[Killua's pov]
Turns out the kid was 14, he just looked a lot younger. I spent the entire night trying to dig up anything, even just a bit more info on this kid but I still only found that one article. I even sent Katsuki a message asking if he could help research but I never got a response. Legend has it he never responded from that day on.
The words that kid said had me thinking. Was he actually talking to me? He asked me if I was lost. I had just been about to call it a night and get some rest before I stumbled upon a video clip. The title had odd numbers and letters I didn't understand so I ignored that part and focused on the footage. The video started off with news reporters questioning this couple that stood in front of a crowded school. The two looked as though they were in their 40's and one had tears in her eyes as she spoke.
"Why on earth do you think your child would have done this?" The reporter questioned right off the bat, not even giving the two a moment to think before jumping right in. The two shared a glance before they responded.
"We aren't entirely sure, he never acted out at home, and he's always been such a sweet boy." The wife I presume, spoke. Holding her husband's hand as she did so.
"When you say 'always' what exactly do you mean by that? The child was adopted, was he not?" The reported interrupted, leaning the microphone towards the two adults who nodded in response before answering
"Yes, Tachihara was adopted but we treat him like part of our family." The mother responded, wiping away her tears before continuing. "We never would have expected our sweet little boy to do such a thing" I scoffed, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Treating someone you adopted as part of your family is just the bare minimum.
"Do you think your son will show up at your doorstep for safety from the authorities?" Another reporter jumped in without hesitation, the camera focusing on them for a second before turning back to the recipient's.
"We can't know for sure, but we can assure you that if the boy were to show up we would hand him over to the heros for further action to be taken." The father spoke, it seemed like the first time he had anything to say about the incident or even any thought about the matter.
"I see, what do you think the heros would do? Tachihara Ito killed three classmates. That is considered the amount of a serial killer." A third person joined in, they weren't a reporter but just a bystander in the large crowd out front of the school being surrounded by police cars and sirens.
"I hope our baby is safe, but he needs to learn his lesson. What he did was wrong and he should know the consequences of his actions." The woman spoke once more, in the start she sounded sentimental and sad, but her voice ever so slightly morphed into one of greed and self esteem.
From the start it was easy to tell the two parents were shitty people. You can tell by the way they spoke, acted, responded, stood and even the way they said their own child's name. Something was off about it all. It was clear they weren't giving the whole story on the matter. I sighed as the video finished off with an ad, turning off my phone and stumbling out of bed. It was around five am, so I gave up on the thought of sleep and decided I would start my search early in the morning. I only have one day to crack this mystery, and boy oh boy am I going to fucking destroy it.
I groaned at the thought of having to go back to school the next day but decided to leave that for future me to deal with. I chose an outfit, changing and throwing on a sweater overtop because of the cool weather during the early mornings before picking up my bag and quickly emptying it of all school supplies before putting my notebook and pencils back inside, along with a water bottle. By water bottle I mean fruit juice that I used my nen on and turned into alcohol.
After grabbing a couple more things and hastily shoving them in my bag, I tossed the strap over my shoulder and opened the door to my room. When I found myself in the living room I was surprised to see Aya had fallen asleep on the couch while reading manga. Fucking weirdo. So despite the small inconvenience, I slipped past the sleeping creature and walked into the kitchen, placing my phone on a charging dock and opening the fridge.
I looked the fridge up and down, searching for something I could make for lunch. I'm sure Aya would appreciate it if someone else were to make her a bento in the morning. I learned how to cook as a part of survival training in the Zoldyck household. But so I could sometimes surprise Alluka with lunches when I visited. Eventually I decided on making simple lunches, it was just rice and sushi with some of the treats Aya had taught me to make. I also ended up brewing a morning coffee for her, setting it, with one of the bento onto the counter before writing out a small note telling her I was gonna be out of the house for the day but I would hopefully show up at the cafe to help out later in the evening.
I washed the dishes I used to make the food, then slid my bento into my backpack and walked to my phone, taking it off the charger and reading the time. 6:20. It would have taken around two hours, or maybe just an hour and a half to make the food if I wasn't using just a little bit of Godspeed to, you know, hurry things up a little. Of course that didn't exactly work when it came to actually using technology and shit to cook stuff but at least it sped up the work of making the dish itself.
Before I left the house I made sure to do a little more research on where exactly I can find my sources of information. Turns out the parents of Tachihara ended up having to move houses after the parents of the deceased children harassed them outside of their home in grief for their children. After searching a little deeper, and messaging a few numbers. I found the new house location and decided I would go straight to the people who should know the boy most.
I slipped on my shoes, opening the front door and stepping outside. I made sure to leave the key behind the mailbox instead of inside. Just to confuse a tired Aya before leaving the house and taking a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day, it's not like I can use Godspeed to just run over to their house. One, too many people and cameras. Two, I'm pretty sure that's illegal in the eyes of the law if someone were to assume I had a quirk. three it's already creepy that I'm showing up at their doorstep to ask about their serial killer child. And four, I haven't been able to charge up my electricity recently so the last bit of it I just spent this morning.
Don't get me wrong I don't actually give a flying shit about the rules here, or even how those sad excuses for parents feel. I just don't feel like wasting my time with the law and shit. Plus, trying to find out the cause of a triple homicide sounds more fun than being questioned by heros or police.
I didn't want to risk damaging my skateboard, so I just took the bus. I've found out in my time here how big of a place Japan really is. And I ended up having to take a bus all the way to Yokohama city, stopping just outside a candy shop. I swear it wasn't on purpose....maybe.
Ok so maybe I did end up buying a couple more sweets, but hey I think a couple of snacks along the way is a small price to pay for solving a mystery that even the top pros cant solve. The pros said they just have no interest in this sort of thing, they like doing the entire saving and getting praise instead of actually dealing with the aftermath of something they couldn't have stopped. But even then I feel like a hero's job is to help out in general. Meaning cases like these shouldnt be a problem for a top pro to handle.
I paused the music in my headphones as I stopped at a doorstep, taking a deep breath before giving the door three knocks. It took a short moment of time for an answer but it felt like ages. The door creaked open and the woman from the video, the mother supposedly, stood there with a confused look on her face.
"If you need directions, there's a police station down the street." She spoke coldly, narrowing her eyes at me. I scoffed, looking her up and down before responding, trying my best not to sound passive aggressive to this bitch.
"Actually, I have a couple questions if you don't mind. They are about your son?" I replied, her eyes widened before she opened up the door fully to take a good look at me. I stood there with my bag on my back and a notebook in hand, ready to take notes.
"Fine. You get 5 questions." She spat, closing the door in my face. I stood there confused before the door opened again and she stood there with a completely different outfit and looked more awake. She gestured for me to come in and I hesitated, not exactly wanting to enter an unknown confined space. Yet for some stupid reason I entered, following the woman to a small couch in what I would assume to be the living room. The both of us sat down before she pulled out a cup of tea out of nowhere, placing it down with a sigh.
"First off, my name is Killua, I'm a student at UA highschool trying to help out with a local case. Thank you for giving me a chance." I spoke with a bow, what? Did you expect me to walk into someone's house unexpectedly and start interrogating them? Hell no, be respectful you little rats.
"Welcome, you may call me Mrs Aoi. I'm honoured to have a student from such a prestigious school show up at my doorstep." She said, clasping her hands together with that same fake smile. She really did switch up from glaring at me through the crack of her door to suddenly being all comfy and kind.
"I just have a few questions for the case. So, did Tachihara have any friends you knew about?" I was careful when asking questions, it's always best to ask the easy ones first, so you get as much information as possible. If I were to ask a harder one first, or even accuse them of something. I'd get no information and probably get kicked out.
"Our little Tachihara was always really quiet and didn't talk much to kids in his school according to his teachers. But he did sometimes go on rants about someone he called Shikei. It freaked us out at first but after a while we just came to the conclusion that he had just heard the word somewhere and thought it was quote on quote cool" I paused writing my notes, Shikei. Meaning, death penalty. I doubt anyone would name their child that in this world. But who knows.
"Right, and did you ever notice any drastic changes in his personality before the accident occurred?" I continued writing notes, making sure not to miss a single word she said. I wrote everything in the exact words.
"Well, the day before...It happened, my husband and Ihad a conversation due to us noticing Tachihara's unusually upbeat personality. He was all of a sudden always smiling, and skipping around like he had no care in the world." The boy's smile flashed in my mind for just a second, those words ringing in my ears again. That was until I heard a gentle whisper in my ear, making me turn my head.
"Are you lost, you aren't where you are supposed to be." My eyes widened when for the second time my eyes were met with nothing. I panicked, standing up and turning to look all around me. My eyes locked on a window a bit farther away from where we sat. In the window, those same eyes, that same smile. Tachihara was there. I instantly grabbed my bag, swinging it over my shoulder and running to the door.
"Sorry, I'll be heading out! Thank you!" I shouted before closing the door behind me on my way out of the home. I whipped around, looking to where the window was situated. "Shit." I cursed under my breath, tangling my fingers in my unkempt hair in frustration. At this point that little fucker is teasing me.
I activated my En, scanning the area. There were people around, just not enough for Tachihara to get lost in. Screw it, something about that kid just doesn't make sense. It's like he's in my head. Messing with me, I dont want to have to deal with another manipulative fucking brat.
I gave up on chasing the kid, I mean, it's more probable that he is going to show up again the next time I dig deeper. I have a sinking feeling that Tachihara isn't too keen on me finding anything out about him, going off of his words 'you aren't where you are supposed to be'.
I groaned, pulling out. My phone to find the location of my next stop. His middle school. I should be able to figure out some more information by speaking with his teachers. Maybe even a couple classmates if I'm lucky and don't get the cops called on me for trespassing. You know, a regular occurrence.
Words: 2410
Again im sorry for the late update, i was hoping on making it longer but instead i decided on just posting one now so it doesn't take any longer. Thank you for your patience!