Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 82 - 4 Resignation to Fate

Chapter 82: Chapter 4 Resignation to Fate

"Hey, hey! There’s a reaction!" Minamoto Tamako said in a low voice, "Should we call a doctor?"

Fushimi Roku waved his hand in front of Taira Sakurako’s eyes, saw her gaze following his fingers, then met his eyes. He immediately understood, "Makes sense, you should go quickly."

Minamoto Tamako ran off to call the doctor without doubt.

Once she was gone, Fushimi Roku closed the door of the hospital room. He turned to Taira Sakurako and took a photocopy out of his pocket, spreading it out in front of her. She glanced down, seeing it was Yasukawa Seiji’s statement.

"This is for everyone’s good," Fushimi Roku said softly.

Taira Sakurako didn’t respond, clenching her fists and her body tense, clearly very nervous. From her reaction, Fushimi Roku knew she must have heard something last night.

The time was limited, and Minamoto Tamako could return with the doctor at any moment. Fushimi Roku exerted all his negotiation skills accumulated from his past life to the fullest.

He knelt on one knee beside Taira Sakurako’s bed, looking at her with gentle eyes and stating his identity first. He lied that Yukimura Aoi had entrusted him to save people, trying to draw them closer;

Then, he played the emotional card, saying he didn’t want to do those things either but couldn’t bear to refuse. After returning, he even had nightmares, which might lead to psychological trauma;

Finally, he explained the stakes: if he got caught, Yukimura Aoi would be the mastermind. He hoped to leave a clear posthumous name for the deceased, and it was definitely not to exonerate himself...

Footsteps were heard outside the door, and Fushimi Roku quickly put away the statement, adding, "Just so you know, the person you heard last night wasn’t me, he was a friend of mine... you get what I mean, right? I’m just helping to tidy up afterward."

Actually, Fushimi Roku didn’t need to make Taira Sakurako corroborate; even if she overturned Yasukawa Seiji’s statement, the police had no new direction for investigation. Testimonies from mentally ill patients were not legally valid, and it would likely still be ruled as a suicide in the end.

He was just worried that after Minamoto Tamako heard the testimony, she might have a sudden flash of insight and discover some new clue or insist on working together to track down the real culprit of ’Heavenly Punishment.’

That girl was simply a troublemaker. Once he assisted in solving three major cases and reached the transfer threshold, he’d want to dissolve the so-called ’partnership’ with Minamoto Tamako immediately—considering her more like a servant. He needed someone to tend to his daily life.

If Taira Sakurako reported this conversation as well, Fushimi Roku had a way to prove she was talking nonsense... However, he didn’t think things would go that far. At least from Taira Sakurako’s reaction, she seemed to have been persuaded.

The footsteps stopped, and Minamoto Tamako pushed open the hospital room door. The attending physician signaled the two to step aside for a private examination of the patient.

The two sat in the hospital corridor, and Minamoto Tamako waited uneasily. She couldn’t help but bite her thumbnail, and after a moment, she suddenly asked, "Do you think... adopting is a good idea?"

"Why, are you regretting it now?" Fushimi Roku asked.

Hearing the tone, Minamoto Tamako felt a little displeased, sensing Fushimi was mocking her for getting cold feet.

She’s not the type to go back on her word!

It’s just that when she had some downtime earlier, she did some mental math: A girl’s monthly food costs might be about 30,000 to 50,000 yen. If Taira Sakurako had a sweet tooth like hers, it might be 70,000 to 80,000 yen a month; clothing and daily supplies might cost one or two ten thousand yen a month, not including durable goods needed for special occasions, like school uniforms, pens, or winter clothes...

If she were to adopt Taira Sakurako, she’d need to rent a house; she couldn’t have Sakurako squeeze into her small dorm room, right? Renting a decent two-bedroom apartment in Tokyo would cost at least 100,000 to 150,000 yen a month, possibly double in a bustling area.

Medical care was another considerable expense, with children’s insurance medical fees coming to two or three thousand yen a month, regular check-ups, vaccinations, and occasional colds or fevers amounting to about 30,000 to 50,000 yen a year.

Besides that, there are educational costs. Public primary and secondary school tuition costs about 50,000 to 100,000 yen annually. If the child got into a girl’s high school, the entrance fee alone would be 280,000 yen, and the tuition would vary by course, while the special advanced course costs 450,000 yen a year, not to mention cram schools for advancement...

Her base salary was 150,000 yen.

If she worked overtime like Senior Feng, her stipend and overtime pay might increase to 400,000 yen. Deducting around 250,000 yen for living expenses, she’d need to save the remaining 150,000 yen for Taira Sakurako’s school expenses... Heaven forbid there were any disasters or accidents; she could end up bankrupt.

It was only after Minamoto Tamako did this calculation that she realized how tough it was to raise a child.

Her Mama had raised her alone, going through untold hardships, and she’d even argued with her Mama, which was really out of line...

She’s not afraid of hardship, only of not having enough ability and dragging down the child. She didn’t mind eating simple meals in her branch dorm, but letting a child eat such meals with her would make her look down on herself.

Raising a child without the means would only harm others, wouldn’t it?

Besides, raising a child is a heavy responsibility. She’s accountable for the child’s future, and there’s no turning back once it starts. Can she really shoulder this responsibility?

Distraught, Minamoto Tamako laid out her thoughts in detail and was about to ask for Fushimi Roku’s opinion, but when she looked over, the guy was absorbed in playing a red and white game console, not listening to her at all, which made her furious.

"Are you even listening to me?" Minamoto Tamako questioned.

"I heard you, I heard you, with both ears." Fushimi Roku was accustomed to doing something to pass the time during idle moments, even if it was squeezing instant noodles; otherwise, he’d feel uneasy. He pressed the pause button and said impatiently, "Instead of overthinking, why not ask other people’s opinions first?"

"Isn’t that what I’m doing, asking you?" Minamoto Tamako replied.

"What good does it do to ask me, unless you’re planning on raising me?" Fushimi Roku thought this girl was so dense, "Ask her! What if she doesn’t like you and doesn’t want to be adopted by you?"

These words hit Minamoto Tamako like a ton of bricks, realizing she might be imposing herself on the situation. Earlier, she’d become overly immersed in the profiling, giving her an unexplainable feeling of familiarity with the other person...

Oh no, what if that child finds her annoying?

Minamoto Tamako held her head in despair, her pupils trembling.

As she was lost in self-doubt, a man in a jacket approached, attempting to enter the hospital room, but was blocked by Minamoto Tamako. He showed his ID, claiming to be a specialist from the Children’s Welfare Department, sent by police notification to pick someone up.

"There was supposed to be a counselor accompanying me, but the counselor recently resigned, so I’m doing both jobs... Ahem, anyway, the sooner it’s done, the sooner I can report back."

The welfare specialist opened his briefcase and took out a notebook, "Is the child’s file complete? Are there any other relatives? If not, she’ll be temporarily placed in a children’s foster center... What? Autism? Now that’s a problem..."

"What do you mean by ’a problem’?" Minamoto Tamako asked anxiously.

"According to regulations, if the orphan has severe psychological issues, contact with a professional psychological institution for treatment is required," the welfare specialist sighed, "but as you know, given the current economic downturn, it’s hard for children’s welfare homes to maintain operations, and it’s rare for autistic children to receive proper care, nor are families willing to adopt."

"So?" Minamoto Tamako pressed on for answers.

"Uh... leave it to fate," he said tactfully.