Tokyo Detective

Chapter 283 The rope breaks at its thinnest point.
The next morning, Naoki Hanyu was heading to Ota Ward early to pick up some things, and the familiar streets slowly flashed past the car window.

I've spent more than three years in this place, and I probably won't pass through it much in the future.

As Naoki Hanyu was heading towards his destination along Tokyo Bay, a commotion in the distance caught his attention.

Three women were seen lecturing a little boy, who was on the verge of tears and shaking his head frantically. On the ground was a row of overturned flowerpots containing several not-so-cheap flower varieties, such as heather.

Seeing that there was still time, Naoki Hanyu stopped the car and went over to ask.

"Ladies, may I ask what this child has done wrong?"

A short-haired woman, presumably in her twenties, was holding the boy's arm.

"Hello, this child accidentally broke Aunt Ghana's flowerpot. We want the child to go and apologize to Aunt Ghana in person, since these are all her hard work. She's so upset that she's bedridden now."

"Yes."

"It's nothing, as long as you're willing to apologize."

Naoki Hanyu looked at the child who had a look of fear on his face.

"Little boy, tell me if you did it."

The elementary school student in school uniform shook his head in denial.

"I didn't do it."

The short-haired woman asked insincerely.

"Because there are no other kids around who would do this, Xiao Long, you tell me who else would do this?"

The boy shook his head, still shrinking back.

"I don't know either, it wasn't me."

"So, what evidence do you have to prove you didn't do it?"

The boy fell silent; he truly couldn't think of any evidence to prove he hadn't done it.

The woman pressed her advantage with a smile.

"See, you can't say it now, can you?"

Seeing this, Naoki Hanyu reached out to stop the two from making contact.

"Madam, if you believe the child has done something wrong, it should be you who provides evidence that he did it, not a child under 10 years old who has to provide evidence."

"."

The woman, of course, had no evidence, so she started to argue unreasonably.

“I don’t have any evidence, but there are no other children in the neighborhood who would do such a thing. Only his parents are deaf and mute, so of course they can’t teach their child properly and he will do such a thing.”

Upon hearing this, Naoki looked at the boy and understood what was going on. It turned out that the boy was a hearing child. A hearing child is someone whose parents are both deaf and mute, but who has a healthy child. Such families have a harder life than normal people in every aspect.

Such families are looked down upon and discriminated against by those around them, unless they are quite wealthy.

To avoid getting into a fight with a woman, Naoki Yuzuru took out his police notebook and began to speak.

"I am a police officer. If you want to accuse someone, please think carefully about whether you have any evidence."

Upon hearing the word "police," the three women immediately stopped talking. They simply wanted the boy to admit his mistake, to make their friend feel better, and ideally, to receive some compensation.

The short-haired woman said weakly.

"I'm just guessing."

Naoki Hanyu said with a gloomy face.

“I can’t wrongly accuse the child by guessing. If the child’s parents question you about it, I will be a witness.”

"."

Naoki Hanyu didn't want to waste any more time, so he took the child's hand and said...

"Xiao Long, right? I remember your school uniform is from Daejeon Fifth Elementary School. You're going to be late in 3 minutes. Let me give you a ride."

Just as the boy named Xiaolong was about to refuse, he saw his mother rush over angrily, grab his arm, and glare fiercely at the three women and Hanyu Naoki using sign language.

"What do you intend to do to Xiao Long?"

It was clear that the deaf-mute man perceived the four adults as bullying his child.

Naoki Hanyu and the three women obviously couldn't understand, so the short-haired woman could only speak up and explain.

"It was this child who knocked over Aunt Ghana's flowerpot; I just wanted to take him to apologize."

The deaf-mute mother obviously couldn't understand, even though the other person was wearing a hearing aid.

Upon seeing this, the boy used sign language to explain to his mother that he hadn't done it, and his aggrieved expression fueled his mother's anger, prompting her to use sign language in response.

"Are you bullying my son just because I can't hear?"

The short-haired woman looked aggrieved.

"What are you doing? I don't understand what you're saying at all."

The scene of talking at cross purposes caused the child a lot of distress. He was already discriminated against by the people around him because his parents were deaf and mute, and now his mother couldn't even stand up for him.

At this moment, Xiaolong even had the thought that having such a mother was a disgrace. Why did I have such parents? Can't I be like a normal child?

The next second, a hand pressed down on the boy's head.

"Don't rush, slowly explain the whole story to your mother."

The boy glanced at his composed uncle, then began to sign. This calmed Aiba Shoko's mother down, and she bowed to Hanyu Naoki in thanks, also using sign language.

"thank you very much."

Naoki Hanyu simply nodded.

"No need to thank me, it was nothing. Your son is going to be late, would you like me to give him a ride?"

Aiba Shoko bowed again after seeing her son's sign language, then glared fiercely at the other three women.

"sorry to bother you."

This beautiful woman embodies the strength that comes with motherhood; despite being from the lowest rungs of society herself, she displays extraordinary courage for her son.

The Hummer drove to the elementary school, and Naoki Hanyu subtly inquired about the boy's family, learning that the boy's mother was deaf and mute, and his father was mute and worked on a construction site.

Looking at the child, Naoki Hanyu recalled a case he had encountered at the Yuzhong Police Station when he first became a policeman, a case that still left a deep impression on him.

An 11-year-old girl from a single-parent family, whose father was born deaf and mute, lived on welfare and did odd jobs to make ends meet. Because of her father's identity, the girl was discriminated against by those around her, and suffered emotional and even physical abuse from her classmates. Ultimately, unable to bear the pressure, she committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

The deaf-mute father cried his heart out, and after handling his daughter's funeral arrangements, he also committed suicide. His suicide note contained the words, "I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry."

That case still lingers in Naoki Hanyu's heart, because he had once helped mediate the family's situation, but unfortunately, he was not skilled enough at the time to prevent the family's tragedy.

Naoki Hanyu took out a business card and handed it to the boy.

"Uncle is a policeman, a policeman who protects the people. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can call me. As long as you haven't made any mistakes, I will help you just like I did today."

Aiba Takashi was stunned; this was a rare moment when he felt concern from an adult.

"Thank you uncle."

Naoki Hanyu ruffled the other person's hair.

"Haha, actually you can call me brother, no, I'll call you uncle."

He's 17 years older than me and still calls himself "brother"? He's really shameless.

The Hummer stopped at the school gate and then drove away.
.
Meanwhile, at a construction site in the city center, a man with dark circles under his eyes was busy working on the second floor without any safety equipment.

Exhausted, he lost consciousness and fell from the second floor, frightening his coworkers who rushed over to check on him.

"Aiba, are you alright?"

"Aiba, do you want to go take a look?"

The foreman also rushed over anxiously to inquire, fearing that an accident involving a worker would affect the construction schedule. At the same time, he was inwardly resentful that his superiors not only made the workers work overtime for extended periods but also cut corners on safety facilities.

But what can they do? Most of them have families to support.

Aiba Jiro shook his head and then made a few gestures to indicate that he was alright.

But the foreman didn't dare let him continue.

"Go home and rest for a day, then come back to work tomorrow. Don't worry, you'll still get paid for today."

Aiba Jiro was happy to hear this, because he could get a day's wages for free after falling down, and he could go to other places to do odd jobs. However, his neck always felt a little uncomfortable.

Aiba Jiro didn't think much of it; after all, falling down is never comfortable.

A rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds those who are destined for misfortune.

The offices of the various departments of the First Investigation Division occupy half of the 13th floor of the Metropolitan Police Department building. Naoki Hanyu was sitting in his office, busy with the work he had accumulated over the past three days, and his hair was all messed up.

"I'm really fed up. The section chief helps me apply for leave, and then the deputy section chief throws a tantrum. These documents are giving me a headache."

As a large division with nearly 500 people, the First Investigation Division Chief has a Deputy Division Chief position below him. The Deputy Division Chief is the direct subordinate of the Division Chief and is usually held by a Superintendent. He usually performs the duties of the Division Chief when the Division Chief is absent or when he needs to handle matters on behalf of the Division Chief.

Among the three sections of the Criminal Investigation Department, only the deputy head of the First Investigation Section is a Superintendent.

The deputy head of the First Investigation Division is named Kenta Sawaguchi, and he is 55 years old.

I heard that this veteran detective thought he was going to become the section chief, but six months ago he was snatched away by Juro Tsuchiya, and now he's been beaten to it by a young man like Naoki Hanyu. So, in a fit of pique, he used up all twenty-plus days of his annual leave to go on vacation.

That's why, even at 55, he couldn't get the position of section chief, and he probably won't be able to advance any further before retirement.

As for the section chief assistant, she went on maternity leave last week, which lasted for 6 weeks before delivery and 8 weeks after delivery, a full three months.

No matter how compliant their reasons for taking leave were, the fact that these two people who were supposed to be assisting him were not around made Naoki Hanyu consider replacing them.

He won't be moving to the position of deputy section chief for the time being. As for the section chief's assistant, he plans to apply for two more positions from above. As for what to do when Inspector Takeuchi comes back from his leave, he doesn't mind having three assistants; it just depends on whether the General Affairs Department is willing.

After all, he was appointed section chief to enjoy solving major cases, not to waste time burying himself in these administrative documents.

He had to find someone, even if it meant using the police fund, to persuade the General Affairs Department to add two more section chief positions. As for the other section chiefs' objections, he didn't care.

Suddenly the door opened, and Mai Fujiwara walked in looking utterly hopeless, carrying a huge pile of documents, followed by Miyuki Kobayakawa with the same expression.

"Senior, I'm all done."

"Chief, I've already coordinated with the Second Investigation Division. There's a meeting for you in an hour."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Naoki Hanyu picked up the document and looked at it, then looked at Mai Fujiwara with disappointment. Miyuki Kobayakawa barely passed as the temporary assistant section chief, while Mai Fujiwara was simply not cut out for clerical work. This idiot even got the form wrong.

"Alright, Mai, put your things here and go rest. Kobayakawa, I'll have to be your temporary assistant for the next few days."

Fujiwara Mai fled the scene with a sense of relief; she was now part of the same faction, a subordinate of Akimoto Seiko.

(End of this chapter)