Let's go back a little. Back to when I was still in the hospital.
Nino had gone to the reception to finalize our discharge. When she returned, she said, "I've got the clearance. Let's go."
I stopped her for a moment. "Can I borrow your phone? Do you need it for anything important?"
"Here, take it," she said, handing it over. "I have another one anyway." I saved her number, and she added with a smile, "I forgot you don't even own a phone."
"I'm going to the restroom," I told her.
Once inside, I dialed the police. A voice picked up: "Emergency services, what is the problem?"
"My name is Tai," I said firmly. "There are people after me, trying to kill me. I want to keep this call active. I'm heading to the mall soon. I need your men undercover and nearby."
"What is your evidence?" the operator asked.
"Just do as I say, and you'll find plenty of evidence. Not just one."
"Understood. we'll have the area covered in minutes."
Back to the present.
The burly man stepped forward as the police surrounded the area, trapping the five men who had approached us. The man laughed, a dark, mocking sound. "You really are a mastermind. You aren't Saka's student for nothing. You've proven yourself."
He reached out toward Nino. While I sat there in my chair, I unleashed my wires. In a flash, I entangled his body and shredded him into slices.
Blood sprayed over me and Nino. She began to panic, her voice trembling. "T-Tai… are you… a m-murderer?"
I looked at her and forced a small smile. "No, I'm not. I was just defending myself… and you."
Nino fainted from the sheer horror of the scene. The police quickly turned their focus on me, closing in.
"Why are you surrounding me?" I demanded. "I'm not the killer here."
"Shut up," one of them barked. "There were multiple cases under the name 'Saka,' and you are his disciple. Furthermore, there's another case from a month and a half ago regarding that destroyed facility—and it's under your name."
"Oh? And what case would that be?" I asked coldly.
"Don't play dumb. You kidnapped sixty children. Sixty is a massive number, kid. Did you think you'd just walk away from that?"
Wait… sixty children? I kidnapped them?
"I never kidnapped any children!" I shouted in rage.
"Then why is the case registered in your name?"
"I don't know! Someone framed me. Who is your witness for this lie?"
"Come to the station," the officer replied. "You'll find out exactly who 'framed' you there."
I agreed and went with them. I made sure to ride in the lead officer's car to extract information. "How can you prove this charge when I've only been out of the hospital for minutes? I called you from inside the hospital! How can the case be in my name?"
"You'll learn everything at the station," he said. The sheer confidence in his voice sent a chill down my spine.
At the station, they searched me, confiscated the phone, and hooked me up to a lie detector.
"Are you finished?" I asked.
"Yes," the officer replied.
"Then bring out your witness."
When the witness stepped into the room, I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was him. The doctor who had been treating me at the hospital.
What? The doctor is the witness? How could he possibly prove I was responsible?
The doctor stepped forward. "Hello. I am Dr. Saito, and I will tell you everything."
Tell them what, you lying piece of filth? I realized then that Saka and I had been seeking treatment from a very dangerous man.
"Is it true that the child abductions began three months ago?" the doctor asked the officer.
"Yes," the officer confirmed.
I interrupted, "Three months ago, I had just turned eighteen. Where is the logic in your words?"
"Don't get agitated," the doctor said calmly. "Listen to the whole story."
He continued, "When did the abductions recur?"
"Two months ago," the officer replied.
My breath hitched. Two months ago was when I first met Saka. He was trying to link the dates to frame me.
"This boy is called 'Tai,' and the man who trained him is 'Saka,'" the doctor stated. "Saka's crimes were numerous, yet you never caught him. At the same time, Tai was being trained by his hand, and the kidnappings coincided with that very period. Is it a coincidence… or the truth?"
The officer turned to me. "You have nothing left to defend. Your case goes to court tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? You actually believe him?"
I tried to speak, but the officer cut me off. "Save your words for the trial. Close the interrogation."
As they cuffed my hands, Dr. Saito leaned in with a haunting smile. He leaned toward my ear and whispered:
"I told you… I want you… and I will have you."
(End of Chapter 26)