Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 588 Bitter Dessert

Let's rewind to the early hours of this morning.

Ogasawara Toshima was still asleep in bed when he heard a knock on the living room door. He groggily got up, his hair a mess, and called out, "Who is it?"

"Police." A familiar female voice came from outside the door.

Ogasawara Toshima was startled, thinking that his assistance to the wanted criminal had been exposed. He was flustered but didn't know what he was doing. He paced around the room a few times before calming down, then went to the door and looked out through the peephole.

Standing outside the door was the female detective he had met once before. Ogasawara Toshima remembered her; her name seemed to be Minamoto Tamako. She was a rare good policewoman, but she didn't seem to be very useful and even got beaten up.

"What is it?" Ogasawara Toshima did not open the door.

"I'm here on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Department to apologize to the victim's family." Gen Tamako was carrying gift baskets in both hands, her forehead was wrapped in gauze, and she had dark circles under her eyes. She tried to speak in a gentle and cheerful tone, but she couldn't hide her fatigue.

Ogasawara Toshima hesitated for a moment, then opened the door and reiterated, "Um, I'm not a victim's family member yet..."

"After all, you were also implicated, I'm so sorry." Yuan Yuzi bowed, took out a dessert from the gift basket, and handed it over with both hands.

She also participated in counter-terrorism efforts when the Metropolitan Police Department building was attacked.

Unfortunately, she lacked the seniority and experience to be on the front lines; she could only maintain order and security on the perimeter, help control traffic, and apologize to drivers who honked their horns.

For the past week, Yuan Yuzi has been busy cleaning up the mess.

First, she apologized to the victims' families, and then she was responsible for notifying the families of the attacked officials. Others wouldn't have been formal enough in notifying them; as the daughter of Director Kujo, she was the most suitable person to do it.

The family members of the attacked officials gave her a hard time. Everyone else in the meeting room was either dead or maimed. Why was it that only Jiu Tiao was able to return unharmed?
That's fine, everyone has their own fate, and it's not something to say, but Kujo Yui ultimately failed to catch the culprit, what are they supposed to think?
Rumors circulated that Director Kujo was in cahoots with the murderer, and there was also evidence that the murderer was Director Kujo's son-in-law. Everyone was watching coldly, leaving Kujo Yui on the stage, while her subordinates outwardly complied but inwardly disobeyed, only thinking about when she would step down.

When Yuan Yuzi visited the families, the words she heard most often were:
How could you associate with someone like that?

Unable to answer, Yuan Yuzi could only bow repeatedly and apologize.

The family members of the attacked officials coldly berated her, and some even threw tea in her face. Yuan Yuzi often came home soaking wet, locked herself in her room, and secretly cried under the covers.

Ping Yingzi wanted to comfort her, but didn't know what to say. She could only try to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. Nowadays, she didn't even play games anymore, and she consciously tidied her room and did housework, even going to the toilet quietly.

Yuan Yuzi made a list and visited each of them to express her apologies, trying to salvage the reputation of the police.

Unfortunately, few people were willing to meet her.

Most people gave her the cold shoulder and shut her out. The victims on Cat Island were furious with the official handling of the situation and naturally wouldn't give Minamoto Tamako a friendly look.

Ogasawara Shunshin was the last person on her list; her gift basket was still full, with plenty of desserts left over.

Ogasawara Shunma, unaware of her relationship with Fushimi Shika, assumed she was simply doing her duty, and thus reached out to accept the dessert: "Then I'll accept it."

Gen Tamako nodded and said earnestly, "Okay, please trust the Metropolitan Police Department. They will do their utmost to track down the real culprit and give all the victims an explanation."

“Ah, I’ve given up hope…” Ogasawara Shunma waved his hand.

When his daughter went missing, he sought help from the police station everywhere, only to hear the same old answers, which he was already tired of hearing.

It's better not to have any expectations in the first place than to harbor unfounded hopes.

Yuan Yuzi, carrying the heavy gift basket in both hands, her ear tips instantly burning red, still insisted on finishing her sentence: "I will come to report the progress to you every day, until... until you say it's okay to stop."

“I’ve already said I’m not a victim’s family member.” Ogasawara Shunma didn’t want to talk anymore: “Instead of apologizing everywhere, why not arrest a few of the bad guys in the video?” With that, he closed the door.

Gen Tamako paused for a moment and sighed deeply.

She went to the shop with the gift basket, wanting to return the remaining desserts that hadn't been given away. But the shop assistant said the desserts and the gift basket were together, and once opened, they couldn't be returned.

Yuan Yuzi could only carry the gift basket home alone and eat the desserts before they spoiled.

"Sakura! I'm back!" She tried to make her voice sound cheerful as she walked into the living room and placed the gift basket on the table.

Hira Sakura poked her head out of the kitchen and saw that Genji Tamako was smiling, so she quickly wiped her hands and came over: "Tamako? How are you today...?"

"Hmm!" Yuan Yuzi nodded, pulling back the lining of the gift basket, her eyes shining slightly. "We visited the last family today, and they accepted the gifts! And—look, there are still so many desserts left!"

She took them out one by one, her tone unusually lighthearted:
"This is the 'Tokyo Banana Cake,' it's soft and fluffy, filled with banana cream, and super sweet!"

"And there's also 'Kongye Zui Zhongbing' (a type of Chinese pastry), with red bean paste and glutinous rice skin. The old shop's flavor is amazing!"

"Ah! There are also 'Ningyo-yaki' specially made by the Metropolitan Police Department, printed with a cherry blossom police emblem. I wonder if they'll taste better than the ones in the shopping street..."

"Right, right! We need to eat this caramel pudding quickly, or it will melt!"

As she counted, she broke off a small piece of "ningyo-yaki" and stuffed it into her mouth, adding indistinctly, "Mmm... there's also strawberry daifuku and matcha nama chocolate... Ah, Sakura! Do you want to try some?"

Ping Yingzi nodded, picked up a small piece of pudding, and ate it in small bites.

Before she had even finished her pudding, Minamoto no Tamako had already wolfed down her ningo-yaki and continued to pick up other desserts, eating faster and faster until she started gobbling them down.

As she ate, Gen Tamako began to sob.

Tears streamed down her face, and her lips were covered in dessert crumbs as she chewed them while crying.

Ping Yingzi couldn't stand it anymore. She put down the pudding and used the landline to call Aunt Ya Lan.

Minamoto Tamako was still putting on a brave face, saying she was fine and had only eaten some wasabi. Hira Sakurako pretended not to notice her lying, and after finishing the call, sat down on the sofa and asked her which dessert had wasabi.

"Just...just this one..."

Yuan Yuzi spoke while crying.

Less than half an hour later, Moriki Masahiro arrived. With the Metropolitan Police Department short-staffed, she was reinstated as the head of the Sugamo Koban Police Station. Her subordinates threw her a welcome party, which she skipped out of the way.

Moriki Yalan tried to comfort her for a long time, talking from morning until afternoon, but it was no use. Gen Tamako still cried.

Mori Muya was at a loss. She was already over thirty years old and had gone through countless boyfriends. She had long forgotten the feeling of first love and simply couldn't empathize with a young girl experiencing her first love.

She had no choice but to call Watanabe and the others over, saying it was a get-together, so that Minamoto no Tamako would have a reason to drink some alcohol.

The universally acknowledged process for friends breaking up is like this: call up three or five mutual friends, go to a cheap barbecue stall, get a few beers, eat, drink, and chat, let your friends vent, and release all the pent-up feelings.

Because Fushimi Shika's company was shut down, Watanabe Shun, Goto Shunsuke, and Kazama Takusai all became unemployed. To be precise, Watanabe Shun and Goto Shunsuke became unemployed, while Kazama Takusai found a job as an auxiliary police officer, helping to coordinate road traffic and manage community security. The pay was low and the work was extremely tiring, but he simply couldn't stay idle and couldn't enjoy life on his own.

The six met at the izakaya, and Hira Sakurako also came. While the others drank alcohol, she could only drink juice.

After ordering, waiting for the food, and receiving drinks—the initial steps were completed—Watanabe Shun spoke first, taking a large bite of yakitori and mumbling:

“I don’t think it’s his fault. Why are you apologizing to those people? They’re all scum… I’m not talking about the victims’ families, I’m talking about the families of those officials. Especially that judge, he deserved to be stabbed to death by Horie Kei.”

He had previously been given a suspended sentence by that judge for soliciting prostitution, and he had always harbored some resentment towards it.

Kazama Takusai told him to shut up, but he still continued to complain a couple more times.

Watanabe Shun was once a gangster, but his prodigal son's return did not bring him good fortune. Only he himself knows what he was thinking.

Kazama Takusai looked much older, and his scolding was not as stern as before, as if an old father was powerless to deal with his unruly son.

Goto Shunsuke also chimed in with a few words of reflection, but Moriki Masaaki, sensing the awkward atmosphere, forcefully steered the conversation back to Minamoto Tamako.

When the conversation turned to the ups and downs of life, everyone fell silent.

Yuan Yuzi didn't know what to say. She held her beer glass in both hands and remained silent for a long time. After the waiter ordered another plate of yakitori, she finally spoke up: "I will settle things with him sooner or later."

This means you've given up.

Watanabe Shun and Kazama Takusai exchanged a glance but remained silent. Goto Shunsuke, preoccupied with eating, was starving.

Senmu Yalan understood her thoughts and immediately chimed in, loudly criticizing, "That kind of person should have been broken up with long ago. He's lazy, wicked, has a terrible attitude, and is always putting on airs. He doesn't deserve to be your boyfriend at all..."

She launched a scathing critique of Fushimi Shika from all angles, describing him as a maggot in a cesspool.

That's how breakups are; you always have to choose sides. Moriki Arashi chose to stand with Minamoto Tamako, believing that Tamako was a good girl and deserved happiness.

Fushimi Shika betrayed a good girl, so he deserves to be scolded.

Yuan Yuzi listened silently, feeling inexplicably relieved. But every time Moriki Aya mentioned Fumishiro's name, she couldn't help but hiccup.

Drink up, get drunk, and you won't think about these things anymore.

Yuan Yuzi picked up her wine glass and downed it in one gulp. Everyone watched her, but no one said a word.

Kazama Takusai wanted to dissuade her, but Moriki Aya shook her head at him and texted under the table: "I'll take care of her if she drinks too much. Don't worry about her this time."

Sure enough, after downing a large glass of craft beer, Gen Tamako's face turned rosy, and she looked refreshed. She boldly exclaimed, "Another one!"

Just as the waiter brought the beer, Yuan Yuzi slammed her head onto the table with a thud.

"You blacked out after just one drink?" Goto Shunsuke asked, bewildered.

Knowing her alcohol tolerance, Moriki Yalan planned to help her up and take her home to rest.

"Nonsense!" Yuan Yuzi suddenly raised her head, her eyes blurry with drunkenness, and said, "I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk!"

She held the freshly served beer and downed it in one gulp.

No one tried to stop him, letting Yuan Yuzi drink four large cups in a row and let out a huge burp before he finally stopped.

"Hehe." Yuan Yuzi sat in the chair, grinning foolishly, her face as red as a monkey's bottom.

"Come on, let's keep drinking. Let's not talk about unhappy things anymore." Watanabe Shun warmed up the atmosphere, raising his glass to toast everyone and telling some boring dirty jokes.

Under the influence of alcohol, everyone burst into laughter.

After a few rounds of drinks, the large-screen TV on the wall of the izakaya started playing a football match. At this time of day in Western Europe, it was daytime, and the Japanese TV station was broadcasting the football match. The guests ate and watched, supporting their respective teams.

"One minute of stoppage time! Japan launches a counter-attack!"

On the bar's TV screen, the commentator's voice was hoarse. Everyone gripped their beer glasses, their eyes unconsciously drawn to the screen—player number 10 made a lightning-fast run from midfield, dribbling past two defenders before unleashing a curling shot from outside the penalty area into the top corner!

"An incredible comeback! This goal—"

The commentator's voice abruptly stopped, and the screen instantly turned into a color screen with no signal.

The guests started swearing and cursing, and the izakaya suddenly became noisy and lively.

The cursing didn't last long before the scene abruptly switched to a bloody video. Moriki Ayane froze, looking at Kazama Takusai and whispering, "It's not...again..."

"I don't know," Kazama Takusai said.

He looked up at the television screen. The Bloody Trials game in the new world was originally designed for the entertainment of the wealthy, so it was quite entertaining, dramatic, and had good program effects.

Even if the editing skills are a bit poor, it can still attract attention.

Now he's curious whether it's just this one izakaya broadcasting the news, or if the whole town is broadcasting it.

Goto Shunsuke called a friend, urging him to come to the izakaya to see what was going on. Unexpectedly, his friend claimed he'd seen it at home too, and that several major television stations were broadcasting it.

Watanabe Shun immediately called his friends in Hokkaido, only to find that he could also see them there...

"Broadcast throughout Japan?" Kazama Takusai thought he was used to it, but he was still shocked at this moment.

"How did he do that?" Watanabe Shun asked, bewildered. "Several TV stations were broadcasting at the same time. Could he have hijacked several TV stations at once?"

"It's Tokyo Tower."

Moriki Arashi, being a Tokyo native, immediately realized what was going on.

She came to her senses and wanted to persuade Yuan Yuzi to calm down, to stop running around and not to blame herself, but when she turned around, she couldn't see Yuan Yuzi anywhere.

"Where's Tamako?" Moriki Araragi turned her head again. "Where's Sakurako? Where did they go?"

"You went to the toilet, didn't you?" Goto Shunsuke said dismissively.

The other three exchanged glances, and Mori Muya immediately got up and searched all the toilet stalls, but couldn't find them.

(End of this chapter)