Chapter 17: Interrogation
Kazama didn't look back as he pushed through the police station's front doors.
The night streets were somewhat deserted.
After leaving the station, Rikka walked ahead with puffed cheeks, muttering complaints about the "Management Bureau's lackeys."
"Those Unseen Horizon Line bootlickers! Such negligence! My sister is clearly trapped in another dimension, yet they claim she's 'at a friend's house'!"
She spun around abruptly, glaring at Kazama.
"Ally! Now that we know the location, let's go immediately! Whether it's a dragon's den or tiger's lair, if we join forces, we can definitely break through that barrier!"
She was already itching to charge into that so-called luxury apartment.
"Not going."
Kazama's answer was crisp and final.
"Eh? Wh-why not?" Rikka froze. "Don't you want the figure? And it's not far from here!"
"Legally speaking, the police did nothing wrong."
Kazama stood beneath a streetlight, his tone casual.
"Your sister is an adult. She walked into that building voluntarily, without coercion. That means she's most likely safe, or at minimum, there of her own free will. Under those circumstances, if we barge in searching without permission, that's called trespassing. We'd be the ones facing charges."
Rikka pressed on, "Then what do we do? Just abandon her?"
Kazama shook his head.
"I didn't say abandon her. We just need to observe more carefully. Tonight, go home and sleep."
"Besides, if your sister really is fine and just has a dead phone battery, and we charge in there in the middle of the night kicking down doors... guess how the 'Saint Conditioner' would discipline you?"
That sentence clearly struck Rikka's weak point.
She shrank her neck, her mind conjuring the terrifying sister who could beat her senseless with just a ladle.
If this turned out to be a false alarm...
The consequences would be worse than facing a demon king.
She asked cautiously, "So... tomorrow?"
Kazama nodded.
"Yeah. After school tomorrow, we'll check that place out."
"By the way."
He seemed to suddenly remember something and glanced back at Rikka.
"That figure. Better take it out and clean it off first. I don't like dust on my collectibles."
Rikka paused, then nodded vigorously with a determined pose.
"Understood! Dark Ally!"
Watching the chuunibyou's energized retreat, Kazama gently stroked Kerberos hidden in his collar.
"Tomorrow's going to be busy."
Kerberos rolled over and yawned.
"If it's The Maze card, we'll need to bring landmarks. If it's The Jump card, you better pray this girl doesn't get blown away by wind."
"As long as it's not The Erase card. Otherwise by the time we arrive, we probably won't find even dust remains of her sister."
The next day.
During lunch break, Sakigawa High School's hallways boiled with noise like an overheated pot.
Students clustered in groups of three or four, discussing last night's TV dramas, newly released games, or gossip about who in the neighboring class was dating whom.
Kazama walked briskly through the crowd, his earbuds playing nothing—purely to block out external noise and the voice of the pest trailing behind him.
"Um... Dark Flame Master? No wait, Ally! Wait for me!"
Takanashi Rikka glided on the roller shoes the school inexplicably permitted, carving a bizarre S-shaped trajectory through the crowded hallway, stubbornly maintaining a three-meter distance behind Kazama.
"How long are you planning to follow me?"
Kazama stopped abruptly and turned around.
"You've been tailing me since we entered the school gates. When I use the bathroom, you wait outside. When I buy drinks, you watch from the side. What are you, my personal ghost?"
Rikka wasn't deterred by his tone.
Instead, she slid forward a step, stopping at what could only be described as "intimate distance," then tilted her head up, her ahoge curving into a question mark shape.
"Because we're in battle-ready status!"
"Since we've decided to assault the 'Misaki Mori Tower Fortress' after school, naturally as the vanguard officer, I must remain by the commander-in-chief's side at all times, ready to receive combat orders! Plus my sister still hasn't contacted me today! She's definitely imprisoned in a dimensional prison! When do we launch the jailbreak operation?"
Kazama sighed.
Like punching cotton.
Facing this kind of earnest idiot, even someone like him occasionally felt an emotion called helplessness.
"I said after school."
Kazama rubbed his temples, suppressing the urge to just turn and leave.
"It's only noon. Even if you stare holes through me, I can't conjure your sister. Instead of wasting time here, go back to your own classroom and sleep."
"But we're partners!"
Rikka's uncovered eye widened as if hearing something unbelievable.
"Shouldn't partners always stay together? To construct the absolute defense called 'bonds'!"
"That's your narrative, not mine."
Kazama refused flatly.
"Listen carefully, Takanashi. We have a purely transactional relationship. I help you find someone, you give me payment. Nothing more."
He glanced around.
Several passing students had stopped, watching them with the fascinated expressions of spectators at a freak show.
Whispered conversations buzzed like flies.
"Look, isn't that Takanashi? Having another episode."
"Who's that beside her? Oh, it's Kazama. That unlucky guy the delinquents targeted?"
"Haha, a chuunibyou and a bullying victim. Those two together make a perfect freak alliance."
The voices weren't particularly quiet, though Kazama couldn't understand why Rikka seemed oblivious.
"Also." Kazama pointed at the gathering crowd.
"Haven't you noticed? Being with me makes you a target for mockery too. If you don't want to get dragged into my mess, don't want to be labeled an outcast, you should leave now."
"Why should I care about others' stares?"
Rikka interrupted him.
She turned around, but unlike a normal girl, she didn't bow her head in embarrassment or flee.
Instead.
She raised her chin, pressed her hand against her eyepatch, and swept an imperious gaze across the pointing, whispering crowd.
"Hmph. Only vulgar commoners fear being different! Only those bound by this world's false rules worry about such gazes!"
Kazama froze.
For that instant, he found himself speechless.
This girl... was beyond saving.
Her absolute defense against social death had grown so thick that even social attacks automatically converted into buffs.
"Suit yourself."
Kazama sighed, abandoning this pointless argument.
Just as he prepared to ignore the idiot and leave, two middle-aged men in plain clothes—radiating unmistakable "cop" vibes—blocked the hallway's end.
"Kazama Chiba, correct?"
Hachimoto Taro held an unlit cigarette between his lips, his gaze dissecting Kazama from head to toe.
Beside him, Kosaka Itsuki held his signature notepad with a stern expression.
The surrounding students instantly fell silent. Instinctive fear of police made them unconsciously retreat, creating a vacuum circle.
"We're from Kamimizu Precinct. Regarding a case that occurred near the school yesterday afternoon, we'd like your cooperation with some questions."
Hachimoto flashed his badge briefly before pocketing it.
"No need to be nervous. You don't need to come to the station. We'll just borrow that empty classroom over there. No problem, right?"
Though phrased as a question, his tone clearly meant "you have the right to remain silent but you're coming with us either way."
Moreover, their positioning—one blocking the front, the other already circling behind—left Kazama zero room to refuse.
The surrounding students went dead silent.
Police entering school to collect someone.
This was major news.
"More trouble..."
Rikka nervously grabbed Kazama's sleeve.
"It's the Management Bureau's enforcers! Ally, should we break through? I have flash grenades (actually homemade fireworks)!"
Kazama glanced at her.
"Don't ad-lib extra scenes."
"This isn't something you should get involved in. I told you, I attract trouble. If you don't want to get dragged in, keep your distance."
He mercilessly swatted away the hand clutching his sleeve.
Then he straightened his already-neat uniform collar and gave the two detectives a standard model-student smile.
"Of course, no problem, officers. Cooperating with investigations is a citizen's duty."
...
Third floor, old school building's empty classroom.
The curtains were half-drawn, several broken desks piled in the corner, leaving only a clearing in the center.
Kazama leaned against the teacher's podium, one hand in his pocket.
Hachimoto and Kosaka positioned themselves left and right like walls, blocking both the door and window.
This was definitely a budget interrogation room.
No one-way glass, no harsh spotlight, but the suffocating psychological pressure was fully intact.
"Since we're all intelligent people, let's cut to the chase."
Hachimoto didn't sit. Instead, he leaned against a desk, his hawk-like eyes locked onto Kazama's face.
"Yesterday afternoon, 5:56 PM. Did you pass through the third alley in Mitakihara District, Kamimizu City?"
"Yes. That's on my daily route home."
Kosaka stared into his eyes.
"Last night's surveillance shows you were the last person to pass that alley entrance. Moreover, you stopped there for a moment. Looked inside."
"And after you looked, the surveillance malfunctioned. Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"
Kazama spread his hands.
"Surveillance failure is a municipal problem. You should file a complaint with the maintenance department, not question me."
"As for looking inside... yes, I did look."
His answer was so straightforward that Kosaka actually paused.
"What did you see?"
"I saw three people beating up a girl."
"Since you saw that." Hachimoto stepped forward, the tobacco smell closing in. "Why stop to watch? If you knew it was 'something bad,' why not walk away?"
Kazama smiled and spread his hands.
"Officer, that's an odd question."
"I'm human. Humans are fundamentally curious monkeys. People gather to watch dogs fighting on the street, let alone someone causing trouble in an alley. Taking a few extra looks—isn't that biological instinct?"
"What happened next?"
Hachimoto didn't let himself get sidetracked.
"Surveillance shows you glanced at the camera. Then the feed went dark for five seconds. When it resumed, you'd left. Very decisively."
"So why did you leave after just one glance?"
Kosaka couldn't help interjecting.
"You heard screaming, so why not go inside?"
"Someone inside was calling for help. As a human with normal moral values, shouldn't you have offered assistance?"
Kazama shrugged.
"Because I didn't want trouble."
"Like I said, I'm human. Self-preservation is also an instinct."
He pointed at his own head.
"Those were three thugs. Possibly armed with pipes or knives. And me? I'm just an ordinary high school student—five-foot-nine, 130 pounds."
"What did you expect me to do? Become their punching bag? Give them some 'exercise'?"
"Besides, I saw the camera."
"Since surveillance was there, since you police would investigate, why should I get myself involved? For someone like me with zero combat ability, the best choice was obviously to turn around and leave. Pretend I saw nothing. Avoid getting burned. Isn't that textbook self-preservation strategy?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"There's a problem! Of course there's a problem!"
Kosaka snapped, closing his notepad, his young face filled with anger.
"You knew what was happening! You knew that girl was in danger! If you didn't want to rush in, why not call the police?! Even just dial 110! Do you understand what those minutes meant? If you'd called the police then, or even shouted, those three people might not have died!"
Kazama looked at the face flushed red with rage.
He wasn't frightened. Didn't even blink.
"Would calling the police have helped?"
He raised his hand, pointing at his own reasonably handsome face.
"Eighth grade. I tried helping someone too. Result? Those people cornered me in an alley and beat me."
"I called the police."
"Result? Officers came. Took three hours of statements. Wasted my part-time work hours. Then you brought those guys in, lectured them for two minutes, made them apologize, and that was it."
"Next day. I got cornered at the school gate, beaten worse than before. Their reason? 'You dared to snitch.'"
"I told a teacher. The teacher said, 'Why do they only bully you and not others?'"
"From that day forward, I understood something."
"At this school, calling the police does nothing except waste my time and create more trouble for me. Those scumbags won't reform because of a lecture from you. They only escalate."
"So why should I—for a complete stranger—waste my time and risk retaliation from those three thugs by calling the police?"
"You..."
Kosaka was struck speechless.
"But that's still no excuse for standing by and watching!"
Kosaka couldn't help retorting.
"Because of your indifference... three people died! Three human lives!"
Kazama blinked, his confused expression Oscar-worthy in its authenticity.
"Who died?"
"Those three thugs." Kosaka ground his teeth. "They were murdered in that alley. Died horribly."
"Oh—"
Kazama drew out the syllable, as if savoring the words.
Then he said something that completely broke both detectives.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"What?" Both officers froze simultaneously.
"Bullies died. Scum died. These organisms whose only purpose was wasting air and food got cleaned off this planet."
"Isn't that worth celebrating? Why should I feel regret? If I'd called the police and saved them back then, how many girls like her would they have victimized tomorrow? The day after?"
"So, officer. Are you accusing me of... not preventing the world from becoming slightly cleaner?"
"You bastard...!"
Kosaka trembled with rage. He shot up, grabbed Kazama's collar, and yanked him off the podium.
"That's murder! No matter who they were, that's illegal! Your way of thinking... you're basically a criminal-in-waiting!"
"Do you have evidence?"
Even grabbed by the collar, feet nearly leaving the ground, Kazama didn't struggle.
He simply stared calmly into those bloodshot eyes.
"Surveillance caught me leaving, right? Is there blood on me? Do I have a murder weapon?"
"I was just passing by."
He reached up and gently, one by one, pried open Kosaka's fingers.
"If you don't believe me, feel free to investigate. Run DNA tests, polygraphs, whatever you want."
"But right now."
He straightened his wrinkled tie.
"Is the questioning over? I need to get home. My cat's waiting to be fed."
"Calm down, Kosaka."
Hachimoto placed a hand on his partner's shoulder.
He finally removed the cigarette from his mouth. The light in his eyes grew deeper, more dangerous.
This kid.
Not simple at all.
That composure when facing police, not a single crack—definitely not qualities an ordinary high school student should possess.
"I won't debate morality with you."
Hachimoto crushed the cigarette butt in his hand.
"I'll just ask you one question."
"Besides those three people and that girl, when you left—did you see the killer or not?"
Kazama looked at him.
Their gazes collided in the dust-filled air.
"No."
Kazama spread his hands, perfecting the standard innocent-bystander pose.
"I just passed by, took a look, and left."
"If you don't believe me, check that surveillance again."
"I'm sure the camera caught me, right?"
"Besides that."
Kazama checked his watch.
"If there's nothing else, officer, lunch break's almost over. I need to get back to class. After all, I'm a law-abiding student who loves learning. Isn't that right?"
Hachimoto waved dismissively, his voice hoarse.
"Get lost."
"But until we finish investigating... don't think this is over, kid. I'll be watching you. The moment you slip up—"
"I'll be waiting."
Kazama bowed slightly, impeccably polite.
Leaving the two detectives standing in the dim empty classroom.
Kosaka vented his frustration.
"Senior! You're just letting him go? That kid definitely has problems! Those eyes... those words... he's practically a killer-in-waiting!"
Hachimoto remained silent for a long while.
He put the crushed cigarette back between his lips, still not lighting it.
"He has problems. Big problems."
He stared at the closed door.
"But Kosaka, you heard him too."
"His words are disgusting. His logic is twisted. But he's right."
"We have no evidence."
"As long as the surveillance didn't catch him doing it. As long as the scene has no fingerprints or DNA. Even if he really did it..."
"We can't touch him."
"That's the law. The thing we're sworn to protect."
Kosaka slammed his fist against the desk, the sound echoing through the empty room.
"Then what was the point of all this?!"
Hachimoto lit his cigarette finally, taking a long drag.
"The point is we keep watching. We keep investigating. And when he makes a mistake—because people like him always do—we'll be ready."
He exhaled smoke toward the ceiling.
"This isn't over. Not by a long shot."
Outside in the hallway, Kazama walked calmly back toward his classroom.
Rikka immediately popped out from behind a support pillar where she'd been hiding.
"Ally! What did they want? Did you use mind-control magic to escape the Management Bureau's interrogation techniques?"
Kazama didn't slow his pace.
"Nothing important. Just routine questions."
"But you were in there so long! And that scary man looked like he wanted to arrest you!"
"They can want whatever they like. Wanting and doing are different things."
Kazama's expression remained neutral, but internally, Kerberos shifted nervously in his collar.
"That was close," the guardian beast whispered. "Those detectives are suspicious. We need to be more careful."
"They can be suspicious all they want," Kazama murmured back. "Suspicion without evidence is just noise."
But he knew the truth.
The detectives would keep watching. Keep investigating. And he'd need to be absolutely perfect from here on out.
One mistake. One slip. That's all it would take.
The hallway crowd parted as he walked through, students whispering and pointing.
The freak who got questioned by police.
The weirdo hanging out with the chuunibyou girl.
The bullied outcast with dead eyes and a cold smile.
Let them whisper.
Let them point.
None of them mattered.
Tomorrow he'd go to Misaki Mori Tower. Tomorrow he'd face whatever Clow Card had trapped Rikka's sister.
Tomorrow he'd add another card to his collection.
And the detectives could watch all they wanted.
They'd never prove a thing.
END OF CHAPTER 17