Sato Miwako did as she was told. She pinned Akitani Reiko to the ground and quietly watched their surroundings.
She knew what Fujino could do. If she rushed in, she would only get in his way. Who knew which of them would end up helping the other?
As a detective, she knew exactly whom she needed to protect.
No one knew whether the gunman had accomplices. If he did, rushing after him would only expose Akitani Reiko to an unknown threat.
If she went after Fujino and someone killed Akitani Reiko, they would be in serious trouble.
After a while, Fujino returned, and Sato Miwako stood up.
"How did it go? Did you catch him?"
"No, I didn't... But couldn't you ask whether I got shot first?"
"If you'd been shot, could you have walked back so calmly?"
Sato Miwako folded her arms and rolled her eyes at Fujino, her voice full of reproach. "You charged straight in knowing you might get shot. Why do I even bother asking?"
She had been about to add, Why didn't you let him put a few bullet holes in you while you were at it?
But she knew she had a knack for jinxing things, so she kept that to herself.
She would have been rather upset if he really had been shot...
Yes, this was simply an older sister's concern for her junior.
Fujino smiled helplessly. "I didn't catch him, but it wasn't a total loss. For one thing... I beat the hell out of him."
"Mmm-hmm. You beat the hell out of him, and then he got away."
"That's not the point... I cut him a few times with my dagger. Once we find a suspect, we can check for those wounds. That'll be enough evidence to arrest him."
"Mmm-hmm. You