Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 847 - 509: Bitter Sweets

Time rewinds to the early hours of today.

Ogasawara Shunma was still asleep in bed when he heard a knock on the door from the living room. Dazed, he got up, his hair a mess, and shouted: "Who is it?"

"Police." A familiar female voice replied from outside.

Ogasawara Shunma was startled, thinking that his assistance to the wanted criminal had been exposed. In a panic, not sure what he was doing, he turned around in the room a few times before calming down. He moved to the door and observed through the peephole.

Standing outside was a female criminal police officer he had met before. Ogasawara Shunma remembered her; she seemed to be named Minamoto Tamako. She was a rare good police officer, though seemingly not very effective, and had been beaten.

"What’s the matter?" Ogasawara Shunma didn’t open the door.

"I’m here on behalf of the Police Department to apologize to the victim’s family." Minamoto Tamako was carrying gift baskets in both hands, her forehead wrapped in bandages, her eyes shadowed by dark circles. Her tone was trying hard to be gentle and cheerful, but she couldn’t hide her exhaustion.

Ogasawara Shunma hesitated for a moment, opened the door, and reiterated: "Um, I’m not a victim’s family member yet..."

"After all, you were also implicated. I’m terribly sorry." Minamoto Tamako bowed and took sweets from the gift basket, handing them over with both hands.

During the attack on the Police Headquarters Building, she had participated in counterterrorism efforts.

Unfortunately, her rank and experience weren’t enough, and she wasn’t eligible to be on the front lines. She was only in charge of maintaining security on the periphery, helping to control traffic, and apologizing to drivers honking their horns.

This past week, Minamoto Tamako has been busy with aftermath management.

She started by apologizing to the victim’s families, and then was responsible for notifying the attacked officers’ families. Others weren’t solemn enough in notifying them, and since she was the daughter of Director Kujo, it was more than appropriate for her to come forward.

The attacked officers’ families often gave her cold stares, asking why Kujo Yua returned unscathed while others in the meeting room were either dead or disabled.

That’s just the way it is; everyone has their fate, and there’s not much to say. But Kujo Yua’s failure to catch the perpetrators in the end, what could they possibly think?

There are rumors saying Director Kujo was in cahoots with the culprits, with evidence showing the perpetrator was once Director Kujo’s son-in-law. Everyone watched coldly, putting Kujo Yua on a pedestal, subordinates outwardly obeying but inwardly defiant, just waiting for her to step down.

When Minamoto Tamako went to console the families, the phrase she heard most was:

"How could you associate with such a person?"

Minamoto Tamako couldn’t answer; all she could do was keep bowing and apologizing.

The attacked officers’ families reproached her coldly; some even splashed tea on her face. Tamako often returned home wet, locked herself in her room, and secretly cried under the covers.

Taira Sakurako wanted to comfort her but didn’t know what to say. All she could do was minimize her presence, even stopped playing games, cleaned up the room and managed household chores, and tiptoed around even in the bathroom.

Minamoto Tamako made a list, visiting each home to apologize, trying to restore the police’s reputation.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many who wanted to see her.

Most people coldly give her the cold shoulder, Cat Island’s victims enraged at the official handling of matters were naturally not going to welcome her.

Ogasawara Shunma was the last person on her list, and the gift basket she carried was still full, with plenty of sweets leftover.

Ogasawara Shunma didn’t know her relationship with Fushimi Roku; he thought she was simply being dutiful, so he reached out to take the sweets: "Then I’ll accept them."

Minamoto Tamako nodded, earnestly saying: "Alright, please trust the Police Department will do everything possible to track down the real culprits and give all victims an explanation."

"Ah, I’ve already given up hope..." Ogasawara Shunma waved his hand.

When his daughter went missing, he sought help from the police repeatedly, hearing the same scripted responses, the kind of words he had grown tired of hearing.

Rather than holding onto false hope, it’s better not to have any expectations from the start. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Minamoto Tamako, carrying the heavy gift basket, felt her ears burning red but still insisted on finishing her message: "I will come every day to update you on progress, until... until you say I can stop."

"I’ve already said, I’m not a victim’s family." Ogasawara Shunma didn’t want to talk anymore: "Instead of apologizing everywhere, why not catch some of the bad guys in the footage." He said, finishing before closing the door.

Minamoto Tamako paused for a moment, then sighed deeply.

She took the gift basket to a shop, hoping to sell off the remaining sweets she couldn’t deliver. But the clerk said the sweets and the basket came as a set, and once opened, they couldn’t be returned.

Minamoto Tamako could only carry the gift basket home alone, eating them up before they went bad.

"Sakurako! I’m back!" She tried to make her voice sound energetic, walking into the living room and placing the gift basket on the table.

Taira Sakurako peeked out from the kitchen, seeing Minamoto Tamako show a rare smile, quickly wiped her hands and walked over: "Tamako? Today... was it okay?"

"Mm!" Minamoto Tamako nodded, pulling back the lining of the gift basket, her eyes shining slightly, "Today, I visited the last family, and they accepted the gifts! And——look, there are still many sweets left!"

She took them out one by one, her tone unusually cheerful:

"This is ’Tokyo Banana Cake,’ soft and fluffy with banana cream filling, super sweet!"

"And ’Kuuya’s Monaka,’ red bean paste and rice cake skin, the taste from old shops is wonderfully fragrant!"

"Ah! There’s also the Police Department’s special ’Ningyoyaki,’ printed with the sakura police badge, wonder if it’ll taste better than the ones on the shopping street..."

"Oh right! This caramel pudding needs to be eaten quickly, or it’ll melt!"