Chapter 29: You Can Rest Assured

Chapter 29: You Can Rest Assured

“So, you were simply coming out after watching a movie with Yatsuno Gen, and for no apparent reason, you ran into this man. He fixated on you and charged straight over. You threw yourself toward Yatsuno Gen because you didn’t want him to get hurt, but you didn’t expect Yatsuno Gen to push you away at that moment and subdue the man instead?”

“...That should be it. It was too chaotic at the time, and my mind went a little blank, so I may not have seen very clearly. The cinema should have surveillance cameras, right? You can check them...”

In the police station.

Kazama Sakura, who was cooperating with this policewoman she was meeting for the second time and giving her statement, felt an exhaustion like someone who had survived a disaster.

The sky was already growing late.

Dusk had sunk down, and outside seemed to be pitch-black already. The light inside the police station seemed to give people the last sense of security.

Only, it still could not compare to the instant when she had seen Yatsuno Gen pressing that man down.

She did not know whether it was coincidence or deliberate arrangement.

The person taking her statement was Morita Chinatsu.

Her cold, beautiful face watched the girl before her, who had lowered her head slightly, then she said softly,

“Mm, thank you very much for your cooperation. But why did Yatsuno Gen have such fast reaction speed? And from what you and the others described, he’s very skilled at grappling. Did he practice similar techniques before?”

Kazama Sakura did not know what the other woman meant by asking this. She had a kind of intuition that the other party still had some suspicion about what happened last time... about Yamazaki Jihei. Although there was no conclusive evidence, her intuition told her that she could not speak carelessly at this moment.

So she shook her head.

“I don’t know about these things. He and I only met after entering high school, and he rarely tells me about things from before.”

“Mm. I understand.”

Morita Chinatsu stopped writing and looked at Kazama Sakura.

“According to the simple investigation we just conducted and what we learned from questioning, that man’s name is Yamamoto Takashi. Not long ago, he learned that his childhood sweetheart had already gotten married, and the place where they broke up was this cinema. Unable to accept it, he came here with a knife. The reason he fixated on you is very likely because you look somewhat like that childhood sweetheart of his.”

“...What about Yatsuno? Where is he?”

Kazama Sakura was not interested in these things. News about people taking revenge on society happened every day. It was just that this time, the person unlucky enough to run into it was her. She was already used to having no good luck around her.

She only wanted to see that boy.

Morita Chinatsu looked at this anxious girl with amusement.

“Compared to yourself, it seems you care about him more.”

“...”

Kazama Sakura did not answer.

Because this was an obvious thing. Her instinctive action earlier had already represented everything. He was very special and very important, at least very important to her.

Morita Chinatsu stood, walked to Kazama Sakura’s side, and patted the girl’s shoulder.

“All right, don’t worry about him. Once I finish taking his statement, he can leave.”

“Thank you, Officer.”

Kazama Sakura answered softly.

Morita Chinatsu smiled.

“There’s nothing to thank me for, but I’ll still tell you this. Sometimes, you don’t have to go that far. At the very least, this boy is very trustworthy. So when you’re beside him, just protect yourself. He’ll help you solve the trouble.”

Kazama Sakura raised her head, not knowing why the other woman would say such a thing.

She did not simply think the other woman was teasing her relationship with Yatsuno Gen. There seemed to be some other implication.

But what was it?

She did not know, and Morita Chinatsu had already left this side and gone into another room.

Yatsuno Gen, his clothes neat and his entire person very calm, was sitting there, drinking the water an officer had poured for him earlier.

When Morita Chinatsu arrived, she did not immediately sit in the seat where she should sit.

Instead, she walked straight in front of Yatsuno Gen and bent down.

Although she was clearly wearing a police uniform, the graceful curves of her figure made her look like a model shooting suggestive photos.

The swelling fullness before her chest became even more exaggerated because of the motion of bending over, as if it were about to squeeze the buttons apart and leap out to breathe fresh air.

Yatsuno Gen’s gaze, however, looked at her very clearly, and he said the opening line she had wanted to say ahead of her.

“What a coincidence. It’s Big Sister Morita.”

“What a sweet mouth, Yatsuno-kun.”

Morita Chinatsu smiled, then narrowed her eyes.

“I really didn’t expect you to be this brave, and this capable.”

“Capable? I’m all right, I guess. I impulsively did something even I didn’t expect. Maybe it was because I wanted too badly to save the beauty like a hero.”

“Hahaha.”

This answer made Morita Chinatsu unable to hold back her laughter.

“Aren’t you worried I’ll ask how you possess this kind of ability? You’re clearly from an orphanage, yet you’re so skilled at grappling and close combat. And that sort of calmness doesn’t seem like something an orphan should possess either. I’m not discriminating against you. I’m just discussing the matter objectively.”

Yatsuno Gen smiled shyly, then shook his head.

“These things should be easy to investigate, right? My part-time work history includes a stint cleaning at a combat club. During my free time, I also asked the coaches for advice.”

Morita Chinatsu bent at the waist and stared straight into the boy’s eyes.

“I’ve seen the surveillance footage. Your movements were fast and precise. Aside from what seems like natural-born calmness, there was something else too. And that quality doesn’t seem like something one can achieve just from working at a combat club for a few months and secretly learning a few moves... But you can rest assured.”

“Rest assured about what?”

Yatsuno Gen asked in confusion.

Morita Chinatsu lowered her voice, speaking in a voice only he could hear.

“The matter with Yamazaki Jihei has already been classified as an accident, and your school has also intervened. So from now on, nothing related to Yamazaki Jihei will trouble you, unless new evidence is discovered. But that possibility is less than zero point one percent.”

Hearing this, Yatsuno Gen widened his eyes, then said with righteous severity,

“If it really was homicide and not an accident, then I hope Big Sister Morita can catch the true culprit. How can someone who did such a thing be allowed to remain at large? The knowledge I studied tells me that this is wrong!”

“...”

Morita Chinatsu’s cold, beautiful eyes widened slightly. This was truly an answer she had never imagined.

Now you are being righteous?

You’re making me look like a corrupt cop!

She somewhat awkwardly pulled at the corner of her mouth.

“Then you really have grasped the essence.”

“Mm, although I’ve been an orphan since childhood, I’ve always yearned for light and justice.”

Morita Chinatsu looked at Yatsuno Gen strangely.

“Why does that sound so odd coming from your mouth?”

“Is it odd? Does Big Sister Morita have a prejudice against me?”

“Of course not. Who would have prejudice against a boy like Yatsuno-kun? They wouldn’t even have time to like you, right? After all, that female classmate of yours nearly took a knife for you.”

Yatsuno Gen smiled shyly.

“Maybe she watched too many idol dramas.”

“Pretending to be dense like that will disappoint her, you know. Or do you not want to face this kind of relationship?”

“Relationship? What relationship?”

“Nothing.”

Morita Chinatsu straightened up, went to the place where she should be, and picked up the notebook.

“Then tell Big Sister properly about the course of events. Just tell the truth.”

“All right.”

The process was very formulaic. During it, Morita Chinatsu did not ask any strange questions either. It was as if she were merely going through routine procedure, recording everything properly.

She closed the notebook, then looked at the handsome boy in front of her.

“Yatsuno-kun, since you have such a sense of justice, have you ever thought about applying to a police university after graduation?”

Yatsuno Gen smiled and shook his head.

“I’d rather not.”

“Why?”

“The police should be people with professional ability and talent like Big Sister Morita. I’m actually a hedonist. Although I do have a sense of justice, it isn’t much, and most of the time I like slacking off and being slippery. I won’t force myself.”

“That’s rather a shame. If you became my junior, it should be quite interesting.”

Yatsuno Gen blinked.

“It’s fine. Right now, don’t I also call you Big Sister? You can treat me as a younger brother, if Big Sister Morita doesn’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Does this count as acknowledging me as your sworn older sister?”

Morita Chinatsu asked with great interest.

Yatsuno Gen nodded.

“Of course.”

“All right, then should I prepare a first-meeting gift for my younger brother...”

“That really isn’t necessary. Asking for those things would make me seem like I had ulterior motives.”

At this moment, the boy looked especially obedient.

It made Morita Chinatsu unable to help laughing. That cold, beautiful face once again revealed an enchanting charm that formed an extreme contrast.

She stood up, then stood directly in front of Yatsuno Gen.

Then she sat down on the edge of the table. This posture seemed very improper, at least not like something that should appear on a police officer, and more like the early suggestive scene in some distinctively Neon film.

Her perfect figure and innately seductive temperament made this room with only two people begin to fill with an ambiguous atmosphere that should not have been there.

“If you don’t want anything, shouldn’t I suspect even more that you’re plotting something?”

“Plotting what? I don’t understand.”

Yatsuno Gen looked at her with a bewildered expression.

Morita Chinatsu narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Yatsuno-kun doesn’t seem like such an innocent person.”

“I’m just a simple high school boy.”

“Simple?”

“Very simple, especially in front of Big Sister Morita.”

“Hahahahaha.”

Morita Chinatsu laughed heartily, her body trembling slightly, the fullness before her chest quivering in a rather spectacular sight.

Yatsuno Gen, with stormy waves right before his eyes, seemed to have no lewd gaze at all. He even moved the chair back one step before standing up, creating distance.

“If the statement is finished, I may have to leave now. I don’t want her to wait for me too long.”

“Your little girlfriend is really clingy, isn’t she?”

She asked teasingly.

Yatsuno Gen seemed embarrassed as he scratched his head.

“She’s not my little girlfriend.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

Yatsuno Gen:???

What the hell do you mind? Has this woman gone insane?

But Morita Chinatsu apparently had no intention of explaining that misleading sentence. She leisurely left the side of the table.

“All right, you can go. Stay safe. If you encounter something similar in the future, I hope you only protect your own safety. Otherwise, attracting too much attention isn’t a good thing.”

“...I understand. Goodbye, Big Sister Morita.”

“Goodbye, Yatsuno-kun.”

Watching the boy leave the room,

The smile on Morita Chinatsu’s face slowly faded. She once again became that calm, even cold, policewoman.

She began flipping through her statement notes.

Then she quietly muttered to herself,

“Indeed, Shoujitsu isn’t Gotham. But does this world really have no Batman? He’s becoming more and more like the person I want.”

Walking out of the police station, the boy who met up with Kazama Sakura stretched lazily.

Kazama Sakura looked at him with concern.

“Are you all right?”

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“What could happen to me? Rather, what were you doing at that moment?”

“Me?”

“Why did you throw yourself at me?”

Yatsuno Gen asked directly, making Kazama Sakura instantly become somewhat timid, like a child who had done something wrong.

Her fingers twisted slightly before her lower abdomen as she said softly,

“I... I was afraid he was coming for you.”

“Were you hoping I would be moved by that, and even offer myself to you?”

“Huh? I-I didn’t mean that!”

Kazama Sakura denied it with a red face.

Yatsuno Gen glanced at her, then sighed and reached out.

Under Kazama Sakura’s slightly reddened gaze, he stroked the hair on her head, then said in a low voice,

“You’re already very charming. You don’t need to do things like that to raise my affection level.”

“I...”

The girl blushed and could not speak.

She only felt that within this strange and arrogant sentence, there was sweetness she could taste.

This was bad. Perhaps she had already been trained into a strange girl.

Like...

Like a dog that could only eat after shaking hands with its owner.

Yatsuno Gen looked at the dim skyline.

He let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong? Did they ask you something strange just now?”

The girl asked with concern.

Yatsuno Gen shook his head.

“Nothing. It’s just a little troublesome.”

“Troublesome?”

“Mm.”

There was merely a troublesome woman.

Clatter.

Clatter.

The train traveled through the night sky.

Amid the faintly audible sounds of the carriage swaying, the window reflected a slightly mature and gorgeous face.

Her slightly curled long hair fell down, and she lowered her head slightly.

Looking at her phone.

A photo that seemed to have been taken a very long time ago.

Looking at her younger self, she revealed a faint smile.

When she saw the figure beside her, her smile became even more brilliant.

“We’re going to meet again. Will you still remember me?”