Chapter 12: Desperate Decision
Shun Akemi was at work, in the shopping district café, polishing used tables, when his cellphone suddenly began to ring. He took it from his pocket and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Akemi Shun, please come to the Misaki Hospital as soon as possible" a voice from the phone replied. To those words, Shun froze in place, fear swiftly making its way on his face.
"I'm coming!" he said, hanging up. He then moved towards the exit. He was stopped by a senior.
"Hey! You're not d..." he stopped talking as he saw Shun's worried expression.
"Excuse me, sir..." he said as he got past him and got out of the café through the door.
"Something's wrong..." The senior quickly understood what was going on, albeit only to some degree…
Shun hurried to the hospital, arriving in a short amount of time. A doctor was waiting for him at the entrance. He entered, signaling the former to policeman to follow him. They went to the room where Chouko Torikawa was kept. As they walked, fearful anticipation grew in Shun.
Once the former policeman and the doctor arrived, the sight that unfolded before him left him speechless.
The little girl was in a coma.
"Torikawa Chouko's disease has worsened." the doctor explained.
Shun slowly got closer to the motionless little girl, lying in the hospital bed. She was linked to a machine constantly checking her vitals. Shun took her hand in both his hands, lowering his head in sorrow…
"Chouko..." he whispered.
"We don't know how this happened..." the doctor explained. "We checked her up when she came back to the hospital yesterday, and we didn't find any sign of worsening..."
Shun stood silent, clutching Chouko's hand.
"If we don't operate her quickly, her survival might be compromised..." the doctor explained. "However, I'm afraid the costs of the operation might be quite prohibitive..." At those words, the former policeman slightly rose his head. He looked back to the doctor.
"You'll have to try arranging a solution. In the meantime, we'll try our best to save her." the doctor assured. Shun's expression was still a grim one, however he simply nodded as a reply. He got out of the hospital without saying a word.
He was walking, anger and sadness welling up inside him. He kept thinking about the doctor's words. "Her survival might be compromised."
The image of his dead girlfriend was etched in his mind. He couldn't let her sister, that dear girl, share her fate…
"If she dies as well, I don't know what I'd do..."
His sorrow reached the peak. He punched a nearby wall in sadness and frustration. He didn't want her to die. He would have done anything to save her… Anything…
"Damn it all..." he thought as he picked up his phone. "I have no choice..."
He called Goro Ryoki. The businessman proposed to make a deal with him the night before. He had declined his offer, but, since Chouko's life was at risk, he felt he had to accept it, despite how much he hated even to think about it. Eventually, the man answered the call.
"Good morning, Shun. I knew you would have thought about it." He was expecting his call.
"Just shut up and tell me what do you want." he replied, in a rough manner.
"You tell me what do you want me to give you, first." the businessman replied. The policeman's answer was immediate.
"The million yen."
With that, he could pay to save Chouko's life.
"Good, now here's what I want you to do. Straight to business, just as you like it." Goro explained. "In the center of a plain situated in front of the residential area of Misaki, there's an abandoned compound. Some street thugs will trade something very valuable, which I want. I must admit that I do not know what interest those thugs have in said object, but it doesn't seem to matter. You will take the object from them and give it to me. It shouldn't be a problem for you, since you used to eat men like those for breakfast, shall we say?"
Shun couldn't help but doubt the businessman's odd conduct. He couldn't help but wonder why he made such a deal.
"Why should I trust you?" he voiced his doubts.
"Because, Shun, if you want that million yen for whatever reason, to work with me is the only option you have to gain them." Goro's answer was ready. Those words were only stating the obvious, making the man who pronounced them look even more suspicious. However, he wasn't done yet.
"Besides." he added "What could I possibly gain from betraying you? I'd like you to think about it." Shun stood silent for a couple of moments.
"Nothing" Goro continued on "You don't have anything that I deem worth killing or betraying for, therefore I have no reason to manipulate you. If I can convince you to work with me, on the other hand, there are many conspicuous advantages I could gain with the aid of a skilled former policeman. And, of course, you'd have a lot to gain as well."
To Shun, those words seemed to ring true. To an acceptable degree, at least.
"Of course, the deal is off if you break it or fail to do what I'm asking for, the latter being very unlikely, for known reasons." Goro concluded. "The thugs' meeting will be at 21:30 PM. Operate as you see fit. When you have acquired the object, message me and head to the Misaki Hospital. I will meet you there, since it's the closest building in sight."
"Understood." Shun replied.
"Good luck, Akemi Shun." the businessman hung up. After the call, Shun decided to head home.
When he arrived, he went straight in his room. On his desk was a cornered photography. There were Akane, Chouko and himself in it. It was a picture that represented blissful past days… Shun took it and stared at it, with tears welling up in his eyes…
"Akane… Chouko..."
Then he put it back on the desk and picked up something from his drawer… It was his old baton. He had kept it for self defense even after leaving the police. Shun most definitely needed it in order to accomplish what Goro had asked him to…
He would have done anything, if it could save her life… His beloved's last wish was carved in his heart…
"Aokage-kun… Chouko-chan… Cherish them… With all you've got..."