Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 50: The Wise and Reliable Senior Watanabe Shun

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Wise and Reliable Senior Watanabe Shun

In early December, a light snowfall graced Tokyo, and a thin layer of ice formed at the mouth of the Tama River.

Watanabe Shun walked into Terminal 2 of Haneda Airport, where the arrival gate was crowded with people.

He held up a sign to receive someone, glancing up at the flight information on the electronic screen. Seeing the plane hadn’t landed yet, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been eight months since the boss was demoted; their days at the patrol house had been unspeakably tough.

Initially, only Kazama Tatsuya was demoted. Yet, Watanabe Shun, priding himself on loyalty and courage, saw himself as a character similar to Tachibana Muneshige from the Sengoku era. How could he abandon the boss? So he immediately applied for a transfer to join him as a patrol police officer at the Sugamo Station front Patrol House.

Not knowing what to expect at first, he realized after joining why the minister had sent the boss to the Sugamo Station front Patrol House.

The area is a transportation hub of four bustling neighborhoods, and also one of the gateways to a sprawling set of old residential buildings. For such a densely populated and large area, there should typically be about 2-3 patrol houses... but due to historical reasons, Sugamo had only one patrol house.

One patrol house, and just three people including the chief, tasked with managing a district of about twenty thousand people, including illegal immigrants. How could anyone handle that through normal procedures? Only Kazama Tatsuya’s rough methods of handling cases could manage to maintain some semblance of order.

Every day, Watanabe Shun was so busy he was hardly touching the ground, only getting four or five hours of sleep a day. The moment he woke up in the morning, he felt like dying, as if he lived every second in Hell.

Thankfully, these miserable days were finally coming to an end! They received a notice from above, stating that two top-ranked elite patrol officers from the police academy were being transferred over!

Though it was unclear why, when the boss saw the transfer order, he had a long face.

Watanabe Shun, however, didn’t ask much. Holding the reception sign written by the chief, he eagerly headed to the airport to pick them up.

"Let me see..."

Watanabe Shun flipped the sign over, finding the names somewhat familiar. It was said that a man and a woman were to report in, so ’Fushimi Tamako’ should be a girl... but how could a guy be named ’Minamoto Shika’? The pronunciation sounded like Minamihon Shika, a bit flamboyant.

They couldn’t possibly be two new recruits who were only good at theory, right? He didn’t have the time to mold hothouse flowers.

But then again, if he could train frail recruits into policemen who could stand on their own, it would be quite fulfilling. When they eventually transferred away, they would tearfully hold the grand master’s hand under the cherry blossom trees and shout loudly: ’Thank you, senior, for your teachings during this period. I will never forget this kindness in my lifetime!’ And then, the grand master would wave his hand with feigned nonchalance saying ’I’m relieved, sayonara’...

Watanabe Shun’s inner drama hadn’t finished when the broadcast sounded, announcing the plane’s landing.

The crowd surged forward all at once, pushing him around, and even skewing his stylized pompadour haircut.

"Stop crowding! What’s with all the pushing!" he shouted loudly, protecting his hair with both hands, "Everyone make way for the grand master!"

Before he had finished speaking, someone in the crowd gave him a sneaky elbow. Angrily, Watanabe Shun shouted a few curses, but ended up getting kicked a few more times.

To pick up the newcomers, he had specially worn a pair of high-end crocodile leather shoes for stature today. After being squeezed out of the crowd, Watanabe Shun looked down to see gray footprints all over his shoes; his trench coat collar was pulled open, and a shirt button was even ripped off.

The most unacceptable thing to him was that the perfect, imposing, invincible hairstyle on top of his head was messed up! What once stood like a spear reaching heavenward now drooped, the barrel split and limp when he glanced at the glass reflection.

Unbearable!!

"Nobody move! Police—"

Watanabe Shun was just about to pull out his police ID when he noticed that the crowded mass had suddenly fallen still. They turned to face him, menacing expressions on their faces, with ukiyo-e designs peeking out from under their suits. The scar-faced leader sharply questioned him with a tongue-clicking: "Ah?! Is it illegal to pick someone up at the airport? Were you the one who wasn’t watching where you were going, you bastard?!!"

Only then did Watanabe Shun realize that they were Yakuza, gang members, and the scar-faced man was probably a subordinate — they were here to meet a big shot on the flight.

But he wasn’t one to be trifled with either; you provoke him, and you pay the price! In the past, Yagyu Jubei faced off against a samurai clan with one sword; today, he, Watanabe Shun, would battle the Yakuza with nothing but a reception sign — even if he lost, it would be an honorable defeat!

"Bastards! This is assaulting a police officer! Come forward and accompany the grand master to the police station!"

Seeing that Watanabe Shun wasn’t intimidated and went so far as to raise the charge of assaulting an officer, the scar-faced man fell silent.

They were simply there to greet a superior and had no interest in causing extra trouble. With a snort, the scar-faced man offered Watanabe Shun an out: "Ah, truly sorry, didn’t realize you were an officer. If you’re in a hurry, please proceed first."

But it was clear he overestimated Watanabe Shun’s intelligence. Alone, he boldly charged, slamming the reception sign onto the scar-faced man’s forehead. Before the group members could stop him, he grabbed the man’s collar, bellowing:

"You must be joking! Think you can assault a policeman and walk away?!!"

Without retaliation, the scar-faced man couldn’t keep face in his gang. Ignoring his boss’s orders to ’keep a low profile,’ he proceeded to rally his subordinates and swarm Watanabe Shun in a brutal frenzy.

...

Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako followed the directional signs to the terminal, collecting their checked luggage at the baggage carousel.

The two left the airport’s arrival hall, with Minamoto Tamako marveling incessantly along the way about how amazing air travel was, how impressive the terminal was, and how stunning the sea view was. Fushimi Roku, uninterested in entertaining her, thought the hillbilly was amazed by everything as it was her first time in the big city.

"By the way, our senior officer from the patrol house is supposed to pick us up, right?" Minamoto Tamako asked, dragging a pink suitcase and holding a bunny police officer plush, her round-toed shoes making a clicking sound as she walked.

"How many times have you asked that already?" Fushimi Roku, dressed in a white jacket and carrying a travel bag, glanced at his watch, "It’s about the appointed time. He’s probably waiting at the exit already."

"I’m just afraid of getting lost. What if you go missing in Tokyo?" Minamoto Tamako mumbled softly, walking alongside Fushimi Roku toward the exit.

Passersby glanced curiously, wondering if they were siblings traveling together or a high-profile couple on holiday.

From a distance of more than ten meters away, they heard a commotion. Minamoto Tamako stood on tiptoes, looking around, only to see a huge crowd squeezed together at the exit.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed, causing unrest in the hall; a sense of unease spread like a domino effect. The scream was sharp and filled with terror, heard clearly by all:

"Someone’s dead! The police killed someone!!"