The Boy With The Blank Stare: Future

Chapter Six: Backwards

Saihara's POV:

I wasn't surprised when my father had brushed off my 'theory' and allegation, thinking it was just a theory with no foundation or evidence for it. It makes sense, thinking about it, why would you believe someone who only had a word of mouth for a testimony? Still, it didn't change the fact I was still disappointed in him.

I also had to get back into the routine of the house, my life being ruled over by a strict schedule, one I wouldn't dare breaking on the fly, even on the days I was sick I was used to doing the bare minimum, which was usually at least six to ten hours of desk work.

It felt confining due to the relative freedom I had been experiencing. 

Everything in my life is planned by the minute. In exactly four minutes and thirty-nine seconds, I need to finish breakfast and start again on my homeschooling. In two hours thirty-six minutes and twenty-eight seconds, I need to begin looking over the casework assigned for the day or review a past case my father thought I could learn from.

In four hours fifty-five minutes and six seconds, I need to make dinner. It goes on. Not one spot on that schedule is for interacting with my Father beyond in a professional atmosphere, which consisted of him usually checking my homework, or giving him food, along with making sure he didn't die from a caffeine overdose.

The schedule, however, with all the busy work that came with it, might have been the only thing keeping me sane though. Otherwise, I would have gone mad thinking about Ouma.

Honestly, it's terrifying being here again. Not because I am worried about my safety, my father would never hurt me other than a small slap on the wrist if I cursed or disrespected him massively, it's mainly about how I left Ouma behind to himself.

He has no one there, I know that. And I know that something horrible just happened to him when I was reading some reports today.

It was in their local newspaper, front and center. Detailing the death of Ouma Kokoro, or Osaka Kokoro as I researched her maiden name to be, she was just thirty-three years old and had apparently committed suicide in the hospital she was staying in. The same day Ouma had told me he visited her, and she transferred custody over to his Aunt.

She had been described in the article as a bit less sympathetic, with reports and interviews from coworkers describing her as a manic and depressed figure who had developed extreme paranoia and life of a recluse, however just from the few hours I spent researching into her past I knew that women had worked three jobs to support herself and her son, which meant she likely was actually severely sleep-deprived while working and not being intentionally rude to her coworkers, if at all.

What disturbed me was how that was around a week before I left, and judging by how Ouma had been acting I doubt he knew his mother was gone.

Does he know now? Would his aunt and uncle even want to tell him in fear of risking his mental health? Kiibo probably knows, will he do it?

I sighed, would I even tell him if I had the opportunity to...?

...

He told me the truth about the worst day in his life, so if I knew and shied away from telling him, that would make me an awful person.

It was sad to say though, but the added information I could now access for Ouma's mother did help the case.

Father was right when he said right now my only piece of evidence was Ouma's confession to me, which would likely not even count in a court of law. So I would have to work backward, find out who was the one in charge of the massacre and why along with who must've either been manipulated or cooperated to allow this crime to have remained hidden for so many years.