Shi yawned and stretched as she awoke. She smiled and looked at Adachi, whose arm was wrapped around her. She brushed some hair out of his face, smiling as he shifted. His eyes opened slowly.
"Good morning." He yawned. "What time is it?" He asked, stretching. Shi gathered her dressing gown and slipped it on.
"Early." She replied, walking towards the bathroom. "You going to join me? May as well save water." She asked, grinning at him. She laughed as he tripped, jumping out of her bed and staggered towards her. He wrapped his arms around her and walked into the bathroom.
Shortly after that, the two were getting ready to leave. "So, I will be helping you when I can today. But if autopsies start building up, I will go deal with them. I have one to do this morning as far as I know." She explained.
"Ok. And I'm supposed to keep an eye on Rise yeah?" Adachi said. Shi nodded and grabbed her bag. "Man, today is going to be so boring." He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. Shi laughed and opened her door, heading out towards her car after he stepped out.
"I will let you know when I am on my way." Shi said, standing by her car as Adachi walked towards her. "See you later?" She asked. He nodded and quickly kissed her cheek before heading towards the shopping district. Shi smiled and headed towards the station. She never noticed her neighbour watching them.
When she arrived at the station, she was greeted by the funeral directors. "Are you here for Mr Ishikawa?" She asked them.
"Him and Miss Hasegawa." The director said, looking at his papers.
"How did the funerals for Miss Konishi and that reporter go?" Shi asked as she walked to the fridges containing the requested individuals.
"They were OK. We had a couple of members of the press attempt to get in but we stopped them." He said. He checked all the tags and nodded. "Ok, we'll take these two. Will you just call us when your next patient is ready?"
"Correct." Shi said. She watched them leave before turning to the only patient she had that day. She worked on the body, taking all the samples she needed and performing the tests required. She signed her report and stored the body in one of the fridges. She walked through to where her morgue attendant worked and looked at him.
"I'm all done for now. If someone new comes in, call me. But you can call the funeral directors and let them know that they can collect my patient." Shi said. Her attendant nodded and wrote everything down. Shi turned and grabbed her bag before heading towards the shopping district.
As Shi approached, she saw Adachi looking at a snack shop. Yu and his friends were standing outside, talking to each other.
"I thought you were supposed to be watching Rise-san." Shi asked softly. She watched as two housewives walked past, whispering to each other. They glanced her way before continuing their conversation at a more fevered pace.
"I was. But they've been hanging around the shop so I thought I'd keep an eye on them." He said. Shi nodded. They watched the group head inside before coming back out. Adachi looked nervous as he made eye contact with Yu. Shi rolled her eyes as they walked over.
"Tawakemono-sensei, Adachi-san. What are you doing here?" Yu asked.
"Adachi is keeping an eye on Miss Kujikawa. I came to see if he wanted anything to eat given I'm on a break." Shi explained. "Why are you here?" They glanced at each other. Shi rolled her eyes and turned towards the shop. She could see Rise working inside.
"Come on out you bastard. We're ready for you." Adachi murmured beside her. Shi glanced at him, about to say something when Yukiko gasped.
"Look!" She gasped, pointing to a telephone pole near the shop. They all turned and looked to see some strange man climbing up it. He looked down at them in surprise. He slid down the pole and ran away from them.
"Hey! Get back here!" Kanji yelled. They ran after him, chasing him down the street. As they chased him, Shi saw a strangely familiar looking van pass them. They stopped as they reached the road by the fuel station. The man faced them, backing towards the road, filled with traffic.
"I'll do it you know!" The man yelled. They stared at him momentarily before Shi and Adachi realised.
"Wait, don't do anything drastic!" Shi cried.
"If the suspect gets injured, the police will be held responsible! They'll get really angry and..." Adachi trailed off.
"We won't have a suspect!" Shi finished. She stepped forward, her hands raised peacefully. "Ok, we've stopped chasing you. Now, come away from the road." She said.
"Leave me alone. I haven't done anything!" The man said.
"Ok, listen. I'm not a police officer. I am a doctor. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt." Shi said, edging towards him. As she did, she suddenly heard a shout from behind her.
"Hey! Look over there! A Martian!" Yosuke yelled. The stranger turned, only to be tackled by Yu, Yosuke and Kanji. Shi sighed as they brought him away from the road. As the man tried to explain himself, Shi stood to one side. The van she had seen was really bothering her. Something about it seemed familiar to her but she couldn't place it. She frowned, thinking about it.
"All right, I'll take it from here." She heard Adachi say. She turned to see him showing the stranger his badge. She smiled softly before walking forward.
"We'll hear your story down at the station... Ohh, how I've waited to use that line!" He exclaimed happily. Still the stranger protested his innocence.
"I know for a fact it's not a crime in this country to take secret pictures." The stranger cried.
"It should be." Shi muttered under her breath.
"Hey, don't you understand what's happening here? You're under suspicion of murder!" Adachi snapped. "Come with me! We'll talk about this later!" Shi held her hand under her chin, one of her fingers resting against her cheek. She felt a soft smile tug at her lips as she watched Adachi take control. He handcuffed the stranger before turning to them.
"I gotta thank you guys for all your help! Well done!" Adachi said, saluting Yu and his friends.
"I gotta admit, I was wrong. You did a great job." Shi said, mimicking Adachi's salute to them. "But you should stay out of this. Dojima is worried sick about you." She added. They nodded and began to walk towards the station. As they reached the tofu shop, they paused.
"We should tell Rise-san that we caught the guy." Yosuke said. They waited as he moved to head inside. However, her grandmother stepped out.
"Oh, hello. Are you here to buy some tofu?"
"Actually, we came to talk to Rise-san." Yosuke said.
"Oh, she just stepped out without saying a word. She does that some times. She may not say it, but she's worn out in many ways." Her grandmother said before heading back inside the shop. Shi glanced at Yu momentarily.
"You're worrying too much, we caught the guy." Adachi said. He led the stranger away. But Shi remained behind. She faced Yu and the others.
"Ok, so you think she's going to appear on the TV tonight?" Chie asked. They glanced at each other.
"It's a possibility. We'll keep an eye on it tonight." Yu said. He looked at Shi. "What will you do Tawakemono-sensei?" He asked.
"You will know tonight." Shi said, turning and walking away from them. She headed towards the station and walked towards the interrogation rooms. Dojima was stood outside. "Have the collected evidence from him?" She asked.
"Not yet. I think they want you to." He replied. Shi nodded and collected her kit before knocking on the door. She entered the room and put the kit down on the table. She collected fingerprints, DNA and hair from him before sending the samples down to the lab. She stepped out without saying a word.
After that, she headed home. She wasn't going to be much use to them, especially if he was their suspect. Shi sat and stared at her TV as it drew closer to midnight. When midnight struck, the screen came to life. She watched as Rise appeared on screen, acting completely out of character. She picked up her phone and called Yu.
"I'll help you rescue her." Was all she said. "Tomorrow at Junes food court? I understand." She said before hanging up. She looked at her now blank TV. Maybe now, she would finally get some answers.