Because after the gunshot rang out, she didn't she Hikari falling down on the cold concrete.
Instead, the man in black who had been holding the gun collapsed stiffly to the ground, just like his two friends before him.
The sight left Ikazuchi Rika dumbfounded.
The beautiful detective couldn't quite believe it and cautiously asked, "R-Hikari-kun?"
"Rika-nee."
Hikari casually kicked the gun out of the man's hand before walking over to Ikazuchi Rika.
"Hikari-kun... you... you took all of them down?", Even with the evidence right in front of her, Ikazuchi Rika's voice was still full of disbelief.
"Yeah. Rika-nee, are you okay?", Hikari nodded and asked.
Ikazuchi Rika's heart raced as she stammered, "I-I'm fine!"
Looking at the young man's handsome face, the beautiful detective suddenly felt a little lightheaded for no reason.
Perhaps it was because everything had changed so dramatically in such a short time.
Just moments ago, after her identity had been exposed and she had been surrounded by the criminals, Ikazuchi Rika had already fallen into despair.
Yet only a few minutes later, Hikari had suddenly appeared, taken down the armed criminals with lightning speed, and rescued her.
The sudden change from despair to relief made Ikazuchi Rika's heart pound as if she were crossing a suspension bridge over a bottomless cliff.
And as she looked at the young man who had saved her from danger, she felt something fly in her heart.
Although he had already seen everything in the Pure Love Future Diary and knew this would happen, seeing the blank look on Ikazuchi Rika's face, Hikari still knowingly asked, "Rika-nee, why did you suddenly start fighting these drug traffickers? What happened?"
Hearing his question, only then did Ikazuchi Rika, whose emotions and heartbeat had been in turmoil, finally come back to herself. Her cheeks still felt strangely warm as she explained what had happened earlier.
"After we split up, I was on my way back to the station to report the situation. But when I passed through this alley, they suddenly blocked my way. It turned out they'd already found out about me."
"Since I was exposed ahead of time, they threatened me with guns and said they were going to take me back and torture me."
"Fortunately, Hikari-kun showed up in time. Otherwise... I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to me..."
As she spoke, Ikazuchi Rika patted her full chest, still shaken by the experience.
"So that's what happened," Hikari nodded.
After thanking him, Ikazuchi Rika suddenly looked at him curiously, "By the way, Hikari-kun, how did you know they had cornered me?"
Naturally, Hikari couldn't say it was because of a warning from a Pure Love item, so he casually made up an excuse, "I was walking pretty slowly. I'd only gone a short distance when I heard something happening over here."
"And I noticed earlier that Oda Kotaro from next door seemed a little suspicious. I wondered if our identities had really been exposed, so I decided to come back and take a look. I just happened to arrive in time."
"Hikari-kun, did you climb over the wall?", Ikazuchi Rika pointed at the wall, which was nearly three meters high.
"Yeah. I saw they had guns, so I decided not to approach from the front," Hikari replied.
"Your fighting skills are incredible!", Thinking about how Hikari had effortlessly jumped over the wall and instantly taken down two criminals, Ikazuchi Rika couldn't help showing her admiration.
"And you're so observant, quick-thinking, and decisive. As a detective, I feel ashamed," Thinking about how she would probably have fallen into the hands of those drug traffickers if Hikari hadn't been there today... Ikazuchi Rika looked embarrassed.
"It's not that bad. You did everything you could. They caught you off guard and surrounded you. You handled it as well as anyone could," Hikari comforted her.
Hearing that made Ikazuchi Rika feel a little better.
But she was still deeply moved that Hikari had saved her life.
And his ability to dodge what had looked like a bullet amazed her even more. His reactions were far beyond those of even the best detective she had ever met.
"Hikari-kun... are you really just a high school student?"
"Hm?"
"N-Nothing!"
Seeing Hikari look at her in confusion, Ikazuchi Rika, who had been absentmindedly staring at his face, hurriedly waved her hands. Her pretty face, however, was faintly red.
Ever since Hikari had rescued her, her heart had been racing.
As a professional detective, she had initially assumed it was simply because she'd just survived a life-threatening situation, the suspension bridge effect.
But now that she was safe, even as she looked at Hikari's handsome face and recalled the clean, decisive way he had fought just now, her heartbeat still sped up on its own.
Especially when she thought back to the act they had put on in the rented apartment to avoid exposing themselves.
He had already explored every inch of her body, and they had shared all kinds of intimate interactions only a newlywed couple would do.
The thought made Ikazuchi Rika's heart pound as though it were about to leap out of her chest.
He was clearly just a high school student.
And also the sworn brother she had acknowledged before.
But she seemed to have... really fallen for him.
Ikazuchi Rika pressed a hand against her full chest, her cheeks glowing with a rosy blush.
Fortunately, night had fallen and the lighting was dim.
Otherwise, if Hikari noticed how red and embarrassed she looked, she felt she would die of embarrassment.
What she didn't know was that Hikari's eyesight was even better than she imagined.
Even in the pitch-black alley, he could clearly see the charming blush on the beautiful detective's face.
But he could also tell she was embarrassed.
So he didn't point it out. Instead, he changed the subject and pointed at the three criminals lying on the ground.
"Rika-nee, what should we do with these guys?"
Hearing him return to the matter at hand, Ikazuchi Rika quickly snapped out of her wandering thoughts.
"Let's take them all back to the station. Just attacking me is enough to land them in serious trouble. And besides that, they're carrying plenty of evidence proving they're involved in drug trafficking and drug manufacturing."
With Hikari's help, Ikazuchi Rika searched Oda Kotaro and the other two criminals and found a large amount of related evidence.
There were even several bags of white powder and crystal-like substances.
Looking at the solid evidence, Ikazuchi Rika smiled happily.
"This is definitely enough to convict them. We've made a huge contribution this time."
Seeing how excited she looked, Hikari casually asked, "Is it that big of an achievement?"
Ikazuchi Rika nodded, "Mm! Taking down such a large criminal organization... I might even be promoted directly from Superintendent to Senior Superintendent!"
As she spoke, the beautiful detective suddenly wrapped her arms around Hikari and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Feeling the soft touch of her moist lips, Hikari smiled, "That's great. I'm really happy for you, Rika-nee."
"I still have to thank you, Hikari-kun!"
As she spoke, Ikazuchi Rika couldn't help blushing again.
She suddenly realized that ever since they had become genuinely intimate while pretending in the rented apartment, the distance between her and Hikari seemed to have grown smaller and smaller.
Closer than an ordinary sworn older sister and younger brother.
For example, just now, when she got excited, she'd instinctively hugged him and kissed him.
For Ikazuchi Rika, that was almost unimaginable.
After all, until today, she had never even been in a relationship.
She had never kissed any man.
She had never had the slightest intimate contact with the opposite sex.
Was it because she'd reached this age and today's stimulation had awakened stronger physical desires?
Or had she really started wanting to chase a younger guy and found herself attracted to this handsome boy?
Her thicc thighs pressed together as Ikazuchi Rika's thoughts became more and more complex.
While Ikazuchi Rika's mind was in turmoil, Hikari was also quietly thinking.
But what he was thinking about was completely different.
He was looking at the system notifications in his mind.
[Ding! The host has brought to justice a group of drug traffickers with malicious intentions and rescued the beautiful detective Ikazuchi Rika, successfully promoting the spirit of pure love!]
[Reward obtained: Pure Love Points +100!]
[Ding! The host has successfully resolved one NTR incident predicted by the Pure Love Future Diary. Experience +3!]
Seeing the reward notifications, Hikari nodded in satisfaction.
He had successfully resolved the first stage of the detective scenario that had been predicted by the Future Diary.
Besides earning points, the experience bar for the Pure Love Future Diary had also increased.
If he resolved another one or two incidents predicted by the diary, this very practical item would probably level up.
And aside from the system rewards, he had also successfully grown closer to Detective Ikazuchi Rika.
Having a good relationship with someone in law enforcement would make dealing with many NTR-related situations much more convenient in the future.
Besides, with Ikazuchi Rika's powerful family background, building a good relationship with her was definitely worthwhile.
After reviewing what he had got, the officers Ikazuchi Rika had called from the station finally arrived.
The responding police quickly tied up Oda Kotaro and the other criminals and loaded them into custody.
Meanwhile, Hikari got into the lead vehicle with Ikazuchi Rika, preparing to return to the station first to report the situation.
"Section Chief Anjo. Inspector Ono."
As soon as he got into the car, Hikari heard Ikazuchi Rika greeting the two officers inside.
After Ikazuchi Rika introduced them, Hikari quickly understood who they were.
The middle-aged man sitting in the front passenger seat was Section Chief Anjo, Ikazuchi Rika's superior.
The policewoman driving was an Inspector named Ono.
After everyone exchanged greetings, the somewhat chubby Section Chief Anjo smiled and was the first to speak.
"Superintendent Rika, you've solved an entire drug manufacturing ring this time. That's a major achievement."
Inspector Ono also praised her, "Rika-senpai is amazing! You found this drug trafficking organization so quickly and even took down its leaders. That's incredible!"
Listening to the praise from her superior and colleague, Ikazuchi Rika beamed happily.
But even while secretly enjoying the compliments, she didn't forget about Hikari. Taking his hand, she smiled and said, "We couldn't have solved this case so quickly without Hikari-kun's help."
Seeing that Ikazuchi Rika was so happy yet still remembered her sworn younger brother, Hikari gave her face, "As far as solving the case goes, I only provided a little information. Rika-nee was the one leading the investigation."
Hearing Hikari credit her with all the accomplishments made Ikazuchi Rika even happier, and her heart beat even faster as she looked at his handsome face.
However, after hearing Inspector Ono continue praising her, Ikazuchi Rika still pointed at Hikari and told the truth.
"Actually, my identity was accidentally exposed during the investigation. Those three criminals were all taken down by Hikari-kun alone."
Hearing that, both Section Chief Anjo and Inspector Ono turned to look at Hikari.
At first, neither of them had paid much attention to somewhat young Hikari.
They had assumed, just as he said himself, that he had merely provided some information.
But those vicious criminals...
Had actually been defeated by this young man, who still looked like an ordinary teenager?
That came as quite a surprise.
Section Chief Anjo rubbed the fat on his stomach and smiled with narrowed eyes.
"A true young hero."
Inspector Ono also looked at Hikari in surprise with her bright eyes.
"I already knew Rika-senpai was amazing. I never expected her younger brother to be this incredible too. Hikari-kun, you're amazing!"
"Little hero, would you let your big sister shake your hand?"