Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 20 The Long Atonement

Thirteen years ago, Obon Festival.

Nagano Kawai could never forget that secluded path. The air was filled with the scent of ginkgo, the sound of footsteps jingling not far away, the crossing railings slowly lowered, and a moment later a train rumbled past.

"I'm sorry, I told you I didn't mean it..." The younger brother followed her and pleaded in a low voice: "Forgive me, please? I'll give you half of the pudding tonight..."

Nagano Kawai no longer remembered what they were arguing about. It must have been a trivial matter. She only remembered that she pushed her brother and shouted:
"Go to hell! I hate you the most!"

Then there was the sound of crashing and breaking flesh and bones. She would never forget the scene of her brother's face being crushed by the tire. The car stopped for a moment, reversed, started to sprint, reversed again, and started again... The 90-second green light turned into a long torture.

Until the red light came on and the road guardrail slowly rose, the car lowered the window, the owner glanced at the body, and then sped away across the tracks.

Afterwards, everyone said that it was not Kawai's fault, the light was green at the time and she was just playing with her brother.

However, when Kawai raised her head and looked at the Buddha statue with compassion in its eyes, she felt that she was deeply sinful.

In order to atone her sins, she tortured herself day after day for ten years.

Memory is the most unreliable thing, and Kawai was afraid that she would forget that face. Therefore, every night before going to sleep, she would close her eyes and constantly recall the scene at that time - recalling the smell of the ginkgo tree, recalling the urgent sound of the alarm, recalling the bloody body of her brother, and recalling the face that leaned out of the car window.

She had nightmares for thirteen years before Chizuru Sakurai's face was engraved into her bones.

"I didn't want to commit the sin of killing, so I went to draw nine divination sticks, asking Vajra Buddha whether he could avenge me..."

Nagano Kawai said softly, "Nine times is a good omen."

She pulled the trigger hard, and with a crisp sound, the bullet jammed.

Compared with firearms, Japan has stricter control over bullets. Therefore, Nagano Gawa used double-loaded bullets. Due to factors such as model differences, shell deformation, gunpowder moisture, etc., this type of double-loaded bullet has a high jam rate.

Sakurai Chizuru's forehead was covered with beads of sweat. She slowly turned her head and glanced at Kawai behind her, and said urgently:
"How can a police officer abuse lynching? I will turn myself in! Please, please give me a chance to apologize!"

Fushimi Shika leaned back on the chair and said sarcastically, "Yes, it's only been thirteen years, and the statute of limitations hasn't expired yet. Wouldn't it be a perfect deed to let the law punish her? Doesn't Buddhism teach that one can become a Buddha immediately after laying down the butcher knife?"

Nagano Kawai ignored him, she removed the jammed bullet, reloaded it, and said, "If all five bullets jam, it is God's will, and I will leave; if not, it is also God's will, and I will be your retribution."

Hearing this, Instructor Sakurai realized that the crisp sound just now was the sound of a bullet jamming.

If she was unlucky, her head would have been smashed by now.

"and many more!"

She said quickly: "If you kill me, you are also a murderer! Then why should you live? Call the police. Calling the police is the most rational choice--"

"Yes, I deserve to die too." Nagano Kawai turned the gun, pointed it at his own temple, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

With a crisp click, the bullet jammed again.

“This is God’s will.”

She ejected the bullet, reloaded the gun, and pointed it at Sakurai Chizuru again.

However, the gun lost its deterrent effect after jamming twice in a row. Sakurai Chizuru suddenly turned around, pulled out a piercing knife from the suitcase, and pounced forward!
At the same time, Nagano Kawai pulled the trigger!

Thunder roared in the sky, lightning pierced through the dark clouds, and the sound of gunfire was drowned out by the heavy rain.

The bullet passed through Sakurai Chizuru's abdomen, grazed Fushimi Kaka's ear, and embedded itself in the wooden table. The latter was startled, and his earlobe felt a burning pain. He reached out and touched it, and it was covered in blood.

Tsk, DNA is left behind. Fushimi Shika frowned and looked up, only to see Chizuru Sakurai relying on inertia to stab the sharp knife in her hand into Nagano Kawai's chest. The latter did not dodge and fired another shot at Chizuru Sakurai's abdomen.

The thunder rumbled, deafening.

Sakurai Chizuru was in so much pain that tears came out, and her heroic face became particularly ferocious. She squeezed out the last bit of strength and twisted the handle of the knife, causing Nagano Kawai to spit out blood and the pistol fell to the ground.

The two of them staggered two steps at the same time and fell to the ground.

Chizuru Sakurai was breathing heavily, her pupils shrank slightly, and the adrenaline she was secreting continued to suppress the pain.

After surviving the disaster, she held her stomach and laughed wildly.

"I survived! I'm still alive! This is God's will! See? This is God's will! You lunatic! This happened so many years ago, it's meaningless! You attacked me for such a ridiculous reason, go to hell! Go to hell--"

The words stopped abruptly.

A shadow fell on Sakurai Chizuru's face.

She tilted her head back, her eyes wide open, the dark muzzle of the gun reflected in her pupils.

"--wait--"

Kang!
Fushimi Shika pulled the trigger.

The first round jammed, and he methodically unloaded and reloaded the gun. Sakurai Chizuru panicked, she shouted "I have no grudge against you", "Why on earth", "I was wrong, I know I was wrong"... Fushimi Shika had no expression on his face and pulled the trigger again.

A gunshot rang out, and the bullet hit Nagano Kawai right in the middle of his eyebrows, passing through his skull, and blood splattered on Nagano Kawai's police badge.

"That's how you should use a gun."

He turned his head and looked down at Nagano Kawai: "You used the reasoning game as an excuse, hoping that Yuan Yuzi and I would stop you from killing people. You were hesitant and uncertain inside, so you ended up like this."

Nagano Kawai struggled to sit up, leaned against the podium, coughed up a mouthful of blood foam, his eyes full of confusion: "Why... why?"

"You've shot her spleen and she's bleeding profusely. Even if I didn't shoot, she would have died," said Fushimi Shika.

"Then why did you shoot again?" She still didn't understand.

"First, I also hate Sakurai Chizuru. I once defended a criminal who had hit and run, and that was not a pleasant feeling."

"Second, it was my idea to steal the diary. You didn't give me away. I don't like owing others, so I'm paying off my debt."

Fushimi Shika squatted down, looked her in the eye, and said seriously: "I am the murderer, and you are innocent."

Nagano Kawai was stunned.

There was a buzzing in her cochlea, and her eyes began to feel dizzy, but her heart felt relieved.

The burden that had been weighing on her heart for thirteen years suddenly vanished. She had finally reached the end of her path to atonement, which had forced her to become a murderer. She had paid for her guilt, had not committed murder, and had not broken the promise she had made with Minamoto Tamako.

On her deathbed, she was in a trance and returned to six years ago, when Yuan Yuzi was wearing a high school uniform, holding up an application form and cheering loudly:
"Yoshi! In order to eliminate all evil and uphold justice in my heart, I declare that the Reasoning Team is officially established!"

Hot tears welled up in Nagano Kawai's eyes and slid down her face. She murmured to herself in a low voice:

"Sorry, this is the last time I will ask a question."

(End of this chapter)