Fugaku took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in his chest, and turned his gaze toward Izumi, who was standing in the office looking completely at a loss.
"Uchiha Izumi."
"Here!!!"
Fugaku nearly jumped at the sheer volume of the young girl's shout. Keeping his face stern, he reminded her, "There's no need to be that loud."
Izumi's pretty face instantly flushed red with embarrassment.It was all thanks to Senior Chiquan's "training" — now, the moment she heard someone call her name, she responded with a conditioned reflex by shouting "Here!" as loud as she could, terrified that being even a second late would irritate him.
"I don't even know why Chiquan has such a problem with Itachi," Fugaku mused aloud. "Maybe their personalities just don't mesh?" Then he continued in a more serious tone: "You don't need to take what he just said to heart. I know you're one of Itachi's few friends, and right now… he really needs a friend by his side."
"Because…"
"His best friend is already gone."
Izumi knew exactly who the clan head was referring to when he said "Itachi's best friend."
Itachi had mentioned him before — in fact, more than once. And every single time that quiet, reserved boy brought up the name "Uchiha Shisui," he would suddenly become animated and talkative.
"Uchiha Izumi—"
"Here!!!"
Fugaku: "…"
Izumi: "…"
She clasped her hands in front of her, wishing she could crawl into a hole from the embarrassment, and quickly bowed in apology. "I'm so sorry!"
"Ahem."
Fugaku spoke with good intentions. "If… you feel that Uchiha Chiquan isn't suitable to be your evaluator, I can make some arrangements to help you get reassigned to someone more fitting."
He was genuinely worried this girl might be "harmed" by Chiquan.
Of course, not that kind of harm — not to her innocence — but the sort of harm that could end her life. Uchiha Chiquan had a precedent for that!
What he'd said earlier — that Izumi was one of Itachi's few friends — was actually a lie.
After Shisui's death… Itachi's only friend left was this girl, Uchiha Izumi.
Even though Fugaku had been strict — even harsh — with his son, and had done things in the past that nearly shattered their family bond in order to push Itachi to awaken his eyes, he still saw himself as a father.
And as a father… he felt he ought to think about his child's situation, even just a little.
Izumi blinked.
"Switch evaluators…?" She hesitated. Senior Chiquan did put her under enormous pressure, and if she slipped up even slightly, she'd get scolded until her ears burned.
But…
Clenching her teeth, Izumi looked up seriously. "Lord Fugaku, I joined the Police Force to become a qualified enforcer of the law! Senior Chiquan might be strict, but I believe he can train me into a competent, outstanding officer!"
"Even though today was my first time working with him, he's already taught me so much. Maybe what we need is just some time to adjust to each other."
She had never met anyone who clung to justice the way Uchiha Chiquan did.
Even if his methods were extreme…Even if he seemed to have some misunderstanding about Itachi…
He was still, without a doubt, a good man.
"I see…" Fugaku sighed. He had basically spelled it out for her, but if Izumi still insisted on following Chiquan, there was nothing more he could do. He could only offer one last warning: "Remember — never defy his orders. Treat him as your superior at all times."
"Yes, Lord Fugaku!" Izumi nodded solemnly.
The next day.
Izumi woke with shallow dark circles under her eyes, dragging herself out of bed with zero energy — she'd slept poorly. The night had been full of nightmares: over and over she saw the bodies of that criminal and that child, and in between she dreamed of Senior Chiquan berating her for an entire day without pause.
She had no idea how the Police Force dealt with the remains of both the victim and the criminal…
Nor could she imagine how the boy's mother must feel right now.
After all — her husband was dead, her child was dead. And worse, the child had died at the hands of the husband. It was too tragic for words.
Rubbing her eyes, she shook the messy thoughts from her mind, adjusted the sleepwear that had slipped off one shoulder in the night, and glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table.
And then she froze.
Her breath caught in her throat.
"Oh no!"
"N… Nine o'clock?! I'm screwed! I forgot to set my alarm last night! I didn't even remind Mom to wake me up!"
There was no time to change into her Police Force uniform, no time for breakfast — Izumi bolted for the door barefoot, her pale little face drained of all color.
And then…
She saw her mother, Uchiha Hazuki, standing at the doorway chatting with none other than her superior — Uchiha Chiquan.
A moment later, Chiquan's gaze turned in her direction.
Izumi suddenly had an absurd thought: If I just killed myself right now… maybe my corpse would look better than what's coming.
"Ah… Izumi, you're awake?" Her mother — still beautiful despite raising her daughter alone — gave her an apologetic smile. "When Lord Chiquan came to see you, I was going to wake you, but he told me not to. He said… he wanted to see how long you'd sleep."
Izumi went blank.
Her mind felt completely empty.
She thought she might not have much time left to live. She really should have listened to that other female Uchiha senior who told her to write a will in advance — it would have come in handy right about now.
"S… Senior…"
Her voice trembled.
Chiquan looked at the girl, whose spirit seemed to have dimmed completely under the weight of fear and helplessness, and said expressionlessly: "Go change your clothes. You're two hours late today. You'll work an extra four hours tonight, and for the rest of the month, all your weekends are canceled."
"Yes… eh?"
"…Huh?"
Izumi blinked in disbelief at the man who, according to other Police Force seniors, was practically the "Demon King who would kill a trainee without hesitation."
For a moment, it all felt unreal — like she was still dreaming.
"You thought I'd kill you. Didn't you?"
Izumi: "…"
There was no hiding her thoughts from this man.
Chiquan said flatly, "The day you betray justice, I will kill you without hesitation. For now, you have thirty seconds. If you're not standing in front of me by then, your evaluation will be marked as a fail, and you can crawl back into bed and sleep until tomorrow morning."
Izumi jolted like she'd been shocked.
"Yes, Senior!"
She spun around, slamming the door shut, stripping off her clothes as she ran. A storm of clack-clack-bang-bang sounds erupted from inside. At exactly twenty-nine seconds, a second-floor window flew open, and Izumi leapt out, landing steadily right in front of Uchiha Chiquan.
"Huff… huff…"
Her heart was pounding like crazy. Her Police Force uniform was crooked and twisted, as if she'd just thrown it on without thinking.
She stood cautiously beside Chiquan, head bowed, not daring to make a sound.
"Lord Chiquan, Izumi is a special child. Her personality is… different from other Uchiha in the clan. If she causes you trouble, please—"
Hazuki didn't get to finish before Chiquan cut her off: "I only care whether she can do her job properly. Let's go."
Izumi clutched the hem of her clothes and obediently followed behind.
That's when she noticed he was carrying something.
It looked like a takeout bag from Ichiraku Ramen.
"I don't have the habit of wasting food." Chiquan tossed it lightly toward her, and she scrambled to catch it.
Instantly, she remembered that yesterday he had told her they were supposed to meet at Ichiraku Ramen this morning.
Her eyes stung with shame.
"I'm sorry, Senior…" Her voice hitched slightly.
"Rookie, the reason you should be sorry is because your tardiness made justice late too."
Izumi drooped her head even lower, still holding the ramen bag.
"…Sorry."
(End of Chapter)