The Emperor's Dragon II

For Their Own Protection

Nishita looked up as two officers entered the Cafe. One was male and one was female and they didn't have visible quirks. They looked around for a moment and then the woman nodded at her while giving her partner a nudge.

That wasn't good. That was too personal.

They took the few short steps to the counter.

"Are you Nishita Omimi?" the male officer asked softly.

She gave him a look but knew there was no point in denying it. They had obviously come looking for her. "I am," Nishita confirmed. She felt a coil of worry in her gut. She'd been physically ill when she'd discovered the bounty but then after a day when nothing happened, she'd relaxed.

She'd called in sick from work but had slowly come to realise that she wasn't in any danger. No one knew she'd gone. And even if they did, she'd used a false account name. That account had been created by a friend so the IP couldn't be tied to her and her friend had an alibi. If Dragon was upset about her original post, then there were other posts that were far worse than anything she'd said. And they were directly about him and he hadn't done anything about their posters.

So while attacking the villain lover wasn't exactly what she'd wanted to happen, she couldn't be tied to it.

So the officers were probably here for... Well, they were here for her but probably only to ask about the original post. Once she was appropriately horrified about the actions, they'd go away. They might come back, wanting more information and she could then give up the BS_Hater account, though they probably already knew about it. And her admitting to knowing it would show that she was willing to cooperate.

"Could you come with us?" the male officer asked quietly.

"Is there a reason, Officer?"

The female officer looked around the cafe. It was quiet at the moment and she was suddenly very thankful for that. "You are in danger, and we want to take you into protective custody."

That was not the answer Nishita had been expecting. All the fear she'd thought behind her returned.

"Ah, you know what we are talking about," the woman said.

For an instant, Nishita was tempted to say she had no idea, but that would be a lie. "I don't understand," she managed to reply.

"I feel this would be best discussed at the station," the male officer acknowledged but offered no explanation. "Can you call someone to cover for you?"

Nishita ran her tongue over her dry lips and nodded. Refusing would be stupid. "Uriko," she called.

The other girl poked her head out of the kitchen and Nishita watched as her eyes widened when she saw the Police. "I have to go," Nishita said, without offering any other explanation.

Uriko came out of the kitchen. "You aren't under arrest?" she asked curiously.

"No, she's not," the female officer said. "We just need your friend's help with a case," she explained. It was probably meant to be comforting but Nishita knew the lack of information would be fueling rumours.

"I saw something the other day they want to ask me about," she told Uriko. "Can you call Miseba to cover for me?"

Uriko gave her a measuring look but was apparently satisfied with the extra information. "Alright, I'll get Miseba," she agreed.

Nishita nodded and took off her name badge, cap and apron. Under it, she wore a pretty generic set of black pants and a black t-shirt. She gave the logo'd uniform bits to Uriko and gave the Police a nod to indicate she was ready. She hoped this was the right thing to do.