To Be A Dove (TBAS Sequel)

Chapter 4

"We'll do great, Emi. I promise."
-Rei, TBAS
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Inspector Shinohara sat quietly behind his desk, calculating eyes locked on the figure in front of him. He tried, for the hundredth time, to understand at least a single string of thought coming from the small boy in front of him. To no avail, however, as he was soon beginning to realize how different Rei was, compared to the rest of the children he had encountered.

The way his body moved, the way he looked and talked, unintentionally coiling the older with his peculiar way of phrasing things. For some reason needing to incorporate the name Emi in every other sentence.

The boy was confusing to the core, so entangled yet so frayed between the words that stumbled their way out of his mouth. Shinohara was at a loss for words.

"And then they started screaming and nobody wanted to answer my questions!" The boy huffed, a dramatic flare attached to his voice as he tried to explain why he had, quite unintentionally, broken a guard's hand and smashed the nose of another.

It seemed like the boy did many, many things under the act of  not intending to, Shinohara guessed. Yet the way the guards darted their sight away when Rei walked past made him think that he was much more in control of his actions than he wanted to give off.

The boy leaned forward in his chair, his posture emphasizing his words as his crimson eyes were open like saucers.

"I swear I didn't mean to."

The investigator was baffled, although he tried his best not to show it. Despite trying to sustain his claims, it was the first time Shinohara caught a glimpse of insincerity in the boy's eyes. A mere second of it, just like a rainbow springing to life upon shining a spray of water into the sky; fleeting, but present nonetheless.

The older stared. His gaze grew heavier, pinning Rei down as a father does to a son who has been caught in a lie. Rei stared back, his eyes hiding all emotion as silence fell upon them. Was the younger trying to assert dominance? Or was he simply trying to convince himself as well?

Just then, after the right amount of pressure, the boy's body slowly relaxed into the chair and the words slid from his mouth, almost a whisper in the quiet office.

"They made me angry."

"You decided to hurt them, because they made you angry?" Shinohara repeated, a blue-inked pen resting against his fingers as he waited for confirmation.

"I didn't make any permanent damage." Rei mumbled, annoyed at the weakness of the two guards who had failed to neutralize him. "Your guards aren't very good if they cry at something as small as a broken hand."

Shinohara remained still, his gaze softening as he took in the victory of breaking past the boy's defense, albeit it was a tiny bit.

"Broken bones hurt. Wouldn't you agree?" Shinohara asked, watching as the boy's gaze went blank for a split second.

My little doll. From this day forward, you are a girl.

Rei smiled, although the image shown between his lips was one Shinohara couldn't quite comprehend.

"I suppose so."

Not the answer Shinohara had expected. Suddenly he realized just how little he knew about the boy in front of him. And judging by his malnourished, ragged look, Rei had one hell of a story to tell.

"I was given orders to take you to an interrogation room." The older said, immediately noticing Rei's body going stiff.

"But-" he immediately continued. "I'd rather speak to you myself. I don't think they'll know how to treat you, and we certainly don't want anymore people getting hurt."