Kidnapper Kidnapped Kidnapper 3

Kogoro only walked around the park once before he saw a man wearing a baseball hat and jacket, jeans, sneakers, and a pair of sunglasses, get out of a car.

The shady man was carrying a big bag, enough to fit a person inside. Kogoro could see the slight twitch the bag made, and he sighed in relief.

'At least she was alive!'

Kogoro knew how uncomfortable she must have felt and how little air she could breathe, given the material of the bag.

'We must do it fast, then.'

At his signal, the two police officers toned down their acting, and readied themselves for a confrontation.

The nervous Mr. Tani was trembling, his previous excitement turned into dread the moment he saw the kidnapper of his daughter.

"H-here! I have the money! J-just let my Akiko  go!" Shaking, he held out the suitcase in his hands, and the man bent down to check the contents.

Before he could open the case, Kogoro already exploded into motion. He flung his walking stick, and it struck true!

Kogoro's explosive power made the man hit by the stick fall over in pain. He clutched his head, copious amounts of blood poured out of the wound.

Officer Sato reacted a second later, running to the man and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

She barked at her still frozen fellow officer. "Chiba! What are you doing, staying still like that!?"

Officer Chiba came back to his senses, and ran towards them, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, Sato-san! I just didn't expect Mouri-san to throw the stick like that…"

At that, the two officers looked over to the approaching form of Kogoro, amazement clear in their eyes.

"You secured him already, Sato-keiji? Nice, as expected of our police force!" Kogoro complemented Officer Sato with a nonchalant smile on his face, while indirectly scolding Officer Chiba for his late reaction.

Kogoro then opened the bag the suspect was carrying, and sure enough, Akiko Tani was asleep now. He looked over his shoulder, and called the worried father.

"Tani-san, your daughter is safe now!"

Mr. Tani just broke down crying, his relief of finally getting his daughter back was unlike anything he ever felt. Kogoro could do nothing but place his hand on the man's shoulder, while feeling a surprising relief from solving the case.

'Maybe because I'm also a Dad? No matter how unconventional my relationship with my daughter is, I still love her like any father would to their daughter.'

Kogoro then called Inspector Megure, while Officer Sato and Officer Chiba do a primary treatment to the bleeding culprit.

"Hello, Megure-keibu! We caught him!... Yes…"

***

After the call, all of them went to the police station for their interview. Kogoro did his quickly, and he also submitted his deduction to the System at the same time.

"...so the man we just arrested, Mr. Hanzawa, was a relative of Mr. Asou. He had incidentally heard Miss Akiko and Mr. Asou discussed the details of the fake kidnapping plan, and offered to help them with their plan. Not knowing his bad intention, the two agreed, and did as they planned before. But when Mr. Asou relayed the demand, Mr. Hanzawa revealed his true color by changing the release term. Knowing that Miss Akiko was in trouble, Mr. Asou went to the hotel where she stayed, and was ambushed by Mr. Hanzawa. The rest, as we know it, is history."

[Ding!]

[Quest: Kidnapped Kidnapper has been completed! Obtaining reward: Stat-Stat Fruit (1x)]

Kogoro took the glass of water provided for him. He took a sip, and placed the glass back on the table.

"I'm afraid I have to leave first, I still have some business to attend to!"

When he heard the other party's confirmation, Kogoro slightly bowed to all the people in the room, and walked out of the police station feeling like he lost a few pounds.

'Man, that conversation is more draining on my stamina than a couple of rounds with my girls!'

Kogoro stretched his whole body, thinking out loud.

"Should I call for a taxi, or should I just have someone pick me up?..."

From behind, a voice interrupted his pondering. "Mouri-san?"

Kogoro smiled, before he schooled his expression, and turned around, "Sato-keiji?"

His surprised tone almost fooled himself too. 'What a talent. This bro should be out there acting in movies!'

"You need a ride, Mouri-san? Let me drive you home then, I also have something to talk with you about!" Kogoro could see a smile when she offered that.

"You sure? Well, if it's not a problem, then who am I to deny a free ride from a beautiful woman like you?"

Officer Sato's smile grew wider at his response.

"Let's go to the parking lot then! I have so many questions I wanted to ask you. Like, how can you throw that walking stick so hard? And from that distance, how can you be sure it will hit? And…"

Officer Sato's questions sounded more like a buzzing bee to his ears.

Kogoro ruefully shook his head, and bopped the tip of her nose to stop her from speaking.

"So, about that ride?"

Officer Sato turned pink when she realized they were still standing in front of the station.

"Sorry, I'm just fascinated by your strength! My goal is to become a role model for female police officers, so when I saw something as amazing as what you did, I couldn't help myself… you know…"

She trailed off, embarrassed that she was about to start another rant.

Kogoro just laughed louder, before he hugged her to his side as they walked to the parking lot. "You are definitely an interesting woman! If you want to become stronger, then you can train with me!"

She glowed with interest, but Kogoro wasn't done, "But! Only if you can keep up with me! Understand?"

Officer Sato nodded furiously, her interest did not decrease despite his warning.

"Oh right, where's your car again?"

She looked around, and palmed her forehead. Kogoro let out an even louder laugh. "You forgot, didn't you?"

At that, all she could do was meekly nodded her head in shame.

~To Be Continued~

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