"..."
Miwako Sato looked down at the knife, then back up at Fujino who was giving the culprit a proper beat down. Her eyes blinked, as if she had just discovered a new way of doing things. "So that's how you do it..."
Normally, police officers are supposed to show some restraint when taking down a culprit. After all, a police officer's goal is to subdue the culprit, and if you severely injure an unarmed one, you'll definitely get a reprimand.
But with Fujino's method, things get a whole lot easier. When it comes to an armed culprit, even the Japanese police are trained to retaliate without reservation. If they use a wooden sword, or even fire a gun, they'd just be penalized with a couple of reports to write.
This kind of method... yeah, only Fujino could come up with it. Thinking that, Miwako took out a stick of gum and started chewing.
"Did you get the guy?"
Just then, Juzo Megure came out from a nearby stairwell. He stopped mid-sentence, cleared his throat, and turned right back the way he came, holding up a newspaper. "I'll go get the guys downstairs to come up. Fujino, you hurry up and finish."
"..."
The barber shop owner swallowed hard, staring at the bizarre scene. You two police officers aren't really playing dumb, are you? Or are you just condoning this behavior?
Confused, the barber shop owner turned to the tough-as-nails woman chewing gum and pretending to be oblivious. "Is what he's doing... okay?"
"Ahem, of course it's okay!" Miwako cleared her throat, her expression dead serious. "He's acting in self-defense. That's right, legitimate self-defense!" She then turned to the plainclothes officer, Takagi. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Ah? Uh, Inspector Sato is absolutely right..." Wataru Takagi stammered, then started whistling innocently.
The barber shop owner just stared. Self-defense? You call giving a guy a beat down while he's pinned on the ground self-defense? It looked like he was trying to end the guy's life! How is that self-defense? Despite his thoughts, he didn't feel any sympathy for the culprit. In fact, he hoped Fujino would finish him off so he wouldn't have to worry about the guy coming back for revenge and reporting him later.
Fujino's beating skills were top-notch. He managed to keep at it for ten minutes without ever knocking the guy out cold. In the end, Conan couldn't stand it anymore. Afraid that Fujino would literally beat the guy to death, he hit the culprit with a tranquilizer dart, finally making him pass out. If it weren't for Conan's dart, the poor guy would have gotten another ten minutes of beating.
"Just take him straight back to the police station for questioning!" Megure finally arrived, leading a group of officers upstairs. "Once you get him to the interrogation room, just splash some cold water on him, and he'll wake right up!"
"Fujino, you were a little rough with him this time. You've got some marks on your face, you know." Megure sighed, complaining to Fujino. If the culprit didn't have any visible injuries, it would have been fine, but now there were obvious marks. But it wasn't a big deal. The guy was armed, and it's perfectly reasonable that he would have gotten a beating during a struggle with the police.
"I just couldn't help myself," Fujino said, chuckling and scratching his head. "I just can't stand guys who rob women and the elderly..."
"It's fine... The guy pulled a knife, so if we just let it go, who knows what could have happened." Miwako walked over and patted Fujino on the shoulder, a smile on her face. "Though beating him up that badly was a little much. Next time, try not to hit him in the face. The stomach or other places where it won't show are better."
To be honest, Miwako had wanted to give this culprit a beating herself. Lately, her workload had increased significantly because of him... and more importantly, this guy had attacked women and the elderly, and even tried to kill a child. She had zero pity for him. Since the guy had pulled a knife, Fujino could beat him as much as he wanted. As long as he was still breathing, she and Inspector Megure would back him up.
"Inspector Sato is right!" Fujino nodded. "I promise I won't hit him in the face next time."
"..."
Megure wiped some sweat from his brow. Is not hitting the face really the point here?
"Sigh..."
Hiding a short distance away with the Detective Boys, Conan watched as the culprit was led away, letting out a heavy sigh. He had wanted to go up and do his usual deduction. But Fujino just went ahead and started hitting him, so what was there to deduce? And Fujino's attacks were way too brutal... even more brutal than the last time he saw him in the library.
After the case was wrapped up, Fujino drove the kids home.
"Our Detective Boys have solved another big case!"
"That's right!"
The three kids in the back were still reveling in the feeling of having caught a culprit. It was clear that all of Conan's deductions were now credited to the Detective Boys.
"But Genta, you were sleeping way too much!" Ayumi said, giggling. "You were asleep the entire time the culprit was getting his hair dyed!"
Genta pouted. "Well, that's because the barber saw I was sleeping so soundly he couldn't bear to wake me up..."
"Well, what does it matter!" Mitsuhiko said, giving Genta a friendly glance. "They say kids who sleep a lot grow taller, so maybe that's what's happening with you, Genta."
"A deep, restful sleep can help kids during their growth spurts get taller," Ai said, her arms crossed from the front passenger seat. "But in Genta's case, it might be too much sleep. After all, excessive sleep and an irregular schedule can lead to obesity."
"You can gain weight from sleeping?" Ayumi was surprised. She looked at Genta and thought for a moment. "Then Genta should probably sleep less."
Mitsuhiko nodded in agreement. "He really should sleep less..."
"Ugh..." Genta was left speechless.
"Oh, that's right, Fujino and Haibara!" Ayumi suddenly remembered something and asked the two in the front. "Agasa is taking us on a trip during the vacation after our midterm exams. Do you guys want to come with us?"
"Midterms are coming up?" Fujino thought for a moment. He suddenly remembered that Heiji Hattori had a midterm exam a little while ago... Looks like their exams aren't too far off either.
A vacation after exams is a normal thing, but will a new case trigger? Fujino had no clue. Without any key words, even he couldn't remember what case it would be. After all, the timeline in the world of Conan is so messed up...
After thinking about it, Fujino agreed. Going on a trip with the kids... well, going on a trip with the "Death Squad," you always end up making some money. There was no reason to say no.