Chapitre 5 : Le Jugement

Hana had almost fallen in love with Hector, but this love was purely physical. That's why her heart was conflicted; Ikari had her heart, and Hector had her body. She opened the room door, still feeling embarrassed, and saw the child.

"Hello."

"Who are you?"

"The one who will temporarily replace your IV."

She then leaned over after hearing metallic noises coming from where the bandages were. She saw handcuffs. All her embarrassment disappeared, giving way to an almost demented fear. She barely had time to recover from her shock when she heard, "Hurry up." Kikomori then stared into her eyes, admiring her face, which reminded him of his mother, and he instinctively smiled at the warm sight. She almost stepped back by reflex, as if her survival instinct had been triggered by a threat that was hardly human. "D-doctor Ikari will take care of you," she stammered.

*****

Ikari then took off his glasses, which were bothering him, as if he wanted to admire the upcoming spectacle with his own eyes. He arranged his long hair and, taking off his white coat, looked at Hector. "You know, I'm quite particular about cleanliness; I don't want to risk staining it." Hector then looked at the doctor with an almost clownish smile. Hector's smile resonated as a provocation in Ikari's mind, sending him into a fit of rage. "How many stitches do you have again?" "Nine," Hector replied almost mechanically, as if he knew what was about to happen. The doctor approached Hector and started counting from nine, ending in front of him saying, "I think I miscalculated; there are still 18 stitches missing."

He then grabbed Hector by the collar so quickly that it seemed as if his arm had teleported.

Hector said, as if he wasn't afraid of what was coming, "Hana was very nice; she's really adorable, that woman." Ikari retorted, "Sorry, I'm having trouble right now; it was 27 I meant." Hector smiled after hearing this but was still worried. That didn't stop him from saying, "27, it reminds me of Hana's age, such a fine flower, that nurse. Our kiss was perfect." Ikari then gave in and said, "You know what? You can count your stitches in hell."

Hector then held the doctor's hands, trying to crush them, and said, "You know, if you want to live your life as you wish with Hana, there's just one thing you need to do. Besides, she told me a lot about you, Mr. Ikari." Ikari, slightly calmer after hearing Hana's name, said in a voice almost devoid of emotion, "What do I need to do?" "You're a doctor, aren't you? You can write a report on any patient in this hospital." "Hurry up; what's your point?" "Kikomori? How about labeling him a sociopath? Sounds like a good idea, right?" Hector then squeezed Ikari's arms even harder.

Ikari, with impressive strength, easily freed himself from Hector's grip. "I'll see about that." He then punched him in the stomach, where the stitches were most evident, "That way, no one will say anything." He then headed for the exit, picking up his coat and glasses, murmuring, "That man is the devil."

He saw Hana waiting for him in front of the cafeteria, signaling him to come. Preoccupied with Hector's sadistic request, he completely ignored her, disgusted by her.

Ikari went home and collapsed onto his bed as all the pressure he had accumulated started to ease. But then he remembered the report he had to write on Kikomori.

*****

At the trial, Kikomori was assigned a lawyer who looked like a homeless person. "Don't you want to go to jail? I'm too lazy to defend you, kid." Kikomori, disgusted by life, didn't even pay attention to the man's request.

Everyone took their seats, and the judge entered the room. The prosecutor immediately began presenting the evidence of the crimes Kikomori had allegedly committed. He said,

"I warn you, the list is long, especially for a child this young."

First-degree murderAttempted murderEndangering others' livesProperty damageFamilicideArsonPhysical torturePsychological torture

He then looked at the judge and asked, "Do we have to list them all?" The judge replied, "Yes, of course!"

Incitement to suicideSabotagePsychological and physical abuse

The prosecutor caught his breath at the absurdity of the situation. "How do you plan to defend this?" The lawyer said, "It's going to be difficult, but not impossible." The prosecutor said, "I'm not done."

Desecration of corpsesMutilationBrainwashingConspiracyAnd finally, blackmail.

The prosecutor was out of breath after listing these crimes. The lawyer then said, "I take back what I said; it's impossible," and looked at Kikomori, muttering, "You really did all that? Honestly, well done."

The trial began and ended with the intervention of the last witness, a certain Dr. Ikari. The prosecutor asked, "Is Kikomori a sociopath?" Ikari responded as if he were being held hostage, "Yes, sir, he is indeed a sociopath." The prosecutor had already called witnesses to the stand who affirmed that this person was a monster.

After a very solid defense from the lawyer, who turned out to be more than competent, the judge made his final decision while standing up. He took a deep breath and said, "He will receive a sentence of 6 years in juvenile detention." Hector, upon hearing this, was overcome with unparalleled disgust and muttered, "All this because of the lawyer; he only got 6 years, but he didn't do anything." He then looked at Kikomori and spoke with a voice almost inaudible but with such articulation that Kikomori could read the words from his lips, "You got lucky," with an almost childish smile. Kikomori understood that he was alluding to his mother but was interrupted by the police officers.

A few days later, the prison guards took Kikomori and brought him to the front of the prison. Kikomori stood before the imposing door of his new life as a prisoner, his heart pounding with rage. From innocence, a demon was about to be born.