Fujino grabbed his wooden sword, slipped on the Vision Enhancement Glasses, and quietly exited the car, tailing the man who was leading little Yuta Ogawa away.
Before leaving his apartment, he'd prepared thoroughly for this confrontation. Besides the glasses, he clutched a Strength Boost Card in his left hand and a Perception Boost Card in his right.
The park was fragrant with flowers, bathed in the warm glow of dusk. It was mostly deserted, quiet and still – an ideal spot for, say, a murder.
"Wow! Thank you, mister!"
Beside a park bench, little Yuta knelt on the ground, excitedly tearing open a present.
"You're welcome..."
The man, Ogino, replied curtly, his voice strained. He shed his trench coat, revealing a fruit knife pulled from his pocket. His eyes, filled with simmering resentment, fixed on Yuta.
"Tomoya," he thought bitterly, "you must be so lonely over there... Don't worry, I'll send this little boy to keep you company soon..." He slowly raised the knife.
"That's far enough!"
Suddenly, a figure stepped between Ogino and the boy.
Wielding a wooden sword and wearing black-framed glasses, the newcomer's eyes held a sharp, piercing intensity.
Despite his lean build, there was an undeniable air of danger about him.
"Who the hell are you?!" Ogino snarled, glaring at Fujino.
"Get out of my way!"
Fujino raised his bokken, the wooden tip aimed steadily at Ogino's face.
"Are you really going to kill this innocent child?"
"I'm warning you, don't interfere!" Ogino tossed his coat aside.
"Or I'll kill you too!" He raised the fruit knife high and charged directly at Fujino.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're doing this to make his father pay, blood for blood, right?"
[Notice: Detective Time Activated. Countdown: 0:00:59]
The system prompt chimed.
"What?!" Ogino faltered mid-charge, stopping abruptly, staring at Fujino in shock.
"Two years ago, your son, Ogino Tomoya, died of untreated appendicitis," Fujino stated calmly, a slight curve to his lips.
"Unable to accept the grief of losing your child, you transferred all your hatred onto Dr. Ogawa."
"From that point on, you started sending the insurance money from Tomoya's death, along with his old toys, to Dr. Ogawa's son, Yuta... All leading up to today.
Two years later, the full insurance amount paid out, you intended to take Yuta's life, to make Dr. Ogawa feel the exact same pain you felt, when his son reached the same age yours was when he died!"
"How do you know all this?!" Ogino demanded, his voice rising hysterically.
"Who are you?!"
"My name is Fujino. I'm a detective!" As he spoke, Fujino activated his Detective Enhancement, simultaneously crushing both the Strength and Perception cards in his hands.
[Detective Enhancement Activated: +100%. Countdown: 0:01:59]
[Strength Boost Activated: +100%. Countdown: 0:00:59]
[Perception Boost Activated: +100%. Countdown: 0:00:59]
"I don't care if you're a detective or dog crap! You interfered! Now you die!" Ogino screamed, charging again, thrusting the fruit knife straight at Fujino's chest.
"Stubborn fool." Fujino scoffed.
His legs shifted, adopting a stance reminiscent of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. With tripled perception (base + card + glasses), Ogino's movements seemed incredibly slow, predictable.
The world narrowed. Ogino's lunge became a clear trajectory in Fujino's enhanced vision.
A simple sidestep. Ogino's knife stabbed empty air.
Fujino pivoted, raising his wooden sword with minimal effort, and brought it down sharply onto the weakest point of Ogino's wrist.
"Gah!" Ogino cried out, clutching his injured hand.
Fujino didn't let up. Spinning with the momentum, he swung the bokken like a mace, connecting solidly with Ogino's lower back.
Thump!
Ogino crumpled to the ground, groaning in agony.
"Don't you bully the nice mister!"
A small, indignant voice suddenly piped up nearby.
"Huh?" Fujino turned, surprised.
Little Yuta Ogawa stood there, hands on his hips, glaring accusingly at Fujino.
"Kid, that guy is the bad guy!" Fujino protested. "Didn't you see the knife?"
"The mister gave me fun toys! He can't be a bad guy!" Yuta declared with the unwavering conviction of childhood innocence.
Fujino was momentarily speechless. Seriously? Now I'm the bad guy?
"Tomoya..." Seeing Yuta defending him, tears welled up in Ogino's eyes. For a moment, he saw his own lost son standing there.
"Mister! Why are you crying?" Yuta started walking towards Ogino.
"Don't go near him! It's dangerous!" Fujino quickly scooped Yuta up, keeping his bokken trained on Ogino.
"Let me go, mean big brother! You're hurting the nice mister!" Yuta struggled and yelled.
Fujino sighed in exasperation. Why can't this kid tell good from bad...? Do I really look like a villain?
"No!" Ogino sobbed, kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
"It's my fault! I'm the bad guy..."
"I knew from the beginning... Tomoya didn't die because of the surgery..." he choked out between sobs.
"I just... I just couldn't..."
"You just couldn't accept the cruel reality," Fujino finished gently, kicking the fruit knife further away.
He walked over and placed a hand on Ogino's trembling shoulder.
"Reality is harsh, difficult to accept..."
"But that's no reason to inflict the same heartbreak on someone else, someone innocent."
As Ogino wept, consumed by grief and remorse, the commission was successfully resolved.
In the end, Dr. Ogawa chose not to press charges against Ogino for the attempted kidnapping. Fujino respected his client's decision. After all, he was just a detective, paid to do a job.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Fujino leaned against his Ford Taurus, richer by 650,000 yen (600k protection fee + 50k car repair).
He glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
"Do I really look like a bad guy?[1]" he muttered.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought.
Just then, a series of system notifications chimed:
[Commission Complete! Detective Reputation +50. Current Reputation: 150.
(50 remaining for Rank Up)]
[Swordsman Rank Up: Intermediate!]
[Congratulations Host! New Swordsman Class Skill Acquired: Sword Soldier!]
"Swordsman leveled up already?" Fujino blinked, surprised by the rapid advancement.
[1] Hmm...