Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 584 Trial
The live stream was suddenly interrupted.

The TV station inserted a commercial and began playing an advertisement for Kobayashi Pharmaceutical.

The duty officer at Sugamo Police Station complained, "Why did the call have to drop now? It's not a children's program..."

A colleague nodded in agreement: "It's a pay-TV service, after all. This is outrageous!"

Ogasawara Toshima and his companions squatted to the side, their hands handcuffed behind their backs to the water pipe. They couldn't sit down or stand up straight, so they could only crookedly squat and endure the ordeal.

The police arrested the person, but did not immediately send him to a detention center.

The detectives all knew that filing a case would have a bad impact, and they would have to take responsibility for any future crimes. It was better to arrest the person temporarily under the guise of an investigation and release him in a couple of days. This way, they could give an account to their superiors without feeling guilty or taking responsibility.

A dozen or so people squatted by the water pipe, watching the live TV broadcast with the on-duty criminal police officers.

"Did you see that? It looks like someone was pushed down the stairs," Ogasawara Toshima whispered.

The companion squatting next to him is named Oda Takahiro. His children have all gone missing. His daughter appeared in the video, but the whereabouts of his son are still unknown.

“I saw it, it’s Suzuki…” Oda Takahiro said through gritted teeth.

Ogasawara Toshima often heard the name 'Suzuki Matsu,' who was quite famous within the victims' families support group.

"What exactly happened? It looks serious." Ogasawara Toshima wasn't really concerned; he just had nothing else to do.

"Hmph, the more serious the better." Oda Takahiro said with a hint of schadenfreude, "They're all a bunch of good-for-nothings, parasites on the nation, only knowing how to waste taxpayers' money..."

"What did you say!" The on-duty detective stood up, pointed at his nose, and yelled, "You bastard, all you do is cause trouble for society—"

Oda Takahiro tried to stand up and confront him, but his wrist was pulled by the handcuffs, and his momentum immediately weakened.

"What are you looking at? You're not convinced?" The on-duty detective was about to make a move when his colleague pulled him back, telling him to calm down.

The on-duty criminal police officer knew he was in the wrong, so he didn't pursue the matter further.

Actually, he also harbored resentment. He worked diligently every day, often working overtime, but in return, he was labeled a "social parasite" and a "good-for-nothing." Who could feel good about that?
I have no idea what those elites from the University of Tokyo, Keio University, and Waseda University are busy with every day, making the situation increasingly unsightly...

At this moment, the television channel resumed live broadcasting, which attracted the attention of the on-duty criminal police officer, who put aside the argument and continued watching television.

Ogasawara Toshima turned around and whispered, "Calm down, there's no need to get angry with them."

“You don’t understand.” Oda Takahiro turned his face away, his wrists bleeding from the straps, and said coldly, “You’ll understand how I feel when you see your daughter on the videotape.”

“This has nothing to do with them.” Ogasawara Toshima could still distinguish right from wrong: “If you want to blame someone, you should blame the people who kidnapped your daughter and the man in the video who killed your daughter.”

“I don’t care,” said Takahiro Oda.

Ogasawara Toshima truly didn't understand; he couldn't truly empathize. Before seeing his daughter appear on the video, Oda Takahiro was gentle and mild-mannered, but after learning of his daughter's whereabouts, he seemed like a completely different person.

Hatred can indeed change a person.

Ogasawara Shunma didn't want to see his companion in pain, so he tried to distract him by asking, "Do you have any leads about that man?"

“Yes, I’ve already found out who he is,” said Takahiro Oda.

Ogasawara Toshima was taken aback. He had thought that Oda Takahiro was searching for a needle in a haystack and that finding his daughter was already a stroke of luck. He never expected that he would also find the whereabouts of his enemy.

"Really? Are you sure it's the same person as in the video?" Ogasawara Toshima asked nervously.

Hearing their discussion, the other companions gathered around to ask Oda Takahiro if what he said was true.

Oda Takahiro turned around and gestured for Ogasawara Toshima to take out what was in his pocket. The latter leaned back slightly and hooked it out with his little finger; inside was a clipping from a newspaper.

“It’s him, the vice president of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical,” said Takahiro Oda.

His tone was so calm that Ogasawara Toshima felt it wasn't real.

However, the man in the photo is indeed the same person as the one in the video. In the so-called "trial," this man killed Oda Takahiro's daughter with his own hands in order to win the game.

"What do you plan to do?" Ogasawara Toshima asked.

"I don't know. He's the vice president, rich and powerful. What can I do?" Oda Takahiro's tone was numb. "The police don't care either. They even want to destroy the videotape. That was my last piece of evidence..."

Ogasawara Toshima didn't know how to comfort them, and the others remained silent as well, all facing the same dilemma:
—They are afraid of not being able to find their relatives, afraid of learning of their deaths, and even more afraid of not being able to avenge their relatives.

"Let's watch TV first," Ogasawara Toshima changed the subject again.

They're all handcuffed right now, so all they can do is watch TV to pass the time.

The camera was shaking slightly, and it was clear that even the professional photographer was a little nervous.

Under the cover of night, a red light shone from a window on one of the floors of the building, and a corpse hung from the window ledge, swaying in the wind.

The female reporter, holding a microphone, spoke very quickly:

"Breaking news: Suzuki Matsu, the head of the Metropolitan Police Department's Security Division, has been murdered. Police are currently attempting to recover the body. The robber's motive remains unclear. Negotiation experts have arrived at the scene and are currently negotiating with the robber..."

……

Meanwhile, inside the Metropolitan Police Department building, Shika Fushimi flipped the hourglass again and said to Kentaro Fuyuyama, "You have five minutes to defend yourself."

Kentaro Fuyuyama's mind went blank.

His gaze was fixed on the window railing, at the end of which was a rope, and Suzuki Matsu's body was hanging below it.

"me……"

Kentaro Fuyuyama's lips trembled, his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud: "I...I haven't killed anyone...I haven't...I just...I just wanted to make some money..."

As he spoke, his speech became more fluent, and he instinctively begged for mercy, kowtowing and pleading, "I will never gamble again! I will never gamble again! Please spare me!"

"Hmm, anything else?" Fushimi Shika asked, leaning closer.

Kentaro Fuyuyama was taken aback and stammered.

What else? What else did I do wrong?
Think quickly—think fast!!
Kentaro Fuyuyama swallowed hard, glanced up and saw Yui Kujo. She pointed to the police badge on her chest. Kentaro Fuyuyama suddenly realized what she meant and hurriedly said:

“And… I shouldn’t have neglected my duty… I, I should have broadcast this… Yes! I should have reported the truth! I, I’m not human, as a police officer, how could I participate in such a thing… I knowingly broke the law, my crime is heinous…”

As Fuyuyama Kentaro spoke, he slapped himself hard across the face. Fushimi Shika vaguely sensed something was wrong, turned around abruptly, and looked at Kujo Yui, whose hand had already been lowered, as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, I'm glad you recognize your mistake."

Fushimi Shika paused for a moment, then continued, "Shouldn't we pay the price for doing something wrong?"

"Yes...yes...please give me a chance, I will definitely turn over a new leaf!" Kentaro Fuyuyama kowtowed repeatedly.

"And what about you?" Kujo Yui suddenly interjected, asking in return, "Don't you have to pay a price for what you're doing now?"

Kentaro Fuyuyama just wanted Director Kujo to shut up; his head was buzzing, and he couldn't understand why his boss was provoking this madman.

“I have already paid the price.” Fushimi Shika opened his arms and looked around. “And I welcome any punishment from you all at any time.”

No one answered; Kujo Yui also fell silent.

The hourglass reached its end, and five minutes passed. Fushimi Shika made up his mind and took out a folding knife from his pocket: "According to the principle of proportionality between crime and punishment, I should not kill you; since you are willing to repent, I can lend you a hand."

"W-what?" Kentaro Fuyuyama asked in a daze.

“Gamblers always get their hands chopped off. The medical conditions here are poor, and you might die if your hands are chopped off… Here’s what we’ll do: I’ll take five fingers. You can choose which five you want chopped off,” Fushimi Shika said.

Kentaro Fuyuyama breathed a sigh of relief. What did losing five fingers matter as long as he could survive?

His heart finally settled down. He vaguely felt that his pants were wet, and when he looked down, he realized that he had wet himself without even realizing it.

Kentaro Fuyuyama, disregarding his embarrassment, nervously asked, "Does it count as toes?"

"Fine, it's my fault for not explaining clearly earlier." Fushimi Shika was very forgiving.

"Then, the two little toes on both feet, the two little fingers on both hands... and the one middle finger on the left hand." Kentaro Fuyuyama wanted to minimize the damage as much as possible.

Fushimi Shika was silent for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Fuyuyama Kentaro's arm and pressed his hand onto the conference table: "I've changed my mind."

"—What—wait!"

Kentaro Fuyuyama's eyes widened as he watched the blade flash past. The blade was so fast that he didn't even have time to feel the pain before his hand was severed at the wrist and left on the table.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A piercing scream rang out from the building, causing a stir among the onlookers below.

Firefighters deployed an inflatable cushion on the first floor. A sniper broke the rope, and Suzuki Matsu's body fell onto the cushion. Police successfully recovered the body, and the task force began discussing a rescue plan.

Inspector Taguchi suggested, "The hostage-taker is completely uncooperative. Rather than waiting for him to harm the hostages, we should launch a preemptive assault, even if it results in casualties, it's the best way to minimize the damage..."

"But who will take responsibility?" the operations team leader retorted. "The Metropolitan Police Department's commissioner is inside, along with nearly half of the department's officers. If the assault fails and hostages die, who will be held accountable?"

Inspector Taguchi thought to himself, "What nonsense is this? You're the team leader, so of course you're in charge!"
But he understood how much pressure this situation was, and after hesitating for a moment, he chose to remain silent.

"Have you figured out the kidnappers' identities?" the team leader asked. "And how many kidnappers are there? Have you found out?"

The officer replied, "An hour before the attack, Criminal Investigation Department Chief Touma Kato was also murdered. The perpetrator is very likely the same person as the attacker... The exact number of victims is currently unknown."

After a moment's thought, the team leader made a decisive decision: "Have the negotiation experts warn that if the robbers don't respond, we'll smash the conference room windows."

"Yes."

The officer relayed the order, and the negotiation expert announced it into the microphone, making it clear to everyone in the meeting room.

Several guards were helping Kentaro Fuyuyama stop the bleeding, and they tied his arm with a tie. Shika Fushimi pulled the primer and used gunpowder to burn the severed wound on Kentaro Fuyuyama's wrist, which caused another scream.

"This is the last time I'm repeating it. Listen up, if there's no response, we'll smash the windows—"

Fushimi Shika shook the blood off his hands and turned to ask, "Does anyone know the phone number of the person in charge down there?"

The group looked at each other in silence.

"What, none of you want to live?" Fushimi Shika asked again.

Upon hearing this, someone finally spoke up: "Judging from the voice, it sounds like Taguchi's subordinate. His phone number is 2787... Even if it's not him, we can still relay the message."

Fushimi Shika let out a "boom," took out his phone from his pocket, and dialed a number. It rang only once before the other end answered immediately: "Moshi moshi? Who is this?"

“It’s me, the robber in the conference room,” Fushimi Shika said succinctly. “If you break the window, I’ll detonate a grenade, and all the hostages will die.”

Inspector Taguchi hurriedly said, "Please calm down. Can we talk? Please tell us what you need. We hope to exchange the hostages..."

"I need a radio station that can broadcast, a radio, thank you." Fushimi Shika leaned against the wall, lifted a corner of the curtain, and observed the surrounding environment: "Please leave it in the fire escape. I will send someone to pick it up. It must be delivered within fifteen minutes, or I will kill you."

After saying that, he hung up the phone, put it in the corner, and took a few steps back to keep a safe distance.

"What do you want a radio station for?" Kujo asked.

“Trials need jurors,” Fushimi Shika said.

Kujo Yui thought he was crazy. Only a madman would be so paranoid, and only a madman would be so arrogant as to think he could judge others: "This is not a judgment, it is just violence."

"Trial is the greatest violence."

Fushimi Shika finally looked directly at Kujo Yui, his eyes flashing with sharpness. The latter was startled and dared not meet his gaze.

He continued, "A verdict is undeniably absolute violence perpetrated by the state against an individual."

“Man is the sum total of all social relations. If a citizen has not received the education he deserves and therefore commits a crime against morality, then his country, his society, and his family members should all be held responsible.”

"But the world does not work that way. Individuals are free, and individual will plays a decisive role in the law. We should all be responsible for our own actions—ensuring this is accurate with absolute violence, which is the cornerstone of the law. The trials derived from the law are no different from the medieval practice of burning witches at the stake."

"Trial is violence."

"Judgment is arrogance."

"It is human nature for us to wield violence and judge the weak."

Kujo Yui couldn't refute it; the man before her had a self-consistent worldview, twisted and insane, yet cold and rational.

(End of this chapter)