Makima being able to say his name didn't surprise Su Tang.
After all, when he first called he had only used another number in his phone; with Public Safety's capabilities, looking up such things was easy.
After asking "what devil did you contract with," Makima kept propping her chin and quietly regarding him.
"Mm, about that…"
Su Tang thought for a moment, and suddenly recalled that during the fight with the Zombie Devil, he seemed to have heard the same question. Didn't the Zombie Devil say something like "shadows, flame, and ninja"?
Got it!
His eyes lit; he coughed lightly and said, "I'm contracted with the 'Fire Shadow Ninja'!"
Fire Shadow Ninja?
Makima tilted her head at him when she heard the name.
That unpleasant sensation spread through Su Tang again.
This woman… what pressure.
He ran the fire-qi over his eyes again and sighed inwardly.
No wonder she was a boss among cops.
"Mm…" Makima nodded gently.
He had no idea whether she believed it—but if one's IQ was normal, one probably wouldn't. He didn't believe it himself. Saying that was just code for "I don't want to answer."
Judging by what he'd seen, this Miss Makima's IQ and EQ were both online.
Sure enough, she didn't dwell on it, but lowered her head and looked at him with interest, asking softly, "Mr. Su Tang is full of vigor. You don't feel cold like this?"
Prompted by her, Su Tang immediately remembered he was bare-chested.
Cold wasn't an issue; if a contractor of the Fire Devil got cold at this temperature, then the Holy Lord might as well hit restart.
But it did feel awkward. He was mentally healthy and didn't have an exhibitionist problem.
He considered whether to strip a decent shirt from one of the bodies.
Seemed he didn't need to.
Because Makima was already shrugging off her trench coat.
"Here."
Looking at the coat being handed over, still warm from Makima's body heat, Su Tang hesitated for all of zero point zero three seconds.
Then he quickly took it, gripped the two sides of the collar, flipped it back, and draped it over his shoulders.
Watching him slide his arms into the sleeves and extend them, Makima suddenly asked, "Mr. Su Tang… are you close with this girl?"
"Mm? You mean Denji-ko." He had finished putting it on and was fastening the buttons one by one. At her question, he replied:
"Close… uh, not bad, I suppose. The truth is the girl has some psychological issues. She may have pinned certain inner longings for good things on me. You know, that's common in kids whose childhoods weren't very pleasant."
"Mm." Makima nodded, clearly approving. "I recall Hayakawa reporting that you're a doctor."
"Ah-ha, just a little trifling skill." Su Tang smiled and waved off the praise.
To be honest, the coat fit him quite well—neither big nor small. And warm.
"Mm… In that case, would you like to come back with me to Public Safety and get a doctor's license?"
"No need—eh? Eh?!" He had just reacted and was about to say something when Makima cut him off. She raised a forefinger to her lips for a soft "hush," then said:
"Mr. Su Tang, your fake certificate with the gang hasn't arrived yet, has it? While I recognize your abilities, not having a license will always be troublesome. But Public Safety can put you through an internal assessment—it would only take a day or two. And…"
Looking at him, she smiled. "Forgotten already? We said in the day that we'd meet when we had time—just right to discuss Power's usage protocol."
This…
Su Tang scratched his head. She'd even prepared the reasons for him—all ones he didn't want to refuse. Looked like this trip to Public Safety was a must.
Fine. It wasn't some dragon's pool and tiger's den anyway. Just a world-famous gangster member walking alone into the cops' lair.
He nodded agreement, then looked at the sleeping Denji-ko on the floor and asked, "What about her?"
"Her…"
Dragging out the syllable for a second or two, Makima seemed to hesitate. "In Mr. Su Tang's honor, I'll consider bringing her into Public Safety. With official status, she won't be attacked by other devil hunters."
"Good. When she wakes, I'll talk to her and ask what she wants."
He nodded. Much as he liked Makima's suggestion, Denji-ko wasn't his property. As a person with her own will, she had the right to decide her future, so he didn't accept on her behalf.
"Then let's go." Makima turned to leave.
"Eh? We're just leaving the bodies?" Su Tang pointed at the clumps of blood and meat on the floor. "I don't think the Zombie Devil should have been this strong—did it swallow the Gun's flesh?"
Of course he knew the gang boss had gotten 0.06 kg of meat.
"Mm. Hayakawa will bring people to clear it in the morning."
Without looking back, Makima walked out of the factory at a steady pace.
So decisive.
Watching her receding back, Su Tang shrugged, squatted, and lightly picked Denji-ko up in his arms.
Then followed her out.
—
"Ah… finally here."
Getting out and stretching, Su Tang looked at the majestic building bathed in the first rays of the morning sun.
He'd been too busy throughout the day and was exhausted, so as soon as he got in the car he went straight to sleep. Of course, before sleeping he also summoned a few Shadow Ninjas to hide in the car on guard.
Harbor no intent to harm, but keep your guard, too.
At the end of the day, this was his first meeting with Makima.
"How do you feel?"
Think of Makima and Makima arrives. Coming up beside him from the car, she followed his gaze and smiled. "This is Tokyo's Public Safety Headquarters."
"Very nice." He chose a flattering descriptor.
It was indeed very nice, though not the best. The Black Hand's headquarters, after all, was a full-on skyscraper.
"Right—Denji-ko? Is she awake?"
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