Chapter 115: What Kind of Night, Another Promotion After Lying Awake All Night

Aoyama Hidenobu blinked his eyes open, dazed. The bright light was somewhat blinding, causing him to squint instinctively before slowly adjusting and opening them fully. What greeted his vision was a white ceiling.

A rustling sound came from beside him. He turned his head to follow the noise and saw a nurse bent over, occupied with some task. Her white uniform was stretched tight over a pair of plump, peach-like buttocks—waist invisible, only the hips in view—and beneath the hem of her skirt were long legs encased in white silk stockings.

Identifying her by her posterior, he recognized her immediately as Tanaka Nako. "Mrs. Tanaka."

"Ah!" Tanaka Nako, focused on her work, was startled by the sudden voice. She turned around, patted her chest, and looked at him with joyful eyes. "Aoyama-kun, you're finally awake."

She was genuinely relieved that Aoyama Hidenobu was alright. After all, if something were to happen to him, there would be no one left to pay the hospital bills for her husband, who lay in a vegetative state in another ward. Ah, pure love—truly moving.

"How long have I been asleep?" Aoyama asked, glancing out the window. It was already dark.

Tanaka Nako walked to the bedside, placed her hands in front of her abdomen, and bowed slightly. "You've been sleeping since you were brought in this morning. There’s nothing serious, but you need to be observed for two days to ensure there’s no head trauma."

"Was the driver who hit me caught?" Aoyama asked, frowning as he instinctively touched his head. This morning’s car accident was definitely no coincidence. Someone wanted him dead.

Who could be so reckless? He hadn't even lost his influence yet, and they were already resorting to physical elimination. He had to drag this person out; otherwise, if they could try once, they would try again.

He suspected two people. First was Ninpei Jiro, who held a grudge over the "theft" of his wife. This arrogant, pampered playboy was capable of anything in a fit of rage. Second was Kurosawa Shin. Although he was currently detained and his subordinates were being purged, a centipede dies but never stiffens; he certainly still controlled some influence. If he learned that Aoyama was the one who handed the photos to the Hikokawa family, he had every motive to kill him. After all, Aoyama had effectively ended his political career.

Aoyama knew that if he could kill others, they could kill him. No one would just sit there and take a beating.

"Ah! I... I don't know," Tanaka Nako shook her head, looking embarrassed.

"Pour me a glass of water." Aoyama spotted his mobile phone on the bedside table, picked it up, and dialed Nakamura Shinichi. "Shinichi, it’s me."

"Assistant Chief, you're awake?" Nakamura’s tone was excited. "I’ll head to the hospital now."

"No need, it's too late," Aoyama declined the visit. "The driver who hit me—did you catch him? What’s the situation?"

"He turned himself in. He was drunk, and he’s terminally ill with liver cancer. We applied pressure, but he insists that he was disoriented from drinking and mistook the brake for the accelerator," Nakamura replied in a low voice.

Drunk driving, terminal cancer. A classic setup.

Aoyama cursed silently, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Does he have family?"

"A wife and two children—a son in high school and a daughter in elementary school," Nakamura replied, clearly having already investigated. "His son is a bit of a delinquent, always fighting. I’m planning to use that to our advantage."

"Fine, you handle it." That was exactly what Aoyama intended. The driver took the job to leave money for his family; he wouldn't be able to ignore his son's plight.

"Understood!" Nakamura replied.

After hanging up, Aoyama dialed Yamakawa Ichijo. "Find me someone with a family who is suffering from a serious illness. Pay for their care."

Once he ferreted out the mastermind, he would give them a taste of their own medicine. If they dared to arrange a heavy truck for him, he wouldn't hesitate to arrange a dump truck for them.

"Understood!" Yamakawa replied, then added, "Aoyama-san, are you alright? I wanted to visit, but I was afraid my status might make it inappropriate."

"I appreciate the sentiment. I'm fine, just some superficial injuries," Aoyama said with a smile.

"A narrow escape brings future blessings. I will send a gift to express my regards once you are discharged."

"Then I shall look forward to it. Ha-ha."

Seeing Aoyama hang up, Tanaka Nako, holding a glass of water, hurried over. "Please, have some water."

"Feed me," Aoyama said, putting the phone aside.

"Understood!" Tanaka set the glass on the nightstand, helped Aoyama sit up, and sat on the edge of the bed beside his hip. She pulled his head into her embrace before picking up the glass and holding it to his lips.

Feeling the softness against the back of his head, Aoyama felt incredibly comfortable as he drank. Tanaka Nako set the glass down and was about to stand, but Aoyama grabbed her hand.

"Aoyama-san?" Tanaka blinked.

Aoyama toyed with her small hand and said blandly, "Who came to see me today?"

"Many people. Especially your sister-in-law and Inspector Asai. They stayed quite late and said they would return tomorrow morning," she whispered.

Aoyama released her hand and rested it on her thigh, feeling the smooth silk. "Come up here."

"Aoyama-san..." Tanaka blushed, whispering, "You just had a car accident..."

*Truly impatient,* he thought.

"Exactly. I need to test if my parts sustained any damage," Aoyama interrupted. He had seen movies with this theme before. Since he was finally in the hospital, he had to try it; otherwise, the opportunity would go to waste.

Tanaka Nako bit her lip, then took off her nurse shoes and climbed onto the bed, her white-stockinged feet leaving indentations on the quilt. She was mortified, unable to meet his eyes.

"Aoyama-san, could we... could we not? I'm afraid your injuries might worsen," she said, kneeling on the bed, her voice as faint as a mosquito.

Aoyama leaned against the headboard, stretched a leg out from under the quilt, and used his toe to lift her chin. "Miss Tanaka, I am your patient right now. You should try to satisfy the patient's requests to aid in my recovery."

As for how nurses helped patients with their "injuries," he had seen a few Japanese documentaries on the subject.

"Understood!" Tanaka had no choice. "Then, I shall begin."

"How is your husband? Any signs of waking up?" Aoyama didn't forget to inquire about his old subordinate.

Tanaka’s face turned even redder. She knew he only brought up her husband to liven things up. Feeling humiliated and ashamed, she still had to answer, "No, but I believe he will wake up. I will wait for him—my whole life."

What a touching love. True childhood sweethearts. It was a pity the childhood sweetheart was now lying in a hospital bed, unable to tend to his "green plum," leaving that task to a "yellow-haired" outsider like himself.

Aoyama smiled. It was better if Tanaka didn't wake up; it would be awkward for all three of them.

"Tell me, if you were to get pregnant and Tanaka-kun woke up to find he suddenly had a child, what do you think would happen?" Aoyama asked with interest.

Tanaka’s face went pale instantly, and she looked at him pleadingly. "Please, I beg you, do not do that."

"Ha-ha-ha! Just a joke," Aoyama patted her head. "Alright, continue."

***

The next morning, visitors arrived in a steady stream.

First was his sister-in-law. She wanted to stay and care for him, but Aoyama sent her away, claiming he was perfectly fine.

Next was Asai Aya. She brought good news: she had just been promoted. After Aoyama spent a night in the hospital, he had been promoted as well. Because Morishita Isamu had been killed by Kurosawa Shin and gone missing, the position of Assistant Chief of the First Investigation Division became vacant. Asai Aya, who was originally scheduled for a promotion after her 25th birthday next month, was promoted to Police Superintendent early to fill the gap. With her rise, Aoyama followed in her footsteps, taking her former position as Section Chief of the Homicide Unit.

"And who is our Section's Assistant Chief?" Aoyama held her hand, asking curiously.

*My wife gets promoted faster than I do—who understands this pain?* Though his rank was below hers, his body was... well, he was currently *inside* her.

Asai replied, "I don't know. They'll probably transfer someone in. Since Kaneshiro Heiji is finished and Takizawa Mapo was transferred, there’s no one left in the section with the rank of Police Inspector, so they’ll have to pull from another department."

"I hope they send someone smart." Aoyama cared deeply about the choice of his future deputy.

Asai Aya soon left, followed by Mrs. Nohara, Inspector Hattori, Hikokawa Noritomo, and Yamada Yuji, all of whom came bearing gifts. Yamada Yuji had successfully been transferred to the Special Investigation Department as a Supervisor of the Mobile Investigation Unit and agreed to invite Aoyama for a celebratory drink once he was discharged.

Fujimoto Ryoichi and Nakamura Shinichi arrived at noon together, both carrying files.

"Assistant Chief... no, I should call you Section Chief now." Fujimoto’s eyes were full of envy as he handed over the files. "This is the background on Aoi Haraichi, the editor-in-chief of the Asahi Shimbun's political desk."

"I won't read it; just recite it," Aoyama said without reaching for the papers.

"Understood!" Fujimoto replied. "Aoi Haraichi, 43, married, one son, Aoi Yu, 20, a sophomore in college. His parents were farmers. He graduated from the University of Tokyo and rose from an economic reporter to his current position. He has close ties with Diet member Ninpei Taro and maintains a good relationship with us in the police force. It seems the Ninpei family helped him secure his position as editor-in-chief."

Aoyama nodded slowly. It seemed Matsumoto Shizuko was Ninpei Jiro's method of revenge; the car accident likely had nothing to do with him. The only suspect left was Kurosawa Shin.

"Inspector, Noda's prison mate, Kobayashi, somehow pulled strings and is currently working as a driver for Kimura Kazu, the head of the credit department at the Agriculture and Forestry Bank," Nakamura Shinichi reported after Fujimoto finished. "Noda claimed Kobayashi once boasted that hiring them to kill Ayase Michi was on behalf of his boss. In other words, the mastermind behind the attempted hit on Ayase Michi is Kimura Kazu."

"This lends weight to the rumors that Ayase Michi was the mistress of a high-ranking official at the bank—that official being Kimura Kazu. Why else would he hire someone to kill a subsidiary employee who seemingly had no connection to him?"

"But if Noda didn't actually kill her, then Ayase's death has nothing to do with Kimura Kazu, right? Is there any need to keep investigating him?" Fujimoto interjected.

"No!" Nakamura denied, explaining his analysis. "Kimura Kazu might be trying to guide the police this way. He knows his relationship with Ayase Michi couldn't be hidden from us, and he knew we would investigate him after her death. He couldn't cover up all the traces, so he didn't try to hide them; he only tried to disguise them."

"I suspect he hired two hitmen. The first was responsible for the murder and staged it as a burglary. Noda, that unlucky fool, was just a scapegoat meant to mislead us."

"As Ryoichi thought, we easily discovered Noda was hired, but since we confirmed the victim was already dead before Noda arrived, we would instinctively rule Kimura out as a murder suspect. At most, he’d be guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, but not the murder itself."

"Beyond Noda's confession, we have no physical evidence of him hiring the hitman. Since we’ve been misled into believing he didn't hire the actual killer, we’ll stop wasting police resources on him, allowing him to escape."