Chapter 12
Asuka Kazuya was eventually fished out by the police. The officer who picked him up might have heard that he was the son of an official, not only providing him with clean clothes but also thoughtfully asking if he wanted coffee or tea.
In contrast, the organization was much less humane. To avoid exposure, Scotch took Tanaka Shota and retreated first. Asuka Kazuya, having escaped death, wanted to seek comfort on the organization forum, but upon opening it, he found that posts praying for the police to kill him had already reached 999+.
[Heard Calvados is in jail.]
[Haha, is it that rare for him to be in jail?]
[Anyone want to call the police and tell them about the things Calvados has done, so they can secretly electrocute him to death?]
[Electrocution is too good for him. Last time I was on a mission with him, he ditched me to go grab some discount milk, and I got beaten half to death by the Kowloon Group.]
[You guys seem pretty bold… aren’t you afraid Calvados will see this?]
[Vodka said he’s in the interrogation room now. Even Calvados wouldn’t be so bold as to connect to the organization’s intranet under the cops’ noses… wait, why is his account online?]
…
[Tequila! Calvados, Tequila was the one who said he wanted to electrocute you!]
The organization was internally divided, and to survive, they attempted to betray their companions to save themselves. Asuka Kazuya kindly noted their names, creating a memo.
“Don’t you have anything to explain, Officer Kato?” The young officer in charge of recording his testimony frowned. “Officer Matsuda said there were traces of another person at the scene besides you.”
Asuka Kazuya put away his phone, not mentioning his fall: “I already said he jumped into the sea and escaped. It must have been the accomplice of that unconscious mafia member. Otherwise, why do you think I was holding onto a shark? I couldn’t have gone down there to get shark fin soup.”
“…”
In just ten minutes, the person in charge of recording had been replaced twice. Asuka Kazuya’s testimony was baffling and occasionally infuriating. The officer in charge of the case specifically contacted the “father” above, and the only response he got was something like, “If it doesn’t work out, just beat him up.”
…What a joke! They’d be anxious if he was actually beaten!
Besides, they were police officers, not thugs, how could they solve problems by beating people up?!
These days, no one followed the rules. The young officer looked haggard, recalling how the unconscious Councilman Tanaka had run from the hospital to testify.
He insisted that he had seen the culprit jump into the sea, just like “Kato,” and even wired a large sum of money to the kidnappers against the police’s advice.
Even the victim’s family wasn’t cooperating, how could they solve the case?
“Alright, alright.”
The mentally exhausted officer waved his hand.
“Go home first, come back to work tomorrow. Keep your phone on, we might have more questions for you later.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Actually, I can stay too.”
“…If you cause any more trouble, I’ll make you write a self-criticism essay.”
Asuka Kazuya, rejected, became depressed. The thought of going back to compressed biscuits made him want to take the police department’s chef with him.
Thinking this, Asuka Kazuya slowly opened the door.
“Are they done questioning you?” Hagiwara Kenji, who had been waiting outside, asked. “How is it, any clues about the culprit who jumped into the sea?”
It was Matsuda Jinpei who fished Asuka Kazuya out of the sea. They didn’t have any clues about the so-called culprit. They went to the sundeck purely based on intuition, and since Asuka Kazuya, who said he was going to the restroom, hadn’t returned, Matsuda Jinpei, recalling his previous words about falling into the sea, followed him out of concern.
Then they saw Asuka Kazuya surrounded by several sharks, seemingly having given up struggling.
Accompanied by the moonlight symphony, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji both questioned life.
…Although they knew this guy was carefree, how could a human be so carefree?
If you can’t swim, why jump in?! Even if you’re in a hurry to catch someone, this isn’t the way to do it!
“They said there’s no surveillance in that corner.” Asuka Kazuya put on a regretful expression upon hearing this. “That person was wearing a hood, he shot the councilman’s son, and when he saw me, he jumped into the sea with the kid.”
Matsuda Jinpei, who had been thinking about what was wrong, instantly spotted the blind spot.
He frowned: “Since that guy had a gun, why didn’t he shoot at you?”
“Didn’t you see the bullet holes on the ship?” Asuka Kazuya retorted. “He fired three or four shots. I thought I was going to die, but it was just a near miss, even he was stunned.”
Based on the trajectory analysis, a few of those shots were indeed aimed at Asuka Kazuya.
Matsuda Jinpei hesitated to speak. He knew this was unlikely, but he also felt that such an absurd thing happening to this eccentric guy was quite reasonable.
“Also, isn’t the bomb disposal unit upstairs?” Asuka Kazuya pointed at the directory next to the elevator. “Be careful about slacking off during work hours, you might get fined. As far as I know, everyone’s salary isn’t very high these days, be careful not to end up like me, unable to afford food.”
“You can still afford food even with deductions, right?” Matsuda Jinpei was suspicious. “Or did your family take your salary again?”
Asuka Kazuya thought for a moment.
It was fine in the organization now, but back in the Special Abilities Division, the executive officer only paid him once every three months. The finance department’s reason was that his fines were more than five times his salary, it was good enough that he had something to drink.
So unfair, just because he sawed everyone’s desks to build a Gundam, did they have to hold a grudge against him?
“Also, it’s already midnight.” Matsuda Jinpei was speechless. He stepped aside, revealing the clock on the wall behind him. “I wanted to ask you about last night and take you out for dinner. Next time you know you can’t swim, inform your colleagues first. If we hadn’t gone looking for you, were you really planning to drown?”
Asuka Kazuya didn’t understand his reproach, subconsciously looking at Hagiwara Kenji beside him.
“Jinpei-chan is worried about you,” Hagiwara Kenji smiled. “And wasn’t yesterday your first day at work? You don’t seem to have made any friends.”
“…” Now it was Asuka Kazuya’s turn to be speechless. He was so used to messing around that he didn’t know how to respond to such kindness.
“Alright,” completely forgetting about returning to the organization, Asuka Kazuya suggested, “I know a really good restaurant nearby, how about I treat you?”
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
Matsuda Jinpei: “Didn’t you just say you had no money?”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Asuka Kazuya said. “My card was confiscated, but I talked to Daddy yesterday, he thinks I only stole his lighter, he definitely didn’t expect me to steal his bank card too.”
…
No, what was there to be proud of?!
Matsuda Jinpei was expressionless, glancing at his partner who was trying not to laugh.
See, I told you there was a reason his dad hated him. This guy’s situation was largely his own fault.
The restaurant Asuka Kazuya mentioned was a Western-style restaurant.
The layout was simple, with a row of empty tables in the corner. The waiter waited beside them, taking their coats as they approached.
“Police academy?” Asuka Kazuya chewed on a mint, pondering Matsuda Jinpei’s words. “No, I was studying in America before—are you all police academy graduates?”
“Normal people go to the police academy for training before joining the police department.” Matsuda Jinpei didn’t expect that one day he would have to explain such things to a police officer, his tone filled with a faint despair for Japan’s future. “But Hagi and I have known each other for a long time.”
“So you’re childhood friends?” Asuka Kazuya seemed to understand. “So you have a good relationship… hmm, I see. I also grew up with my senpai, I’m working to find him.”
Hagiwara Kenji: “Senpai?”
“Someone who took care of me when I was young,” Asuka Kazuya said. “He went missing a while ago. Daddy said he’ll only give me access to the database if I achieve some results.”
Matsuda Jinpei didn’t know why, but he inexplicably imagined that this so-called “senpai” had died on a mission.
It was quite touching when he thought about it. This guy used his privilege to join the police not for life experience or to do anything bad, but just to find information about his missing friend.
Hagiwara Kenji: “Maybe he’s looking for you too.”
“…Me?”
Hagiwara Kenji propped his chin, smiling gently when Asuka Kazuya looked over.
“If it’s someone important, you’ll meet again someday. Don’t you think so, Kato-kun?”
Asuka Kazuya was stunned.
He felt that Hagiwara Kenji was somewhat similar to Ango-senpai in some aspects, but he couldn’t say exactly what it was. Asuka Kazuya fidgeted with his earlobe, deciding to target different police officers for his next mission.
“Did you learn your deduction skills at the police academy too?”
“Hmm… Come to think of it, there are similar classes at the academy.”
“…Sounds exhausting. Speaking of which, since you like deduction, why join the bomb disposal unit? Wouldn’t the Criminal Investigation Department be more suitable for you?”
“It’s not really a hobby.” Perhaps thinking of his former companion, Hagiwara Kenji’s tone softened. “Jinpei-chan and I prefer our current jobs. As for deduction, that person liked it a lot before entering the academy.”
Unfortunately, Amuro Tooru had disappeared after graduation. Public Security missions were mostly confidential. The last time Hagiwara Kenji saw him was two months ago. Hagiwara Kenji didn’t risk saying hello, walking past him and a blonde woman without a sideways glance.
“By the way, Kato-kun, is that your friend outside?” A flashy sports car was parked across from the Western restaurant. Hagiwara Kenji looked over, just in time to meet Chianti’s gaze.
The woman had a tattoo near her eye and was dressed in black. She raised an eyebrow when he looked over.
Asuka Kazuya decided to leave first.
“That’s also my family,” he said, grabbing his clothes and running. “I’ve already paid. Hagiwara-kun, I’ll return your coat after I wash it.”
Matsuda Jinpei watched him get into the eye-catching sports car.
This family was rich and rebellious, quite fitting the persona.
The problem was that it fit a little too well.
Matsuda Jinpei watched Chianti’s car speed away, frowning slightly.
A few blocks away, Chianti’s car finally pulled into the organization’s base.
“I came as soon as I saw Vodka’s message.” Unlike other heartless organization members, Chianti had a good relationship with Asuka Kazuya. She didn’t care about the so-called police, her car’s hidden compartment filled with weapons.
If she hadn’t heard that Calvados had gone out with two police officers, Chianti would have blown up the police station and rescued Calvados.
She got out of the car, casually hanging up Korn’s call.
“The members from America are all here.” A thick stack of documents was taken out from beside her. Chianti watched Calvados flipping through the documents, exasperated. “There are thousands of ideal types, why do you always look for men with glasses? Don’t listen to that woman Vermouth’s nonsense, if you like someone, just grab them.”
Hmm… Chianti seemed to have misunderstood something, but this misunderstanding was only beneficial to his purpose, so Asuka Kazuya didn’t refute it.
He looked through a few pages, still not finding any trace of Sakaguchi Ango in the documents.
“That’s what I said,” Asuka Kazuya propped his chin, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle. “But isn’t it bad to directly target people in the organization? Like the newly joined Whiskeys, they don’t really pay attention to me.”
“…Besides Gin, there are others in the organization who ignore you?”
“That’s right, Vermouth said life is full of unrequited love.”
“…”
Chianti fell silent.
Although everyone in the organization was cunning, Chianti was actually the most loyal. She had known Calvados longer than she had known Gin. Ever since Calvados took a fatal bullet for her a few years ago, Chianti had treated him like a younger brother.
As long as it didn’t violate orders, Chianti would even dare to steal Gin’s things.
So in this strange atmosphere, Chianti took out her PSG-1 and walked towards the base.
Asuka Kazuya, who hadn’t seen Chianti for a long time, reacted and ran after her: “I was just kidding.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you taking your gun?”
“To find those newcomers, two of them, your partners, haven’t been reachable until now.”
They passed by a confused Korn and a pretending-to-be-blind Tequila. Under Vodka’s horrified gaze, Chianti raised her gun.
“If they’re crippled, we can just replace them.”
“Calvados, I’ll avenge you today.”
