Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

Meanwhile, inside Sugamo Apartment.

Fushimi Roku received a message from Minamoto Tamako, looking at the long string of school-related messages, he found it annoying and simply hit the "0" key to forward it, letting Taira Sakurako see for herself.

"So, anything catch your eye?"

Fushimi Roku was half-lying on the sofa, changing the dressing on his calf.

Taira Sakurako read carefully for a while and decisively said, "Waseda Industrial School, that's the one."

"Why?" Fushimi Roku was slightly surprised.

"It has the most club venues, most of the basic leagues or training matches are held at this school. If Aoi's sister joins a club, she's likely to participate in competitions… I'll have a better chance of finding her." Taira Sakurako analyzed rationally.

"I see," Fushimi Roku looked at his phone, eyes moving downward: "Wow! The registration fee alone is thirty thousand yen... hiss, so it's not just paying the registration fee to get in? What does 'integrated system' mean?"

"It's a 12-year integrated system school covering elementary, middle, and high school, and it's affiliated with Waseda University." Taira Sakurako sat kneeling by the coffee table eating pudding.

"Eh~"

Fushimi Roku elongated his tone, feeling that the admission requirements for this kind of school must be high, tuition is probably just the threshold, and it might even require screening parents' professions, entrance exams, checking past records... Taira Sakurako would probably be filtered out as soon as they checked medical records.

"What do you mean by 'eh'?" Taira Sakurako noticed the abnormal tone in his voice.

"How do I put this, let me put it tactfully," Fushimi Roku poured alcohol on his leg and said, "This school probably doesn't accept kids with mental issues."

Congenital high-functioning autism is a fact, Taira Sakurako didn't find this statement offensive. She licked the pudding box, frowned, and thought, saying, "I can pretend to be a normal person."

"Really?" Fushimi Roku wiped his calf with gauze: "Then give me a smile."

"Pretend to be a cold elementary school kid." Taira Sakurako corrected him.

"What kind of ghost thing is a cold elementary school kid?" Fushimi Roku couldn't help but complain.

Taira Sakurako explained: "A cold elementary school kid is not a ghost thing, it means someone of elementary school age, with a cold personality, naturally not inclined to smile…"

"I know what you mean," Fushimi Roku gestured to stop arguing with her: "Then cry one then."

"Cold elementary school kids don't cry either." Taira Sakurako had fully immersed herself in her new persona.

"That's not right, not being able to cry or smile, isn't that still weird? People can tell something's wrong with you at a glance!"

Fushimi Roku wrapped the wound, pulled his trousers down, and burned the used bandages in the ashtray: "What if something happens and you're stimulated and retreat into a cardboard box again, then what?"

"It won't happen, I've already mastered the law of the jungle, whatever doesn't kill me only makes me stronger." Taira Sakurako patted the waistband on her back, which had a police gun tucked inside.

Fushimi Roku almost forgot about this, he immediately retrieved the police gun, scolded her severely, and then said: "What kind of elementary school kid carries a gun to school? With you like this, don't even mention Waseda, even going to a local school would be tough!"

"I won't let them find out I'm carrying a gun." Taira Sakurako defended.

"It's not about discovery, it's about the risk being disproportionate to the reward," Fushimi Roku educated earnestly: "Think carefully, do the risks of being discovered carrying a firearm outweigh the benefits of carrying one?"

"Safety is important…"

"I know you lack a sense of security, but you have to make rational judgments, understand? Don't let fear interfere with judgment," Fushimi Roku waved to disperse the burning smoke: "Calm down and think again, should you bring a gun to school?"

Taira Sakurako was silent for a moment: "No, I shouldn't."

"Are you tricking me or do you sincerely think so?" Fushimi Roku asked.

"If I were tricking you, how would I possibly tell you the truth?" Taira Sakurako retorted.

Fushimi Roku didn't bother to argue with her, waited for the bandage to burn to ashes, took the ashtray to the toilet, flushed it down the toilet, and casually reminded: "Don't tell Minamoto Tamako, or we're both doomed."

Taira Sakurako squinted her eyes and said, "If you want me to keep it a secret, send me to school."

Fushimi Roku, as someone bound for death, wasn't swayed by her scheme, indicating that if she wanted to report, go ahead, everyone would suffer together.

Seeing the deal had failed, Taira Sakurako didn't feel frustrated, she chewed on the pudding box and carefully thought about a solution:

"What exactly counts as a normal person?"

"Like me!" Fushimi Roku gave a thumbs up, pointing at his nose.

"..."

Taira Sakurako looked Fushimi Roku up and down, returned to her room, and took out paper and pen from a box, seriously interviewing: "Did you have many friends during your elementary school years?"

"Not many." Fushimi Roku didn't bother to lie.

"Exactly how many?" Taira Sakurako wrote down.

"Half."

"Half a person? Did you slice a friend up?"

"How could that be! I imagined a friend myself, so it was half a friend." Fushimi Roku said matter-of-factly: "All boys imagine a friend to accompany them, like Sekiya Shinji, he has Super Mario with him."

"Who is Sekiya Shinji?" Taira Sakurako felt like strange knowledge was entering her brain.

"Not important." Fushimi Roku reclined back on the sofa and turned on the TV with the remote.

Taira Sakurako noted down the word "loner" in her notebook and continued asking a bunch of random questions. Fushimi Roku felt increasingly uneasy as he listened, these questions sounded familiar, he couldn't help but ask, "Where did you gather these random questions?"

"Copied from IPDE, International Personality Disorder Examination Sheet, plus a few questions I'm personally interested in…"

Taira Sakurako lowered her head and continued to scribble: "You've asked almost everything, your score seems to be even lower than mine."

"It's an error, definitely an error," Fushimi Roku pouted and lazily changed the TV channel, "Actually, the standard for judging a normal person is simple. As long as the people around you can't tell there's really something wrong with your brain, then you're a normal person."

"Really?" Taira Sakurako expressed doubt.

"Of course it's true. There are actually a lot of mentally challenged people in this world, but they can take care of themselves, so they live their lives as normal people... You'll know once you've met enough of them."

"Oh..."

Taira Sakurako understood that to get into school, she had to disguise herself first, so that others wouldn't see her as different.

She went back to her room and practiced in front of the mirror, constantly mimicking Minamoto Tamako's expressions.

At this moment, Fushimi Roku's phone vibrated again, probably a message from Minamoto Tamako urging for information.

He felt a bit of a headache. It wasn't a good idea to keep delaying. Once Minamoto Tamako got back, she'd definitely turn into Tang Seng, nagging non-stop. It would be better to cut through the confusion and handle Sakurako's enrollment as soon as possible, and spare him from running around looking for schools.

"How about I help you book an appointment now, ask what the admission requirements are, and if it doesn't work out, we can choose another one," he shouted back.

"No way, it has to be Waseda Industrial School." Taira Sakurako replied from her room, firmly.

Fushimi thought to himself, this one is really troublesome. He couldn't be bothered to argue, so he directly dialed the admission office to inquire about the details. The receptionist was an older man who patiently asked for his name, type of inquiry, and appointment time, then mentioned that the admission guide would be released every May to June, and parents could attend the school briefing for enrollment arrangements.

Since it was early April, Fushimi thought it wouldn't hurt to wait another month or two. But then, the receptionist added that if they were transfer students, they'd have to contact a specialist at the administration office beforehand and pay a consultation fee or something.

Fushimi said money wasn't an issue, though he had none, but that didn't stop him from pretending to be rich.

"In that case, Mr. Fushimi, you can leave a phone number, and come to our school for consultation after school at three in the afternoon..."

"Do we need to prepare anything?"

"No need, it's just an ordinary consultation, but it's best to bring the child along, so parents, children, and the school can discuss the enrollment details."

Fushimi responded with a "hmm," exchanged a few pleasantries, and then hung up the phone.

From the moment he started the call, Taira Sakurako came over to listen in. Only when the call ended did she ask, "Do I have to go too?" Reader support at M*VLEM*PYR made this translation possible.

"What do you think?" Fushimi got up to change his clothes.

"Why do I have to go?" Taira Sakurako didn't want to go but couldn't openly say she didn't want to leave the house.

"Did you really think they ask you to go just to chat? You think people charge a consultation fee just for a chat?"

Fushimi casually tossed his pajamas onto the couch and went back to his room, "It's an interview, you understand? 'Consulting about admission matters' is just a more polite way to phrase it. If we go in there looking like hobos, they probably won't even give you a chance to take the exam."

"What a big fuss," Taira Sakurako was very displeased, mocking like a little adult.

"What do you expect? You picked the prestigious school, okay? If you want to change your mind and go to a regular school, it's still possible... Never mind, don't change your mind; I can't be bothered taking you around." Fushimi casually closed the door, "I need to change; don't peek."

"Do you think everyone is as into you as Tamako?"

Taira Sakurako crossed her arms, sat on the couch, tilted her head, and thought for a while, deciding to tough it out.

After all, she promised Aoi that she would definitely find her sister.

Going to school was nothing difficult, right? It's not like she hadn't studied at home.

But she had never interacted with people her age before...

To be exact, the number of people she had genuinely interacted with could be counted on two hands.

"The outside world" was a very abstract concept. If it was just the 'outside' as in space, she could overcome it, but for the interpersonal 'outside,' she still felt apprehensive and scared.

Don't be afraid, Sakurako, Aoi is quietly protecting you!

Sooner or later, you will become an excellent hunter, conquering the jungle called society!

Taira Sakurako encouraged herself. She returned to her room and tried to pick an 'interview' outfit, only to find she only had cute, silly pajamas... The only thing suitable for going out was a pair of overalls Minamoto Tamako bought for her.

"I should have bought a suit..."

Taira Sakurako regretted silently.

Fushimi Roku killed time in his room for two hours. It was almost three when he finally changed his clothes. Taira Sakurako had no choice but to wear the overalls, and to avoid the gaze of others, she even wore a sun hat.

Both unwillingly went out. Fushimi Roku looked like an old man with a limp, while Sakurako seemed like a sneaky dwarf about to break into a house. One followed the other as they took the elevator, went downstairs, crossed the street, retrieved the wheelchair, and walked to Ikebukuro District.

"Push faster!" Fushimi Roku sat in the wheelchair, turning his head to admonish, "If we're late, it'll cost us impression points!"

Taira Sakurako was behind him, huffing and puffing as she pushed the wheelchair.

They rushed and hurried and managed to reach the school before three o'clock.

Fushimi Roku parked the wheelchair in a designated spot, shifted his weight onto his left foot, and slowly approached the school gate. The administration office sent someone to receive them, and they followed them into the school.

As they passed the playground, Fushimi Roku noticed that some event seemed to be happening there, with a crowd gathered around. On the ground were candles, flowers, photos, hand-drawn albums, and such, creating a rather somber atmosphere. There were even elementary school students sobbing uncontrollably.

Before he could ask, the teacher in charge explained proactively, "Recently, a teacher at the school had an accident, so the students organized a memorial event..."

Upon hearing this, Taira Sakurako instinctively grabbed Fushimi Roku's sleeve.

Fushimi Roku could feel it; Taira Sakurako's hand was shaking.