1-04: Rejection (2/4)

1-04: Rejection (2/4)

Shinichis identity was proven as almost 100% identical to the missing boy, who went missing 8 years ago due to a dimensional drift.

8 years had passed, but he came back as if only 2 years had.

This whole incident left the organization, who apprehended (sheltered) him, at their wits end.

Sorry for dragging you all over the place.

This is our first time dealing with a case like this, so everyones really busy, the female officer said.

Ah, its fine. Please dont mind me, Shinichi replied.

Due to this incident, they had to go around various departments to explain his situation and get some papers done.

Shinichi himself was shocked, but he also understood the shock and confusion of the people around him, so he didnt think it a hassle to have to go around the organization like this.

If anything, he was thankful that all the departments he needed to visit to deal with a case as unique as his were all in one building. It was just that

We revived your family register with that last one, so next we have to go to the immigration office.

I know it couldnt be helped, but you still traveled illegally, so theyll probably ask you a bunch of stuff.

But dont worry. Itll be fine. Just follow my lead, the female officer said as she firmly held the boys hands.

It was as if she was saying to leave everything to her.

It was reassuring, but at the same time, he could not understand why she was doing this.

This female officer volunteered herself to show him the way. Her name was Nakamura Rinko.

She was his fathers current wife and after reviving his family register his current step mother.

She was the one who brought that fact to light, and yet she was also the one most affected by it.

Because of that that male officer made a grim face upon hearing that she was volunteering herself, but she was resolved on her decision, and in the end, the male officer had no choice but to fold.

Then just as she said she would, in all the papers and in all the questionings, despite being a member of this organization, she was completely on Shinichis side.

Shinichi couldnt understand. Why? Why was she going through all this trouble?

U-Umm I know Im not reliable, but I know a lot of people with high positions, so Im sure itll be alright.

Dont worry! Youll be able to live a normal life soon!

Apparently, she took his incomprehension for anxiety, so she tried to encourage him.

Shinichi nodded back with a vague expression. Thank you And sorry for all the trouble.

His mother was a strong willed woman, and his father was a spineless man who did whatever his wife asked of him.

But his father had no qualms about that. They led a pleasant life together as one family.

His mother was a cheerful and magnanimous woman, while his father was a calm but strict man when it came to education.

They did argue sometimes, but it was the adorable sort that could be referred to as a lovers quarrel.

What happened to that?

He could imagine a couples relationship breaking down after losing their child, but he wasnt an only child.

He had a younger brother and a younger sister, and they all had a good relationship, so why?

Shinichi couldnt understand it.

Why did his parents divorce?

Could it be that his family always had a problem and he was simply blind to it?

He had to ask. He had to know. And this woman in front of him probably held the answers.

She was his fathers current wife. If its her, then she might know why he divorced his mother.

And if she did know He wants to ask her Where is his mother? Where are his siblings?

If he doesnt find at least that out, then he wont even know where he should go.

He did think there was a chance they wouldnt be waiting for him by the time he came back.

But he didnt think his parents would actually divorce.

To him, that family was the only place he could return to.

He wanted to go home Even though there was a chance he couldnt Even though they might not be waiting for him anymore He wanted to go home.

Divorce never crossed his mind even once. In fact, neither did death, and because of that, when reality finally hit him in the face, he realized just how anxious hed been. And it affected him so greatly that it left him dizzy.

Which is why

Even though the revelation of 8 years actually passing instead of 2 and Earth making contact with another world was plenty shocking, the shock he received from finding out that his parents had divorced, his father remarried, and that he now had a new sibling was far greater.

Which is why he had to ask.

What happened in these 8 years?

That things had to end up this way.

As their son, as their older brother He had the right to know.

I have to Know!