Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 73: Winter Rain Is Coming

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Winter Rain Is Coming

Since the day Yukimura Aoi fell from the building, Yasukawa Seiji hasn’t sung a single opera.

He’s been restless, always feeling like someone is watching this apartment floor. Occasionally, when he went out to buy essential goods, he vaguely felt someone was following him.

But whenever he turned around or looked out the window, he found nothing—no ghostly figure, no human silhouette. The apartment building was oppressively silent.

At first, he thought it was just his guilty conscience making him paranoid.

Yet, as time passed, the sense of being watched grew stronger. Yasukawa Seiji was certain that someone was surveilling him. Though they did nothing else, it left him feeling prickled.

To ease his unease, Yasukawa Seiji investigated everyone connected to the case of the fall. Neighbors on the same floor occasionally chatted about Yukimura Aoi, reminiscing about that wild night, saying it was more thrilling than an adult film; the neighbor across, Nagashima Takeshi, was busy suing the patrol police, and as no public prosecutor was willing to take the case, he was considering whether to represent himself or spend a bit to have some fun.

The two patrol police officers were also being discreet; one was temporarily detained and undergoing investigation, while the other was suspended from duty and spent his days in the dormitory, occasionally going out to browse hardware stores without buying anything.

Who could it be?

Could it really be the vengeful spirit of Yukimura Aoi entangling him?

With a troubled conscience, Yasukawa Seiji bought a bouquet of flowers and quietly went out at midnight. He walked to the spot where Yukimura Aoi fell in the circular apartment and lit a candle.

"Please rest in peace..."

He knelt down, clasped his hands together, and sincerely bowed in prayer.

The flickering candlelight stretched his shadow, casting two figures on the apartment building.

—Hiss.

The flame flickered, almost extinguishing.

Yasukawa Seiji felt a chill on the back of his neck. He reached out his hand, and raindrops traced the sky, falling into his palm.

It started raining, with rumbling thunder in the distance, the wind like a cold knife, the winter rain descending.

He quickly laid down the bouquet and hurried into the hallway, planning to return to his room.

However, after taking just a few steps, the sense of being watched hit him again.

Having spied on others often, Yasukawa Seiji was particularly sensitive to others’ gazes. Even without turning around, he could sense someone was following him.

He couldn’t help but quicken his pace, running from the first floor up to the third floor. At the staircase’s turning point, he suddenly turned back. In the dim light of his flashlight, he vaguely saw a man in a raincoat.

"Who?!"

Yasukawa Seiji broke out in a cold sweat, taking a step back, trying to scare away the observer.

But he miscalculated; not all observers are as timid as he is. In the dark, there lurks not only beasts but also hunters.

The sound of crisp footsteps echoed from the hallway, drawing closer. Only then did Yasukawa Seiji realize the other person deliberately let him see them.

His heart beat faster, sweat beading on his forehead; rationality told him he must unmask this person now, but intuition screamed for him to flee.

The footsteps stopped at the corridor’s end, the edge of the flashlight beam illuminating the stair railing and half of a plastic raincoat. The figure hid in the darkness, seemingly luring him to approach.

Lowering his gaze, Yasukawa Seiji saw a knife tip protruding from the raincoat’s lowered sleeve.

A glint of coldness.

With a scream, he turned and ran. The raincoat man didn’t follow. He sprinted back home, locked the door behind him, shivering as he lay down, peeking through the floor crack outwards.

Footsteps sounded again, unhurried, drawing closer, stopping at his door. Yasukawa Seiji saw the soles of the shoes—rainboots with worn-out tread.

Then, a strange clicking noise came from the lock. Yasukawa Seiji lifted his head, dazed for five seconds, before realizing the person was picking the lock.

"Who are you? If you keep this up, I’ll call the police!"

Yasukawa Seiji shouted bluffingly. In this godforsaken place, there weren’t even water and electricity, let alone telephone lines. The other clearly knew his bluff, as the noise from the lock-picking continued.

Cornered, Yasukawa Seiji gulped, grabbed a hanger rod for defense, planning to charge the moment the door opened and fight desperately.

A minute later, the lock turned with a click, the knob twisted.

But the person didn’t enter, just stood there outside the door.

With nerves stretched taut, Yasukawa Seiji waited for a long time without any movement, feeling mounting pressure. Stepping forward, he tried to lock the door again, but the door suddenly swung open, a black gun barrel extending into the room, inching toward his forehead.

Yasukawa Seiji retreated step by step, tripping over a low table and falling to the floor. The person wore a mask, the rain hat concealing their eyes, their pupils faintly reflecting a ferocious light.

"Please, don’t kill me! I’ll give you money, you, you can take whatever you want..." Yasukawa Seiji pleaded.

From the pocket, the figure took out a small hourglass, placing it lightly before Yasukawa Seiji, speaking hoarsely, "I’ll give you five minutes to defend yourself."

Yasukawa Seiji froze, realizing the person had come for Yukimura Aoi.

That beautiful woman’s death involved those people, who were stained by murder, would inevitably lead to disaster one day, but he hadn’t expected retribution to come so fast.

"I-I didn’t do those things! They threatened me, said if I reported, they’d shoot me in the head... I-I just took a few things..."

Trembling, Yasukawa Seiji confessed the truth.

On Taira Sakurako’s first day moving in, he’d already chiseled a gap in the wall, peeping daily.

Honestly, through just a gap, there wasn’t much to see. At home, they weren’t usually naked.

Yasukawa Seiji simply envied them—envied the vibrant life they led, envied their warm bonds of mutual care. He was like a rat in the sewer, subsisting on the happiness others left behind.

On the day of the incident, all of the corridor’s residents rushed into Yukimura Aoi’s home. Yasukawa Seiji hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage to dissuade them, even threatening to call the police.

Unexpectedly, Nagashima Takeshi had a gun.

Yasukawa Seiji vividly remembered the bullet grazing past his hair, leaving him paralyzed with fear. Nagashima Takeshi pressed the warm gun muzzle to his forehead, threatening to blow his brains out if he shared a word.

Terrified, Yasukawa Seiji lacked the courage to call the police, yet his conscience troubled him, so he sang the opera "Up Aoi" with the door open at night, hoping to attract the patrol police for an investigation with a ghost story of the apartment.

"They laughed at me for being scared, all together... Nagashima Takeshi, that guy, suggested playing something excitant, ran out with a suitcase, leaving the injured Yukimura Aoi stumbling behind..."

"I-I didn’t mean to steal those Noh masks, I was just, just too fond of them, momentarily delusional, thinking they were too precious to discard, so I... picked them up..."

Yasukawa Seiji stammered out, seeing the gun lowered, feeling as if granted amnesty, heaved a great sigh of relief.

The raincoat man asked which neighbors broke in, and Yasukawa Seiji listed their apartment numbers, tremblingly saying: "If you can guarantee my safety, I can testify in court..."

"No need," interrupted the other.

The last grain of sand slipped through the hourglass, plunging the room into silence.

A moment later, the figure pocketed the hourglass, suddenly asking, "Do you know any Peking opera?"

"Yes... I can sing a few..."

As soon as Yasukawa Seiji finished speaking, a 500-yen coin was tossed to him. He fumbled to catch it, seeing the raincoat man opening the door, side-stepping to glance back, eyes sharp as an eagle, gave a command:

"Sing out loud, perform ’Stealing the Imperial Horse’."