Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner

The journalists all looked like quails, shrinking their heads and keeping silent.

Watanabe Shun snorted coldly, pushed the reporter to the ground, and returned to the police station with a cold face. Patrol Police Rokurou quickly followed, his face full of admiration, and whispered, "Senior, you were so cool just now..."

"Really?"

Watanabe Shun was a bit smug, pointing to his nose with his thumb, claiming that as long as Rokurou followed him, he would surely become a strong and upright man in the future.

Patrol Police Rokurou nodded repeatedly and then asked why the senior was buying a newspaper at this time.

"Oh right, I almost forgot..."

Watanabe Shun lowered his head, opened the newspaper, and quickly flipped to the last few pages. He finally found the report about Hondo Yuji and the content of the anonymous submission:

"Anonymous: Hondo Yuji in the interviewed news is talking nonsense; he will soon turn into a crow."

"..."

Watanabe Shun scratched his head, unable to understand what this meant.

Patrol Police Rokurou looked shocked: "This, this... Senior, you're truly incredible!!"

What? Thought Watanabe Shun, how is that incredible?

Although he didn't understand, he still nodded in agreement to the praise.

Patrol Police Rokurou held the newspaper and speculated earnestly. He believed that this anonymous contributor was the culprit behind the victim's madness.

When they arrived at the scene, Hondo Yuji's behavior clearly showed an intentional imitation of birds.

Moreover, Patrol Police Rokurou also remembered that there was a glass bottle left at the scene, containing half a bottle of water and a pile of stones. Referring to the witness testimony of the reporting old lady, Hondo Yuji should have been imitating the fable of a crow drinking water, picking up stones and putting them into the bottle to make the water overflow, thus being able to drink from the bottle.

"But he was by the river, why not just drink the river water?" Watanabe Shun scratched his head.

Patrol Police Rokurou was taken aback, instinctively wanting to ask if it mattered.

But immediately, he thought that there must be a deeper meaning to his senior's question.

Thinking it over, Patrol Police Rokurou said seriously, "I see, I understand, the senior is implying that the deceased was already in a state of cognitive disorder... If this cognitive disorder was caused by drugs, the person's behavior should be completely random, so how could the anonymous contributor predict that the deceased would imitate a crow?"

He patted the newspaper and concluded, "It's evident that the individual in this case of uncontrollable harm is not a drug addict!"

After speaking, Rokurou was shocked. He widened his eyes and looked at Watanabe Shun: "Incredible! Wonderful! How did the senior notice this?"

"..."

Watanabe Shun completely couldn't understand but was too embarrassed to admit this to the junior, so he kept a straight face and said mysteriously, "Well... I noticed it when I was drinking this morning."

"Turns out the senior isn't just engaging in ordinary drinking?" Patrol Police Rokurou was even more surprised.

"Of course not," Watanabe Shun spoke with a growing sense of pride, trying to make himself look smart: "Everyone has their own habits when handling a case. I just habitually drink when working a case... Some components in alcohol can help the brain think, but I won't elaborate on which components those are."

"I see! Truly worthy of being a star detective!"

Patrol Police Rokurou, whose full name is Abe Rokuro, had just graduated not long ago and was equally passionate about the police career; coupled with his guilt over Hondo Yuji's death, he was eager to quickly file a case for investigation.

He stated his reasoning to his direct superior but faced rebuttal as the superior considered the evidence insufficient and felt it unnecessary to file a case. He had to turn to Watanabe Shun for help, asking him to present the latest clues to the investigation department, and Watanabe Shun did so but was similarly rebuked by Higashiyama Takashi, who believed Watanabe Shun had recently been neglecting his anti-drug work.

If the uncontrollable behavior was not caused by drug use, then what had the investigation department of the Police Department been doing all this time?

Isn't this a slap in the face for the entire Police Department?

Furthermore, everyone shares the merit in drug enforcement, as confiscated drugs are a tangible achievement; in solving homicide or poisoning cases, only one detective in charge would be commended, and there's a big difference between everyone sharing the glory and single-handedly taking credit.

Watanabe Shun restated this word for word, and Abe Rokuro felt very discouraged and had no choice but to compromise.

He leaned against the side of the desk, began crying again, and wrote the closing report while shedding tears, looking as if he had been severely beaten by society.

Watanabe Shun watched, feeling a pang of empathy. Hadn't he gone through the same? Isn't it only natural for seniors to take care of their juniors?

So he patted Abe Rokuro's shoulder and said, "Have you heard of Tsukihime from Nakagawara Police Station?"

"Heard of... I've heard of her," Abe Rokuro replied while wiping his tears: "She worked with you, senior... I remember her..."

Watanabe Shun spoke earnestly, "Back then, she was just like you, a small patrol cop. She discovered a murder case while patrolling and wanted to start an investigation, only to be rejected by her superiors... But she didn't get discouraged or give up. Instead, she carried the pressure and investigated alone, ultimately producing results that were recognized by everyone."

Abe Rokuro lifted his head, feeling touched.

He had presumed that the female detective nicknamed Tsukihime rose to prominence relying on her mother's status, solving cases with her partner Detective Himori, while she was nothing more than a pretty face... But now it seemed that he was utterly mistaken and obviously biased.

Tsukihime's experience resonated with him; facing a similar situation, he shouldn't give up so easily!

Abe Rokuro pulled himself together, wiped his tears, and said seriously, "Senior, I understand what you meant!"

"Very good!" Watanabe Shun looked gratified.

"So, when do we start investigating?" Abe Rokuro asked persistently: "I've got time after work, wherever you say, I'll go!"

"Uh?"

Watanabe Shun intended to fend this off, planning to go to bed early tonight.

But looking at Abe Rokuro's trusting eyes, he couldn't muster the words to refuse. He now understood how exhausting being the boss was—troublesome subordinates, and as a senior, it was also mentally tiring!

Yet, to be honest, if you let Watanabe Shun investigate a case, he was at a loss too, not being good with matters that required thinking. Back then, Kazama Tatsuya even tried cultivating his analytical ability, but over time realized he simply wasn't cut out for it and gave up.

"Here's the thing, I'd really like to accompany you in the investigation, but I'm truly caught up with the Anti-drug Investigation Department..."

Watanabe Shun said this as he saw the junior lower his head in disappointment, but then he shifted the conversation: "However, you can go seek help from Tsukihime and Himori. They're quite free nowadays. Just mention that Senior Watanabe recommended you, and they'll definitely agree."

"Really?!"

Abe Rokuro was exuberant; Senior Fushimi was his idol, handling a major case single-handedly, and he yearned for this. Now having the opportunity to work with his idol, he was naturally full of eager anticipation.

Watanabe Shun originally wanted to assure, but he realized, considering Fushimi Roku's personality, it was very possible he might not show any face, so he decided to leave some leeway, saying, "Of course it's true, but you should first present your reasoning to Minamoto Tamako and then invite them to join the investigation."

Given his understanding of Minamoto Tamako, she would definitely be drawn in by the case clues.

Getting Minamoto Tamako on board meant getting Fushimi Roku as well.

Abe Rokuro was unaware of the ins and outs of it, he only felt that Senior Watanabe's image had greatly elevated; who knew that the usual carefree Senior Watanabe had such a wide network?

"Thank you so very much! I will do my best!"

Abe Rokuro bowed deeply.

Watanabe Shun breathed a sigh of relief, lied about having work with the Anti-drug Investigation Department, and hurriedly left the police station.

Abe Rokuro watched his departing figure, secretly vowing to become a dependable criminal police like Senior Watanabe.

He hurried back to his desk, quickly finished writing the case report, stating the doubts within, and after submitting it, clocked out and began dialing Minamoto Tamako and Fushimi Roku's numbers from the phone book.

Eager to share the theory that "the loss of control was human-induced," but the phone rang for a long time with no one answering.

"Could they be busy..."

Abe Rokuro felt disappointed.

He guessed right; Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako were indeed busy.

They lay in the consultation room of a private clinic, with Miyazaki Shizuka sitting between the two, her whispers gradually merging with the murmurs of past dreams.

"Sleep... sleep."