Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 46 He Died Because of Me
As the evening approached and the sun was about to set, the inn became lively.

The students of Class A finally arrived at their destination. They were as happy as if it was New Year's Day. They walked into the hot springs and refused to come out of the bath. The hotel owner was also very happy. He didn't expect that the business would be so prosperous at the beginning of the tourist season. He would definitely make a lot of money this year.

Fushimi Lu was awakened by the noisy noise downstairs. He was almost asleep, so he stretched and sat up, feeling sore all over. He thought that sleeping on the tatami was not as comfortable as sleeping on the bed.

When he looked up, he saw Yuan Yuzi huddled in the corner of the kotatsu, looking guilty.

Fushimi Shika was just wondering what she was thinking. Before he could ask, someone suddenly knocked on the door: "Is Tamako-san here?"

Yuan Yuzi was startled. She hurriedly got into the kotatsu and said in a muffled voice, "No, no!"

Fushimi Shika was confused. He lifted the quilt and saw Gen Tamaki lying in it in a dogeza position, burying her face in her elbows and curled up. "What bad thing have you done?"

"Shh!" Gen Tamako raised her finger, signaling Fushimi Shika not to speak.

The latter didn't understand and got up to open the door.

Shirata Masahiro was standing outside the door, wearing a yukata and holding a cigarette, rubbing his hands and stamping his feet. He obviously hadn't recovered yet. He had just called the police academy, and the school had sent a bus to pick them up. Taking advantage of this break, he wanted to talk to the two students.

Seeing that it was Fushimi Shika who opened the door, he raised his eyebrows in surprise, but didn't say much. He just sighed in his heart that it was great to be young. Others worked diligently for ten years, but it was not as good as this guy who casually hooked up with the daughter of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner...

"Would it be convenient for you to chat for a moment?" Shirata Masahiro glanced into the room and said, "I hope I won't disturb you."

Fushimi Shikamitsu saw his expression and guessed that he had misunderstood something. Taking the initiative to explain would only make things worse, so he simply asked him to come in: "It's convenient, please come in."

The bedroom was warm and there were no strange smells.

Shirata Masahiro glanced around and saw Gen Tamako lying by the kotatsu, peeking out. When she saw someone coming in, she immediately shrank back.

He sat cross-legged on the tatami, cleared his throat, opened his mouth to speak, but fell silent again.

Fushimi Shika took the initiative to ask, and Shirata Masahiro said with a gloomy face: "Some things are really hard to say..."

"Ah."

Fushimi Shika did not urge him, he sat by the kotatsu and peeled an orange. Gen Tamako peeked through the gap in the kotatsu, secretly urging Instructor Shirata to hurry up.

The cigarette burned slowly between his fingertips, and a piece of ash fell on the tatami. Shirata Masahiro came to his senses, took out three things from his yukata pocket and placed them on the ground.

A bullet covered with green copper rust, a rusty police gun, and an old black notebook.

"Eh?!"

Gen Yuzi screamed, raised her head suddenly, and bumped into the table. The stove shook, and Fushimi Shika's elbow was hit, and the orange he had just peeled was not held firmly, and it fell onto the tatami.

Yuan Yuzi didn't care about the headache. She crawled on all fours like a hamster and stared at the bullet on the ground. Her eyes became cross-eyed. "Could it be... that this is the bullet on the skeleton? But why? Instructor Shirata, why did you steal it?"

Shirata Masahiro showed a bitter smile, and his stern face finally showed a bit of vulnerability.

He took a deep breath of cigarette, and when he exhaled the smoke, he said with difficulty: "Actually, I know him..." "Hey hey hey!!!"

Yuan Yuzi looked up suddenly, her eyes widened, thinking, No way? Could it be that Instructor Shirata has also killed someone? Her career in the police academy was actually led by two murderous instructors? !

She was so shocked that she made too much noise. Shirata Masahiro had no choice but to explain: "It's not what you think. I didn't kill him..."

He paused, and finally uttered the words that had been stuck in his throat: "But he died because of me."

"What do you mean?" Yuan Yuzi looked confused.

Fushimi Shika leaned against the kotatsu and peeled another orange. It would be a shame not to order some snacks for such a large-scale melon-eating scene. Eating snacks while the criminal is confessing is the correct way to watch a suspense film!
"His name is Natsume Shiro," Shirata Masahiro said softly, revealing his long-buried thoughts: "He used to be the owner of an izakaya."

Gen Yuzi remembered something and was about to ask, but she heard Shirata Masahiro continue, "About eight years ago, Natsume Shiro found that his memory had seriously declined. He often forgot what he was supposed to do. He even forgot to redeem the tickets he bought at the horse racing track."

"His family took him to the hospital, and after examination, it was confirmed that he had Alzheimer's disease... In layman's terms, it is senile dementia."

"He started to forget things, people, meals, and even how to talk. My children were away from home working all year round, so I had to go back to look for him every time."

"At that time, I was just a patrolman in a small town. My daily job was either to help find cats and dogs, or to send Mr. Shilang who was wandering around home."

"I was tired of this boring job and decided to apply to join the criminal police team. But every time I was studying, a resident would report that 'Mr. Natsume is missing again'... I had no choice but to put aside my studies and look for him everywhere in the town."

"One day, he told me that he wanted to go hiking. I was confused and didn't take it seriously. Later I found out that he had told his family the same thing, and his family also didn't take it seriously."

"As time went on, he became more and more confused and could not remember anything."

"After I became a criminal police officer, I occasionally went back to visit him in the small town. He still kept talking about climbing mountains, climbing mountains, climbing mountains... No one in the family could understand why he suddenly wanted to climb mountains every day."

"Until one day, he disappeared in the mountains. Along with him, my police gun also disappeared."

Shirata Masahiro lowered his head in pain, the bitterness on his face could no longer be concealed: "It's stupid, isn't it? I had my gun stolen by an Alzheimer's patient."

The electric kotatsu crackled and he had finished smoking a cigarette, the butt still trembling at his fingertips.

The room fell silent.

After a long while, Yuan Yuzi was the first to break the silence: "But why did he steal a gun and go to the mountains to commit suicide?"

Shirata Masahiro lit another cigarette, as if he had unloaded a burden: "For so many years, I didn't understand and even resented Natsume Shiro. But later, I realized that everything was my fault. I didn't want any students to repeat the same mistakes, so I organized this graduation exam."

"If he were still alive, he would be 76 years old now, right?"

"Perhaps it was fate that I came across his skeleton in the mountains. Mr. Shiro left a diary, and after reading it, I decided to tell you the truth."

(End of this chapter)