Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 188 - 109: The Death of the Proud (Part 2)

Chapter 188: Chapter 109: The Death of the Proud (Part 2)

...

March 19, Light Rain

That dog bit my granddaughter, it can’t be left alive. I was irritated, so I slaughtered it along with a few stray dogs to vent my anger.

...

March 31, Light Rain

That dog wasn’t a stray, it had an owner.

The owner was a child, who posted notices everywhere looking for the dog, quite anxious. Kawai-san was gloating, saying the dog owner deserved it. I felt somewhat regretful, feeling that I had been too impulsive yesterday, but also felt unjust if I didn’t kill it and was torn about whether to confess the truth to the dog’s owner, feeling very conflicted.

...

April 1, Sunny

I figured it out, the life of plants can’t be traded for the life of a pig or a dog, there is a hierarchy in life, human life is supreme, so those dogs deserved to die. I didn’t do anything wrong. If I continue to hide the truth, my conscience would be troubled. Therefore, I found the dog owner and told the truth.

The dog owner was very sad, she questioned me, saying plants are lives, and so are dogs, why are my plants more valuable than her dog’s life? I said plants can’t compare to a dog’s life, but a human life is more precious than a dog’s life, those dogs were dangerous, so they deserved to die. Perhaps she was overwhelmed with anger, she asked, why is a human life more valuable than a dog’s life? Who set the standards? Killing a dog today, will you kill a person tomorrow?

I couldn’t answer a word, I could only say she was being unreasonable. She resented me, but her parents apologized to me instead.

...

April 3, Overcast

Kawai-san invited me for a drink, telling me not to worry about the matter.

...

April 7, Light Rain

My granddaughter quarreled with me.

She saw me secretly bury the dog’s body and knew the dog owner was looking for the dog, but pretended not to know and asked why I was upset recently.

I found it difficult to tell her about killing the dog, but she has an insistent nature. So, I changed the way I put it: "I destroyed someone else’s beloved object for the sake of justice, hence the unease."

My granddaughter said: "It’s nothing, if you’ve done a good deed, naturally others will thank you." I said: "If no one is around, who will thank? If no one sees, wouldn’t doing a good thing be in vain?"

My granddaughter said: "What kind of logic is that? By that reasoning, as long as no one sees, you can do bad things."

I felt slightly relieved and patted her head.

Unexpectedly, my granddaughter shook off my hand, blamed me for not telling her the truth, and said: "If you kill, repay with your life; if you owe, pay back; that’s only right, who would dare to object?"

This kind of talk is too aggressive, I couldn’t indulge her, so I said: "What if I, your grandfather, killed someone?" My granddaughter was shocked and couldn’t respond.

She seemed bewildered, and I found the answer in my heart.

There are too many things in this world that can’t be clarified. I could have poisoned that dog, standing on moral and legal grounds condemning the dog owner; I could also not tell the dog owner the truth, letting her continue searching painfully for the beloved pet... But it is precisely because there are too many things unclear in this world, and because the human heart always has a dark side, that we must embrace tolerance and integrity.

...

April 8

Unfortunately, the dog owner moved away. I had no chance to apologize again.

My granddaughter is still mad at me; she doesn’t like being kept in the dark and always seeks the truth too strongly. I worry she might suffer for this in the future, yet I don’t know how to advise her and can only repeatedly tell her:

— You must bravely trust those you love, even if it leaves you scars.

...

A breeze rustled the treetops, the pages rustled, and wildflowers beside the grave swayed with the wind; death always brings new life.

Minamoto Tamako’s gloomy eyes brightened again, her nose tingled, but she couldn’t cry. The light burst from her heart, dispelling the fog before her eyes.

She wiped away her tears with a slight relief and sat down beside the unmarked grave.

Kazama Tatsuya patted her shoulder and then turned to leave.

Fushimi Roku waited at the gate of the cemetery. Seeing him come out, he took another stack of letter papers from under his wheelchair cushion: "Here, for you, Chihime’s last note."

"I don’t need it," Kazama Tatsuya said.

"Keep it," Fushimi Roku stuffed the stack of papers into his pocket: "Take a look when you can’t bear it."

"Can’t you be a bit more tactful?" Kazama Tatsuya smiled bitterly: "Even lie to me, like you did to Minamoto Tamako."

"I warn you, don’t slander me, when did I lie to her?" Fushimi Roku was rather displeased; all his efforts seemed unappreciated.

Kazama Tatsuya didn’t argue with him further and took out the stack of ’last notes,’ using a lighter to ignite it, letting it turn into a pile of ashes in the wind.

"Let me ask you something," he stared at the flame and suddenly said, "If a trolley were coming, with two kids lying on the tracks and an old man on the siding, with a lever in front of you, how would you choose...?"

"Of course I’d pull it," Fushimi Roku looked at him as if he were an idiot: "You never learned elementary arithmetic? Let me educate you, two is actually more than one."

"Wouldn’t that make you a murderer?" Kazama Tatsuya asked.

"So what?" Fushimi Roku retorted.

This left Kazama Tatsuya speechless; he felt he shouldn’t have asked the question. After a moment of silence, still somewhat unwilling, he said: "What if the old man’s family holds you accountable? Wouldn’t your conscience be tortured?"

"What kind of stupid question are you asking?"

Fushimi Roku, uninterested in answering, changed the subject saying: "If you really have a guilty conscience, find a way to make amends with Minamoto Tamako... She’s been troubled by her incompetence, feeling useless on the train, hence self-blame. Since you have nothing much to do, why not teach her gun skills?"

"Chief Kujo can find a better instructor for her, can’t he?" Kazama Tatsuya was not very confident.

"Ha! If Kujo would even let her resign, that’s fine; he’d never let someone teach her tactical shooting, sympathize with a mother’s heart."

Having said so, Fushimi Roku, single-handedly pushed the wheelchair intending to go back to the hospital to rest.

What should be done was done, and the odd feeling of ’forgetting something’ finally vanished.

Fushimi Roku hadn’t pushed far when the wheelchair moved on its own. He turned to see Kazama Tatsuya helping by holding the handles, pushing him forward.

"Yo, isn’t this Inspector Kazama, why are you personally pushing my wheelchair?" Fushimi Roku let go and leaned back in his chair.

Kazama Tatsuya didn’t answer, he escorted Fushimi Roku back to the hospital.

Before leaving, he stood at the hospital entrance, turned back and said: "You better change this bad habit."

"What did I do?" Fushimi Roku asked from the bed, glancing sideways.

"Men being tsundere is disgusting," Kazama Tatsuya said.

"What nonsense are you talking?" Fushimi Roku frowned.

"Weren’t you just saying you wouldn’t coddle? Weren’t you not going to cover for me?" Kazama Tatsuya continued before he could scold: "I am very grateful, thank you. If you need anything, just give me a call, goodbye."

He left the ward, casually shutting the door behind him.

Fushimi Roku was so upset, his teeth itched; the little angel came out at the right time, comforting him, saying: "You did a good thing, don’t mind what others say"; Demon Chuanhe chuckled sarcastically, taunting: "Stubborn tsundere! The more you deny it, the more tsundere you are!"

The little angel finally stood firm, smashing a halo squarely on Chuanhe’s head. Chuanhe burst into furious retaliation, raising his pitchfork, and the two little figures started brawling.

Fushimi Roku, annoyed, simply closed his eyes, planning to sleep it off.

...

Kazama Tatsuya left the hospital, took the train home, even along the way, a kind-hearted young person offered him a seat for the handicapped. He ignored it, got off the train, lit a cigarette, walked to his apartment building, stood in front of his own door, and took out a key to open it.

The living room was empty, devoid of any human presence.

He casually closed the door, pressed the answering machine, and played the recorded messages. The Police Department called with a dismissal notification, several colleagues he’d gotten along with invited him out for dinner, and Watanabe Shun boisterously said he lived downstairs, inviting him to drink and vent any time...

With a beep, the voicemail was empty.

Kazama Tatsuya, cigarette dangling from his lips, walked through the living room to the balcony. He placed his hand on the railing by habit, suddenly remembered the rusty spot, and couldn’t help but shake the railing forcefully.

It didn’t move an inch.

He bent down to find that the rusty spot had been cleaned unbeknownst to him.

Barking came from next door, children were laughing downstairs. Kazama Tatsuya clenched his teeth, softly sobbing.

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