It's December and my brain his frozen. Fuck berries!

Kougami

"Hey… You alright?" I ask. I touch his shoulder 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.

"I'm fine…" He looks down to the floor as he spoke, picking up his broken glasses and placing them in his pocket.

"You're bleeding. You sure you're alright." His right cheek is red and starting to swell. His lower lip is busted and 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.

"Yeah…" He answered, whipping his bleeding nose with the top of his hand; starring at the blood a few seconds before looking away.

"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. I help pull him up to his feet as he touches his lower lip, wiping the blood with his thumb.

"Nobuchika Ginoza." His voice was low as he turned his attention to picking up his books that had been scattered on the floor. I wait as he finishes picking up his belongings before turning around to walk away when I stop to look back that he was going 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. I give him a gesture with my hand, telling him to come along with me. He walks up to me holding his books firmly against his chest as I put my arm around his shoulders and we made our way home…

… A dream… I'm going to need more than a dream to find the answers that I need to solve this case… What on earth are you enduring right now Gino?

So turns out Izaya was innocent all along, just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 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. Izaya told Risa that the man he saw appeared to be around the same age as Gino and I but by what Saiga has seen from only looking at the files he doesn't believe that our guy is that young, he'd have to be older unless he's been killing since he was a kid which is highly unlikely, at least I hope so. If that's the case and Gino has always been the primary target right from the get go 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.

The first time I saw Gino was at the opening ceremony in 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 rare. At first I thought he was a snub, the kind of guy who thinks he's better than the rest but that thought quickly changed when I learned that that his reason for his silence is because of the constant bullying he receives just because his father fell from grace and became a latent criminal. The next day I found him in the hall being attacked by five senior students while other students just stood and watched as Gino was on the ground covering his head with his arms as he received kick after kick. I felt anger rush through me and my body just moved, not taking a second to think about what could happen to me if this turned ugly. I 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. I was sure they'd come at me but no, they helped their unconscious friend up, walked away and the rest of the students returned to do what they were doing before the whole commotion had even begun.

After that day, Gino never left my side and instead of going into his usual quiet corners he'd actually come and find me. Our conversations at first were dull but it didn't take long before we were at ease with one another as if we had known each other for years. Not long after, I'd say about a week later we met Risa and the three of us just became inseparable from that moment on and when Gino had told us his dream of wanting to become an inspector so he could protect the innocent and that it would allow him to see his father again who had become an enforcer, we also decided that's what we wanted to do also and that's what we did but the reality of this job wasn't exactly how we expected it to be. In a society that should be filled with peace and prosperity, you soon learn that it's only one big fat lie. We don't live in a world where there are less crime, there is just as much crime as in the past but it is just hidden by the Sybil system, it only shows what it wants you to see.

"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 don't see why anyone would want revenge on Gino for any reason, he wasn't the type to make enemies back in school. The only problem he had was with bullies that only picked on him because of his dad's status and not because of who he was per say.

"The only trouble Gino ever had in the past was with bullies who picked on him because of pops. They weren't the type who wanted to be in the MWPSB to begin with so we can rule that out as a possibility and after I met him the bullying stopped so no, I don't see anyone who would have any form of grudge or wanting revenge on him for anything." I answer as I stare at the darken scenery from the night. There wasn't anyone hurting Gino after we met because I made sure of it, not like I'll tell that part to Akane though.

"Professor Saiga also said that it could be meant to attack someone else and he is just using Mr. Ginoza. If what professor Saiga says is accurate, maybe this criminal had a past run in with Mr. Masaoka and what better way to get to him by using his own son." Yeah that could be a plausible possibility. I'm not fully aware about all the cases pops had in the old system and before he became an enforcer but then again it still doesn't fit to make actual sense. Anyone who could have been a problem before the Sibyl system was introduce have long been taken cared of anyway.

"There's a reason why Gino doesn't use pops' name. Back in high school no one even knew the name of Gino's dad only that he had become a latent criminal. That alone was enough to rise a red flag among other students and was actually acceptable to treat anyone with a latent criminal in their family as if they themselves were one." Actually it wasn't a choice Gino took, it was his mother's decision at the time when pops was taken away. She believed by giving her son her maiden name that it would protect him from the tormenting not that it did any good in the end.

By the time I met Gino, his mom had been ill for some time and she passed away on our second year of high school. 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 world, when she learned that he had made friends her health's decline became rapid. Risa and I had attended her funeral with Gino and he was just numb, not saying anything. He just stood there staring at his mom's coffin; as Risa had said was like a Hamster constantly running through its wheel none stop.

After her passing Gino moved out of his family home and was taken in by his maternal grandparents and for a while he threw himself deeper into his studies. Throwing himself in books was the only way he knew how to deal with the pain, even to this day Gino has never stopped to properly mourn his mom's death. I think at this point he just doesn't know how, Gino was never very good at being able to express his feelings he just bottles up all his emotions until he blows.

"Mr. Kougami? You're more quiet than usual." Her voice snapping me back to reality. I look at her from the corner of my eye, she often looks at me then back to the road as if trying to get something out of it.

"I'm just trying to remember faces from the past."

"That's over ten years ago, a lot has happened since then Mr. Kougami." 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." Her expression went from calm to slight panic as she looked at me. I gave a smile to reassure her that it was okay not that it did much to make her feel better though.

"You know about it?" I didn't expect her to know about that case, I guess she did some snooping around the unsolved files without me knowing. "Anyway I highly doubt it that the target will be in that part of my memory, he's going to be earlier than that. 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 and confirmed that he'd be able to point the target again if he saw a picture."

"I guess we don't have anything else to go with…" With that she calmed down a bit, I can tell her mind is just as never stopping as mine is. We're all frantically trying to put the puzzle pieces into their rightful place but only problem is that someone turned off the lights and we have to go by gut feeling.

"It will be alright. I'm positive I can get that face within the first five years of knowing Gino. That bastard was there watching from afar that I'm sure of it."

"Maybe a student… Or a teacher?... Wait could Mr. Ginoza have been a victim of pedophilia by a teacher and he's just continuing where it ended probably after graduation?" Not a thought I'd like to imagine, sexual assault is never a laughing matter but it wouldn't be an issue for this case. That I'd be willing to bet everything on it. Gino was victim to physical and mental abuse by other students but he wasn't a victim of molestation or any of the sorts. It never got to that.

"Not a chance. There wasn't a moment Gino wasn't with me back in high school and if he wasn't, he was with Risa. Anyhow, Gino's not the type for being able to hide anything, he's too easy to read and we would have noticed if something was wrong and it wasn't the case." Gino is just like an open book, everything that he's thinking or feeling at the moment is written all over his face. He's a terrible liar, if he does try to lie you only have to look in his eyes. He can't stare you in the eyes if he's trying to pull a fast one, for a fraction of a second he'll look away. If you aren't a good observer that's not something a person could pick on since he does it so quickly but I've known Gino for far too long now.

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 Gino told me on several occasions that it didn't interest him and he just didn't know why he felt that way. Romance or sex was just nothing that he wanted nor was he curious about it either and just thinking about it only grossed him out. I did ask him about if he had been a victim of sexual abuse which he just laughed it off saying if that had been the case his mom would have been a latent criminal too but he confirmed to me that no such thing had ever happened in the past and I believe 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? 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." Actually that's not the only reason why she's so focus on this case not that it matters for the moment. It's just unfortunate that Gino just doesn't feel the same way towards Risa as she does for him, it would save a lot of complications.

"I didn't think about that…"

"Now all we have to focus on is 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."

"Sounds like a plan."

Nona tower comes into view as we get closer to headquarters, now back to the dog pound…

Chapter 7.5

The light hurts my eyes as I try to open them, my vision is blurry for a few minutes before it starts to settle down and adjust. I still can't move due to the restraints, I've pulled so much to break free that the leather straps had cut into my skin, the throbbing serves to remind me that it was indeed real and not just a nightmare. I'm not sure how long I was out cold but it would seem that this man treated my wounded wrists and the needles that were in my arms draining my blood are no longer there and have been replaced by bandages and an I.V has been attached on my left arm. With all of that he could have at least removed this gagged from my mouth, just the fabric alone is enough to make me nauseous.

I look around as much as I can, this place just looks like an art studio except some things in here sure isn't used for art, well it's not supposed to be but considering how mentally unstable this man is it wouldn't surprise me if he would use it for something totally insane. As long he doesn't think about using those things on me, my neck is still sore from where he bite me.

I don't know who this man is and yet I know I've seen him somewhere before, his voice is familiar and yet I can't remember where I could have met him. I honestly thought that he was going to kill me when he started draining my blood, he could have but he didn't so why? He even bothered putting me on an I.V to keep me alive longer.

If there's one thing I learned with the years on this job is that Serial killers are hard to understand, they don't think like normal people and they are not your regular everyday latent criminals either. They are more calculated and everything they do it's for a specific reason for whatever that makes them tick.

The door opening made my heart skip, I guess I'm a little more nervous than I thought. I quickly close my eyes pretending that I'm still asleep. I hear footsteps, they are definitely his without a doubt.

"Are we the sleeping beauty?" My eyes jolt open as I meet his dark eyes, this man creeps the hell out of me. He's just starring, always touching me, I feel like I want to crawl inside a hole.

"You know in Giambattista Basile's tale, a king happens to walk by Sleeping Beauty's castle and knock on the door. When no one answers, he climbs up a ladder through a window where he finds the princess lying on the floor near the spinning wheel, and calls to her, but as she is unconscious, she does not answer. He carries her to the bed and takes her virtue. Afterwards he just leaves. She awakens after she gives birth because one of her twins sucks the flax from the spindle out of her finger. The king comes back, and despite him having raped her, they end up falling in love. However, the king still married to someone else. His wife furious, not only tries to have the twins killed, cooked, and fed to the king, but also tries to burn the princess at the stake. Luckily, she is unsuccessful. The king and the princess get married and live happily ever after." He says with smile as he plays with my hair, finally removing that damn gag before walking away. His hue must be extremely clouded for how mentally twisted he is and at this rate what about mine?

"What do you think about the old fairy tales Nobuchika?" He asks as he places a painting on the table.

"I think their psychotic like you." The words just spilling out without thinking. Even though I've been out cold for a while, I'm tired from all of the blood I lost. I feel impatient I just want to close my eyes and wake up home as if none of this ever happened. My head hurts, I can't think straight and even though I might pay for that comment I just don't care.

"Maybe so. What do you think Nobuchika?" He shows the painting and I can't believe it. It's me but worst it's been painted with my own blood. How can someone so mentally deranged have been able to avoid the street scanners?

He places the canvas back on the table as he picks up a syringe with that same wicked expression as before. He doesn't say anything as he removes the I.V from my arm and sticks the syringe, inserting whatever is it. It doesn't take long for my vision to get blurry as the room begins to spin. I hear him say something but I can't make out what it is, all is getting dark and I no longer feel anything… Dad… Please find me…

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