Chapter 9
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
My voice screaming.
I managed to get through yesterday, but in the end, I couldn’t save his life.
Ah, I have to start all over again.
But……
But Shinji comes back to life.
He will come back to life, but …….
◇
“He’s back!”
In the blink of an eye, I found myself being held in a headlock by a man dressed in black, and I involuntarily cried out.
“Hey, shut up!”
Shinji yelled.
Ah, it’s Shinji.
Shinji is here….
Overwhelmed by a mix of sadness, joy, and other inexplicable emotions, I burst into tears.
“Hey, don’t cry!”
Oh, Shinji. You think I’m crying because I’m a hostage and I’m scared, right? That’s completely wrong. It’s different!
“Shinjiiiii-kuuuun”
With my face a mess of tears and snot, I clung to the arm that was holding me in a headlock. Perhaps surprised, Shinji finally let go of me.
“Wh, what are you?”
“Ahhh, Shinji-kuuuuunn.”
I reached out my arms like a zombie, trying to hug him. Seeing this, Shinji backed away.
“Wha, scary.”
With that, Shinji ran outside, leaving me behind.
“Huh? W, wait a minute. All by yourself?”
I panicked.
Because this was a scenario I’d never seen before. I never imagined there’d be a version where he didn’t take a hostage!
The security guard stopped me as I tried to go outside.
“Ma’am, it’s dangerous! Please don’t go outside!”
But I completely ignored the security guard’s words and dashed outside.
“Shinji-kun!”
I shouted, but Shinji had already gotten into his car and was about to drive away. For a split second, I considered jumping onto the hood of the car like they do in cop shows, but I knew there was no way I could do that, so I stopped myself.
The car Shinji was in disappeared from view in an instant.
…… Could it be? Is there a chance this is the right answer? That Shinji will die because I was with him…? If so, now that we’re apart, maybe Shinji can survive. Maybe this time, nothing will happen, and time will move forward. So that’s it—I shouldn’t have gone near Shinji.
I don’t know, but …….
Is that really how it is?
The car that drove away was long gone. People were pouring out of the bank, some of them, worried about me, called out to me, and in the distance, the sound of sirens echoed.
I just sat down right there.
◇
“So, could you please start over from the beginning?”
After that, a large number of police officers and detectives rushed to the scene. Paramedics carried away the security guard, and we, the people who happened to be at the scene, were questioned one by one. Perhaps because I had played the special role of a hostage, I was grilled over and over again—to the point of being almost annoying.
This is the nearest police station.
I’ve been called into an interrogation room—the kind I’ve only ever seen on TV—and I’m undergoing my third or fourth round of questioning. By the way, it looks like I won’t be getting any katsudon.
“Again?”
Come on, I’m getting really tired of this.
It’s not like I haven’t been repeating the same thing over and over already!?
“I apologize for asking you to repeat yourself so many times, but the detectives in charge have just arrived. If you could speak with them directly, I think that will wrap things up.”
He explains it politely, and I nod reluctantly.
Knock knock
There was a knock, and the detective in front of me opened the door. When I saw the person standing there, I couldn’t help but tremble. I can tell Yasuhara’s eyes are flashing.
From his perspective, this is our first meeting. Yet, I clearly reacted as if I knew Yasuhara. My gut tells me this is going to be a hassle.
“I’m sorry to take up your time.”
Yasuhara sat down in front of me with a cheerful smile. But I could sense a fiery intensity deep in his eyes, determined not to miss a single detail.
“This is who I am.”
He politely offered me his business card. I took it and looked at it carefully.
Yasuhara Mamoru. It is stated that he is a Police Inspector in the Prefectural Police Investigation Division 1.
“We’ve mostly finished interviewing the others. Everyone is saying the same thing, so there shouldn’t be any problems. However, we’re just cross-checking the details to be safe. If you don’t mind, could you please tell us everything that happened today from the beginning?”
“…… All right.”
As I said that, the door opened again, and this time Atsuko Kamiya came in.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Ah, this is Atsuko Kamiya. We’ll be interviewing you together—is that okay?”
“Yes.”
And so the questioning begins.
Just as I had done earlier, I gave a general account of what had happened.
“Why were you taken hostage?”
“Maybe it’s because I was at the back of the ATM line?”
“Do you know the culprit?”
“No.”
I replied firmly. It wasn’t a lie. The first time, I had just met Shinji—I didn’t know him at all.
“However, according to other eyewitness accounts, I heard that you spoke with the culprit?”
Yasuhara’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“Um, I was really shaken up at the time, so I don’t really remember much about it.”
I tried to brush it off.
“There’s also testimony that you called out his name. Could there be some kind of connection?”
“His name…… was it?”
I wonder where Shinji is now. Is he safe? Will I never see him again? If so, they should have just not brought us together in the first place.
As I was mulling over these thoughts, I suddenly felt incredibly sad. By the time I realized it, it was too late. Tears were streaming down my cheeks without me noticing. This is bad.
“Huh?”
Kamiya looked at me with a surprised expression.
“Oh, no, I’m sorry.”
I took a handkerchief from my bag and wiped away my tears. Yasuhara’s eyes were fixed on me, trying desperately to pierce right through me.
“I just remembered something, and now I’m getting scared.”
What do you think? Doesn’t that sound convincing? That answer!
But Yasuhara pressed on, as if he could see right through my lie.
“You knew who I was, didn’t you?”
When asked that, I was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Do I know…? No, I don’t think we’ve ever met.”
“But when I walked into the room just now, you looked surprised when you saw me, didn’t you?”
“Well… I guess it’s because you looked alike.”
My brain is working at full capacity!!
“To whom?”
“Um, I was on the volleyball team in high school. Our upperclassmen were pretty good. But our class wasn’t so great. Our coach was really strict, a Spartan type, and kind of scary.”
“I see. So you said I reminded you of that coach.”
“It was just the vibe I got at first glance. Looking closely, you don’t really look like him. But, how should I put it… the aura you give off, the sense of tension, you know?”
I gradually started to feel distressed, and found myself seeking confirmation from Kamiya.
“Ah, sorry, never mind that. Will the interview take much longer? I’d like to head home soon.”
When I said that, Yasuhara and Kamiya exchanged glances. I could see them nodding slightly. What was that a signal for?
“I apologize for taking up so much of your time. Since your account matches what everyone else has said, you’re free to go home for today. If we have any further questions, we may give you a call—would that be okay?”
Kamiya explained politely. I nodded in agreement. Then again, is there anyone who could just ignore questions from the police?
“Well then, thank you very much.”
With that, he opened the door for me.
I bowed and left the room. I could hear Yasuhara and Kamiya talking inside.
“…… What do you think?”
Yasuhara asks Kamiya.
“It all seems a bit disjointed, doesn’t it?”
“That woman knows something. She might have some connection to the culprit.”
I had no idea at the time that I was being suspected so thoroughly.
Sads Translates 