A/N:
I noticed a lack of tension with vengeance, so I had to change that. :P
As for all the thoughts about justice and legality and the legal system, perspectives I've put forth aren't necessarily perspectives I agree with. I suppose now is as good a time as any to remind people that the content of a work does not necessarily reflect the writer's own views in reality. And frankly, I don't really owe anyone any personal clarification about where I stand. I simply wrote what I thought was most in-character and what best served the narrative. So yes, this fic can contain perspectives some readers might be deeply uncomfortable with, and in that case, they're free to stop reading it at any time. But yeah, that's about it for me saying anything heavy, so be forewarned.
Wow, it really is a crime drama now. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
-Reddie
"Kaede!" Kotetsu sat up in his bed with an eager smile the minute he spotted his daughter from the doorway. Kaede gasped, dropping her purse as she ran to him.
But before she could draw any closer, the bars of a prison cell crashed down in front of her, emanating an eerie bright blue glow.
Grasping the bars, before her, she screamed, "Dad!" The room around him melted into blank white, and in the blink of an eye, Kotetsu sank back into his bed, sound asleep. A tall, familiar woman with cropped inky hair approached him, extending a bloody gloved hand towards his body. Her palm hovered above his chest as she paused to look back at Kaede. This doctor's teal eyes were innocent, but her burgundy smile was wicked. Kaede couldn't believe her eyes, "Dr. Page, you…"
"This is what he wants," Dr. Page spoke plainly.
"Don't you touch him!" Kaede shrieked, squeezing the bars as she powered up. She strained to rend them apart, but they would not budge no matter what she did. The blue glow only seemed to intensify the more she fought it. She sobbed, roaring as she shook the bars, "Dad!"
Kaede watched in horror as Dr. Page pressed a crimson index finger to her father's chest, watching his eyes snap open as he gasped in pain. The noise of the heart rate monitor grated against her ears as his pulse skyrocketed beyond anything humanly possible. Stinging tears ran down Kaede's face as she continued to scream, begging Dr. Page to stop. But it was no use. Giving up, she sank to her knees, loosening her grip on the bars and falling apart into a weeping mess. Dr. Page approached her, speaking in a comforting tone.
"Hush, Kaede. Don't you want your loving parents to be reunited at last?"
"It's not your right… to end his life…" Kaede gritted out, clutching at the bars again as her power faded away. She hissed at Dr. Page, "This is against the law! You can't decide that! How dare you!"
"Come on now, you're so selfish. Let Daddy be happy for once, won't you?"
"He was happy here!" Kaede shouted aggressively, her hands beginning to glow deep orange as she gripped the bars harder, "He was happy with me and Barnaby! How dare you take him from us!"
"His time was almost up anyhow. You can't change what was meant to happen."
"You…!"
The bars shattered between her fingers, and she saw Barnaby dead on the hospital bed behind Dr. Page.
With a hoarse gasp, Kaede awakened to the noise of her cellphone going off. Every memory of the nightmare she'd just had eroded away as she grabbed her phone. Cautiously this time, she checked the number, making sure it wasn't Yun. It wasn't… but she'd seen the number before.
Smashing her thumb against her screen, she answered almost frenziedly, "Hello? Kaede Kaburagi speaking."
"Hi, this is Dr. Layla C. Page. I'm calling in reply to the voicemail you left me a couple of days ago. I just came back from vacation a little early due to some unforeseen circumstances, and I'd like to get this whole affair sorted out as soon as possible before I return to work. Goodness, if we could meet today, that would be great! I'd just like to take advantage of the time before I'm expected to return to work at the Century Center."
"Well, today works, if that's what you'd like." Kaede sat up, crossing her legs, "What time would you like to meet up? And where?"
"Let's meet around noon time, in front of the Century Center. My house is nearby, so I can walk you there and we can discuss the case over lunch. Sound alright to you?"
"Yes, that's just fine."
"Alright then!" Dr. Page chuckled pleasantly over the line. "See you later!"
"See you." And with that, Dr. Page closed the call, leaving Kaede to scramble outside for Barnaby.
On the way to the hospital, Barnaby was close to completely quiet, only sipping his coffee every now and then. He was tired and his head was filled with concerns about Kaede, but she seemed to be holding together perfectly fine. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if she was just masking her emotions again. No… he had to trust her. She could handle this. It was alright. She was an adult now, and he had to remember to treat her that way.
"Wait… just to make sure," He asked, rubbing his head sleepily, "we're heading to the Century Center for Health, right?"
"Yes. I'll be meeting with Dr. Page to figure out a way to recover her missing background information."
"Alright." Once he'd heard Dr. Page's name, he bit back the question of whether or not she'd be alright.
"I'll have you know that I don't see myself as someone who has the right to end another person's life. In fact, I don't think anyone has that right."
He took another sip of his coffee, swallowing down a portion of his worries. He could trust her, he reassured himself, again and again, as they reached the hospital curbside, then more so as she told him she'd meet him in a couple of hours, telling him to wait for her.
She closed the car door behind her, patting her purse for her line of defense just in case Dr. Page was dangerous. There was no shame in staying on the safe side, given the circumstances. She didn't want this case to be personal.
But she'd have to prove it wasn't first.
Dr. Page chuckled as she swiped the card to her door, "You know, I can't help but feel like we've met before?"
"Oh, yes, actually we have." Kaede smiled at her, "You treated my father once for an advanced heart disease."
"Ah… what is your name again, young lady?" Kaede stepped inside after Dr. Page, closing the door behind her as she entered. The crackling business-like voice of a news broadcaster ran in the background, coming from the radio on a small table in the back, next to a broken grandfather clock. The minute hand ticked between 12 o'clock and 11:59 with each second that passed.
"Kaede Kaburagi."
"Kaburagi…" Dr. Page rubbed her chin, before rounding her lips, "Oh! I remember treating a man named Kotetsu Kaburagi. He was your father, wasn't he?"
"Yes," Kaede said firmly, "and he still is."
"But of course," Dr. Page laughed lightly. "Hard to forget a face with a cute little kitty beard like that."
"Dorky, wasn't it?" Kaede couldn't help but giggle, but it was an empty sound. Dr. Page could only smile at her a bit sadly, remembering exactly what happened to him. But not wanting to pick at old wounds, she refrained from saying anything more to Kaede. It was hard to watch a daughter suffer like that.
The doctor settled down into an armchair, her phone and a plate with a few small chicken sandwiches stacked in front of her. The plate on the other side of the coffee table held the same food.
Gesturing to the couch across from her, she requested of Kaede, "Have a seat, and let's talk about this."
Kaede acquiesced, immediately laying out two of the case folders before her, "Now, I happened to receive two cases containing you, oddly enough. You seem to have an awful lot of background information missing, not just at your current workplace, but at Sternbild United as well."
"Oh." Dr. Page pursed her lips, "It's been many months since I worked in that hospital. What do they want with my files?"
"You see, they were backing up the digital information of all staff, past and present, when—" Dr. Page's phone then made a hideous noise as it buzzed against the hard wooden surface of the coffee table between them. Kaede flinched ever so slightly at the sudden sound, watching as the doctor tapped a finger against the screen to wake it up. An old picture of Lunatic came up as her lock screen.
"Excuse me, Miss Kaburagi. I need to take this call for just a moment." Kaede could only give a nod, taking up one of her sandwiches to keep herself preoccupied. Dr. Page left the room for a moment, her voice becoming nothing more than a faint mumble once she was far enough down the hall of her house.
It bothered Kaede more than it should have, to see that ugly blue mask posed like a symbol of valor across this doctor's phone screen. Though she understood where people were coming from when they said Lunatic was admirable, Kaede herself stood firmly on the opposite side of such a thought. He was not above the law, and he had no right to end the lives of others. It looked more like a disgusting sense of entitlement in Kaede's eyes. Nothing could justify his actions, no matter what his past was or what his misguided intentions were. The law prohibited the killing of criminals, and that was final. Lunatic was nothing more than a murderer, plain and simple.
Trying to tune out of such bitter thoughts, she shifted her focus to the sound of the radio, hoping perhaps to hear something nice.
"...and by next month, the bill on capital punishment in Sternbild may pass into law. Local government officials say…"
Kaede grimaced. That was a mistake.
Around that moment, Dr. Page returned to the living room, giving up a whooping laugh when she heard the radio.
"Now that's something I'd vote on!" Dr. Page then sauntered back over, reclaiming her space in the armchair. "It's about time they pushed that bill. I won't waste anymore of my taxes keeping monsters alive in that nice little den they like to call prison."
"Mm." Kaede nodded, even though she could think of plenty of replies for that. Of course Dr. Page was going to take that side, since she was an admirer of Lunatic. There wasn't any use arguing over the matter. So before she could get carried away with such disdainful thoughts, she switched back to the main task at hand, "Anyhow, as I was saying earlier, they were backing up the files of everyone who'd ever worked there to hardcopy. They had significant trouble recovering the information with only two people in particular, one of them being you, the other a retiree. As for your current workplace, I received a separate case to look into your records alone. They're missing the medical files for Andrej Kauffman, Patrick Gerhard, and Sharon Shale in particular."
"Alright then. I'll send those to you," Dr. Page nodded.
"But… I'm not done." With this, Dr. Page shifted uneasily, taking a bite of one of her sandwiches. Kaede continued, "I've encountered a number of inconsistencies investigating your records in particular. The public database for your current workplace has you listed specifically as a pediatrician for cancer patients. But in Sternbild United, you worked with terminally ill adults like my father. Also, when I asked the retiree about you, she supposed you were a cardiologist. I find it very odd that knowledge of your working background is so muddy, so can you verify exactly what departments you've worked with in the past?"
"I'm not sure I appreciate your tone, Miss Kaburagi." Dr. Page spoke firmly, tension masked in her even speech, "Please don't talk down to me about what you think you know about my job. You and I… we come from very different lines of work. I know how the medical world works, and you know how to deal with legal matters. I will gladly send you any files you ask for, but I don't need to explain myself. Is that clear?"
Leaning back guiltily with the feeling that she may have crossed a thin line, Kaede replied softly, "Yes. I didn't intend to hurt your feelings, Dr. Page, so I apologize if that came off as rather rude."
"Apology accepted." Dr. Page nodded, sated but still looking somewhat hurt. "Anyhow, the public database is correct, but I have worked in a few other departments. I have some old copies in my basement that I'll need to dig through, so this might take some time. I'll send you necessary files as soon as I can, and if you find anything else missing, notify me."
"I will," Kaede stood up, bowing. "Thank you for your time."
"Thank you for coming on such short notice." Dr. Page chuckled. Pointing at her plate, she insisted, "Also, feel free to take your sandwiches with you. You hardly ate a bite."
Kaede gave a weak smile, "Sure thing." She wrapped them up in the napkins sitting to the side, carefully stuffing them into her purse in way that wouldn't show her self-defense weapon. Thankfully, Dr. Page was too preoccupied with her phone.
"Lunatic, huh?" Kaede couldn't help but murmur to herself.
"I admire his sense of justice." Dr. Page replied simply, "He knew how to separate monsters from humans, unlike those so-called Heroes. I think he gave the guilty exactly what they deserved."
"Mm." Kaede feigned a smile, holding back her disgust. She pushed back her judgments. Maybe there was something to Dr. Page's past that made her want to support such a wayward vigilante. The doctor could've had a spouse, a child, a best friend lying under hard dirt while their murderer continued to live and breathe and possibly laugh at the victims. That could be enough to make someone feel a bit bloodthirsty. Still, for Kaede, that didn't make it right though.
Innocents did get framed, Kaede understood. Her father had been accused of murder he did not commit, so she shuddered to think of what her life would've been like if Lunatic had his way with her father. How much emptier would her childhood have been if her father had been taken before his time? She would've suffered the kind of heart-rending loneliness that Barnaby had surely known with two dead parents…
Lunatic may have seen himself as a servant of justice, but he was far from it. Due process was something her father did not get in that accusation, and something that masked creep did not carry out. For Kaede, real justice followed the limits of the law.
Getting up, Dr. Page wandered towards the back of the living room, waving, "Goodbye, Miss Kaburagi."
Turning her back on Dr. Page, she replied, "Bye."
What happened?
As Barnaby locked eyes on the road, Kaede turned the inconsistency over in her head, wondering just what was going on as she stared down at her phone. The time was 12:19 PM. How long was the walk from the house to the hospital again, ten minutes? She could've sworn she was out the door, then down the street. So why did she end up at Dr. Page's front door again, for that one moment?
Dr. Page lit up with a blue glow, pressing her index finger to the broken grandfather clock. The minute hand froze, staying stuck to 11:59. And she smiled, before all Kaede could see in front of her again was the sidewalk ahead.
Was what she saw real? It had to have been real. She could feel her feet on the ground just fine at the time.
It made her uneasy to think she had been so close to another NEXT without knowing the whole time. And now… she understood exactly what Edmond was saying about getting a feeling he couldn't shake off about this doctor. When she thought about it, Dr. Page seemed awfully defensive at such a simple question. Kaede still felt bad about hurting her feelings, sure, but nothing seemed perfectly fine with this woman. She admired Lunatic and supported capital punishment. It wouldn't be surprising at all to find out Dr. Page had murdered people since that was the case. She'd have an excuse for it like her favorite vigilante. She'd justify murdering someone else if she felt it was right.
Maybe Kaede really had been right to bring along her folded staff.
Furrowing her brows in frustration, she gave an unsatisfied grunt, crossing her arms and settling deeper into her seat. She'd just been face-to-face with a woman who believed she had the right to end someone else's life. Without a doubt, she was angry—no, enraged actually. And why wouldn't she be?
Barnaby cast a fleeting glance towards his stepdaughter, before looking back at the road.