A sense of panic overtook Sora; of all the people he could’ve taken a swing at, a cop was the worst option. He stumbled over his words, his brain a jumbled mess, he tried to squeak out something resembling an apology, but all it sounded like was gibberish.

The officer raised his other hand, “Hey, hey, hey…. listen, I need you to calm down, buddy.” The officer’s voice was firm, yet steady as he kept his grip on Sora’s wrist. “Look at me… alright?” He locked eyes with Sora, his expression a mask of calm, while Sora’s was the opposite.

“Breathe in, looooong inhale…” the cop started, miming the motion for Sora to mimic. “Aaaand exhale.”

Sora obeyed the orders, trying to calm the storm wreaking havoc in his mind.

“And again.”

Another breath, feeling slightly calmer but still rattled.

“One more time.” The officer paused, waiting for several seconds, “you okay now?”

Sora hesitated, then he slowly nodded, confirming that he was calm and collected enough to listen — at least, as calm as he could be in his situation; most people aren’t usually walking around with a backpack full of incriminating evidence.

“I… I’m sorry,” Sora’s initial surge of adrenaline faded, replaced with a lingering sense of anxiety, “I-I didn’t know, I would never- I mean, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright, it’s okay. I get it.” His voice remained firm yet low, his words slow, almost calming, but something was lurking behind his words, he was probing for something. His grip on Sora’s wrist loosened, but he didn’t let go.

The officer stood several inches taller than Sora — who was already on the shorter side of boys his age to begin with, even compared the average height of girls in his grade — his unform, on first glance seemed well put together, standard issue and freshly cleaned but there were subtle hints that he wasn’t a by-the-books kind of officer: His vest wasn’t fully zipped, the shirt under the vest had specks of dirt on the elbows and forearms, the officer’s cap sitting slightly askew like it was a size or two too big. If Sora had to guess, this officer seemed more laid back than he probably should’ve been. 

The two things that seemed exceptionally well-cared for though was golden badge pinned to the worn navy-blue vest and the name tag sitting right above it, the uniform’s maintenance aside, it seemed like he was very proud of his occupation if the condition of his badge and nametag were any indication.

‘Aizawa.’ Sora read the name off the plate in his head. 

That name sparked some sort of recognition in the corners of his memories, but he couldn’t place a name to the face of the officer who seemed just a few years older than Sora, was he a fresh graduate from the academy? He didn’t seem like a rookie… not that Sora knew what a rookie officer acted like to begin with.

Before he could think on it any further, the roar of several police sirens ripped through the air, closer than they’ve been so far. Sora’s heart skipped a beat as he wheeled his head around to see the police cars speeding down the street, the red lights flashing like the fires of hell closing in on him, each pulse feeling like they got faster and faster…

But then they passed him by, the cars not even stopping to consider him a target of interest. His chest fell as he let out a breath he’d been holding. Only to realize that he was standing in front of a cop, he wasn’t out of danger yet and he may have aroused officer Aizawa’s suspicions.

When he looked over, he saw officer Aizawa speaking into the radio pinned to his vest. “Say again? Some kinda giant dog looking thing? Electric dogs? Right well… I’ll keep an eye out for… that, I guess?” 

He turned back to Sora and shrugged, apparently not noticing Sora’s reaction to police sirens, a good stroke of luck for Sora it seemed. “It’s been an odd day for everyone today, huh? Anyways, what’d you say your name was again?” 

“K-” Sora hesitated, “Kazuyama Shiro.” He lied, he was regretting it now but it was a bit too late. If he’s called out, he’ll just say that he panicked and misspoke.

“Kazuyama huh…? Right… mr Kazuyama…” His voice trailed off as he seemed to be searching Sora for something with his piercing stare. “Would’ve been a real dumb move to take a swing at a cop.” His eyes narrowed as if… he found something.

“Y-Yeah?” Sora’s response wavered as he felt the impending sense of danger. It was something about this tone, his gaze, and his unwillingness to let go of Sora’s wrist… it made him feel like he’d stepped into a hunter’s snare. 

His instincts were screaming at him to make up an excuse to leave, but his mind felt jumbled. Like there was a persistent static preventing him from forming a plan. This paralysis — perhaps based in a mix of fear and misplaced adherence to social norms— kept him rooted in place. “Uh… um…”

“You’ve got quite the swing there, would’ve been pretty bad if it connected, eh?” He smiled, but there was a subtle threat behind those words. Something like: “I’d have arrested you if you kept fighting.”

He averted his eyes, “S-Sorry.” The apology slipped out before he could catch himself, a reflex he’d been conditioned to play out in situations like this where he was being scolded for his wrongdoings, a defense mechanism he learned from when he was being yelled at in the past. The memory briefly flashed in his head, shadowy figures long and tall, looking down at him, he felt so small and weak…

‘No, focus!’ He pushed the memory down below, in the little box he stored all his negative memories. The officer had struck a nerve and it knocked Sora off-balance.

“Have you done any martial arts training?” His tone was light as he let go of Sora’s wrist; the question didn’t seem out of the ordinary from a casual question but it didn’t feel like small talk while waiting for a train, more like he was in an interrogation room.

“Uh… no?” Sora stammered out a lie, but he knew from the look in the officer’s eye, that was the wrong move to make.

“Really?” His eyebrow arched as he slowly circled around Sora, hand on his chin, studying him. “No karate, kung-fu, muay thai, boxing?”

Sora couldn’t help but feel like he was being circled by a hawk, just waiting for the inevitable strike.

“Could’ve fooled me.” The corner of his mouth turned upwards, as his gaze stayed locked on Sora. “Maybe you’re a natural?”

Sora nervously laughs, “Y-yeah, maybe…” Sora’s voice trailed off his gaze briefly flicked to the officer’s sidearm, his throat tightened at the thought of a worst possible scenario from this interaction. 

‘I’ve wasted enough time here, I need to go before the walls close in.’ Sora nervously scratched the back of his head, “Um, so… I uh… I’m really sorry about this but… I gotta go so…” He shifted awkwardly, trying to step around the officer.

He shifted his weight slightly to impede Sora’s path, “Oh yeah? Where you heading?” His tone remained light, but there was an accusatory edge behind it as if trying to find a weakness in Sora’s defenses.

A spark lit up in Sora’s head. “The convention center. There’s an idol concert there that I wanna see.” He had prepared an answer just in case someone asked, though… he had expected it to come much later, when police had exhausted all options.

The officer raised an eyebrow, “Who you trying to see?” He questioned, once more shifting his body further to impede Sora’s attempt to escape.

“Yuki-Rin!” Sora replied, excitedly! A spark lit up in his eye, over the past few months he’d been following the career of recently debuted idol, Yuki-Rin. He was never into idols much before, but given what he’d been through: Being harassed to the point of quitting school and becoming a virtual shut in while the people who used to be his friends were throwing bricks at his window so they wouldn’t be the new targets.

Couldn’t really blame them though, those guys always did whatever it took the survive. That’s why they even formed a friend group to begin with: a group of prey is harder to be picked off than the one who strikes out alone. And, unfortunately, Sora was the one who caught the attention of the predators.

Exiled to survive. Hiding out in darkness as the walls closed in. Until he happened to hear a single from a then up-and-coming new talent with a mid-tier agency. Her voice, her kindness, her genuine attempts to connect with her audience and how her music came from a very familiar place to Sora made him feel like they were kindred spirits.

Or at least, that was the cover story. Truth is, he picked her at random when he decided to go through with this crime. The main reason he chose her was just because they happened to share part of a name. 

It was a convincing story; lonely, isolated, loser banished to darkness finds light in the voice of a songstress over the digital waves. Pretty common and believable story, which is why it made such a good alibi. After all, how could he be out committing crimes if he was… with a group of fans, attending fan meetings, attending concerts or merch signings?

Of course, that alibi now stood on shaky ground. He was supposed to be at the concert, so what was he doing out here? Away from the convention? To make matters stranger, why was his cellphone pinging at the convention but he wasn’t there.

‘It’s okay, my alibi is still intact, I can just say that I forgot something at home and had to rush back to get it-’

No, he couldn’t say that in this situation. Because in his bag was the incriminating evidence…

“Oh, what a coincidence!” The officer’s sudden words broke Sora out of his inner thoughts,,” I’m heading that way too! Why don’t I accompany you?” His smile was disarming and bright, but behind that smile was a cage waiting to be dropped. One wrong move and Sora was done for.

“I… I really don’t-” Sora stammered.

He placed his hand on Sora’s shoulder, the gesture was friendly but the grip felt more like a vice. “I mean, since we’re such good friends now, of course. And who’d have thought we’d be such great friends after you took a swing at me!”

Sora’s mind struggled for a way out, but all he found were empty words. “....”

“We are friends now, right?” He leaned in slightly, making eye contact with Sora.

Sora failed to escape, and now he was trapped in the lion’s den.