"You serious? Ya gotta be shitting me…" A tall, muscular man with an eyepatch groaned. He leaned back in his wooden chair and rubbed his temples. "So…let me get this straight. You let that crook run because he said…his mother was sick and needed help?"
"Correct. He was in a hurry. And he seemed really desperate." Tatsumi confirmed. "I thought-"
The noise of the folder being smacked on his desk cut him off. "What you think doesn't matter. I've heard this one so often already…it's always poor ol' mommy. Of course he was in a hurry, goddamnit! So you can't catch that son of a bitch. He might have pulled that crap a thousand times today for all we know."
"But, Captain-"
"Cuffs first, questions later. It's that simple." The captain let out a strained sigh. "Everyone else got the MO. Look at Seryu, she's already detained 8 thugs today and is on her way to bag in the next batch of scum. You should really follow her example." Again, he picked up that folder he just bothered smacking on his desk.
"And what if he's innocent?" Finally, he could get it out.
Captain Ogre paid him no attention and opened the folder. "Tatsumi, decent shape, slightly above average endurance and strength, recommended for infantry." He paused. "Oh, what's that? Beat up 5 fellow recruits in a fit of rage. One of these poor fucks even had his arm snapped and oh my another suffered a broken rib. Continued psychological screening advised. I wonder what kind of animal did that…" He questioned in a sarcastic tone, his stare patrolling throughout the whole room except where the newest addition to his police force stood.
Tatsumi evaded his superior's demanding gaze and stared on the white floor with a frown.
"When I read that report I thought I was gonna get another tough colleague helping me to get the scum off the streets and not some softie from the countryside. In that case, they could have just sent you to the frontlines for all I care." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know what they saw in you or which buttons you had to push to get here. Or hell, maybe they thought you weren't good enough for the meat grinder, but I expect you to get your shit together. Am I understood?"
The Captain towered above him and stared him down.
"Sir, yes, sir." Tatsumi saluted. Nothing has changed.
"Night Raid eats rookies like you for breakfast. Forget about them, your average crook will get you in trouble if you're not tough enough on them. They only understand that language." Ogre's stern gaze softened slightly. "So keep your eyes open and be careful out there, alright?"
"Alright, I'll return to duty." Tatsumi nodded and left.
The young soldier strolled through the vivid streets of the Capital. Not much has changed from the day that he first walked the cobblestone alleys and stared at all the countless marvels this endless city had to offer. Though, now he gazed at the same picturesque surroundings with different eyes.
The place's mythical aura has diminished a fair bit by now with increasing familiarity. It still maintained its flawless image like the green meadows on a sunny spring day in Tatsumi's village. Though upon a closer look small molehills stuck out like sore thumbs, be it the few homeless people whose pleas for money fell on deaf ears or the occasional criminal roaming the streets, taking what is not his.
By now, the countless brick houses have been replaced by homes with paper doors, reminiscent of the ones in his village. It's already been a few months since they had embarked on their journey. How were their families doing right now? Spring had begun a few days ago so they were probably starting to work the fields like they had been ever since he could remember. He's yet to receive his first paycheck but what he'd give to see his parents' reaction once they'd send their hard earned gold back to them. Tatsumi gazed at the pagoda that towered in the back. If he wasn't on duty, this would have made for an excellent sightseeing tour.
"Let go of me!"
The sudden cries of a female voice forced his focus back on the job. Tatsumi jogged over to where two groups opposed each other. In between the masses stood two girls, one of them was being held at her wrist by a young man at least one head taller than her.
"What's your deal with that rotten son of a bitch? Answer me!" He demanded, his grip only growing tighter on the brunette.
"Aaah! Daiki, it hurts!"
A young man from the opposing group went in between them and pulled the brunette behind him. "Get the hint, man. She's done with your insecure ass. Just take your little homies and walk away, if you still have a little bit of dignity."
The way the two carried themselves, they were probably the bosses of their respective groups. Sashes and tattoos as well. Must be gangs then.
"Say that again, you little cocksucker! Say it again and I'm gonna fuck you up. You and your entire fucking family." Daiki raised his voice to the point that his threats could be heard all over the place.
The other man chuckled with a scornful smirk, hands in his pockets. "Do your worst."
Just as Daiki was about to swing at him, Tatsumi intervened. "Hold it! What's going on here?"
"Oh, fucking great…the pigs showed up." He sighed and walked past the police officer, who was at the very least a few years younger than himself.
Again, the teenager stood in front of him. "Answer or I'll be forced to detain you for questioning."
Another sigh exhaled. "Piss off. Unless you wanna talk to my friends."
The policeman struggled to come up with a response for a moment as he took a look around with widened eyes. 10 on one side and 10 on the other, minus the two young women. And a bunch of curious civilians gathered around what appeared to be a gang feud erupting any moment. This could turn ugly very quickly.
"This is your last warning. Sto-"
The taller man interjected. "Listen up, you little piss pig! Scram or you'll end up dead just like these fake ass gangsters."
"Look…if you've got problems with each other, please resolve them peacefully. You are causing civil unrest." He had used that platitude twice today and it had failed both times. Surely, the third time was going to be the charm.
Spit landed on Tatsumi's face. Deep inhale. He maintained his stern gaze towards the tall ruffian despite his eyes trembling with rage. The police officer raised his voice as well now. "There's no need for violence. Just go your separate ways and I'll forget this happened."
Daiki shoved the police boy out of his way and went straight at the man, who had his girlfriend. And so did the rest of the groups.
Right…the Captain said as much. These scumbags only understand one language. He wiped it off his cheek and made sure to drag the two girls out of this violent mess. The two groups crashed into each other until everyone had an opponent. All the while each side was receiving motivational cheers from the onlookers surrounding them.
If Tatsumi could, he'd bust all of them, so Ogre would finally stop complaining about his 'pitiful' detention rate. He'd have to put them all to sleep until reinforcements would arrive. If they arrived. In the corner of his eyes a few colleagues pretended as if this brawl didn't take place. Cowards. At the very least Seryu wouldn't have budged.
Tatsumi rammed his fist into the man that just spit on him and sent him reeling. Only for him to return the favor, hitting him straight to the temple.
"No way! The local police are helping us beat up our rivals. Ain't that somethin'? Please never wake me up." One of the yellow sashes shouted, while he punched out one of the other gang members.
The police officer stumbled into one of Daiki's goons and ended up restrained by his arms to be used as the boss' punching bag. He ripped into Tatsumi's body and snapped his head back multiple times. Daiki grabbed him by his uniform, staring him dead into his emerald green eyes with nothing but disdain. "I'd still kill you over Kazuma, that filthy son of a whore any day of the week. You rotten bunch are everything that's wrong with this cesspool of a city."
Tatsumi kicked him in the gut, tossed the gangster behind him over his hips and smashed through his arm with a loud pop.
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!"
"Holy shit! This dude ain't playin'!"
The soldier grabbed onto Daiki and rammed his knee into his gut. He followed it up with a hard hook to the jaw. "Had enough yet? Give it up and put your hands where I can see them!" Tatsumi ordered as he reached for his cuffs.
The gang boss held his jaw, raising his other hand only to show the officer his middle finger. "This isn't over, Akiko. You hear me? I know where y'all live."
"I should have knocked him out…" Tatsumi exhaled a sigh. Chasing after a whole gang would be a fool's errand anyway with his limited knowledge of the district.
The other gang boss embraced the girl. "Sorry, you had to see this." He whispered in a soothing tone.
Tatsumi turned his attention to the other girl to make some sense of this whole mess and perhaps get some unfiltered information. "Excuse me, ma'am. May I ask you some questions? I know this is sudden but it would help clear things up here."
She did not reply for several moments, until she seemingly came to. "Ah, yes. Excuse me, officer and thank you for keeping us safe." The woman responded with a warm smile.
"Only doing my job." Tatsumi giggled like a blushing fool, his hand stroking through the back of his head.
"Are you alright? Your face…"
This was the first time someone seemed to care about his well-being ever since he picked up this job. And he was already 3 weeks in. "Ah, don't worry. I can take a punch." He stuttered out after a brief moment. Tatsumi cleared his throat to project some sense of seriousness again, while he retrieved his little jotter. "Anyway, what was going on here? Was she the reason they went at each other?"
The woman adjusted her glasses and put her index finger on her cheek. "I think so. They've been in constant battle for quite a while now though."
"I understand. Does this happen a lot here?"
She nodded. "Yes. There's a lot of gangs here."
Another colleague approached from behind, dragging the unconscious thug along. "I'll take things from here." He couldn't even look Tatsumi in the eyes. The younger officer furrowed his brow and just waved him off.
"And what's your name, if I may ask? Just in case this sort of thing happens again." And given how this whole situation had unraveled, at least from the bit he's seen something told him that he'd be by again soon.
Her lips spread to form yet another genuine, heart-warming smile. "My name is Sheele. And yours?" This woman really was the perfect innocent bystander.
"I'm Tatsumi. Pleased to meet you."
"Thanks for helping out, but we had it covered. Wait…I don't remember having you on my payroll." The other gang boss chuckled.
"Bribing a police officer is a criminal offense punishable by at least 5 years." The officer lectured with a stern gaze.
"Just kidding. Loosen up, will ya? That's not good for the job."
He disregarded that small taunt. "I'll be taking your testimony. What's happened here?"
"We all saw, didn't we? We protected these two girls and all the civilians from these wannabe thugs."
Tatsumi raised an eyebrow at that statement. "That's not your job. This is our responsibility as the local police."
"Yeah? Then why do you think there's so many of these gangs to begin with?"
What was he even supposed to say to that? "How am I supposed to know? Cause trouble for law-abiding citizens?"
"You're as green as your uniform. But you're gonna learn." Kazuma shrugged with a self-sufficient smirk.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tatsumi hissed.
Now the girl behind him spoke up. "I'm glad Kazuma was here. Otherwise Daiki might have…"
"I see. I'll write this down as a self-defense case then." He sighed as he scribbled down his report. "Given the threats this Daiki made…would you like security at your place? I'm sure I can leave a pair of men at your place."
"With all due respect…I don't think that will help, officer." She refused and turned her gaze to the gang boss.
He nodded. "If he tries anything, I'll be there with the whole squad. I promise."
"Just don't cause any trouble, alright?" Tatsumi resigned with an almost bewildered stare.
"Never." The gang boss chuckled and turned away with his men, the girl following closely behind him. Sheele gave a polite bow and caught up to her friend. The civilians returned to their daily lives and so did the police officer, patrolling through the bustling streets once more to fulfill his duty.
"Hey, Tatsumi." A familiar, manly voice called from the other end of the alley.
"Vice Captain Hachirō." Tatsumi stood straight and saluted.
"Please, no need to be so formal. You're almost making me feel embarrassed. I told ya thousand times already." The older of the two chuckled with a slightly goofy grin. "Sorry, I couldn't be here sooner. I was having my own share of trouble. How's the situation and how are you?"
"It kind of resolved itself. Still…I can't believe how disrespectful people are towards us. We're here to keep them safe for crying out loud but they hate us!"
The man cupped his jaw and stroked down his stubble beard. "Hm…I kinda get it. A few bad apples can make a whole tree look rotten. It's the same with people."
"Then it's on us to stand as examples that people can look up to." Tatsumi immediately returned with that youthful fire in his emerald-green eyes.
"My…I should be saying that." Hachirō made a nervous giggle, a drop of sweat running down his forehead. "You and Seryu are gonna be closer than me to being adults by the time you're gonna get your first paycheck."
Sigh exhaled. "Then tell our boss about it."
"He gave ya another earful, huh? He ain't going easy on ya, that's for sure…"
"I stopped counting after the first week. It's not like he's gonna stop either way."
The man laid a hand on his colleague's shoulder. "Don't mind him. This job…can change a man. That's just his way of caring for his comrades." His slightly goofy grin turned into a genuinely uplifting smile.
"You two are so different…I just don't get it."
"And that's the beautiful thing, ain't it? To this day, you're the only one I know who carries a katana into duty."
His left hand gently rested on the hilt of the sheathed blade. "I feel safer. Even if I don't end up using it. I don't know why, it just feels this way."
His lips curled down, forming a slight frown as he glanced down at the weapon. "You need to be careful with that thing or you might end up behind bars yourself."
Tatsumi halted his march. "Even criminals don't deserve to be cut down without a fair trial. Otherwise we'd not uphold our oath of justice. We'd be no better than these assassins from Night Raid."
"That's indeed true. The day we forget that, we'll stop being good men." The vice-captain stumbled over himself the moment these words left his lips.
How this dork had made it to where he was today was still a mystery to Tatsumi.
He'd always imagined someone of Hachirō's rank and status to be dead serious at all times. Focused solely on the mission like Seryu. Yet, he was shown the exact opposite to that theory on a daily basis. "By the way, why don't ya come over for dinner with my family after our shift? My wife's gonna cook a feast today."
A drop of sweat ran down the young man's forehead.
He can't even count the invitations on his hands anymore. And he felt terrible for refusing every time but he also had to think about his friends, who always ended up arguing about who would be forced to put food on the table until he finished cooking something up after his long shifts. If they just did it together…
He tugged at the collar of his uniform. "I'd love to, but…"
"C'mon, man." He exclaimed and took his colleague into that soft guillotine choke they taught in basic training. "This time I ain't letting you off the hook so easily. How could ya refuse rice and chicken? It's not like we're biting…And my wife used to be a chef!"
"Alright." Tatsumi conceded after seeing the pleading look in his eyes. He was short on excuses anyway, so why not? It was a free meal after all. Sayo certainly wouldn't have had any second thoughts.
"See? Ain't that hard." The vice-captain chuckled.
"Leave me alone!" A middle-aged man cried out as he stumbled, inadvertently falling all over himself on his escape. One of the two men grabbed him, the other talked to him with a sardonic smile. The hard gut punches made the victim scream through the entire street.
Hachirō nodded at his colleague.
"Hold it!" He shouted as they both restrained the two men. No tattoos or sashes this time around. Tatsumi already reached for the cuffs but Hachirō signaled him to wait. "What's happened here?"
"None of ya damn business!" The small man in Tatsumi's clutch barked back, attempting to break free.
"If ya want we can talk about that behind bars. So why were ya ganging up on that poor fella?"
"He owes us."
"It's always the debt collectors, huh? And that's why you have to beat him up?" The younger officer questioned and tightened his grip on the suspect.
"Ain't you got bigger problems than us in this damned city?"
"Nah, we're good. We just happened to stumble into ya. Literally." Hachiro snickered. He turned his attention to the victim. "Why do you owe them money?"
"He's lying!" He frantically stuttered, pointing at one of the men with his quivering finger.
"Quit the act, pervert! The whole fucking city knows ya can't keep your dirty fingers off women. Especially married ones." The taller of the two suspects spoke now.
The victim stood on his feet again. "That's bullcrap! I was at work the whole day and then at home with my wife and kids!"
"That's funny. People said they saw you with a woman."
"Who said that?"
"Ya know…people. You're neckdeep in shite."
"Unless he pays you to keep it under the rug." Tatsumi added with a small, self-satisfied grin.
"Yeah, I mean no! That's just a whole different pile of shite he got himself into."
"Gentlemen, you're under arrest for aggravated assault and extortion." Hachirō declared and cuffed the perpetrator in his grip.
"Come prove it, ya fucking punk." The smaller suspect retorted.
"Don't worry about that. We got plenty of evidence." Tatsumi shot back, followed by a familiar clicking noise.
"Calm down, dude. The main man's gonna have us out before the sun sets. Let the boy scouts have their moment."
"Hey, you over there. Come help us out!" Tatsumi shouted at the two colleagues passing the street. They certainly seemed in no rush to come to their aid.
The two newly-joined policemen seemed to exchange quick glances with the perpetrators. Did they know each other?
"Let's get you scumbags locked up." The senior policeman grunted after a moment of hesitation, giving his crook a light shove. His partner followed suit with the other apprehended crook. The small perpetrator just couldn't help himself and spat on the ground, only to be rewarded with a fist to the temple.
"I'll make sure you rot, ya son of a bitch." The policeman promised as he dragged the small man along.
"Thanks for the help, Tatsumi. Otherwise this might've gotten tricky." The vice-captain turned back to his partner.
"Only doing my job. I haven't had extortion yet."
"There's a first for everything. View it as another ticked off box on your list."
"I just hope I won't have to tick murder off the list."
For a moment it seemed as though Hachirō was about to comment on that but ultimately decided not to. "Tatsumi, let's switch. I take the pagoda square and you take the outer ring, alright?"
"Understood, vice-captain." Tatsumi saluted. "What's the situation over there?"
"Been quiet mostly throughout the day. Probably because Seryu's doing her rounds. That girl's just terrific."
"Yeah, she works harder than all of us. We could all take a page out of her book."
"Alright, let's get back to work." Hachirō turned around and headed for his location. "And don't forget the chicken."
The other police officer couldn't help but chuckle. Even now that man could only think about dinner with his family.
Once more, Tatsumi patrolled through the streets now surrounded by buildings to each side and tight corridors. True to his vice-captain's assessment it remained oddly peaceful. So far, it had been non-stop action during this shift. Hell, most of his shifts had been like that. Continuously breaking up fights, detaining thugs, stopping robberies or putting the gangs in their place. And so far this day of work hasn't been any different.
If only evil would sleep on weekends…
Seryu would have gently lectured him for such foolish thoughts with another fiery speech in servitude of justice.
Suddenly, a terrified scream hollered through the crowded streets. Tatsumi rushed to where the high-pitched cry came from. A young woman around the officer's age laid in a slowly expanding puddle of her own blood. Above her stood a man roughly the same age, a bloodied knife in his left hand and a big, red stain on his white shirt.
No escape attempt whatsoever. He remained absolutely still like said knife, eyes widened in utter perplexity.
Tatsumi rushed in, disarmed the suspect and put his arm in a lock behind his back.
"Wait a second! It wasn't me!"
"He's lying. I saw him do it." A citizen yelled from further back in the crowd that surrounded victim, perpetrator and officer.
"C'mon, man. He's got a bloody knife in his hands. Of course he's done it."
"He's got blood all over himself. It must be him."
"If you got one shred of remorse in you, apologize and turn yourself in."
The breaths of the man in the officer's grip turned more erratic with each new accusation carelessly thrown at him.
"Listen up!" Tatsumi raised his voice. "Can you help me out and get this woman to the next hospital so I can deal with the suspect?"
And from one moment to the next it turned deadly silent.
"Ah…I gotta go to work. My boss is literally gonna kill me if I'm late."
"No thanks or that maniac's gonna whack me next."
The crowd slowly dissolved, while the young woman was barely wailing and turning in a pool of her own blood. "She's dying for f-" Tatsumi bit his tongue to hold in a curse. The victim slowly raised her arm and weakly pointed at the man that allegedly attacked her.
The suspect's panicked breaths subsided. Deep inhale. "Officer, please allow me to help you carry her to the next hospital. We must hurry."
Tatsumi took another glance at the passive crowd that still remained present for some reason. "Alright." The man took her into his arms, carrying her through the streets judging him with bewildered stares. As if he had just assassinated the emperor in front of their very eyes.
"You're just trying to assuage your guilt now but you're never going to be forgiven. And you still haven't apologized, audacious scum."
"He's trying to play the system and get off the hook. You must get this maniac behind bars before it's too late, officer."
"I hope you hang for what you've done to the girl."
The two ignored the persistent noises from the sidelines, rushing to the nearest hospital. "I should have brought the first aid kit. Goddamnit."
At least, the victim's silent whimpers were a sign that she still hung on.
"We're almost there." Tatsumi moved another clueless citizen out of his way. "You good?"
"Yeah, thank god." The two young men barged into the hospital, straight towards the counter.
"We have an emergency!"
"I can see that. Do you have her insurance papers on hand?" The older nurse responded.
Tatsumi's eyes snapped wide open as his whole world came to a screeching halt, almost moving at a snail's pace.
"Who the fuck cares about insurance right now? Can't you see she's dying?" The suspect shouted at the secretary behind the counter.
"Do we look like Samaritans to you?"
"Alright. Get her on the bed over there. We'll take things from here." Her younger colleague responded. "But she does have insurance, right? If she can't cover the cost of the treatment…"
The young man let out a strained huff and rolled his eyes. "Hell, I'll pay for it myself if you'd just do your job." He placed the girl on the nearest bed next to some kid with his arm wrapped in a bandage.
The two nurses hopped off their seats to take care of their new patient, clearly more urgency in the younger nurse's step than her colleague.
"I swear…some people just are dense as a fucking brick." The suspect sighed into his hands as he slumped down onto the next best seat. "Excuse my language, officer. But this is the worst day of my life right now."
He was hunched over, touched knees to elbows, letting out one silent curse after another.
Unless this was some kind of sick joke, this was absolutely not how a perpetrator would behave. If anything, he was the only one willing to help the poor woman. It didn't add up whatsoever.
"We've stabilized her for now. She'll be fine, if she gets a blood infusion. She did lose quite some blood."
"Fine…milk me dry, if you need to."
"With all due respect, we can't just take your blood and give it to her. If your blood type doesn't match hers, giving her your blood will end up killing her."
"Ah ok I see…does it?"
"I don't know. We'd have to run tests on you to make sure that it's compatible and safe. And secondly, we can only take half a liter from you at once. Anything more will make you feel dizzy at best."
"Then feel free to check my blood."
"I'm also offering myself." Tatsumi added.
"That is kind of you. Blood reserves are scarce these days and most of it is being reserved for injured soldiers." She glanced over. "Excuse me, officer." The nurse made a polite bow and headed off to another patient most likely.
"There she goes…Nice ass though." The other young man commented, gaze fixated on the nurse's well-shaped rear.
The officer took the moment to slump into his seat himself to catch a breather ever since this shift began. And yet, despite his tireless efforts, the elephant in the room still remained. Their gazes met and the suspect's head lowered, glancing down at his blood smeared shirt.
"Doesn't look pretty, huh?" He cracked a weary smirk.
"It looks suspicious." The policeman returned. "Let's just start with what happened from your perspective."
After a few moments, the suspect spoke. "It might sound stupid to you, but I swear down on my grandma's grave that I'm telling the truth. So…I was on my lunch break, ready to wrap up my work. Then I noticed this girl walking in front of me. All of a sudden, I got blood on my shirt, a knife in my hand, she's bleeding out on the ground and every finger's pointing at me."
"You're right. It sounds stupid."
"Dude…errr I meant officer, sorry. If I really was gonna kill her, I'd not do it in fucking broad daylight where everyone can see. And if killing her was my goal, why would I go out of my way to save her?"
"True. That speaks in your favor. It just doesn't add up…" Tatsumi glanced at the bloodied shirt again. A downward stroke in the middle stained the innocent color. "Hold on a second…before all this happened, did you feel something on your chest?"
"I zoned out, so I'm not sure…but now that you mention it, yeah. I felt a slight touch down my chest."
The officer nearly jumped off his seat. "Don't touch or wash this shirt. This might be your rescue."
"I can't follow right now."
"The blood trail looks like someone smeared it on you."
"So?" The suspect furrowed his brow.
"Try recreating the angle with your hands. But don't touch the shirt."
The other young man stood up and tried to stroke his flat hand down the shirt. "Nah, I can't do it."
"See? Someone must have smeared it on you. Probably the guy who actually did it. And if you did stab her, there'd probably be more small blood splatters all over your shirt."
"That's nice, I guess. But is a judge gonna believe that?"
"He must. He can't just ignore evidence like this. And she's a complete stranger to you, so there's hardly any motive for you either. Even if they drag you to court, you should be fine I think."
"You'd be surprised how ignorant people can be, if it suits them."
"But…"
"And what if they ask all these civilians who saw me "do" it? They're gonna believe them over my shirt. Hell, most of these fuckers belong behind bars for not helping the girl and yet I'm the bad guy here for some reason…"
"Maybe, but if they do I'll make a testimony that proves them all wrong."
"I'd appreciate that a lot." The young man's lips curled up into a fragile smile. "So what's gonna happen next, officer?"
"I still have to detain you as our prime suspect." Tatsumi reluctantly took the cuffs from his hip.
His cautious smile vanished as quickly as it came. "Look, I have a girl at home and she's two months pregnant. The last thing she needs right now is for me to rot behind bars."
"The other officers there will want to take your testimony."
"Are they gonna hurt me?"
"Not if you tell them the truth." Tatsumi's gaze sank onto the beige vinyl floor as that familiar noise clicked in his ears.
"What a shit day, man…"
"I've been having a shit-" The policeman cleared his throat. "I've been having a bad day myself…"
"Oh, I can imagine. If you're police in this hellhole of a city, every day's a bad day."
"It's alright. It's just that before I arrived on your scene, I had to deal with an extortion case. And before that I had a gang war on my hands. And before that…"
"I get it. You're constantly under stress and people treat you like crap. That's why I want to say thank you for everything you're doing." The detained man turned around and showed the officer that smile again.
Lips moved but words would not come out.
Tatsumi's cheekbones raised to form a grateful smile. "Thank you so much. You don't get to hear that a lot in this line of work." He paused. "I'll get you out of this situation. You'll be a free man. I promise."
The young man's smile brightened. "I'm counting on it. I know you're busy but could we please stop by at my apartment? I need to tell my girlfriend that everything's gonna be alright."
"Sure."
Eventually another shift in the Capital came to a close as Tatsumi and the vice-captain sauntered through the dimly lit streets they were busy keeping safe the entire day. The moment Hachirō opened the door to his home, a small girl stormed towards him. "Daddy!"
"Missed me?" The man chuckled and picked his little daughter up, giving her a tender kiss on the forehead. "Mhm. Did you have a good day?" She snuggled into him.
The father smiled across both of his cheeks. "Yes and now that you're here it's an amazing day." He patted this adorable, little ball of energy and put her back down. A beautiful blonde emerged from the kitchen, apron in hand and exhaled a relieved sigh.
"Welcome home, dear." She leaned in to give him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I hope you're hungry. I just finished making dinner."
"You bet, sweetheart. It smells so good here." The vice-captain shed his coat and fell into his chair.
Tatsumi noticed the welcoming beige, creamy colors of the interior.
It certainly was way more spacious than the apartment he and his two friends crammed themselves into. Even a cozy couch waited in the back of the room. If it was his, the first thing he would do after a shift would be a backflip onto the couch straight into a much needed nap. Several decorations adorned the room next to a bunch of drawn pictures proudly hanging on the wall. The artist was most likely the small girl in front of him.
At least now he had one more reason to reach Hachirō's paygrade.
"Daddy, who's the boy over there?" Her index finger pointed at the other officer from a fair distance. How flattering to still be called a boy at this age…
"That young man is my friend Tatsumi. Please shake his hand and greet him appropriately."
"Ah, so you're the guy dad always talks about." The girl blurted out with wide eyes.
Her father's cheek instantly reddened. "I wouldn't say 'all the time'…"A nervous chuckle escaped his lips.
The girl glanced at Tatsumi once more. "I'm Hiroe. Pleased to meet you." She reached out her small hand to him. The officer took a knee and met her olive green eyes, lips curled up into a gentle smile.
"I'm Tatsumi. The pleasure is mine." He shook the girl's hand. "I'm helping your dad catch the bad guys. He's awesome."
"You're a team then? That's so cool!" Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Do you like dad's work?"
Tatsumi couldn't help but pat the upbeat girl. She certainly took after her father to some extent. "It's quite alright. Especially if people say 'thank you'."
"Then you're cool too. Just like dad." She hummed as she hopped onto her seat at the dinner table.
"I'm Ayano. It's nice to finally meet you." Hachirō's wife made a short, polite bow.
The young man nodded. "Likewise. And thank you for having me."
"Come, sit." Hachirō dragged a wooden stool to the laid table and patted the cushion.
"Hm, this smells very good. Like home almost." Tatsumi inhaled the familiar tempting scent of fried chicken mixed with curry, soy sauce and ketchup through his nose.
"You're from the countryside as well?" The woman asked while she put a sizable portion on everyone's plate, coupled up with an omelet on top.
"Yeah, my mother makes this every once in a while when we have chicken and eggs at home. Everyone always gets so excited when she makes that for dinner."
"That sounds lovely. It's a simple dish but that doesn't mean that it tastes subpar or doesn't have any complexity. You can make this dish pretty much any way you want."
"Vice-captain Hachirō kept mentioning that you used to be a chef in a gourmet restaurant around here every time he'd invite me to come over."
A small grin spread across her lips. "Yes. After I left my village I worked in the 'red dragon' near the pagoda square before I met Hachirō."
"And please…just call me Hachirō. No need to be so stiff." He added with a nod.
"Hm…so delicious…" Tatsumi moaned as the chicken rice melted in his mouth.
The soy sauce added a salty note, quickly followed by a pleasantly bittersweet aftertaste and slightly smoky note. The seasoning contributed the perfect amount of spice to this excellent dish. And the omelet offered a whole additional layer of taste. She must have fried it with oil and a bit of butter. The sweet tomato flavor of the ketchup only added onto this culinary masterpiece. It was certainly different to how his mother made this dish, but in no way worse.
This really felt like a small homecoming after this seemingly endless shift.
"I can see it now. Your cuisine is excellent." The young man had to restrain himself from praising the former chef with his full mouth.
"I'm glad." Ayano chuckled. "I could have added a tad bit more salt perhaps."
"Nah. It's perfect, mommy." Their daughter grinned across both of her cheeks.
"What she said. Your cooking never ceases to amaze." The older man doubled up on the praise. Must be nice having a chef for a wife.
"Then I am happy." She smiled. "I used to think that once Hiroe turned a bit older that I would return to being a chef but now I am comfortable with the way things are. I can take care of my family and don't have the pressure to earn an income. And maybe if Hiroe gets a sister or a brother…" The mother gently stroked her belly through her light pink dress.
"Would you like a sibling, Hiroe?" Her father offered. She nodded before she shoveled another spoon into her mouth.
"I have a little sister. You need to watch out for her and make sure she listens to your parents." Tatsumi wagged his index finger back and forth in an overly dramatic surge of responsibility and seriousness.
"I will. Especially when mom and dad aren't there."
"That's my smart girl." Hachirō patted his little daughter once more, drawing a soft purr from her.
The four of them savored the lovely dinner, even a chocolate cherry cake afterwards in tandem with coffee and tea.
"Thank you so much. The food was great." Tatsumi stroked his inflated belly. He slowly twisted the tea spoon around in his sweetened milk coffee.
"I'm glad you liked it. There's still a lot left. Can I pack something for you?"
"That's so kind of you. You see…I'm a bit of a chef myself…I have to feed two more bellies when I get home…And that's also why I haven't come to dinner yet." The young officer elaborated.
"And they can't cook for themselves?"
"Oh, they could if they wanted to. They're just way too busy bickering about who has to do it. And by the time they're done, I'd have fed half the city with a three course meal. So yeah…"
The woman couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, I feel you on that one. I can also make omelets for them real quick, if you want."
"Only if that's alright. You already cooked so much. I don't want to cause you extra work."
"Oh please, Tatsumi. I did this for a living once, at least 10 hours 5 days a week. This is nothing." The former chef scoffed and gave him a wink before she vanished into the kitchen once more.
"Will ya take sunday off?" Hachirō asked as he leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples.
The other officer yawned. "Can't. I need the money."
"But take a break every once in a while. It ain't no good, if ya overwork yourself for a few more pieces of silver. Don't forget to spend time with your family and friends. It's the most important thing in the world. At least to me." His cheekbones raised to form a genuine smile through his heavy eyelids. His daughter silently walked over to him and sat on his lap, enjoying the gentle strokes he made through her blonde hair like a purring cat.
Before the teenager could comment on that, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"This late? I'll check the door." The father carefully put Hiroe down, nearly tripping over himself again as he rushed to the door. About a minute later, another colleague joined the table.
"Seryu? What brings you here?" Tatsumi inquired, eyes widened in surprise.
"I'm here to get you for the night shift."
A/N: Next chapter "Kill the night shift"
And done! This is the first chapter of the new arc. It turned out to be longer this time around due to the crimefight, so I chose to reserve the night shift for the next one (it's the day shift on roids and then some pretty much). Otherwise, this chapter would never end and you lot would be having an aneurysm halfway through. However, I'm glad that the story is picking up traction now. There's already a bunch of plot threads I'm seeing and planning to go down further. It will tie the characterization from the basic training arc together in this arc.
Right now, Tatsumi is still very much the man he was when he entered basic training.
Kind, supportive, idealistic, is willing to go the extra mile for individuals. Avoids violence or any sort of conflict/friction when he can even if he himself has to compromise. A bit naive/green because he doesn't know what kind of hellhole his environment is or his place in it (which is the bottom). That will change gradually. Already at the end of the basic training arc there were hints towards a different side of Tatsumi that he himself might not be aware of yet.
That is why Hachiro's line. "This job can change a man." is so vital. He meant Ogre in this context but it will apply to Tatsumi as well. You will see what I mean eventually. Those who are keen observers might already have an idea where this is going.
Also, having Sheele is always nice^^
I'm gonna be busy with lawyer stuff, so don't expect the next chapter anytime soon. We are talking around mid summer. Not before that most likely (99%). But if I happen to be deranged enough to write it in the coming days by skipping all my meals and sleep, sustaining myself through the sheer power of my insanity, then rejoice you lunatics. Next up will obviously be Tatsumi's first night shift. After that we don't have to go that in-depth with the crimefight anymore, unless the crime committed is part of a bigger scheme/plot point. (F.ex. depraved serial killers). Most of the time it's implied that Tatsumi already had a busy day shift before he goes to the night shift unless stated otherwise. Night Raid will be referenced here and there but they won't take part in the next few chapters as well or will act in the shadows/the results of their deeds will speak for themselves (bodies the police picks up, hence they're also being referred to as glorified cleaning crew).
Feel free to give me criticism of any kind. (No, 'kill yourself' does not constitute constructive criticism.) You know my discord tag (ashura3359), you can send me a message there that you're one of my readers and send a friend request, if you want to interact with me.
If you just send an FR, I'll probably reject you because I can't differentiate you from the domestic terrorists trying to scam you and me for our money, so for the love of god please write something so I know you're not some fat spastic sitting in his mom's basement, pretending to be the Nigerian prince.
Speaking of terrorism, I also have a discord server, a safe haven for all you filthy degenerates to come together and transmit your brain rot onto those around you. You people make me sick.
Just kidding, but please write some sort of message on dc so I know you're not a scammer. Love you all and thanks for staying with me. Don't be afraid to dm me, I don't bite. Just be respectful. Until next time. Stay comfy 🙂