Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 380 Abnormal Behavior
"Rio did have a boyfriend, but he suddenly disappeared. Everyone says that when a man leaves without saying goodbye, it's most likely because he wants to dump his girlfriend..."

“I told Rio that Cheng wasn’t that kind of person… but actually, I thought so too.”

Doi Yuzuki held the coffee cup in both hands, her thumbs nervously rubbing the rim: "Aren't all men like this? Before falling in love, they always like to pretend to be affectionate, saying things like 'I will love you forever,' 'You are the most special woman I have ever met,' and 'I am gay but you can make me straight'... Men will say anything in order to sleep with a woman."

Upon hearing this, Genji Tamako subconsciously turned to look at Fushimi Shika.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Fushimi Shika asked calmly. "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

After a moment's thought, Minamoto no Tamako realized that Fushimi Shika had never pretended to be affectionate. He always had a "don't care" attitude, and only when he was doing something bad would he pretend to be a sunny and cheerful big boy... In a way, he was an honest person who was true to his word.

Everyone knows he's a bad person, so no one will accuse him of moral flaws.

Yes, that's right, I knew I hadn't misjudged him.

Minamoto no Tamako was very satisfied. She had zero tolerance for her partner's lying, and of course, she herself wouldn't lie, at most she would try to tell a few white lies like Fushimi-kun...

As the three were chatting, the waiter brought coffee and placed it in front of Minamoto no Tamako and Fushimi Shika respectively. As the waiter leaned over, he glanced at Fushimi Shika and recognized him as the guy who had paid him to sneak into the women's restroom to steal her phone at the izakaya last night.

What a coincidence! He happened to be working two part-time jobs, and he happened to run into Fushimi Shika at both of his workplaces.

"Hey buddy, it's me..."

Before the waiter could finish speaking, Fushimi Shika interrupted him: "No tip."

Yuan Yuzi glanced up and saw that the waiter had dark skin and dyed yellow hair. Although he was wearing a coffee shop uniform, he still had a sleazy air about him.

Hmm, he looks a lot like the perverted suspect the izakaya owner described last night!

"What tip? I mean..."

Before the waiter could finish speaking, Fushimi Shika interrupted again: "If you keep doing this, I'll file a complaint! This is a violation of consumer rights, you know? The price of my coffee includes a service charge. Does that mean I have to get my coffee from the kitchen myself if I don't leave a tip?"

He paused, then gave a thumbs-up and pointed to Minamoto no Tamako beside him: "See this? This is a serving detective from the Sugamo Police Station. If you're planning to do something bad, you'd better get lost!"

The waiter wasn't stupid. He knew the izakaya owner had reported the incident to the police last night, and he also understood Fushimi Shika's implication. He quickly glanced at Minamoto no Tamako and noticed the police badge on her suit collar. He immediately apologized and turned to leave.

"Honestly," Fushimi Shika gestured for them not to mind, "the service staff these days are really low-class."

Yuan Yuzi became suspicious. She couldn't help but turn around, resting her right hand on the back of the chair, and scrutinize the waiter's back, intending to call him back and ask him clearly: "Really? He didn't seem to be asking for a tip just now..."

"unimportant!"

Fushimi Shika reached out and pinched her cheek, turning her back to him: "When you're working on a case, focus on the case, don't be distracted, understand? The most important thing to solve a case is concentration! They're taking time out of their busy schedules to cooperate with our investigation, and you're flirting with the waiter? How can that be acceptable!"

Doi Yuzuki quickly waved her hand, indicating that she was fine and that she wasn't actually very busy.

Yuan Yuzi thought he made sense. There are priorities. It was more important to deal with the murder cases at hand first, and the task of catching the pervert should be left to the Koban patrol police.

She sat up straight and continued questioning, trying to find out if Yoshikawa Rio had any similar prior offenses.

Yuzuki Doi vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that Rio Yoshikawa had only ever had one lover and was quite conservative in matters of love, and would never have forced herself on a man with a knife.

Genji was sipping her coffee when she heard this. She quickly put down her cup and asked, "Are you sure? Is it possible that Yoshikawa Rio is keeping her work and personal life separate and is hiding something from you...?"

“Impossible. Rio and I have been best friends since high school.” Doi Yuzuki said decisively, “We made a promise to become teachers together, which is why we work together.”

Gen Tamako immediately thought of Kawai. She and Kawai had always been completely open with each other. If one day the detective investigating the Heavenly Punishment case said that Kawai had attempted to sexually assault a man with a knife, she would definitely jump up and defend herself... Doi Yuzuki was considered to have a good temper and did not argue with her.

If Doi Yuzuki's statement is true, then Kikuta's reasoning is naturally invalid. In the end, all his reasoning is biased towards Fujiwara Yoriyuki's side, so it naturally has little credibility.

Before coming, Minamoto no Tamako had already made some mental preparations. After receiving confirmation from Doi Yuzuki, she became even more curious and wanted to find out exactly what happened in the hotel that night.

Hmm, could it be that Yoshikawa Rio's boyfriend is Fujiwara Homare?
Because the Fujiwara family recently became engaged to the Kujo family, Fujiwara Homare, under pressure from his family, left without saying goodbye, intending to abandon his devoted girlfriend and obey his family's orders. However, he was unexpectedly kidnapped by the Aum Shinrikyo cult and taken to Cat Island, disappearing for several days. Yoshikawa Rio, frantic with worry, finally found her lover in a bar. After a confrontation, she chose to commit suicide for love…

But that doesn't make sense. Shouldn't lovers stab each other in the chest or stomach? How could someone be stabbed in the back?

Could it be that Fujiwara Homare killed Yoshikawa Rio in a fit of rage, either to protect his family's reputation or to completely sever ties with her, which is why he remained silent in the interrogation room...?

Wow, that seems like a very reasonable guess!
Minamoto no Tamako believed she had glimpsed a corner of the truth; aside from lacking some concrete evidence, she was basically able to reconstruct the events of that night. However, just to be on the safe side, she decided to ask Fushimi-kun's opinion first, lest she make a presumptuous and incorrect deduction, only to be proven wrong and become a deduction clown.

"What do you think?" Gen Tamako turned her head, her lips still smeared with white milk foam. "Don't you have anything to ask?"

Fushimi Shika shook his head to indicate no, and said whatever Officer Tamako said was true.

Seeing his half-hearted attitude, Yuan Yuzi gritted her teeth in exasperation, feeling that she had been too lenient. She immediately transformed into a monster with a slap on her chest, lowered her voice, and leaned closer to him, saying in a sinister tone, "If you continue like this, I will cancel your stamp for that day."

"Why is there a cancellation option?" Fushimi Shika frowned.

“The form clearly states that you must ‘work diligently’ on that day. You’re not working diligently at all, so of course I have the right to cancel the stamp.” Yuan Yuzi used her trump card.

"On what grounds? What are the criteria for judging whether someone works diligently?" Fushimi Shika protested.

"I think not taking it seriously is not taking it seriously!" Yuan Yuzi said domineeringly.

Fushimi Shika originally wanted to start the business, but considering that he had already obtained three stamps, the huge sunk cost made him reluctant to give them up... Besides, at three stamps a day, it would only take about seven days to collect 22 stamps.

Just bear with it a little longer.

Fushimi Shika took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed.

He turned around, interlaced his fingers, and asked Doi Yuzuki, "The questions I'm about to ask might be a bit pointed, so let me make it clear beforehand: I'm asking these questions to investigate the truth, and I have no malicious intent whatsoever. If you truly want to clear your friend's name, please tell me the truth and keep our conversation confidential."

Seeing his seriousness, Doi Yuzuki felt a chill run down her spine. She sat up straight and nodded to indicate that she would not hide anything and would tell him everything she knew.

"Who is Yoshikawa Rio's boyfriend?" Fushimi Shika asked, getting straight to the point and getting to the core issue in Minamoto Tamako's deduction.

Doi Yuzuki gave an unfamiliar name that neither Fushimi Shika nor Minamoto Tamako had heard of.

The latter thought to herself, "That was close. If she had actually spoken out her reasoning, not only would Fushimi have laughed at her, but Doi would probably have thought she was unreliable... It seems that I should ask more questions in the future and make inferences only after I have certain information."

Fushimi Shika continued, "Since you think Yoshikawa Rio is a conservative girl, why did she go to the bar that night?"

"Well..." Doi Yuzuki said honestly, "I'm not quite sure either."

"Did she used to go to bars often?" Fushimi Shika asked again.

“No… As far as I know, she had never been there before. Officer Yuko just said she went to a bar and then to a hotel with a strange man, and I was actually quite shocked… I don’t think she would do such a thing, absolutely not… To be honest, I still can’t quite accept her death…”

Unable to contain herself, Doi Yuzuki asked, "Is she really dead? Are you sure the deceased is her?"

Fushimi Shika confirmed this, then pressed for more details, learning that Yoshikawa Rio and her boyfriend were each other's first love, had been lovers since high school, and remained inseparable throughout graduation, further education, and employment...

That's why, when Yoshikawa Rio's boyfriend suddenly disappeared a while ago, her first reaction wasn't that he had abandoned her, but rather that she was worried that something had happened to him.

When Fushimi Shika asked Yoshikawa Rio if she had been acting strangely lately, Doi Yuzuki looked troubled. She thought carefully and said, "She just broke up... well, you could say she broke up... She's in a bad mood, so naturally she's been behaving strangely... But I think she's pretty normal in the context of a breakup."

"What exactly was the behavior?" Minamoto Tamako pressed.

"For example, she would pick a flower, keep picking off the petals, and mutter to herself; or she would call me to ask what to do, to ask her boyfriend what he was really thinking..."

As Doi Yuzuki continued speaking, Minamoto Tamako became increasingly guilty and quickly interrupted, saying that she could understand all of this, but had there been any other 'abnormal' behaviors?

"Well, this..."

Doi Yuzuki racked her brains, then seemed to remember something and quickly said, "Ah, it seems there really is one."

"What?" Gen Tamako asked.

"She went to a mental health clinic, and when she came out, she seemed much calmer, but... how should I put it..."

Yuzuki Doi tried to find the right words to describe it: "She seems like someone else."

(End of this chapter)