"Haha, sorry to trouble you, Doctor. His injury isn't serious, right?"
gure looked at the doctor who was bandaging Toru and asked.
The doctor glanced at him, continued bandaging with the nurse, and said, "It's nothing serious. Just apply so dicine and keep it dry. It'll scab over in a few days, and it won't leave a scar."
gure was stunned and asked nervously, "Just dicine? Are you sure it doesn't need stitches?"
He knew that Toru had been stabbed while protecting innocent people.
Even if it didn't hit a vital point, it should still require stitches, right?
The doctor gave him a strange look and replied impatiently, "I've treated countless injuries like this. I trust my dical skills. This is a minor wound."
"Alright, Officer, if there's nothing else, please step aside. I still have a lot of patients to see."
gure quickly smiled apologetically. "You're right, Doctor. Please continue."
Then, he asked Toru tentatively, "Fujiwara-kun, would it be okay for us to head to the hospital's conference room? We have a few questions to ask."
"Uh, of course, if you're not feeling well, you can rest first."
gure didn't dare offend Toru now.
Not because he knew Toru's identity, but because of what Toru had done.
Right now, Toru was definitely a national hero, soone everyone would revere.
If he offended him, he'd be buried under a mountain of public backlash.
"I'm fine. Cooperating with the police is my duty. Where are we going?"
Seeing Toru so cooperative, gure's mood lifted. He smiled and said, "There's a conference room upstairs. We'll go there."
Toru glanced at the Yukinoshita sisters.
gure was quick to catch on. "These two girls can go with you. They're eyewitnesses. We can take their statents too."
The Yukinoshita sisters imdiately followed.
Especially Yukino, who wasn't as strong or brave as she liked to think she was.
Everything that happened at the library was still fresh in her mind. Even now, recalling it made her feel a chill all over.
Only when she stayed near Toru did she feel secure.
Also, those drugs she saw hidden among the books, could they be related to the attack?
As smart as she was, she instantly made the connection.
But she didn't tell the police. She planned to tell Toru privately when no one else was around.
At this mont, she didn't trust the police at all. Only Toru.
Haruno noticed how closely Yukino stuck to Toru. Maybe even Yukino herself hadn't realized how much she relied on him.
Haruno frowned, feeling an odd frustration rise in her chest.
She muttered inwardly, This isn't good. Yukino, you have to be independent. You can't rely on your sister and also on Fujiwara-kun. That's childish.
"Here they co, here they co, that's him!"
The mont Toru and gure stepped out of the treatnt room, a group of reporters by the stairs spotted him and grew visibly excited.
gure barked authoritatively, "This is a hospital, and there are still many injured here. You reporters better behave yourselves. If anything happens, don't bla us if the patients' families sue you."
One sentence was enough to silence them.
No matter how badly they wanted an interview, no one dared cause a scene in a hospital.
When they reached the conference room upstairs, gure said, "Old brother, you might not know, but soone uploaded the video from the scene. You're completely famous now."
"From now on, you probably won't have any peace. Reporters will chase you nonstop. Based on my experience, don't answer every question just because you see a mic. If you seem too approachable, they'll keep coming."
"You can just pick one reporter for an exclusive interview and reject the rest, so your daily life doesn't get affected."
"If they still cause trouble, let your lawyer sue them. Right now, you'll win every case."
That was the wisdom of experience.
"Oh, right, your lawyer is already here, waiting for you. I forgot to ntion that earlier."
Just as he said that, Toru and the Yukinoshita sisters arrived at the conference room with gure.
Inside, Eri Kisaki sat there in a won's suit, hair up in a tight bun, radiating the aura of a strong woman.
"Ms. Kisaki, why are you here?"
Toru greeted her politely.
Normally stern, Eri smiled when she saw him. "I'm now Fujiwara-kun's exclusive lawyer, so of course I had to be the first one here."
"I saw the video. What you did was admirable, but you need to take care of your own safety too. Don't be reckless."
Her tone carried a trace of concern.
Toru replied, "I'm not that noble. I didn't save those people out of pure goodwill. I had my own reasons. Those thugs wanted to hurt my friends. I had no choice."
At those words, the Yukinoshita sisters gently bit their lips.
They knew Toru had stepped in to protect them, even taking a knife wound for it.
Eri looked at the two girls and sighed silently. They were really beautiful.
"Fujiwara-kun, when the police ask questions later, don't say a word. Leave everything to ."
Her tone turned serious. She gestured for Toru to sit, then looked down at gure with the composure of a top-tier attorney.
Yukino felt a jolt of envy in her heart.
This was the kind of woman she dread of becoming.
"Ms. Kisaki, we're just following procedure. It's just a simple statent."
gure was quite familiar with Eri. After all, Kogoro Mouri had been his subordinate. Naturally, he knew his ex-wife too.
"I can't just take your word for it. People died in this incident. We have to be careful."
Eri adjusted her glasses coldly.
gure let out a helpless sigh. The police force's reputation had hit rock bottom.
He said, "That was definitely self-defense. He'll receive the Red Ribbon dal for bravery."
The Red Ribbon dal is a rare honor in Japan, awarded to those who risk their lives to save others.
Recipients are respected by all of Japanese society.
But Eri wasn't interested in that. She said firmly, "I'm responsible for my client. Nothing more, nothing less."
Seeing her unshakable stance, gure could only smile awkwardly. He signaled to Miwako to co over for the questioning.
I can't win against Eri Kisaki. But I can at least have a female detective handle this.
This was just a routine process anyway. The main goal was to get a firsthand account of what happened.
And with the video as evidence, Toru didn't even need to be very detailed. A rough outline would do.
If there was anything he didn't want to say, he could just claim nervousness or mory loss. That would be enough.
Eri listened carefully to every police question and only allowed Toru to answer after confirming it posed no risk.
After all, this ti, people had died. And many of the attackers were killed by Toru himself. So explanation was necessary.
Toru answered every question truthfully and thoroughly.
After him, the officers questioned the Yukinoshita sisters.
Eri smiled and said to Toru, "They're not my clients, but for your sake, I'll act as their lawyer free of charge."
Haruno thanked her repeatedly.
She was the sociable type and quickly struck up a rapport with Eri. In just a few words, they were chatting and laughing together.
By contrast, Yukino stood awkwardly to the side, unable to find an opening to join the conversation.
Just then, the door to the conference room was suddenly thrown open.
gure frowned and turned to look. Who is so disrespectful, barging in like this?
But when he saw who it was, his heart skipped a beat. He stood up quickly and bowed. "Commissioner Hakuba!"
Hakuba was a slightly overweight middle-aged man, about the sa height as gure, with the look of soone who lived a life of comfort.
He nodded to gure and Miwako Sato, then walked straight over to Toru. With a serious expression, he bowed ninety degrees.
"On behalf of all officers in the Tokyo tropolitan Police Departnt, I express our sincere gratitude to Mr. Fujiwara!"
Outside the room, countless reporters were peeking in.
Seeing this scene, they raised their caras and snapped photos frantically.
Hakuba bowed for three full seconds. Only after the caras had finished flashing did he straighten up.
He was a capable officer, no doubt about that.
But Japan had many capable officers. To reach the position of Commissioner, equivalent to the Director of Public Safety, one also needed political savvy.
Hakuba knew full well the Japanese police force had lost the public's trust. He was under intense pressure.
So at this mont, he had to humble himself, shift attention to Toru, and win over public opinion.
Only by doing so could he reduce public focus on the police's failure and minimize the damage to their reputation.
gure was stunned. The Commissioner had completely lowered himself.
Seeing that, every officer who valued their job had no choice but to follow.
One after another, they perford deep bows in front of Toru, nearly kneeling.
Hakuba then leaned over and whispered in gure's ear, "This Fujiwara Toru used to live in Arica. He's the adopted son of the current CIA Director. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office just contacted us to confirm the details."
Hearing "Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office" and "CIA Director's son," gure felt a chill down his spine.
Bang!
Just then, another person burst through the door.
Hakuba's face darkened.
Who dares to interrupt again? Don't they see I'm here?
Even if things were ssy now, he was still the Commissioner.
Just like gure earlier, he turned to look with irritation.
But when he saw who it was, he nearly jumped in shock.
He instantly mimicked gure's reaction and stood aside like a subordinate.
"Chairman Fujiwara, why are you here!"
(To be continued.)
User Comments
0 comments from readers