Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 396 If you can't do it, plenty of others will! (Please continue reading)

Fushimi Shika did not want Director Fujiwara to simply make a deal with him.

He wanted to make Director Fujiwara realize that if he wanted to get certain things done, he was indispensable—only by proving his own worth could he gain true respect.

Only when a case is sealed as a dead end, and there is no way to back down, will the ability to overturn the verdict be maximized.

This is like the first thing a programmer does when he joins a small company is to deliberately write terrible code. It doesn't matter if the software has bugs; the most important thing is that only he can fix those bugs.

Fushimi Shika had just hung up the phone after agreeing on a time and place to meet when he noticed Kazama Takusai staring at him. He put his phone away and asked, "What are you looking at? Do I have pockmarks on my face?"

"Your smile is very cunning."

Kazama Takusai pushed his wheelchair. He had just overheard the meeting place and planned to accompany Fushimi Shika in person to see what tricks he was up to.

"Really?" Fushimi Shika touched his face; he always paid close attention to managing his facial expressions.

"I was just kidding." Kazama Takusai felt a little happier. He could finally understand why Minamoto no Tamako was so insistent on having Fushimi Shika as her assistant.

"I think you have a few quirks," Fushimi Shika said disdainfully.

The two bantered casually as they walked through Sugamo Street, arriving at the coffee shop before Kikuta arrived. Kikuta always preferred to meet at coffee shops to discuss serious matters because no one cared what others were saying, and serving coffee was the most cost-effective way to entertain guests.

While waiting, Fushimi Shika took the initiative to start a conversation, talking about what happened on Cat Island, and praising Kazama Takusai for his quick thinking, understanding his hints and matching cards in time.

Upon hearing this, Kazama Takusai gripped his coffee cup tightly, the lingering pain from the silent needle still present. He pursed his lips and asked, "What would you have done if I hadn't deliberately made a mistake and still managed to get the best hand?"

"So be it." Fushimi Shika took a sip of coffee.

Kazama Takusai didn't know what to say. This guy casually put his life on his shoulders. He didn't know if this guy valued his life too little or trusted him so much that he was willing to entrust his life to him.

“Your prosthetic eye looks really good, almost like a real one,” Fushimi Shika leaned forward and examined it closely for a while. “Where did you get it?”

"I bought it. Do you need it?" Kazama Takusai asked in return.

"What if?" Fushimi Shika observed for a while, then quickly lost interest.

That prosthetic eye only looks realistic; it looks very unnatural whenever Kazama Takusai makes a change in expression.

He chatted about various random things, such as what Watanabe Shun had been busy with these past few days, whether Moriki Araragi was misogynistic, when this month's salary would be paid, and which areas of Tokyo had potential for property appreciation... Kazama Takusai was willing to answer some questions, but too lazy to bother with others.

Half an hour later, Attorney Kikuta arrived late.

He was not used to discussing cases in coffee shops. Lawyers generally adhere to confidentiality principles, and case negotiations usually take place in law firms or more private spaces.

With so many people around, it was even inconvenient for him to take the files out of his bag.

“It’s alright, just listen,” Fushimi Shika deliberately chose a corner by the window so he could observe the flow of people around them and make sure no one was paying attention to them. “Actually, it’s not a big deal…”

He leaned forward, lowered his voice slightly, and explained his defense strategy in court in detail, clarifying why he said what he meant, what his defense points were, how the logical chain of arguments held true, and how he would sway the judge's opinion...

Attorney Kikuta was initially dismissive, thinking that Fushimi Shika, a mere novice, actually dared to teach him how to do things. After all, he was an elite who had passed the bar exam, and how could the incompetent police officer in the Metropolitan Police Department be compared to him?

But as he listened, he unconsciously sat up straight, took out paper and pen from his pocket, and began to take notes in his notebook like a novice monk listening to a high-ranking monk preach. His serious expression was like that of a college student listening to a lecture by a highly respected lawyer.

Fushimi Shika didn't seem to notice his change in attitude and continued to explain the "preparations" needed to win the case...

Upon hearing this, Attorney Kikuta began to sense something was amiss: "Wait, wait... isn't this... a little bit, well..."

"Gray? Just barely touching the edge?" Fushimi Shika said for him.

Attorney Kikuta remained silent, glancing guiltily at Kazama Takusai. He didn't recognize the man, but the guy's one eye staring at him made him feel a lot of pressure, like a thug keeping order around a big shot.

Fushimi Shika noticed the change in his expression and said with a smile, "You're a lawyer? What do lawyers do?"

"Practitioners who provide legal services to clients?" Attorney Kikuta said.

“I didn’t ask you to memorize the definitions,” Fushimi Shika waved his hand, then asked, “How many years have you been in this line of work?”

“It’s been over twenty years,” said Attorney Kikuta.

"You can't be some greenhorn, can you? Why are you making such a fuss over this? Haven't you ever taken kickbacks? Haven't you ever made a plea bargain? Haven't you ever cleaned up the messes for important people?" Fushimi Shika asked in quick succession.

Attorney Kikuta gave an awkward laugh, wiping his face with a handkerchief, and said, "Uh, I understand, but I've never seen anything like this..."

He wanted to say he'd never seen such dirty tactics before, but he was too embarrassed to say it to their faces. Fushimi Shika knew what he was thinking and earnestly coaxed, "You'd better think this through. Who is Fujiwara Homare? The only son of the Fujiwara family! The biological son of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Chief Inspector Fujiwara! You must have put in a lot of effort to get this case, right?"

Attorney Kikuta exclaimed "Ah!" He had indeed put in a lot of effort.

“If you can’t handle this case, there are plenty of people vying to take it!” Fushimi Shika tapped the table with his index finger. “Director Fujiwara can replace you at any time. You don’t actually think you have the right to negotiate with him, do you?”

As he spoke, he placed his hands on Attorney Kikuta's shoulders, his gaze exceptionally sincere: "I'm doing this all for your sake! Think about it, who benefits the most from Fujiwara Homare's acquittal? It should be you! If you can withstand the Tokyo prosecutors and successfully overturn the deadlock, professors at the University of Tokyo will use you as a case study in their law and political science classes!"

Attorney Kikuta naturally wanted to become a true 'criminal defense lawyer,' but he wasn't foolish enough to believe Fushimi Shika's words, 'I'm doing this all for your own good'... If anything went wrong, he'd probably be the first to take the fall.

But he couldn't bear to give up the blueprint that Fushimi Shika had drawn up. If he could really get a not guilty plea, he would definitely become famous in the legal profession, successfully open a private law firm, and no longer have to personally deal with cases every day...

After much deliberation, Kikuta Meiji decided that Director Fujiwara wouldn't risk his political career. As the saying goes, it's good to have a powerful backer, so he gritted his teeth and agreed.

"That's right!"

Fushimi snapped his fingers and ordered a cappuccino from the waiter to celebrate the agreement reached, as if they had just closed a $200 million deal on Wall Street.

Attorney Kikuta declined the coffee. According to Shika Fushimi, he had many things to do and no time to rest in order to win this crucial case.

After Attorney Kikuta left, Kazama Takusai turned around and said, "Don't you think that's a bit much?"

“I don’t think so,” Fushimi Shika retorted. “If you thought it was excessive, why didn’t you stop it just now?”

Kazama Takusai didn't say anything. The waiter brought over a cappuccino, but he snatched it away and drank it all in one gulp.

“I’m doing a good deed,” Fushimi Shika argued vehemently. “Fujiwara Homare is innocent, the Fujiwara family is happy, Tamako and I are happy, and Attorney Kikuta is happy… So what if the methods are a little dirty?”

"What about the victims' families?" Kazama Takusai asked in return.

“Rio Yoshikawa committed suicide, so who can be blamed?” Shika Fushimi interrupted him before he could speak, “Of course, I know that assisting suicide is also a serious crime, that people cannot be objectified or used as murder weapons, and that using this method to plead not guilty undermines the fairness of the judiciary… I understand what you’re trying to say.”

“But you don’t care, right?” Kazama Takusai asked.

"I'm just changing the world in my own way, and so is Minamoto no Tamako. It might sound like I'm just patting myself on the back, but it's better than doing nothing." Fushimi Shika stood up, swiped her card to pay, and said, "Don't you think so?"

"I don't care either."

Kazama Takusai also stood up, pushed over a wheelchair, and urged Fushimi Shika to go to the hospital for a check-up.

Fushimi Shika looked reluctant, but still sat in the wheelchair.

The two went together to the University of Tokyo Hospital. After entering, they queued to register and waited anxiously for half an hour. When it was finally their turn, Fushimi Shika suddenly slapped his forehead and said:

"Ah, I need to get a wound dressing first. You should go get checked out first."

“I’ll go with you,” Kazama Takusai said.

"That's such a hassle! We'll have to queue up and register all over again!" Fushimi Shika said.

"No trouble at all. Didn't you say I'm free anyway? It won't take long for me to help you with a minor injury," Kazama Takusai replied.

The two stood at the hospital registration window, arguing back and forth.

Upon seeing this, the receptionist nurse thought it was a touching display of fatherly love and kindly reminded him, "It's alright, you can register for both departments at once."

"..."

Fushimi Shika cursed inwardly but maintained a smile on his face, gritting his teeth as he said thank you. He took the form and let Kazama Takusai push him into the trauma department, teasingly saying, "Such a grown man, and you still have to stick together when you go to the doctor. Shameless! Are you afraid to go for your injection alone?"

"Aren't you the same?" Kazama Takusai said, clearly annoyed.

"I said I can do it myself..."

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up!"

He took Fushimi Shika to the surgery department, where a specialist treated his leg injury and determined it was a gunshot wound that needed to be reported to the police. Fushimi Shika, looking impatient, showed his police ID and lied, claiming he had been shot while on a mission. The surgeon then dropped the matter.

"Okay, everything's done now."

Kazama Takusai took a deep breath, pushed Fushimi Shika towards the psychiatric ward at the end of the corridor, and pushed open the pure white door:
"Be prepared, it wouldn't be surprising if we found out something."

(End of this chapter)