As he made his way home, Tamashi thought about his next steps.

“Which way should I go, sir?”

“Go left. Then it’ll be off the right down the road.”

Despite his walkout, Bri had allowed Tamashi to use a car and a chauffeur to get to his house.

Tamashi leaned back into his seat as he attempted to resolve the most pressing issue at hand.

‘How am I gonna explain all this to Yasa?’

Yasa is Tamashi’s older brother. Yasa has also been Tamashi’s legal guardian ever since their parents disappeared.

‘I think he’ll understand me and not get too mad about what’s going on, so that solves the first issue. Now, the second issue…’

Tamashi began to wonder about how he was going to return to school. Before he was able to come up with a plan, he inner thoughts were interrupted by the driver.

“It’s this house here, right?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Tamashi slowly made his way up the driveway, fearing what was waiting for him on the other side of the front door.

‘He’s not gonna freak out… He’s not gonna freak out… He’s not gonna freak out…’

Tamashi pulled out his key, unlocked the door, and opened it.

“Hi, Tamashi. I need you to sit down so we can go over some things.”

He was confused with what he saw, but then remembered that he had been arrested earlier that day.

Yasa was sitting at the dining table, and across from him was a police officer.

“Nice to meet you. Please have a seat.”

——

Savior: Original Story by OneSevenEight

Episode: Framed Perspective - Part 5

——

“There’s some conditions of your bail release that you need to be following at all times. Don’t worry, there’s just three conditions in total.”

“Alright, so what’s the first one?”

“You have a curfew. You have to be back in your house by nine o’clock every night.

“Understandable.”

“Your second condition is that you must never come into contact with the alleged victim in your case.”

“Also understandable.”

“And the third, you’re no longer allowed to attend your high school. You’ll be transitioning to home-schooling.”

Tamashi clinched his teeth while hiding his face behind his fists.

’Shit! I wanted to talk to Charlie and some others in person. I wanted to try to at least clear my name with them.’

“May I ask why I’m not allowed to go to school? There isn’t an issue if I go anywhere else, so why not school?”

“It’s because the alleged victim attends the same school. There’ll be concerns if you’re in the same building as her.”

Tamashi leaned back into the dining chair and closed his eyes.

“Fine. I won’t go to school then. That’s all the conditions, right?”

“Yes. I’ll be back for periodic checks on you until the completion of your trial. Don’t cause any trouble, and I won’t have to make extra trips.”

“Got it. You have a great night, officer.”

As the police officer left the house, Tamashi kept his eyes closed, anticipating the first words he’s heard from Yasa since he left for school that morning.

“Tamayo, we need to set something straight.”

‘Here it comes.’

“STOP HITTING ON SO MANY GIRLS. I THOUGHT ANNA WAS THE ONLY ONE FOR YOU!”

“HEY, I NEVER DATED- Wait, you’re not even gonna ask about what happened today?”

“I saw the news. I believe you saved her.”

Tamashi gasped and rose his head.

“Don’t look so surprised. Not everyone’s a complete moron in this town. You saved her and that’s that.”

“Hmph. I saved her, and I got arrested for trying to kill her. What a crazy turn of events.”

“Yeah, and I’m not even gonna question how you managed to post a half-million bail.”

Yasa started at Tamashi with a look of curiosity.

“You must be caught up in something that’s even bigger and more important than what happened today. So I’m not going to pry.”

‘Wow, he’s good.’

“All I have left to say to you is good night. Dinner’s in the fridge.”

Yasa got up and left for his bedroom, Tamashi returned to his leaned-back position and closed his eyes again.

‘For some reason, I’m just realizing I don’t know this, but what’s that girl’s name?’

——

As Charlie walked around the cafeteria, he began scanning for his targets.

‘Two beautiful girls… Two beautiful girls… Where are they?’

He walked around the area in circles until he locked eyes with Anna.

“Target acquired. But she doesn’t really resemble the true image of a beautiful and naive girl. I’m disappointed.”

“You said that out loud, Einstein.”

“If I’m Einstein, then you must be Einstein’s pet dog.”

“WHY YOU LITTLE-“

As Charlie and Anna began their daily battle royale, the occupant of the seat nearest to Anna began to uncontrollably laugh.

The laughter was enough to penetrate Charlie and Anna’s battlefield.

“Are we really that funny?” said Charlie as he turned to face the source of the laughter.

“I think she’s just laughing at you, idiot.”

“Broad.”

“Pig.”

The laughing culprit managed to finally regain control of herself.

“Sorry guys. You two just seem like really great friends.”

Charlie formed a slim smile, appearing to be distant from the conversation.

“I guess you could say we are. But we aren’t the complete package. Not without him.”

Anna nodded her head in agreement.

“Yeah, we need him back. We need to find a way to prove that he’s innocent.”

Anna turned to meet Charlie’s gaze directly.

“So, have you been able to contact TamashI?”

“No, not yet. I called the police department, and they said they’ll get back to me on whether I’m allowed to talk to him or not. I also tried his phone for good measure, but nothing.”

Anna turned towards her food and began to pick at it.

“it’s fine. We should be able to talk to him sometime soon.

“Yeah. So, what about you? Did you get any info on who accused him.”

“No. That trail’s cold. I haven’t even been able to find the police report yet.”

“Well, that sucks, but we’ve gotta keep trying.”

Anna smiled, seeming to agree without saying a word.

“Uh, sorry guys, I really wish I could help you guys out.”

“No worries,” said Charlie, “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

“Yeah,” said Anna, “You’ve already helped us out a lot. Thanks, Tsuru.”

The brunette girl with dark chocolate eyes attempted to reassure herself with a forced smile.