As a Police Officer, I'm Always Worrying About Something - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: One Year Before Ke Yuan

Hiromitsu Morofushi had moved out of Jinpei Matsuda’s apartment a year ago and was now working as a member of Public Security’s Zero Division.

Chinna had been a little down about it for quite a while. After all, she lived just below Matsuda and had, by sheer coincidence, once saved Morofushi’s life. Every now and then, she’d even get to drop by and enjoy one of his home-cooked meals because honestly, they were really delicious.

Holding the keys to the Nissan GTR she’d bought two years ago, Chinna was leisurely on her way to cancel her old apartment lease. Morofushi had told her it was finally safe to do, so he Organization had gradually eased its search for him.

She vaguely suspected that the Organization Morofushi had infiltrated was the same one responsible for shrinking Shinichi Kudo. But Chinna never tried to confirm it. As long as she could keep Kudo from getting involved, she could continue being a detective who only chased criminals safely.

The Public Security officer who had caused Morofushi’s cover to be blown had already been identified. He was a high-ranking official, though fortunately, he hadn’t made it into the most secretive part of Zero Division.

Morofushi now went by the name Kanemoto Toru. With Yukiko’s support, he had learned basic disguise techniques and was working within Zero Division.

But Chinna didn’t know any of that. All she knew was that she lived below Matsuda, and when she didn’t feel like driving, she could hitch a ride. So she went ahead and canceled her old lease.

After finishing the paperwork, Chinna found herself stuck in traffic and muttered absentmindedly, “This road is so jammed…”

“Oh!” she suddenly remembered. “Isn’t this where Date and Takagi were tracking that marriage scam suspect? I should swing by and see if they need help.”

She glanced at the narrow side street 300 meters ahead, then at the hopelessly clogged main road. As her car slowly reached the corner, she made a quick turn and slipped away.

“Driving a sports car in traffic is the worst,” she grumbled. “You poor thing Japan’s ‘God of War’ deserves better.” She patted the car’s dashboard and sped off.

Just as she was approaching the stakeout location, she remembered how flashy her car was. Quietly, she turned off the engine and parked by the roadside.

“Better call first,” she said, pulling out her phone and dialing Date’s number. “If they’ve already caught the guy, I can have Takagi drive. I really don’t want to crawl back through traffic.”

The call didn’t go through. Assuming they were in the middle of the arrest, Chinna sighed and hung up.

She had just stepped out of the car to get some air when a loud crash came from the direction where Date and Takagi were supposed to be staking out.

Startled, Chinna ran toward the scene. A truck driver had crashed into a fire hydrant on the roadside, clearly shaken. Water was trickling out.

On the other side, Takagi was holding onto Date. Both of them were covered in dust and dirt, but thankfully didn’t seem seriously hurt.

Still, Chinna called for an ambulance. After learning the crash was caused by the truck driver’s fatigue, she also called the police.

The ambulance arrived quickly, and within minutes, Date and Takagi’s scrapes were treated.

Holding a cup of water, Date sighed, “Come to think of it, Chinna and Takagi saved my life today.”

“Me?” Chinna pointed at herself in disbelief. “It was Takagi, wasn’t it? I didn’t do anything.”

From the scene earlier, it was clear to Chinna that Takagi had pulled Date out of the way just before the truck hit. She didn’t see how she had played a role.

“No, no,” Takagi said, waving his hands. “Your call came at just the right time. If Date-senpai hadn’t reached for his phone, I wouldn’t have had time to pull him away.”

“Huh?” Chinna blinked. She hadn’t expected her phone call to have that kind of impact ◎▼◎.

“I already told Natalie,” Date said, waving his phone. “Tonight, the two of us are treating you both to dinner as a thank-you.”

“No, that’s not necessary,” Takagi said, scratching his head. “Saving a senior officer is just part of the job. I can’t let you spend money on me.”

Chinna nodded in agreement, staying quiet. But she clearly sided with Takagi on the dinner issue.

Seeing their refusal, Date patted both of them on the back. “Come on, I’m thanking you for saving my life. Isn’t my life worth at least one meal?”

“No… that’s not what I meant…” Takagi flailed. “Date-senpai… I… I’ll go.”

Seeing Takagi give in, Date bit down on a toothpick (who knows where he got it) and turned to Chinna.

Chinna raised both hands in surrender. “Fine, I’ll go. Just stop looking at me like that, Date.”

“Then it’s settled,” Date said, sealing the deal. “Same place as usual. Order whatever you want.”

“I’m good with anything, really,” Chinna said with a dry laugh, once again scoring a free dinner.

“M-Me too!” Takagi quickly added, not wanting to cause any trouble.

The three finished up their paperwork, then drove to the restaurant in separate cars. Takagi in a department vehicle, and Chinna in her own.

Natalie Laima was already waiting at the entrance and politely welcomed them inside.

While Natalie and Date were ordering, Takagi leaned over to Chinna and whispered, “Fujimine-senpai, who’s that lady?”

“I’ve told you a million times—I only joined the MPD a few months before you. Just call me Chinna,” she said, feeling numb from repeating it. “That’s Date’s girlfriend.”

“Huh?” Takagi was stunned. “Date-senpai has a girlfriend?!”

“Huh?” This time it was Chinna’s turn to be surprised. “You’ve been his partner this long and didn’t know?”

“I never noticed. She’s really pretty,” Takagi said, a little envious. ‘Date-senpai has a girlfriend… I wonder about Officer Sato…’

Chinna raised an eyebrow and teased, “Isn’t Miwako pretty too?”

Just as he was thinking about Sato Miwako, Chinna’s question hit him. Takagi’s mind went blank for a second.

Then he quickly replied, “P-Pretty. Officer Sato… is very pretty,” his face turning bright red.

Seeing Takagi practically steaming, Chinna didn’t say anything more. But she did raise an eyebrow at how he addressed people. ‘Yumi and I are “senpai,” but Miwako is “Officer Sato,” huh…’

“What are you two talking about?” Date came over after placing the order.

“We were talking about Natalie,” Chinna answered smoothly. “Takagi didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

“I didn’t tell you?” Date looked confused. “I probably forgot. Well, now’s a good time. This is Natalie Laima, my fiancée!”

“Wha—?!” Four gasps echoed in unison.

“Captain, when did you propose?!” Hagiwara and Matsuda poked their heads into the private room.

The two had just gotten off work and were heading home when they saw the four of them enter the restaurant. They came to say hi, only to overhear the bombshell announcement.

“What are you guys doing here?” Date asked his two academy friends.

“We saw you four come in and thought we’d say hello,” Hagiwara said smoothly as he stepped into the room, with Matsuda right behind him.

They sat down next to Date, clearly ready to interrogate him, but out of respect for Natalie’s presence, they didn’t press immediately.

“Did your case wrap up?” Matsuda asked. It wasn’t an unreasonable question—this dinner looked a lot like a celebratory meal hosted by a senior officer.

“Not yet,” Date said, sounding a little down. “Tonight’s dinner is to thank these two for saving my life.”

As Date spoke, Natalie Laima’s hand, which was wrapped around his arm, tightened slightly—she still seemed shaken by what had happened earlier that evening.

Feeling her unease, Date gently patted her hand. But when he turned around, he noticed the expressions on his two academy friends had changed.

‘Oh no… I was so focused on distracting them from the engagement topic, I completely forgot about what happened earlier,’ Date thought, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead as he swallowed nervously under their intense stares.

“Saved your life?” Matsuda narrowed his eyes. “What kind of life-saving are we talking about, Captain?”

The menacing aura Matsuda gave off nearly scared Takagi, who was sitting across from him, out of his seat.

“Please, do tell us, Captain,” Hagiwara said with a bright smile, slinging an arm around Date’s shoulder in a brotherly but clearly interrogative gesture.

‘This guy’s smiling so brightly, but the pressure coming off him is just as terrifying…’ Takagi leaned back slightly, swallowing hard.

Watching the scene unfold with amusement, Chinna leaned over to Natalie and whispered with a grin, “Natalie, you know Matsuda and Kenji won’t go overboard. Let Date take a little heat, maybe next time he’ll actually look around before stepping into danger.”

Natalie nodded. She knew her boyfriend’s two academy friends wouldn’t really hurt him and honestly, he deserved a bit of a lesson. She’d been scared out of her mind earlier, and if Chinna hadn’t explained what happened on the way in, she still wouldn’t know the full story.

Ignoring Date’s pleading eyes, Natalie and Chinna began chatting about recent fun stories.

To keep Takagi from being completely overwhelmed by the pressure of the two bomb squad aces, Chinna occasionally pulled him into the conversation too.

As the dishes began arriving one after another, Date glanced at his two friends and said, “This probably isn’t enough for six people. I’ll go order more.”

“We already ate before coming,” Hagiwara replied with his usual smile.

“Then why are you even here?!” Date swatted Hagiwara’s hand away, then turned to the others. “Come on, eat before it gets cold.”

“I’m digging in!” Seeing that Matsuda and Hagiwara weren’t going to interrupt the meal, Date breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

As the three across from him began eating, Matsuda suddenly grabbed Date by the collar. “Captain, you still haven’t told us what kind of ‘life-saving’ this was.”

Natalie, Chinna, and Takagi all kept their eyes on their food, pretending not to hear anything, barely making a sound.

“You’re not getting away with this, Captain,” Hagiwara said, patting Date’s shoulder again.

With no way out, Date held his rice bowl with a look of despair and began explaining what had happened.

As Natalie listened to the details, her expression grew more troubled. Her mind began to drift, spiraling into anxious thoughts.

‘What if Takagi hadn’t pulled him away in time? What if Chinna hadn’t made that call… What would I have done? What if I lost him… if there was no more Date…’

Noticing the change in her demeanor, Chinna turned and saw Natalie looking down, clearly upset.

“What’s wrong?” Chinna leaned in and asked.

“It’s nothing,” Natalie replied, lifting her head with a small smile.

“…Wait, are you crying?” Chinna asked, concerned. “Come on, look! Date’s fine! He’s right here!”

Natalie raised her hand to her face and felt the warm wetness on her fingertips. ‘So… I was crying…’

Hearing that Natalie was crying, Date panicked. “I’m fine, Natalie—look!” he said, standing up and spinning in a circle.

After a flurry of chaotic comforting, Natalie finally stopped crying.

Surrounded by five people fussing over her, she blushed. “It’s my fault, isn’t it? No one got to enjoy their meal…”

“It’s fine. We don’t mind. We know you were just worried about Date,” Chinna said, nudging Takagi with her elbow.

“Ah, yeah,” Takagi stammered, caught off guard. “It’s really okay.”

“I’ll treat everyone again next time!” Date said, still focused on comforting his fiancée. “Next time I pick up a police notebook, I’ll make sure to look both ways.”

“You’re planning a next time?” Matsuda, Hagiwara, and Chinna all said in unison.

Even Takagi gave him a disapproving look.

Feeling the pressure from all sides, Date quickly promised, “No, no next time! I swear!”

Seeing the five people staring at him, Natalie finally let out a laugh.

“You’re finally smiling, Natalie,” Date said, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. “I promise, no more close calls. I won’t put myself in danger again. For you.”

“Ewwww~” the four others groaned in unison, hugging their arms and shivering.

“Captain, that was so cheesy~” Hagiwara said.

“Goosebumps all over!” Matsuda added.

“Whoa, Date’s actually saying romantic stuff out loud!” Chinna teased.

“Date-senpai’s really smooth…” Takagi mumbled.

Though Takagi’s voice was quiet, Chinna still caught it.

“If you want to win over Miwako, you’ve got to work harder,” she whispered to him. “She loves karaoke, by the way~”

At the mention of Sato Miwako’s name, Takagi’s face turned bright red. But he was clearly happy to get the tip and nodded eagerly.

“Hey!” Matsuda called out, noticing the two whispering and Takagi’s blushing face. “What are you two talking about?”

Chinna blinked and put a finger to her lips. “It’s a se~cret~”

“Tch…” Matsuda clicked his tongue and muttered, “Like anyone wants to know.”

Chinna rolled her eyes. *If you didn’t want to know, then don’t ask!*

Matsuda glared back. ‘So what if I did?’

“Hey, hey!” Hagiwara said, watching the silent exchange. “Are you two having some kind of encrypted conversation?”

Both of them huffed at the same time—but didn’t argue.

“It’s getting late. We should head back. We’ve got work tomorrow morning,” Takagi said, stepping in to smooth things over.

Matsuda gave Takagi a once-over, then accepted the cue. “Alright. Hagi and I will head out. Captain, be more careful next time!”

“Yeah, yeah~” Date replied, then muttered, “Matsuda, you’re sounding more and more like a nagging mom.”

Which earned him a death glare from Matsuda. “I’m doing this for your sake!”

With that, he grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

Hagiwara said goodbye to everyone and left with Matsuda.

“It’s getting late. I’ll drive Takagi home. Date, you take Natalie back,” Chinna offered, giving the couple some space.

“Thanks, Chinna,” Date said without hesitation. He was still a little worried about Natalie’s emotional state.

“Let’s go, Takagi.” Chinna grabbed her coat and headed out with him.