Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 516 Simultaneous Crimes
Gentama tightly clung to Fushimi Shika's left arm, her deliberately wide-open almond-shaped eyes glistening with tears. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her nose, and her lower lip was bitten until it turned slightly white, making her look like a ruffled kitten trying to look pitiful.

Fushimi Shika's right hand, which was suspended in mid-air, froze. His gaze swept over Minamoto no Tamako's trembling eyelashes, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and a suspicious blush rose to the base of his ears.

We've fallen for their trap!!

Minamoto no Tamako was secretly delighted, shaking Fushimi Shika's arm and pleading, "Please, please, please!" Fushimi Shika himself seemed to be bewitched, holding the chess piece without moving, looking completely smitten with Minamoto no Tamako.

Hey Hey……

Gentamako's mind was racing. One moment she was thinking about how much Fushimi Shika liked her and couldn't take his eyes off her, and the next she was thinking about what kind of speech she should give after winning. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

No, he hasn't made a move yet. I have to hold back and not laugh!

Yuan Yuzi bit her small lips, her face flushed, looking pitiful, but in fact she was trying not to laugh.

Fushimi Shika stared at her for a long time, his hand still suspended in the air. Minamoto no Tamako gradually sensed something was amiss. Even if she was hesitant, shouldn't she have hesitated for this long?
"Does winning or losing the game matter more to you than me?" She waved her hand in front of Fushimi Shika. "What's wrong with you? What are you still hesitating about?"

“Hesitation? I’m not hesitating.” Fushimi Shika took a deep breath.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yuan Yuzi was taken aback.

Fushimi Shika closed his eyes, a look of enjoyment on his face, and said, "I am listening to the pleas of the defeated; this is the privilege of the victor."

"..."

Gentama's eyes gradually changed from bright and lively to lifeless and dull.

Fushimi Shika opened his arms and continued, "Ah, just thinking about your smug smiles makes me genuinely happy. Perhaps this is what they call the 'law of conservation of smiles'!"

Yuan Yuzi let go of his arm, gave it a little push, and pouted: "So you just don't want to give up?"

"Give up? Why should I give up?" Fushimi Shika pointed at Minamoto Tamako's nose with a toy figure: "There are no couples on the field, only competitors! I'm fighting with my life on the line! To hold back on the field is an insult to the competitors!"

Having said that, he raised the toy figure high and said loudly in an extremely childish tone, "In response to your admirable act of using any means necessary to gain a chance of victory, I will give you a serious and merciless final blow!"

Fushimi Shika slammed the toy figure down at the finish line.

Yuan Yuzi was dumbfounded.

Fushimi Shika even hummed a victory song right in front of her: "Fight~ Let's do our best today too~ Fight~ Don't give up~"

Gen Tamako snapped out of her daze, a look of resentment on her face. She was still biting her lower lip, but her fists clenched involuntarily.

Fushimi Shika leaned closer, lay down on the tatami mat, and struck a pose remarkably similar to the famous Kamen Rider beach scene. He said smugly, "This is exactly what I wanted to see! That jealous look on his face—wahahahahahahahaha!!"

"I...I haven't lost yet!" Yuan Yuzi shouted.

However, in the next round, Hira Sakura rolled a six, then stepped on the label written by Gen Tamako, moving forward six steps and ending the game.

Fushimi Shika got up and took out the watermelon that Minamoto Tamako had been longing for from the refrigerator. She had originally planned to chill it and eat it as a late-night snack, but now it was Fushimi Shika's turn to enjoy it.

"I don't know why, but this watermelon is exceptionally sweet."

Fushimi Shika deliberately smacked his lips in front of her, his mouth full of watermelon juice.

Hira Sakurako also shared the spoils of victory. She took the 10,000 yen and secretly left a bottle cap for Gen Tamako as a consolation prize.

Gen Tamako angrily stormed off, clutching the bottle cap. Tonight, she was going to sleep in a separate room from Fushimi Shika, which would give her a perfect opportunity to secretly study the case files by flashlight.

After finishing his watermelon, Fushimi Shika played chess with Hira Sakurako for a while, then took a shower and went to bed. Tonight, he learned his lesson and went to bed around 10 p.m. to avoid being woken up early the next morning.

Silent all night.

The next day, Yuan Yuzi got up very early. She quickly washed up, hid the dossier on her stomach, covered it with the hem of her clothes, and pretended to go out to find out the 'rumors' before running off like a rabbit.

Fushimi Shika was still lazing in bed. By the time he finished his nap and sat up from the mattress, Minamoto no Tamako was nowhere to be seen, and only Hirako was eating breakfast at home.

"Oh ho ho." Hira Sakura greeted him, then continued slurping her ramen.

"Eating ramen so early in the morning? You're living quite luxuriously these days." Fushimi Shika threw back the covers, stretched, and walked to the dining table. "Why isn't there any for me?"

These days, Japanese breakfasts are usually white rice with miso soup, or white rice with natto, pickles, or pickled vegetables. If you're a little more particular, you might fry a mackerel. If you're not so particular, you might just spread peanut butter on bread. Ramen is only eaten for lunch or dinner.

“I don’t know when you’ll get up, so the noodles won’t taste good if they get mushy,” Ping Yingzi said.

"Oh, then go buy me one now." Fushimi Shika sat down opposite her.

Hira Sakura is still receiving a salary. Officially, she is Fushimi Shika's personal assistant, responsible for helping with cleaning and preparing meals.

Hearing this, she pushed her bowl away and said, "Why don't you eat mine? I'm full, and there's still a lot left."

"No, you've already eaten all the ramen toppings." Fushimi Shika waved his hand and said, "Go on, go on, stop nagging. I want seafood ramen. If you do a good job, I'll reward you handsomely. I'll take you out for a stroll today."

He had to continue investigating the case today, so he couldn't leave Ping Yingzi alone at home and had to take her out for a stroll.

"What kind of reward is this?" Hira Sakurako hated going out.

"Enjoy the autumn leaves." Fushimi Shika used a pun to signal her to hurry up and stop dawdling.

Ping Yingzi muttered something about an unscrupulous boss exploiting child laborers, then put down her chopsticks and went out. She bought him a seafood ramen, which was loaded with shrimp, and the side dishes were mostly seaweed and bean sprouts, with a little bit of Naruto rolls.

As we all know, seafood ramen can't actually contain seafood, just like there's no wife in wife cake, no husband and wife in sliced ​​beef and tripe, and no braised beef in braised beef instant noodles.

Fushimi Shika fried some tuna and king crab for himself and placed them on top of the ramen, instantly making the seafood ramen look luxurious.

“You are more extravagant than me,” said Hira Sakurako, standing to the side.

Fushimi Shika picked up his chopsticks, slurped up noodles and seafood, and casually asked, "Have you ever thought about living such a luxurious life?"

"Yes." Hira Sakurako nodded.

"Then come with me outside, and you'll find out where all this seafood comes from. Watch carefully, learn well—even Yu Zi couldn't learn this. Isn't this a reward?"

After saying that, Fushimi Shika lowered his head and slurped down his soup.

Hira Sakurako thought it made sense, so she put on a small hat and mask and waited to go out with Fushimi Shika. After eating and drinking their fill, washing up, and getting dressed, Fushimi Shika dawdled out the door. Hira Sakurako followed behind him and reminded him, "Now I'm the vice-captain. You have to report to me in advance what you're going to do."

"What the hell?"

Fushimi Shika was walking along the seaside street, preparing to take the tram to Otaru Pier, when he heard this and turned to look at Hira Sakurako, asking, "What vice-captain?"

“I was appointed vice-captain of the deduction team yesterday by Tamako, and I haven’t had time to inform you yet.” Hira Sakurako held up the video camera, pointing the lens at Fushimi Shika, and said, “Now you know, remember to call me vice-captain from now on.”

"You mean, in a team of three, there has to be a captain and a vice-captain?" Fushimi Shika looked at him like he was an idiot: "Then I won't be a team member either, you two captains can play together."

"Do you want to quit?" Ping Yingzi repeated Yuan Yuzi's words, reminding her, "The Deduction Team is not a vegetable market where you can come and go as you please. If you want to quit, you have to write a 10,000-word withdrawal application first. You can only quit if I approve it."

Fushimi Shika also asked the same question: "What will happen if I don't write it?"

“Then you’ll lose the right to investigate cases. These days, countless people are vying to investigate a single case, and you might not even have the chance,” Ping Yingzi said.

“I’m telling you to go home now. Who do you think has lost the right to investigate the case?” Fushimi Shika asked rhetorically.

Hirayuko was speechless for a moment. Gentama hadn't taught her this, so she really didn't know how to answer.

On his first day in office, the vice-captain encountered a major crisis. He failed to establish authority among the team members and was even at risk of being dismissed because Fushimi Shika called Minamoto Tamako to ask what was going on.

"I've shed blood for the Deduction Team, I've contributed to the investigation, and I still haven't become the vice-captain. Why should Sakurako be the vice-captain?" Fushimi Shika turned on the speakerphone and loudly questioned in front of Hirai Sakurako, "Now I suspect that your position as captain is completely unfair!"

Yuan Yuzi had just arrived at the police station and hadn't even entered the door yet. She covered the microphone with her small hand and stood furtively in the corridor, whispering nervously, "Then, then you'll be the right deputy captain, and Yingzi will be the left deputy captain. You'll be a little higher in rank than her."

Without waiting for Fushimi Shika's reply, she said, "Ah, two middle-aged women are chatting up ahead. I need to go find out more about the details of the murder now. We'll talk later!"

The busy signal rang out, and Hira Sakurako glanced down at the screen to see that Gen Tamako had hung up the phone.

"Did you hear that?" Fushimi Shika sneered. "True power is not a title; it is held by those who are capable."

Ping Yingzi remained silent.

Fushimi Shika subdued Sakurakomon and took the train to Otaru Pier. Mizutani Jun'ichiro was as enthusiastic as ever; noticing Fushimi Shika had brought a child, he specially gave Hirako some candy. The latter, having received a reward, felt that her trip hadn't been a waste of time.

My main task today is to ask Junichiro Mizutani to find out whether Yuka Kujo and Hikaru Kujo's lover hired someone to commit murder.

Junichiro Mizutani stated that he had already investigated the matter and confirmed that no one in the underworld had made a move, and no street thugs had suddenly run away.

To put it bluntly, if there really was such a thing as hiring someone to commit murder, he would have caught the murderer and solved the case long ago.

Fushimi Shika was slightly surprised by the result, not expecting that the option he thought was most likely would be eliminated first.

That leaves only two options: Kujo Hikaru killed his wife, Kujo Yuka, or Kujo Hikaru killed his lover, X—he doesn't know her name yet, so he refers to her as X.

But Fushimi Shika thought about it again and felt that something was not quite right.

Between these two options, there must be a "third party," that is, an accomplice, who kills another person at the same time as Kujo Hikaru commits the crime, in order to achieve the simultaneous killing in two locations.

If the two mistresses cannot find accomplices, then Kujo Hikaru most likely also doesn't have any accomplices, otherwise Kujo Mutsu wouldn't have needed to investigate; he would surely know the truth.

It's really weird.

Fushimi Shika couldn't figure it out for a while, and felt that it was impossible to commit crimes in two places at the same time. Therefore, he once again asked Mizutani Jun'ichirō to carefully investigate the interpersonal relationships of the Kujō couple and their lover.

As Mizutani Jun'ichirō once said, if Kujo had ever hired someone to commit murder, he would definitely know.

"Whether it's true or not, investigate again," Fushimi Shika instructed. "The accomplice isn't necessarily from the underworld; he could be a suitor of a mistress, or even an old friend of Kujo Hikaru."

The scope was expanded more than tenfold. Jun'ichirō Mizutani harbored resentment, but dared not speak it aloud, and verbally agreed nonetheless.

"Hai! I will do my best!"

Fushimi Shika assigned the work and then left it to his own devices. His self-created "Fushimi Investigation Method" emphasized the importance of balancing work and rest.

I almost exceeded my workload today, thank goodness.

Fushimi Shika took Hira Sakurako away from the dock and strolled around Otaru City.

After all, it is a well-known tourist attraction in later generations and a filming location for "Love Letter". The scenery in most areas is still quite good.

The seaport was dirty and chaotic because it was managed by gangsters.

Fushimi Shika walked slowly along the stone path beside the canal, his hands in his trench coat pockets. The autumn sun shone on the shimmering water, reflecting glittering golden light.

Hira Sakurako followed behind him, clutching the candy given to her by Mizutani Jun'ichirō, looking around as she walked. In the distance, a red and white lighthouse stood at the end of the bay, standing out against the azure sky. Seagulls circled around the lighthouse, occasionally swooping down, skimming the water's surface, and then quickly taking flight again.

The autumn wind blows by, carrying a faint scent of sea salt and the fragrance of fallen leaves.

Fushimi Shika thought that once the era of gangsters was completely over, perhaps the scenery of this city would become more pure... just like the sunlight at this moment, shining pure light and shadow on the stone pavement.

The two strolled around for half a day, buying some local specialties from Otaru along the way. There was nothing particularly special about them, just miscellaneous items like glass crafts, seafood dishes, and music boxes.

The day passed by in a blur. Fushimi Shika took the train home and shared the two extra tuna with the neighbors who had come to visit earlier. He received unanimous praise, and everyone no longer thought of him as a gigolo who lived off women, but rather as a kind and generous person.

He finished off the remaining tuna and king crab; tonight was another gout-inducing feast.

In the evening, when Gen Tamako returned from the police station, she excitedly shared the clues she had gathered at the dinner table: "I overheard people talking today, and they said that the Otaru City Police Department found the hotel waiter and, after questioning him, confirmed that he really was the witness!"

Fushimi Shika already knew about this, and gave a nonchalant "hmm," ignoring Minamoto Tamako's 'ask me for the results' look.

Sure enough, Gen Tamako couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out, "Guess what? The hotel staff also pointed out Kujo Hikaru!"

Fushimi Shika was taken aback, then turned to ask, "Are you sure?"

"It's certain, absolutely certain! Witnesses identified Kujo Hikaru at both crime scenes! Although they didn't see his face, don't you find this coincidence strange? Moreover, according to the police investigation, Kujo Hikaru is currently the only suspect in both cases!"

As Minamoto no Tamako faced the challenge, she grew increasingly excited. She was finally going to be able to give Fushimi a good slap in the face: "What did I tell you? Hmph! Never underestimate the captain's reasoning abilities!"

(End of this chapter)