Chapter Nineteen: Candidates for Leave

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As Shiraishi continued to push, kick, and throw people aside, Tora Murasaki suddenly made a move—an attack from behind! Of course, Shiraishi had anticipated this all along, even deliberately leaving an opening in tacit agreement with Murasaki.

It appeared as if, seizing a moment when Shiraishi was distracted, Murasaki fiercely pressed the riot fork against Shiraishi’s right knee, locking it in place.

Normally, a riot fork is intended to restrain the waist or abdomen, but Murasaki had a clear understanding. Even with the tacit understanding they shared, Shiraishi would only feign vulnerability; it was impossible to rely purely on acting. With the chief’s strength, restraining his waist with a riot fork was simply unthinkable.

In fact, it was even more exaggerated than Murasaki had imagined. Despite giving his all and using the momentum, he rammed directly into the back of the chief’s knee, yet the chief only slightly bent his knee and immediately stabilized his stance.

Fortunately, Murasaki had not been completely caught off guard and had instructed Yamada correctly.

With Shiraishi’s right knee slightly loosened, he naturally countered with a spinning left rear elbow strike—an elbow strike combined with a twisting waist force. If Shiraishi hadn’t noticed Yamada rushing in with a riot shield, he wouldn’t have counterattacked this way. Otherwise, Murasaki might have been sidelined for days.

Bang—

Yamada dashed forward to block, feeling as though he had been hit by a small vehicle, without the force one would expect against a carbon-based life form. However, since his grip was proper and he skillfully angled the riot shield to the side, although he was knocked back with his arm pressed tightly against his chest and winded, he was uninjured.

Unbeknownst to him, this was also Shiraishi’s encouragement—at the last moment, he had subtly adjusted the angle of the elbow strike to make the block more effective.

Still, Yamada collided with Murasaki, and both were knocked back. Meanwhile, Minamoto moved in with perfect timing, swinging a riot baton toward Shiraishi’s waist during the brief moment when Shiraishi had not yet fully turned.

Minamoto wielded a long riot baton, which was more suited for stabbing, slashing, and hooking motions. Short riot batons were typically paired with riot shields—one hand holding a shield, the other a baton—while long batons were carried by designated officers. These officers formed a trio with others holding riot shields and riot forks. The baton’s direct offensive power was limited, even less so than a security baton, primarily used to interfere with opponents and create openings for the riot fork.

Most officers previously wielding long riot batons had been caught by Shiraishi, who either seized the baton or flung them aside, serving as a perfect catalog of common mistakes.

Now, Minamoto finally recalled the proper use of the long baton. At the same time as Shiraishi’s left rear elbow strike, his right side was necessarily exposed—after all, he was human and couldn’t sprout an extra hand. Minamoto’s baton was about to hook the towel hanging from Shiraishi’s waist.

However, as Murasaki fell to the ground after being knocked back by Yamada, he caught a glimpse of Shiraishi’s lower stance and grimaced—strong body aside, his martial prowess was truly formidable. To react in such a way under these circumstances, was he even human?

Indeed, as the left rear elbow struck, Shiraishi adjusted his stance, adopting a left-front, right-rear three-sevenths stance, even as his right knee wavered from the impact.

Though different from karate’s “kutsuri” stance, the principle was the same, and Murasaki instantly recognized its meaning.

From Minamoto’s perspective, his eyes were fixed on the tip of the long baton, prepared to hook and lift the towel. Yet the last inch seemed eternal—the chief’s waist suddenly moved backward at the exact speed Minamoto had charged forward. The three-sevenths stance, known for its rapid initiation in offense and defense, could just as easily launch a backward dodge.

Exerting all his strength, Minamoto made a desperate hook but only barely grazed the towel, failing to pull it free.

At that moment, Fujisaki Seiko suddenly charged in, grabbing Shiraishi’s arm that had just delivered the elbow strike, preventing him from regaining posture. Using his momentum, she leapt and forcefully swept her left foot behind Shiraishi’s calf—a classic judo ouchi gari throw.

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Yet Shiraishi’s physique made it impossible to execute a standard judo sweep by grabbing both arms or the upper garment. Fujisaki seemed to be hanging on Shiraishi’s body, her two hands desperately holding only one arm.

Judo, renowned for its ability to leverage small against large, is indeed adept at such techniques. However, Fujisaki’s textbook ouchi gari only partially hooked Shiraishi’s arm, and her heel swept against his calf, only to feel as if she had kicked a wall of soft rubber—he didn’t budge an inch.

Fujisaki: ???

She had anticipated failure, but not that his balance would remain entirely intact.

Meanwhile, Kawai, who had been instructed moments before, rushed forward wielding a T-shaped baton, aiming a forceful jab toward Shiraishi’s side to further unbalance him.

But this was not as planned.

Because Fujisaki was still hanging off Shiraishi and hadn’t shaken him, Kawai risked stabbing her instead.

Though these police tools are generally safe, made from non-rigid materials to prevent fatal or serious injuries, being jabbed unprepared would still cause some minor harm.

Seeing this, Shiraishi quickly changed tactics, transforming the strike into a grab and shielding Fujisaki to the opposite side.

However, Kawai panicked and stumbled, tripping herself to the ground.

“Ah!”

Startled, Kawai instinctively reached out and—

Whoosh—

Her hand caught a towel and pulled it free.

“Ouch!” Kawai exclaimed, surprised to find she was holding something after falling.

Shiraishi, Fujisaki, Murasaki, and the others: …

“Eh? Eh, eh, eh!” Kawai held the towel in her hand.

“Chief Fujisaki! We did it!” Kawai immediately celebrated.

Fujisaki: …

Originally a bit embarrassed, Fujisaki realized the chief had deliberately feigned vulnerability to protect her from injury. Moreover, Kawai’s fall was entirely unexpected by the chief, which allowed her to snag the towel.

Just then, cheers erupted as a group of officers rushed forward, lifting Kawai in celebration.

“Success!”

“Someone got the towel!”

“We beat the chief!”

“Well… can this really be called a victory?”

…

Though Kawai hadn’t claimed the “paid leave towel” herself, it was at least a result.

Shiraishi, catching his breath, said, “Alright, that’s enough for today… One successful challenge each! Seems you all have some skill with police gear after all. But… no wonder you rank so low in the metropolitan area—you still need much practice!”

“Kawai, you’re on duty tomorrow at the 5-Chome intersection police box, right?” Shiraishi was, of course, fulfilling his promise.

However, Fujisaki and Igasaki, the head of the 5-Chome police box, immediately exchanged uneasy glances. When Fujisaki and Kawai had planned this, they hadn’t thought much about it, driven only by their desire to win. Now, thinking carefully…

If Kawai took the day off, it would mean the chief, Fujisaki, and Igasaki themselves would be on duty—possibly even Fujisaki patrolling alongside the chief!

That would be no different from enduring a day-long inspection by leadership—three times as exhausting as a regular shift!

Fujisaki and Igasaki instantly looked at Kawai…

[Please, I just want to slack off quietly. Please don’t let the chief come over. This is my lifelong plea!] Igasaki’s overwhelming desire was so strong it seemed to telepathically reach Kawai’s mind.

“Well, um…” Kawai’s gaze flickered nervously.

“You cannot break your promise, refusal is not allowed!” Shiraishi emphasized.

“Oh, right! This is the result of all our efforts, or rather…” Kawai said, glancing at Minamoto and Yamada.

But the two also realized the flaw—only one towel was snatched. If anyone took leave, their partner would be stuck shadowing the chief all day tomorrow.

Seeing both shake their heads slightly, Kawai quickly said, “Still, the deputy chief deserves the most credit! This towel should belong to the deputy chief!”

At that moment, Kawai marveled at her own emotional intelligence.

Murasaki no longer demurred and calmly said, “Well then, chief, it’s your problem… My main duty tomorrow is, of course, to train another group of officers in arrest techniques. Since you helped out today, I’ll lend a hand tomorrow, too. Ha ha ha…”

“Then I look forward to it,” Shiraishi said to Murasaki.

Indeed, each officer must train once a week, so Murasaki would naturally have to instruct for at least two days, since someone must always be on duty during training.

Everyone: …

Seeing the smiles of the chief and deputy chief, it felt like Shiraishi was the only one who truly got beaten today…

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