Chapter 31: The Detective's Daughter

The aftermath is a total mess. The mall security guys are standing around, looking useless. The woman who got her purse stolen is crying, but she is also thanking Hina. People are filming on their phones.

Hina is just calm. She is breathing hard, but she is centered. She is not a 'goddess' or a 'predator'. She is a protector.

Then, the real cops show up. And he is with them. A tall man in a rumpled, tan trench coat. He has a tired face, dark circles under his eyes, and a jaw that looks like it is made of granite. He is Detective Aizawa, Hina's dad.

He storms onto the scene, his eyes scanning everything. He is not 'police'. He is the police. "Hina!" he barks, his voice like gravel.

"Hi, Dad!" Hina says, and she is sunshine again. "You are early! I was just... cleaning up."

Detective Aizawa looks at the guy on the floor groaning, at the other guy clutching his elbow, at the baton on the ground. He looks proud. "Your form... is getting sloppy," he grunts. "You over-extended on the joint-lock. You could have just... broken his arm."

"I did," Hina whispers, and she sounds smug.

"Good," her dad says. Then... he sees me. His eyes turn to flint.

"Minatawa," he snarls. "Shoujo Minatawa."

"Uh... hi, Aizawa-san," I say, and I feel like I am sixteen again, in all the bad ways.

"I knew it," he says, stalking over to me. "I knew I smelled 'problem'. Wherever there is... trouble... there is you."

"Dad!" Hina says, running over. "No! Shou-chan did not do anything! He was just... here!"

"He is always 'just here'!" Aizawa growls. "I know your file, kid. You are a 'brawler'. A 'delinquent'." He leans in. "You stay away from my daughter. You hear me?"

"I... I... yes, sir," I stammer.

"Good." He is terrifying.

And then... he sees her. He freezes. He is a detective, a good one. He does not see "Ayako Katsumi, Student Council President." He does not see "the pretty girl in the black dress." He sees the name. He sees the family. He sees her. He knows who she is.

His entire body goes stiff. His hand moves to his jacket, like he is checking for a gun.

"Katsumi," he says, and his voice is not 'angry dad'. It is 'cold'. 'Dangerous'. "Katsumi-ojou."

Hina's jaw drops. "Ojou?" ('Young Mistress'?)

Ayako Katsumi, who has been silent, observing, analyzing, steps forward. She performs a perfect, polite, respectful bow. It is the most sinister bow I have ever seen.

"Aizawa-san," she says, her voice like silk. "What a... pleasure... to see you. I am Ayako Katsumi. A classmate... of both... Hina-san... and Minatawa-kun. We were... just... 'shopping'."

The tension between the Detective and the Yakuza Princess is insane. The air is so thick I cannot breathe.

"Hina," Detective Aizawa says, his eyes never leaving Ayako. "We... are... leaving. Now."

"But... Dad! Shou-chan...!"

"NOW," he roars. He grabs Hina's arm and drags her away.

Hina is just confused. She looks back at me, her face a mess of 'what the hell is happening?', 'who is she?', and 'Shou-chan, help me'.

And I just stand there. They are gone. The mall is quiet. It is just me and Ayako.

"...'Ojou'?" I whisper.

Ayako is not looking at me. She is looking at the spot where Hina was.

"He... knew... you," I say, my mind reeling. "He knew you. He... he looked afraid."

"He is a detective," Ayako whispers, her voice different. Not amused, not cold. Thoughtful. "The police... and my family... we... 'co-exist'. We are... aware... of each other. He... is an 'obstacle'."

She turns to me, her eyes calculating. "But... she... is not."

"Hina?"

"Hina Aizawa," Ayako says. "She is... highly trained. She is... skilled. She is... 'righteous'." She looks at me. "And... she is close to you."

"Ayako... what...?"

"She... is a new kind of 'pest'," Ayako whispers. "She is not... a 'bully'. She is not... a 'thug'."

"She," Ayako says, her voice turning to ice, "is... 'justice'."

"And 'justice'... is the single... greatest... inefficiency... in my world."

"Minatawa-kun," she says, her voice all business. "This... has become... 'problematic'. We must avoid Hina Aizawa... at all costs."