[37]
The police brought Ichirysu Madarame into the station for holding by the afternoon. The media had already learned of the generous art mogul turned killer and reporters crowded around the doors as he was wheeled in. Naoto caught a glimpse of the old man being wheeled into the front door, he was staring at the floor, his expression showed utter defeat and shame. It seemed as though the man finally realized his actions were catching up with him.
As Madarame was brought into the interrogation room for questioning, the chief of police approached her.
"Shirogane, you should go home for the night. Take tomorrow off too, you need to rest. I wish I could give you the week, but we're stretched too thin and well...We really need you."
Naoto furrowed her brow at the man. "I'm fine. I'm gonna go watch the interrogation." She stepped towards the door only to feel the chief's hand on her shoulder.
"Naoto, go home and get some sleep. You've been working non-stop for days, not to mention you nearly died this morning."
"Comes with the job." Naoto glared at the man with tired eyes.
"Naoto! You're getting tunnel vision on this damn case! I won't see my best detective wither herself away on some damn crusade! Go home! That is an order!" The other officers looked up at the two. The chief sighed. "I'll send you a full report of the interrogation tomorrow, just please get some rest."
Naoto pushed the chief's hand off her shoulder with her good arm. "Fine, I'll take the night off. But I am coming in tomorrow." With that, she walked out the door and past the mob of reporters. The flashes of cameras illuminated her vision and her tiredness started to really hit her. She finished pushing through the mob who quickly lost interest as the chief of police addressed them.
Naoto ignored the speech and made her way to the subway, now that she no longer had a car, she would be forced to take public transit. As she turned a corner she collided with another body, one much taller than her but very thin.
"My apologies, I didn't see where I was-" The voice belonging to the individual started, but paused. "D-Detective!?"
"Hmm?" Naoto looked up at the individual's face and recognition dawned on her. "You...You're that boy from the Madarame estate. Your name is uhh…"
"Yusuke Kitagawa." The boy finished for her.
"Right...Sorry, it's been a long day. Umm, what are you doing here? If you don't mind me asking."
Yusuke's face became somber. "I was on my way to see Sensei. I still can't believe what he's done, I don't want to believe it. But I must speak with him, I must know why." He turned to face her again. "But I also came to see you."
"Me?" Naoto was surprised. "What for?"
"I wanted to give you this." He held out a large paper bag, the kind that one would get at the grocery store.
"What's in the bag?" Naoto asked suspiciously and made no moves to grab the bag.
"The other night, I saw you outside of Sensei's estate. You were talking with someone over the radio and if my hunch is correct, it was Spider-Man."
Naoto's suspicious glare turned to an aggressive one. "That's a pretty serious accusation. Any evidence to back it up?"
Yusuke looked surprised and put his hands up in a sign of non-aggression. "I didn't mean that as a threat! It's just that...That night, Spider-Man made his first public appearance that night and I was inspired! I simply had to make this...And perhaps it could be the first step in making up for Sensei's misdeeds." He bowed and handed Naoto the bag.
Naoto snatched it from him, not the least bit moved by his words, and glanced into the paper bag. In the low light of the afternoon, she could just make out the black cloth with red highlights in the bag.
"Please accept this and my apology for everything Sensei has done!"
Naoto looked down at the bowing teen, "Your sensei is a monster who killed three good men today and countless others over the years. An apology won't bring back the lives he's ended."
"I know. And if need be I will spend every day for the rest of my life making up for it."
Naoto sighed, "Stand up kid. Look, you're not Madarame. Don't let an old man's misdeeds control you. Live for yourself and learn from his shortcomings, alright?"
Yusuke looked up, surprised at her words. "Y-Yes ma'am!"
With that the detective walked past the boy and headed into the subway.