Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 162 - 84 Beyond Reproach

Chapter 162: Chapter 84 Beyond Reproach

More than a month ago, after Kamei Yuusaku was beheaded, Kazama Tatsuya was still unconscious.

Kazama Chihime used a cloth strip to tightly wrap her father’s elbow, submerging his forearm in the snow to chill it. When the skin turned blue and purple, she then chopped off his forearm with a single strike.

Afterwards, she smashed things around inside the police car, creating a scene of chaos to fake an intense fight.

The method wasn’t sophisticated, but with unclear motives, it was indeed quite effective. The criminal police in the investigation department were misled to think it was an attack by the Heavenly Punishment Group, leading to Kazama Tatsuya losing an arm in the crossfire... perhaps even dead.

In this way, the suspicion on Kazama Tatsuya was barely cleared.

Why was it ’barely’?

Because Kazama Tatsuya was still alive, and being alive meant there was suspicion.

He was tough; although Kazama Chihime did a lot to stop the bleeding, reality isn’t like a Hollywood movie where you can still fight after losing an arm or a leg. He nearly died from excessive blood loss—afterwards, Kazama Chihime did a blood transfusion from herself to him, saving him just in time.

After more than a month of ’recuperation,’ Kazama Tatsuya’s wounds initially healed, with scabs forming on the surface of the severed arm, and the bleeding and discharge had stopped.

It was clear that Chihime was adept at treating lacerations. Every time she changed the dressing, she would use tweezers to tear off the gauze and apply the antiseptic liquid evenly and meticulously on the wound, unbothered by Kazama Tatsuya’s cold remarks.

During the recovery period, Kazama Chihime asked more than once about the true identity of the "Heavenly Punishment" killer, trying to find out from her father who the mysterious person was that called at the critical moment;

And Kazama Tatsuya insisted more than once that the so-called "Heavenly Punishment killer" didn’t exist at all, the Sugamo Apartment massacre was already closed, the killer was Nagashima Takeshi, who committed suicide after the murder... even if you dig deeper, it’s meaningless, the truth is most likely that the gang silenced him in an organized manner.

But Kazama Chihime did not believe it.

She inherited her parents’ shortcomings, but also their strengths—she had the same excellent physical fitness as her mother and the same keen intuition as her father.

Even if Kazama Tatsuya refused to tell the truth, she wasn’t going to resort to violent interrogation, because that wasn’t the act of justice.

Indeed, she only did what was ’right’ in the worldly sense.

The warehouse had no heating, as cold as an ice cellar, with the chill surging in the beam of light. Kazama Chihime walked up to her father, squatted down, opened a plastic bag, pried open a can, and said: "Today I bought your favorite grilled eel canned food..."

As she spoke, she placed the flashlight upright beside her, showcasing other canned items one by one: "And also boiled red bean cans, Tamako-yaki can, mandarin orange can, mackerel can... How do you feel? Feeling better?"

"When can I be released?" Kazama Tatsuya retorted.

"Once you tell me who ’he’ is, I can let you go."

Before her father could retort, Kazama Chihime continued, "Emotionally, you’re my father, I can’t let you fall into injustice, the severing of your arm was an unfortunate necessity; rationally, ’Heavenly Punishment’ caused a disturbance in order, I can’t do nothing, eradicating them is for the greater good of the state."

"Hypocrite!"

Kazama Tatsuya rasped: "Weren’t you the one who used the guise of Heavenly Punishment to murder?"

"It’s no longer called Heavenly Punishment, now it’s called ’Heaven’s Execution’." Kazama Chihime laughed, "Quite chuunibyou* isn’t it? Actually, I don’t care about that title."

"Isn’t this still hypocrisy?" Kazama Tatsuya asked.

"Is this considered hypocrisy?" Kazama Chihime replied, "If I adhere to this path all my life, wouldn’t that be a form of justice? I’m just doing what’s right..."

The last words pierced the knot in Kazama Tatsuya’s heart, and he roared lowly: "Stop pretending! Is chopping off someone’s arm also a ’right’ thing?"

"If you’re displeased with this, I’ll cut off my left arm right now as an apology." Kazama Chihime said.

Kazama Tatsuya was choked, he paused, his tone growing more urgent: "What about the gatekeeper, does he deserve to die too? Was he also deserving?"

"It was a necessary sacrifice for the greater good."

Kazama Chihime placed the cans on the ground, raised two fingers, saying, "If there were a boy and a girl tied on the left track, and an old man on the right, and the train was speeding towards the left, with a lever in front of you to change the track, would you pull it or not? As the girl tied on the left, what wrong is there if I choose to pull the lever?"

"That’s sophistry!" The chains on Kazama Tatsuya rattled.

"Aren’t you an accomplice as well?" Kazama Chihime asked, "If you’re displeased with this, why didn’t you arrest us?"

As she spoke, she stretched out her hands: "Weren’t you the criminal police? At that time, you should have taken me away. Silent for so many years, why do you rebuke me now?"

Those words were like a needle, puncturing the balloon. The anger in Kazama Tatsuya’s chest deflated, he slumped down, speaking softly: "I only wanted to give you a chance to reform..."

"I’ve done the right thing, I don’t need to reform." Kazama Chihime took out a medical kit, kneeling, cradled her father’s severed arm, and tenderly changed his dressing: "You’re the one who was wrong."

"..."

Kazama Tatsuya had a thousand words stuck in his throat, unable to speak them out.

If it were Fushimi Roku saying these words, he would have let the other party cut off his arm without hesitation as an atonement, he could also send Fushimi Roku to prison without a trace of remorse... but now, sitting before him was his daughter.

He looked at Kazama Chihime’s profile, the latter carefully changing the dressing. Like any daughter who respects her father, she moved gently, and after changing the dressing, even helped her father put on a coat.

"I’m sorry I can’t stay longer, I’ll come and see you in two days."

Kazama Chihime stood up, clapped the dust off her knees: "Before leaving, do you have anything else you want to tell me? Need me to buy anything for you?"

"Give up any hope." Kazama Tatsuya said.

He didn’t want Kazama Chihime to contact Fushimi Roku, firstly out of consideration for safety, not out of concern for Fushimi Roku’s safety; secondly, he was worried that she would be influenced by Fushimi Roku, growing more obsessive and twisted.

Though she was already twisted enough, before one tans, they always believe their skin can’t get any darker—reality proved that the abyss of degeneration is endless.

"Although you are unwilling to reveal his identity, I’ve still discovered a bit of a clue."

Kazama Chihime propped her cheek with her index finger, tilting her head in thought: "Today, I visited Mr. Fushimi and asked him what kind of person the Heavenly Punishment perpetrator was... he replied ’a marauder who judges for the sake of judgment’."

"So?"

"So how can he be sure the Heavenly Punishment perpetrator is male? I asked about かれ (him), but Mr. Fushimi didn’t express any objection."

*chuunibyou: "second-year middle school syndrome," refers to adolescents who have grandiose delusions, believe they have special powers, or think they are different from others or heroes/characters from certain stories.