"Come to think of it..."
Furuya Rei took a sip of miso soup, his gaze locking onto the person sitting opposite him through the rising steam. "Matsuda, that answer you gave in class was remarkably perfect."
Jinpei Matsuda was eating curry rice with a spoon, his black curls swaying slightly with his chewing motions. "What about it?"
"You kept repeating how much you loathed the police before, yet you can recite the contents of the professional handbook backward flawlessly. Did your mentality suddenly shift, and you've grown to like being a police officer?"
"Not a chance!" Matsuda pulled a half-moon face, denying it flatly. "From then until now, there has only been one thing on my mind, and that is—"
"The police force can go eat shit!"
Furuya Rei: "..."
Is it really alright to say that at the dining table? You're literally eating curry rice right now, hello!
Seeing Matsuda's resolute attitude, Furuya didn't badger him any further. Instead, he smoothly steered the conversation toward another individual.
"And Hisano-kun as well. Clearly, on that very first night, you stated that protecting others was a foolish thing to do... I shouldn't be misremembering that, right?"
Furuya Rei looked toward the black-haired youth, who was currently constructing a tower out of chocolate Pocky sticks, as he noted meaningfully: "Yet, when faced with a scenario where an armed criminal has taken a hostage, you opted for the most reckless approach."
"When it comes down to it, you still want to protect the hostage in your heart, don't you?"
"Huh?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he witnessed the strange expression surfacing on the other party's face—as if the youth had just heard something utterly incomprehensible.
"Furuya-kun, do you still remember why exactly I entered the police academy?"
Needless to say, everyone present shared a profound impression of that reason.
"The most entertaining part of being a police officer is precisely dealing with crises, you know?" Satoru Gojo picked up a Pocky stick, breaking it in half inside his mouth with a sharp crunch as he mumbled, "Failing to face a crisis head-on and instead being overly cautious holds absolutely zero meaning to me."
"Zero meaning?"
Furuya Rei refused to back down: "'Justice delayed is justice denied'—those were your exact words. Why are you denying your own sense of justice now?"
"That was merely social pleasantry~" Gojo propped his cheek in his hand, stating, "As for what justice truly is, who can really say for sure anyway."
"You fellow... couldn't possibly be a tsundere just like Matsuda, right?" Furuya Rei truly couldn't fathom what on earth Hisano was thinking.
Matsuda brandished his fork in protest: "Who's a tsundere?! Did you not hear what I just said? The police can go—"
"Shh, I know Matsuda-kun is telling the absolute truth. Zero is merely joking, don't pay it any mind." Hiromitsu Morofushi spoke up to soothe him, successfully putting a halt to Matsuda's tirade.
...There was no helping it; who told him to also be eating curry rice?
Furuya Rei still wanted to argue a few more points when the black-haired youth opposite him suddenly flashed a little-demon-like smile, a pair of crimson pupils swirling with mischievous brilliance.
"Little Rei is paying so much attention to my matters. Could it be... that you've fallen in love with me?"
Furuya Rei nearly choked to death on his miso soup. His face contorted as he barked: "Hisano—"
As expected, he had completely miscalculated. This supremely narcissistic fellow had absolutely nothing to do with being a tsundere!
The next day, during the midday recess.
Driven by curiosity regarding the reason behind Jinpei Matsuda's animosity toward the police, Furuya Rei submitted an application and smoothly accessed the police academy's records room, attempting to dig up relevant information.
He had asked Matsuda about it in their dorm room last night, but the other party had been reluctant to elaborate, leaving him with no choice but to investigate secretly.
As it turned out, his efforts genuinely yielded results.
"This is... Matsuda's father?"
Shotaro Matsuda was once arrested as a murder suspect?
Furuya Rei's eyes flashed as he roughly deduced the pieces of the puzzle. Conveniently, Hiromitsu Morofushi arrived at the records room as well, providing solid evidence to anchor his deductions.
He had previously heard rumors that Matsuda's father had been erroneously apprehended by the police. As a highly capable professional boxer, he had suffered indiscriminate, wrongful accusations. Even though his name was eventually cleared when the true culprit fell into the net of justice, he had already missed the professional championship tournament. From then on, he suffered a total collapse of spirit, abandoning boxing to pass his days entirely in a drunken stupor.
Hearing these past events, Furuya Rei finally understood Matsuda's disposition.
"So that's how it is... I see. That fellow has truly had a rough time all along." Furuya murmured to himself, "When he says things like 'wanting to beat up the Superintendent General,' it's probably because he detests their dereliction of duty."
One puzzle had been solved, yet another remained. Matsuda was twisted because of his father's predicament... but what about Hisano? Why did he develop this kind of personality?
Faced with Furuya's inquiry, Hiromitsu Morofushi hesitated for a brief moment before lowering his voice to disclose what little he knew.
"Growing up without any family at all..."
The corners of Furuya Rei's mouth dipped slightly, a complex mixture of emotions welling up within his heart. Originally, he had assumed the youth simply lacked friends because his speech was incredibly aggravating.
Looking at it now, perhaps he has long since grown accustomed to coexisting with loneliness.
...And yet, he was merely a youth four years younger than the rest of them.
Furuya tried searching Hisano's name alongside the orphanage he originated from on the academy computer network.
"Huh?"
The pages that popped up were scarce. The vast majority consisted of academic theses Hisano had published during his studies at Todai. As for photographs, there was only a single identification photo taken upon his enrollment, which appeared to feature nothing out of the ordinary.
"For a genius who is so young yet possesses such a tragic background, there should at least be a few news reports on him... Did Hisano reject them himself?"
"Furthermore, that orphanage in Nagano looks to be in fairly decent condition; there shouldn't have been any instances of bullying..." Furuya Rei shook his head. Judging by the sheer combat proficiency the youth displayed, it would be a miracle if he wasn't the one bullying others instead. "It seems there isn't much useful information here."
After a momentary pause, something struck him, and he mused thoughtfully: "I recall a psychological theory. Many orphans, due to the lack of a stable caregiver during critical developmental periods, fail to form secure attachments. This can easily result in a warped self-identity, or even a form of self-destructive tendency..."
As Hiromitsu Morofushi listened, his brows subconsciously knitted together tightly. "If that truly is the case, then Hisano... is in a very perilous state."
The two exchanged a glance, silently resolving in their hearts to pay closer attention to the youth's condition from now on, ensuring he wouldn't commit an act that could lead to irreversible consequences.
If Satoru Gojo knew what they were thinking, he would likely let out a helpless sigh.
Who wants to destroy themselves? I already told you I'm invincible throughout heaven and earth, but you guys just won't believe me.
Furuya Rei closed the browser windows, intending to head to the practical training hall ahead of schedule to prepare for the upcoming martial arts class. "Hmm? Hiro, aren't you coming along with me?"
Furuya noticed Hiromitsu remaining seated in front of the computer, seemingly looking up a completely different set of files. He reminded him, "It'll be bad if you're late."
"It's fine, I'll catch up shortly. I just want to check on a few things first."
"Alright, just keep an eye on the time."
Hiromitsu Morofushi smiled, watching Zero depart from the records room.
In the very next instant, the muscles in his face tautened, and his expression verged on losing control entirely. The title of the investigation report displayed on the computer screen read clearly in large, stark characters:
"The Nagano Case of Family Death and Injury..."
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