Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 579 Honesty That Shouldn't Have Been There
The wind in Hokkaido in September is strong, carrying the cool fragrance of locust blossoms, passing through the red and gilded doors of the wedding hall, and ruffling the bride's hair.

Fushimi Shika stood before her, Mori Nami's words echoing in her ears:

"Lies will always be exposed eventually. If you haven't lied, then I wish you well; if you have lied, I hope you can think about whether to confess before everything is irreversible, or to hide it until the end and break your lover's heart."

At the time, Fushimi Shika scoffed at this statement, believing that as long as the secret could be taken to the grave, nothing would have happened, and he was mentally prepared to walk a tightrope for the rest of his life.

Until Mori Nai brought up the deal:
“I have evidence in my hands. It’s a recording of you and reporter Momo Yazaki in the hospital after you fell into a coma… As long as you swear an honest oath, I will clear my name and destroy that tape.”

Fushimi Shika's first reaction was to test the authenticity of the recorded evidence. Mori Nai recounted everything he said that night word for word, and stated that it was information she had purchased from Yazaki Momo with a check, as she had received an advance of 13 million yen as a bonus.

In the ending that Mouri Nai created, which satisfied everyone, she herself was not included.

She sensed a breakthrough in the case and went to see Momo Yazaki before leaving Tokyo.

The female reporter who once disregarded everything for the news is now a corporate slave, burdened with mortgage and car loan payments (Chapter 170). Even though leaking this recording would ruin her career, she chose to make the deal.

With thirteen million yen, Momoya Yazaki could retire early. Why bother working herself to the bone as a reporter?

After the auditorium shooting, when she met with Fushimi Shika in private, she did what every reporter would do—record the conversation with a voice recorder to avoid bias in her reporting.

That recording has been kept to this day. It may not be able to be used as direct evidence to overturn a case in court, but in Minamoto no Tamako's eyes, it is enough to serve as physical evidence for 'conviction'.

Fushimi Shika's second reaction was to lie. He tested Mori Nami again: "How can you tell if I'm telling the truth? What if I'm lying?"

"I will make my own judgment afterward."

Mouri Nai replied, "If, and I mean if, you've made a mistake, then you just need to think carefully about whether you want to lie to the person in front of you—even if you know that the lie will eventually be exposed."

……

After the pastor finished his admonitions, he closed the scripture and signaled to the newlyweds that they could take their vows.

Fushimi Shika pulled himself out of his memories and looked at Minamoto no Tamako. Minamoto no Tamako looked back at him with sincere and pure eyes, without a trace of impurity.

"I promise..."

As Minamoto Tamako began, she spoke just as she had sworn when she was in police academy: "Whether in good times or bad, in wealth or poverty, in health or sickness, in joy or sorrow, I will always be by your side..."

"To protect you in times of danger, to comfort you in times of sorrow, and to support you as you grow..."

"To love you, respect you, and trust you without reservation, and to be honest with each other forever, until the end of our lives."

……

This was supposed to be a touching vow, but Fushimi Shika only heard "always be honest".

The pastor turned his head and said with a smile, "Now it's the groom's turn to take his vows..."

In an instant, countless images flashed through Fushimi Shika's mind.

From the initial partner fee at the police academy, to the "Gen-Tamako User Manual" used to test each other, to the indulgence tickets during their cohabitation, and even the rabbit coins during their romance... He told Gen-Tamako countless horrible lies, remaining unmoved even after they were exposed countless times.

However, Yuko never cared.

Fushimi Shika knew that Minamoto no Tamako could forgive his shortcomings, but she could not tolerate deception based on principles.

He kept deceiving himself, always thinking that the "divine punishment" murder case was no different from other lies.

But in fact, concealing that you killed someone is completely different from concealing that you stole pudding.

'Just keep it a secret...'

'When the truth comes out, I'll use indulgences to earn her forgiveness...'

But if that day really comes, will Minamoto no Tamako still forgive me?
Most importantly, can I forgive myself?
Fushimi Shika saw the numb and disappointed Minamoto no Tamako in his mind's eye. She stopped crying and pleading, and instead coldly tore up the indulgence, declaring that it was just a trick to fool children.

It's only because you care about the other person that you become childish.

Genji was never stupid.

The imagined scene overlapped with the one before him: Minamoto no Tamako, dressed in a white kimono, was waiting for his vow with a smile and a touch of shyness.

'All I can do is lie, and Mori Naruto definitely won't be able to tell,' Fushimi Shika thought to himself. 'I've done many heartless things, one more won't make a difference.'

He took a deep breath and slowly spoke:
"I'm sorry, I lied."

The hall fell silent, and the orchestra stopped playing. This was not the kind of thing to say during wedding vows.

Fushimi Shika removed her name tag, put down her bouquet, and, under the shocked, confused, and bewildered gaze of Minamoto no Tamako, retreated step by step along the red carpet, stepping down from the altar:
"You always say we should be honest, that couples shouldn't have secrets..."

"But actually you've always respected my little secrets, like the money I made from stock trading. You were very curious and kept asking, but you never investigated it."

"At first, I lied and said it was money I made from stocks, but it was actually stolen money I got from Zhigang Long Island—"

"What?!" Gen Tamako's eyes widened.

The guests all perked up their ears; no one disliked watching the spectacle. Kujo Mutsu reached out to cover Minamoto Tamako's ears, but Minamoto Tamako slapped her hand away, completely disregarding the fact that her grandfather was dying.

Fushimi Shika's speech quickened: "Later, I lied to you and said that I had precognition, which is why I could keep making money in the stock market. Actually, it was a sum of money embezzled by the Inagawa Association—strictly speaking, it wasn't embezzled money. I did a good deed, but anonymously, so the Inagawa Association executives gave me some solid daifuku as a token of their gratitude..."

"Good thing?! What good thing have you done this time?!" Yuan Yuzi's mind went blank, and she involuntarily raised her voice.

Fushimi Shika retreated into the corridor, her steps becoming smaller and smaller: "There are many, for example, Sakurai Chizuru, who was shot three times in the abdomen but didn't die. She went to stab Kawai with a knife, and Kawai didn't even dodge. She probably felt that her life was over, so she resigned herself to fate..."

He took a deep breath, raised his hand to press down, signaling Genji to calm down: "It was me who finished off Sakurai Chizuru with a shot to the head."

Minamoto no Tamako's ears rang, and she almost lost her balance, but Kujo Mutsu steadied her in time.

She couldn't understand why this had happened at her wedding... Why did Fushimi-kun have to say it now... Why had he kept it from her until now...?

Why couldn't we just be honest from the beginning?
Fushimi Shika continued, spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube: "And the Great Snow Mountain shooting incident, it was just that Instructor Shiraishi lost his gun, there was no other hidden story, I just secretly engraved divine punishment on the bullet..."

"So that's why Instructor Shiraishi resigned?" Gen Tamako's voice trembled slightly, her nose stung with tears, and her vision gradually blurred.

“Yes.” Fushimi Shika felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart: “And the Sugamo apartment massacre, I did it too, and I wrote the bloody words on the wall. The reason I have an alibi is because I kept a tape recorder in my room, so I knew that Kazama Takusai had knocked on my door in the middle of the night.”

The auditorium erupted in uproar. The nature of this case was completely different from the previous ones; this was a heinous crime of massacring eighteen people!

The groom confessed his crime in front of everyone. Even if the bride forgave him, the law of the world would judge the sinner—he not only ruined the wedding, but also his own life!
Does he know what he's saying?

Not only Kotaro Kanesaka, but everyone present had the same question on their minds. Nami Mori even covered her mouth, her eyebrows furrowing; she never expected it to end like this. The most heinous criminal had chosen honesty at the happiest moment of his life!
Why did he lie in the past?
No one could understand Fushimi Shika's thoughts, including Fushimi Shika himself; he didn't know why he was doing this.

All Fushimi Shika knew was that he had to tell her before the wedding, and that he had to stop the damage before it could cause irreversible harm to Minamoto Tamako.

He no longer speaks with his brain in mind, but rather instinctively pours out his thoughts, letting the devil Kawai and the angelic little man take turns speaking:

"And Kazama Senhime—oh, she has nothing to say, I killed her right in front of you..."

"The man wearing the dog-head mask on Cat Island was me too, remember? You hurt my calf back then..."

"The nameless female corpse in the desolate mountain was Miyazaki Gardenia. To be honest, I don't actually know how she died. We were all hypnotized by her and lost consciousness. When I woke up, she was already dead."

"I disposed of her body, threw her into a crevice in the mountainside, and carved the words 'divine punishment' into the rock..."

"Besides that, I also secretly smoked a cigarette. Getting married is a lot of pressure for me, I think everyone here understands that, right? Wedding anxiety is a very common phenomenon, and smoking a cigarette to relieve stress is only human nature..."

Fushimi Shika retreated to the entrance of the auditorium, where the light from outside stretched his shadow long, hiding his face in the shadows.

No one stopped him, and no one knew what to do next.

Wearing a white kimono, Minamoto no Tamako stood on the altar, staring blankly at him, unable to utter a single word.

Her deepest fear came true on the happiest day of her life.

In the end, the two of them were speechless.

Fushimi Shika felt he had to do something, and clinging to a sliver of hope, he made a final attempt: "Can you forgive me?"

"..."

Mouri swallowed hard; she had never met such a scoundrel and such an honest fiancé.

The guests all turned to look at the bride, eager to hear her answer.

Gen Tamako stood there stunned for a long time, the air seemed to freeze for an eternity, tears slowly slid down her face, and she gradually came back to her senses, as if she had made up her mind, her gaze once again focusing on Fushimi Shika, whose expression was not clear.

“Okay,” she said. “As long as you turn yourself in, I’ll wait for you no matter how long it takes.”

"What if it's the death penalty?" Fushimi Shika asked.

“I will arrange your funeral as your widow.” Gen Tamako casually tossed aside the bouquet and took a step forward.

Fushimi Shika sensed danger: "Is there another option? Like, you don't forgive me for now, and I don't have to go to jail for now..."

"no!"

Yuan Yuzi shouted decisively.

The next second, she tore open the white kimono dress with both hands, jumped down from the altar, rushed to the nearest bodyguard, and pulled a pistol from his waist!
Without a word, Fushimi Shika took off running. Just then, a gunshot rang out behind him. The bullet grazed his calf and landed in the grass.

Chaos erupted in the auditorium as guests crouched down in fear, covering their heads.

Genjiro, stepping on the back of a bench, held a gun in one hand and the tattered hem of her white kimono in the other, chasing after the pursuer while shouting:
"Police! Stop right there!"

Fushimi Shika ran wildly along the buildings recreating the scene, shouting without turning his head, "I'm a policeman too!"

"That's no longer true from now on!" Yuan Yuzi shouted as she ran, "Call the police and have them arrested!"

Kujo Mutsu was the first to react. Instead of following his granddaughter's instructions to call the police, he immediately took over the scene in the hall and said to everyone through the microphone, "I'm sorry, there was a little accident at the wedding... The groom was just joking, please don't take it seriously."

Tsutsui Michitaka was lying under a bench, about to make a phone call, when his bodyguards dragged him out. The Kujo family's retainers and staff stormed into the hall, confiscating everyone's cell phones and laptops.

"I hope everyone will keep today's events a secret." Kujo Mutsumi paused. "Of course, it's fine if someone wants to tell, but the Kujo family will always remember the informant."

After saying that, he announced the end of the wedding and instructed his subordinates to see the guests off.

Mouri Nai wanted to know the final fate of the newlyweds, so she couldn't help but chase after them; Kanesaka Kotaro followed behind her, afraid that she would die and not receive half of the prize money.

……

While the guests were discussing it, Fushimi Shika had already run far away.

Having trained for a long time, Minamoto no Tamako's endurance had increased. She kept firing her gun in short bursts to prevent Fushimi Shika from running in a straight line and leaving her behind. For a moment, she even seemed to be catching up.

But when she ran out of bullets, almost in the blink of an eye, Fushimi Shika disappeared from her sight.

She stood on the suburban road, panting as she looked around.

A cold wind blew in gusts, and she kept wiping away her tears and calling Fushimi Shika's name, but only the wind answered her.

Yuan Yuzi threw the gun on the ground, hugged her knees, squatted down and sobbed.

She didn't know how long she cried, maybe a few hours, or maybe only a dozen minutes, until she finally cried all her tears.

When Kujo Mutsu found Minamoto Tamako, her white kimono had turned blackish-gray.

"Go back now, get some rest early tonight." Kujo Mutsu took her granddaughter's hand.

Yuan Yuzi stood up, buried her face in her grandfather's arms, and asked in a tearful voice:

"Why...why did she lie to me..."

"What they told me from the beginning... sob... it was only eight years..."

"But now...but now..."

Yuan Yuzi couldn't continue speaking.

Kujo Mutsu sighed, "There's no such thing as 'if only I had known then what I knew then.' Let him go. The Kujo family will find a better son-in-law sooner or later."

"No!"

Minamoto no Tamako abruptly looked up, took a step back, wiped away her tears, and transformed her sorrow and pain into a raging fire in her heart. Kujo Mutsu looked at his granddaughter in surprise, only to hear Minamoto no Tamako say in a tone that declared, "I will marry no one but him."

"I must bring him to justice!"

(End of this chapter)