Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 71: The Whisper of Lost Souls

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: The Whisper of Lost Souls

Fushimi Roku couldn’t quite understand why Minamoto Tamako was having such a strong reaction, nor did he know what she saw in the profiling... Could it be that she empathized with the murderer like a little teacup? Or did she put herself in the victim’s perspective?

No matter how hard he tried to dissuade her, Minamoto Tamako insisted on continuing the investigation. They split up, with Minamoto Tamako planning to personally persuade the chief, while Fushimi Roku was tasked with collecting evidence at the apartment building.

Great, another opportunity to slack off.

Fushimi Roku bought a box of fried noodles and a bottle of soda from a convenience store, walked alone through the bustling pedestrian street, turned into a dark alley at night, and found a step to sit on outside the apartment building.

"I’m digging in."

He tore open the packaging film, the aroma of the fried noodles wafted into the air, seeming to smell pretty good. With a snap, he broke the chopsticks and tried a mouthful, immediately frowning.

The noodles were soggy, with a texture like water-soaked bread, disintegrating without chewing—not visually appealing and not tasty.

Fushimi Roku’s mood instantly turned sour. He casually placed the fried noodles on the step, opened a can of soda, and took a couple of swigs to wash away the odd taste in his mouth.

There seemed to be someone in the shadowy area. Fushimi Roku turned his head and saw a familiar ’ghostly figure’ in the hallway. The person stood five or six meters away, seemingly watching him.

Gurgle—

The sound of a growling stomach.

"Hungry?"

Fushimi Roku placed the bowl of fried noodles on the corridor, gave it a strong push, and the noodles slid across the tiles: "You have it. Don’t waste food."

The silhouette slowly squatted down, sniffed the noodles, and then began to gobble them up, unable to resist hunger.

Fushimi Roku took another sip of soda and, sitting on the step, spoke as if talking to himself: "You see, it’s truly troublesome dealing with people like you, with intellectual problems. Bad people want to bully you, good people fear you, and even lawyers are unwilling to take on this kind of pro bono defense. After all, communicating is troublesome. Who knows what thoughts run through your little mind."

He paused, looking at the silhouette: "But you also have the dignity of being human, right?"

There was no answer from the other side. She finished the noodles and stood still, seemingly hesitating to approach him.

Clouds dispersed, and the moonlight shone brightly, obliquely lighting up the hallway. Fushimi Roku saw her face clearly—Yasukawa Seiji was right; she was a beautiful woman. Walking barefoot, her posture was graceful like a slender cat.

They stared at each other for a long time. In the end, Yukimura Aoi did not approach Fushimi Roku. She bent down, retrieved a camcorder from her bosom, and placed it on the ground, giving it a strong push.

The camcorder slid over and stopped beside Fushimi Roku.

He picked it up and was about to ask questions when he saw the woman turn and run back into the depths of the hallway, disappearing from sight once again.

"Hmm, well, I can report back now."

Fushimi Roku stood up, dusted off his pants, and sauntered into a convenience store to buy two batteries. Before handing over the evidence, he wanted to see what was recorded inside.

Perhaps it was a bloody murder scene or twisted, perverse torture videos... He found a spot in the corner of the convenience store, sat down, rubbed his hands expectantly, and opened the camcorder.

"Sakurako, what is a cherry blossom?"

"A pink flower is a cherry blossom."

"Have you seen one?"

"I’ve seen it on TV."

"Uh... let’s go out and see one! I saw pink flowers on my way here."

"Not going."

"Please, let’s go."

"Not going."

"What will it take for you to agree?"

"When I find my mom, I’ll agree to see cherry blossoms with you."

...

Fushimi Roku watched all the recordings in the convenience store without fast-forwarding or skipping. He finally understood why Minamoto Tamako was in such a hurry.

The little angel and the little devil emerged again. The little angel kept urging him to quickly hand over the footage as critical evidence, while the little devil suggested he head back to the apartment building and find the woman named Yukimura Aoi.

Fushimi Roku stood up, crossed the alley, and returned to the cramped, dilapidated apartment building.

Tonight was lively, with quite a few residents searching around with flashlights. Fushimi Roku looked up; the night wind howled, and Yukimura Aoi was standing on the air conditioning unit in her long dress, looking down at him.

He suddenly understood why Yukimura Aoi handed him the camcorder.

"Don’t—" he shouted instinctively.

The shout startled the residents, who followed his gaze and discovered Yukimura Aoi clinging to the external wall. They rushed to the window ledge, reaching out to grab her clothes, but she leaped gracefully to the railing of the next floor’s corridor as if walking a tightrope.

Residents swarmed downstairs, reaching out to grab Yukimura Aoi’s hair, but she was like a sprite, leaping onto the air conditioning unit again in the blink of an eye. The many arms spread out like tentacles, following her leaping dance moves.

She danced on the edge of the precipice, and the whole apartment was her stage. Her dress swept through the hallway, soared upwards in the empty corridors, and flew like a startled swan in the cold wind; no one could catch her.

Fushimi Roku fired a warning shot into the sky, shouting: "Police, nobody move!"

Everyone froze on the corridor’s edge, hesitant to move, yet unwilling to retreat. Nagashima Takeshi raised his hands and whistled at Fushimi Roku: "Hey, look here! Remember me?"

Fushimi Roku ignored him and drew his radio from his waist to call for backup.

"Ignoring me, huh?" Nagashima Takeshi sneered and shouted: "Everyone, don’t panic! He can’t shoot! Patrol Police aren’t allowed to shoot unless absolutely necessary!"

"Really?" The residents looked at one another.

"Of course it’s true! I know the law; trust me, if that woman lives, you’ll all be jailed!" Nagashima Takeshi leaned out, looking up at Yukimura Aoi on the rooftop: "You don’t want to live, right? Jump! Just jump, and that child will survive! Otherwise, I’ll kill her!"

"Don’t believe his nonsense!" Fushimi Roku shouted angrily.

Nagashima Takeshi yelled even more forcefully: "You came here to find your younger sister, right? She’s already dead! You know I’m not lying, right? You can tell, can’t you? Your sister was so young; letting her live alone in such a place would lead to her inevitable death! Only by jumping can you reunite with her!"

Fushimi Roku straightened the bullet in his pistol and fired a shot at Nagashima Takeshi. The lighting was poor, and his shooting skills were indeed terrible; the shot missed, sending pebbles flying.

"How dare a Patrol Police randomly fire shots! You’ll be dismissed for sure! I’ll definitely take you to court!" Nagashima Takeshi yelled at him.

Fushimi Roku’s gaze was dark; he was about to pull the trigger again when he saw Yukimura Aoi dancing once more on the rooftop. She knew her younger sister was already dead and understood she couldn’t save Sakurako, so she placed all her hopes on the man who had defeated Nagashima Takeshi. The moment she handed over the camcorder, she had decided to die.

Free of all shackles, her body became increasingly light.

In the moonlight, through the cold wind, Yukimura Aoi performed her final dance with her life. Her swirling skirt tore through the night sky, breathtakingly beautiful—take it, as her only gift of gratitude.

Fushimi Roku lunged instinctively, brushing past her fingertips like a torrent of fate.

Bang!

Blood blossomed.

The residents cheered loudly, and the distant sound of piercing sirens echoed.

Fushimi Roku stood for a long time, lowering his head, with a buzzing in his ears.

The little devil laughed heartily, as if breaking free from shackles. It finally morphed into Kawai’s face, a deceased spirit whispering in his ear:

"Go, kill all those devils in human skin."

"Hell isn’t empty; I won’t become a Buddha!"