Awakening

Perhaps such punishment for 15 years-long patrol officer Harayama means nothing, so he slept comfortably. But not for him, on his first day as a police officer, Sada once promised that in ten years, he must become a Police Inspector.

But in two years since, the once enthusiastic young policeman began to get a bit discourage.

The area that he is responsible for is much more peaceful than the other areas. His daily works were filled with registering the data of lost objects, and occasionally detaining high school kids engaging in the gang fight. Plus he often got calls requesting him to look for missing house pet.

He remembered one of his senior once said to him: Only in the event of danger when people realize the importance of the police, but usually, it’s no difference than just doing odd jobs.

At the time, he did not believe it, but now he knew better.

Looking at the drooling while sleeping Patrol Chief Harayama, he kinda has both envy and contempt emotions.

Patrol Chief is not an official title for a Police Officer. It’s actually given to those who, in ten years, still hasn’t being promoted to Patrol Head.

This guy has been at ease being a patrol officer for 15 years, Sada really can’t imagine why would Harayama never thought of improving himself. However, this person is usually good to him, just a bit wordy.

Sada looked at his watch. It’s not yet 10 PM. The dawn was still long; he really didn’t know how to keep himself awake. Luckily, tomorrow is Sunday, so he can have a good rest.

While he was still daydreaming, the alarm phone on the table suddenly rang.

Sada immediately aroused, almost reflexively picked up the phone.

“Hello, this is Tokyo Hachioji District Patrol Unit, what can I do for you?”

After answering the call, Sada immediately shook awake Patrol Chief Harayama Daisuke.

“What’s the matter? Is there an accident?” Harayama yawn and said.

“I just received an order from the above, saying that, in Teikyo University, there’s a very serious off-campus brawl. Now there are 17 students injured and have been admitted to the hospital. The above wants us to immediately arrest the escaped brawl ringleader.”

“What, an elite University like Teikyo could actually have such incident?” Harayama said in surprised.

“Wait for the above to fax us about the data of the criminal, and then we can act.” Sada somewhat excitedly said.

‘This guy seems to be very excited about this.’ Harayama strangely thought.

Sitting in the car, the Patrol Chief puzzledly looked at the criminal’s data.

“This kid is the criminal? The data said he is also a Teikyo University students. His appearance is no different than an ordinary college student. Did you hear the info clearly? Is it just him alone putting the other 17 students in the hospital for serious injuries?”

“I don’t really know about the specific, but the above wants us to immediately bring the criminal back to the police station for questioning,” Sada replied from the side while driving.

The Patrol Chief looked at the address of the criminal and suddenly found the address seemed a bit familiar.

Half an hour later, the police car arrived at the front of the two storey house.

“Are you sure the criminal really lives here?” The Patrol Chief’s face was full of surprised.

“What’s wrong, Patrol Chief?” The young patrol officer asked after he shut the door.

“It’s here, I’m sure it’s here. Do you know who lives in this house?” The Chief Patrol asked.

“Isn’t this the house of the criminal?”

“But this is also the house of the newly promoted Police Inspector Ryutaro Maeda. When he got married this year, he invited me to eat with other colleagues in this House. So I am definitely not mistaken.” The Patrol Chief replied.

“Does that mean the criminal is Inspector Maeda’s family?” Sada said in amazement.

Sada knew this guy Maeda; he is also his role model that he wanted to emulate. Ryutaro Maeda also began his career as a patrol officer. In serving almost ten years as a Patrol Officer, he’s broken through quite a few very tricky cases. Finally, in his thirty-seven years old, he became a Police Inspector. Sada’s goal: becoming a Police Inspector, was only one step away.

“So, what happens now?” Sada was a bit overwhelmed.

“We still need to bring the criminal back. But we must make it clear to Officer Maeda first. He is one of us, and has an easy going character, so he should not make things difficult for us.” The Patrol Head, after all, has been leisurely patrolling the street for more than fifteen years, he knew very clearly about the ways of the world.

Hearing the sound of the doorbell, Rumiko walked to the door and opened it.

“Excuse me, are you Mrs. Maeda?” Patrol Chief very politely took off his cap.

“Yes, I am, who are you looking for?” Seeing the two policemen stood outside the door, Rumiko’s first thought that they were looking for Maeda.

“Is Mr. Maeda home? We are Patrol Officers from Hachioji district, we have something to look for Inspector Maeda.”

“Please come in, my husband is inside.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Maeda.” The two bowed and went in.

When the two people entered the living room following Rumiko, they saw Ryutaro Maeda was playing chess with a youth.

Ryutaro Maeda seemed very focused, as if not knowing some people had come in. But the youth slightly looked up when the two police officers walked in.

Sada immediately recognized that the youth was the criminal they were supposed to arrest. He almost couldn’t help but cry out.

“Ryutaro, two police officers are looking for you.” Rumiko gently called her deeply in thought husband.

“What?” Maeda finally reacted.

“Good evening, Inspector Maeda.” Patrol Chief said hello to Maeda.

“Turns out its brother Chief, long time no see, please sit down.” To see an old colleague, Maeda was very happy.

“Two officers please have a tea.” Rumiko put two cups of tea on the table in front of them.

“You guys don’t just simply come here to see me, right. Speak, what happened?” Maeda asked straight to the point.

“Em....” Patrol Chief seemed a bit embarrassed to look at Rumiko.

“You guys slowly talk, I’ll go to cut some fruit, Masashi, you come help me.” Rumiko very considerately stood up.

After glancing at the two policemen, Lei Yin stood up and followed Rumiko.

After Rumiko and Lei Yin walked away, Patrol Chief asked: “That young man just now, what is his relationship with Inspector Maeda?”

“He is the son of my wife with her former husband, my stepson,” Maeda said succinctly.

‘It turns out to be so,’ Patrol Chief coughed and said: “This might offend Police Inspector Maeda, but this is our duty, we have no choice. It’s like this....”

Maeda gently knocked Lei Yin’s bedroom.

“Please come in.”

After opening the door, he saw Lei Yin for some time had put on a civilian clothing sitting on the bed reading a book.

“Masashi, you’re going out?” Maeda asked.

Raising his head to look at him, Lei Yin smiled: “If I didn’t guess wrong, the two policemen are looking for me. Am I right?”

Maeda sighed, “So what they said is true?”

“I didn’t hear what they say about me, but there should be some discrepancies. I’ll go back to the police station with them, and you find some reasons to explain for mom and Rumi.”

“I’ll go with you. Since I know you, I’ve told more lies than in my previous ten years.” Maeda said with a wry smile.

Seeing the look of concern from Rumiko, Lei Yin opened the car window to comfort her: “Mom, don’t worry, I just need to go to the police station to recognize a thief, nothing would happen.”

“You have to be careful, and remember not to let the bad guy see your appearance or they will come and take revenge on you.” Rumiko urged.

“Rest assured, I’ll protect Masashi.” Maeda also opened the window and said.

“Ryutaro, you also have to be careful.”

Watching the gentle and loving Rumiko, Patrol Chief Harayama was very envious, ‘if only the tigress at home is half as gentle as her, I would happily laugh secretly to myself.’

In a quiet police station, Maeda, a bit depressed, sat outside the interrogation room, smoking.

Because he is Masashi’s relatives, and this area is also not in his jurisdiction, he can only bail the currently being detained Masashi.

In the interrogation room, the officer in charge of interrogating Lei Yin was also depressed. Because no matter how he asked the question, this guy’s answer was watertight.

“There are more than ten people consistently confessed that you are the one who attack first. In addition to your three friends and yours, are there no other witnesses to prove your innocence?” The police officer asked a question.

“If my friends can’t be the witnesses, then those people can only be a plaintiff and not as a witness. You should call them to find out if they can provide any witness or evidence that I attack first, rather than ask me, the defendant, to provide.” Lei Yin replied.

The police officer knew there was no use to ask, he walked out of the interrogation room. After closing the door, he took out a mobile phone.

After returning to the interrogation room, the officer said to Lei Yin: “To be honest with you, we also know that those guys started it first. But the people that you hit, some of their parents have a very high background. They said they want you to go to jail. We just act according to the command from the above. Although not working in the same area, your father is, after all, one of ours, so we don’t want things to get out of hand. If this thing really went to court, it will become very troublesome. So I suggest you take the initiative to admit your crime and apologize to them. Moreover, we will also help you deal with them, so maybe they won’t continue to pursue this matter anymore. You think about it.”

Lei Yin looked, and after a while said: “Even though you are not a principled police, there’s no denying that you are a good person. I’m sorry, I refuse to do so because I did nothing wrong. I request for a face to face meeting with those accusers.”

“You really don’t want to think about it? Do not be swayed by personal feelings which can ruin your future.” The police officer advised again.

“I have decided, please help me arrange it.” Lei Yin said dismissively.

“Very well, since you insist, I will help you arrange. Hopefully, you’ll be okay. But now it’s too late, you have to stay here one night, tomorrow we’ll go to the hospital to see the accusers. If you don’t want to stay here, then let your stepfather bail you out.” After saying this, the police officer walked out of the interrogation room.

“Thank you.”

Seeing the police officer responsible for the interrogation came out, Maeda immediately asked: “How is Masashi?”

The police officer shook his head: “He just said he fought back in self-defense, but he can’t provide effective witnesses and physical evidence that can prove those guys start it first. He also asked to confront those students who were injured and hospitalized.”

“Face to face confrontation? What’s the point?” Maeda puzzledly asked.

“I also don’t know what he wanted to do. But the situation is very unfavorable for him. First of all, all of them confessed that he was the one who attacked them first, and the other, most importantly, those people’s injuries are really heavy, several of them have serious ribs or hands fractures. The lightest one had their jaws dislocated. But he received no injuries at all. With this apparent injury gap, it’s easy for people to stand on the injured side. Besides, you also know that several of them have parents that are untouchables. I just persuade him to take the initiative to apologize, but he refused.”

Maeda paused and then said: “In any case, I will not let anything happen to Masashi.”

The police officer looked at him and didn’t make any sound.

—-

“Hey, how did you do it?” Takeda looked at Lei Yin.

“What do you mean?”

“With Sanada and Eguchi’s character, they are not so easy to give up. Moreover, their father’s are congressmen, I thought they were going to sue you, but finally did not. I want to know why?”

“They actually plan to do so, but then I went to the hospital to confront them. Finally after a few words with them, they confessed that they attacked me first. In order not to let the incident get out of hand, those so-called congressmen parents didn’t pursue the matter any longer.”

“Is this true or false? Are they so easy to confess?” Takeda said doubtfully.

“For others, this may not be easy, but for me, it was.”

“Sometimes I really don’t know whether what you say is true or false.” Takeda sighed.

At the same time, the police officer who interrogated Lei Yin looked at the recording tape in his hand.

In his years of handling cases, he had never seen such a thing.

When the youth named Gennai Masashi went to the hospital with him to confront those students, the guy just asked a few words, and those people, one by one, readily confessed that they attacked him first. Their cooperation attitude was unprecedented.

The only explanation was that the youth might have used some kind of hypnosis, but he had never heard anyone who can hypnotize a person so quickly. Unreasonable, completely unreasonable.

In any case, the matter is resolved.