The news of the murder of the young Kenji quickly spreads throughout the village; after just two hours, everyone knows what happened: the policeman Raven shot and killed Kenji Niles.
Currently, Raven is in the police station, locked in the only cell available.
Kenji's body, on the other hand, is in the morgue, located in the basement of the police station.
Mr. Shingo promptly called the medical examiner, who, along with his assistants, took care of the body.
There was no need to call Kenji's parents, as the rumors spread so quickly that they heard about it as well. So, both of them went to the police station, and then Mr. Shingo escorted them to the morgue, where they identified the body.
Needless to say, Mr. Shingo denied the possibility for Kenji's parents to meet Raven; Koki Niles has an aggressive temperament and surely would have tried something against him.
Another problem is represented by the villagers. Many of them gathered in front of the police station to protest against the heinous act committed by Raven; in this case too, Mr. Shingo dispersed them, although not without some difficulty.
The only person he allowed to pass was Raven's wife, Kyo.
...
11:30 AM
Mr. Shingo is filling out some documents while waiting for his superiors to arrive.
It had been fifty years since a person was murdered in the village of Hassan, not by demons. There is no detention facility in this village, so Raven will have to be transferred to Fort, the nearest city with one.
"Raven, can you hear me? The word has already spread throughout the village..." Mr. Shingo speaks loudly from his workstation, about ten meters away from the cell.
"..."
"Why do you refuse to speak? If you were truly a bastard who kills a boy, you wouldn't behave like this..." He continues, then gets up from his chair and walks towards him.
Once in front of the bars, he starts looking at him.
Raven is sitting on a bench, staring into space, with a dark and worried look.
"Your wife came to see you... She's been here for over an hour. I told her I couldn't let you meet yet; she's very worried. Don't you think you owe her some explanation, at least to her?"
Upon hearing these words, Raven presses a hand against his chest, feeling the weight of his sorrow.
He starts to gasp and tears begin to streak his face as he says:"I... I can't see her! I don't have the courage... to see her!"
Mr. Shingo feels depressed seeing him in that state and can't help but feel sad, then tries to encourage him: "Raven, I refuse to believe you're the murderer... All I can tell you is that you have to face your responsibilities; avoiding them, turning your gaze away, doesn't help anyone, except to make those close to you suffer..."
After finishing speaking, he notices Raven, with his gaze lowered and turned towards the floor, has started crying.
At that point, Mr. Shingo abandons any rules and opens the cell, then goes to sit next to Raven and hug him.
After a few minutes, Raven regains his composure and says softly:"Okay... Let her see me. But we have to be alone."
Mr. Shingo nods and then leaves the cell, heading towards a room next to his office. The room in question is none other than Raven's office, or at least it was until the day before.
He enters the room, knocking first, and finds Kyo in tears.
"You can see him now. I'll stay here..."
Kyo nods and, with conflicting emotions, makes her way to the cell.
It never crossed Mr. Shingo's mind for a moment that Raven might take the opportunity to escape. If he had wanted to do so, he could have tried to escape right after being discovered; and to be honest, if he had wanted to kill that boy, he would have done it differently and at different times. He has sensed that if he's acting like this, it's to protect someone, and he probably realized that someone is his son.
Kyo approaches the cell slowly and gradually begins to see Raven's figure through the bars.
Mr. Shingo left the door open, so she enters decisively and finds herself in front of Raven, sitting with his gaze still lowered.
Kyo stands in front of him, slowly kneels down, and then raises her gaze to finally look him in the eyes.
"Mr. Sato told me what happened... It wasn't you, but our Shun, isn't it?" Kyo says, with a confident voice. It seems she understood it from the beginning.
"It was all my fault... If I had acted as usual... He would never have taken my gun..." He replies in a very low voice.
Hearing the confirmation, Kyo bursts into tears and hugs Raven tightly, who returns the embrace.
"W-What will we do now?! You can't go to prison, you weren't the one who shot!" She shouts in despair.
In response, Raven calmly and softly says: "I didn't shoot, but it's as if I did... I won't report my son... He will have to live like a normal child, and I... I'll have to take my responsibilities for being a bad parent."
Kyo doesn't respond and continues to cry on his back. She knows the situation is difficult and complex, but she still refuses to accept it.
...
After about ten minutes, Mr. Shingo reappears in front of them, unable to utter a word.
...
"They're coming, aren't they?" Raven asks, his voice subdued.
Mr. Shingo nods.
"Wh-Who's coming?" Kyo asks, starting to panic.
"The Guards." Mr. Shingo replies solemnly.
...
Ever since the appearance of the first demon, in the early 700s, humans have begun to fear another species. Having a powerful common enemy, internal feuds among humans have ceased; this to concentrate forces against the demons, whose numbers have started to increase dramatically over the years.
It didn't take long before they understood the nature of the demons: what they represent is their fear of material or immaterial things.
For this reason, they began a sort of prohibitionism, trying to minimize everything that can evoke fear in people. Of course, they focused on what would generate demons too strong to face: wars... They no longer exist in reality except in movies; if a conflict were to break out between peoples, it would be held in a place far from the population to keep them in the dark.
It's also forbidden to use firearms unless in public safety. In any case, agents are encouraged not to use them except in emergencies, and above all discreetly, trying not to alarm citizens.
Very severe penalties have been imposed for anyone who commits a murder; abolishing any tribunal and directly applying the penalty: life imprisonment. This applies to any individual regardless of gender and age.
It was decided not to apply the death penalty to avoid increasing fear towards it, choosing only prison. Moreover, this choice, made decades ago, turned out to be a success. In fact, Heroes soon managed to capture the Prison demon and use it for scientific and war purposes. From that moment on, fear towards prisons only made the artifacts even more powerful.
Institutions have been created to control the damage caused by demons. They are called Guilds and they group together the Heroes, who are nothing but demon hunters. The Guilds operate separately but all report to the Heroes' association.
The old institutions, on the other hand, have total control over matters not related to demons; they have been grouped into a single institution called the Palace of Justice, and its actions are enforced by the Guards: chosen soldiers who ensure the safety and order among citizens, for everything not involving demons.
Raven's 'murder' not only increased the villagers' fear of death but also of firearms, noise, and blood.
What he did led to the immediate intervention of the Guards. The Palace of Justice is headquartered in the large city of Fort; after Mr. Shingo's call, they sent Guards to escort Raven to the prison, to the north of Fort. In this facility, all individuals who, through their actions, have caused an increase in people's fear of dangerous topics are imprisoned.
Despite his friendship with Raven, Mr. Shingo could not refrain from calling them, otherwise he would have gotten into serious trouble.
...
"The Guards..." Kyo repeats to herself incredulously.
Raven looks at Mr. Shingo with teary eyes, then stands up and blurts out to him:"Thank you for everything, Mr. Shingo. I know it's inappropriate of me to ask, but could you help my family move to a different village? They can't live here peacefully anymore..."
Mr. Shingo extends a hand, which Raven promptly shakes.
"Of course, Raven... I will do everything possible to ensure they remain safe."
...
At that moment, the doorbell rings; the Guards have just arrived. Mr. Shingo handcuffs Raven and then, leaving him in the cell with Kyo, heads to the door to greet them.
"Raven, I can give you five minutes..." He tells him before stepping away.
Raven nods, then looks at Kyo.
She has been petrified since she heard they would intervene and still refuses to contemplate such a scenario.
He raises his arms and, after approaching her, slowly lowers them, embracing her.
He whispers in her ear:"Kyo... I will never forget you... You are the only woman I have ever loved. I lied to you only once... When you were pregnant with Shun, you asked me if you looked fat and I said no... I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you the tr-..."
Before he can finish the sentence, Kyo pinches him on the stomach.
Only then does Raven manage to see a hint of a smile on her face.
Then he continues: "My only regret is not being able to have more children with you... I wanted at least three little girls and another two boys. No... that's not true; I actually wanted an army of children, so I could become the head of a clan."
Kyo returns the embrace and speaks again:"I won't be able to live without you..."
"You have to do it, Kyo; you have to do it for yourself and for Shun, so he can live as normal a life as possible and away from danger."
...
The Guards, after being invited into Raven's former office, head towards the cell.
Feeling their footsteps approaching, Raven breaks free from Kyo's embrace and turns to leave.
"Wait, Raven..."
As he turns around, Kyo passionately kisses him on the lips, gripping her hands on his cheeks.
"I won't ever forget you either; you will be my one true love forever!"
Raven returns the smile, then meets with the Guards, who escort him away.
...
....
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
"Kiss me hard before you go"
🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
"Summertime sadness..."
Oh... now I remember, I also listened to this song on that bus...