Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

"Huff... huff... Let's see where you can run!"

Watanabe Shun propped his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He had just finished drinking, and his body couldn't quite handle the sudden intense movement.

Patrol Police Rokurou was doing okay; he held a pair of handcuffs, slowly approaching the office worker: "Sir, please cooperate with our investigation..."

Before he finished speaking, the office worker suddenly turned around, climbed over the railing, and stood at the edge of the bridge, shouting 'gaga'.

Patrol Police Rokurou was startled and quickly tried to dissuade him: "Sir, don't get excited—"

Watanabe Shun reacted faster, he didn't waste time with words, instantly lunging forward; the office worker also didn't waste time, turning around, spreading his arms, and leaping into the air!

Clang!

Watanabe Shun grabbed the hem of the corduroy jacket, the office worker's body swept in an arc, slamming hard against the bridge wall, dangling in the air struggling.

"Help!" Watanabe Shun shouted.

Patrol Police Rokurou snapped back to his senses, quickly reaching past the railing, grabbing the office worker's shoulder.

The two exerted force together, intending to pull the guy up, but suddenly, the office worker opened his mouth and bit hard on Patrol Police Rokurou's hand.

The latter cried out in pain, loosening his hand. The office worker's body sank downward with a tearing sound, the corduroy jacket ripping apart. Watanabe Shun futilely clutched half the jacket, watching helplessly as the office worker fell.

Under the influence of gravity, the office worker plunged straight down, flailing his arms mid-air, trying to fly upwards.

But a miracle didn't occur; he crashed onto the gravel riverbank, blood splattering in irregular patterns.

Patrol Police Rokurou was dumbfounded. He leaned against the railing, staring silently at the lifeless body on the gravel bank.

Watanabe Shun seemed more indifferent; he merely sighed, took out a flat aluminum flask from his inner pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig of strong liquor, saying, "Call an ambulance."

"Huh? Ah! Yeah, there might still be hope..."

Patrol Police Rokurou trembled as he dialed the phone, then ran down in a panic, checking the office worker's injuries to see if he could be saved.

Watanabe Shun followed behind, unhurried. He clearly saw that the guy's head was smashed in; even a deity couldn't save him.

He had done his best, handled what needed to be done. If someone insisted on seeking death, who could stop it?

But Patrol Police Rokurou didn't think so; he felt he had caused the suspect's death. If he hadn't startled the suspect, the latter wouldn't have run onto the bridge; if he hadn't let go at the critical moment, the suspect wouldn't have fallen to his death... He looked at the tragic body, filled with intense remorse.

Watanabe Shun patted his shoulder, offering some comfort: "Don't overthink it; it's not your fault."

Unexpectedly, his casual remark broke the junior's composure. Patrol Police Rokurou began to cry, wiping his tears with the back of his hand: "I'm sorry... senpai..."

"Alright, alright, a man shouldn't cry. What's there to cry about?"

Watanabe Shun reprimanded, causing Patrol Police Rokurou to cry even louder, which annoyed him, so he turned to inspect the body.

He wanted to wrap it up quickly and clock out early.

Watanabe Shun put on white gloves, took out a portable camera, and snapped a couple of shots. Near the bridge pier, there was a transparent glass bottle containing half a bottle of water, along with a pile of stones.

Watanabe Shun noticed through the lens a name badge on the office worker's chest.

"Huh?"

Watanabe Shun moved the camera aside, crouching down to look at the office worker's chest. The name badge displayed his name:

"Hondo Yuji"

Watanabe Shun thought this name seemed familiar, but he couldn't recall at the moment. Given his memory, remembering a name seen in a newspaper was indeed challenging for him.

Watanabe Shun was quite nonchalant; since he couldn't remember, he didn't bother thinking about it.

After waiting for over ten minutes, the ambulance arrived first. The doctor checked and symbolically tried to resuscitate with a defibrillator, but after a lot of effort, there was no response, so they simply wrapped the body in a bag and carried it away.

Watanabe Shun couldn't be bothered to clear the scene; soon, the rising river would naturally wash away the traces of blood on the gravel bank.

He rode back to the police station in the junior's patrol car, wrote a case report, and had Patrol Police Rokurou notify the family. The latter gradually calmed down on the way back, but the thought of notifying the family about the death deeply upset him.

The news reporters, catching the scent, gathered at the police station entrance, asking if there had been another drug addict attack case. Patrol Police Rokurou, exhausted, dealt with the reporters, claiming the autopsy report wasn't yet available and asking them not to speculate wildly.

Unexpectedly, the reporters got even more excited, loudly questioning: "Since you mentioned the autopsy report, does it imply there were casualties in this case?"

"No comment! No comment!"

Patrol Police Rokurou could only shout helplessly.

In the police station, Watanabe Shun saw this scene, and memories flooded back into his mind. He slapped his forehead, finally recalling where he had seen the name 'Hondo Yuji'.

Earlier that morning, while chatting with Fushimi Roku at the izakaya, a newspaper featured an article by a reporter named Hondo Yuji, and there was a reader in the idle talk column saying that Hondo Yuji was spouting nonsense...

What else did that reader say...?

Watanabe Shun had a vague sense that this was significant, so he left the police station and bought another newspaper. The news reporters crowded around, trying to get news out of Watanabe Shun, and he grabbed the lead reporter by the collar, yelling with his tongue snapping: "I said no comment! Are you mocking me, you bastards?! Do you know you're obstructing justice!! Huh? Answer me!!"

The front of the police station instantly fell silent.