"And here I thought you'd actually turned around and left..." Hattori managed to grunt out, clutching his midsection. The pain was sharp—these thugs hadn't been pulling their punches.
"Oh?"
Ms. Ito, still seated atop the unconscious Mr. Kusukawa, slowly turned her head. Her plump face was a mask of frigid indifference as she surveyed the newcomer. "Another handsome young man has joined us."
She didn't know how they had suspected her, nor how they'd bypassed her locks to storm the house. All she knew was that her operation was on the verge of exposure. She had to silence them quickly and disappear.
"Don't move!"
The long-haired lackey stepped forward, positioning himself beside the lawyer. He leveled his handgun at the young man standing across from them, whose silver wrench glinted dangerously in the low light.
"Just a heads-up," Tsuneo said, idly swinging the heavy tool in his hand. A cold, mocking smile played on his lips. "At this distance, you'll only get one shot."
"Heiji... why do I feel like Tsuneo-niisan is the actual villain here?" Kazuha whispered. She wasn't even scared anymore; the sheer intensity radiating from Tsuneo was enough to shift the atmosphere from a hostage situation to a horror movie.
Bang!
The gun barked.
Thwack!
The sound that followed was muffled and heavy—like a mallet slamming into a ripe watermelon.
"What's the matter? Never seen someone dodge a bullet before?" Tsuneo's voice was like ice. He reached out with his left hand, fist bunching into the lawyer's blonde hair, yanking her head back. He then casually wiped the blood-stained wrench against her clothes.
Against her red suit, the crimson stains were almost invisible.
"Who... who are you?!"
Lawyer Ito's bravado crumbled instantly. Her body shook with a primal fear of the man standing over her. She tried to recoil from the bloodied wrench, but his grip on her hair was iron-clad, pinning her in place.
"Since you're a lawyer, I'm sure you're intimately familiar with the legal boundaries of self-defense," Tsuneo said. He let go of her hair and, with a casual kick, sent the unconscious, bleeding long-haired man skidding across the floor. He then crouched down, picked up the fallen handgun using his knuckles to avoid leaving prints, and tossed it into Misari Ito's lap.
"You... you can't do this!"
The gun lay in her hands, but her entire body was trembling so violently the metal rattled against her palms. She stared at him, her eyes wide with terror. She knew exactly what he was setting up.
"Everyone outside can testify that you pointed a gun at me. And now, that gun has your fingerprints all over it."
Tsuneo's smile widened, but it didn't reach his eyes. He lifted the wrench slightly. "Go ahead. Pull the trigger."
"L-Lawyer! There are police cars outside! And ambulances!"
The heavy-set man in the headscarf had been glued to the attic window ever since he witnessed Tsuneo "dodge" a bullet. He had been looking for a way out, but the sight below paralyzed him. In his mind, anyone who could dodge a bullet wasn't human. If the lawyer was being dealt with now, he was definitely next.
"Well?" Tsuneo took two slow steps toward them, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "The window in this attic is about ten meters from the ground. If you two jump now, you might just survive the encounter with me."
Outside, the police were still being cautious, shouting through megaphones in their usual, slow-moving fashion.
The man in the headscarf didn't hesitate. After a split second of frantic thought, he scrambled onto the sill and threw himself out. A moment later, a sickening crunch and a howl of pain echoed from below as he hit the pavement, clutching a shattered leg.
"Don't come any closer! I'll kill them!" Misari Ito screamed, hearing her subordinate's agony. She spun around, aiming the gun toward the corner where Hattori and Kazuha had managed to shuffle.
The two high schoolers were now her only leverage against the monster with the wrench.
"It's fine. I'll just avenge them," Tsuneo said, his tone casual, almost bored.
"It's four o'clock, and thanks to you, I haven't had lunch yet. I promise you, one swing of this wrench and I'll turn you into a vegetable."
He leaned in closer, his words dripping with psychological venom. "Then, I'll pay for your medical bills. I'll keep you alive, trapped inside a body that won't move, where your mind can never escape. Maybe I'll even find you some 'rejuvenating' experimental drugs—make sure you live to be the oldest, most miserable person on the planet..."
The sheer coldness of his words sent shivers down everyone's spine. Among them, only Hattori knew that the "rejuvenating" part wasn't a joke. He'd seen it firsthand with a certain detective named Kudo.
"Aaahhh!"
Misari Ito snapped. With a piercing shriek, she lunged toward the window and hurled herself out. The sticky blood of her partner on her shoulder, the metallic tang in the air, and Tsuneo's horrific promises had shattered her nerves. Anything was better than staying in that room. Jumping might break her bones, but at least she'd be in police custody.
"Well, you two don't seem too traumatized," Tsuneo remarked. He produced a thin wire from seemingly nowhere and, with a few expert flicks of his wrist, popped the handcuffs off the two teenagers. His lock-picking skills left Hattori's in the dust.
"Please. That woman knew nothing about firearms; she didn't even realize the safety was on the whole time," Hattori said, rubbing his chafed wrists. He sighed, looking embarrassed. Being caught by amateurs was a stain on his reputation.
When Tsuneo had crouched down earlier, he'd made a subtle movement—likely ensuring the gun was safe before handing it over.
"Oh! So that's why!" Kazuha exclaimed, realization dawning on her. "I thought you were just being sweet, holding and squeezing my hand to comfort me. It wasn't just for show, was it, Heiji?"
The Osaka detective's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson. "Wh-what are you talking about?! I never did anything like that!"
"That reminds me of a conversation I had with someone recently," Tsuneo said thoughtfully.
"What conversation?" both Kazuha and Hattori asked, looking over.
"A certain detective mentioned that if Hattori ever had a child, he'd probably turn red and shake his head, refusing to admit he was the father."
Tsuneo mimicked a flustered voice: "'No, no! Kazuha and I have never done anything like that! You've got the wrong guy!'"
Tsuneo chuckled, recalling his chat logs with a certain "Dog-headed Detective" who wished to remain anonymous.
"You bastards! I'll tear you both apart!!"
Hattori froze for a second before lunging at Tsuneo in a fit of pure, unadulterated rage. He knew exactly who the other person in that conversation was—it had to be Kudo!
"Have a child..." Kazuha stood there with "dot-eyes," her face glowing like a furnace.
"Have you been slacking off lately?" Tsuneo asked, effortlessly pinning the flailing Hattori to the floor.
"Damn it... you're just getting way too fast!" Hattori grumbled, struggling in vain.
"Heiji is a big dummy!" Kazuha shouted before spinning on her heel and bolting down the stairs.
Tsuneo looked down at the pinned detective and shrugged. "Hey, I didn't do anything."
"I know," Tsuneo added with a smirk. "The child isn't yours... yet."
The dust eventually settled. Of the three criminals, only the one Tsuneo had initially "repaired" with the wrench was sent for emergency surgery. The other two, while battered from their falls, were in no life-threatening danger.
The two-hundred-pound Misari Ito sat on the ground, weeping like a lost child. Whether it was from the pain of the fall or the lingering terror of Tsuneo's threats, no one could say.
Mr. Kusukawa hadn't been killed; he had simply been beaten unconscious. After receiving medical attention, he eventually came to.
"So, what was it?"
Later, over a very delayed dinner, Kazuha was still fixated on the moment in the attic. She leaned across the table, staring intensely at Heiji.
"Back when we were captured... what was it you were trying to tell me?"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"