Kurusu Keigo walked in wearing his blue jacket and pants. The lighting was dim. His red tie hung loose over his white shirt. He sighed when he sat down. It had been another long day. One of too many. He was not able to spend enough time with his son, but there was nothing he could do about that. Now more than ever, he had to stay focused on the job. Not only were the crime rates in Sakurami City escalating, but there were murderers and terrorists tipping the scales against the law.
He looked to his right, and there was a grey-haired man, hunched forward in his seat, elbows on the table. The man's forehead rested heavily against his clasped hands. Then, as though perceiving that he was being watched, the figure turned his head. His eyes flashed towards him, but they were unfocused, just vaguely aimed in his general direction. Now his temple was resting against his hands.
Kurusu heard a voice, and he looked away.
"I'll have the usual," he answered, casually.
"And I will just be drinking tap water, miss," the stranger next to him said.
Kurusu looked forward, at the bottles on display. "He goes to a bar and gets tap water…" He glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye. "And he comes here alone, probably looking to be the driver for some young woman… How convenient for him, to be the sober chauffer of some inebriated woman. The type to take advantage of someone like that… That's pretty desperate."
The man next to him cleared his throat. "You can meet a lot of interesting people at bars, like this one. Nearly everyone in Japan drinks. It is a means of celebrating success and cheering to the future. A place like this brings out the best in some people, but it also brings out the worst. When you sit next to someone at random, you have to wonder: which type is this? Is this someone who drinks for fun, or someone who to their own misery?"
Kurusu chuckled. It was such a strange thing for someone to say to a stranger. It hardly seemed like a proper way to begin a conversation, but he knew it would be even more awkward if he did not properly respond. "I can't afford to lose my cool over something so little as a drink," Kurusu explained. "And as for my behavior, you can trust me more than anyone else in this place. I'm with the Sakurami Police Department." He pulled out his badge and presented it for the stranger, who looked on at it disinterestedly. It would not hurt to at least introduce himself. "My name is Kurusu Keigo. So you don't have to worry about which type I am."
The stranger muttered, "So, either a messenger of the law, or a merchant who sells only fraudulent justice…"
Kurusu, having caught only half of that, tilted his head. "Hm?"
"I think he's trying to call your character into question. He's also doing it in a very clever way."
The police chief turned around, to look at speaker to his left. Sitting next to him was someone in a big brown coat, with a hood up. He was wearing what was clearly to Kurusu a fake mustache. He was able to get a good glance of this second stranger, and he noticed that he had a young face—a face that matched the voice. He could be no more than 15.
"Aren't you a little young to be in a bar?" Kurusu asked. He shrugged a second later and then gave the boy a slap on the shoulder. The police chief laughed a little and said, "Don't worry, I won't bust you this time. I've got bigger things to worry about than a kid having a drink. Just don't do anything stupid, and my lips are sealed."
The stranger to his right piped up, "You sound very busy, yet you took the time to be here tonight!"
Kurusu nodded. He was about to speak, when they received their drinks. The boy to his left said that he wanted "whatever he's having," gesturing towards Kurusu. "That's pretty strong," the officer said, in a respectful tone. "What's your name, kid?"
The boy, clearly trying to sound older, assumed a deeper voice and answered, "I'm hardly going to tell you my real name, given this situation we're in… I don't want to put you in an even deeper bind to take me in, and I also have no intentions of leading myself to my own arrest. You can simply call me 'A,' if you please, at least for the purpose of this conversation."
Kurusu nodded and then looked expectantly to his right. For a while, there was no response. "And you?" Kurusu asked, hoping that would send the message to the grey-haired man.
"Yomotsu HIrasaka," he answered. "And, while I have your attention, I don't agree with what you're suggesting to this young man…"
K: Oh? What don't you agree with?
Y: You're making an exception for him. True justice does not make exceptions! Every instance of injustice is a stain on the world and ought to be dealt with accordingly.
K: Look, like I said, there's bigger things to worry about. When I was a kid, my dad would always drink with me. I can't come down on this kid for doing something normal… At least, not while I'm off duty. I'm not going to go out of my way here.
Y: A true hero must always be on duty.
K: Haha, who said anything about being a hero?
Y: You're not a villainous disciple of evil, are you!?
A: I think he was merely suggesting he is more than just one-sided.
K: More of a neutral agent, I'd say.
Y: There are some things one cannot be a neutral agent about!
K: I have to agree with you, but that doesn't change the fact that there are still some things that one can be neutral about. Whether or not some junior high school student is having a drink at a bar is of so little importance to me right now, when there are dangerous men on the street.
Y: And there are also innocent men out there, being treated like they are criminals!
K: Hm?
A: I feel like you have someone specifically in mind.
Y: Are you aware of the masked vigilante known as the 12th?
A: Of course.
K: Yeah. The guy's a laughingstock of the whole department.
Y: A laughingstock!? He is a hero of justice!
A: I definitely think he has the right intentions, but he just looks so suspicious. It's hard to take him seriously. One should be more covert. The way he does things, it looks like he's just trying to show off.
K: He should just leave law enforcement to the experts. We may not be as flashy—
Y: Or as handsome!
K: —but we know what we are doing.
A: For the most part.
K: Heh. We're only human. There's also not nearly enough of us to keep up.
A: A detective's work is never done…
Y: That's why the 12th is there to help!
A: But there really is a lot the police can't do.
K: I'm always open to new ideas.
A: Well, I'm not sure how to say this without putting myself in a bad position here, but I think sometimes one has to go beyond the law to do the right thing. Even peaceful revolutions have to break laws.
Y: The means and the ends must both be righteous, or the deed will be for naught. If you trace the small evils, they manifest into greater calamity down the line. In fact, observe closely the average fiend: their path is littered with "small" misdeeds!
A: But not all laws are good. Would you say that disobeying a bad law is good?
Y: Hmm… That is a great question!
K: The boy has you there.
Y: But if it is a bad law, it is not really a law at all… The law can only be good… True law is undeniably just. Anything else is an imposter and should be revealed for the evil it is.
A: What if that puts you in a bad spot with the enforcers of said bad law?
Y: Another wonderful question! Well…
K: I'll answer for you: you just stick with the law and keep mindin' your own business.
A: Haha. It would make sense for you to say that.
K: But between you and me, whatever gets the job done is good enough. I know that sounds kinda bad, but when you're there, in the moment, facing real crime, you don't have time to measure out the means and ends. You just have to act, because the biggest crime is to hesitate and let the bad guys come out on top. We're here to make sure people are safe, above all else.
A: A valid point.
Y: That sounds just fine, but when you look at your words carefully, they are very thin and superficial! An enforcer of the law without a solid foundation of a moral code is like icing without a cake—all sweetness, no substance. A shaky hand can't draw up a blueprint of a just world. You think that doing good is all about acting—why, that is the result—but the truly righteous act can only be done by one who himself is truly righteous! The evil masquerade with veils of good intentions, but the cries of their victims cry out under their ethos! People are too busy chattering about nonsense to merely listen to the truth. The young man is right—the police here do not go far enough! However, this is not because they are too bound by the law. It is because they do not observe the true law enough! The reason our crime rates are climbing, I suspect, has more to do with inner corruption than anything else!
K: You don't even know the half of what you're accusing. It's easy for anyone on the outside to criticize us like that and come up with all sorts of unfounded theories, but all it is in the end is just that—a bunch of useless remarks from people who probably wouldn't be alive if we weren't risking our skins every day we're on the job.
A: That's both true and false. We can't all be police officers, no more than can we all be any one particular vocation. However, most of us are able to empathize to some degree, so we can suppose ourselves in the shoes of another. And we all also have a role in society that, to some degree, requires some involvement and interest in what sort of laws we shall have and how we shall enforce them. We can't all be law enforcers, no, but we most certainly are all free to express concerns. You can't claim your position so unknowable to us any more than I can claim that neither of you know what life is truly like for me, because neither of you can be a junior high school student.
K: But we both were, once.
A: But that was a long time ago for you, Kurusu—no offense. That's beside my point, regardless.
Y: But how much can anyone truly know what another's life is really like?
K: [groans] Not this kind of conversation… I came here to drink, not to listen to nonsense. That kind of thinking won't get you answers.
A: But at least he's thinking about these things critically—that's better than just going with the flow and accepting whatever may come. That can lead to some bad actions and, unfortunately, a total ignorance of one's own errors.
K: What are you implying?
Y: I think he's implying that you're failing to realize the importance of perfecting oneself!
A: Well met, Yomotsu. That's precisely what I'm getting at.
K: Kid, I've given up trying to be perfect a long time ago. I'd expect such fantasy from someone your age, but Yomotsu, do you really believe that?
Y: Too many people walk this world blind. They live life without realizing the evil that is within and around them. Before one takes up the mask, or badge, one has to first own up to that symbol. One must become the justice he wishes to perpetuate. If the future he wishes to create must rock, he must rock as well! And by perfecting oneself, a task some foolishly think is impossible, a perfect hero can always know that he will succeed in continuing justice! The imperfect hero, at some point, must realize that he is not up to par and must accept his defeat as a sign of a greater, over-arching justice. Sometimes the machinations of righteousness are impossible to discern, no matter how hard we squint. Some are born with good vision, and others less. The seeing must help the blind see, but some refuse to see—and those who shut their eyes should be led to their inevitable defeat!
K: Become perfect? There isn't even such a thing as "perfect." You're talking in absolute terms, like everyone else in the world sees things the way you do. That isn't right at all. Good and bad are subjective, in the end. Your idealism is a form of escapism. You can't handle the idea of their being anything in this world you consider evil, so you find a way to boost up your own idea of justice. You take your personal view and make it into this great force of unseen power, as the true justice. It's sort of like religion.
A: Haha, I thought you were the one suggesting we shouldn't talk about things that can't be answered!
Y: My justice knows no power higher than Righteousness. Such power guides the hand of fate and delivers sinners into destruction! What say you, Kurusu?
K: Hmph. Either there is no god, or he seriously doesn't care about the mess of a world he's created. The whole world is chaotic—and senseless, at that. I see all the crime in this city, and in that crime, I don't see any "divine hand" at work. I see murder, vandalism, rape, theft, and all kinds of devilish things. So maybe there's a devil, but the one who cast him down—that's the one I'd blame. If there's a devil, at least this world would have a master. But the way I see it, even that's unlikely. What's more chaotic—a kingdom of chaos, or an anarchy of chaos? Whichever one that is, that's the one we've been left with.
A: We're somewhere stuck between Elysium and Tartarus, but unable to see clearly which is which. And if there's a prince of darkness, you'd be the morning star?
K: I'd be asking why I am escaped alone to tell thee.
A: I think you're problems are self-induced.
K: You really do think you can put yourself in my shoes… You hardly fit into your own yet.
Y: Let the young man speak! I am curious as to what he has to say about you.
K: I'm sure you are. But just wait until he starts targeting you…
A: I'm not trying to target anyone. In fact, I hope this conversation helps all three of us immensely. Now, all I meant was that it seems like your pitfall is of your own making. You are so certain of yourself, in your position in society, that you feel as though you don't have to think about your actions seriously. Because you have the title of being the chief of police, you think you don't have to listen to anyone—even yourself—when it comes to the law, because no one could possibly know the law better then you. You are right, in a sense. You should know more than anyone else. But that's not the impression, I'm getting.
K: You don't know me at all.
A: True, I don't. I will give you that. So, before this conversation is taken down with personal, uneducated remarks—
K: Which is almost all this conversation has been, so far.
A: Ahem. I'd like to say that I think there likely is a god. It's just a feeling I have. I know that isn't much for valid evidence. A detective should always look for something more concrete than that, but this is all I have, this feeling. But whether he's good or bad, I don't know. I believe we all have free will, though. If the god has bad intentions, he is not worth obeying. And even if we can't possibly beat the god, I would still fight. The individual responsibility to do the right thing and find the certain truth is of the highest importance to me. And whatever supernatural elements exist in the world, I'm much more interested in people and in conversations like this. It is in settings like this, between people like us, that the future can really change.
K: …So, a cop, a fanatic, and a junior high school student drinking in a bar are capable of changing the future?
A: I can hardly think of a better group that could.
Y: Maybe two or three dedicated truly to the cause of justice could do better!
A: But varying viewpoints are so fascinating, aren't they? We find the truth better when together with opposites. I always find it interesting how we often are attracted to those unlike ourselves. The reserved loves the impulsive, and the defender loves the aggressor.
K: But, back on topic… Yomotsu, do you really believe that the righteous always win?
Y: It is undeniable.
K: But doesn't that seem… Just a touch naïve? Look at history. Dictators and murderers have gone unpunished. To put it in your terms: if the righteous always win, why is there so much injustice that is able to survive?
Y: That is because there is more injustice than justice. There are too few working for the cause. There are too few who care to do anything! If more took up the mantle of righteousness, evildoers would face everlasting defeat! As it stands, the few true heroes are trying to pick up the slack of a careless system of law enforcement that cares more about reputation than truly serving the cause of eternal justice.
A: So, then, you agree that justice does not naturally occur by default. Something must be done to ensure that the good side wins. I agree.
Y: That is not what I am saying! There is no possibility of evildoers winning.
A: But, given what you said and given history, I can't help but disagree… Unless you think even that isn't looking far enough into the general scheme of the universe?
K: I think he really believes that, in the distant end, the good have to win. That there is an end.
Y: Of course there is! That is what I—rather, the 12th—is working towards! If it were not for that beautiful end, it would all be for naught.
A: Wouldn't the fact that the good deeds are being done be enough to make it all worth it?
Y: Nothing comes close to the promise of true justice prevailing.
A: You see much more preoccupied with winning than with the actual good that would result…
K: In short, you're farsighted.
A: I don't like labels. They tend to divide us, rather than bring us towards a common goal.
K: I feel as though, you've labeled me more than enough…
A: Haha, maybe I have. But, unlike Yomotsu here, I don't believe anyone can be perfect.
K: Well, to sort of explain a little how I feel about that… Maybe I didn't make myself clear. Of course I believe that we should try to be the best we can be. But we just can't always do the right thing.
A: We only have this one life, though, and there are no second chances.
K: You don't believe in reincarnation, huh? I'm not sure if I do, but I like the idea.
A: I think resurrection is too good to be true.
K: And you, Yomotsu?
The grey-haired man was looking towards the door. An older gentleman was guiding a woman out. He grabbed at her arm, and she tried to pry his grip loose. They went out the door together, but the woman seemed quite uncertain and agitated. A knife had been at her throat, in broad view of anyone in the bar observant enough to notice. Observant, in this case, of course meant either totally sober or able to really handle his drink well. All at once, Yomotsu, Kurusu, and Akise rose from their seats.
"I must be going now," Yomotsu sang, in a higher pitched voice than before.
"It is getting pretty late," Kurusu said quickly.
"Past my curfew, surely," Akise commented.
They each looked at one another. They each gave a bow of their heads and, one immediately after the other, passed through the doors out of the bar. Yomotsu immediately whirled around the building, and all that could be heard by passersby was something about a "transformation." Kurusu ran straight ahead, to his vehicle, and put on the police sirens. He intended to make a pursuit. Akise, for his part, calmly proceeded to follow the man and woman, observing from a safe distance.
So it was that all three of them were out of the building when, just ten minutes later, the Sakurami City Mayor, a dog breeder, and a five year old would meet in the bar to discuss politics and business ethics.
This story is based largely on Peter Kreeft's Between Heaven and Hell. The characters featured in this one-shot belong to Sakae Esuno's Mirai Nikki, a work I think has both significant entertainment appeal and potential for significant thought and reflection. I own nothing but the computer that typed this up. Thanks for reading, and please post a review, even if you just wanna say "i hate u" (and, now that I said that, I know some of you that would just do that— I am looking straight at you, Lauren). BUT REALLY ANY FEEDBACK WOULD BE NICE PLEASE AND THANK