Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 413 Past events

Many significant events occurred in Japan in 1989.

For example, Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru resigned after less than two years in office, and the Japanese prosecution authorities summoned 3800 people, searched more than 80 locations, and found that more than 7000 people were involved, including more than 40 members of parliament. The situation was so turbulent.

For example, the sensational "Ayase Cement Murder Case" occurred in Ayase, Adachi Ward, which dealt a huge blow to Japanese society at the time. To avoid censorship, I won't go into too much detail...

The social atmosphere at the time was depressed and chaotic. Parents were worried that their daughters would be abused by bad people, or that their sons would be influenced by what they saw and heard and become bad people themselves.

One can only imagine how much determination it took for Minamoto no Tamako to run away from home, and how overwhelmed Kujo Yui must have been, caught in the vortex of politics.

If Minamoto no Tamako were only sixteen or seventeen, running away from home would undoubtedly be the behavior of a spoiled child; but she was already in her twenties at the time, and it was normal for her to have the idea of ​​leaving her family to make a living on her own. At that time, Minamoto no Tamako felt that the world was corrupt and urgently needed an honest and capable police inspector to save her!

Since no one else is stepping forward, she will set an example!
In pursuit of her dream, Minamoto no Tamako even made the decision to risk her life. Before running away from home, she left a suicide note that read, "If I am killed by thugs, please don't be sad for me, Mom," and "This is the path I chose myself. I just want to set off on a long journey." This is similar to the two boastful letters she later sent from Sugamo.

After reading the 'suicide note,' Kujo Yui was devastated. Without saying a word, she sent several agents and bodyguards to arrest her, even if it meant using violence, to drag Minamoto Tamako back home.

While hiding in Kawai's house, Yuan Yuzi was planning which police academy to enroll in when she suddenly heard a series of chaotic footsteps outside the door. The abbot shouted loudly, stopping outsiders from trespassing on the sacred Buddhist grounds. Her heart skipped a beat, sensing that the visitors were up to no good and were probably there to arrest her. Without even putting on her shoes, she ran out the window and escaped.

She had just climbed over the yard fence when she glanced back and saw that the bodyguards had pinned down Kawai, and three other agents were climbing through the window to arrest him.

"Run! Tamako, run!" Kawai shouted, looking ready to make a heroic sacrifice.

Yuan Yuzi ran barefoot down the street, but before she had gone far, dark clouds gathered on the horizon, the air grew increasingly humid and stuffy, a clap of thunder sounded, lightning flashed across the sky, and a torrential downpour began, soaking her to the bone.

Pedestrians scattered on the street, and cars crisscrossed the road. Taking advantage of the heavy rain obscuring her vision, she successfully shook off her pursuers.

The Kawai family is definitely not going back. The bodyguards aren't stupid; they'll be lying in wait there.

Yuan Yuzi leaned against the convenience store door, wringing out the water stains from the hem of her clothes. She was soaking wet from head to toe and didn't even have a pair of shoes. She looked like an orphan wandering the streets, not knowing where to go.

Gulu...

Yuan Yuzi's stomach rumbled with hunger. She touched her belly with her little hand. Since running away from home, she hadn't had a single hot meal.

Are we just going to slink home like this?

The aroma of instant noodles wafted from the convenience store, office workers leaned against the glass window slurping their noodles, and the staff were processing discounted bento boxes.

Yuan Yuzi's mouth watered. She leaned against the glass door, staring at the eel rice in the clerk's hand. The clerk asked if she wanted to buy some, but when she checked her pockets, she had no money. She could only wear a bitter expression.

She was pondering whether to take a job to pay for her food, not asking for a salary, just wanting food and lodging, when suddenly she heard a bodyguard shouting in the distance, which startled her so much that she quickly turned around and looked around.

"there!"

"Block the road!"

"Don't let her get away!"

Yuan Yuzi ran away with her head in her hands, looking extremely disheveled.

For Genjiro Yuko at the time, 1989 was the darkest, most painful, and most frustrating year of her life. She hid everywhere, living in fear and hardship, and was afraid every day (although it only lasted for three days), but at least she learned to fight back.

If she hadn't run away from home, following her original life trajectory, she would have continued to pursue her degree, perhaps even a master's or doctoral degree. She might have made outstanding contributions in the arts and languages, winning one or two prestigious awards. Her elders would have then chosen a suitable family for her, and she would have lived a life of being a devoted wife and mother.

This kind of life is very stable, but she doesn't want it.

……

But for Shika Fushimi, 1989 was just an ordinary year.

He had just transmigrated to Japan, and his only impression of 1989 was the death of Emperor Showa, the official announcement that "Heisei" would be the new era name, and Japan entering the Heisei era—as well as the fact that the original owner was so poor that he couldn't afford to pay his rent and electricity bills, and at the same time, he couldn't find a job that matched his major, so he had to find a way to become a taxi driver, and finally died of overwork in his car.

Why do you need connections to become a taxi driver? Because the taxi industry was strictly regulated in 1989, with very high entry requirements. According to Japan's Road Transport Law, there were strict regulations for taxi-related matters... Fushimi Shika was, after all, a university graduate from Nagoya University, so competing with a bunch of high school students for a taxi driver job was more than enough for him.

After being reborn, Fushimi Shika, having accepted reality, had a simple goal: to find a stable job where he could live a comfortable life, drink tea, read newspapers, and occasionally browse through case files for his own amusement. He would have no regrets in this life.

At the time, Fushimi Shika had no intention of going to police academy to become a policeman. After reviewing the original owner's memories, he felt that being a taxi driver was not bad. He could chat with customers when he had nothing to do, and he could get tips. He had full insurance and a considerable income. He had eight days off a month, which was much better than being a lawyer in his previous life, which was exhausting—at least that's what he thought on the day he transmigrated.

Looking back now, the two of them were really naive. One aspired to become a top-ranking police inspector, while the other was determined to live a carefree, laid-back life... There's no way to say who was right or wrong in this situation. After all, what kind of life one wants to live is one's own business.

The two first met on July 28, 1989.

At that time, Hokkaido was experiencing a torrential downpour. Water curtains hung from the overpasses, the sky was dark and gloomy, and the streets were illuminated by neon signs. Fushimi Shika was driving his taxi through Otaru, Hokkaido. He had just dropped off his first passenger in this life and was on his way back.

After descending the overpass, there is a long stretch of coastal highway. In the distance, the sea roars and surges in a storm, black waves crashing against the cliffs and shattering into white jade.

His feelings were quite complicated at the time. The only reason he continued to take orders and drive was simply because he didn't know what else to do. Everything in Japan was new and exciting to him, but he had no interest in appreciating the scenery.

According to the original owner's memories, he drove to the city center, and just as he unlocked the car and was about to get out to finish work, a short girl darted out from the side of the road, opened the car door without saying a word, and climbed into the back seat.

"Drive! Drive!" she pounded on the back of the seat.

Fushimi Shika glanced in the rearview mirror and saw three burly men in trench coats with menacing faces rush out from the street corner. Seeing the girl get into the car, they pulled out their police badges without a word and shouted, "Police! Pull over!"

Click, the car door locked, the engine roared, the headlights pierced the rain, and the bodyguard watched as the taxi's tires slipped and sped away down the street.

They failed again, and in their anger, they stomped their feet and rubbed their heads. They found a phone booth and reported the situation to their superior.

"...Yes, I showed my police ID, but it didn't work."

"The license plate number is Hokkaido 11-56-78, and it's heading towards Susukino..."

"Make sure to set up surveillance ahead; we absolutely cannot let her escape this time!"

……

Gen Tamako swallowed hard; she had a bad feeling.

Normally, when a taxi driver hears the word "police," they will obediently stop instead of stepping on the gas as if they are afraid of being arrested... Only criminals are so paranoid and see threats everywhere.

Before she could even process what was happening, the car radio blared local news, accompanied by a piercing alarm, and the announcer spoke urgently:
"This is an emergency notification from the Sapporo Police Headquarters. A stabbing incident has occurred in the Minami 4-jo Nishi 2-chome section of Chuo-ku, Sapporo City. A woman in her twenties has died, and the suspect is currently at large. The suspect's characteristics are as follows. We request the cooperation of all citizens..."

stab-

The taxi driver casually tossed the radio switch, abruptly stopping the emergency broadcast. He kept changing channels until soothing music came back on, then he finally let go, satisfied.

The air was thick with moisture, and the chill was penetrating to the bone. Yuan Yuzi shivered.

She felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. Recalling the reports about the Ayase cement murder case, her legs trembled, and she turned her face away, not daring to utter a sound.

"Where do I get off?" the taxi driver asked without turning his head.

"Right here, right by the roadside...this is fine..."

Gentamako was so frightened that her voice changed. She was very timid at that time. If Kawai hadn't been there with her, she probably wouldn't have had the courage of a booger.

"Are you sure?" The taxi driver glanced out the window again but did not stop.

Yuan Yuzi was certain; she was absolutely certain the driver was no good. The situation was critical; she was all alone and needed to find a way to protect herself. Before the driver could turn back, she decided to strike first.

"No, don't move!"

Yuan Yuzi stood up slightly, leaned forward, and pressed the key against the back of the driver's neck, pretending it was a knife: "If, if my hand slips, your life will be in danger!"

The driver didn't say anything. He gently applied the brakes and pulled the taxi to the side of the road. Yuan Yuzi was about to get out and run away when she suddenly heard a police siren in the distance. She looked out and saw that the driver was the bodyguard who had been chasing her.

"Keep going! Don't stop!" Yuan Yuzi almost shouted herself hoarse.

The driver floored the gas pedal again, and she nearly lost her balance and fell back into her seat. A police car gave chase, blaring its horn to order the taxi to pull over. The driver ignored it and instead accelerated even further.

The taxi and the police were speeding through the rain, and Yuan Yuzi's heart was pounding in her chest, fearing that a drift would cause a fatal accident.

If her journey to pursue her dreams ended like this, she would become a vengeful ghost who refused to be reincarnated. She screamed for the driver to stop, and the driver asked whether she wanted to drive or stop.

"Slow down, slow down!" Yuan Yuzi lay face down on the seat, turning into a screaming groundhog.

"If we slow down, we'll be overtaken!" the driver retorted.

“That’s a police car! Don’t you care why the police are chasing us?” Yuan Yuzi thought he didn’t seem like a fugitive, after all, he had just been about to stop the car. “Because you killed someone?” The driver turned around: “Do you need legal aid?”

"Don't turn around!! Look at the road ahead!!" Yuan Yuzi was terrified and quickly cupped the driver's face in her hands, knelt behind him, and forced him to look straight ahead.

The driver jerked the steering wheel, performing a dramatic drift in the rain. Gen Tamako could hear the screeching of the tires as the taxi abruptly veered into a side alley, taking a shortcut to the coastal highway.

Yuan Yuzi's heart was pounding at 180 miles per hour, and her legs were shaking. She asked the driver why he was taking a detour, and he replied matter-of-factly, "Didn't you see all those cars making U-turns? That means the police have set up a checkpoint ahead."

Upon hearing this, the driver's identity was upgraded from murderer to ruthless bandit.

Yuan Yuzi increasingly felt that the driver's identity was not simple. It was a pity that there was no rearview mirror in the front seat of this taxi, otherwise she could have secretly observed the driver's appearance.

"Where...where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to remain calm.

"You can get off wherever you want," the driver said. "If you rob a bank, I suggest you don't stop. Keep running. Even if you turn yourself in now, the sentence will be the same. If you really manage to escape, you'll make a killing. Just remember to give me some money afterwards..."

"What do you mean I shouldn't stop? You're the one driving!" Yuan Yuzi quickly tried to absolve herself of responsibility.

She had just seen it clearly: the driver ran three red lights and didn't signal when turning. He refused to stop when the police asked him to—in just a few minutes, the driver had already violated traffic laws and was suspected of obstructing official duties.

The driver said nonchalantly, "I'm at most an accomplice. You're the mastermind. You made me drive, and you even threatened me with a knife. Even if we go to court, the judge will most likely rule that I acted in an emergency."

Upon hearing this, Genji's mind went blank.

She dreamed of becoming a famous detective and police inspector, but on the third day after running away from home, she turned into a reckless street thug, and even wielded a knife... no, I mean, she hijacked a car with her keys...

My life is over!!
What to do, what to do, what to do?!
Yuan Yuzi's CPU froze for a few seconds before quickly restarting. She snapped back to reality and immediately retorted, "I'm not a robber! I didn't rob a bank!"

"No?" The driver whistled. "Then you're in trouble. Murder, resisting arrest, and fleeing—even if it was self-defense, the nature of the crime is still extremely serious..."

"I didn't kill anyone!"

"Then why are you running?" the driver finally asked the crucial question.

Yuan Yuzi didn't give a specific reason, but she gave a general explanation: the person pursuing her was sent by her mother, and she is currently running away from home.

Upon hearing this, the driver offered perfunctory advice, claiming that running away from home was quite childish, especially since the female passenger was only a junior high school student, and suggested that she have a proper conversation with her parents...

Yuan Yuzi's face turned red with anger, and she retorted loudly, "First of all, I'm not a middle school student, I'm an adult! Secondly, I went out to pursue my dreams, not because I ran away from home in a fit of anger after arguing with my parents!"

"Haha!" The driver let out a mocking, dry laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Yuan Yuzi questioned.

"Although I don't know what your ideals and ambitions are, I'm sure they won't come true."

Before Yuan Yuzi could retort, the driver accelerated again, and the car sped onto the seaside road. The distant sea waves roared with astonishing force: "Even if you manage to escape this time, in two years, you will begin to feel exhausted and realize that to achieve your ideals, you must first succumb to reality."

“But if you were willing to give in, you wouldn’t be in my car now.”

"Can you understand that feeling? Life won't beat you up, it won't confront you head-on, it will only wear you down, constantly telling you that this is how the world is, and you are just an ordinary person. Whether it's the ideal of changing the world or the ideal of not wanting to be changed by the world, you still have to face the question of what to eat tonight."

"If I'm not mistaken, you probably don't have the money to pay for the fare right now, do you?"

“When I was young, I often heard older people say things like ‘You’re too young,’ ‘You don’t understand yet,’ ‘You’ll understand later.’ In the past, when I heard these words, I just thought they were old-fashioned. Later, I don’t know how long it was, I started to say these words myself, because I know how far the distance is from reality to ideal.”

"Ninety percent of people never have ideals. At most, they only have 'life goals,' such as making money, buying a car, buying a house, and getting married. They have never experienced that feeling of finding joy even in hardship and exhaustion. So even if I say, 'Hey bro, I probably won't achieve my ideals in this lifetime,' they will only say, 'You're in Versailles again. You're already very successful.'"

As he spoke, the driver slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

"Now look what's happened! I've lost everything! I'm starting over, and I've gained superpowers, so I can do whatever I want, but I don't want to do anything anymore!"

Yuan Yuzi didn't know where the driver got such resentment from. She was afraid that he would say something like, "What's the point of living?" and then turn the steering wheel and drive straight into the sea. She quickly comforted him, "What's wrong with starting over?"

The driver dismissed it as a fart, grumbled briefly, but quickly regained his composure and continued driving attentively.

"Actually, I don't think it's important whether I achieve my ideals or not. Even if I never become a famous detective or police inspector in this lifetime... I will still be very happy."

When Minamoto Tamako said "famous detective and famous police inspector," her voice suddenly lowered. At this moment, she was still too embarrassed to tell others that she wanted to be a famous detective and famous police inspector. It was just like how high school students are embarrassed to say that they want to be manga artists, let alone show their works to their friends.

The driver didn't hear what she was muttering, but he understood what she meant and thought that her mentality was what is commonly known as being silly and happy, so he still didn't comment.

Yuan Yuzi thought her words had moved the driver, so she continued her vivid speech, acting as if she had found a kindred spirit. What she said was nothing more than some inspirational platitudes, such as "persistence is victory", "effort will eventually pay off", "enjoy the process of pursuing your dreams"... The driver felt like throwing up from listening to her.

"Why don't you pay the fare first before you start bragging?" The driver tried to turn around, but Yuan Yuzi straightened his head again.

"Look ahead! The fare doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if we have to start all over again! As long as we keep looking ahead, we'll eventually reach the end!"

Yuan Yuzi was quite satisfied with her inspirational quote with double entendres, but as soon as she finished speaking, the front cover of the car made a crackling sound, like diarrhea, shaking and emitting black smoke.

A dozen seconds later, the taxi came to a stop on the coastal road, completely broken down.

"Well, it seems your dream-chasing journey has come to an end." The driver's tone was full of schadenfreude.

"Try again, what if you can start it?" Yuan Yuzi was unwilling to give up.

"If I don't test it, I'll damage the car." The driver was very stubborn.

“We can’t just stop in the middle of the road, can we?” Gen Tamako asked.

"Why not?" The driver shrugged. "You don't know where you're going anyway, do you?"

"I don't care where I go!"

Yuan Yuzi was very unhappy. She felt that the driver's dejected aura was affecting her. Why did all the middle-aged men working for an office look so miserable? What did he mean by "I will never achieve my dreams in this life"? It sounded like he was making a veiled insult!

She slapped the driver on the shoulder and said loudly, "Go ahead and park illegally if you want, I'm going to keep going! Thank you, driver! I'll pay you back the fare I owe you someday!"

“It’s more than ten kilometers from here to the city. You can’t walk to the end. I advise you to stay in the car and wait for your parents to pick you up…” The driver was about to turn around again when Yuan Yuzi pressed the key against his neck.

"Don't turn around! I... I'm a robber!"

"I can make it to the end! Even if I have to be a robber, I will still achieve my dream!" said Minamoto Tamako loudly.

This was her only dark past, and she didn't want anyone to find out. If the driver turned around at that moment, he would see her crime index jump from 0% to 1%.

This is a breakthrough from 0 to 1.

"Do not believe."

The driver uttered two very vulgar words in a flat tone.

Unable to prove herself, Yuan Yuzi could only loudly bet the driver that one day she would realize her life's value and achieve her ideal goals!
Then, she would return to the convenience store in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and hail a taxi. The driver would remain just a driver, politely taking her across the coastal road. Upon arrival at her destination, she would settle the fare for the ride and loudly tell the driver that dreams can be realized!
After saying that, Yuan Yuzi opened the car door, jumped barefoot onto the road, and ran forward in the pouring rain.

Fushimi Shika didn't actually see the other person's face; he could only see the girl's back. The girl jogged in the rain for a while, then, probably tired, gradually slowed down and continued walking forward, kicking the water.

The heavy rain clung to the car windows, and he didn't turn on the wipers, making his vision blurry.

Fushimi Shika sat quietly in the car for a long time until sirens blared and the taxi was surrounded. The lead detective pulled him into the police car for questioning, and he recounted the whole incident in detail, including the girl threatening him with a knife to drive.

After listening to him, the detective asked him to keep it a secret.

Fushimi Shika still remembers what he said at the time. Although he didn't take it seriously after he said it, he can still repeat every word he said in full.

"For the sake of that girl's future, let her do what she wants to do."

This statement actually had two meanings. The detective was unsure at the time and asked Fushimi Shika if he was threatening him. The latter replied affirmatively, saying he wouldn't mind exposing the matter and having the runaway heiress framed for kidnapping.

In addition, there is another implicit meaning: even if she hadn't met him, that young lady would still have taken the risk.

Some birds cannot be caged; even the largest cage cannot compare to the vast sky. For them, life never offers a compromise.

It's either die or fly.

(End of this chapter)