CHAPTER 531: CHAPTER 373: WHAT IF FUSHIMI ROKU WERE A MURDERER (PART 2)

Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako walked one behind the other on the sidewalk, neither speaking a word.

After reaching home, Minamoto Tamako opened the door first and stepped inside; Fushimi Roku followed closely, and they stood face to face at the bathroom door.

"Why don’t you go first?" Minamoto Tamako said softly.

Switching back from work mode, she remembered her dreams and felt it was a bit awkward being alone with Fushimi Roku.

"Alright."

Fushimi Roku didn’t stand on ceremony and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Actually, he didn’t need to shower at this hour, but Minamoto Tamako always felt it was unclean to go to bed without showering, so he accommodated her.

After he finished showering while humming a song and opened the bathroom door, the room was empty, and Minamoto Tamako was nowhere to be seen.

Fushimi Roku found it a bit inexplicable and peeked into the living room, but Minamoto Tamako wasn’t there either.

Strange, where could she be?

Fushimi Roku knocked on Taira Sakurako’s door, waking her up. She rubbed her eyes as she opened the door, feeling a bit grumpy from being awoken: "What do you want?"

Fushimi Roku glanced inside; the room wasn’t large, after all, it was partitioned. The sides were covered with pink wallpaper, and the shelves held various magical tools and books collected by Taira Sakurako, crammed full, except there was no sign of Minamoto Tamako.

Fushimi Roku said, "Nothing, just checking if you were asleep."

"..."

Taira Sakurako sometimes hated her lack of facial expressions, wishing she could use her facial muscles to convey strong anger to Fushimi Roku.

"What are you looking at, kids shouldn’t stay up late, go to bed early."

Fushimi Roku closed the door and went to Uesugi Shion’s room to take a look. The mentally ill person was lying sprawled out and snoring loudly, and Minamoto Tamako was not there either.

He had to pick up his phone, ready to send a message to Minamoto Tamako. Unexpectedly, his phone dinged, and Minamoto Tamako had sent a text:

"I’m going to see Yasurou for something."

Hmm?

Fushimi Roku raised an eyebrow and typed back: "What are you discussing so late?"

Minamoto Tamako replied in his words: "Discussing some private matters between women."

Fushimi Roku had nothing to say and could only casually toss the phone onto the bedside, lying back on the bed.

The room was filled with traces of Minamoto Tamako’s life, yet it was empty with only him.

He turned his head and saw the bunny officer beside the bed.

Its bunny paw was holding a toy gun, pointing at his nose.

"..."

...

Minamoto Tamako slipped out of the apartment while Fushimi Roku was showering. She stood alone by the elevator door, feeling a bit dazed.

After hesitating for a while, Minamoto Tamako decided to go find Yasurou to talk about her long-standing troubles.

At this hour, Moriyama Yasurou would naturally be asleep at home. When she received Minamoto Tamako’s call, saying there was something very important to discuss in person, Moriyama Yasurou drowsily agreed.

Every girl has received late-night calls from best friends; it’s nothing surprising.

It was too late to get a cab now, so Minamoto Tamako walked to Moriyama Yasurou’s home. It took her about twenty minutes, during which Moriyama Yasurou caught a little nap.

When Minamoto Tamako knocked at the door, Moriyama Yasurou hurriedly patted her face to wake up a bit, then got up to answer the door, welcoming Minamoto Tamako with a broad smile.

"Please come in, please come in... What’s the matter so late?"

Moriyama Yasurou poured Minamoto Tamako a cup of barley tea and, seeing her dejected look, carefully asked: "Did Fujimura-kun bully you?"

Minamoto Tamako shook her head, holding the barley tea in both hands. She was dejected and remained silent.

Moriyama Yasurou asked again: "Is it something about Fujimura-kun?"

Minamoto Tamako nodded.

Moriyama Yasurou thought indeed, only that guy could make Minamoto Tamako so uneasy.

She sat cross-legged on the tatami, poured herself a cup of barley tea, and placed it on the low wooden table next to Minamoto Tamako.

"What’s wrong with him?"

Moriyama Yasurou said: "If he’s done something wrong, just tell me, I will definitely teach him a lesson!"

Yes, she would report to Chief Kujo and let Chief Kujo give Fushimi Roku a severe scolding.

Minamoto Tamako shook her head again, speaking softly: "He hasn’t done anything... it’s my problem."

"What’s wrong with you?" Moriyama Yasurou asked with a look of surprise.

This was truly rare, that Minamoto Tamako would think there was something wrong with her liking Fujimura-kun... Could it be her blinded eyes had finally recovered?

Minamoto Tamako recounted the dream she had in the consultation room, then voiced her concerns:

"If... I mean if, not really suspecting Fujimura-kun..."

"If Fujimura-kun really did something wrong... if Fujimura-kun really is the Heavenly Punishment murderer..."

"Then what should I do?"

Minamoto Tamako looked up at Moriyama Yasurou, her beautiful eyes clouded with mist: "I know such a thing is impossible, but I cannot help but doubt... Am I too terrible? To suspect my partner, to suspect my boyfriend..."

Moriyama Yasurou silently cursed Fushimi Roku a thousand times in her heart, knowing full well what kind of person Fushimi Roku was, a murderous fiend on Cat Island, how could he possibly be a good gentleman?

Moriyama Yasurou originally thought that Minamoto Tamako would never realize this, and the two might just continue peacefully... So she chose to stand by Fushimi Roku and help hide part of the truth.

Now it seemed that she was wrong to assume.

Falling in love is easy, but to continue loving is very hard.

No one can wear a mask and love another person continuously. The deeper the love, the deeper the understanding, if one wants to go on for long, one must naturally open up to each other.

"No way, Tamako, you’re not terrible at all!"

Moriyama Yasurou hugged Minamoto Tamako’s shoulders, comforting her earnestly to encourage her.

Minamoto Tamako forced a smile, took a sip of barley tea, still listless.

Seeing this, Moriyama Yasurou realized that this time the usual comforting words wouldn’t suffice.

She thought for a moment and then seriously asked: "Suppose, I mean suppose... if Fujimura-kun really is a murderer, do you still like him?"

Minamoto Tamako’s first reaction was to refuse to think about it, there could be no such assumption. She was about to refute, but her mind suddenly hit a snag, and it seemed like this question was very important... She couldn’t help but start seriously considering this question.

If Fujimura-kun is a bad person...

Then were all his past words lies?

Then were all the things he taught a disguise?

Minamoto Tamako couldn’t figure it out; her mind became more and more tangled, unable to imagine this hypothesis.

Seeing this, Moriyama Yasurou prompted: "Why do you like Fushimi Roku?"

"I... I..."

Images of Fujimura-kun’s good qualities flashed in Minamoto Tamako’s mind, such as being strong, handsome, smart, often accommodating her... But none of these were the reasons she liked Fushimi Roku.

She had thought about it before; she liked him simply because she liked him, with no specific reason.

But now, she couldn’t say it calmly.

Moriyama Yasurou patted her head and said meaningfully: "Have you read the fairy tale ’The Little Prince’? There’s a line: ’To establish ties with others means to run the risk of tears’..."

"Do you understand? Don’t be afraid of tears; if you think this person is worth it, why not take a risk?"

Moriyama Yasurou let go of her, patted her chest, and said, "Like me, actually, I’m a very bad person... I’m very irritable, prejudiced against men, and not serious about work. If you became friends with the real me, would you feel disillusioned?"

"No... How could that be? In my eyes, Yasurou is very gentle." Minamoto Tamako replied.

Moriyama Yasurou snapped her fingers and said: "Exactly, when one day, you find out Fushimi Roku’s actually a scoundrel and has done some unforgivable bad things, you can be sad then."

Minamoto Tamako nodded in confusion and couldn’t help but ask: "But I’m a policeman, am I just supposed to be sad?"

Moriyama Yasurou jokingly replied: "What else do you want to do? Arrest Fujimura-kun?"

Hearing this, Minamoto Tamako suddenly understood and nodded vigorously, saying: "That makes sense! If Fujimura-kun goes astray and commits a crime, it’s my responsibility to send him to jail... No matter how many years, if he’s willing to repent, I’ll be waiting for him!"

"Huh?"

Moriyama Yasurou thought this wasn’t a good choice and shook Minamoto Tamako’s shoulders, trying to wake her up: "No, think it through... What if he gets life imprisonment? Your bright future isn’t worth delaying!"

Minamoto Tamako suddenly stood up, clenched her fist with one hand, and said with a pout:

"I think he’s worth it!"