The incident involving Sotomori Hajime did not spark much discussion. At Morofushi Akihiko’s personal request, his identity was kept confidential, and the news reports only referred to him as “a certain police academy student.”
Instructor Onizuka likewise did not publicize the matter in class.
When the topic occasionally came up in conversations among his classmates, and others grew curious about who this police academy student might be, Morofushi Akihiko’s expression remained unchanged. He would even chime in appropriately with a line or two: “Yes, I wonder who it could be?”
Morofushi Akihiko’s relationships with his fellow police academy students were not bad. They were the kind of ordinary peer relationships where others would nod in greeting when they saw him, invite him along when making plans, and where he was neither excluded nor ignored during classroom conversations.
Although he didn’t have any particularly close friends, his rapport with everyone was fairly good.
Ueno naturally fell within this circle of peers.
They were all 22-year-old adults, and without shared experiences, it was difficult to develop exceptional rapport and closeness within the six months of police academy training.
However, during these conversations, Ueno’s occasional glances in his direction made Morofushi Akihiko somewhat uneasy. Yet, the look on Ueno’s face, which seemed to say, “Why haven’t you asked me yet?” made Morofushi Akihiko’s lips curl slightly. He didn’t approach Ueno for a conversation until after school.
It wasn’t until dinner time that Morofushi Akihiko, noticing Ueno’s hesitant expression, gently said, “You seem to have something you want to say to me, Ueno-kun.”
“Huh? Ah… um…” Ueno appeared even more hesitant. Under Morofushi Akihiko’s patient gaze, Ueno scratched the back of his head, glanced around to make sure no one else was paying attention, and then tentatively asked, “The police academy student mentioned in the news… was that you, Morofushi?”
“The news?” Morofushi Akihiko tilted his head slightly, recalling for a moment. “Oh, you mean the news from this morning?”
“Why would you think that?” Those upturned blue eyes held a hint of amusement, as if he were an unrelated party curious about others’ bold speculations, or as if he were puzzled about how Ueno had guessed it was him.
“Intuition?” Ueno first answered with that word, then whispered, “And also… yesterday, when I invited you to hang out and you said you had something to do… I just thought…”
As he spoke, Ueno seemed to confuse himself, appearing unsure why he had even made this assumption. But faced with Morofushi Akihiko’s unchanging, gentle smile, he decisively gave up on thinking further: “This question is pretty strange, isn’t it? Sorry to bother you, Morofushi!”
Morofushi Akihiko didn’t say much more, simply reminding him, “If you don’t eat soon, your food will get cold.”
And so, the topic was brushed aside.
Ueno was more perceptive than he had expected. Morofushi Akihiko sipped his miso soup, idly thinking.
Although Ueno didn’t seem very confident in his own abilities and his goal was only to work at a kouban, his academic performance and training skills were likely above average in their class. Even compared to students in other classes, he wouldn’t fall too far behind.
At the very least… so far, only Ueno had connected the police academy student in the news to him.
Morofushi Akihiko set down his chopsticks, nodded at Ueno, then picked up his empty tray and left the cafeteria.
Just as there were no troublemakers in this class who would defy Instructor Onizuka, aside from the incident involving Sotomori Hajime, Morofushi Akihiko encountered no special situations over the next two months.
Before his previous graduation from the police academy, he had received an invitation from the Gong'an and soon after threw himself into undercover training.
This time, with the Soshiki's arrangement, it would be even easier for him to board the flight to the Gong'an.
However, based on his estimation of Kato Akio's position, while Kato could invite him into the Gong'an, he likely couldn't directly control which department he entered.
So, would the department he entered this time be different from the last?
The answer was—
Yes.
And the difference was not insignificant.
When Kato Akio, with a grim expression, told him that his file had already been taken by the Keisatsucho, Morofushi Akihiko nearly laughed out loud.
Kato Akio was a Gong'an officer from the Keishicho.
But Morofushi Akihiko was now about to enter the Gong'an department of the Keisatsucho.
While the two might seem similar on the surface, their natures were fundamentally different. The Keisatsucho held a higher status than the Keishicho and was the pinnacle of Japan's police force.
In other words—even if Kato Akio had more seniority than him, once Morofushi entered the Keisatsucho's Gong'an department, Kato would have no way to continue monitoring him. And after learning he had entered the Keisatsucho, the Soshiki would only demand that he delve deeper, rather than transfer elsewhere.
Because the information accessible at the Keisatsucho was far more critical than that at the Keishicho.
—More importantly, for an ordinary person or a non-career-track officer to join the Keisatsucho's Gong'an department was an extremely difficult feat.
The scrutiny and examinations they had to undergo were far more complex than those for non-career-track officers.
For someone sent by the Soshiki to enter this department, it was nearly impossible.
"Morofushi-kun, based on the exam level you originally passed, you should have been assigned to the Keishicho to become a proud sergeant."
The middle-aged man in a suit before him spoke in a serious, businesslike tone.
The two of them sat in a private meeting room, and Morofushi Akihiko looked just as intently at the man in front of him.
"However, due to your outstanding performance and achievements at the police academy, along with your method of handling incidents alone—your rational judgment and actions when faced with sudden cases closely related to yourself have demonstrated your exceptional abilities."
—Through unconventional, special channels, there was an extremely slim chance for a non-career-track officer to be recommended into the Keisatsucho.
"Morofushi Akihiko, are you willing to join the Keisatsucho's Public Security Bureau to protect this country?"
…
On the day of graduation, Morofushi Akihiko looked up at the sky, watching the drifting clouds, lost in thought.
"Morofushi! Come take a photo!" Ueno waved to him from among a group of classmates, holding an old-fashioned camera that one of their peers had brought.
They were all dressed in formal police uniforms. After today, they would each head to their assigned jurisdictions and different departments to protect what they held dear.
Whether it was due to the surrounding atmosphere or the nostalgic feelings evoked by the current environment, Morofushi Akihiko's gaze fell on the camera nearby, suddenly reminding him of the other four people around him during their last group photo.
Back then, someone had even drawn a mustache on the photo he wanted to send—to be honest, it turned out surprisingly well and even sparked the idea of changing his appearance.
The cherry blossom tree had already withered, unlike the time when they first entered the academy, when cherry blossom petals would fall on their shoulders with a gust of wind. Now, only the massive trunk remained.
However, Morofushi Akihiko knew very well that the cherry blossoms that belonged to them would not wither with the passage of time.
This time, he was alone.
Morofushi Akihiko blinked, his brief distraction going unnoticed by anyone. He shook his head at his classmates, pointed toward the instructor's direction, and voluntarily left the spot.
Last time, he had joined the Keishicho, not the Keisatsucho, so he wasn't as familiar with the internal affairs of the Keisatsucho as another friend of his.
Because of this, even if he were to enter the Gong'an department of the Keisatsucho, he wouldn't have to worry about accidentally revealing information he shouldn't due to his subconscious, since he himself wasn't fully aware of it.
But it was still best not to delve too deeply.
Morofushi Akihiko didn't want to provide the Soshiki with too much information about the Gong'an.
And so, he did exactly that.
"Morofushi-kun, I have a mission for you. Please consider it carefully before giving me your answer."
"Once you decide, there will be no turning back."
Similar words from the past now appeared before him, as if the game had reached a point of no return.
The young man with upturned eyes wore no smile on his face, his gaze sharp and bright.
No matter how many times he faced this choice, his answer would always be the same.
"—I am willing."
He would still choose to step into the darkness willingly.
For the sake of the justice he believed in.
…
The subsequent developments were not much different from what Morofushi Akihiko remembered. His true identity was concealed, and the Gong'an provided him with a new one.
A new instructor trained him in martial arts and shooting, teaching him how to hide his emotions and gather information.
Morofushi Akihiko did not deliberately conceal the advantage of having learned these skills once before—in the eyes of instructors who had trained too many undercover agents and had even been undercover agents themselves, any attempt at hiding it would only raise unnecessary suspicion.
Thus, when the instructor who had intended to intimidate him was instead stunned by his "talent," Morofushi Akihiko blinked.
…Perhaps it would be better to hold back a little?
Due to the undercover training, Kato Akio couldn't contact him. Although the training was difficult and monotonous, without external distractions, Morofushi Akihiko relaxed a bit and occupied the instructor's bookshelf during breaks.
The instructors and teachers were not just one person—Morofushi Akihiko saw familiar faces as well as strangers he had never met before.
However, none of this hindered him from continuing to acquire new knowledge during the process.
"No, how could you bear to send this kid out?" One of the most senior instructors frowned at the head of the Gong'an department. "If his abilities were kept here, following the usual path, he could definitely climb to the position of police superintendent. He might even earn a few commendations and continue rising!"
"It's just that there aren't any promising candidates in this batch… I never expected him to be such a perfect fit," the Gong'an higher-up replied helplessly.
By now, Morofushi Akihiko's documents had already been processed, and his files were prepared. It was even more impossible to send him back halfway just because they valued his talent. Doing so would instead become a stain on Morofushi Akihiko's record, affecting his future.
"Besides, precisely because he is so outstanding, he might reach heights we can hardly imagine, right?" The Gong'an official spoke as if stating an established fact. "I look forward to his future."
…
"So, what you mean is," Kato Akio calmly began, "after infiltrating the Gong'an as a Soshiki mole, you were then sent by the Gong'an to infiltrate the Soshiki as a mole?"
"Is that right, Morofushi-kun?"
Morofushi Akihiko smiled. "That's right."
Kato Akio's vision went dark.
Author's Note:
The recommendation mechanism for non-career officers mentioned here is based on Baidu. If there are any inconsistencies, just treat it as my made-up personal setting!
Since Gosho Aoyama said that only Rei is from the career track (even though career and non-career officers shouldn't be in the same police academy), Hiro should have originally gone to the Keishicho. However, because his abilities were too outstanding in this batch, coupled with the Sotomori Hajime incident, he was recommended by the Keishicho to join the Gong'an!