February 7th, 8:00 AM.
Ritsu arrived at the Metropolitan Police Department in Chiyoda right on time by taxi. In the short twenty-minute ride, the rain had already stopped.
After paying the fare, he walked into the MPD building, even remembering to greet the detectives on duty at the entrance, something the old him would never have done.
As he passed by, he could hear the two officers whispering among themselves.
"Is that new inspector's hair natural or dyed?"
"No clue. Feels natural, right? Cops aren't allowed to dye their hair that color."
And similar comments along those lines.
Taking the elevator all the way up to the ninth floor, where the First Investigation Division was currently located, Ritsu headed toward the large office of Violent Crimes Investigation Unit 3.
Unlike six years ago, when he had first arrived here, there was no longer the scent of meat buns mixed with cigarette smoke lingering in the air.
Looking over the office layout, which had barely changed at all, his gaze drifted toward the inspector's desk, where he immediately spotted the familiar orange fedora.
Some things truly never changed, especially Megure's taste.
While organizing the documents on his desk, Megure looked up after hearing movement. There weren't many detectives in the office at this hour and today happened to be a rather special day. Some people were late for work, but he had decided to turn a blind eye to it.
Once he saw the white-haired young man standing at the entrance dressed in a white shirt and black suit, Megure quickly reacted with a cheerful smile and walked over warmly.
"You must be the newly transferred Inspector Onizawa Takashi, right? I heard you worked overseas as a criminal consultant and helped solve several cases. Welcome, welcome!"
The news that a genius criminal consultant returning from overseas would be joining First Investigation Division Unit 3 had already spread through the office.
As expected, the detectives who had been focused on breakfast or sorting case files all raised their heads to observe the handsome white-haired young man.
Not a woman, interest cut in half.
A handsome guy instead, interest cut in half again.
To the bachelors of First Investigation Division, this was nothing short of a devastating blow. After all, the two "police flowers" of the division were still single, and Onizawa's arrival naturally gave all their admirers a sense of crisis.
Feeling the faint hostility directed at him, Ritsu was rather confused. He hadn't done or said anything yet, so where exactly was this hostility coming from?
"Hello. You must be Inspector Megure, right? Would you mind showing me where my desk is?" Ritsu greeted brightly, even taking the initiative to shake Megure's hand.
"Your seat's right beside mine. There, it was prepared for you ahead of time. You can start working today."
Hearing that, Ritsu laughed awkwardly. "To be honest, I'd rather not have a case on my very first day of work. No cases would be best, it would mean Beika Town's public safety is excellent."
"Hahaha! Public safety in Beika has actually been pretty good recently. Go ahead and sit down for now. I still have some paperwork to finish."
"Alright, please take care of me."
Dropping into his office chair, Ritsu picked up one of the files on the desk and began flipping through it.
Since he was newly transferred, the primary person in charge of Unit 3 was still Megure, so the number of direct subordinates assigned to him was very small.
Only one person.
Of course, he still had authority over detectives ranked below him.
When he opened the first page of the file and saw the familiar pretty face staring back at him, Ritsu's brows lifted involuntarily.
He really hadn't expected the MPD to assign her to him.
Hayasaka Yuna. Born in Kyoto. Twenty-eight years old. 168 centimeters tall. 48 kilograms.
Formerly a Sergeant in Theft Investigation Unit 4 of Kyoto Prefectural Police's Investigation Division 3.
Currently an Assistant Inspector in Violent Crimes Investigation Unit 3 of the MPD's First Investigation Division.
Looking at the expressionless ID photo, Ritsu noticed her hair was longer than before, and she had become more mature.
She looked even prettier now. But somehow… less cheerful.
Back then, she had always smiled mischievously. Why did she look so stern and fierce all the time now?
Creak—
The office door opened.
Looking up, Ritsu saw Hayasaka enter wearing a black women's business suit, a red ribbon tied in her hair.
He instinctively stood up and walked over, greeting her with a polite professional smile.
"You're Hayasaka Yuna, right? Nice to meet you."
Sensing several subtle gazes around him, Ritsu finally understood where the earlier hostility had come from.
'So Hayasaka was this popular now.'
"And you are?" Hayasaka looked at the white-haired man before her, and her first impression was far from positive.
Especially because he wore glasses and carried that perpetual smiling expression. He looked suspicious.
"Onizawa Takashi. Your direct superior."
"..."
Hayasaka knew she was being reassigned under the newly transferred inspector.
But she never imagined her superior would be a man with white hair and crimson eyes like some medieval vampire.
She reached over and opened the file on the desk, comparing it to the ID photo. It really was the same person.
"Hello, Inspector Onizawa. I assume you've already read my file, so I'll skip the self-introduction."
This was the very woman who had continued sending him diary-like updates about her life all this time.
Yet now that he stood before her with a completely different appearance, not only did she fail to recognize him.
She hadn't even smiled at him once.
Suddenly thinking of something, Ritsu mischievously asked, "Am I a lot more handsome than your previous boss?"
The instant those words left his mouth, the office fell into eerie silence.
Even Megure, who had been focused on his work, stopped what he was doing and clasped his hands together nervously, clearly worried for Ritsu.
Of all topics to bring up, he just had to mention her previous superior. After all, the man who had only worked in Unit 3 for a single month.
Sasajima Ritsu was a hurdle Hayasaka had never been able to overcome. And today, of all days, was also Ritsu's death anniversary.
This was basically dancing repeatedly across a minefield.
Hayasaka fell silent for a moment. Her dark gray eyes were filled with indifference. Only half an hour ago, she had placed flowers at his grave in Beika Cemetery.
She was still mourning the man who had disappeared without a word, only to be seen again in the form of a gravestone.
What right did the man before her have to compare himself to him?
"You're nowhere near him." Her face darkened with displeasure as she coldly added,
"Don't compare yourself to him in front of me. You're not worthy."
"..."
Ritsu awkwardly ran his tongue over one of his sharp canine teeth. He truly hadn't realized he held such an important place in Hayasaka's heart.
So should he feel comforted? Or saddened?
Pretending not to care, he returned to his desk.
Yet the moment he sat down, the veteran detectives who had been hostile toward him earlier suddenly crowded around him enthusiastically, greeting him warmly.
Because in their minds, after stepping directly onto Hayasaka's emotional landmine, Ritsu no longer had any chance whatsoever of winning her over.
And if he couldn't win her over, then he was one of the boys.
"Hahaha, Inspector Onizawa! Have you eaten breakfast yet? I've got plenty of snacks here!"
"Inspector Onizawa, let me introduce myself, my name is…"
"?"
Blinking in confusion, Ritsu tilted his head slightly.
What exactly was going on here? How had he suddenly become popular?