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Kobayashi stretched her stiff body before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was nine in the evening. The school was already dark except the teachers’ room where she currently was. In fact, she was the only teacher left in the room. She couldn’t believe she had to work overtime again because there were so many papers to grade after taking several days off school to visit her parents.
She packed her bag, tidied up her hair and left the teacher’s room. She wondered if she could still catch a bus late at night. The bus stop was a bit far away from the school building. The sideroad was already deserted. She only saw a car or two passing down the road.
She looked around for the second time. She was really by herself on a deserted sideroad. The bright street lamp proved it.
She breathed in relief when she reached for the bus stop. She sat down and checked her watch. She hoped there was still a bus that stopped there. Otherwise, she had to go back to the school and stayed the night there.
“Hello, Kobayashi-sensei! We meet again, don’t we?”
Kobayashi looked up to see a familiar and dashing man sitting beside her. He had a short black hair covered with his black cap. He always had jacket around him even though the weather was warm these last three days. His body looked leaned and tall.
Just like Inspector Shiratori.
“Good evening, Toda-san.” Kobayashi smiled. All she ever told him was that she was an elementary teacher at the school building close to the bus stop and her name. “So, you’re working overtime again.”
“So are you,” Toda-san grinned. “What is it this time? More papers to grade?”
She nodded. “I’m done now, so hopefully this is my last day to work overtime.”
“Aw, is this going to be the last day I meet you then?” Toda cutely leaned his head on his hand. Kobayashi often wondered if he was actually a heartthrob. He really looked like one of those bad boys. “I kind of like meeting you here.”
“Um, what about you? Why are you working late this time?” She decided to change the subject.
He lifted his heavy black bag. “My clients are annoying. The photoshoot has to end late again and they refuse to pay me extra.”
“That’s sad.”
“I know, right? They’re so rude and they don’t appreciate artists! I hate them.”
“Say, how much do you charge for a photoshoot—"
Her phone suddenly rang. She rummaged her bag and hurriedly checked the caller. The moment she read the caller’s name, her lips formed a smile.
“Where are you?” Inspector Shiratori asked after she picked up the call. “Are you at home?”
“No. I’m working overtime again so I’ll be home pretty late,” Kobayashi told him. “I’m waiting for the bus.”
“Should I pick you up?”
“No, no, no. I’m fine.”
“I see. I’m actually right in front of your house but you should take your time. Don’t rush,” he told her. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Is something wrong?” She decided to ask. “I mean, there must be a reason why you suddenly want to meet me late at night—”
“I just miss you.”
She felt her heart skipped a beat.
She looked up, wondering when the bus would arrive. Her tired body suddenly became restless at the thought of him waiting for her, probably in his car. It wasn’t everyday to hear that from someone like Inspector Shiratori.
She lowered her voice and brought her lips to the mic of her phone. “I miss you too.”
The bus finally arrived. Its front light almost blinded her. Toda and Kobayashi immediately got up and entered the bus. She did notice that wherever she chose to sit, Toda would always beside her.
“I miss you too?” Toda asked. “Was that your boyfriend?”
She nodded. “What about you, Toda-san? Do you have a girlfriend?”
“I just broke up recently.” He sighed. “My ex ditched me to a richer guy.”
She lowered her head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Well, she’s dead now.”
“What happened?”
“I heard she got overdosed,” Toda admitted. “I don’t know the details because I don’t really care what she was doing with her new guy. But seriously, I think she played too far this time. She should’ve been with me! I’ll treat her right!”
Kobayashi looked at him for a while. “I hope you get a better girl in the future.”
“Amen to that.” He glanced at her. “Your boyfriend must’ve loved you dearly.”
Her face became warm like the tomato soup back in her hometown. “W-well, you can say that. Sometimes we fight but we also communicate about it.”
“Good for you.” He turned his gaze to the empty seat in front of them. “You’re so kind, Sensei. You’re a good person and I think you’ll be an amazing mother too. Your boyfriend should know about that and treat you right.”
Kobayashi smiled. “He does.”
They spent the rest of the bus ride talking about whether Toda-san was going to find a new girlfriend or become single until he was ready to open his heart again. Kobayashi ended up telling Toda that her boyfriend was a police officer. She didn’t spill his name and rank, though. In fact, she tried her best not to spill her personal information to Toda-san.
But she swore she saw him looking terrified for a second when she told him about her boyfriend’s profession.
“An elementary teacher and a policeman become a couple,” Toda-san then commented with a nervous chuckle, as if trying to brush off the terror on his face. “That’s cute.”
The bus finally arrived at her destination. Coincidentally, Toda-san lived not too far away from her. So, they got off together. Usually, they would walk together for two blocks before they parted. But that time, Toda-san suddenly invited her to drink together in a bar.
“I need a friend to drink with after talking about my ex. Besides, tomorrow is weekend so you don’t need to teach at school,” Toda-san tried to persuade her. “Come on. Drinks will be on me.”
“I’m sorry I can’t. I—”
For some reasons, something stopped her from telling him that she was going to meet Inspector Shiratori. She forced her brain to try finding the best excuse so it wouldn’t offend him. She did pity him. She wanted to go with him if Inspector Shiratori wasn't waiting for her at the moment.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you this time.” She immediately backed away from Toda-san as far as possible. “You also know that I have a boyfriend. I can’t drink with you alone. I’m so sorry.”
“Really?”
Kobayashi blinked. His voice suddenly sounded low and threatening. It wasn’t the friendly photographer Toda-san that she had been talking to.
She cocked her head. “To-Toda-san?”
“I’ve been nice to you for days. I’ve been accompanying you because a lady on her own late at night is dangerous. Where’s your boyfriend? Does he do that?” Toda-san screamed at her. “No! I am the one who did this and yet you don’t want to help me out? You’re no different than her!”
Her instinct told her to run. Her feet screamed at her to take action. Her brain began to blame her feelings for foolishly being nice to a stranger.
She bowed to him. “Thank you for your kindness. I genuinely really appreciate it but… maybe it’s better if we don’t meet anymore. Well, goodbye and have a good evening!”
And she broke into a run.
She ran as fast as she could to her house. However, just when she was about to take a turn, a hand suddenly grabbed the back of her shirt. Toda-san already locked both of her arm before she could react. Her glasses had fallen somewhere so she couldn’t see anything. She tried to struggle but his grip was too strong that she ended up losing her strength.
“You think you can just leave?” Toda-san screamed. “I’ll send you to hell just like her!”
“Let me go!” Kobayashi cried. “Let me—”
“Kobayashi-san!”
That voice—
Everything happened so fast that she couldn’t register what happened. Someone pulled her away from Toda-san as she crashed into someone’s arms. Then she heard Toda-san’s shrieking in pain and followed by some familiar voices and the sound of sirens.
“No! Let go!” Kobayashi began to cry and struggle against whoever was hugging her. “Please, let me go! Let me go—”
“Kobayashi-san! It’s me! Shiratori!”
Upon hearing his voice again, she finally stopped struggling. Someone then gently put on her glasses and her eyesight became clear again, thankfully. She did recognise the nice suit and the police badge near the collar suit. She slowly looked up and the face of her dearly beloved bushy head police officer came into view. The face that came to her mind the moment Toda-san became aggressive to her.
“Shiratori-san?” Kobayashi finally called him softly. She gripped his sleeve tightly with her shaking hands. “Shiratori-san, I—”
He pulled her into an embrace and murmured against her hair, “It’s alright. Everything’s fine now.”
She closed her eyes and buried her face against his chest. The noise around her began to fade. It was just her and his arms around her. She tried to catch her breath and calm herself down. His scent helped, though, because it felt so familiar and calming that she could convince herself that she was with someone she could really trust.
Inspector Shiratori then handed Toda-san to the other police detectives that were present before bringing her home. He insisted on staying the night in her place.
Later, Kobayashi learned that there was an unsolved serial murder case from a year ago. Inspector Shiratori was in charge of the case but found a dead end. Turns out, with the help of Conan-kun and some unexpected events, the culprit was revealed to be Toda-san. He murdered his ex because she rejected him after everything he had done to her. Ever since that day, every time a girl rejected him, he lost control over his emotions and himself. He ended up murdering three girls in a year, and Kobayashi was going to be the fourth.
“When I called you, I lied,” Inspector Shiratori suddenly admitted. They already had showers separately and sat side by side on her bed. “I wasn’t waiting at the front of your apartment. I was following you with Conan-kun to make sure that he wouldn’t do anything to you and finding the
She frowned. “So, you saw me and him together?”
He nodded slowly. “From the bus stop.”
“I swear there’s nothing between us,” Kobayashi hurriedly told the police inspector. “I thought he was just a nice guy and it was nice to have someone to talk on the bus ride late at night. I turned him down when he asked me to drink together. I told him that I had a boyfriend but he kept insisting—”
“I know.” Inspector Shiratori reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “I believe you.”
His hand felt warm against hers.
“But next time, please call me if you’re going home late at night,” he insisted. “I’ll pick you up wherever you are, unless I’m not in town.”
She lowered her head. “I don’t want to burden you.”
“You’re never a burden to me.”
She felt butterflies fluttered in her guts.
“I always admire you because you’re a strong woman in your own way,” he continued. “But I want you to know that you can also rely on me whenever and wherever you want. I’ll always be there for you. I will always have time for you even if I’m busy.”
She blinked her tear.
He gently cupped her face with one hand and slowly leaned closer to her. Her heart began to hammer harshly. She closed her eyes, waiting for whatever was going to happen. She felt something brushed against her lips. Something warm and damp. There was a new sensation that began to course through her body, something that she had never experienced before.
There was a slight pause before the tingling sensation on her lips disappeared. He kissed her forehead, his lips lingered for a moment before he patted her shoulders. She finally opened her eyes.
Inspector Shiratori smiled. “We can start from there.”
She could feel herself combusting in a second. She tried to look anywhere but him. “Um, anyway, you can sleep in my bed. I’ll use the spare mattress—”
“I’ll sleep on the mattress.” He got up. “Just tell me where to get it.”
She helped him preparing the mattress while talking about her days at school and why she had to work overtime. She ended up showing him some date spots that she found while she was taking a break after grading half of her students’ exam papers. They ended up talking about their next date until she couldn’t stay awake anymore and fell asleep on his shoulders.
It was actually a bad and unlucky day for Kobayashi. But luckily, Inspector Shiratori was there, just like what he had promised her afterwards.