Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner-Chapter 848 - 509: Bitter Sweets (Part 2)

She was counting as she broke off a small piece of "Ningyoyaki" and stuffed it into her mouth, mumbling, "Mmm... and also strawberry Daifuku and matcha truffle... Ah, Sakurako! Do you want to try?"

Taira Sakurako nodded, picking up a small piece of pudding and nibbling on it.

Sakurako hadn’t finished her pudding yet, but Minamoto Tamako had already swallowed the Ningyoyaki and continued to grab other sweets, eating faster and faster, gulping them down.

As she ate, Minamoto Tamako started sobbing.

Tears the size of beans rolled down, and her lips were covered with dessert crumbs as she cried and chewed.

Taira Sakurako couldn’t bear to watch; she put down her pudding and called Aunt Yasurou on the landline.

Minamoto Tamako was still pretending to be strong, saying she was fine, just that she ate some wasabi. Taira Sakurako pretended not to notice she was lying and sat beside her on the sofa after finishing the call, asking her which dessert had wasabi.

"Just... just... this piece..."

Minamoto Tamako sobbed as she spoke.

In less than half an hour, Moriyama Yasurou arrived. The Police Department was understaffed, so she was reinstated and became the Sugamo Police Station Chief again. Her subordinates threw her a welcome party, and she left midway.

Moriyama Yasurou comforted her for a long time, talking from morning till afternoon, to no avail; Minamoto Tamako cried whenever she felt like it.

Moriyama Yasurou was at a loss. She was over thirty, had changed boyfriends multiple times, and had long forgotten the feeling of first love, making it really hard to empathize with a young girl experiencing her first heartbreak.

So she called for Watanabe and others to come over, suggesting they have dinner together, giving Minamoto Tamako a reason to drink a little alcohol.

The universally recognized process for comforting a friend after a breakup is like this: call three or five friends, go to a cheap barbecue stall, have a few beers, eat, drink, and chat, letting the friend vent all the suppressed pain inside.

Because Fushimi Roku’s company was shut down, Watanabe Shun, Goto Shunsuke, and Kazama Tatsuya were all left without jobs.

To be precise, Watanabe Shun and Goto Shunsuke became unemployed, while Kazama Tatsuya found a job as an auxiliary officer helping to coordinate road traffic and manage community security, a job that was low-paid and exhausting, but he truly couldn’t sit still and enjoy life in idleness.

The six met at the izakaya, Taira Sakurako came too; while others drank alcohol, she could only drink juice.

They ordered, waited for dishes, and served drinks as a prelude. Watanabe Shun was the first to speak. He took a big bite of grilled chicken skewers, mumbling:

"I don’t think it’s his fault. Why apologize to those people? They’re all scum... Not the victims’ families, of course, I mean those officials’ families. Especially that judge, deserved to be stabbed to death by Horie Kei."

He had once been caught soliciting prostitution and was sentenced to probation by that very judge, leaving him somewhat resentful.

Kazama Tatsuya told him to shut up, yet he still complained a couple more times.

Watanabe Shun used to be part of the underworld, but now that he was trying to live honestly, he received no good return; how he felt about this, only he knew.

Kazama Tatsuya showed signs of aging, and even his scolding wasn’t as forceful as before, as if an aged father hopelessly tried to deal with his mischievous son.

Goto Shunsuke also commented a few times, and when Moriyama Yasurou noticed the atmosphere was wrong, she forcibly steered the conversation back to Minamoto Tamako.

As soon as Fushimi Roku was mentioned, everyone fell silent.

Minamoto Tamako didn’t know what to say either; she held a beer mug in both hands and remained silent for a while. Only when the waiter served another plate of grilled chicken skewers did she speak: "I would have broken up with him sooner or later."

That’s giving up.

Watanabe Shun and Kazama Tatsuya exchanged a glance but said nothing. Goto Shunsuke just focused on eating; he was starving.

Moriyama Yasurou heard her thoughts, readily agreed, and harshly criticized: "Such a man should have been dumped long ago, lazy and bad, with a terrible attitude, always putting on airs—he doesn’t deserve to be your boyfriend at all..."

She thoroughly criticized Fushimi Roku, describing him as a maggot in a dung pit.

Breakups are like this; sides must be chosen. Moriyama Yasurou chose to stand by Minamoto Tamako’s side, seeing her as a good girl who deserves happiness.

Fushimi Roku had let a good girl down and deserved criticism.

Minamoto Tamako listened quietly, and somehow, her heart felt a bit better. But every time Moriyama Yasurou mentioned Fushimi Roku’s name, she couldn’t help but hiccup.

Drink, get drunk, and you won’t think about these things anymore.

Minamoto Tamako raised her glass and downed it in one go. Everyone watched her, but no one spoke.

Kazama Tatsuya originally wanted to intervene, but Moriyama Yasurou shook her head at him, texting under the table: "If she drinks too much, I’ll take care of her. Let’s not interfere this time."

Sure enough, after a large mug of craft beer, Minamoto Tamako’s face turned rosy, looking spirited and bold as she loudly declared, "Bring me another cup!"

The waiter had just brought in beer when Minamoto Tamako’s head suddenly hit the table with a thud.

"Knocked out from just one cup?" Goto Shunsuke asked in confusion.

Moriyama Yasurou knew her drinking capacity and planned to help her up and take her home to rest.

"Nonsense!" Minamoto Tamako suddenly lifted her head, drunk and bleary-eyed: "I never get drunk no matter how much I drink!"

She grabbed the freshly served beer and downed it energetically in one go.

No one stopped her, so Minamoto Tamako downed four large mugs in a row and belched loudly before stopping.

"Heh heh." Minamoto Tamako sat in the chair, sporting a silly grin, her face as red as a monkey’s bottom.

"Come on, keep drinking; let’s not talk about unhappy things." Watanabe Shun brought up the mood, raising his beer glass to everyone, telling some boring dirty jokes.

Under the influence of alcohol, everyone was amused and laughed loudly.

After several rounds of drinks, the big-butt TV hanging on the izakaya wall started broadcasting a soccer match. At this time in Western Europe, it’s daytime. Japanese TV stations broadcast the football game, and the guests ate while watching, supporting their respective teams.

"Last minute stoppage time! Japan team counterattacks!"

On the bar’s TV screen, the commentator’s voice was hoarse. Everyone clenched their beer mugs, eyes absorbed by the screen—Player No. 10 dashed from midfield, skillfully bypassing two defenders, fired a curved ball from outside the box, hitting the top corner!

"Unbelievable comeback! This goal—"

The commentator’s voice abruptly halted, the screen turning into a color bar of no signal.

The patrons cursed loudly; the izakaya became noisy and lively.

The curses didn’t last long. The image suddenly switched to a bloody video. Moriyama Yasurou was taken aback and glanced at Kazama Tatsuya, asking quietly: "Could it be again..."

"I don’t know." Kazama Tatsuya replied.

He looked up at the TV screen; the blood trial game of the New World was originally for wealthy entertainment, hence had good viewing, drama, and programming effects.

Even if the editing was poor, it could still catch one’s eyes.

Now, he was curious whether only this izakaya was broadcasting, or was the whole town district watching?

Goto Shunsuke called a friend, telling them to hurry over to the izakaya to watch the excitement. Surprisingly, his friend claimed they saw it at home too, with several mainstream TV channels showing it.

Watanabe Shun quickly called a friend in Hokkaido and was astonished that it could be seen there too...

"Is it being broadcast all over Japan?" Kazama Tatsuya thought he had gotten used to it, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

"How is this done?" Watanabe Shun couldn’t understand: "Several TV channels airing simultaneously; how can he hijack multiple channels?"

"It’s the Tokyo Tower."

Moriyama Yasurou, a Tokyo native, realized immediately.

She gathered her thoughts, intending to calm Minamoto Tamako down, telling her not to run about or blame herself. But when she turned her head, Minamoto Tamako was nowhere in sight.

"Where’s Tamako?" Moriyama Yasurou turned again: "Where’s Sakurako? Where did they go?"

"Probably went to the restroom." Goto Shunsuke replied nonchalantly.

The other three exchanged glances and Moriyama Yasurou immediately stood up, searched all the restroom stalls, but saw no sign of them.