Chapter 7
Several months later—
Near the end of work hours, Matsuda Jinpei received a call from his childhood friend.
"Little Jinpei, don't forget about tonight's plans!"
Matsuda Jinpei responded casually: "Won't forget. You're the one who better not forget to bring the thank-you gift."
"I've got it with me. I'm waiting for you in the parking lot."
Two days ago, Samukawa Shinryu, who had captured the bomber several months earlier and thereby saved an entire bomb disposal squad, suddenly contacted Hagiwara Kenji, saying he wanted to consult about becoming a police officer.
Originally, both Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji thought this Samukawa Shinryu had just been being polite at the time and would thereafter remain dormant in their contact lists. They hadn't expected him to actually send emails with inquiries.
Both were somewhat shocked that Samukawa Shinryu seemed seriously intent on becoming a police officer.
They didn't quite know what they were shocked about. The man hadn't even become a police officer yet but had already acted heroically, doing better than many active officers. But recalling their impression of Samukawa Shinryu and trying to imagine him in a police uniform created a subtle sense of discord.
Since many things couldn't be explained clearly through email exchanges, and to formally thank him for his previous help, Hagiwara Kenji simply tried inviting him out for dinner. Samukawa Shinryu agreed.
As for why Hagiwara Kenji couldn't speak directly with Matsuda Jinpei and could only call...
It was because Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei's work duties had been separated—meaning he was prohibited from bomb disposal and had to follow standard procedures with the new recruits.
The reason was naturally his previous incident of removing his protective suit at the scene, which enraged the supervisor who had recruited both him and Matsuda Jinpei to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit before they even graduated, believing in their potential. The supervisor demanded Hagiwara Kenji reflect properly.
This senior was extremely self-reproachful.
Normally, new recruits fresh from Police Academy shouldn't be put directly into action so quickly. But because he'd observed Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei's performance during Police Academy and felt their abilities were sufficient, he'd skipped some steps and directly assigned them high-difficulty, high-risk work.
If Samukawa Shinryu hadn't stopped the bomber in time, Hagiwara Kenji would have essentially died in the line of duty just one month after graduation. How could he not feel guilty?
Originally, with Hagiwara Kenji writing some self-reflection reports, the matter might have passed. The problem was that this supervisor inadvertently overheard a conversation between Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji.
Faced with his childhood friend's fear and complaints, the usually high-EQ Hagiwara Kenji accidentally said the wrong thing.
"Even if I'd worn the protective suit, at that distance I'd definitely be dead anyway..."
Explosive Ordnance Disposal supervisor: "............"
Nearly blown to pieces and still making excuses?! Such a poor attitude!!!
So the supervisor, who had originally just been guilty and fearful, immediately became furious.
Especially when the supervisor recalled the evaluation from Hagiwara Kenji's Police Academy instructor Onizuka, about how he never really followed regulations anyway, he truly settled all accounts at once and threw Hagiwara Kenji into remedial training.
Matsuda Jinpei had performed well and given the supervisor no cause for complaint, so he escaped disaster, but was also being watched closely.
After properly finishing work, Matsuda Jinpei found Hagiwara Kenji's car in the parking lot. During the drive to their destination, their conversation eventually touched on this topic.
"It's been several months now—still won't let you continue bomb disposal?"
Hagiwara Kenji sighed: "New recruits should normally go through this anyway, but the situation is indeed somewhat complicated. Maybe because you agreed immediately while I hesitated for a while before agreeing, he seems to think I'm not suited for the riot squad and has had several talks with me..."
Matsuda Jinpei propped his chin up, looking at the scenery outside: "You joined the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit mainly because of me, right? Actually, you might do better in Criminal Investigation—you'd still be in the Metropolitan Police anyway."
Hagiwara Kenji's powers of observation and his spring-breeze social skills would be more useful in Criminal Investigation for finding clues and getting information from related personnel.
Back in Police Academy, when someone had hidden a bullet, it was Hagiwara Kenji who found it.
"Do you want me to go to Criminal Investigation?" Hagiwara Kenji keenly picked up on Matsuda Jinpei's implication.
"The decision is still yours to make. I just think you don't need to stay because of me."
No matter how close Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji were, they didn't need to be bound together. Plus, after the dramatic near-death experience with Hagiwara Kenji, Matsuda Jinpei now had some psychological trauma about Hagiwara Kenji continuing bomb disposal.
Hagiwara Kenji was silent for a few seconds: "...Actually, the senior gave me another option as a buffer."
Matsuda Jinpei turned his head: "What?"
Hagiwara Kenji said with a strange expression: "The senior said I should go back to Police Academy as an Assistant Instructor—maybe that would help me see into my own heart."
Matsuda Jinpei: "............"
The car was silent for a few seconds, then Matsuda Jinpei suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! What is that supposed to mean? That's too funny! Isn't that just a polite way of making you repeat the course? Coming out and getting returned so soon—how are you supposed to face the instructors!"
Hagiwara Kenji laughed helplessly along: "Stop laughing. I'm really troubled—ah, I see Samukawa-kun."
Matsuda Jinpei looked up, and in the distance at the bus stop, a figure in a black coat and red scarf immediately came into view.
Strangely, though there were many people waiting for buses at the stop, only the area around Samukawa Shinryu formed an odd hollow circle.
Samukawa Shinryu himself didn't seem to care, standing there casually looking at his phone. But this relaxed attitude made his behavior appear even more abnormal.
Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei both watched silently for a while.
"...Samukawa-kun really is the same as always."
"...Yeah."
The same uncompromising independence that really stood out as different in Japanese society.
Since it wasn't convenient to park here for long, Matsuda Jinpei rolled down the window and called out: "Samukawa-kun! Over here!"
Samukawa Shinryu turned his head, those dark red eyes sweeping over calmly, somehow making Matsuda Jinpei think of flowing blood and causing mild discomfort.
Soon, Samukawa Shinryu got in the car, sitting in the back seat.
"Good evening."
"Good evening, Samukawa-kun. I'm glad to see you again."
When Hagiwara Kenji greeted him, he unconsciously glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror, bizarrely getting the feeling that he was escorting a criminal.
But he clearly wasn't driving a police car!
To break this strange feeling, Hagiwara Kenji cheerfully opened conversation: "Then as I mentioned before, we'll go to a delicious family restaurant. There are izakaya nearby too, so if we have time after dinner, we can have a drink... By the way, you can drink alcohol, right? I'm worried the bartender might not let you in."
Although Samukawa Shinryu's aura was indeed very mature, setting aside the filter of being affected by the strange atmosphere, he actually had a very young, delicate face, making it hard to judge whether he'd reached the legal drinking age of 20.
Japan didn't have ID cards or anything like that—people generally used driver's licenses, student IDs, and such to verify identity.
But Hagiwara Kenji was just joking now, since people with baby faces weren't uncommon—he knew one himself.
"I brought my driver's license."
"That's good then."
Hagiwara Kenji asked while driving: "Speaking of which, which school were you planning to test for, Samukawa-kun?"
"...Originally the National Police Agency Police Academy."
Samukawa Shinryu frowned, his already cold-seeming face immediately gaining several degrees of pressure: "My written exam scores were very high, but I failed the interview. I asked other people and they said my answers were all normal."
Hagiwara Kenji: "..."
Matsuda Jinpei: "..."
Hearing that Samukawa Shinryu had failed the interview, they actually felt like it was expected.
After all, this person's aura really didn't seem like a good person's!!! It totally felt like some organization had sent an undercover agent!!!
More open-minded interviewers might not judge by appearance, but many interviewers trusted their instincts more. They should be grateful the interviewer didn't immediately call to have someone check whether Samukawa Shinryu was an undiscovered criminal...
Hagiwara Kenji managed to find comforting words: "Uh, the National Police Agency academy is for career track officers after all, so the difficulty is indeed very high..."
In a place the two couldn't hear, the system complained: [Couldn't you just turn off the 'Black Screen Aura' to pass the interview? I worked so hard to forge written exam materials for you, but you never intended to pass, did you?]
Usuha Izuki ignored the system's complaints, responding to Hagiwara Kenji: "So I want to improve myself. I happened to remember I had your contact information, so I thought I'd ask if you have any experience."
Hagiwara Kenji thought for a while, then said: "Do you want to be a police officer in Tokyo? If so, I'm not very familiar with the National Police Agency academy. Have you considered testing for the Metropolitan Police Academy first? The atmosphere there is more open-minded, and if you still want to be career track later, you can continue testing after becoming a police officer."
"More open-minded atmosphere?"
Hagiwara Kenji couldn't explain.
He could hardly say that he had no way to help with the National Police Agency academy, but with the Metropolitan Police Academy, he could help by letting the interviewers know that Samukawa Shinryu was a good person willing to act heroically, so they shouldn't discriminate against him during the interview!
He could only say with difficulty: "At least if you fail again this time, I can help you find out the reason."
Matsuda Jinpei maintained high-quality silence.
If it were someone else, he would directly point out "because your aura doesn't seem like a good person's, the interviewer judged by appearance," not caring if people found his words harsh.
But facing the benefactor who had saved his childhood friend, he couldn't bring himself to say it, and could only criticize Hagiwara Kenji internally.
—Don't make blind promises! If you can't say it now, will you be able to say it next time?!!
Usuha Izuki pretended to think for a while, then nodded in agreement: "That works too. I'll try both. I also think it's better not to test the same Police Academy again in the short term."
Hagiwara Kenji breathed a sigh of relief: "In that case, let's discuss in detail how to test for the Metropolitan Police Academy."
That settled it. If Samukawa Shinryu could get in, he'd choose to return to Police Academy as Assistant Instructor for six months, then reconsider after Samukawa-kun graduated.
He'd accept being mocked by instructors—consider it repaying Samukawa Shinryu's life-saving favor...
He really wasn't at ease about Samukawa Shinryu.
He felt that leaving him alone would only result in him graduating to a bunch of colleagues swearing to find what crimes Samukawa Shinryu was hiding and wanting to arrest him...
That would be too miserable for a police officer!