Superintendent Toji Samezaki awakens the next day. He checks his alarm, slides his legs out of bed and sits himself up. Standing in front of the mirror, he checks himself and stretches his arms out making an audible cracking noise. Now in his early fourties, he was becoming more conscious of his health, despite appearing in great shape.
He did some stretches and adjusted his posture, before putting on his clothes and checking what breakfast Yoshimi – his only daughter – left for him.
"Yoshimi?" Toji called out to no answer. She must have left for work early he thought to himself.
Settling down to breakfast, he turned on the radio and tuned into the usual morning report which drained out in the background. He stared intently at the cereal box reading through the nutritional labels and ingredients list searching for something to focus on whilst spooning food into his mouth when his phone rang.
He picked up his phone and checked the caller ID, "Oh shit, it's Heizo" he thought to himself.
"Hey Hattori, what's going on man?"
From the other line, an Osakan dialect spoke out from the speakers "Toji! Lads an' I are heading down to Edo. Ya down ta meet at noon?"
Toji's eyes lit up and he straightened himself in excitement "You're coming down to Tokyo? Yes, I'll be free. What are you here for?"
"We're down here fer a case, something crossed the border ya know how it is. Anyway, toss the Shinai in the car"
Toji let out a slight gasp "Spot of Kendo tonight Hattori?"
"Yeah thassit! I gotta go, I'll call ya later. See ya around"
Toji hangs up the phone and tips the bowl into his mouth, quickly finishing off the leftovers. He burps, and turns his head to the storage room, hauling out a box of Kendo equipment and places it by the door.
Brandishing his training sword – a wooden dachi or longsword – he enters a fighting stance and looks at himself in the mirror.
"Still got it" he thinks to himself, and puts the sword away. He gets dressed, tucks his kendo crates into the back of the car and drives to the police station.
The police station was emptier than usual. As Toji signed off on his morning shift, he noticed the sign-in sheet was suspiciously shorter than previous entries. Names that always arrived before he did were missing.
"Was there a purge of lawmen recently?" he cracked to the receptionist.
"Nah, after that… case… you know the one with the little girl? Sato, Megure, and Morimura called in their sick days. I heard Sato is down at the hospital keeping her company"
Toji puffed up his mouth and blew out hot air "Pfoo… What a mess… Right, put me down as being busy"
"Hold on. We're a bit short staffed today Toji are you su-"
"No can do" Toji interrupted, grinning, and walking backwards away from the desk "I got a case with Hattori from the Osaka Police department, count me out"
He heads into the office and lounges at his desk until the chief arrives in the station.
"Our long lost leader! Good morning chief"
Chief Momota turned to Toji and smiled "Oh if it isn't the old shark of the station. Which responsibilities are you going to sham yourself out of today?"
"Ah eat a dick chief, you know damn well I've paid my price and worked damn hard for two decades. Hattori from Osaka is coming over for a joint operation and I'm helping him"
Momota rolled his eyes "I got a call about that. I guess you two go way back huh? Alright, you're clear to shirk today's beat duties"
"Cheers on that you old sheepdog"
Momota shook his head and enters his office "Ah sod off you miserable old shark"
Dusting off his papers, Toji tidies his desk and taps his sheets straight and uniform. He signs off on some long standing documents and tosses them into the out tray.
Staring at the police clock Toji thinks to himself "c'mon just stall some time, then I can bullshit an excuse to leav-"
His phone rang. At lightning speed, Toji snatches his phone and answers it.
"Hey, who is it?" he spoke loudly, ensuring everyone in the office could hear.
"Toj, its Heizo. We're on the Shinkansen to Edo, 'bout half way. Ya ready to pick us up at Chiyoda?"
Toji leapt up from his seat "Oh fuck yeah, I'm driving down there now" he yells.
He took the receiver from his ear and hung up the call, ignoring Heizo Hattori mentioning there wasn't any need to rush or arrive too early. He didn't care. He wanted an excuse to get out of the office before one of the chiefs or seniors asked him to do any other mundane busywork tasks.
He took the long route around the station, doing a loop around the bank and purposely slowing down to stop at the lights.
Peering into the bank, Yoshimi was nowhere to be seen which disappointed Toji. He cased the bank for as long as he could but saw nobody but a bespectacled young man and a father carrying a child in his arms.
The lights turn green, and he peels off into toward his destination.
Meanwhile in Sato's apartment, Masayoshi Sato looks at himself in the mirror. He looks more human now. His sleep did him some good. He hardly looks like the beast he was late last night.
Sato phones in the station to take a day off. Without taking time to say goodbye to his wife or daughter Miwako, he takes off into the dawn of a new day heading for the hospital.
"It's been hard trying to track down her family, Inspector. She's not from around here"
Sato looked sad. He raised his eyebrow "That's fine doctor. I'm just here to visit"
Surprising the child, she stood up from her bed and embraced Sato who leaned down.
He handed her a Kokeshi, a small wooden doll and hoped that everything would be alright.
She looked warmer now and less emaciated and scared. The little girl placed the wooden doll in the bed, leaning its head against the pillow and handed Sato a children's book.
"The princess and the knight? I don't think I've read this one, but okay" Sato turned the page
"Long ago in a distant land, a young lady lived in a great castle surrounded by people who loved her. She was taught that they were nobles and those outside the towering walls were common people who would serve them…."
The girl listened intently to Sato's storytelling. Each word out of his mouth reminded him of when he would read stories to Miwako before his work took over, before his wife took over that duty.
"And Sir Ballat the dashing knight carried lady Kleiharo in his arms away from the clutches of her evil guardsmen…"
It warmed his heart. He thought to himself how he wished he could adopt her and give Miwako a friend, a sister, but he could not. Her family would take priority and he could ill afford to do it.
"And joined by marriage by a drunk Friar, they fled into the night far away from her bad father…"
She smiled at these stories, probably imagining him as the dashing knight of the stories.