Tokyo: Rabbit Officer and Her Evil Partner
Chapter 367 - 268_4

Chapter 367: Chapter 268_4

The gun sounded.

Kazama Tatsuya staggered to the ground, blood spreading across his chest.

His mind went blank, his hand trembled, and the gun fell to the ground. He dared not pick it up, turned his head and ran, sprinted all the way home, and hid under the covers, waiting for the police to come and arrest him.

No, I need to leave a letter for mother...

He lay on the cloth pile, his right hand shaking, gripping the pen tip, yet having no idea what to write.

Mother will surely be very disappointed in him, right?

Father, even in the afterlife, would probably give him a good scolding, right?

He originally wanted to comfort himself, saying that all this was for mother’s medical bills; but he knew clearly, what that criminal police said was right, all along, he was merely escaping.

Even the thought of committing suicide at sixty seemed particularly cowardly at this moment.

He waited and waited, and the police never showed up; he started imagining wildly, maybe the police hadn’t found out it was him who killed, or perhaps they hadn’t discovered the body yet; until nighttime, he was exhausted and fell asleep, dreaming his father pointed at his nose and cursed him fiercely, waking up to find tears soaking his pillow.

The next morning, he went out to find the boss, only to learn the boss was captured, charged with an armed assault on a police officer, and the police station did not accept visits or offers of bail.

Only then did he learn that Kazama Tatsuya was not dead.

The bullet hit Kazama Tatsuya’s shoulder, not injuring any internal organs. Afterwards, Kazama Tatsuya wiped off the fingerprints on the gun and identified the boss, landing him in jail.

Knowing this confused him greatly, leaving him bewildered about the future.

The boss who cared for him the most was also gone, what should he do about his mother’s medical expenses?

Thinking of this, he inexplicably felt some resentment towards Kazama Tatsuya.

He gritted his teeth and went to the hospital to question Kazama Tatsuya, only then discovering the matter of his mother sending a letter to Kazama Family, which shocked him greatly. He couldn’t comprehend why Kazama Tatsuya would come all the way to do such a thing because of a letter.

Lying in the hospital bed, Kazama Tatsuya peeled an apple for himself: "Although I’ve never met your father, I suppose he trusted my father very much. Even if my father is gone, maybe he believed I would help, so I came, with no other reason."

"It’s absurd, meaningless, I don’t understand at all! You caused my boss to be imprisoned, who can I rely on in the future?"

"Of course, yourself, you’re a man, why only think about relying on others?" Kazama Tatsuya paused, looked up at him: "If you must rely on someone, then rely on me... Since I promised your mother, I won’t give up halfway."

"You bastard! Will you pay for my mother’s medical expenses then?"

He grabbed Kazama Tatsuya’s collar, trying to force him to release the boss, but ended up receiving a slap, which left him seeing stars.

He still remembers the pain of that slap.

"Find a way to earn money yourself," Kazama Tatsuya said: "I’ve already given you a chance, don’t make me look down on you."

Covering his face, he felt both unwilling and resistant, wanting to hit back, yet seeing the wound on Kazama Tatsuya’s shoulder, he fell silent, feeling that the slap was deserved.

It was always how he deserved it.

After leaving the hospital, he completely broke down, the burden on him crushed him. His self-esteem shattered, unable to climb up, he shut himself at home, contemplating suicide several times.

Once Kazama Tatsuya was discharged, he forcibly dragged him out of the house, forcing him to work. He protested loudly, but Kazama Tatsuya hit him hard, only then did he behave, compelled to continue doing hard labor.

Kazama Tatsuya no longer continued to cooperate in handling cases, instead working alongside him.

The two went together to unload goods at the dock, to move bricks on construction sites, and to wash dishes in restaurants. His life was still very hard, yet whenever he relaxed even a moment, Kazama Tatsuya would slap him. He resented, hated, thought of escaping, but considering his mother in bed, he continued to grit his teeth and persist.

However, half a year later, a miracle did not happen, Aiko still passed away.

He had no money for the funeral, the government paid for it, cremated publicly, he held his mother’s urn, took the tram home, placed it on the altar, set alongside his father’s spiritual tablet.

Kazama Tatsuya came to offer condolences, lighting incense.

The two knelt before the spiritual tablets, he did not cry, only felt profound fatigue: "What is the meaning of all I’ve done?"

Kazama Tatsuya took out a will and a bank book.

He accepted it, unfolded it casually, familiar handwriting appeared on it.

"Atsushi, seeing the letter is like seeing me."

"Mom didn’t know much about words, so this letter is penned by Mr. Kazama. He is a trustworthy man, and a benefactor to the Watanabe family. You must repay him well in the future."

"In fact, there’s not much to say, but there are a few things you must remember: some jars of wine buried in the old home’s field, open them when you marry and drink; don’t forget to air the quilts at home, they’re definitely full of mites; don’t shout when speaking with others, always be courteous when out; don’t spend the money in the bank book carelessly, find a good girl in the future, only with savings can you live steadily; don’t say you don’t want to marry, one person is a wanderer, only two have roots, mutual support and dependence are good..."

"Lastly, mom feels proud of you."

"Don’t feel guilty because mom passed away."

"You’ve already tried your best, and are a respectable man."

...

He cried, tears streaming, his nasal cavity aching, the handwriting on the letter paper smudged.

"No meaning," Kazama Tatsuya said by his ear: "This is merely what you should do."

...

Watanabe Shun lay on the ground, Kazama Tatsuya’s voice drifted to his ears:

"Your life is still long, perhaps more painful things await in the future."

"Suffering behind closed doors is no big deal, many people endure silently facing difficulties, financial pressure, breaking of dignity, life’s hardship... In the future, there will be continuous burdens weighing on your shoulders, and you can only endure, strive to stand up, never fall."

"If you want to ask what is the meaning, I can tell you clearly, there is no meaning at all."

"This is just what men ought to do."

...

Watanabe Shun spat out a mouthful of blood, the arbitrator’s countdown echoed in his ears, he didn’t know which count the arbitrator was on, he only knew he had to stand up.

Even if he fell, he must exhaust every effort to get back up.

His pupils started to expand, adrenaline surged within him, pain gradually faded, his heart pounded fiercely supplying blood.

The spectators watched silently, everyone looked at him, watched him stagger, stand up, clutch the arbitrator’s shoulder, and said indistinctly:

"Continue."

"I Am the Devil King, No Laughing Allowed"