Magical Boy ~ English version

Chapter 33

Nakamara woke up in a hospital bed. His missing arm was still painful. When he reached for the other hand, he noticed he was handcuffed to the bed.

"Come on..." he mumbled. 

He sighed and went over the iron bracelet a little, by reflex. A nurse entered at this point. Seeing him awake, she stammered for a second and came out immediately, looking panicked. Nakamara didn't even have time to say a word. It wasn't long before the door opened again, letting the Commissioner of Police pass. They had met more than once before.

"Kimoto Hoshi..." mumbled the businessman. "What a surprise..."

"It's been a good two years since you've been caught." The old man replied simply. "I was almost starting to miss you, Uchiri."

"Keep your sarcasm ..."

"Okay, at least you look good. The doctors will come to see you to confirm your condition and if all goes well, you will be incarcerated as of tomorrow."

"Great... can't wait..."

"You're the one getting sarcastic. This is the procedure for any villain. One month in detention ..."

"I know ! How long have I been unconscious?"

"Two and a half days."

"And... Nanaya..."

"You wonder how your son is doing, eh? Well, you just have to ask him. He had just arrived when I was told you woke up."

The policeman came out, letting the teenager pass. Nanaya was wearing his casual goth attire and Hyokko was hovering timidly behind him. He walked over to the bed, stopping right in front of it. Nakamara was silent for a moment.

"How..." he mumbled. "How are you ?"

"Good." Assured the young man. "They picked me up on time. And the Guardians can recreate the scepter after twenty-four hours if it's destroyed, so I've got a new one."

"... I see... why did you come to see me?"

"Because I love my father. Even though you were so angry that all of your plans failed, you almost killed my friends."

"No. This is not the reason for my anger."

"What else then?"

"I realized what a horrible father I have been. But I didn't want to admit it. My ego has failed me. I believed that everything I did, everything I did to you, was for you. So the truth is, I didn't even try to find out what you really wanted. Tell me now. Tell me what you want, Nanaya. This time, I'm ready to hear it."

"... I want to stay at Aitori. I want to become the first magical boy."

Nakamara let out a long sigh and smirked.

"You know what ?" He continued. "Basically, it relieves me."

"Really ?"

"... my grandfather told me about a time when prison was almost as good as staying in a hotel. The food was correct, the prisoners had rights despite their criminal status. But with the emergence of powers and the rise of crime, something had to be found to discourage people from turning to evil. The rules have become... different. We have almost a right of life and death over the population, thanks to Darkeas' diploma. Regardless of the size of our crime, or the number of deaths, our incarceration is limited to one month. A month of pure hell, thought to definitely discourage us from starting over. During this period, our diploma has no effect. If we kill another prisoner or a guard, we go for the maximum penalty. So everyone just keep quiet and obey without flinching. Because a month is already too much. In fact... one day would be too much. You know, the guards have absolutely every right to the prisoners. They do whatever they want with the only limit not to handicap or kill us.