Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

The two of them chatted about random things for half an hour. Watanabe Shun talked for quite a while and then realized that Ono Yoshi hadn't said a word. So he turned and asked, "What line of work are you in, Brother Ono?"

Ono Yoshi coughed dryly twice, feeling somewhat paranoid, because there were two packages of stock right in the convenience store warehouse.

"I run a convenience store... just around the street corner. Feel free to drop by when you have time."

"Oh! I remember now, your store frequently runs out of shochu!" Watanabe Shun chuckled.

Ono Yoshi laughed awkwardly, occasionally glancing at Fushimi Roku, trying to figure out this guy's true intentions.

Fushimi Roku naturally noticed. He pretended to be drunk and turned to ask, "By the way, Brother Ono, does your association deal with illicit goods?"

"..."

"..."

The izakaya suddenly fell silent.

Watanabe Shun was stunned, holding a shochu cup, turning to scrutinize Ono Yoshi, and the more he looked, the more suspicious he became—this guy seemed to be mixed up with organized crime...

Ono Yoshi was also taken aback, with a mouthful of shochu he almost choked on.

What on earth is this guy playing at?

He forced a laugh, saying, "Haha... Brother Fushimi is joking. I'm involved in legitimate business, no way I'd touch illegal goods, nor am I part of any association..."

"Huh?" Fushimi Roku looked surprised and said in a tone that suggested he might be an idiot, "But didn't you just say in the store that you are a member of the Sumiyoshi Association? You used to be a Young Leader... Doesn't Sumiyoshi Association deal in drug business?"

"..."

"..."

Watanabe Shun seemed to understand something. He patted Fushimi Roku's shoulder and said heavily, "Fujimura-kun, I appreciate your good intentions... but it's not work time now, and reporting people for achievements is really excessive. Who would dare to drink with you then?"

Saying this, he raised two fingers, looking serious: "I have two rules when drinking, don't talk about identity, don't talk about lengths... that's why everyone likes drinking with me."

Fushimi Roku thought, are you sure it's not because you're big-mouthed, and people in the industry treat you as a fixed information channel?

Ono Yoshi's face changed with the words, he raised his glass, proactively toasting Watanabe Shun, saying, "Brother Watanabe has such magnanimity, I'm impressed! I'll toast you, let me drink first as a sign of respect!"

"Alright!" Watanabe Shun graciously accepted.

The two acted like noble warriors, toasting each other with great bravado.

Fushimi Roku felt there were too many points of ridicule, not knowing where to start, so he simply stayed silent, letting the two continue drinking and boasting.

Half a bottle of plonk later, Ono Yoshi was struggling to pick peanuts. Even then, he didn't forget the business at hand, speaking with a slurred tongue, "Burp... well... Brother Watanabe, the matter with the narcotics investigation unit... what's up with it? Has the Police Department made any big moves recently?"

Watanabe Shun is a seasoned drinker, not yet drunk with just this amount of alcohol. He waved his hand and said, "Not discussing work."

Ono Yoshi was helpless, so he turned to ask Fushimi Roku, "Brother Fushimi... what's the meaning of gathering this situation?"

"I just want to make a deal." Fushimi Roku thought they finally got to the point.

Ono Yoshi couldn't comprehend what kind of business could involve both criminal syndicates and the Police Department's Criminal Police; Watanabe Shun didn't know what wind Fushimi Roku caught today.

Seeing the two with curious gazes, Fushimi Roku solemnly said, "I want to pay Brother Ono a sum of money, for you to hand over a batch of contraband to Officer Watanabe."

"Huh?"

Watanabe Shun paused, wondering if this wasn't a free achievement? Such good fortune? What is Fujimura-kun after?

Could it be compensation for betraying a senior in front of Chief Kujo last time?

Ono Yoshi nodded thoughtfully, knowing this kind of operation.

Inakawa Association has nurtured undercover agents in the Police Department in similar ways in the past, but without needing to externally procure contraband, just contacting the undercover police for confiscation. The undercover gets achievements, naturally advancing step by step, thus the organized crime gets more information.

Is this guy really planning to establish an association in Tokyo? So he would use this method to insert an undercover in the Police Department...

Ono Yoshi felt he saw through Fushimi Roku's intentions. Now drunk, his brain was a bit foggy, barely able to think clearly, subconsciously asking, "So how much are you planning to buy?"

"No," Watanabe Shun sensed the situation was getting critical, interjecting between the two and interrupting, "Are you really going to do this?"

"Isn't it great? Banning drugs at your own expense, isn't that wonderful?" Fushimi Roku was indifferent.

Watanabe Shun felt this wasn't minor, continuing to advise, "Buying and selling drugs are serious crimes, possessing illegal goods also violates criminal law... you should think it through."

"When did I say I wanted to purchase illegal goods?" Fushimi Roku retorted.

"Uh..." Watanabe Shun recalled, it seemed Fushimi Roku hadn't actually mentioned it.

"I'm just paying Brother Ono a sum so he voluntarily forfeits illegal goods, is there a problem?" Fushimi Roku clarified: "Even if I procured drugs, it wouldn't violate criminal law because it's part of a narcotics operation."

"Huh?" Watanabe Shun didn't understand.

"If drug procurement is done under police supervision and submitted, it's considered 'controlled delivery' which is a special investigation method, permitted under legal procedures and conditions, not constituting a crime." Fushimi Roku slipped into his lawyer persona.

At this, Watanabe Shun had nothing to say and could only turn around silently, looking up at the ceiling fan, "Since you're not listening, I can't help you. Don't discuss this with me, just pretend I didn't hear anything."

Fushimi Roku answered, and began negotiating the price with Ono Yoshi.

He wouldn't handle it directly, just needing to pay, the rest was none of his concern.

Ono Yoshi didn't take the chance to raise the price, negotiating with Fushimi Roku at market value. The latter agreed quickly, taking Ono Yoshi to the bank to withdraw money.

The latter felt everything was surreal, the pace was too fast, and since he wasn't completely sober, he promptly stated no hurry, he'd wait, ask the partner about it.

"No worries, you take your time, I'll pay first."

Fushimi Roku was straightforward, went directly to the bank for money, placed it in a black briefcase, returned to the izakaya, pushing it to Ono Yoshi, "Count it, if it's alright."

Ono Yoshi was shocked again, he opened the briefcase, glanced inside, truly a few million yen.

Originally thought Fushimi Roku was a capable fool, never expected this guy had so much money, no wonder Inakawa Association's number two personally recruited him... seems he underestimated this guy!

"Aren't you afraid I'll pocket this money?" Ono Yoshi asked.

Fushimi Roku sneered, patting his shoulder, holding a thin cigarette, saying, "Doesn't matter, but you better not do it."

Ono Yoshi felt he suddenly became another person, possessing a hint of coercion, even more intimidating than the leader.

This guy... might really succeed!

He had a sudden thought.

Fushimi Roku raised his glass, offering a toast, "If Brother Ono wants to join me in a big endeavor, you're always welcome."

Ono Yoshi didn't commit but didn't refuse either, laughing it off, feigning drunkenness, and bade farewell.

Watanabe Shun and Fushimi Roku didn't get up, they planned to continue drinking, waving him off.

Ono Yoshi made a couple of polite remarks, staggered to lift the curtain, carrying the briefcase out of the izakaya, heading straight back to the convenience store.

While he was drinking, his juniors had already cleaned the convenience store. So he wasn't flustered, the first thing upon returning was to take out the note verifier, tallying the money in the black briefcase.

All real bills, even twenty thousand yen extra.

Ono Yoshi licked his lips, washed his face in the bathroom, took a sobering pill, sat quietly in the convenience store for a while, organizing his thoughts.

... this deal seems doable.

But Ono Yoshi always felt something was off, his intuition honed by years of living on the edge, sensing vaguely that the guy named Fushimi Roku, might not be telling the truth.