Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 783 - 477: Action! (Part 2)

"Among them, 11 are serial killers. They are extremely vicious and never hesitate to kill. During the pursuit, my colleagues and I were seriously injured..."

Fushimi Roku suddenly clenched his fist: "Someone asked me why I insist on handling the most dangerous cases?" He suddenly stared straight into the camera, speaking solemnly: "Because as a criminal police officer, you must have the determination to uncover the truth at all costs!"

Minamoto Tamako’s little mouth opened too, thinking, isn’t this my line? When I went back to Hokkaido to investigate a case sometime ago, I said these exact words myself. I remember it clearly... How come it suddenly became his motto?

Too despicable! Plagiarism monster!

Before Minamoto Tamako could recover, the host jumped in claiming that Officer Fushimi joined the show to expose the chaos within the Police Department.

Then, without even taking a breath, he turned the topic to Minamoto Tamako, and the camera followed suit, with the lighting falling on her face.

Minamoto Tamako felt immense pressure at that moment. The flash of the lights made it hard for her to keep her eyes open, and the teleprompter was scrolling like a supermarket ad running at double speed.

Everyone was waiting. She didn’t have time to think and subconsciously read along with the teleprompter: "Hello everyone, I’m Minamoto Tamako, a criminal police officer at the Nakagawara Police Station, 23 years old. Every day, I like to drive a luxury car to play golf; my biggest interest is spending on Shinjuku Street and I always order twenty male models to drink with me."

By the time Minamoto Tamako realized what she was saying, it was too late.

"..."

The studio remained silent for over ten seconds, everyone seemed frozen. The host maintained a professional smile, as if the filming should continue as long as the director didn’t call cut.

During Minamoto Tamako’s silence, the teleprompter reached the end. She skipped a large section of bad behaviors, and the prompt at the end of the teleprompter read:

"Improvise and inadvertently reveal bad habits in everyday life."

Minamoto Tamako steadied herself, reassuring herself repeatedly: ’It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all for the case, all to catch the culprit...’

She brainwashed herself, deciding to go all out, gritting her teeth with a ’gangster face,’ and pulled out a tobacco-less pipe from her pocket, saying to the camera: "See this? I’m going to smoke in a non-smoking room now!"

After saying that, Minamoto Tamako took a puff from the pipe and exhaled a pretend smoke. She felt somewhat uneasy, couldn’t help but look at the director, thinking surely this scene could be post-edited with smoke effects, right?

If not, her on-screen image would go from an evil cop to a foolish cop.

The director saw Minamoto Tamako’s unease and gave her a thumbs up, encouraging her to continue acting.

Minamoto Tamako assumed the director understood her idea, thinking the thumbs up meant ’post-editing will add smoke effects,’ and so she confidently held the pipe in her mouth, gradually getting into character, saying: "Do you know why I can sit here smoking?"

She smirked at the camera, "Because rules can’t bind the strong! Ahahahahahahaha—"

"Cut!" The director couldn’t watch any longer.

The crew wrapped up at the same time, the host breathed a sigh of relief, gulping down a drink to hydrate.

Minamoto Tamako’s face was flushed red, but overcoming her embarrassment made her feel excited, and she couldn’t help but stand up, leaning over to the director reviewing the footage, and asked in a low voice: "Director, director, how did I do?"

The director glanced at the still frame; while Minamoto Tamako wasn’t completely devoid of malice, she looked more like an angry and cute third-grade girl, her hair tuft worked up, but there just wasn’t much intimidation.

"Very good!" The director gave a thumbs up again, "Keep this style, keep it up, the final cut will definitely be great!"

Minamoto Tamako happily went to share this with Fushimi Roku, and the director, after she walked away, turned to instruct his assistant in a whisper.

Next up was shooting the second scene; since it’s a variety show, it needed entertainment value. The crew had prepared a carport in advance and took Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako for the outdoor shoot, supposedly to ’reveal the unknown insider stories of the Police Department,’ using a hidden camera approach throughout.

Fushimi Roku wanted to take the crew into the Police Department or station for a tour, but was ruthlessly refused by the director and the minister, and the group couldn’t even get past the parking barrier and was stopped by security.

The director held the microphone, asking Fushimi Roku: "Didn’t you say the Police Department agreed to let the show interview?"

Fushimi Roku had made all sorts of promises to join the crew. But now that it was time to deliver, naturally, he had to temper expectations. He made excuses, saying: "A big case recently came up, and the police are investigating, so the show’s interview is on hold for now..." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Before he could finish, the director signaled the cameraman to start shooting. The three of them squeezed into the filming vehicle for the second shooting.

The director asked, "What case specifically? Is it convenient to disclose a bit?"

Fushimi Roku didn’t want to lose his job yet: "Sorry, the investigation process is confidential and cannot be disclosed..."

"Very professional," the director praised before adding, "Is it about the recent serial killings? I heard that Senator Takahashi was hung on a streetlight by the killer; is this true?"

Fushimi Roku put on a serious face, displaying the attitude of a professional criminal police officer: "Sorry, as a responsible police officer, I can’t divulge too much to you."

The director nodded and, as if he didn’t hear, continued asking: "So what have you been busy with lately? What cases have you been investigating? Anything inconvenient to disclose can be pixelated or muted in post-production. We just want to interview the daily working states of the two of you."

After speaking, the stage coordinator lifted the cue card: "Third Scene Shoot: Daily Work"

Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako realized it was time to skip the Police Department shoot and directly transition to the third daily work shoot.

They immediately got into acting mode, which meant pretending to be cool and tough.

Two cameramen got off the vehicle to follow; one shot Minamoto Tamako, the other Fushimi Roku. Following the script, they split up and confidently spoke to the cameras.

"To investigate cases, I visit various places daily, looking into the deceased’s social circles before death, and screening suspicious suspects..."

"I just stay at home watching TV every day, sometimes playing games with my eight-year-old sister, apart from eating and drinking, just having fun..."

"It’s well known that I’ve always aimed to emulate the famous detective and police chief, pursuing justice is my life’s creed..."

"Everyone knows I’m the police officer with the most absences from the police station, procrastinating is my life’s motto..."

"I’m Fushimi Roku, a police officer uninterested in money and power; my everyday life is filled with work. Honestly, if I don’t investigate a case one day, I feel uncomfortable."

"I’m Minamoto Tamako, a luxury-loving rich girl who likes to soak her feet in red wine; living every day as a parasite in the Police Department. Frankly, working a single day feels worse than death."

...

The cameramen and the vehicle followed them for a day, capturing valuable material.

Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako were satisfied, feeling their acting was superb.

Minamoto Tamako felt great about herself, but hold judgment for now; as for Fushimi Roku, he really looked like a decent, straight officer, quite deceptive. Just looking at the footage, he genuinely appeared as a sincere, earnest criminal police character.

After the shoot, the director symbolically gave them a bit of acting fee.

They took the money and treated Taira Sakurako to a good meal at an izakaya, all with cheerful faces. Minamoto Tamako was fantasizing about catching the killer in one stroke and earning praise from the Police Department, while Fushimi Roku fantasized about both financial and fame fortunes...

The next morning, the production team called, saying some scenes needed additional shooting. After work, Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako went to the studio for extra footage.

Before they left, the director, with a meaningful expression, said, "Variety show review speeds are fast; if all goes well, it should be on air at eleven tomorrow night."

Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako were eagerly anticipating, both intending to watch their screen debut.

The next day, they were early with snacks and cola, inviting Taira Sakurako to sit on the couch in front of the TV, waiting for the program to broadcast.

After a batch of advertisements, Fuji TV Station as scheduled broadcasted the variety show, but the name wasn’t ’Truth Rushing: Special Edition’...

The caption on the screen read ’Amateur Life Reversal Prank! ～Two Criminal Police Daily Life and Shooting Scene Reversal!’

Fushimi Roku: "..."

He had a bad feeling.