Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

Lawyer Kikuta consulted with the client for over forty minutes, then indicated that the conversation was over, and the police could continue the interrogation.

"I killed the person."

Fujiwara Homare leaned back in the chair, placed his hands on the table, and confessed bluntly.

"Eh?"

Minamoto Tamako thought to herself, what's going on? Could her intuition be wrong? Is this case really just an ordinary crime of passion?

She hurriedly asked for details, pressing for the specifics of the murder process, but Fujiwara Homare remained silent, unwilling to elaborate on the details.

Lawyer Kikuta stated that the suspect had already confessed, with a sincere attitude, and since he had negotiated with the prosecution in advance, the guilty plea and acceptance of punishment could conclude the case at any time. After handing it over to the prosecution, the court could swiftly adjudicate.

Minamoto Tamako felt something was off. What kind of lawyer was so eager to send his client to prison?

At least make an effort to struggle or fight a bit, right? So prompt and decisive in confessing? Planning to close the case just like that? Then what use is a lawyer like that!

Fushimi Roku saw her little eyebrows raise again, probably about to cause trouble, and quickly whispered in her ear to explain, "This is a plea bargain, where the lawyer and prosecution negotiate in advance, exchanging the suspect's guilty plea for a lighter sentence... By not detailing the crime during interrogation, the prosecution has more room to maneuver."

"Ah? So tricky?"

Minamoto Tamako was enlightened. She had seen classic movies about plea bargains but didn't expect prosecutors to exploit such legal loopholes in reality too.

"What's tricky about it? The criminal gets punished, the court's workload is reduced, the prosecutor achieves performance, the lawyer gains reputation... Isn't this a win-win-win-win situation?" Fushimi Roku thought it necessary to explain as a former practitioner.

"What about the victim? How do the victim's families feel?" Minamoto Tamako immediately spotted the issue, "How lenient is this lighter sentence going to be?"

"It depends on his family background and conscience," Fushimi Roku lowered his voice even further, "If it were me, I could probably negotiate it down to negligent homicide, with a fine of less than 500,000 yen or correctional labor—guilty charges, fines, compensation, and sincere repentance from the criminal, along with bail conditions..."

"No jail time?!" Minamoto Tamako exclaimed in disbelief.

"Keep your voice down! It's just a hypothesis, you understand?" Fushimi Roku was annoyed. He was whispering confidentially, so why was there such a dramatic reaction?

Minamoto Tamako thought even if it's a hypothesis, it's unacceptable! How can murder be so trivialized? Besides the victim's family, who has the right to forgive the perpetrator?

She slammed the table, demanding that Fujiwara Homare make a truthful confession about the entire process of the incident, otherwise, she wouldn't easily close the case and must investigate thoroughly!

Fujiwara Homare remained silent, as if everything happening in the interrogation room had nothing to do with him.

Lawyer Kikuta wiped his sweat again, awkwardly smiled, and said, "Well, Mr. Fujiwara is in a bad mood, perhaps I can narrate on his behalf, and then he can review and sign the final statement."

Minamoto Tamako felt that this would work too, as it's better than Fujiwara Homare remaining mute, so she reluctantly agreed.

Lawyer Kikuta cleared his throat, opened his notebook, and began to make a statement:

"This is what happened, around eleven o'clock last night, Mr. Fujiwara took a sleeping pill, but due to mental exhaustion, he couldn't sleep, so he had to get up to relax..."

Minamoto Tamako wanted to call it a lie, but Fushimi Roku stopped her in advance, indicating that the sleeping pills matter regarding Cat Island was irrelevant, and it's normal if Fujiwara Homare didn't want to mention it, advising not to interrupt the lawyer's statement.

Lawyer Kikuta gave Fushimi Roku a grateful glance and continued, "Since he couldn't sleep, Mr. Fujiwara called a friend to chat when he learned that his friends were drinking at a bar and invited Mr. Fujiwara to the bar..."

Minamoto Tamako thought again it's a lie, as she had checked the testimony, and it was Fujiwara Homare who called his drinking buddies to the bar that night. The initiator of last night's drinking party was clearly Fujiwara Homare himself.

This time she chose to remain silent, wanting to hear how Lawyer Kikuta would explain the events that followed.

"As everyone knows, combining sleeping pills and alcohol can lead to many adverse reactions, such as increased suppression of the central nervous system, impaired judgment, and coordination... This means that Mr. Fujiwara was not conscious after drinking."

"Subsequent events, the two officers should be very aware. The deceased Yoshikawa Ritsuo, seeing Mr. Fujiwara's handsome appearance and generous spending, initiated contact and took Mr. Fujiwara to the hotel intending to do misdeeds..."

"Yoshikawa Ritsuo threatened with a knife, trying to forcibly engage in a physical relationship with Mr. Fujiwara. Under the effect of the drug and alcohol, Mr. Fujiwara lost consciousness after taking the knife and only realized later that Yoshikawa Ritsuo was dead."

"This is the entire sequence of events."

Lawyer Kikuta folded his hands like a little student, placing them on the table: "Both officers are professionals and should know that killing while unconscious is considered negligent homicide. Since Mr. Fujiwara has pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, please make it convenient for us..." Fоr а bеttеr rеаding еxpеriеnсе, visit М(VLЕМРYR).

Minamoto Tamako slammed the table again, stood up, and loudly rebuked, "What a joke! It was clearly Mr. Fujiwara who got someone drunk and took them away, how can you turn around and slander someone's innocence? What 'forcibly engaging in physical relations'... hmph, so shameless!"

Fushimi Roku crossed his arms, sitting nearby, silent. He turned his face away, with an expression that it wasn't his concern.

Lawyer Kikuta looked up, maintaining his awkward commercial smile: "Officer, evidence is necessary when speaking! How can you prove that Yoshikawa Ritsuo did not attempt to forcibly engage in x relations with my client?"

Minamoto Tamako retorted, "Then how can you prove that Fujiwara Homare did not try to forcibly engage in x relations with the deceased?"

"Very simple, the knife was not brought by Mr. Fujiwara."

Lawyer Kikuta's logic was very clear: "I've asked the hotel in advance, and they assured me that there were no knives in the room before check-in; the two officers can also question all the eyewitnesses as to whether Mr. Fujiwara carried or purchased any knives that night, and I think he did not."

"As both of you know, Mr. Fujiwara has just explained the complete course of events, and none of the other witnesses have any suspicion of collusion, which is sufficient to prove that the murder weapon was brought into the hotel room by the deceased, Yoshikawa Ritsuo."

"Furthermore, regardless of whether it was a premeditated crime or a crime of passion, after the crime, the perpetrator would either turn themselves in, flee the scene, or destroy the corpse. And the hotel staff can prove that Mr. Fujiwara was lying on the bed sleeping the entire time, which is sufficient to indicate that Mr. Fujiwara lacked self-awareness during the crime, or that his mental state was abnormal."

"In summary, I find the inference of manslaughter to be very reasonable."

After Lawyer Kikuta finished speaking, he adjusted his glasses, leaned on the edge of the table, and looked up, asking: "Do the two officers have anything to add?"

Minamoto Tamako was momentarily speechless.

She turned to look at Fushimi Roku, hoping her partner could help find some flaws, or at least bolster the argument. Unexpectedly, Fushimi Roku was leaning back in his chair, nodding and saying: "No, I think what was said makes sense."

"This...this...but he's lying!" Minamoto Tamako wasn't planning on letting it go so easily.

"Where did he lie?" Lawyer Kikuta retorted.

Minamoto Tamako was prepared for debate: "He lied from the beginning! There's a time difference between taking the sleeping pills and drinking; how could they chemically react..."

"Are you a pharmacology expert? Can you determine the exact reaction time of sleeping pills and alcohol? Do you know Mr. Fujiwara's exact metabolic cycle?" Lawyer Kikuta's rebuttal was relentless.

"Uh...leaving aside the sleeping pills, it wasn't someone else who invited him to drink that night; he called on others to drink..."

"Does it matter? Maybe by the time the trial starts, Mr. Fujiwara's friends will retract their statements and admit that they were the ones who invited Mr. Fujiwara to drink. In court, this matter will not factor into the sentencing. The reason for saying this is just to save some face publicly."

Minamoto Tamako was infuriated; she placed her hands on the table, leaning over Lawyer Kikuta: "He took that person away, that must make a difference, right?"

"How do you define 'took away'? Did anyone witness Mr. Fujiwara using force? Is there any testimony proving that Mr. Fujiwara coerced Yoshikawa Ritsuo to leave the bar? Is there evidence proving that Mr. Fujiwara acted against Yoshikawa Ritsuo's personal will? If not, only the objective fact that 'they left the bar together' can be stated, and it doesn't prove a causal relationship with Yoshikawa Ritsuo's death."

Lawyer Kikuta remained unmoved, and after his line of questioning, he asked Minamoto Tamako: "Otherwise, according to your logic, can't I also assume that Yoshikawa Ritsuo was following Mr. Fujiwara into the hotel?"

...

This guy speaks in such a way that is as frustrating as Mr. Fushimi used to be!

Minamoto Tamako pouted; she was unhappy inside but still reasonable about it – on the merits of the case, Lawyer Kikuta wasn't wrong in any of his arguments, but when put together, it all felt twisted.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

She turned her head toward Fushimi Roku, lowering her voice to ask: "Aren't you usually so talkative? Why are you quiet now?"

"What do you want me to say? What do you want me to say?" Fushimi Roku feigned ignorance.

"Find some flaws! This lawyer's inference definitely has issues, we both know the exact time Fujiwara Homare took the medication, plus he walked back to the hotel on his own, indicating that he was conscious at the time, so how could he have killed someone unknowingly? Besides, wasn't he out at the bar looking for a hookup? How could he go back to the hotel and suddenly become virtuous?"

Minamoto Tamako spoke rapidly, unleashing a torrent of words, essentially asking Fushimi Roku to help pick apart the argument.

She just laid out all the doubts, but for some reason, she just couldn't out-argue Lawyer Kikuta; maybe she would be crushed in court.

Fushimi Roku took advantage of the situation, pursed his lips, and said: "You give me a stamp, and I'll help speak up a bit."

"This, this is your job!"

"My job? Since when did I become the chief officer? Asking you for a stamp is giving you face, proving that this case was handled under your command... otherwise, I could just say a few words and take credit for the case, then whose case would it be?" Fushimi Roku spoke with conviction.

Minamoto Tamako thought it over carefully, realizing it made sense, but it sounded just like Lawyer Kikuta's tone, with an annoying air of conning someone.

But she wasn't Mr. Fushimi, she was naturally broad-minded and wouldn't be petty, so she decisively turned her notebook, took out the "Justice Executed" stamp, huffed on it, and stamped it with a bang.

"There, is that enough?" Minamoto Tamako said irritably.

"Yes, yes."

Fushimi Roku nodded with a smile and then looked at Lawyer Kikuta. The latter was taken aback, inexplicably feeling as if looking in a mirror.

"Ahem, ahem, let me say something fair..."

Fushimi Roku earnestly tapped the table: "Although the murder weapon wasn't brought by Mr. Fujiwara, you also can't assume it was brought by the deceased, right?"

"Then who else could it be?" Lawyer Kikuta felt a bit baffled.

"That's what you need to prove and what we need to investigate," Fushimi Roku said with a righteous air, but with a tone that didn't sound serious: "Lawyer Kikuta, the court needs evidence, right!"