Chapter Twelve: Taking Office

On the morning of September 17, 2016, Kuro Shiraishi was walking through the “Popcorn Shopping Street”...

Passing through this shopping street, not far to the south was the Popcorn Police Station. To familiarize himself with the area, Kuro had been walking all the way here.

Just then...

“Stop right there!”

“You brat! It’s you again!”

“Hahaha, I’m not stopping! You lousy old man, lousy cops! Losers, losers!”

Amidst the commotion, a girl dressed in simple sportswear was being chased by several officers, some in business suits and others in uniform. The girl had great stamina; she ran while taunting her pursuers.

The uniformed officers were local patrol cops, while those in business suits were detectives—who typically didn’t wear uniforms for the sake of investigation convenience.

Indeed...

This brat looked no older than seventeen or eighteen but could run incredibly fast!

Kuro had been about to observe the quality of these officers—since if his guess was right, they were all from the Popcorn Police Station!

But then...

Kuro’s ears twitched slightly at the roar of an engine. From the sound, he could tell it was the wind-sweetened police car!

The noise came from the road just outside the exit of the shopping street. With a quick judgment, Kuro realized that if this continued, the brat running out suddenly might get hit.

So...

Bang—

Kuro dashed forward, the sound of rushing wind trailing behind him like a launched projectile!

On the stone pavement of the shopping street, his shoe left a deep, scraped mark.

At the next moment...

Whoosh—

Detectives Gen and Yamada heard a gust of wind and saw a “mysterious giant” rush past them from behind, overtaking them mid-run!

Though still running, seeing that massive figure pull away, they felt powerless—as if they weren’t running at all.

Behind them, the female patrol officer Mai Kawahai was stunned—she had witnessed the “giant” suddenly sprint and, before even reaching full speed, instantly overtake the two veteran detectives who were already running at full tilt...

What kind of speed was that?

At the next moment, they also saw the police car speeding in from behind, attempting to corner the thief.

The officer driving clearly didn’t expect the brat to run so fast. Suddenly appearing, the thief couldn’t stop in time, and the police car couldn’t swerve in time either...

Yoshina Mononobe’s pupils suddenly contracted—today’s early market haul had been plentiful, but she had unfortunately attracted several cops’ attention. Luckily, she was fast, and those losers couldn’t catch her. But now...

In her mind, as if life flashed before her eyes, she suddenly felt a tight grip on the back of her neck, then was lifted and spun in the air before landing in a huge and sturdy embrace.

Thud—

Crack—

At the last moment, Kuro Shiraishi grabbed the back collar of the “thief,” then turned, shielding her with his body while slamming his back hard against the police car. The car’s front left headlight shattered instantly!

Kuro collapsed beside the car, which shook violently...

The once taunting Yoshina now paled and fell silent, clearly frightened.

Several officers were equally startled!

“Ah! This is bad!”

“Kawahai, call an ambulance quickly!”

“Sir, are you alright?”

A female officer got out of the car and anxiously surrounded Kuro, but...

The next moment, Kuro stood up directly.

“Don’t move just yet. Sometimes not feeling pain means the injury is serious...”

“That’s right! The ambulance is on its way!”

The officers instinctively tried to hold him down—if a citizen helping catch a thief got seriously hurt or killed, they’d be held responsible!

But seeing Kuro’s build, when he stood, they fell silent.

“Hahaha, don’t be so tense...” Kuro smiled at the young officers, easing their nerves.

With his presence, when he was gentle, he exuded a comforting strength.

He then took out his new police badge.

“I’m one of you... You must be from Popcorn Station? I’m your new chief. I look forward to working with you,” Kuro said calmly.

“So you’re...” “Wait...”

“Chief?”

“Hm? Didn’t you receive the notice?” Kuro wondered at their surprised expressions.

“Y-you’re... Chief Shiraishi?” Fujiseiko, who had been driving, was the first to react.

“Yes, the official handover isn’t done yet. But never mind that... This young lady is the suspect, right?” Kuro said, lifting the silent Yoshina.

Yoshina was still visibly shaken, completely lacking her earlier arrogance.

Gen also looked resigned. “That’s right... Yoshina, you’ll be eighteen in two months!”

So she really was a minor—no wonder she was so brazen!

Although in this Eastern country the age of majority was twenty, at eighteen one basically lost any legal defenses, and starting next April, eighteen would be considered full adulthood.

Kuro also noticed that Yoshina wasn’t just young but had extremely fair skin and facial features unlike ordinary Easterners—she must be mixed race.

“Better hurry and become an adult! Next time we catch you stealing, it won’t be the big sister from the juvenile division greeting you!” Yamada grumbled nearby.

Clearly, she was a habitual thief...

“All right, you handle this. I need to get to the station,” Kuro said to them.

“Yes, sir!”

The four officers immediately snapped to attention nervously.

“No need for such formality...” Kuro smiled, then turned and left.

It wasn’t that their manners were particularly impeccable—it was just that they were shocked!

After all, catching a thief early in the morning and having the new chief get seriously injured like this was something they rarely encountered...

“Ah! Chief Fujiseiko, our patrol car...” Kawahai finally took a look at the damage.

Goodness, it wasn’t just the headlight shattered!

That side of the car was dented badly...

“Ah, no surprise the wind-sweetened cars aren’t built well!” Fujiseiko immediately blamed the manufacturer.

“No, no, it’s not the car’s fault... The chief is just too tough! And... what was that speed just now? Rumor has it he single-handedly took down hundreds of gang members in Kanagawa... can that be true?” young Yamada remarked.

“Well, the important thing is the chief’s okay... By the way, that brat’s unusually quiet today?” Gen glanced at Yoshina—since she was a minor, they hadn’t handcuffed her.

“Hahaha, that brat finally realizes how formidable we cops are!” Yamada chuckled. He wasn’t new to being outpaced by Yoshina.

Usually, Yoshina would be jeering—“Yeah, yeah, you and your chief are so tough.”

But now, still shaken, she just bit her lip and said nothing.

...

Meanwhile, despite the small accident, Kuro was not late on his first day. He was now in the chief’s office, meeting the outgoing chief for the handover...

——

Note: The four officers appearing in this chapter are modeled after characters from the animated series “Female Officer’s Counterattack.” The female thief is inspired by “Gina” from the game “Great Ace Attorney.”

These are just character templates borrowed for reference and do not involve specific stories or settings! (Fans can manually match images in the comments.)

Or, if you like Erika Toda, feel free to search for the live-action version of “Female Officer’s Counterattack” for her look. It’s entirely up to you.