Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 411 Life is short, leave no regrets

"Move aside."

Hira Sakura waved her hand to shoo them away: "Don't block the TV."

Fushimi Shika pressed pause for her and said seriously, "You have to listen too."

As Minamoto no Tamako was biting her pen, pondering how to write the invitation, she saw Fushimi Shika emerge from her room with a serious expression. Immediately recalling her mother's tone earlier, she wondered if her mother had made some unreasonable request of Fushimi-kun…

Wait, is he going to confess his feelings?

Yuan Yuzi finally realized what was happening. She quickly spat out the pencil, placed her hands on her knees, sat up straight, and looked on expectantly with stars in her eyes.

Although she felt that Fushimi-kun's choice of a confession location was a bit hasty, with no flowers, no music, and not romantic enough, at least Fushimi-kun took the initiative to make the confession, which was commendable.

Minamoto no Tamako's heart pounded. She planned to first express her approval, then feign refusal, and wait for Fushimi-kun to beg her for a chance before reluctantly agreeing...

"I'm going to die."

Standing in the living room, Fushimi Shika said those words in a tone that said, "I like you."

That's right, this is his ultimate trump card: to confess his illness and put the choice on Minamoto no Tamako, letting her decide whether or not to confess to the dying man!

That's quite despicable.

Upon hearing this news, the two reacted differently.

Ping Yingzi blinked, stretched out her small hand, pressed the button on the controller, and continued playing the game;

Gen Tamako sat quietly for a while, scratched her head, picked up the pencil from the ground, and said with a disappointed look, "Don't joke like that."

"it is true."

In front of the two of them, Fushimi Shika unbuttoned his shirt one button at a time. His chest was covered with claw marks that extended down to his lower back, looking like a swirling black tattoo.

"When did tattoos become a terminal illness?" Hira Sakura asked expressionlessly as she manipulated the plumber to lift the bricks.

"Is this a temporary tattoo? You didn't actually get one, did you?" Minamoto Tamako leaned closer and rubbed Fushimi Shika's abs with her small hands.

Fushimi Shika slapped away her wicked little hand, reminding her, "Have you forgotten? At Murin-an, I drank Nue tea. I said I was fine before, but I was lying to you..."

“I drank it too,” Gen Tamako said nonchalantly.

"The effects differ between men and women. Women who drink it will experience hallucinations, while men will gradually turn into tree people. In the early stages of the illness, ghostly claw marks will appear on their bodies, followed by..."

Fushimi Shika didn't know what would happen next, so he skipped the intermediate stages and described the illness as even more severe: "He turned into a tree-man whose head was blooming."

"what……"

Genji remembered this.

The assistant of the tail-sewing plant left a very deep impression on her, especially the scene of the tree people having intercourse, which she would never forget even when she was eighty years old.

"There should be a way to cure this, right?"

Yuan Yuzi finally felt a sense of crisis. She didn't care about the bounty or the invitation; a strong sense of unease gradually spread through her.

Even now, she still felt a sense of unreality, not fully accepting the fact, thinking that Fushimi-kun was just saying it—like before, making various excuses to be lazy.

"I'm afraid there's no cure," Fushimi Shika said calmly.

"No, no, no, don't think like that," Yuan Yuzi quickly stood up and went back to her room to change her clothes. "We'll go to the hospital for a checkup. Medicine is so advanced now, there must be a way to treat it."

Fushimi Shika knew that it would take some time and proof for Minamoto no Tamako to accept the facts.

He didn't refuse and went to the hospital with Yuan Yuzi, where he underwent a full range of examinations, which alarmed the head of the dermatology department. The head treated him as a rare case, summoning a group of attending physicians who gathered in the ward to study his skin, discussing the test results incessantly.

Seeing how seriously the doctor was taking Fushimi's condition, Minamoto no Tamako felt somewhat relieved, thinking that with so many doctors working together, there must be a way to solve the problem.

When she asked the question, the doctors shook their heads repeatedly, saying that the disease could only be "observed further," that "there are currently no relevant cases," and that "experimental treatments could be conducted for medical purposes"...

Genji was heartbroken and fled in panic, taking Fushimi Shika to other hospitals for examinations. The results were similar, and her anxiety finally died.

Clutching a stack of lab reports, she sat in the hospital corridor, too anxious to even cry. When Fushimi Shika finished her last test, she rushed over to the doctor to ask about the results, but the doctor shook his head again, indicating there was nothing he could do.

"From a pathological perspective, it's not a major problem. There are no abnormalities in any of the body's functions; the only issue is that we can't find the cause of this skin lesion..."

The doctor tried to explain, but to Gen Tamako, it sounded like a death sentence—she had heard before that when doctors encounter terminal illnesses, they would describe the symptoms as mild in order to give patients hope for survival.

—Fushimi-kun is going to die.

The moment the thought crossed Minamoto no Tamako's mind, her body trembled uncontrollably. She grabbed Fushimi Shika, begging him to come home with her. She assured him that her mother would surely find a way; if the doctors in the country couldn't cure him, they would seek out specialists abroad. There was definitely a way to cure him!

"Alright, alright, it's no big deal."

Fushimi Shika pulled her hand back and sat her down on a bench in the corridor. His leg injury was almost healed, and the doctor had advised him not to walk until it was fully recovered. However, he had been running around today to cooperate with Minamoto Tamako's examination, which had caused a dull ache in his calf, suggesting a possible recurrence of the old injury. "What do you mean 'it's no big deal'? You know you're going to die!"

Minamoto no Tamako's voice was choked with sobs. Even though she was extremely anxious, she still sat down next to Fushimi Shika. Fushimi Shika didn't let go of her hand, and she didn't let go of Fushimi Shika's hand either.

"Everyone has to die."

Fushimi Shika was quite open-minded. He patted Minamoto no Tamako's head with his other hand, and she buried her face in his chest, clutching his clothes tightly, her body trembling slightly.

Fushimi Shika could hear sobbing, and his shirt seemed to be wet at the chest.

It's a really strange feeling; some people will grieve because of his death. In his previous life, he always endured his colds and illnesses on his own, and no one ever nestled in his arms, sincerely hoping that he would get better.

"I...I don't want you to die."

Genji no longer rebuked him for sophistry, nor did he correct him by saying that there was a big difference between "dying of old age" and "dying young".

In the past, she was afraid to open her heart and kept making excuses to hide her feelings; but now, she spoke her mind directly and said what was in her heart.

Fushimi Shika felt a sudden pressure. He knew what he should say, and he had so much to say... He wanted to talk about how he had been lying in bed with a bad cold on New Year's Eve, he wanted to talk about the revolving lantern he saw before he died in his previous life, he had so much to say, but a curse seemed to be lingering in his heart, preventing him from speaking and from participating in this game of the brave.

Fushimi Shika released his grip, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and lit a cigarette.

Yuan Yuzi leaned against him, never looking up.

The lighter's flame flickered in the dimly lit corridor, then a spark lit up, and Fushimi Shika took a deep breath and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Yuan Yuzi coughed softly in his arms, and did not try to persuade him to quit smoking again.

Hearing the cough, Fushimi Shika stubbed out his cigarette. He put his arm around Minamoto no Tamako, gently patted her shoulder, and whispered, "Let's go home for dinner."

Minamoto no Tamako had no appetite; she didn't want to be idle for even a moment. Fushimi Shika was adamant, demanding that she go home first. Tamako didn't know how to argue, so she could only silently get up and follow Fushimi Shika back to the Sugamo apartment building.

"Cheer up, I'm not dead yet."

After arriving home, Fushimi Shika offered a word of comfort, but it had little effect; Minamoto no Tamako's eyes remained red.

Ping Yingzi was frightened. She stopped playing games and huddled alone in the cardboard box.

After they got home, Ping Yingzi peeked out, not daring to say a word, and just lay on the edge of the cardboard box, looking at them longingly.

Fushimi Shika personally cooked a sumptuous meal. He had already composed himself and specially lit the candles that hadn't been used up last time to add ambiance, making it a candlelight dinner.

But to Minamoto no Tamako, the white candles looked like a funeral procession, especially with Fushimi Shika sitting opposite her and white candles on both sides of the table. She could almost picture the scene of a mourning hall.

Overwhelmed with sorrow, Yuan Yuzi lost all interest in romance.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?" Fushimi Shika asked, cutting his steak with a knife and fork, constantly hinting to Minamoto Tamako.

He was fine when he didn't speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Minamoto no Tamako thought Fushimi Shika was about to give his last words. Her large, bright eyes curved slightly, and no matter how hard she tried to hold back, large tears still fell down her cheeks.

"I...I...I'm sorry...I...I should have found out sooner..."

Fushimi Shikashin asked, "Why is she crying? He didn't even cry, so why is Minamoto no Tamako crying? Shouldn't she wait until he dies before she cries?"

"Alright, alright," Fushimi Shika interrupted, "Stop crying... If you cry again, I'll kill myself!"

Upon hearing this, Gen Tamako truly stopped crying.

She gripped the knife and fork tightly with both hands, biting her lower lip hard, her body trembling. Although she was shedding tears, she didn't cry out loud.

Fushimi Shika, unable to bear seeing her cry, and wanting to finish quickly, continued to hint, "Actually, I have a little regret..."

"W-What regret?" Yuan Yuzi asked, sobbing.

She thought to herself that no matter what it was, she had to help Fushimi-kun complete it so that he could attain Buddhahood without regrets after his death.

"I've never been in a relationship." Fushimi Shika put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and sighed.

"Didn't you...didn't you date back in college?" Yuan Yuzi hadn't forgotten about this.

"That was a lie. After all, I'm all grown up and I've never been in a relationship. It's so embarrassing. You'd definitely look down on me..."

“No way!!”

Minamoto no Tamako slammed her hands on the table, stood up, and looked at Fushimi Shika with teary eyes, shouting, "I've never been in a relationship either! That kind of thing... that kind of thing is really amazing, you know!!"

"Ah, I see." Fushimi Shika looked up at her, patiently waiting for her to continue: "So, do you think someone like me would be liked by a girl?"

Although this approach was somewhat cruel, it was effective. He silently encouraged Minamoto no Tamako, hoping she would take the initiative and confess her feelings—he had already prepared her response lines, such as "I like you," "Fushimi-kun is a very good person," and "Please go out with me"...

Go for it, Tamakomon!
Just a little bit closer!

(End of this chapter)