Teruteru handed Hiyoko the recorder, "Make sure to get everything on tape, okay?" Hiyoko nodded, as did Fuyuhiko.
Teruteru bended over and Hiyoko was the first one to clib on him and into the vent, Fuyuhiko following.
"Oh, Teruteru, you're.." "I'm too big to fit into that." He huffed, "Now go quickly before the tv shuts off." Hiyoko nodded egerly and the two blondes crawled through the huge vents. Well, huge for them at least.
"See anything, Hiyoko?" "Yeah, hold on.." they whispered and Hiyoko quickly pressed the button on the camera, the red light flashing. And she pointed it to the tv.
The room was big, and foggy to the bottom due to the adults smoking their tenth cigarette today as it seems. Teruteru was still standing on the chair and playing with his fingers as he waited for them to return.
The two blondes looked at eachother in belwilderness as the news report lady was talking about them and their 'funerals'.
There were even three coffins being shown on the screen, and God knows whatever might be in them, "Hiyo-" Fuyuhiko was cut off with her index finger shushing him silent.
"Well? You two, what's happening?" Teruterus voice could he heard echoing through the vent. "Quiet...!" Hiyoko whispered back loud enough for her voice to be heard through the boxy metal tunnel.
Another memory Hiyoko and Teruteru could remember is a cigarette they smoked for the first time. They found it on the front desk at the orphanage, and being kids.. they made stupid choices.
"So who's gonna go first?" Hiyoko asked as she had a cigarette in between her index finger and thumb, "I'll try." Teruteru snatched it out of her hand, and since they were in the kitchen they had a stove to light it on.
Teruteru turned the stove on and placed the tip to the fire, Hiyoko shot both hand over her mouth and watched as Teruteru placed the cigarette to his lips, and inhaled.
Teruteru coughed harshly a couple of times and let out a 'pleh!'. "Had enough?" Hiyoko stared at Teruteru in a concerned manner, but Teruteru insisted. "Nope, not yet." He huffed before taking the cigarette back in his mouth and slowly inahled, the cigarette was already half roasted due to Teruteru inahiling it in one go. He exhaled the smoke out through both his mouth and nose.
"What does it taste like?" Hiyoko was well under the choice to smoke now, but Teruteru wasn't. He used his lips to draw the cigarette in and chewed on the orange bit of the rolled up paper, "Hm, taste like burning wood." Hiyoko gave him a look as if he's lost his mind, "I don't know- but it tastes rancid." Teruteru finished the cigarette and continued to chew on the insides of it, tasting gross textures and tastes. "Wait, Teruteru! Don't eat it though!" "Why not? It won't hurt me will it?" "Spit it out!" "But-" "Now!" "Fine!" Teruteru went to the trash bin and spat out the chewed up Nicotine in the garbage bag with a loud 'pto!'
Hiyoko still had the full pack in her hand, wondering what to do with it.
"Actually, can I keep the pack?" "Over my rotting corpse, Teruteru."
The courthouse was huge, probably as huge as the orphanage, maybe bigger. Either way, I had myself trembling out of the car, mama grabbing my hand. I couldn't see Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko, or Peko, not through the amount of people going into the courthouse.
But I still walked through the never-ending stairs, and into the arena-like room.
There were three floors above us, where people from the public were going to see the trial with their own eyes. Each floor was packed, and so were the benches against the wall for more people from the general public to watch. Some of the people included teachers,classmates, also Haru Riku Hiyoko punched in the nose.
I haven't heard of the news of our trial going public, maybe it was published without our knowledge.
Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko, and Peko, along with their parents, were already there and waiting. Waiting for us, and the people adjusting their seats. Even Auntie Emma and Auntie Sayo were sat, looking like they've just woken up. Maybe they have taken a bus ride and slept through the trip.
It was now silent, and the judge started with a "stand up" and a prayer. My heart was pounding in my chest, all of our hearts were pounding, but we stood up, said the prayer in sync with the judge, and soon we were all free to sit down.
I felt thousands of eyes burning into Fuyuhiko, Peko, Hiyoko, and me. And I felt like gagging once Hiyokos name was shouted and echoed through the heights of the court. Her father attempted to stand up with her only for him to get his shoulder grabbed, accompanied with a head shake.
"Come up to the front please." She did as she was told, and stood in front of the brown, wooden box to support her height.
And adjusted her face straight to the mic.
The judge started with explaining the context he recieved from what happened before we fled, something I was far too familiar with.
"Now then, do you claim everything that I've just said." Hiyoko nodded, and it didn't take a person who could see clearly from a mile away to see she was trembling.
"That nod doesn't tell me anything." "Y.. Yes sir."
"Now then!" He leaned on the desk, "Care to explain your side of the story?" Hiyoko gulped a second, until going closer to the mic. All eyes were on her now, and she made an inner gag at that feeling.
"S-Sir... I was setting up a sleepover for my friends. In the morning, Teruteru and I were going to explore my basement for a little bit.
"What were you going to explore?" "My kimono.." Teruteru remembered that event.
"This. Will be my kimono once I'm a professional dancer." She prided, her whisper dissapearing as there was no need to whisper anymore for the moment. "Whoooahh." He swooned and looked at the pink and soft fabric with light yellow flower patterns, admiring. "Once you become an ultimate?" "Yeah! No more lil' Ultimate Traditional Dancer. And no more lil' Ultimate Chef! We are gonna be the Ultimate Chef, Traditional Dancer, and Yakuza!" She flexed her arms on her hips and stuck out her chest in pride and glory.
That memory was fuzzy and felt echoy in his mind. The judge asked her to continue.
"Once the police came to my house, Teruteru and I ran upstairs to wake up Fuyuhiko and we ran out through my window."
"Teruteru would you stand up please." I lifted myself from my chair, and the heads turned to me.
I got told to stand on my feet until I was needee, and Hiyoko was demanded to continue.
"And where did you go?" "I don't know, we found a big building where we managed to stay there for a while."
"What was the building called?" "I didn't see a name anywhere, sir." "Then what was the area called?" "Shinobu town." Hiyoko lived in Shinobu town, but the old building was quite invisible to her home.
"How and when did you escape?" "We escaped through the back exit when there was a riot." The judge looked like he knew very well about what riot, and Hiyoko finished her point of the story until I was safe to come up. It stabbed me in the chest once he asked about little Hanako.
Some remains of plasting containers for her food was left inside my bag.
"Before the riot, we found her crying and we took her with us before we left the building."
"How did you know it was a girl?"
"We took care of her for quite some time." Murmurs could be heard from the floors of the courthouse, and the judge demanded silence. "Did she have a guardian with her?"
"Yes sir." The judge laughed, so did the other lawyers. And Peko lowered her head and stared daggers into them with her crimson red eyes. "So you mean to tell me this young lass had a parent with her, and you decided to take her? I'd find that kidnapping, son." 'Son' he hated the word 'son'. "No, sir. She had her father with her but he was dead by the time we found her." Silence filled the room and the judges expression didn't change.
Soon it was the adults that go up front; Auntie Emma, Auntie Sayo, Teruterus parents, Hiyokos parents, Fuyuhikos parents. And the four were reminded that this was going to be a public humiliation for them along with themselves. The trial was long, and tiring, and argumentative. But we finally managed to reach the peak of it all and gathered up the facts, which all had valid justifications.
And we were declaired innocent in the end.