Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 547 The meaning of existence

Even Kinoshita Shojin called Minamoto Tamako and asked her to take a break from work for a while.

Minamoto no Tamako was greatly shocked by this. Unable to get any answers from his questions, she could only complain to Fushimi Shika: "When have I ever enjoyed any special privileges? Didn't I earn this position fair and square? Fujiwara no Homare got promoted faster than me, so why doesn't anyone have any complaints about him?"

Fushimi Shika was packing various household items into boxes; they were preparing to move. The paperwork for the new house was completed, and they could move in anytime; the basic furniture was already in place.

He untied a piece of tape, stuck it to the wooden box, and casually said, "Section Chief Kinoshita didn't mean that. There's a problem with the social atmosphere lately. I just wanted you to avoid it."

As Yuan Yuzi sat folding clothes on the sofa, she couldn't help but complain upon hearing this: "How have I corrupted social morals? Can't the news media report something of value?"

She picked up two newspapers from the coffee table, patted them, and said, "Look at this! This is really bullying!"

"Forget it, forget it, let's ignore them." Fushimi Shika waved his hand.

Minamoto no Tamako felt that Fushimi Shika didn't take the matter to heart. She felt really wronged and unfairly accused. Anyone would feel bad if they were accused for no reason.

She snorted, slammed the newspaper on the table, and said, "Anyway, it's not you who's being scolded, so it's up to you whether you care or not!"

Fushimi Shika piled the cardboard boxes aside and then pulled out another one to seal. Hearing this, he was taken aback for a moment, then said, "I care a lot. Don't let my appearance fool you, I actually dislike those who talk nonsense."

"Is it just aversion?" Gen Tamako was still unhappy.

"I hate you to the bone!" Fushimi Shika emphasized, "But as you know, I'm a kind person, and I don't easily express the hatred in my heart."

“You’re just saying that.” Yuan Yuzi wasn’t stupid. She pouted and continued folding clothes, feeling that no one could understand her.

Fushimi Shika looked up and realized that Minamoto no Tamako's condition was dangerous...

Fushimi Shika had no choice but to put down the cardboard box, sit down next to the sofa, hold Minamoto Tamako's hand, and comfort her, "It's not what you think..."

“I know,” Yuan Yuzi nodded, feeling a little better. “I’m just angry that those reporters wrote such nonsense.”

"Yes, they're the ones writing nonsense to boost newspaper sales... Haven't you noticed that lately, most of the newspaper sections have been about relationships and sex?"

Fushimi Shika was pleased and pressed on, saying, "As a future famous detective and police inspector, every move you make will attract public attention. That's how it is when you're a celebrity. You can't just get praise, right? There will definitely be people who don't like you and talk badly about you behind your back. If you take those rumors to heart, how will you be a famous detective and police inspector in the future?"

"That's true..."

Yuan Yuzi was persuaded and neatly folded the clothes. Just as her mood improved, she remembered something and asked, "But I read in the newspaper today that..."

“That’s nonsense, how could that be?” Fushimi Shika laughed.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the landline in the living room rang. Yuan Yuzi answered the phone without thinking, and after only a couple of sentences, her expression changed.

"Huh? What exactly happened..."

"This is too much!"

Yuan Yuzi hung up the phone, her face pale, and said, "Sister Ya Lan has been fired."

Fushimi Shika was taken aback. He knew Moriki Masaaki's place in Minamoto Tamako's heart. When Minamoto Tamako first joined the Koban, she took Moriki Masaaki as her role model.

Director Moriki also often took care of Gen Tamako, and the two had a very close personal relationship, just like a superior and subordinate in a Showa-era Japanese drama, with the senior guiding the younger one to grow, giving off a feeling of being both teacher and friend.

The fact that Moriki Arashi was dismissed without cause is undoubtedly a heavy blow to Gen Tamako.

"Okay, it's possible that a very small number of individuals within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department do indeed engage in workplace discrimination..."

Fushimi Shika corrected his point of view in time, but before he could finish speaking, the window shattered with a bang, and shards of glass flew everywhere!
Fushimi Shika grabbed Minamoto Tamako and held her in his arms, shielding her from the shards of glass.

A moment later, the living room fell silent. Gen Tamako realized what was happening and quickly checked Fushimi Shika's back to see if he was injured anywhere.

"It's okay, there's no bleeding."

Fushimi Shika waved his hand, turned his head, and noticed a stone on the living room floor. Someone had smashed his window with the stone.

Fushimi Shika quickly walked to the window and looked down, but the culprit had vanished without a trace.

Yuan Yuzi picked up the stone, which was wrapped in paper. She peeled off the paper, unfolded it, and saw several lines of words written on it in red paint:
"Die, you vampire!"

"You're the murderer!"

"A parasite on society!"

……

Fushimi Shika snatched the paper away, crumpled it into a ball, and said, "Don't worry about it, it's probably just a child's prank."

Yuan Yuzi wanted to pretend she hadn't seen it, but she couldn't. She felt the malice of the entire society pressing down on her, leaving her feeling lost and helpless.

"I...I...I'll take a break."

When Yuan Yuzi is unhappy, she likes to lock herself in. She runs back to her room, closes the door, turns over and crawls under the covers to process her emotions alone.

Fushimi Shika followed her in, pulled her out of bed, and took Hira Sakurako with her. They temporarily left the apartment and checked into a hotel to prevent the same thing from happening again.

The moving was left to Goto Shunsuke. That's how it is for working people; they have to help their boss move in their spare time. Not only is there no overtime pay, but when he finishes and returns to the company, Kazama Takusai will also count it as absenteeism.

After Minamoto no Tamako fell asleep in the middle of the night, Fushimi Shika quietly got up and called Watanabe Shun and others out for drinks. He had intended to talk about the unpleasant things that had happened that day, but unexpectedly, Watanabe Shun was arrested for soliciting prostitution. This time, Kazama Takusai couldn't protect him, so he had to ask Fushimi Shika for help. The latter rushed to the Sugamo Police Station, asked his colleagues on the night shift, and found out what had happened, feeling completely bewildered.

"And then?" Fushimi Shika couldn't help but press, "What happens after you tear the plastic bag? It's not like it'll escalate to arresting someone for soliciting prostitution, is it?"

"Kawasaki and Okada got splashed in the face and were furious. They decided to play a prank to get revenge, so they took Watanabe Shun back to the police station, locked him up for a night, and didn't take a statement or file a case."

“They were supposed to be released the next day, but no one expected that the next morning, the Mainichi Shimbun published a news article saying that the Shinjuku Police Station had abused its power and failed to conduct a search after receiving a report, and it also included a photo of Watanabe Shun standing at the hotel entrance.”

"The newspaper comments were all negative, some saying that the civil servants were breaking the law, and others questioning whether the police threatened the bathhouse hostesses and forced them into sexual relations, possibly even suspecting rape..."

"The matter has blown up, and the director doesn't dare to release people casually. He just sent two people to the brothel to ask around. As a result, the waitress identified Watanabe Shun, and there were also transaction records on his bank card. With both witnesses and physical evidence, things have become difficult to handle."

Fushimi Shika frowned and said, "This is clearly a setup, isn't it?"

The on-duty detective shrugged: "Flies don't land on eggs without cracks. Nobody forced Ah Jun to go to a brothel, right? He can only blame his bad luck."

"What is the director's attitude?" Fushimi Shika pressed.

"What I just said was exactly what the chief said." The detective on duty looked down and flipped through a magazine: "The case file has already been handed over, so there's a high probability that he'll be punished."

Fushimi Shika was exasperated. It would have been better if there hadn't been any evidence, but now that there was, Watanabe Shun was definitely going to lose his job. He used a little bit of his privilege to get into the detention center and see Watanabe Shun, asking him if he had offended anyone and if he had noticed anything unusual recently.

Watanabe Shunichi was completely clueless and bewildered, wondering why he was so unlucky.

"Maybe it's just bad luck," he resigned himself. "Sigh, I should have listened to the boss. He warned me that the winds weren't blowing well lately..."

These words jolted Fushimi Shika awake. He vaguely realized something, and without saying much to Watanabe Shun, he hurriedly left the police station and took a taxi to a brothel.

Around 1 or 2 a.m., the brothels are busiest. Fushimi Shika waited for over an hour before finally getting a table with Ellie-chan.

He entered the bathroom without changing his clothes and went straight to the point: "You identified a policeman today. Who told you to do that?"

Ellie gave a professional smile: "I don't quite understand what you're talking about, sir..."

Fushimi Shika pulled out his wallet from his pocket: "No matter how much money that person offers, I'll offer three times that amount, as long as you tell me the truth."

Ellie glanced at it but didn't say anything until Fushimi Shika took out the black card. Only then did she stop smiling and look wary as she said, "Transfer the money first."

“No, but I can pay in cash first.” Fushimi Shika placed a wad of banknotes next to the bathtub: “I’ll pay the balance after you tell the truth.”

Ellie answered without hesitation, “It was a reporter named Natsume Sawa who asked me to keep an eye out for customers who are out making transactions recently. If there are any civil servants, I should call and notify them.”

"Him? Was that reporter a man?" Fushimi Shika asked.

“Yes,” Ellie nodded, then asked in return, “How could there possibly be female customers in a place like this?”

"That's true..."

The male reporter wasn't targeting Watanabe Shun; he was just asking the waitress to keep an eye out for civil servants. Watanabe Shun happened to arrive, and coincidentally, he blurted out the civil servant's identity… he was truly unlucky.

There's no point in pursuing this further; beating up the male reporter won't change anything.

Fushimi Shika paid the balance and left the brothel, only to find himself being followed. Pretending not to care, he turned into an alley, and when the man caught up, he grabbed him by the neck: "What are you doing following me?"

The stalker was a woman with a camera. She was dressed in plain clothes and looked terrified. At first, she didn't tell the truth, but when Fushimi Shika tried to drag her to the police station, she confessed that she was a reporter for the Sunshine Morning Post and had been watching Minamoto no Tamako with binoculars.

Now, Yuan Yuzi is a hot topic, and many newspaper reporters are keeping an eye on her.

The female reporter was lucky; she had intended to follow Fushimi Shika, but lost him several times along the way, which is why she wasn't noticed. She wandered around for a while, and just then, she bumped into Fushimi Shika entering the brothel…

Upon hearing this, Fushimi Shika pulled the camera off her body, opened the film, and sure enough, there were photos of himself.

If it weren't for his strong awareness of counter-surveillance, he would be in the newspaper tomorrow, with headlines like "Veteran Detective Cheats in the Middle of the Night" or "Detective Addicted to Brothels Sneaks to Spend Money"...

Fushimi Shika pulled a lighter from his pocket and burned the film. The female reporter was furious but dared not speak out, planning to write a scathing report denouncing Fushimi Shika's evil deeds when she got back.

"The atmosphere of hostility in society is getting worse and worse these days," he remarked casually as he extinguished the sparks.

The female reporter got her camera back, feeling a little more at ease, and couldn't help but say, "If you were a good person, you wouldn't be worried about this."

Fushimi Shika smiled, walked out of the alley, his back to the female reporter, stretched, and glanced at the brightly lit, bustling red-light district:
"Why would I worry about that? This is the meaning of my existence!"

The female reporter didn't understand. She wanted to ask for details, but Fushimi Shika had already walked away.

……

Whether people hate each other or not, the world continues to turn as usual.

After some time, Fushimi Shika and Minamoto Tamako moved into their new home, and the news shifted elsewhere; no one bothered them anymore.

This time it wasn't Fushimi Shika who did it; it had absolutely nothing to do with him. On the night of the incident, he was at home cuddling with Minamoto Tamako. Neither of them had been going to work during this period, enjoying life on the money Fushimi Shika earned.

However, words written in blood were left at the scene.

It's "divine punishment" again.

(End of this chapter)