Seeing that the situation was entirely lost, the robber began acting out of sheer desperation, hoping to use a hostage to buy himself a chance to escape.
The rescued customers let out terrified gasps, and the female trainees were simply too far away, not daring to make a reckless move. Furuya Rei's purple-grey eyes shifted slightly as he tensed every muscle in his body, ready to strike at any second.
Just wait a bit longer... all I need is one opening...
Morofushi Hiromitsu chose to fake compliance. He raised both hands, planning to strike back the exact moment the criminal lowered his guard.
"Mister, you really have no class."
Right then, a cheerful voice came from the shadows behind the robber.
The star-shaped sunglasses on the black-haired youth's face slid down to the tip of his nose, revealing a pair of red eyes as clear as gemstones. "Daring to take my roommate hostage? You won't find a girlfriend for the next three lifetimes, you know?"
The robber was visibly startled by this sudden interruption, his gun barrel shaking slightly. "Shut up! Stay back! Or else I'll—"
"Or else what?"
Before the robber could even finish his sentence, he flew sideways like a kite with a broken string. With a loud crash, he smashed straight into the nearest shelf, knocking it completely apart. He then slumped limply to the ground, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth as he knocked out entirely.
The gun in his hand drew a curve through the air and was cleanly caught by Furuya.
The entire convenience store fell silent for a single second, and then a tidal wave of cheers erupted.
Morofushi rubbed his neck, his fingers lingering on the red mark left on his skin.
Gojo walked over with a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets to take credit for the save. "See, what did I tell you? If a criminal takes a hostage, the very first thing you do is kick the gun away."
Morofushi shook his head and replied, "Doing that is still way too dangerous."
"But... thank you, Kuno."
"Huh? Not using formal titles anymore?"
The cat-eyed youth let out a soft laugh, his voice nearly drowned out by the noisy background chatter of the convenience store. "Because calling you this way feels more right."
Ahhh, Kuno is seriously so incredibly cool!!!!
The robber: Who am I, where am I, who is talking??
Kuno Hisano: You might actually die from this single kick of mine.
Hiromitsu changed how he calls him! Oh my gosh, the roommate group is giving me so much life.
Hahaha, what happened to being a weak and fragile patient??
Furuya and Date Wataru immediately stepped forward. Only after confirming that neither of them was injured did they completely breathe a sigh of relief.
"You literally fainted right in front of everyone just a few hours ago..." Furuya said helplessly. "Kuno, is your body really perfectly fine?"
"Don't worry~ Completely fine." Gojo waved his hand. "On the other hand, Furuya, you actually got locked in a warehouse by this kind of trash. You were way too careless, weren't you?"
"This sort of thing isn't something you can avoid just by being careful—by the way, just call me Rei."
Outside the convenience store, the sound of sirens grew louder as they drew near. Police officers filed into the building one after another, placing handcuffs on each of the criminals and marking an official end to the convenience store robbery.
"Seriously..." Furuya watched Gojo's back as the youth bounced around, high-fiving the girls to celebrate, but a smile formed on his lips without him even realizing it. "That guy always acts so recklessly."
"Well, he is the ridiculously strong Kuno, after all." Date recalled that flying kick, which had been so fast it was hard to see clearly. A look of admiration appeared on his rugged face. "If there's a chance next time, I still really want to try sparring with him."
"Speaking of which, Hagiwara, you actually had the police trainees gather here disguised as customers... You're definitely going to get a massive lecture from Instructor Onizuka tomorrow."
Matsuda turned around, but his next words caught everyone off guard. "We only did what your father wanted to do back then. Right, Hagi?"
"...What do you mean?" Date froze.
Hagiwara didn't keep him in suspense and began explaining the truth of what happened all those years ago. "Actually, Class Leader, when your father was beaten up by that gang member back then, I happened to be inside that convenience store too..."
It turned out that the young Date Wataru had been completely focused on worrying about his bleeding father, failing to notice that the criminal actually had several accomplices present in the shop. His father knew very well that even if he arrested one criminal, the remaining accomplices would rush in to back him up, leaving him with very little chance of winning. Furthermore, if a chaotic brawl broke out, it would very likely put the lives of the other customers in serious danger.
Among those customers were children like Hagiwara, as well as completely helpless elderly people and pregnant women. Therefore, his father could only secretly call the police while kneeling and taking a beating to stall for time. He managed to keep the criminal stuck at the entrance before his colleagues arrived, preventing the man from heading further into the shop.
Date spoke slowly, "So, the reason Dad knelt down wasn't to beg for mercy, but..."
"...But to protect everyone." Hagiwara's voice was very soft, but it hit Date's heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him speechless for a long time.
After hearing the old story, Furuya said sincerely, "To have such a pure heart that completely refuses to see anyone get hurt... Class Leader, your father truly is a police officer worthy of deep respect."
Hmm... even if Kuno's style is to just charge straight through, it probably comes from the exact same pure heart, right?
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the black-haired, red-eyed youth walking back over through the messy shelves, his arms loaded with a massive pile of junk food.
"..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gojo said without a shred of guilt. "We basically saved this convenience store, didn't we? What's wrong with collecting a little protection fee?"
"Hey, hey, we're police officers, not gang members!"
"I know, I know~ Well, considering I just kicked that guy flying, it's not too much to ask you to treat me to some snacks, is it, Hiro?"
"You absolute jerk...!!" Matsuda gritted his teeth and directly snatched the snacks right out of his arms, his movements so rapid it looked like he was defusing a bomb. "Didn't we just say you need to keep your diet plain!"
A terrifying storm seemed to be brewing behind Hiromitsu's gentle smile. "Sure. To show my gratitude, I'll personally make you the healthiest, greenest vegetable bento tomorrow."
"What? Murder! This is straight-up murder—"
"To protect everyone," so that was the actual truth behind why Date's father knelt down. I'm crying.
Ahhh, the misunderstanding is finally cleared up!! Loud applause!
A pure heart, that describes our Kuno perfectly! (Even if it's directed toward snacks.)
Kuno: Sob, sob, sob, I saved you but you want to murder me.
Matsuda: Without me, this family would have fallen apart long ago.
Haha, the dark side of Hiromitsu is quite nice too.
Look at Furuya's dot eyes, haha. "The exact moment I thought Kuno was reliable, he instantly ruined it."
Watching the three of them bicker back and forth over the snacks, Furuya offered a heartfelt remark, "He really has an incredible amount of energy... If I knew he'd be like this, I wouldn't have worried about him so much."
"Oh, come on, when it comes to your own friends, worrying is just human nature." Saying that, Hagiwara gave Date's chest a light punch. "So, Class Leader, did you manage to completely clear up that knot in your heart?"
"Yeah, absolutely—"
...
Late at night, everything was quiet.
"Dad, how have things been lately?" Date stood alone inside a phone booth, asking into the receiver.
"Wataru? Why the sudden phone call... Eh? There's a girl you want me to meet? I see, you've reached that age already..."
"I'm already twenty-two. We haven't seen each other in a while, but you didn't completely forget your own son's age, did you?" Date teased, listening to his father's chuckle on the other end of the line.
"So, how are things over at the police academy? Are you confident you'll become an excellent police officer?"
"Of course." Date kept a toothpick in his mouth, looking exactly like his father. "Though, I still can't match up to you, Dad..."
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