“Hello, this is Hinata Yusuke… Sae?”
The middle-aged man lounged on the sofa, legs crossed, a beer in hand. He picked up the ringing phone, and imdiately froze at the caller ID.
His daughter… calling him?
Ever since they’d gotten into that huge fight over her high-school choices, she practically never took the initiative to call. Sure, they still talked at ho, but every now and then she’d get into shouting matches with her mom whenever the topic of “life guidance” ca up.
Well, teens in their rebellious phase. Who hasn’t been there?
Yusuke rembered his younger days, the shaful era when he thought joining a biker gang and tearing up the streets would be cool, and instantly felt a lot more forgiving toward his daughter’s attitude.
The Hinata family wasn’t exactly ordinary, so he could give his daughter so freedom. But only if she followed the university and career path he, as her father, had laid out.
Still… this was the first ti in two years she’d actually called him first. His expression went solemn. He put his beer down and straightened up.
Instantly switching into the sa posture he had at work, where he was the Director of the First Division of the tropolitan Police Departnt.
“S-Sae? What’s wrong?”
“Dad, one of my friends almost got assaulted by a piece of human trash, so could you—”
CLANG.
“WHAT!? Who!? Who’s the bastard who dared lay even a finger on you!?”
Yusuke shot to his feet, slamming his toes into the table, but ignored the pain entirely as he barked into the phone, face twisting in panic.
“It’s my friend! Friend!”
“Oh… that’s—wait, what friend!?”
He’d almost cald down, but then it hit him: his daughter didn’t have many friends. The one she said she was eting today was probably… that Nogami household’s infamous young lady.
…That might actually be worse.
“A new friend. Sa class.”
Sae’s muttering drifted through the receiver.
Ah… as long as it’s not the Nogami heiress, that’s fine. Thank god.
“Dad, why’re you making such a big deal out of it? And you call yourself a division director…”
His one and only precious daughter almost got hurt, how could he not panic!?
Sure, he knew he was being overly anxious, but what was wrong with that?
Before he was the Director of the First Division, he was a father.
And as a father, was worrying about his daughter strange?
“…Anyway, that’s basically what happened. Dad, can you deal with that scumbag Yobitani for ?”
“Ahem, Sae, listen. Our country is a nation of laws. We must act legally, and I cannot abuse my authority…”
There were many ways he could crush the little bastard who attempted the cri, but risking his own career over so no-na delinquent wasn’t worth it.
“If nothing is done, what happens to him?”
“He’ll probably just be sent to Juvenile Assessnt for education, two to three weeks. Since he’s a minor and it was an attempted cri, even with solid evidence, harsher penalties are difficult.”
As soone working in law enforcent, he was painfully aware of the rising juvenile cri issue and dissatisfied with the penalties, but…
Revising the law wasn’t his job. That was for the politicians.
“But he’s a disgusting creep who tried to assault a girl. He just gets let off like that?”
“That’s what the Juvenile Law says…”
Though that was only if things were handled strictly by the book.
Also… when did Sae make a new friend?
She often hung out with classmates, but few qualified as actual friends.
“Sae, this new friend of yours is…?”
“She’s also Izumi’s friend.”
Was his daughter joking?
That was Yusuke’s first thought.
The Nogami heiress, infamous nationwide, had a new friend?
But Sae wasn’t the type to joke about sothing like this. So he tested the waters further:
“The other girl’s family is…?”
“Chouko-chan’s from Kyoto. Harutaki said she’s from the Shihou family or sothing.”
He didn’t recognize “Chouko-chan” or “Harutaki,” but “Kyoto” plus “Shihou family”…
That na was thunder in the ears.
A joke?
No—he wouldn’t dream of sothing this absurd even in his sleep!
Kansai and Kanto. Kyoto and Tokyo.
The daughters of two rival political giants becoming friends? Not even dreams went that far.
“S-Sae… are you sure?”
“Dad, you’re so annoying.”
“Ahem. I’ll… contact the relevant precinct and ask around.”
Even if her new friend wasn’t truly from Kyoto’s Shihou family, the fact she was also the Nogami heiress’s friend was reason enough to call in favors.
Beat a confession out of the little punk, stick a few extra charges on him, see which cris fit, lock him in juvenile hall for a year. Once he’s released, coincidentally as an adult, the prosecutor can imdiately slap him with the leftover evidence from the first case and trial him again, this ti with adult sentencing.
“…Huh? Dad, didn’t you say it all has to be done by the book?”
This kid… always hitting where it hurt.
He scrambled for an excuse, then suddenly recalled another na she’d dropped along the way: “Harutaki.”
No way that was a girl’s na. If he was a boy, and Sae called him by his given na…
He was worried. And also very curious. So he hurried to ask:
“Sae, that Harutaki person, are they—”
“Okay Dad, thanks, bye!!”
Click.
Beeeep—
Dial tone.
…?
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