10th of January, 4:00 am, Hospital
Ruby and Miyako have thought long and hard about a story that isn't too far-fetched, but also able to help Aqua out. Just when they finally came up with something coherent, a person entered the room, she didn't look like a nurse or a doctor. The person introduced themself as a victim's advocate. The hospital staff had deemed Ruby stable enough to give her statement if she wanted to do so.
Ruby stays quiet for a long time, acting like she needs to evaluate her options. Then she agrees to make her statement and slowly gets out of bed with Miyako's help.
…
After walking for a bit, both Ruby and the advocate arrive at a seemingly normal hospital room. The hospital around them was surprisingly quiet. Ruby thought that it would most likely be far more alive than what she already knew from her days in Miyazaki, but she was wrong.
The room they're now in looks a bit more comfortable than the other hospital rooms, yet it is still a cold and white room after all, nothing special after all. On the left side, around the halfway point of the room, there's a desk. It looks a bit out of place, the detective sitting at it even more so.
Ruby begins to analyze her options the second she enters the room. She can either lie down in bed or sit in one of the three chairs on the opposite side of the table. She thinks hard, then chooses the chair closest to the wall and sits down in it.
Ruby and the advocate barely sit down as the detective begins. In front of him are his clipboard, a cup of coffee, and a pen. "My name is Hideki Ryuga, and I'm the detective who will take your statement." His voice is professional, far less gentle than the advocate's or even the nurse's.
He grabs his clipboard and silently goes over it for a moment before looking back up. "So, Ruby. I know that tonight's been difficult for you. I just need to understand what exactly happened so we can protect you and anyone else in danger. You can take your time with your responses."
"Actually, Ruby, if you don't feel like responding to a question, we can skip it or stop completely." The advocate adds after the detective ended his introduction.
"Exactly," The detective smiles at Ruby. "So, can you please start by telling me what happened tonight in your own words? Start from the moment you realized someone was in your room."
Ruby stays quiet for a long moment, her heart beating almost as fast as when the attacker entered her room. She can't mess this up; one minor slip-up and it could be over. She notices how the advisor is looking at her, ready to end this at any moment, so Ruby quickly begins with her statement, doing her best to sound detached. "I wanted to run away, but when I reached my door, I remembered that I had locked it, and before I could unlock it, he had already grabbed me. I tried to fight him off, b-but he was just too strong… When he pushed me onto my bed, it was really scary. He told me that he would kill me if I didn't listen…"
The detective begins to write something on his clipboard, but from her position, Ruby can't see what exactly is on it. Each time the pen glides over the paper, a new wave of paranoia is sent through her body. —What if he knows? "You're doing this great, Ruby. Now, you said he was too strong for you. How did the altercation resolve then?"
Ruby looks up at the detective and lets a subtle sparkle escape her eyes for just a moment before hiding it again. But she doesn't look back down; she continues to stare at the detective as she speaks. "My brother, he's the best. He fought the attacker even though he was armed. Aqua is so brave… But it was even scarier than what happened before… Every time the guy slashed my brother, I thought… I thought he was going to die because of me."
Ruby's voice cracks on the last part.
The victims' advocate, who is just silently watching and making sure that the detective won't overstep any boundaries, grabs a bottle of water and places it in front of Ruby before nodding at the detective, permitting him to continue. "Okay, Ruby, feel free to drink something if you're thirsty. We can also take a break at any time if you want to." Ruby just shakes her head while lowering it back down again.
"Well, if that's the case, then let's continue so we can wrap this up as fast as possible. What happened next? You mentioned your brother being slashed, but from the evidence we have, it looks like your brother actually won the fight."
Ruby takes the bottle and examines it for a moment. It feels warm against her cold hand, a comforting yet alien sensation. Then she places it back down without opening it. "I can't really remember much of the fight, most of it was in the hallway while I was lying in my room… When I managed to leave my room, the fight was still going on. My brother was winning, but the guy just wouldn't stop reaching for his knife. My brother tried to kick it away while keeping the other guy restrained. I think both of them were hurt really badly by that point, so I wanted to help and take the knife away… But then…" Ruby's words trail off.
The detective takes a long sip from his black coffee as he mentally goes over what he wrote down on his clipboard. Then he places his, now half-empty, cup back down and gently smiles at Ruby. "But then…" he encourages Ruby to continue.
Ruby doesn't immediately continue; instead, she takes the bottle of water, now really grateful for it, and starts to slowly drink. Each second she gets through this is a second she can use to mentally go through the plan once more. Eventually, the bottle is completely empty, so she places it back down on the table. "Then… my brother hit me by accident… This must've been horrible for him; he always was overprotective, and hitting me… He just sat there with empty eyes, while looking up and down, at his hands, and then at my face… It hurt so bad… I saw, like, the pain in his eyes, but couldn't tell him that it's alright…"
The detective eagerly notes everything down. Then, suddenly, he looks up at Ruby and raises one eyebrow before looking back down. He scribbles something else down before he puts the clipboard away again. "Okay, one last question. Your brother, Aqua, is currently missing. Do you know where he is?"
Ruby's palms start to sweat as she notices the detective's look.
Does he know?
Where did I slip up?
This is not good.
Okay, calm down.
Maybe you're misinterpreting all of this.
Maybe he is jus-
Ruby is forcefully ripped out of her thoughts as she hears a loud thud in the hallway of the hospital, making her physically jump up and look around the room, her heart feeling like it is about to explode.
"Hey, everything is okay, you are safe, nobody can hurt you." The victim advocate says, doing her best to calm Ruby, who looks like a scared animal, back down.
Ruby looks around the room again, looking particularly long at the door. Then she sighs and slumps back down in her chair. "I-I'm sorry, I forgot your question…" She says with a quiet voice. "Can you repeat it?"
The look in the detective's eyes has shifted as he looks back down at his clipboard once more. He silently goes over the same passage once again, but instead of raising his eyebrow, he now nods to himself. Then he puts the clipboard back down. "Yes, of course. I asked if you know about your brother's whereabouts."
Ruby thinks, then shakes her head. "No…" her voice really urgent all of a sudden, "But I think I know why he ran away… It was because he hit me…" She takes a long break. "After striking me, he stopped trying to contain the guy; instead, he knocked him out so he would finally stop reaching for the knife… Then he got up and ran away…"
The detective grabs his briefcase from the ground and puts the clipboard inside it. Then he carefully closes it again and places it back where he got it from, before turning his attention back to Ruby. "Thanks for your cooperation… I'm sure we will resolve this situation in no time. For now, is there anything you need?"
Ruby shakes her head. "No, I think I just want to sleep now…"
The detective gets up from his chair and picks up his briefcase. "Great. I will leave the two of you to it then… Oh, and Ruby, I noticed one of your statements doesn't fully align with our evidence. If you ever remember something else, you can just call the non-emergency line, and we will reevaluate your statement."