Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 405 Released in Court
Yuan Yuzi knew what those words meant.

The Yoshikawa couple hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, but they vaguely realized that the verdict was beginning to veer in an unfavorable direction.

The prosecutor sat up straight in surprise, quickly flipping through the report submitted by Attorney Kikuta before the trial. He discovered that Kikuta had indeed submitted relevant materials before the trial, but they were sandwiched among a bunch of nonsense and reports, which was obviously intentional.

The judge adjusted his glasses and began to carefully read the documents in his hands.

In 1991, the average number of cases closed by Japanese judges was between 1300 and 1600 per year. With only 365 days in a year, the "case closure rate" was one of the main performance indicators for Japanese judges. They needed to handle a large number of cases with high quality, so you can imagine how much pressure they were under. They basically just glanced at the case files before starting the trial, and some even reviewed the case files in court.

Taking advantage of the absence of any questions, Kikuta Meiji continued his statement:
"According to the prosecutor's on-site report, the police did not find any wounds on Mr. Fujiwara after arriving at the scene; in addition, DNA testing proved that the bloodstains on the murder weapon were from Rio Yoshikawa herself and did not contain any other special ingredients, including but not limited to dyes, animal blood, plant liquids, etc."

"Therefore, it can be concluded that Mr. Fujiwara's act of murder is not established."

"Imagine how Mr. Fujiwara could have stabbed Rio Yoshikawa without even holding the knife. If he had held the knife beforehand and wiped away the fingerprints on the hilt, then Ms. Yoshikawa's fingerprints wouldn't be there..."

The prosecutor was sweating profusely. Realizing he couldn't let Kikuta Meiji continue, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Objection!"

The judge gestured for him to state his objections. The prosecutor gathered his thoughts, rubbed his forehead, and said, "It's also possible that Fujiwara Homare was holding Yoshikawa Rio's hand, forcing her to hold the fruit knife..."

"Then stab her in the back?" Kikuta Meiji interrupted.

The prosecutor was momentarily speechless. He imagined it for a moment, and it seemed unlikely that the pose could be achieved.

Kikuta Meiji continued, "Admittedly, the situation described by Prosecutor Kitajima could indeed have occurred while Yoshikawa Rio was unconscious. However, the autopsy report clearly states that the deceased did not take any medication, including sleeping pills, and there are eyewitness testimonies in the case file that clearly indicate that Yoshikawa Rio entered the hotel conscious."

The prosecutor had nothing more to say, so he could only sit back down and start looking at his watch.

The Yoshikawa couple couldn't help but loudly refute, questioning Kikuta Meiji: if Fujiwara Homare didn't kill anyone, then how did their daughter die?

The judge struck his gavel, ordering them to be quiet. He said that if they did it a third time, they would be expelled from the courtroom.

Attorney Kikuta faced the judge and began to explain his reasoning.

On the night of the incident, Rio Yoshikawa went to a bar to drown her sorrows after a breakup. There, she ran into her old classmate, Homare Fujiwara (the case file states that they were high school friends). They chatted for a while, and as is often the case with lonely young people, sparks flew. So Rio Yoshikawa 'followed' Homare Fujiwara to a hotel...

Unable to bear it any longer, Doi Yuzuki stood up and retorted, claiming that Rio was not that kind of person and would never go to a bar to have sex.

The judge, having reached his limit, signaled to the bailiffs to remove Doi Yuzuki, who lost her right to attend the hearing and could only wait for the verdict outside the courthouse.

In response to her questions, Akira Kikuta gave a definite answer.

He sifted through a pile of materials and found Yoshikawa Rio's spending records, proving that she had once received treatment at Arima Toshio's private clinic, where the latter was a psychologist with a doctorate in clinical psychology from Kyoto University.

This is enough to show that Yoshikawa Rio's mental state was not stable at the time, so it is not surprising that she engaged in promiscuous behavior while drunk.

The judge accepted his statement and signaled for him to continue.

The Yoshikawa couple held each other's hands tightly, their lips pressed together, staring intently at Attorney Kikuta's mouth, afraid he might utter some terrible words again.

"As I just stated, Yoshikawa Rio's mental state was unstable before her death. She may have had self-harm tendencies or suffered from mental illnesses such as paranoia. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain her carrying a fruit knife with her."

"From this, we can further speculate that after arriving at the hotel, Rio Yoshikawa attempted to harm herself with a fruit knife. She works as an elementary school teacher, and if someone were to discover that she had wounds on her arms or thighs, she would likely lose her job. Therefore, she had no choice but to stab herself in the part of her body that would be least likely to be noticed... namely, her back."

"This explains why there was a strange knife wound on Yoshikawa Rio's back."

"My client, Mr. Fujiwara, was drunk when he tried to stop Rio Yoshikawa from committing suicide. During this process, he took the fruit knife, which is why his fingerprints were left on the blood scab on the handle."

"The autopsy report also stated that Yoshikawa Rio died from acute massive bleeding caused by a ruptured spleen; in other words, she died from excessive blood loss."

"This process can take up to half an hour, or even several hours, before shock or even death occurs."

“Mr. Fujiwara was not sober at the time, so he mistakenly took sleeping pills instead of hangover medicine. Pharmacological tests were conducted afterward, which proved that there were traces of sleeping pills in his body... Therefore, when the police arrived at the scene, Mr. Fujiwara was still sleeping in bed.”

"Rio Yoshikawa lost too much blood and had no strength to call for help or leave. She could only lie on the ground and bleed to death slowly."

"Furthermore, Mr. Fujiwara did not have a clear motive for murder. He simply blacked out due to alcohol and could not recall what happened that night. He mistakenly believed that he had killed someone, which is why he made a confession."

"In conclusion, my client is neither guilty of intentional homicide nor manslaughter. Based on Japanese criminal law, professional ethics, and humanitarian considerations, I refute the charges and maintain my client's innocence."

……

At this moment, the courtroom reveals a diverse array of human nature.

Mrs. Yoshikawa wept silently, her sobs echoing in the courtroom; Mr. Yoshikawa clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, and gritted his teeth, remaining silent.

Director Fujiwara remained calm, as if he had expected this; Mrs. Fujiwara wept with joy, shaking her husband's arm repeatedly, almost bursting into cheers on the spot.

Fujiwara Homare sat in the defendant's dock, hesitating several times before finally speaking. When it was the defendant's turn to speak, he was speechless. The judge asked him if his lawyer's defense was true, and he lowered his head, fidgeting with his fingers, claiming he couldn't remember.

Genji's mind was in turmoil. Her eyes darted back and forth, astonished that Attorney Kikuta could deduce part of the truth, while simultaneously troubled by his role in clearing Fujiwara Homare of the charge of assisted suicide. The court clerk's fingers danced, the typewriter clattering as it recorded everything that had been said in court.

There is no need to summon witnesses anymore. All the witnesses can only testify that the two were in the same room, that no third party entered or left, and that no one witnessed the entire murder.

Finally, with the presiding judge's approval, the victim's family members may state their opinions, question witnesses, and raise questions.

If they cannot provide valuable clues to overturn Kikuta's chain of reasoning, Fujiwara Homare will likely be acquitted.

The Yoshikawa couple surveyed everyone in the courtroom, their gaze lingering long on Mrs. Fujiwara and Fujiwara Homare. Their faces were filled with sorrow, their lips trembling, and they looked with their last hope at the defense lawyer assigned by the court—he sighed deeply and leaned down to whisper something in the couple's ears.

The elderly couple burst into tears.

Minamoto no Tamako was empathetic; she was so upset she wanted to cry too. Fushimi Shika covered her ears, cupped her head in her hands, and said, "Let's go, there's nothing left to see."

"The judge hasn't delivered the verdict yet!" Yuan Yuzi whispered.

"There's no suspense anymore. Watching any longer will only make you more upset." Fushimi Shika knew the conditions of the court's verdict better than she did. At most, the judge would send the case back for further investigation or request a retrial, but the final result would not change.

Whether considering the logical chain or the chain of evidence, Kikuta Meiji's argument is clearly more complete.

“What if I submit that tape?” Gen Tamako asked.

"What's changed? Didn't Yoshikawa Rio still commit suicide?" Fushimi Shika, having anticipated this, countered clearly, "The recording only proves that Attorney Kikuta's inference is correct, that Fujiwara Homare did prevent Yoshikawa Rio from committing suicide... Furthermore, because the key dialogue is unclear, it cannot prove that Fujiwara Homare assisted Yoshikawa Rio in committing suicide. Inferences alone are useless; evidence is required in court."

Gen Tamako realized that this was a dead end, and no matter how she tried to untie it, someone would get hurt.

Fushimi Shika continued to urge her to leave, but she stubbornly shrank back, remained seated, and forced herself to observe and record everything that was happening before her eyes.

She can't think of a better solution right now, but as long as she learns from her mistakes, constantly reviews them, and keeps expanding her thinking, sooner or later, when she encounters a similar case again, she will definitely be able to come up with a perfect solution...

Certainly possible!

Fushimi Shika had no choice but to sit down again, crossing his legs and placing his hands on his knees.

He was extremely agitated. The demon Kawai appeared, telling him to leave immediately so he wouldn't have to see it anymore. The little angel also appeared, telling him to sit and watch until the end. He had orchestrated all of this, and as the instigator, he had to see the ending no matter what.

Mr. Yoshikawa swallowed his tears, wiped them haphazardly with his sleeve, and loudly demanded to know where the fingerprint analysis report on the fruit knife came from. Wasn't the murder weapon lying in the police station? How did Kikuta Meiji, the defendant's defense attorney, get into the police station to retrieve the murder weapon for analysis?

Everyone knows this perfectly well.

Chief Inspector Fujiwara is the chief inspector of the Metropolitan Police Department. When he goes to the evidence room to retrieve physical evidence, isn't it just a matter of asking?
Attorney Kikuta left no evidence, claiming that the Metropolitan Police Department implemented a new regulation yesterday requiring physical evidence to be retested by a third-party testing agency before being retained, and that the test report be made public—a regulation designed to prevent wrongful convictions and give the Metropolitan Police Department the opportunity to correct its own mistakes.

Therefore, the judge stated that the objection was invalid, the weapon testing procedures were legal and compliant, and if Mr. Yoshikawa suspected that the testing was falsified, he could file a separate lawsuit.

After he finished speaking, he asked Mr. Yoshikawa if he had anything else to say.

These words, to the Yoshikawa couple, were tantamount to the judge protecting the murderer. Mr. Yoshikawa's eyes reddened, and he remained silent even after the judge questioned him three times.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, the presiding judge said that if they did not speak, it would be considered that they had finished speaking.

"Do whatever you want," Mr. Yoshikawa said through gritted teeth.

The presiding judge sighed, reviewed the materials again, and confirmed that nothing had been missed. Attorney Kikuta's logic and evidence were flawless. He knew that further investigation would be futile, so he delivered a not-guilty verdict.

With the sound of the gavel, Fujiwara Homare was released in court.

After the court hearing ended, everyone stood up and, as is customary, saluted the judge.

However, Mr. Yoshikawa suddenly jumped over the railing and lunged at Fujiwara Homare. Seeing this, the bailiff rushed forward to stop him, but unexpectedly, Mr. Yoshikawa was holding a long, sharp piece of glass in his hand. With a casual swing, he slashed through Fujiwara Homare's chest.

"Go to hell!"

Mr. Yoshikawa roared.

He tackled Fujiwara Homare to the ground and raised a piece of glass, aiming it at Fujiwara Homare's neck. The latter instinctively raised his hand to block, but the glass pierced his palm, and a large amount of blood splattered on his face.

Everyone was horrified. Mrs. Fujiwara screamed. Director Fujiwara and Minamoto Tamako also jumped over the railing and rushed to stop Mr. Yoshikawa. The judge waved for backup, and the bailiffs restrained Mrs. Yoshikawa, who was about to help. In an instant, the solemn courtroom was thrown into chaos. Order and justice vanished, leaving only the purest violence.

Fushimi Shika remained seated in the same spot, back straight, legs crossed, hands folded and resting on his knees.

His temples throbbed, his pupils reflected the furious faces of the victims' families, and his memories from his previous life overlapped once again.

Fujiwara no Homare's blood seemed to splatter on his face, burning hot as if it were on fire.

(End of this chapter)