Officer

Nathan looked at his mother with a blank expression as he clued together the version of events she had been told. Maybe it wasn't even that far from the truth. Nathan had just seen the Vijang thugs talking to the barber.

Nathan hadn't bothered caring about the details. He saw the Vijan Syndicate's symbol and immediately stepped on the warpath.

"Then, why did I end up in the hospital?"

That was the only part that didn't align with the story of him assaulting innocent civilians.

Anita sighed.

"It looks like you awakened."

"..."

Nathan didn't say anything since he wanted his mother to tell him what it looked like from an outside perspective.

"The officer in charge of this incident said that it might have looked like one of our clients was being harassed by a couple of thugs. Your protective instincts took over and before you knew it, you were already assaulting them to protect Linus."

"Who's Linus?"

"The barber. So, what's your side of the story?"

Anita looked at her son with a tired expression. Nathan had never been a calm kid. But she didn't think he was the type to get involved with violence, even if his awakening stirred his emotions.

"Before that, can I ask what the barber said happened?"

"He's the one who said you assaulted two of his customers. He also mentioned an incident from earlier during the day where you acted like an escapee from a psych ward and threatened him with violence. What's going on, Nathan?"

"Well, he's a coward. And I doubt you would believe me if I told you what was going on."

"Try me."

Nathan looked around.

"Not here. I'll tell you when we get back home."

"You might need to wait a bit for that, then."

"Why?"

Anita glanced at Nathan's wrist. It was handcuffed to the hospital bed.

"What the fuck?"

Nathan yanked on the handcuffs hard enough to make them creak.

"Stop that!"

Anita smacked him on top of his head again.

Nathan looked at her in confusion, but he stopped trying to tear off the handcuffs.

"Just accept what's going on, for now, Nathan. Since you awakened, you probably won't go to jail. But if you try to run, jail will be the least of your troubles."

"...Okay."

Nathan meekly obeyed.

Anita nodded.

"I'll let the stationed police know you're up. The officer will probably want to ask you some questions. Don't cause any more trouble."

"..."

"Nathan."

"...I won't."

Anita left the hospital room, and a short while later, a tall man in a sleek police uniform entered it. He had short, neatly trimmed hair and naturally small eyes that gave him a sharp appearance. He had a stern expression as he looked at Nathan. 

He moved the only chair in the room to the foot of Nathan's bed before sitting down and meeting Nathan's eyes in silence.

"Yuander Nathan Hobster."

"That's me."

"Do you go by Yuander?"

"Nathan. Only my dad calls me Yuander."

"Understood. Nathan, my name is Marcus Bellinge. I am the officer in charge of investigating this incident. Since three people have ended up in the hospital, it is not something that can simply be brushed under the rug."

"Good."

"Good?"

Nathan nodded.

"I want the truth of this matter to come to light. A diligent officer like you is just what I want."

"I see. Let's begin with you telling me what happened."

Nathan obliged.

"I was delivering food to one of our customers—my mom runs a restaurant—when I saw those two thugs harassing the customer, the barber guy. It looked like they were threatening him. I can't be sure, but it looked like at least one of them was armed since he had his hand in his pocket and pointed it at the barber. After that, everything is something of a blur."

Marcus nodded while taking notes.

"Do you remember breaking one thug's arm and jaw and breaking another's finger before stomping on his throat?"

Nathan shook his head with a solemn expression.

"As I said, everything's a blur. The flashes that pop up when I try to recall what happened might be of me doing those things as you said. But it also looks like when I make fried chicken."

"I see. Is there anything or anyone that can prove your story? Currently, three people are telling one story where you attacked two people trying to get a haircut, and then there's you, the only one who experienced a different set of events."

Nathan slowly shook his head.

"It's still word against word, but three mouths are louder than one. And considering people often experience heightened emotions and undergo a drastic transformation during their awakening, your testimony is very fragile. You understand, right, Nathan?"

"I do. I'm looking at two counts of serious assault and one attempted murder, if I'm not mistaken?"

Marcus nodded.

"There's also the previous incident with the barber, where you threatened him. Since it's a shop, there aren't any trespassing charges. But there are a few minor misdemeanors as well."

"..."

"But, under the Hero Seed Protection Act, which your case falls under, you won't end up in jail. At most, it will be strict education and community service until you have proven that it was a misfire because of your awakening and not a violent and unprovoked outburst."

"I understand."

Nathan wasn't looking forward to community service. But it was that, his mother's wrath, or losing both his parents again.

Besides, he just had to prove he wasn't as bad as people thought he was. How difficult could it be?

"That is unless…"

But Marcus spoke, interrupting Nathan, who was about to resign himself to his fate.

"Unless?"

Nathan tilted his head as he looked at the officer.

Marcus looked up from his notes at Nathan.

"Frankly speaking, this situation reeks of things that don't add up. It happens quite often that awakeners lash out when awakening. But usually, it's just wild power they haven't learned how to control or that is being controlled by their heightened feelings, senses, and emotions."

"Yes?"

"The injuries on the two victims are, pardon the expression, pieces of art."

Marcus looked at Nathan with a clear gaze as he closed his notebook.

"If you are speaking the truth, it means your skill is combat-specialized. The only times such a skill will 'misfire' is when it's not a misfire at all. You or someone nearby was perceived to be under duress by another party. That's the only conclusion I can come to."

"So you believe me?"

"I didn't say that. But in my head, those two threatening the shop owner, getting beat up by you, and then coercing the shop owner into telling their story is more likely than an ordinary food runner with no experience fighting using advanced martial arts to beat the crap out of two beefy, grown men. You haven't even sustained any injuries. And I have a very difficult time believing that those two, who seethed with anger until they left the hospital wouldn't have tried to fight back."

"..."

"That's not all. Lately, there has been a rise in incidents involving people wearing similar leather jackets. But they are never found guilty. There's never evidence, the witnesses won't talk or they won't say the truth, or they're the victims of supposedly unprovoked violence."

'Ooh, intriguing. I'm starting to like this guy.'

"You want to expose the truth."

Marcus nodded at Nathan's statement.

Nathan smiled.

"Let me help."