Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 72: Soul Trial

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Soul Trial

Watanabe Shun was the first to arrive for support.

When he got to the scene, Fushimi Roku was already surrounded by a bunch of unruly guys. He stepped forward, dispersed the onlookers, learned the general situation from other residents, and pressed down on his junior’s hand as he was about to draw his gun: "You have to endure."

"Exactly! The most important thing for a patrol police is endurance!" Nagashima Takeshi was wearing work clothes, with a lot of flesh on his cheeks and a scruffy beard. He pointed a flashlight at Fushimi Roku’s face, put his hands on his hips, tilted his head, and said: "Do you want to arrest me for interfering with official duties?"

Watanabe Shun glared at him, but Nagashima Takeshi didn’t care. He had to stand in front of Fushimi Roku, staring into his junior’s eyes, and said softly: "It’s common for police officers to be provoked by scum, to be insulted, to have their collars grabbed, to be tripped... encountering these things is not unusual."

"Yeah, yeah, listen to what the senior is teaching you!" Nagashima Takeshi raised his head, looked over Watanabe Shun’s shoulder, and stared at Fushimi Roku.

Watanabe Shun pressed Fushimi Roku’s hand strongly, his speech getting faster: "Even if you arrest someone for interfering with official duties, afterward you have to submit a referral letter, a victim’s application, an accident investigation report, a criminal record inquiry, a real-time arrest procedure form, a seizure decision letter, an interrogation record... at least fifteen documents! Spending so much time and energy on scum is really not worth it. Police must be prepared to endure what ordinary people can’t, this is the teaching from Senior Feng!"

"Right, right, what residents say isn’t against the law! While it’s still heated, do you want to have a go—"

Before Nagashima Takeshi could finish, Watanabe Shun suddenly turned around, grabbed his collar, and first delivered a headbutt that knocked him to the ground. Then he swung his fist, left and right, beating Nagashima Takeshi until his head was broken and bleeding.

The other residents on the third floor wanted to intervene, but when they saw Fushimi Roku sweep his gaze over them, with his right hand gripping a police revolver, each of them didn’t dare to move a muscle. Only one person with a bit more guts ran outside the alley shouting: "The police are hitting people!!"

It wasn’t until the criminal police arrived for support that Watanabe Shun let go of Nagashima Takeshi’s collar. He shook off the blood on his hands and said to Fushimi Roku: "The above are the words the boss wanted me to pass on. But I think, I also count as a senior and have the right to educate newcomers."

While Watanabe Shun was speaking, some residents were already pointing at him to complain to the arriving criminal police. Two criminal police officers handcuffed Watanabe Shun, and an emergency medical technician went to attend to Nagashima Takeshi. The identification officer took photos and evidence, and Yukimura Aoi’s body was carried into a body bag.

"Listen up! This is the teaching from Senior Watanabe: when you see someone you don’t like, punch them right in the face! Beat them until they fear you!"

As he was being pushed into a police car, he still didn’t forget to show off, patting his pompadour and nodding to Fushimi Roku.

After the criminal police finished the record, handled the scene, everyone dispersed, and the apartment building fell silent, as if nothing had happened.

As usual, this falling incident ended up in the hands of the Toyota District Police Station. Yamaguchi Takashi was handling a notorious girl child abuse and homicide case, and didn’t have the energy to deal with such a suicide case, so he handed it over to his subordinates as a matter of course.

The criminal police responsible for the case didn’t take it seriously either. After collecting statements from residents, they confirmed that Yukimura Aoi jumped by herself and concluded it as a suicide—as residents said, someone jumps from the Sugamo Apartment every so often due to dissatisfaction with life, it has almost become a famous supernatural check-in spot, and the criminal police can’t keep up with it.

Later, when Nagashima Takeshi woke up in the hospital, he immediately filed a complaint against Watanabe Shun and Fushimi Roku, resulting in both being suspended for investigation.

Fushimi Roku was fine; according to the patrol police regulations, his first shot was a warning shot, and the second shot didn’t hit anyone, at most considered dereliction of duty. If Nagashima Takeshi didn’t press charges, the punishment would most likely be a warning or a salary reduction.

But Watanabe Shun was in trouble; he squarely committed the crime of violence. If it were just a fight with the Yakuza, that would be fine; they play by the rules, they won’t report losing a fight. The worry is encountering a rogue like Nagashima Takeshi who knows a bit about the law. It’s said that he’s already looking for a public prosecutor, preparing to press charges against the civil servant.

During Fushimi Roku’s suspension, Minamoto Tamako was always comforting him, saying Yukimura Aoi’s jump wasn’t his fault and not to blame himself. She also said that she had been persuading the chief, making progress, and with some more effort, the chief might even reconsider and give importance to the case...

Fushimi Roku never replied.

After Minamoto Tamako finished her chatter, he closed the door, went to the bathroom, and looked at himself in the mirror.

In fact, he didn’t feel guilty at all. What does Yukimura Aoi wanting to jump have to do with him? He wasn’t unfamiliar with people committing suicide by jumping.

In a previous life, he encountered a migrant worker demanding wages, who kidnapped the boss’ son, and shouted hoarsely on the rooftop, demanding the contractor pay him back.

"My daughter’s about to die from illness! I just want to buy her a meal of dumplings on New Year’s Eve! That’s my hard-earned money; what’s wrong with wanting my own money back?!"

After the man shouted, someone below yelled, saying his daughter had already died, burning with fever the night before; if he didn’t believe it, he should release the person and go home to see. The man listened, was stunned for about five minutes, released the hostage, and jumped down himself.

At that time, Fushimi Roku was the defense attorney for the developer. He needed to make money too, he needed to eat too, he hadn’t broken the law, what was wrong with defending his client? Who could say he was at fault? Other people jumping off buildings had nothing to do with him. He’d already told Yukimura Aoi not to jump, had fired a warning shot, he’d done his job, so why should he feel guilty?

"Of course, you don’t feel guilty." Kawai’s voice sounded in his ear again.

Fushimi Roku looked up, and a reflection appeared in the mirror, a little demon materialized in front of him, sitting on his shoulder, swinging its legs.

"You just want to kill him." Kawai said again.

"I did not." Fushimi Roku said.

"When you picked the police box, you noticed Instructor Shirota’s expression, right? You knew the place was dangerous, but you chose to deceive yourself; during the graduation exam, you knew what the consequences of slashing the tires would be, but for a moment you were really immersed in it... You can fool yourself for a while, but not a lifetime."

Kawai’s voice seemed to drill from his ear, echoing against the inner wall of his skull in his brain.

"Why do you like cases? Why do you enjoy observing crimes? If you want a peaceful life, why become a patrol police? Birds of a feather flock together. Admit it; your heart is stirring... Just as I said before I died, your hatred is purer than mine."

"You don’t sympathize with the victim, otherwise, you wouldn’t have let the situation reach an irretrievable state. Rather, you were expecting this kind of thing to happen... You hate them; there’s always something hateful about poor people, be they perpetrators or victims, you hold the same aversion."

"Admit it, admit it, judge your soul first, then you can sentence the flesh of others."