Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 130 - 52 Family Collapse

Chapter 130: Chapter 52 Family Collapse

After returning home, Riko asked Kamei Yuuta if she was being too sensitive, and if Yuusaku was simply smiling at her...

He couldn’t remember what he thought at that time, only that he replied with a ’hmm.’

Riko didn’t hear the answer she wanted, so she went back to her room to sulk alone.

Moments later, she came out again, her face pale, holding a newspaper.

The headline report was about an undercover record inside the "Trial-****camp" educational institution, where a journalist personally experienced it. The institution, under the guise of correcting ’shut-ins,’ ’truancy,’ ’disobedience to parents,’ and other bad habits, recruited a large number of trainees. With guardian permission, they forcibly took trainees away for huge profits.

According to the journalist, corporal punishment and abuse were common at the institution: caregivers would take inappropriate photos of trainees, tie them to beds to restrict freedom, make them use diapers, and even sustain them only with nutrition injections... If trainees were disobedient, caregivers would imprison them in a dark, damp basement until they submitted.

"It’s not that one, right?" Riko asked.

She had always poured her heart into her son’s education. She had filled out a schedule for Yuusaku’s daily routine, leaving no gaps. If Yuusaku was even a minute late, she would erupt in anger.

Not only that, she even confiscated the pocket money given to her son by his grandma, arguing that too much money would lead a child astray. She spent a lot on tutorial classes and training sessions for Yuusaku but wouldn’t spend 500 yen to buy him a cartoon DVD.

Half a year ago, Riko, brainwashed by that training institution, insisted on sending Yuusaku there for a one-year course.

She always felt Yuusaku had a dislike for studying, and every time her son threw a tantrum, she impatiently said, ’It’s all for your good,’ ’for the sake of your future,’ ’to become an outstanding person so as not to waste your mother’s hard work’... Over time, she grew tired of saying it, feeling it was no solution, and planned to solve the issue once and for all.

Unexpectedly, after just half a year, Yuusaku ran home on his own.

Before seeing this newspaper, Riko still harbored resentment.

She had already planned that once her son overcame his dislike for studying, followed the daily schedule, it was only a matter of time before he got into a prestigious school... She was considering whether he should apply to East University or Waseda. She never expected him to give up halfway, it disappointed her greatly.

Now, seeing Riko’s pale face, her lips trembled as she said, "It’s fake, right? It must be just a namesake, right?"

Yuusaku shattered her self-deceptive fantasy.

He sat up straight on the tatami, smiling as he said, "A woman died. On her first day there, the instructor locked her in an empty concrete pipe, depriving her of food and water for two days. When she came out, she was like a pig, stripped naked, sprayed with a high-pressure water hose."

"Later, she made a mistake, and the caregivers grabbed her hands and feet, fiercely slammed her onto the concrete floor. Initially, she begged for mercy, but after four or five slams, she started spitting blood, like a pile of rotten mud."

"The caregivers claimed she was pretending, that even slamming someone’s back wouldn’t kill them. So they pulled the woman’s limbs, lifted her high, saying they’d slam her awake. With a slap, I heard a bone-cracking sound. It could’ve been her neck, or maybe her ribs, I’m not sure, but either way, she died."

"The instructor slapped her a few times, poured water into her mouth, but no matter what, they couldn’t wake her. Only then did they realize something went wrong and hurriedly dragged the body away."

"The next day, her mother came to the school, signed a document, took the compensation, and brought home the body. I heard it clearly, she was still calling for her mother to save her before she died; yet, when her mother left, she merely said her daughter’s fate was unfortunate."

"Someone dying was just like losing livestock."

...

Riko covered her ears, screaming for him to stop. But Yuusaku continued, terrifying her into tears. She slapped herself, saying it was her mistake, that she was wrong, she did it for his good, only being deceived...

"Hmm."

Yuusaku didn’t argue or refute.

That single word was like a needle, piercing into Riko’s heart. It hurt her more than her son cursing, hitting, or resenting her ever could.

Like begging for mercy, Riko asked Yuusaku if he could forgive her. The latter smiled and said he didn’t resent her at all. Riko forced a smile through her tears, thinking of compensating her son and hurriedly asked where he wanted to go to play...

"I don’t want to play, I want to study. Once I get into a good university and earn money, I’ll send you there for training too."

Yuusaku bluntly stated.

Riko was frightened, and Kamei Yuuta was furious. They yelled, scolded, and demanded Yuusaku apologize. He complied but still wore a smile. Only then did they realize, not only was the mother unqualified, the father too was inept; the family dynamics were distorted and imbalanced.

So they took their son to see the psychiatrist again, still the same doctor. The latter chatted with Yuusaku for a bit and suggested registering Riko for a consultation; he suspected Riko’s mental state was unstable...

Riko was shattered, walking silently out of the hospital.

Since then, she often asked her husband, ’Did I do something wrong?’ ’How can I make it up to Yuusaku?’... No matter how Kamei Yuuta answered, it never satisfied her.

She became sensitive, irritable, anxious, constantly lowering herself to appease Yuusaku. The plans she painstakingly made before were tossed into the trash, and whatever her son wanted, she bought. This behavior didn’t seem like pampering but seemed like compensating out of guilt.

In Kamei Yuuta’s view, it seemed like there was a secret language between the mother and son. A casual comment from Yuusaku could make Riko burst into tears or leap with joy.

One day, Kamei Yuuta came home early and accidentally overheard Yuusaku shouting for Riko to die. He flew into rage, wanting to properly educate his son but was stopped by Riko.

"He’s just a kid, he doesn’t understand, let it go..." Riko said.

Yuusaku apologized, saying, "Yes, I indeed don’t understand mother’s well-intentioned effort, after all, it’s all for my good, it’s my lack of understanding."

His tone was calm, as if sincerely apologizing, but Riko painfully lowered her head.

Kamei Yuuta couldn’t stand it; he even considered sending Yuusaku back to the educational institution. Even with corporal punishment and abuse, he wanted to correct his son.

However, before he could contact the school, a puppy suddenly appeared at home.

Riko said the puppy was sent by Yuusaku’s girlfriend. When she said this, she smiled, finding long-lost peace. Kamei Yuuta squatted down, the puppy, a fluffy bundle, ran circles around them, looking exceptionally cute, relaxing his tense heart.

Riko named it Marujiro.

She used Marujiro to fill the hole in her heart, getting the love from him that she couldn’t get from Yuusaku. Whether she was sad or angry, Marujiro wouldn’t leave her, always circling around her. Even if she accidentally stepped on Marujiro’s tail, he wouldn’t hold a grudge.

As long as Marujiro was there, she had a ’reason to live.’

Kamei Yuuta didn’t realize this, and when he came home, Marujiro would frolic to greet him, Riko would softly say ’You’re back,’ then serve the pre-made vegetarian dinner. The household atmosphere became exceptionally warm, as if everything returned to the unbroken daily life.

Thus, he gave up sending Yuusaku to the educational institution. Even if it was superficial harmony, false warmth, he didn’t have the courage to tear it apart.

Riko also began eating vegetarian, giving the meat to Yuusaku and the dog.

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