Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 269 - 190: Goodbye Kawai

Chapter 269: Chapter 190: Goodbye Kawai

The fog was thick, moisture soaked the skin, and Minamoto Tamako felt sticky, her throat seemed glued shut when she breathed.

She turned on her flashlight, the beam piercing the dense fog, an echo of footsteps came from downstairs, the lobby was noisy just then, but now it was as cold and silent as a ghostly realm.

"Miss Ono!"

Minamoto Tamako called out, bracing her flashlight under the gun handle, sweeping the lobby back and forth. Ono Ken hadn’t had tea in the morning, so theoretically nothing should have happened to her, yet now she wasn’t responding, increasing Tamako’s unease.

She reached out and pressed the chandelier switch twice, but there was no response, the lobby remained pitch-black. Helpless, she had to steel herself to approach the sofa in the center of the living room.

Oogami Nui’s corpse had somehow turned over; it lay face down on the sofa, covered tightly by a blanket, something seemed to be wriggling underneath.

Even knowing it wasn’t the time to investigate, Minamoto Tamako couldn’t help but stretch out her hand, grabbing a corner of the blanket, intense curiosity overshadowing fear, prompting her to lift the blanket—only to see Oogami Nui’s body ’sprouting,’ his already withered skin covered in dark green fungal spots.

Click.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from behind, startling Minamoto Tamako, who whipped around, her flashlight beam sweeping in panic, yet finding nothing, the Western-style furniture appearing eerily strange in the dim light.

She wasn’t sure if what she heard was just an auditory hallucination, especially given that drinking Ye Tea would cause hallucinations.

"There’s nothing to be afraid of... Come on, the great detective fears nothing!"

Minamoto Tamako secretly cheered herself up inside, mentally prepared, she wasn’t frightened no matter who she might see.

Recalling those loved ones lost in her life, even if they spoke harsh words, just to see them again would fulfill her heart.

However, after scanning a few more times, she realized something was missing from the lobby: Assistant-kun and the corpse of the red carp lay quietly on the floor, covered in green fungal spots, even starting to sprout plant stems upward...

Only Prince Akihito was nowhere to be found.

Cold sweat broke out on Minamoto Tamako’s forehead, fear overtook curiosity; although hallucinations could not cause real harm, who knew what else terrifying might lurk in the fog—sometimes the murderer was scarier than a monster.

Not bothering to delve further, she quickly headed into the bedroom to look for Lady Nakako.

The room was empty, Minamoto Tamako glanced around, and footsteps sounded again in the hallway outside. She hurriedly pressed against the wall, covered the flashlight with her palm to let a sliver of light through, and cautiously peeked out.

What greeted her eyes was a ghastly white face.

That face was so close it almost filled her entire vision. She recognized it as the face of the dead Believer she had shot.

"Why... did you... kill me..."

The Believer murmured vaguely; his expression hideous and terrifying, black blood gushed from his chest, soaking the floor, forming a small pool of blood.

"I’m... I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to..."

Minamoto Tamako’s face turned pale, she knew it was a hallucination, but instinctively apologized anyway.

The Believer showed no intent of letting it go, like a nightmare, pressing step by step, harshly questioning, claiming his wife and daughter were still waiting for him to come home, his parents were still waiting for him to provide, that he was merely momentarily confused by someone, making a mistake, why should he have been shot?

"What right did you have to judge me... give my life back!"

The Believer stretched out his hands, suddenly choking Minamoto Tamako’s neck.

At that moment, Minamoto Tamako’s breath caught, she felt her neck genuinely being strangled by hands, unable to distinguish reality from hallucination for a moment, the flashlight clattered to the ground.

"No... sorry..."

Minamoto Tamako kept struggling, but the opponent’s strength was terrifying. As time passed, she felt increasingly weak, her vision darkening, unconsciously raising her gun.

"Are you going to kill me again?" the Believer harshly asked.

Minamoto Tamako’s heart tightened, the hand holding the gun trembled, unable to pull the trigger.

She tried to convince herself that it was an emergency, the suspect had a weapon, was attempting murder, and the police had the right to shoot to kill as per law...

However, back then, Taira Sakurako had also pointed a paper gun at her, she remembered what she had said.

’The law is not a weapon to attack others.’

She could have broken that person’s limbs to stop the misdeed, but because of fear, she accidentally killed the person... it was her fault, her dereliction of duty, she, as a police officer, had closed her eyes when she shot.

Even if the law allowed it, she believed she had done wrong.

Minamoto Tamako could feel the pressure on her neck increasing, her left hand rested on the Believer’s wrist, the hand holding the gun gradually drooping, her mind increasingly confused...

The soul that sought revenge seemed even more terrifying than she had imagined.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, a hurried sound of footsteps suddenly came from the hallway, followed by a muffled ’bang,’ and the choking hand on her neck suddenly released its grip.

Minamoto Tamako collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, gasping for air in large gulps, her brain feeling dizzy, producing quite a bit of saliva in the process.

Before she could regain her senses, a warm, strong hand suddenly grabbed her arm. She looked up to see the Believer clutching his head, leaning against the door, as a figure pulled her up and shouted:

"Run!"

Minamoto Tamako was stunned, stammering to her feet, the two of them running through the dim corridor.

The person was tall and thin, with long hair dancing in the dim light, memories overlapping in front of her eyes, her breathing growing more rapid, she suddenly grabbed her arm in reverse, halting her to turn around: "Kawai!!"

A familiar face appeared before her, tears welled up in Minamoto Tamako’s eyes, the texture in her hand felt so real, she could even feel the pulse throbbing. Even if it was an illusion, she couldn’t bear to let go, afraid the person in front of her would vanish with the wind the next second.

Nagono Kawai turned around, seemingly wanting to say something, but now wasn’t the time; she urged Minamoto Tamako again to run, but the latter stood firm, wiped away her tears, flicked off the gun’s safety, and turned to face her inner fear.

A figure stood at the end of the hallway, the Believer pursued them against the flashlight’s light.

Minamoto Tamako took a deep breath, knowing what she feared but also what she had to protect. She held the gun with both hands, tilted her head, aimed at the Believer, and shouted, "Freeze! Police! Don’t move, hands on your head, and squat down!"

The Believer paused, hesitating. Minamoto Tamako immediately pointed the gun towards the sky, fired a warning shot, and shouted loudly, "This is the final warning, hands on your head!"

The Believer turned and fled, only then did Minamoto Tamako realize that guy was real, because how could an illusion fear bullets?

She had mistaken the killer for the already dead Believer!

Realizing this, Minamoto Tamako turned to Nagono Kawai, wanting to ask her who she was, but the words got stuck.

She couldn’t bring herself to ask.