Life Will Change Book 2

Chapter 28: Accidental Intrusion

Begin

~Normal POV

They left Sapporo right away. Zenkichi took the wheel as promised, while Akira chose to sit up front with him. One might call him paranoid, but he simply had to keep an eye on the inspector. It was a simple precaution to ensure they were going the right way. As an added bonus, it allowed Makoto to relax in the back with everyone else. Akira was relaxing in the passenger seat while reading, and Makoto was the only one in the back who was still awake.

Zenkichi glanced at Akira as he drove. "...You gonna get some sleep?"

"Reading relaxes me," Akira replied, softly.

"Our leader is quite the bibliophile." Makoto said, smirking a bit. "If he wants to stay up late with a book, not even Ann can change his mind."

Zenkichi nodded. "I see..."

"Um, Hasegawa-san, are you alright?" Makoto asked, "You've been driving for a while and if you want I can take over..."

Zenkichi chuckled. "I'm fine- you just get some sleep. We've still got a long way to go."

Akira looked up from his page. "I like to know that people are feeling their best on the job. You sure you're ok, inspector?"

"You kids don't need to be worrying over an adult like that. This is nothing for me." Zenkichi replied, smiling. He seemed grateful for their concern regardless.

"Well ok... But you are an excellent driver." Makoto complimented. "The car tends to shake a lot more when I'm behind the wheel."

"I may not look it, but I used to patrol in a squad car," Zenkichi said, "Driving's second nature to me at this point."

It was only after the words were out that he realized his mistake. He noticed Akira move a bit in discomfort, but his eyes never left the page he was reading; to give the illusion that it hadn't bothered him.

"...Sorry..." Zenkichi said, quickly. "Shouldn't have said that-"

"Ahem, no- no..." Akira replied, casually. "It's, uh, fine... It's part of the job..." He glanced at the inspector. "Hard to imagine you as a patrol officer, though."

Zenkichi looked a tad relieved. He truly didn't enjoy angering Akira, or making him uneasy. "Oh, it's the truth. I did it every day. Back when I manned the police boxes."

"Is it tough...?" Makoto asked. "Being police?"

"Hell yeah it is. Oh, right- you're studying to become some police bigwig aren't you, Niijima?"

"Yes, I want to be a police commissioner."

"Heh, second in command of the Phantom Thieves and she wants to be a cop. What's your take on that?" Zenkichi asked.

"It's her dream." Akira replied, simply. "And an admirable one. She's somebody who wants to fix the corruption in the force. And I support her on that. Besides, we'll all be long retired by the time she gets there." Makoto smiled appreciatively at his words.

"So you support your friend's dream even if it bothers you personally? That's... really nice, Kurusu..." Zenkichi paused before adding. "However, Niijima, I wouldn't really recommend joining the force. This job's nothing but hell. Your hours are a mess, you get transferred all over the place... Anything goes down at the scene, you get blamed."

"That may be so, but my heart's set on it. No matter how tough it may be," Makoto replied, confidently.

"She'll do great." Akira added, supportively.

"Thank you, Akira."

Zenkichi smiled a bit. These two had such a strong bond of trust and genuine friendship that not even her joining the force would stop them from supporting each other.