-----------------------------
After Inori had calmed down, she lifted her gaze to meet the man's eyes. He reassured her it was safe now and asked for her name. Before she could reply, his phone suddenly rang, interrupting their conversation.
"I'm sorry, one second."
He gestured and excused himself to answer the call. The man had a gentle soothing voice, contrasting with the powerful aura he exuded.
Inori thought to herself while standing.
'He's definitely a Priest.'
She saw as the man had a not normal vibe around him, that and of course the golden cross hanging from his neck.
It was a form of license showing one owned such occupation.
Inori silently pumped her fist in triumph, 'I can't believe I'm alive! I almost wet myself, but I didn't die!' She credited herself with a quiet grin; after all, she had survived the Sinner's attack – and that felt like a win.
The man finished taking the call and faced Inori.
She spotted the phone and remembered she needed to call her Father, the Prime Minister.
"Ah excuse me!"
She was about asking for his cell but he abruptly said.
"Okay, please I have to go, I've checked the area and that's the only Sinner, you should be safe."
He placed his phone back in his right pocket.
"Ah, please can I borrow your phone?"
"Sweetie I'm really sorry but I'm in a hurry okay? Just got an urgent call." He said then continued after writing something on a clean sheet.
"Here, Arch Bishop Eric Adams."
He introduced himself and gave her a piece of paper holding his signature.
"But I need your cellphone sir."
Inori insisted.
"There's a police station nearby, just tell them okay? Nice costume by the way."
He complimented but suddenly vanished with the chime of a bell, just like he arrived, what a strange fellow.
Inori stood, she looked at the piece of paper holding his signature.
Arch Bishop: Eric Adams.
Inori had heard of him from reports she read on books, but that was it, honestly speaking the amount of people she actually knew could fit in her palm.
Eric was his first name and Adams his family name, if memory served, he was an acquaintance of her father, and one of, if not the most prominent Priest in all of Asia.
Meaning she could've just asked him to take her to the Kantei if he wasn't in such a hurry.
She folded the piece of paper and held it tightly to her chest.
"Thank you! Sir Adams!"
She yelled whilst bowing, the man already left a while ago tho.
With a new glimmer of hope, Inori said cheerfully.
"Okay! I simply need to head to the police station, I do hope they're open by now."
She pressed on, headed where Eric had pointed, a local police station to borrow a cell phone.
Inori walked hastily, the day was slowly breaking as home owners welcomed the sound of roosters.
The time was 6:20 AM, office workers had began preparing for work and house wives waking up as well.
All oblivious to the recent Sinner of Sloth inori alone witnessed.
Finally, she arrived at the station, about a 20 minutes walk. The road was straight so she couldn't have gotten lost.
The station door was propped open with a doorstop. Inside, men in uniform moved with practiced efficiency, checking in for work as they bustled in and out.
Some arrived in police cars, some on foot. Inori gulped, feeling anxious at the scenery, It was intimidating as they were all adults but this was no time to be shy.
She took a deep breath and approached steadily to the nearest man.
"Ehm, excuse me Sir."
Her voice barely audible, she tapped an officer leaning against his car, he was about sipping his coffee when Inori called out.
"Good morning sir."
She bowed deeply, maintaining it for 2 seconds to show her respects to law enforcers.
The man's stare lingered for a second, curious about Inori's strange clothes resembling an Egyptian mummy.
"How... can I help you?"
He politely asked as he placed his Cappuccino on the cars bonnet.
"Sir, please I am currently missing, I would like to borrow your phone and call my father."
She cut straight to the point. Finally, this nightmare would be over, she could even still celebrate her birthday seeing as the day was still fresh.
"Did you say you're missing?"
The man asked with a serious tone.
"Yes sir, please can I borrow a cell phone?"
She bowed again.
Inori's bandaged attire was now tattered because of the Sinner chase, making her indeed look missing, that or like some cosplayer.
The man immediately agreed and directed Inori to the station to use their cell phone.
She greeted the officers present, avoiding eye contact with most.
A dark-skinned female officer with a short, blonde hairstyle sat with her head down, engrossed in the radio and oblivious to the scene.
"You said you're missing?"
The police officer, reason unbeknownst to Inori started interrogation. She simply just needed a phone, why the questions?
Inori decided to answer, fastening the process.
"Yes sir, I woke up in what seemed to be an abandoned warehouse, I think I was kidnapped."
She spoke clearly, gripping both shoulders, wishing to speak with her father already. Inori had never been away from home this long.
"Can u tell me what your kidnappers looked like?"
He continued, the question made inori hesitate. "I...I didn't see the kidnappers...but I was abducted from my room! I'm sure of it!"
The officer asked another important question. "Were they any other victims with you?"
"No." Inori answered clearly this time, the warehouse was clearly empty when she woke up.
The officer jotted accordingly and asked for her parents name. She was glad to answer.
"The Prime Minister, Tabata Jiro. I am his daughter, Tabata Inori."
She spoke honestly.
Her response was blunt but the station went quiet.
The female officer, who'd been dozing, suddenly looked up.
"What the hell?" she asked the officer questioning Inori, her expression a mix of confusion and alertness.
"Ah, Kachō-san, you're awake."
He addressed the female officer with a quick bow.
She walked towards them and stared down at Inori, her build most impressive for a woman.
"What did you just say?"
She asked confused, the Prime Minister's daughter? That was an odd joke.
"Yes, my name is Tabata Inori, ma'am."
She bowed to the officer in command, her name tag reading Maru Mei, quite an odd family name.
Mei looked at the other officer, then back at Inori, her face squinting as she reasoned what to make of all this.
"... you're playing a prank huh, where are your friends? ... and what's with the costume kiddo?" She said bluntly, coming closer.
Inori backed away.
"I don't have any friends except my father! And he's back home at the moment." She answered.
Inori was confused at the officers assumption at first. The possibility of no-one believing her didn't cross her mind. This was an issue.
"Listen, you can't walk into an office because of a bet. You'd get in serious trouble okay?" Officer Mei warned.
"Why do you keep saying random things, this is no bet!" Inori yelled, the woman getting irritated by her rude tone.
"Hey watch your mouth! Do you know who Kachō-san is?!" One bellowed coming closer.
"Who the hell is this kid?!" Another added, more and more approached the counter.
Mei sighed and decided to play along to ease the tension
"Look, you're clearly not that bright. I mean I've seen her on TV like only 2 times but....doesn't the Prime Minister's daughter have black hair?" She asked, pointing.
Inori frowned.
'What is this fool saying! Black hair? But my hair is bla-
She paused, then brought some strands to her eyes... they were dark blue.
Inori's brows slowly knitted, as a clear vein throbbed on her forehead.
".....What....is this?"
She snapped with a psychotic tone, clearly annoyed by the absurdities so far.
Perhaps the dark cloudy weather from earlier didn't let her notice.
Her hair's sleek black color was gone.
Inori gasped looking at her finger and toe nails, they were painted black. Feeling almost offended, she had never been to a manicure in all her life.
"What is going on?!"
She began exasperating again. Her breathing turned heavy.
"Miss are you alright?" Mei asked worriedly, seeing as Inori was troubled.
"Please you have to believe me! At least just lend me a cell phone!" Inori begged while sweating buckets.
Thinking to herself.
'A single call to the Prime Minister's personal number should do.'
The officers shrugged and reasoned there was no harm in trying. "Here you go." The officer handed the stations telephone over.
----------
Beeeep~
The phone rang once....
----------
Beeeep~
Twice now....
----------
Beeeep~
No reply, and no reason for why.
It was an old model telephone that could simply call and stop if not answered. Inori was about crying but stopped herself, her resolve not accepting defeat.
"Please could you give me your smart phone?!" She pleaded clinging on to the telephone, resembling a crazy person.
The 2 officers were getting worried about her. More began gathering as she was causing a scene.
Mei stared, confused, but still granted her wish. She unlocked her smartphone and handed it over.
'I'll just give her a real beating if she's trolling us.' she reasoned, pranks could only be taken so far.
"Thank you so much!" Inori quickly dialed the same number, the one her father made her remember at age 7. Or was the stress now affecting her memory.
The phone wasted no time on crushing her hopes, speaking bluntly immediately after dialing.
[The number you have dialed, is not available.]
The station returned to silence and the phone turned off.
Inori stood there as tears slowly began dropping.
".... what do you mean unavailable?!"
She cursed with a miserable face.
Inori felt a grave sense of injustice. Why was this happening to her? Was she still dreaming? Why hadn't her father saved her from such a nightmare already.
Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the already playing radio.
[Welcome to the 7 o'clock news, today's unfortunate headliner is tragic to all of Japan:
Prime Minister's daughter - Tabata Inori has been confirmed dead.]
Crash!
Inori dropped the officers phone as it smashed the ground.
"Ah, my phone! Wait the Minister's daughter is dead?!"
Mei yelled rushing to her phone on the floor.
Inori was already standing next to the radio as she turned up the volume to hear what was going on.
It continued, this time louder.
[According to Honorable Tabata-san, her body was in perfect condition with no form of internal nor external injury whatsoever. The Prime Minister states that a thorough autopsy will be carried out.]
All life in Inori's eyes vanished, as her pupils went pitch black. This wasn't funny, it never was. She could barely stop herself from vomiting due to the extreme upset in her gut. The news had a literal physical effect of making her uncomfortable.
The reporter did not stop.
[While the body is under autopsy to determine the cause of death, from tomorrow to her burial, all of Japan will experience a public break for mourning.]
Her eyes widened after he said those words. The reporter continued the morning news but now with an unrelated matter.
The officers looked at Inori, she had claimed to be Tabata Inori, which was funny before, but coincidentally now reported dead, lost all comedy.
So how was the girl bailing herself from the prank?
The officer initially questioning Inori bent to whisper in Mei-san's ear.
"Ma'am, I say we just let it slide. She's clearly terrified seeing so many officers surround her." He pleaded.
"Not happening. I was already in a bad mood today but this brat had to come do this. Plus she dropped my phone." Mei concluded.
They decided amongst themselves whilst Inori was still standing silently. They were going to mildly punish her, then call her parents, nothing brutal.
Mei looked at Inori with slight annoyance, about to ask for her real name and address.
As the woman approached-
"Don't touch me!"
Inori snapped, unknowingly shoving the female officer away, launching her to the wall. Such strength was also news to her.
Surrounding officers yelled, assaulting an officer was a punishable offense.
Mei slowly stood up from the floor, clearly angry. The woman dusted her self and stared seriously at the girl.
Inori's vision was blurry, almost as if going insane. Not even knowing when she launched the captain away.
As she snapped back to her senses she noticed police men rushing to her position, removing their hand cuffs with clear intentions.
'What is.... happening...' she thought, seeing herself getting surrounded.
She needed to clearly process all of this, and so inori sprinted through the gap she saw, her small physique aided her escape.
The door was conveniently wedged open so she ran away not looking back.
"Hey stop right there!"
2 ran after her.
"Just....leave her alone." Mei said dusting her self.
"Are you sure?!"
"Yeah, we've got morning patrol, so you might find her wandering about so just drop it. I honestly don't care."
She walked to carry her radio and went further into the station.
The officers respected their captains orders and dismissed it. Now taking in the news that their Prime Minister's daughter just passed.
Most were unfazed by it. In all honesty, not all of Japan even knew the Prime Minister had a daughter. Inori's existence was quite private to the public. Still, they decided to show their respects with a 1 minute of silence before going on morning patrol.
--------------------------------------------
Inori sprinted through the crowded streets, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. Confusion swirled in her mind: 'Did I die? Is this reincarnation? Why is my hair dark blue? My nails are black... these clothes aren't mine either! And the news – it can't be true... I'm not dead!"
Bash!!!
Inori crashed into the traffic! The truck's horn blaring as brakes screeched and metal crunched. She flew through the air, landing hard on the asphalt with a sickening thud.
For a moment…
Everything went still.
Then—
"AHHHH!!"
A woman screamed, clutching her child and forcing his face into her chest.
People rushed forward but hesitated. Forming a loose circle around her motionless body.
The driver immediately leapt out with a face white with panic, he sprinted towards her seemingly dead body.
"Oh no oh no oh no! S-s-someone call an ambulance!" He stammered, clearly aware he was in big trouble.
But Inori slowly rose to her feet, her black nails scraping against the rough pavement.
The crowd backed away, clearly scared by what just happened.
Inori stared blankly at the truck's mangled front, then down at her waist, where the impact had hit, then at the driver's confused face.
"She's alive?! Hurry! Call an ambulance godamnit!" He ordered but everyone just stared worriedly.
Inori looked at her bandage clothes still perfectly clean, only some warmth could be felt on the area.
No pain, no bruises, no ache. Inori didn't sustain any injuries whatsoever.
A disbelieving laugh bubbled up and she said aloud "What now, I'm invincible?"
She was losing it. A hysterical laugh erupted from within as Inori genuinely went insane.
The crowd's concern quickly curdled into unease. They edged away, muttering among themselves – best to avoid the crazy girl.
Inori dusted herself off and continued walking, her chuckles escalating into a manic giggle as she muttered to herself, her words lost in the city's noise
The questions went on and on with no answers.
The time wasn't early morning anymore.
The roads were packed.
Civilians going about with their day when they sighted a haggard girl walking while laughing.
Without realizing Inori walked back to the bridge where she was saved from that Sinner of Sloth.
She stopped to catch her breath, relieved the police men weren't chasing her.
She recalled the phone call Eric Adams received.
'Maybe that's why Sir Adams was in a hurry? If he was truly close to father, he must have gotten the news earlier.....But I'm not dead! I'm right here!!'
The tears didn't stop.
'This makes no sense.'
A drop of rain grazed her face, followed by a sudden downpour.
Inori ran towards shelter, sitting below the bridge on a muddy surface.
"What is the meaning of all this?!"
Growing frustrated Inori kicked a pillar with force, slightly cracking the concrete.
"See?! That hurt! I'm not dreaming!" She was about to kick it again until a sharp pain was felt in her chest.
Her heart rate was spiking, as if having a panic attack.
Inori had never felt such a strong barrage of emotions in her life. Especially not at once.
Inori's eyes slowly widened as she discovered the solution to this all,
"Wait a minute!" She snapped her fingers with a hideous smile.
"Yes...That explains it! I haven't killed my self yet! I've only been feeling pain all this time! Perhaps I need to actually die here."
Desperately looking for logic, she reverts back to calling everything a dream.
She dropped to the wet floor and started searching the ground for God knows what.
"Yes! This should do!"
Inori crazily picked up a piece of dirty broken glass. She raised it to her throat, attempting suicide for the second time.
"Just do it! Quickly! I might wake up late today but we could still celebrate!" Referring to her birthday, Inori mustered all her strength. "Hurry up and do it!!"
She scolded her own fear.
5 seconds later.
Clank!
Inori dropped the shard. The piece of glass fell to the muddy floor.
She couldn't do it. She didn't want to feel anymore pain.
With a dejected face, she curled up behind the wall and began weeping uncontrollably.
Calling out to her father to save her from this nightmare.
The noise from the rain obstructing her wails.
After 20 minutes, Inori passed out from exhaustion as the ground claimed her.