Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 525 Breakup
Fushimi Shika guessed correctly. Kujo Hikaru's motive for murder did indeed come from his father, Kujo Mutsu, but it was not Kujo Mutsu who directly ordered him to do so.

Keep in mind that Kujo Mutsumi is seventy-six years old this year, which is almost eighty. Not everyone has the energy to be the President of the United States at eighty. Kujo Mutsumi could feel his health deteriorating. Time is fair to everyone, and he had a premonition that he didn't have long to live.

Previously, Xiaowei had made a rare trip home for her daughter. At that time, Kujo Mutsu was pressuring her to get married, which was a last resort, as the Kujo family was dwindling in size, and many major financial groups were facing the problem of having no successor.

Kujo Mutsu even considered passing the position of head of the family to his daughter, Kujo Yui, and letting her manage the Kujo family, but he decided against it after thinking about it.

It's not just because she's a woman, nor just because she's unmarried and single; the main reason is that her heart isn't with the Kujo family.

Since the eldest daughter, who is excellent, is talented but lacks virtue, Kujo Mutsu can only choose the best among the worst.

The third son is completely ignored; he has been led astray by Western ideas. The second son has always been ordinary and unremarkable. Now he focuses all his attention on his family and has spoiled his three daughters. It would be difficult for him to gain the respect of the people if he were to take over.

After much thought, only the eldest brother, Kujo Hikaru, remained. His abilities were so-so, he had some cleverness, but the problem lay in his poor character and extreme methods of handling things.

Kujo Mutsu thought that jade needs to be carved to become a useful object, so he let his son be tempered and perhaps he could be of great use.

So he mentioned it to his son, telling him to deal with his romantic entanglements and not to get too caught up in women's affections, especially to resolve his wife's issues, so that he might be able to inherit the family business in the future.

Then Kujo Hikaru turned around and killed his wife and lover.

Kujo Mutsu's first reaction was that something had happened to his son. He could never have imagined that his son's covetousness for the position of head of the family had reached such a depraved level.

He had been the head of the family for forty years, but he never thought it was a good job. He was exhausted from managing a large group of people, and every day when he opened his eyes, a large group of ancestors had to eat. He had to find ways to make money every day and deal with politicians and businessmen. Xiao Wei saw all of this and was afraid of getting involved, so she went to Tokyo to develop her own business.

On the day of the incident, Kujo Mutsumi was still wondering who had done it. It wasn't until Kujo Hikaru intentionally or unintentionally came to take credit that he realized something was wrong.

But Kujo Mutsu still clung to a sliver of hope. What if his son didn't mean it that way? What if he misunderstood? If he told his son the truth, wouldn't that break his heart? After all, he had just lost his wife and then his lover. If his father suspected him of being the murderer for no reason, he would likely be utterly devastated and might even become completely despondent...

However, it turned out that Kujo Mutsumi was overthinking things.

He entrusted Minamoto no Tamako and Fushimi Shika to find out the truth, but the result they found was the worst possible outcome.

That's fine, the person is already dead, no matter how much you investigate and punish, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Kujo Mutsu thought that if his son could get through this, at least he would have tempered his character and become ruthless and decisive. 'Using any means necessary' is a good quality for a family head.

The prerequisite is success.

As long as you succeed, any means necessary are justified. Kujo Hikaru's rise to power through murdering his wife is no small feat; he was a ruthless and ambitious figure.

But Kujo Hikaru failed, and failed miserably, failing even to deceive the little girl, Minamoto Tamako. That wouldn't be so bad; victory and defeat are common in war. But he didn't even have the confidence to start over. He couldn't accept defeat, and instead attempted to take Minamoto Tamako down with him…

Kujo Mutsumi was so angry he was about to fly to the heavens.

He brewed himself a pot of tea, hoping to calm his temper and ponder how to discipline his son. But Kujo Hikaru couldn't even wait for a pot of tea; his anger was too much to bear, and he unleashed a torrent of abuse.

Kujo Hikaru was taken aback at first, his movement of getting up froze. He slowly sat back down on the futon, lowered his head and looked to the side.

Seeing his son's behavior, Kujo Mutsu became even angrier, kicking over the tea stove, spilling charcoal and boiling water all over the floor. A servant, hearing the commotion, asked if he needed help, to which Kujo Mutsu replied with a "Get lost!" He then turned to his son and demanded, "What, don't you have hands? You've been a pampered young master all this time, can't you even pick up a fallen stove?"

Kujo Hikaru had no choice but to reach out and lift the tea stove.

Kujo Mutsu, clutching his cane, rasped, "Where's the charcoal? Can't you pick it up? There's tea all over the floor, can't you even clean it?"

Kujo Hikaru really didn't know how to clean up the mess with his bare hands, so the two could only sit and stare at each other. Fortunately, a servant opened the door a crack and handed in a rag, mop, and bucket, avoiding an awkward situation where the father and son stared at each other blankly.

Kujo Mutsu gave him another scolding, telling his servants not to meddle. Kujo Hikaru knelt down beside him, slowly wiping the floor and cleaning up the charcoal.

Kujo Mutsu ranted for a while, but his anger subsided. That's how old people are; they don't have a strong temper. It's already quite an achievement that they can get angry at all. After the rant, all that's left is a deep sense of helplessness.

"What were you thinking? How could you do something so foolish?"

Kujo Hikaru didn't look up, continuing to scrub the floor as if he were cleaning, but in reality he was just dawdling over a spot: "It was your order."

"When did I order you to do this?"

Kujo Mutsumi, his last bit of firewood about to burn out, said, "Is that what I meant? I meant you should settle down! I meant you should break up with those shady women and settle down with Yuuka! Don't think I don't know what you're up to by transferring your assets to your mistress's name!"

Transferring assets between spouses is also illegal. Doing so would create loopholes in the marriage judgment. It's clear that Kujo Hikaru had long been prepared to divorce his wife and didn't want to pay a single penny in compensation.

Kujo Hikaru muttered, "The person is already dead. No matter what Father says, I can't explain it clearly."

Kujo Mutsu was stunned. He hadn't expected his son to put such a fuss on his head. If word got out, it would be like smearing mud on his pants—even if it wasn't excrement, it would still be excrement. No matter how he explained it, people would think that Kujo Mutsu had instructed him to do it.

After all, he did instruct his son to handle family matters at the time, so how to interpret that statement is a matter of opinion.

Moreover, some people have already expressed this suspicion.

Kujo Mutsu wasn't senile yet. After a moment's thought, and considering Kujo Hikaru's words, he immediately understood—this guy was pretending to be confused. Kujo Hikaru had understood that he had deliberately gone too far.

"You've set your sights on me?" Kujo Mutsumi asked. "Do you think I'd bother with such underhanded tactics when I kill someone?

"I dare not." Kujo bald head lowered even further: "It is my stupidity that I failed to do a good job for my father."

"What are you going to do? What did I ask you to do?!" Kujo Mutsu hit him on the head with his cane.

“Whatever Father says goes.” Kujo Hikaru still argued, “No matter what, my wife and my lover died because of you.”

"Are you using this to blackmail me?" Kujo Mutsu pointed at his own nose, almost laughing in anger.

"I wouldn't dare." Kujo Hikaru repeated the same thing, continuing to play dumb to the very end.

Kujo Mutsu wanted nothing more than to stab this guy to death with his cane, unable to understand how he had given birth to such a wicked child. He took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down, and said, "How many years do I have left to live? Are you in such a hurry?"

“You said the same thing ten years ago,” Kujo Hikaru replied.

"So what do you want? You killed your wife and lover, went to jail, and then what? What's the point? Do you want me to feel guilty? Is that what you mean?" Kujo Mutsu pressed.

Kujo Hikaru fell silent; he had indeed made a mess of things. But if Kujo Mutsu hadn't sent people to investigate, and if it weren't for that bastard Minamoto no Tamako, how could he have ended up in this situation?
He harbored a burning anger within him, a anger that burned even brighter than that of Kujo Mutsu, but he had been suppressing it.

Kujo Mutsu poked his chest with his cane and cursed, "I never wiped your butt when you were little, but now that you're grown up, I have to wipe your butt. You're really something! You're getting younger and younger! If I were half as smart as you, I'd be a grandson by now!"

Kujo Hikaru finally couldn't hold back any longer. He pushed aside his cane, but before he could even speak, the sliding door was pulled open, and four or five guns were pointed at his forehead.

Kujo Hikaru broke out in a cold sweat. He slowly released his grip, letting his father take back his cane.

Kujo Mutsu snorted coldly, signaling the guards not to worry, and then slowly withdrew the arms and gun barrels. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the end of his cane, as if disgusted by Kujo Hikaru's dirt: "What, going through puberty? Are you as slow to develop as Tamako?"

Kujo Hikaru really didn't dare to utter a sound. He was now a little worried that his father would betray his own family for the greater good—in history, the eldest sons who failed to overthrow their superiors never had a good ending.

Seeing that his son was so frightened that he couldn't utter a sound, Kujo Mutsu felt a wave of helplessness.

It wouldn't be accurate to say he was angry at his lack of ambition; he was too lazy to be angry anymore, as it would harm his health.

Kujo Mutsu's tone turned cold, revealing a hint of exhaustion: "Just stay home and rest for a while. As for the company, I'll have Ayi manage it for you... I'll go talk to Tamako, but we probably won't be able to reach an agreement. We'll have to find a way to keep her from attending the court hearing."

Seeing his son keep his head down and remain silent, Kujo Mutsu could only sigh: "Speak up, are you mute?"

Kujo Hikaru wrung out the towel and said, "I was afraid of upsetting you."

Kujo Mutsu was about to vomit. Seeing his son like this made him feel disgusted: "Speak! Say what you want to say! You can't even fart, what use are you to me?"

Kujo Hikaru glanced up at his father, making sure he wasn't being sarcastic, before saying, "I can handle this myself, you don't need to worry about it..."

"What do you plan to do?" Kujo Mutsu asked.

"That little brat from another family... Little Jade, put her under house arrest, arrange a marriage for her with the Fujiwara family, so she won't cause any more trouble outside," Kujo Hikaru said.

“Oh,” Kujo Mutsumi declined to comment, “And what about her boyfriend?”

“Kill him,” Kujo Hikaru said. “He’s not family, so I can’t trust him. It’s best to silence him. Killing an outsider is no big deal; we can get Junichiro to help.”

"How do you plan to explain things to Yui?" Kujo Mutsu pressed.

"Explain what? We're helping her educate her daughter. She's not even married herself, yet she's always out in public, leading the child astray." Kujo Hikaru's tone was remarkably matter-of-fact.

Kujo Mutsumi was about to whack his idiot son with his cane when he realized something and asked, "Is that what you were thinking, or have you already done it?"

Kujo Hikaru fell silent again.

Kujo Mutsu suddenly stood up, telling him to explain himself clearly and not to force him to clean house.

Kujo Hikaru had no choice but to tell the truth: he neither had the ability nor dared to detain Minamoto no Tamako without authorization, but he felt he had a say in dealing with Fushimi Shika, an outsider. So he sent people from the Northern Guild to handle the matter.

Before this, he had inquired about Fushimi Shika's background. He was just a yakuza executive from Tokyo. Killing him was no big deal. This was Hokkaido, the territory of the Hokuhokai. Although the Inagawakai had a branch, it had no jurisdiction over them.

Kujo Mutsumi stared at him and asked, "Where did you come from?"

Kujo Hikaru said, forcing himself to speak, "The people from the Northern Association are not my people."

Kujo Mutsumi then asked, "Do they listen to you?"

Kujo Hikaru said, "It's a paid bounty business, not a gang fight..."

Kujo Mutsu was too lazy to listen anymore. He took out his phone and dialed Mizutani Junichiro's number, but he couldn't get through because the other party didn't answer.

Kujo Mutsumi turned off his phone, tossed it onto the tatami mat, and said coldly, "Well, now we have two ingrates in our family."

Kujo Hikaru pretended to be stupid again: "Are you talking about Junichiro and Minamoto no Tamako?"

Kujo Mutsu grabbed his cane and started hitting him mercilessly, striking Kujo Hikaru again and again. Unfortunately, he was old and his strength was not what it used to be. Although Kujo Hikaru cried out, "I was wrong, Father," he did not dodge much, only raising his hand to block the blows.

After two or three minutes of strenuous exercise, Kujo Mutsumi was exhausted. He sat on the ground, panting heavily, wondering how to handle the situation.

Just then, his phone rang.

Kujo Hikaru glanced at the screen and saw the note on it was from Mizutani Junichiro. He said, "It looks like it's all done... Father, let's deal with Minamoto no Tamako's situation as soon as possible. Since she's at home, that's good. Temporarily restricting her movements might bring Yui back."

Kujo Mutsu initially dismissed his son's words as nonsense, but when he heard the last sentence, "Maybe it can bring Yui back," his hand holding the phone paused for a second.

Hmm, that's a half-good idea.

Kujo Mutsu had a better idea. He took out his phone, called the butler, and instructed, "From today onwards, don't let Miss Tamako leave. Make up an excuse yourself, give her whatever she wants, and try to satisfy her requests... Let her stay for a while."

The steward agreed, but did not leave, because he could tell that the master of the house had other instructions he had not yet given.

As expected, Kujo Mutsu took a slight breath and continued, "And this good-for-nothing, let him reflect on his actions in his room. Don't let him see anyone. Send him his meals through the door three times a day."

Kujo Hikaru was stunned for a moment, then suddenly stood up and angrily shouted, "Why—"

Before he could finish speaking, the butler covered his mouth and, together with the servants, dragged him away.

Only Kujo Mutsumi remained in the room when he answered the phone, berating loudly, "You dare touch anyone from the Kujo family without my orders? Are you—"

"it's me."

On the other end of the phone, Fushimi Shika interrupted.

Kujo Mutsu was taken aback. He moved his phone away, squinted at the screen. His eyesight had deteriorated recently, and he couldn't see the handwriting clearly. It took him a long time to confirm that it read "Mizutani Junichiro".

That’s not a wrong number.

Kujo Mutsumi realized something, put the phone back to his ear, and asked, "Where is Junichiro?"

Fushimi Shika wiped the blood from his face, looked around, and saw tattooed strongmen lying haphazardly in the courtyard of the old house in the countryside.

Four or five minutes ago, Fushimi Shika went out to buy Coke and returned home. As soon as he entered the yard, a van drove up and two burly men jumped out, intending to kidnap Fushimi Shika.

Fushimi Shika quickly subdued him, and then four or five more burly men rushed out. The back seat of the van was like a compressed file package, with thugs constantly emerging from it.

These kinds of people are free if you get one, or two if you get two. Fushimi Shika held back, probably because of some misunderstanding, and didn't kill the man, only breaking his limbs to temporarily incapacitate him.

It wouldn't be pleasant if the yard were littered with corpses.

Finally, Jun'ichirō Mizutani got out of the front seat of the van, holding a fish-killing knife in his hand, and his cell phone was ringing in his pocket. Shika Fushimi kindly reminded him, asking if he wanted to answer the call first.

"No need. Killing you would only take ten seconds."

After finishing his lines, Jun'ichirō Mizutani charged forward with a strange yell. Shika Fushimi dodged the blade to the side, twisted his waist, and delivered a spinning kick, slamming the back of his foot into Jun'ichirō Mizutani's cheek, deforming his round, bearded face.

The whole process took less than five seconds, and Junichiro Mizutani fell heavily to the ground.

Fushimi Shika squatted down next to him, patted his face, and tried to wake him up to ask what had happened.

Unfortunately, that kick was too powerful, and Mizutani Jun'ichirō completely lost consciousness.

This can't be blamed on Fushimi Shika. He thought Mizutani Jun'ichirō was some kind of expert because he heard him speak so arrogantly. He misjudged the other's level and didn't hold back much when he kicked him. It's a miracle he wasn't killed.

With no other option, Fushimi Shika could only search Mizutani Junichiro's body for his cell phone, call back the number, and ask the guy who had just called.

He truly didn't expect that it would be Kujo Mutsu who called.

Fushimi Shika initially thought Kujo Mutsu wanted to silence him, but when he heard the words, "You dare to touch the Kujo family without my orders," he realized that Mizutani Jun'ichirō was not sent by Kujo Mutsu.

But this matter is definitely related to the Kujo family. After all, Kita is the Kujo family's dog, and he is nominally the Kujo family's son-in-law. This matter has already spread at least in the Sapporo Police Station. No one would dare to harass him, and no one could get Mizutani Junichiro to take action personally... except for another member of the Kujo family.

Fushimi Shika recalled the shouts he heard outside the door during dinner last night. He suspected it was Kujo Hikaru at the time, and considering the current situation, he figured it was probably Kujo Mutsu who had gotten his son out of trouble, and Kujo Hikaru couldn't swallow his anger and was planning to take revenge on his own.

That's the truth; he was pretty much right.

At this moment, Fushimi Shika kicked Mizutani Jun'ichirō's face with his toe, but the latter still didn't react, like a dead pig. He had no choice but to say, "He's passed out. Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

Without waiting for Kujo Mutsu's reply, he took out his phone and dialed an ambulance: "Whether you agree or not, I have to call. The law stipulates that I have an obligation to call an ambulance."

"You brought people to Hokkaido?" Kujo Mutsu's first thought was that Fushimi Shika had other thugs with him.

“No, it’s just me,” Fushimi Shika said.

"So you have a gun?" Kujo Mutsu asked again.

"No, don't ask. I just knocked him out." Fushimi Shika counted the number of people and said, "There are eleven people in total, all lying on the ground."

Kujo Mutsumi was silent for a moment, then said, "This is a misunderstanding..."

"A misunderstanding?" Fushimi Shika didn't have a note on hand, so he picked up a shoe that someone had dropped. The one on the front was from Kujo Mutsu; the other was from Kujo Hikaru. He threw the shoe on the ground, the back side up, and continued, "Then let Kujo Hikaru talk to me. Don't be a coward who dares to do something but doesn't admit it!"

Kujo Mutsumi remained silent for a moment. He didn't ask Fushimi Shika how he knew, nor did he try to deny it. Instead, he tried to change the subject: "Tamako will be staying here for a while. If you don't mind, you can go back to Tokyo first."

"What do you mean?"

Fushimi Shika immediately thought of their previous argument, then of Hira Sakurako saying that "confessing might be rejected," and then of the possibility that Minamoto Tamako might leave. Unable to control his subtle emotions, he subconsciously asked, "Is she throwing a tantrum, or does she want to break up with me?"

Having lived for over seventy years, Kujo Mutsumi was adept at finding loopholes. He could detect flaws in the other party's statements from just one sentence, and readily replied, "I can't say it directly, but... it was indeed she who asked me to relay it."

Fushimi Shika stopped dialing the emergency number. He changed from a squatting position to a sitting position, plopped down on Mizutani Jun'ichirō's back, and stared blankly at the waves outside the yard for a while.

Two or three seconds later, he came to his senses: "He's just angry, isn't he?"

Within those three seconds, Kujo Mutsu quickly analyzed the pros and cons and judged the gains and losses.

He did have the idea of ​​recruiting Fushimi Shika, but now his own son has already tried to kill Fushimi Shika. Even if he forces the two to make peace now, his son's fate will probably not be good after he dies.

Kujo Mutsu hadn't even considered the possibility of his son personally suppressing and recruiting Fushimi Shika. Given his behavior during their conversation in the Japanese-style room, it would be quite an achievement for Kujo Hikaru to be able to maintain the family business.

Since there's no way to recruit her, the only option is to cut our losses. Yuan Yuzi hasn't reached the point of marriage yet, so everything can still be salvaged.

Moreover, he hoped to use Minamoto no Tamako to keep Kujo Yui tied to Hokkaido.

Kujo Yui used to care about her in-laws, so now she will definitely care about Gentama's husband and in-laws. As long as Gentama marries a local tycoon, Kujo Yui will most likely be affected.

Kujo Mutsumi made his decision in less than half a second. Opportunity and fate wait for no one, and he always seized the moment without hesitation.

“It’s normal for young people to break up and get back together,” said Mutsumi Kujo in a considerate, elder-like tone. “Why don’t you think about it carefully? Does she really like you that much? Does she like you as a person, or is she with you for other reasons?”

Finally, he encouraged her, "But maybe not. She might just be feeling down right now. I think you still have a chance. I can try to talk to her over dinner."

This is a very divisive statement and applies to all couples.

At the age of 76, Kujo Mutsu had to resort to underhanded tactics to clean up his son's mess, making some scheming remarks. It was truly a misfortune for his family, with its members dwindling in number.

(End of this chapter)