A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover

Chapter 87: Akamine-sensei’s Favor

A few days ago,

Hajime, tied to a tree, started slipping in and out of consciousness as if he was in a lucid dream. He couldn’t tell how long he stayed therein, beat-up and almost on the verge of death as his broken ribs slowly ripped through his mushy lungs. At first, he tried to struggle, squirming out of the rope like an earthworm dipped in salt. However, his movements were futile and it just worsened the aching in his chest. His ribs were broken— he has no idea how many ribs were broken but he could feel them. Because of that, he stopped struggling whatsoever. It was futile anyways since he was tied real tight.

The agonizing experience felt like hours for Hajime when only a couple of minutes had elapsed. Resigning to his fate, he decided to slump down and let his consciousness slip so he could get some rest. Hopefully, someone finds him before he dies, and if not, then that’s too bad. At this point, Hajime had no energy to expend thinking about his current situation.

Blink. Blink.

Blink.

A flash of light, and then a strong wave of it hit him squarely on the face, causing him to impulsively flinch and flail his arms out in an idiotic manner. It was an authentic reaction since he was in dark surroundings. Somehow seeing a light flash in front of him made him act out in surprise.

"What’s this?!"

.....

A few minutes ago, that day,

As luck would have it, a patrol policeman was just passing by. He noticed the faint shadow-like movements by the edge of the park and the rustling of the leaves further proved that someone or something was sneaking over there.

"This is why I hate night shifts. Why do I have to risk my life checking it out?" The policeman scratched his head and rubbed his nose. While his instincts told him to steer clear from the edge of the park, he knew that it was his duty to check it. He was being paid for this job after all. It would just leave a bad taste in his mouth if he met his job halfway.

With a sigh coming out of his mouth, the policeman then returned the cap he was wearing after scratching his slightly sweaty scalp. Nervousness kicked in in his system but he ignored it. Whether or not there was someone by the bushes, he still had to check it so his curiosity would be appeased and his uncertainty satisfied.

"Hello? Is anybody—"

Waving his flashlight around to get a better view of the entire place, he stumbled upon a form on the tree. Unsure of what it was, he bit his lips so as to stop his affirmative question from slipping out. ’I thought I saw something over there. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? No, I don’t think so. There’s no way my eyes would play tricks on me when I’m this anxious.’

Doubting his mind, the policeman swerved his flashlight towards the spot again, only to find that there was really someone there, tied up to a tree, all beat-up, and dying.

"What’s this?!"

Without further ado, the policeman jumped through the brushes and untied the young man. He then called for backup since moving an injured person is a definite no-no when it comes to emergency situations just like this one.

.....

A flipped car came on the scene, getting nearer and nearer as the point of view panned closer to it. Little by little, the car’s details could be seen. It was a literal scene of the crime, with the truck— which seemingly lost its brakes— rammed against the unobserving car, causing it to flip over.

There were four people inside the flipped car. Two of them were bleeding from their head, their deep red blood flowing and streaming down their face whilst forming a pool of blood on the asphalt. It was a sunny day, but suddenly heavy rain started pouring in. The smell of rained soil, blood, and death lingered in the background, creating a traumatic atmosphere.

A hand reached out to another, grabbing it. It was blurry, but the hand belonged to the person in the front seat. Her grip was unsure, weakening as seconds passed despite her effort to tighten her grip. Forcing a smile on her face, she muttered something to her son— the owner of the other hand.

"It’s going to be all right... look after your sister... okay?"

Another presence could be felt, and this time, it was from the guy in the driver’s seat. "Hajime... you have to fight... okay? Promise me... that you’ll..."

"..."

Beep. Beep.

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Beep.

Beep.

.

Beep.

.

Hajime’s eyes shot wide open as the nightmare drew to a close. A familiar ceiling greeted him... or rather, it felt familiar since he had seen the same ceilings on television a couple of times in the past.

"You’re awake." The policeman said, heaving a sigh of relief. Beside him was a doctor who had been checking Hajime’s condition up til now.

"Three broken ribs but nothing serious. It will heal in about a month, just don’t force yourself too much." The doctor muttered while writing a couple of things on paper. He then handed the paper to Hajime before he explained what he just prescribed him. It was a long rant of useless medical banter that Hajime only pretended to listen to it when in truth he didn’t hear a word he said.

"Arata-san here lives nearby so we called him over. It was way faster than calling an ambulance and bringing you to the nearest hospital." The policeman explained before eyeing Hajime up and down.

"Before we get down on anything... is there anyone you can contact? A relative? Perhaps a guardian? It’s a common procedure and legally advantageous for you if you have someone like that before questioning."

"I don’t have any parents, and my sister is in the hospital." He simply answered as he shook his head.

"I see, then... let’s continue." The policeman then brought out a notepad. As he did so, Hajime caught a glimpse of his name tag. There was the name ’Hideki’ written on it.

"Wait," Hajime responded, finally getting back to his senses. "May I take a phone call?"

"Sure, go ahead," Hideki waved his hand towards one of the telephones by the desk in the corner of the room.

.....

A few minutes later,

The clicking of heels could be heard outside the police station, prompting the guard by the entrance to open the door before anyone came knocking. As soon as the doors were opened, a figure of a lady in a white blouse and navy blue skirt came in, swinging her purse as she ran inside.

"Hajime? Hajime?" She anxiously repeatedly let out, swiveling her head here and there and causing a ruckus inside the police station in the process.

"Ah, sensei," Wide-eyed, Hajime waved at Akamine-sensei. For a moment there, he thought that she wasn’t coming since it took her a long time to get there.

"Hajime? What happened, are you all right? Who did this to you? I swear if it’s one of your classmates I’ll- I’ll." Akamine-sensei’s sudden shift from being concerned to being threatening happened in a span of two seconds. All the while, she was holding Hajime by the cheeks, checking every millimeter of his face for bruises that were evidently conspicuous.

"Um," Hideki muttered, attracting both of their attention.

Without further ado, Akamine-sensei extended her hand toward Hideki. "I’m sorry, I’m Rie Akamine, Hajime’s guardian." She greeted, seating herself beside Hajime before bombarding him with her series of questions.

From an onlooker’s perspective, one would think that Akamine-sensei’s role was of an interrogator with all her questions while Hideki was the guardian with his silence— when in fact it was the exact opposite.