises me that she has looked up the case and I have to say I'm impressed that she took the initiative to do some digging up herself.
"Anyway I highly doubt it that bastard will be in that part of my memory, he's going to be earlier than that." I tell her. "We'll start from the moment I started high school, that's when I met Gino and from there Shion will get a shot of every possible faces she can get. Risa said that Izaya was willing to cooperate so we'll try our luck if he can choose one." I further explain.
So far we don't have much to go on and a memory scoop on myself is the only thing I can think of. If this fucker has been stalking Gino for years then I should have at least seen him a few times but I just never paid any attention before. It has to be someone who has never approached Gino to cause him harm, maybe someone that approached him in a friendly manner so I never blinked an eye about it.
"I guess we don't have anything else to go with…" She mutters but I still get the feeling that she's not exactly okay with the idea but still will go with it.
"Wait! Could Mr. Ginoza have been a victim of pedophilia by a teacher and he's just continuing where it ended probably after graduation?" Akane suddenly blurts out and just the thought of a teacher approaching a student like that is just utterly disgusting but not like it never happened before in the past unfortunately.
Gino was a victim to a lot of things in the past but one that I'm certain about he was never a victim of sexual assault or any of the sort, well it never got to that but if I had never met and befriended Gino maybe it wouldn't be the case today.
I'm not scared or ashamed to admit it that Gino has the looks. He's good looking, he's got these green eyes that just stand out and his black hair just makes them pop out even more. He's tall and for a guy he's small build and I'd even say a bit delicate and for sure it attracts attention and some unwanted eyes.
Almost a week after I had met him, he was confronted by that same little gang that had been beating him up the second day of school. When I got there, Gino was on the ground with his arms being held by one guy, his legs by another and he had been gaged to make sure he didn't make any sounds. The one I had knocked out before was on top of him and from what I could see had managed to rip open Gino's shirt and again my blood boiled and I exploded.
I made sure to give them one hell of a beating that day. Yeah I injured my hand in the process but it was sure as hell worth it and after that none dared to approach Gino again. No one ever touched him again and I made sure anyone who'd dare would know exactly what would happen to them if they crossed that line.
"Gino is a terrible liar. Risa and I would have known right away if there was something like that going on. " I answer and it's the truth.
Gino is just like a book. If you keep the cover closed then you will never know what's in it, other than guess a bit what the story is about by simply looking at the cover but once that cover is opened you can easily read each page at ease well that's Gino. Back then we were extremely close and I just learned to read him so well to the point it would anger him at how well I could predict what he'd do and what he'd say before he'd do it or say it.
After knowing him for so long I discovered how to see if he's lying or not and I think he just does it automatically and doesn't even realize that he does it but every time he's about to lie he quickly shifts his eyes to his right as he starts talking and just as quickly he resumes eye contact. It's an action that is barely noticeable but the more you talk with him you get to see it quite clearly.
Gino and I talked about practically everything in the past, from school work to our dreams for the future and to the things that just troubled and concerned us. When it came to romance he told me on several occasions that it didn't interest him and he just didn't know why he felt that way. I figured that it probably has something to with Pops being locked up when he was young and watching his mom slowly died but I never had the guts to tell him that.
To him romance or sex was just not something that he wanted to have; he just wasn't curious about it or interested him at all. He told me just thinking about it grossed him out and again maybe the brief attack he experienced might have had something to do with it but when I asked him if that might have been the case he just answered that it wasn't and he had felt that way before the incident had occurred.
I did ask him about if he had ever been a victim of sexual abuse, if someone had forced him to do sexual acts with them but he just laughed it off saying if that had been the case his mom would have been a latent criminal too but he assured me that no such thing had ever happened in the past and I believed him.
"Already forty-eight hours since Mr. Ginoza disappeared; before long we'll be saying it's been a week… I want him back, I want him back here with us Mr. Kougami. I'm just scarred that I'll fail. His life, it's in my hands and if I can't push the team towards the right path-"
"Why do you think Risa isn't backing up from this case?" I ask cutting her off before continuing. "We all know that this case is too much for a rookie inspector to take on their own. Risa is here to substitute for Gino and we're here to clear a path and you do what you have to do to get the job done. You take all of this and you learn from it, just as if Gino was here leading you into the case." I add as I see the Nona tower coming into view, great the dog pound getting closer…
"I didn't think about that." She mumbles before looking at me to meet my gaze as the car pulls in into the parking lot.
"We have to focus on this memory scoop for now. Considering all the faces that needs to be scooped, I foresee a whole day just for that so in the meantime look for more cold case files and see if we can get a connection to the cases we already have." I tell her as the car stops.
"Sounds like a plan." She replies and finally a smile back on her face as we get out of the car but that smile vanishes just as quickly as it came. "Mr. Kougami what's that over there?" She asks.
I look over my shoulder to see what Akane had seen and I can't exactly tell what it is either. It looks like someone lying on the asphalt at the end of the parking lot. The dimly lit lot isn't helping me to see to tell for sure but I don't like this feeling I have in the back of my mind as I grab a flashlight and a stun baton.
"Get in the car, lock the door and don't come out until I tell you to." I tell Akane and she doesn't argue and does exactly as I say.
I turn on the flashlight, flashing it towards the unknown object in the distance, cautiously moving forward and as I start getting closer I can make out more the shape and it's definitely a body and from what I can see there's blood on the asphalt.
Looking around trying to see if there is anyone suspicious, anyone that could be hiding in waiting to attack but so far nothing as I get closer to the body, my eyes locked unto the head and it felt like someone had suddenly punched me in the guts.
I quickly crouch down to feel for a pulse and much to my relief that there is one, it's faint but it's there but I can't deny the rage that is quickly building up inside of me as I take in deep breathes to try and keep my rage under control before looking over my shoulder to meet Akane's gaze through the car window giving her a signal to come out before returning my attention to Risa's motionless body. From the looks of it, she got her head smashed from behind and she poorly fell resulting in her hitting the front right side of her head.
Looks like Risa has been lying here for a while and my guesses is that she never saw it coming and was probably attacked when her shift ended. By her body position I'd say that she was walking towards her car but never made it on time meaning someone was here watching and waiting for her to come out.
Without a doubt it's him, it's the doing of that sick son of a bitch! He's fucking playing with us and he knows we have nothing and he's fucking toying with us. We have a major problem on our hands now… Shit.
For fun I decided to do a word count difference between Gone and Gone Re-Boot and so far 4 612 words is the difference with only 8 chapters which comes out rather great.
Review and tell me what you guys think whether it be on here or Tumblr run wild.