Fugaku took a deep breath, suppressing his annoyance, and looked at Izumi, who was flustered in his office.
"Uchiha Izumi."
"Present!"
Fugaku was almost startled by the young girl's loud shout. He put on a stern face and reminded her, "You don't need to be so loud."
Two blushes visibly crept onto Izumi's embarrassed face.
It was all thanks to Senior Chisen's training. Whenever someone called her, she would reflexively shout "Present!" out of fear of angering Senior Chisen if she was even a moment late.
"Even I don't know why Chisen has such a strong opinion of Itachi. Perhaps their personalities just don't mesh?"
Fugaku mused, "You don't need to take what Chisen said earlier to heart. I know you're one of Itachi's few friends, and Itachi really needs the company of friends right now."
"Because..."
"His best friend is gone."
Izumi knew who Patriarch Fugaku was referring to as "Itachi's best friend."
Itachi had mentioned the person to her before, even frequently. And every time he spoke of the person named "Uchiha Shisui," the usually taciturn Itachi would become incredibly talkative.
"Uchiha Izumi..."
"Present!"
Fugaku: "..."
Izumi: "..."
Izumi clasped her hands in front of her, so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into the ground. She quickly bowed politely and apologized, "I am so sorry!"
"Ahem."
Fugaku kindly said, "If... you feel that Uchiha Chisen is not suitable as your examiner, I can make some arrangements and help you select a different examiner who is more suitable for you."
Fugaku worried that this young girl might be harmed by Uchiha Chisen.
Of course.
This "harm" wasn't to her purity, but to her life. Uchiha Chisen had a history of that!
Fugaku had said earlier that Izumi was one of Itachi's few friends, but that was a lie.
After Shisui's death...
Itachi's only friend left was this child, Uchiha Izumi.
Even though he was strict and harsh with his own son, even doing things that nearly shattered their father-son bond to make Itachi awaken his Sharingan, Fugaku still considered himself a father.
A father...
Should always consider his child's situation a little.
Izumi was taken aback.
"Change examiners..." She hesitated. Senior Chisen indeed put a lot of pressure on her, and if she wasn't careful, she'd be thoroughly lectured by him.
However.
Izumi gritted her silver teeth, raised her head, and said earnestly, "Lord Fugaku, I joined the Konoha Military Police Force to become a qualified law enforcer! Although Senior Chisen is strict, I believe he will train me into a qualified and excellent law enforcer!"
"Although this is my first time interacting with Senior Chisen today, he has already taught me many things. Perhaps Senior Chisen and I just need some time to adjust to each other."
Izumi had never met anyone who upheld justice as fiercely as Uchiha Chisen.
Even if this senior's actions were a bit extreme, even if this senior seemed to misunderstand Itachi.
But this senior was definitely a good person!
"Is that so..." Fugaku sighed. He had already hinted at it, but the child Izumi insisted on following Uchiha Chisen. He couldn't do anything more, so he could only remind her, "Remember, don't defy his orders. Treat him as your superior."
"Yes, Lord Fugaku!"
Izumi nodded solemnly.
...
The next day.
Izumi dragged herself out of bed, her eyes sporting faint dark circles, feeling listless. She hadn't slept well last night, having had several nightmares, her mind filled with the criminal and the child's corpse, and also dreaming of being severely reprimanded by Senior Chisen all day.
She wondered how the Konoha Military Police Force handled the bodies of the criminal and the victims...
She also wondered how desperate the child's mother must be now?
After all, her husband was dead, and her child was dead too. And the child died at the hands of her husband, which was just too tragic.
Izumi rubbed her eyes, shaking off the jumbled thoughts from her mind. She tugged at her slightly slipping pajamas, a result of her restless sleep, and glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table.
Izumi suddenly jolted awake.
She almost choked in fright.
"Oh no!"
"It's... it's nine o'clock! I'm doomed! I forgot to set my alarm last night! And I forgot to remind Mom to wake me up this morning!"
She didn't have time to change into her Konoha Military Police Force uniform, let alone eat breakfast. Izumi burst through the door barefoot and in a panic, her fair little face drained of all color from fright.
Result.
She saw her mother, "Uchiha Hazuki," talking with her senior, "Uchiha Chisen," outside the door.
Afterward.
She watched as Senior Chisen's gaze fell upon her.
A ridiculous thought suddenly occurred to Izumi: Would I look better if I killed myself?
"Ah... Izumi, you're awake?" Mrs. Uchiha Hazuki, who had raised her daughter alone, wore a apologetic expression on her still-charming face. "When Lord Chisen came looking for you, I was going to wake you up, but he told me not to. He said... he wanted to see just how long you'd sleep."
Izumi's expression was vacant.
She felt completely dazed.
She believed her end was near and that she should have listened to that senior Uchiha woman and written a will in advance. That way, the will would soon come in handy.
"Se... Senior..."
Izumi's voice trembled.
Uchiha Chisen looked at the girl, who had lost all her sparkle due to fear and helplessness, and said expressionlessly, "Get dressed. You're two hours late today, you'll work four extra hours tonight, and you've lost all your weekend leave for the month."
"Y-Yes?"
"...Huh?"
Izumi blinked, staring in disbelief at the senior who, according to other seniors in the Konoha Military Police Force, was practically a "demon king who wouldn't hesitate to kill trainees."
For a moment, Izumi felt as if she were dreaming, unsure if she had truly woken up.
"You thought I was going to kill you. Is that it?"
Izumi: "..."
Her thoughts were completely transparent in front of Senior Chisen!
Uchiha Chisen said calmly, "The day you betray Justice, I will indeed kill you without hesitation. Now, you have thirty seconds. If you're not in front of me within thirty seconds, your assessment score will be a failure, and you can go back to your bed and sleep until tomorrow morning."
Izumi shivered.
"Yes! Senior!"
She quickly turned and closed the door, shedding her clothes as she ran, a flurry of sounds coming from inside. At twenty-nine seconds, a second-floor window was pulled open, and Izumi leaped out, landing steadily in front of Uchiha Chisen.
"Hoo, hoo..."
Izumi's heart was pounding wildly, her Konoha Military Police Force uniform askew, as if she had just thrown it on haphazardly.
She stood cautiously beside Uchiha Chisen.
Keeping her head down, she dared not make a sound.
"Lord Chisen, Izumi is a special child. Her personality is different from other Uchihas in the clan. If Izumi has caused you any trouble, please..."
Mrs. Hazuki's words were interrupted by Uchiha Chisen: "I only care if she can do her job. Let's go."
Izumi clutched the hem of her uniform, obediently following behind Uchiha Chisen.
Just then, she suddenly noticed that her senior was carrying something.
It looked like a takeout bag from Ichiraku Ramen.
"I don't have a habit of wasting food," Uchiha Chisen said, casually tossing it, startling Izumi into catching it.
Izumi immediately remembered that Senior Chisen had said they were supposed to meet at Ichiraku Ramen this morning.
Izumi felt so ashamed that her eyes welled up.
"I'm sorry, Senior..." her voice choked slightly.
"Rookie, you should be sorry because your tardiness has made Justice late."
Izumi carried the Ichiraku Ramen.
She continued to hang her head.
"I'm sorry..."
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