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Chapter 11
February 12th, 2015—Third Day: Night—Kyoto—Inside a Limited Express Train
Two black suits from M&D were following a man who had the eyes of a wild beast. His height must have been close to two whole meters, his body a mass of muscle, and his long hair ran down his back. It almost resembled a lion’s mane. However, he had forced his body, bulky and formidable like a rock, to fit into a small suit. He had taken off his bowler hat, showing a polite 45-degree bow.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Shinohara-sama. My name is Tsubame.”
His politeness only contradicted his appearance, as the two black suits from M&D behind him seemed almost as confused. Only Shinohara maintained a calm expression as he got a closer look at Tsubame. Tsubame then showed another bow and sat down on the seat in front of Shinohara, facing him.
“Shinohara-sama, there is something I’d like to ask you.”
“I know. You must be after the magic password for Pikaro, right? That’s why you’re here to torture me.”
“Not quite. I’d like to ask you a more personal question.”
“…Personal?” Shinohara stretched out his neck, looking at the black suits behind Tsubame.
Those two seemed just as surprised, furrowing their bows. Witnessing this, Shinohara narrowed his eyes.
—They look like they haven’t been told. Looks like most of M&D doesn’t know about this.
In other words, it was an assassin who had a question for Shinohara, unrelated to the magic password. But, why?
“Are you aware of the systems revolving around torture or execution?”
“I’m aware of tools such as the Iron Maiden or a torture chair, but that is where my knowledge comes to a halt.”
“I see…so do you happen to know about the Crocodile Shears or the Scottish Effort? What about the Peine forte et dure or the Chinese lingchi?”
“Can’t say that rings a bell.”
“What about the way to use a pear?”
“Not except the proper way to use it. You stuff it into a person’s anus and make them rupture from the inside, yes?”
“It seems you are quite knowledgeable, Shinohara-sama.”
“All thanks to my dear girlfriend.”
All his knowledge came from a book about Eastern torture and execution methods that Kanade made him read at one point.
—The people who write about beautiful things show their true color when they report on disgusting things. There is value in touching the disgusting.
That’s what Kanade said at one point. However, Tsubame’s knowledge seemed to be genuine from experience.
“I must say, I cannot bear to inflict such pain on you, Shinohara-sama.”
“This feels more like a threat than a genuine question,” said Shinohara with a disappointed expression, but he didn’t show any fear whatsoever.
In response, Tsubame opened his mouth with a somber look.
“If you were to agree to our terms, we would repay your betrayal with a peaceful and never-ending sleep right here.”
The M&D black suits who had been watching up to this point pulled out their guns.
“Through my studies of torture methods related to my work, I’ve learned a lot about the human body. And with my experience, it is common to know techniques that don’t inflict any pain if you are aware of techniques that do. To avoid flesh and blood vessels, even clothes as a whole, to just pierce the heart and not leave any pain…”
Before Tsubame could finish his words the black suits pointed their muzzles at his temple.
“Will you know your place, you outsiders?” Tsubame showed a troubled expression as he took out a brush and scratched his head. “I guess I cannot let you go after all.”
“I never expected for that to happen,” said Shinohara.
But suddenly, a bullet pierced one of the men’s foreheads. Tsubame then twirled the brush in his hand, flinging it off like a dart. It stabbed right into the other man’s right eye. Tsubame then fired a fist right into the collapsing man’s face, stabbing the brush into his brain. In just three seconds, Tsubame finished his work.
“The brush is a .22 caliber?”
“Well spotted. Your knowledge knows no bounds.”
“I’ve seen it twice in the past three days, so I would have learned about it whether I wanted to or not. But isn’t this rather complicated considering your position?”
Tsubame recovered the brush and wiped the blood off with a handkerchief, stuffing it into Shinohara’s chest pocket.
“Well, you attacked us, so what else was I supposed to do?”
“Ah, so I’m the guilty party then?”
“Am I wrong?”
“No, I just had to admire that.”
“I’m honored. However, you probably don’t care much about your guilt as a murderer, right? Whatever Kawanami-sama may say, you’re out of the picture. Because you will be killed by me right here. You must have already set up a device that will leak the password after a certain amount of time, right? Even if you die here, we won’t be able to avoid the damages anymore. Although with their influence, they should at least be able to do some damage control. Then again… It’s plenty of damage that will befall them. I’m sure you must be satisfied in terms of getting your revenge, no? And if you want to play the tough guy and go forth with keeping quiet, then I’d like you to reconsider. After all, I will be the one handling things personally.”
“Yes, I got the message the first time. Can you get this over with?”
“Very well, then one last word from me,” Tsubame cleared his throat and then looked directly into Shinohara’s eyes. “You will now answer my question and die a peaceful death. That is what would be most beneficial for you.”
Shinohara crossed his fingers and leaned against the seat.
“I don’t even know what exactly you would like to know.”
“I was just hoping you would answer a few of my questions. As the legendary assassin Fukuro’s greatest disciple…seen as a treasure to guide all of humanity…an existence closest to the realm of the gods… Where exactly is Brother Karasu right now?”
The air around Tsubame changed. His warm smile remained, but a certain hunger and frenzy was burning deep within his eyes that created a creepy sensation. However, Shinohara remained calm with a casual look, seeing right through Tsubame.
“It sure feels weird to see the bigger fellow call someone else with Brother, really.”
Tsubame shook his head for a moment, only to press his hand on his mouth and burst out laughing.
—He might seem weak and fragile, but it’s pretty meaty deep down. I was told he’s just an average Joe, but the reports from M&D clearly didn’t do him any justice.
“After going to Hinago Asami’s apartment, Brother Karasu broke off all contact with us. He’s not even responding to Tsubaki. And as it so happens, Shinohara-sama, you happen to have the administrator data previously held by the creator of the website—Brother Karasu. Surely, nobody would be so stupid as to not see the connection here.”
“Oh, I bet.”
“Is Brother Karasu dead?”
“Yes.”
Shinohara thought back to the corpse of the young man he encountered in Hinago Asami’s apartment. The same side bag as Kurosaki Masaya… That must have been Karasu.
“Who killed him?”
“What if I don’t answer that question?”
“Then I’m afraid you will not see a peaceful end to your life,” Tsubame said and grabbed Shinohar’s wrist, ramming a small needle he took out of his chest pocket right under his nail.
Shinohara tried to break free from this grasp, but it was impossible. Around that time, Shinohara had mostly grasped what kind of person Tsubame was. He might have trained his body to the limit, but at the root of it all, he was not much of a professional. He did not know how to negotiate. He just relied on strength—a muscle brain that prioritized his own feelings.
—If he is a faithful follower of that Karasu guy…then I might be able to use him. It’s not exactly as we planned, but getting this far, surely they won’t complain if I go off the rails a bit, right?
Shinohara thought about it for a moment and then answered.
“The one who killed assassin Karasu…was Kurosaki Masaya.”
Tsubame fixated his attention on his fingertips, pressing down on the heartbeat he felt at Shinohara’s wrist. It probably was not a lie. However, it almost felt like his pulse was too calm.
“Mind if I ask for the details?”
“Karasu-san was tasked to go after Kurosaki Masaya. That is why he came to the flat in question and attacked him… But he was killed and had his administrator rights stolen. And this now ended up in my hands.”
“I see. That is roughly what we surmised. However, you are quite the villain yourself. You only said a young man and woman entered the apartment…without telling them about Kurosaki’s particular appearance. If you did, Kawanami-sama would have…”
“Sadly, I was never a faithful employee.”
“…That is correct. Please excuse me for saying something so stupid.”
As if that had established their contract, Tsubame let go of Shinohara’s wrist and instead directed the needle at Shinohara’s heart. A cold sensation entered Shinohara’s chest, filling him with admiration. He really did not feel any pain. It didn’t hurt his flesh or blood vessels, just aiming to end his heart in one strike.
“Don’t you want to get revenge for Karasu-san?” asked Shinohara.
The needle stopped a few inches before Shinohara’s heart.
“I can let you meet Kurosaki Masaya. However, I’d like to make this a trade, just like you suggested. Mind if I give you two conditions?”
“Very well, just say your desire,” Tsubame leaned forward, bringing his face closer to Shinohara. “However, I have a condition myself. I will agree to your condition after meeting Kurosaki. And if that won’t be possible during today… Then I will have to proceed with the torture after all.”
Shinohara nodded.
“Then, my first condition. Whether it’s yourself or your superior Tsubaki-san is fine…But could you bring out a higher-ranking official from M&D? I want to know who killed Suzuki Kanade two years ago.”
“That will be easy. What about your other condition?”
“Take me to M&D, while I’m alive of course. And I’d like to meet the person who killed Suzuki Kanade there.”
“That…I don’t mind, but if you’re after revenge, it would do you well to give up on that. I don’t mean to preach, but the only way for that would be to keep you tied up all the time—”
“I don’t mind.”
Shinohara bluntly moved past Tsubame’s warning. The tall man couldn’t hide his bewilderment, but didn’t chew on it further and just cleared his throat.
—If I can get into M&D’s headquarters…with the bomb Ichinose gave me…I can realize that plan. Even if I end up as a curse along those lines.
The express train then reached the next station, so Tsubame tasked a clean-up guy to take care of the now 8 dead bodies. Right before the train came to a stop, Tsubame glanced over at Botan and Yodaka once. He made them sit down on a passenger seat, making it look like Yodaka was sleeping while using Yodaka’s arm as a pillow.
“Yodaka told me once… The only people who manage to keep a 5-minute talk up with me are just as crazy or evil.”
“Then I guess I must be the exception?”
“Oh? You don’t see yourself like that at all? Despite holding your ground face-to-face with an assassin?”
“I simply received my courage from someone else.”
Tsubame covered his mouth, unable to keep his laughter in. However, he quickly returned to showing a polite stance, so he laughed while showing a vile expression.
“You received that courage? You…receive it? Yes, that might be right. However, that certainly cannot be all, right? No common person like you should be able to face me and not fall into despair! But…very well, Shinohara-sama! I love people like you!”
For some reason, Shinohara couldn’t just push that statement off as a madman’s rambling. The day before yesterday, after the Robber Rabbit had his knife pointed at him—he felt a certain heat boiling inside of him. Like a power he didn’t know existed started to burn. Even though the only weapon he had was a bomb.
When they got off the train, Tsubame stabbed a tranquilizer needle into Shinohara’s neck. After taking another three steps, Shinohara collapsed and fell over. Tsubame put his hat back on and smiled at Shinohara after walking away. His final words replayed in Shinohara’s head.
—That certainly cannot be all, right?
Shortly after, a group of medics arrived on the scene and picked up Shinohara. He recognized them, they belonged to M&D. They worked quickly. Right before he passed out, he mumbled.
“You’re looking forward to it, huh?”
—I’m not scared of anything.
—Except…that probably is not a good thing.
February 12th, 2015—Third Day: Noon—Osaka—The underground parking lot of a major bank
Ten hours before Yodaka and Botan would get killed during their run-in with Kurosaki—the location was the second floor of an underground garage of the Hisamoto Bank in Osaka. A van with the logo of a driving school stood next to the elevator reaching up to the bank. Sitting on the seats were four foreigners varying in both origin and clothes. They would munch on snacks, drink coffee or peach soda, listening to punk rock music. Although there was no alcohol involved, it did seem like a party going on inside the car.
“I got enough rope to keep one guy detained. But with wires and all that shebang, it’ll leave marks on the wrists of the hostage. And that won’t do. But a thick rope also will be bulky, so we’re using this.”
“Huh? What? What kind of exposition is this supposed to be? Sure, count me in!”
“That’s one way to poke fun at someone… Well, whatever. A bit of banter should be allowed before the grand festival.”
“Yeaaaah.”
“Look at this form. Just from the looks alone, it might seem like a nail gun or impact driver, but in reality, it’s medical equipment. And the best way to make someone cough something up is to use narcotics on the actual skin instead of nails.”
“Oh, how wonderful!”
“Cool! Awesome!”
“Yeaaaah.”
“You can continue to use it even without having to change the nuzzle. Safe use even without being afraid of AIDS transmission! The young lady’s gonna be out for good, and the last thing we gotta do is pick her up like we’re dancing waltz, and we’re out!”
“Dancing waltz!”
“Not bad!”
“Yeaaaaah.”
“And this wonderful tool, one of the best and first of the robber tools of the new century, is called—”
“Ah, hold on. Can you pass me the coke?”
“Sorry, can’t reach it. What about you?”
“Yeaaaah.”
“Ouch? Leaving me out to dry, really?”
“Sorry, but I tabbed out when you started talking about impact drivers being cool and whatnot.”
“That was at the very beginning!”
“Huh? Impact drivers are supposed to be cool?”
“No! I’m saying it resembles an impact driver!”
“Yeaaaah.”
“And you. You’ve been saying that this whole time, but can you even speak Japanese?”
“Yeaaaah!”
“Oh, that one sounded like a ‘Yes!’ judging from the intonation!”
“Great response!”
“But I still don’t know about that whole Japanese proficiency argument or not!”
“Yeaaaah!”
Shortly after, someone knocked on the rear window of the car. The four people inside the car all stiffened up with serious expressions, turning around. There stood a youth wearing a hood with rabbit ears, licking on a lollipop as he looked at the four with half-open eyes.
“Some chaos you guys are.”
All of them responded to these words in unison. For that reason, the Robber Rabbit could only hear a mash of random words.
—What a weird bunch. Can’t tell what they’re saying.
“I mean, I just randomly bought your skill, so you won’t see me complaining, but still…”
This group of four people actually acted as one item from the auction site Pikaro. And they sold their services. Not to mention that it wasn’t anything odd to see on Pikaro. Some would offer to act as vanguards, some would play the body double. As for these four, they marketed themselves as an investigator, fighter, lock specialist, and driver.
“Still, color me surprised when the Robber Rabbit himself asked for assistance. Did something happen?” The young man sitting in the passenger seat in the front asked that question.
The youth worked on something on his phone while giving a nonchalant response.
“Well, I’m basically fighting an evil organization right now.”
“That’s a bit half-baked of an explanation, nah? So, do you need cash? I thought you were rich…”
“Oh I have plenty of money. I just need some to get the plan in motion.”
“Huh? That makes no sense.”
“Ah, the armored vehicle is moving. C’mon, off to work.”
Appearing in the parking lot was a money transport, protected with white walls of at least 10 centimeters in density, resembling a guerilla corps’ armored vehicle. The windows were stained and locked like police cars, only revealing two silhouettes. They stopped in front of the elevator and met up with two security guards, taking out a big, silver case. The four robbers then all put on their masks, all with varying designs. A mask like the murder from Scream, a clown with red hair, a Venetian Mask from someone who had a thing for young girls, and a dark green hero.
“Showtime, folks.”
“Hey, before we charge in there, mind letting me talk about the beauty and aesthetics of being an outlaw?”
“Do we really have to?”
“That already sounds like a pain.”
“…Yeaaaaah.”
“Look! Even that guy’s totally like ‘what a pain’!”
“You his translator now or something?”
While they were talking like that, the driver opened the hatch of the car. Out of the four, the brawler and investigator passed by the youth and got out of the van. The brawler then rushed toward the armored vehicle. Before the driver could prepare himself, a fist rammed into his nose as a kick rammed into his solar plexus. Not even a second later, a hand wrapped around the guard’s neck from behind, lifting him up. Meanwhile, the investigator swiftly pressed needless into the other guys’ necks to render them unable to move. The other guard who tried to run was caught shortly after, knocked out with the suitcase.
“Who’s on duty today? And I need your ID and password.”
The guard answered those questions swiftly. With that done, the investigator knocked him out, too. He then cleared his throat a few times and put on a voice as he put on a cap with the logo of the security company. He copied the employee’s voice as he pressed the intercom.
“Hello, Chief Asano? It’s Matsuzaki. Sorry, I happened to forget the confirmation code for the elevator.”
‘…Fine. ID and password.’
“M331690, 394759.”
‘Isn’t your voice a lot higher than usual, Matsuzaki?’
“Oh yeah, how is your wife’s hernia coming along? She has surgery on the 8th, right? I bet Youta-kun must be worried all the same,” the investigator responded while looking at a notepad not visible on the camera feed.
‘Mind your own business. I finished the confirmation, so I’m having someone head your way.’
The elevator door opened and a young woman appeared. Seeing the situation, she raised a scream, but the four robbers just continued their nonchalant conversation.
“Ah, good. Seems like the injection syringes are working just fine.”
“Huh? But I just used them earlier.”
“I prepared them for the pose I’m gonna do with the young girl. Not for some bastards.”
“Were we talking about that?”
“I feel like we did a complete 360 from before.”
“Who’s gonna dance waltz with who?”
“Yeaaaah.”
“Hey! YeahYeah-kun ran ahead! Not fair!”
“He’s gonna go for the pose! I’m not gonna praise you for that!”
One of the robbers pulled the unconscious woman out of the elevator, and the other three joined them inside.
“Now then, let me tell you about the beauty of Bell Star.”
“You still haven’t given up on that?”
“Sure, but do it where nobody has to listen.”
“Yeaaaah.”
The Robber Rabbit watched them disappear while munching on snacks, feeling a bit worried but decided to see them off.
*
A few minutes later, the group of four people returned while indulging in idle talk once more. In the youth’s eyes, they sounded like they had returned from a long battle and found a shared fighting spirit. They were even tearing up.
“I had no idea there was such a backside to the beauty of Bell Star…”
“Ugh…Yeaaaah…”
“The only thing we can do…is follow his morals and keep his words in our hearts!”
“Yeaaaah, yeaaaah…”
“He agrees!”
“You can translate Yeah Language?”
“Just going with my intuition.”
“Rot in hell.”
The Robber Rabbit then received the suitcase from the lockpicker. Confirming the money inside, he listened to their conversation. They came back brainwashed with some weird beauty and aesthetic beliefs.
“And a top-class outlaw would fire off a firework of bullets before leaving the scene like a gust of wind. That is his beauty.”
The youth’s brow twitched. He just said “Don’t annoy me with pointless stuff,” but the four weren’t even listening anymore. He didn’t know what happened inside the bank, but it was clear that some annoying beauty made its rounds amongst them. He decided to look it up and found out about a gang of women during the reclamation of the West. their knowledge was already wrong and at rock bottom.
“Then let’s get this party started.”
“Yeaaaah, yeaaaah.”
“Right, right. We’re gonna do some crazy fireworks!”
“Seems like we’re all in agreement.”
“Sorry about this, Robber Rabbit, but it’s 4 versus 1.”
The four immediately pulled their shotguns and pulled the trigger. Although they heard faint rattling, no gunshots followed. They all froze up and looked at the youth in confusion.
“They were never loaded in the first place.”
Their expression distorted and twisted into fury and anger, as they began to insult him in their own languages. However, since they all screamed at the same time, nothing got through to the Robber Rabbit.
“I believed you’d be able to make this mission a success without having to rely on bullets,” he said with an innocent and beaming smile.
Even so, the four robbers threw more slang at him that continued another thirty whole minutes on their way.
*
Just to make sure they wouldn’t be able to be followed, they changed their vehicle on the way and then stopped at their hideout. It was a former 100-yen shop, but now offered plenty of space for them. The Rabbit then checked the money in the case, vacuum-packed 100-thousand bundles of cash, painted with ink to ensure they weren’t fake. He placed them on the ground and counted them. Together with the two hundred million they had in the case and the other money the lockpicker brought back, he now had four hundred million. A bit further away, the four robbers held a party. They had no interest in the Rabbit’s current money. They had already received their pay over Pikaro.
“Hee hee, I knew we’d be the perfect gang!”
“Oh, is he doing more exposition?”
“Is he okay? His face is as red as a tomato.”
“Yeaaaaah.”
“Well, y’know, I’m getting a full hundred million for the 400 million we got!”
At that moment, the other three’s faces froze up. The man with the red face must have been satisfied to see this because he continued.
“Well, can’t blame ya. You probably weren’t told that we’d all get even rewards, right? It’s fine. Amongst all our roles, mine is the most dangerous one!” the man bragged, expecting jealousy or anger from the others.
However, in response to this, the three just showed complicated expressions. One of the three slowly raised their hand. The other two followed.
“I’m also getting 100 million…”
“Same here.”
“Yeaaaah, yeah.”
The man who initially bragged about this now began to sweat profusely. So everybody will get 100 million…on this heist that made them 400 million?
“Relax, everyone. Let’s just do some simple maths! What’s 400 million divided by 4?”
“Yeaaaah!”
“Fucking damnit.”
The four were confused, looking over at the Robber Rabbit. He simply stuffed bundles of money into a brown bottle of glass, pouring high-percentage alcohol over it. He then took out a long match and lit it on fire, throwing the bottle to the ground. A long line of blue fire spread.
“Huh? Huh?! Huuuuh?!”
“H-Hold on, what?!”
“Calm down!”
“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”
“You calm down, too!”
“He’s actually pretty calm.”
“This bastard is so annoying!”
The four didn’t know what to say, as the Robber Rabbit nonchalantly turned around. Behind him, fragments from the bills rose into the air, burning in a strong orange.
“Sorry, but I don’t need this anymore.”
The Robber Rabbit then began explaining. Apparently, this was all to save a woman called Hinago Asami, which led to a stand-off against the human trafficking ring M&D. And to battle them with a chance of victory, a man called Shinohara came up with an idea.
“I mean, when we heard about the basic gist, we figured you’d need a budget to take them down, but…”
“I know I’m the one who paid you guys, but I’m surprised you were willing to steal this much cash for that vague of an explanation. But this isn’t why we needed to get manpower. Shinohara-san planned to burn all this money right here. And doing this right now is a success for us.”
“…I don’t get it. What would you get from burning the money?”
“See, we actually set up a Zeit Mina, and that is…”
As the youth explained his plan, the four slowly regained their composure. And when it concluded the plan, revealing Shinohara’s true intentions, they were back to smiling nonchalantly. However, they still were evidently bewildered, judging from their forced smiles.
“I get the gist, but…”
“Well, we got paid our reward, so I’m not complaining…”
“But that Shinohara guy who came up with this is supposed to be an average guy, right?”
“No way some ordinary joe could cook this up. That Shinohara is completely lost.”
“He’s not…sane…”
“Hold on, did you seriously just say something other than ‘Yeaaaah’?!”
“Guess he sucks at speaking Japanese.”
“Only…remembered…slang… Idiot… Moron… Fool… Shit… Fuck you…”
“But that last one is English.”
“The moment you stop going ‘Yeaaaah’ you start hurling around insults?”
“The final weapon…”
“Who is he fighting?”
“In Pulp Fiction, using the dubbing…I learned…Japanese…”
“Oh yeah. A sixth of that script is just ‘fuck you’ half the time, right?”
“Considering the movie and all. I feel like they’re firing that off every 20 seconds.”
“You measured it?”
“It’s just an educated guess, duh.”
“Fuck you.”
“Yeaaaaah.”
The four robbers got back into their groove, witnessed by the Robber Rabbit with a gaze of contempt, but he forced himself to smile.
—I feel like even Juri could hold a better conversation after having all that weird Japanese hammered into her head by Ichinose.
“Still, Zeit Mina, huh? That’s one hell of a name.”
“It sure sounds ominous.”
“Was a mine supposed to blow up after a certain amount of time?”
“Not at all.”
“Yeaaaah.”
“That one seems to mean ‘that’s right’.”
“Can’t he just say that then?”
“Yeaaaah, yeaaaaaah.”
“He’s agreeing.”
“How does that make any sense?”
“I’m just going based off my intuition.”
“Fuck you.”
“By the way, Zeit is German and Mina is Italian,” said the youth.
The four robbers immediately froze up and looked at each other. Their faces quivered in terror as they realized just who they had worked for all this time. And then, they all spoke up in unison.
““““That’s so lame!””””
3
February 12th, 2015—Third Day: Deep Night—Kyoto—M&D Kyoto branch building
Tsubame arrived at the front entrance of the M&D building. He tried to call Tobi several times, but there was no response at all. Neither did any of the employees who stormed the M&D confinement center.
“…I wonder what happened to them?”
He was an absolute junkie that couldn’t be helped, but Tobi was known to be even stronger than Yodaka, and he should be able to rival Suzuran, so he shouldn’t have gone down this easily. Tsubame crossed his arms and leaned against the concrete wall.
‘If you want to meet Kurosaki Masaya, you just have to wait at the front entrance,’ said Shinohara right before he got off the train.
Of course, Tsubame was unsure if he could trust these words.
—Who was it that killed Yodaka and Botan?
—There was blood left from someone other than the people who got killed. What if that was Kurosaki Masaya’s blood? What if they had a battle? If so, then I won’t be able to meet him. He won’t be able to move anytime soon considering those injuries…
“Will that trade with Shinohara really work out, I wonder?” Tsubame sighed, as he felt his shoulders quiver.
Footsteps approached him and he raised his head. Lights lit up in the darkness around the building. Eventually, a shadow wearing a hood appeared. The shadow then removed the hood, revealing their true face.
“Been a while. Are you spending a pleasant night?”
Tsubame’s mouth quivered.
—I knew it.
—Wonderful! You really are wonderful…Shinohara-sama!
Tsubame shook in joy, his whole body filled with excitement. He then sent off a message using his phone, stating that the trade with Shinohara was successful. He had previously informed that Shinohara would allow Tsubame to get his revenge. Tsubame then pulled guns from the holsters on both his sides.
“That it has, my lost sibling. Won’t you help me pray for Brother Karasu’s peace in heaven by offering your own life?”
The other person smiled.
“Oh dear me, you’re using someone else to gratify your own reason for killing?”
Kurosaki Masaya reached for his side bag and pulled out a knife.
*
Shinohara sat on a chair and woke up. The first thing he realized was that his hands were tied together behind his back.
“…Good morning, sunshine.”
He found himself inside a storage room that just reeked of dust. Looking around, he spotted executive Kawanami, the CEO Kaji, as well as four other men in black suits.
“So I assume Tsubame-san kept his promise?” asked Shinohara.
Kawanami showed a forced smile.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m the one who orchestrated Suzuki Kanade’s murder, Shinohara.”
“…I had a feeling,” Shinohara answered while leaning against the chair.
According to the information he had gathered beforehand, that’s what the facts were pointing at. That is also why he decided to join the branch office in Kyoto.
“So, Bug Buzz… Second administrator of Pikaro… Or, actually. I’ll just call you Shinohara. Because that’s who you really are…”
Kawanami looked down at Shinohara, pointing a needle at his neck. The tip of this needle easily stuck to Shinohara’s skin, revealing blood.
“I’ll give you the choice. Spit it out right now and get the easy way out, or suffer a horrible fate and die in pain.”
Shinohara showed a faint smile. That must have tainted Kawanami’s mood, as he rammed his fist into Shinohara’s face. From one of the broken teeth, a small BB-sized pink ball fell out of Shinohara’s mouth.
“The heck is that?”
“…A small bomb.”
“A bomb?”
“It has enough firepower to blow up the entire building.”
Kawanami let out a snort.
“You’re going to kill all of us? With that small toy? You can pack all the power in there, you can’t kill a single person with that.”
Kawnami thus began torturing Shinohara in order to get the password out of him. He stabbed needles between his nails and skin, moving them back and forth to gouge out the flesh beneath. Even though this must have brought horrible pain, Shinohara just looked at Kawanami with a deadpan expression. He showed no terror whatsoever, which filled Kawanami with rage, as he ramped up his torturing methods. He slapped the open wounds he had previously inflicted using a whip. All this hitting and torturing left Kawanami out of breath and started feeling something growing inside of him. There was something about Shinohara that filled him with fear. He tried to ignore this and grabbed Shinohara by the throat, lifting him up.
But no matter how much he strangled him, Shinohara remained calm. Kaji watched this from near the wall, clearing her throat. Kawanami seemed to feel embarrassed and let go of Shinohara again.
—Calm down. I can’t knock him out…
“So, Shinohara… What good does any of this do? Do you really think you’re going to strike us critically by spreading the magic password? Well, you guessed wrong. It’ll be troublesome if information about Pikaro gets leaked… However, we have influence. Much more than you might think. Tolerance amongst power, too. And the big players just love M&D, see. You can try to bear the torture as much as you’d like, it won’t bring you the kind of revenge you’re hoping for.”
Shinohara yet again maintained the same expression, so Kawanami changed his approach.
“Shinohara… Do you remember the moron who sold off our data two years ago? He left us this piece right here, and although I thought of getting rid of it, I changed my mind. Instead, you can have it as a present.”
Kawanami went down on one knee and took out a photo from his chest pocket, showing it to Shinohara. There was a photo of Suzuki Kanade’s body after she had been bought. It didn’t show all of her body, only from her chest and upward. However, it was enough to show her horrible treatment. The arms reaching out from her white dress showed blue spots with stabbing wounds, sometimes even burns. There were cigarette burns on her cheeks, and her left eye was completely purple and swollen.
Shinohara dropped his head, gritting his back teeth. Seeing this first change of expression, Kawanami showed a confident smirk. However, a few seconds later, that smile froze up. Even though it only worsened his injuries, Shinohara raised his mouth to form a fiendish grin. And in the next moment, he started laughing as the air inside his mouth exploded. The laughter came all the way from the pits of his stomach, only to suddenly get quiet. He then looked at Kawanami in contempt.
“…Have you gone mad?” said Kawanami with empty eyes.
“No, not at all. It’s just…I was looking at your wristwatch. Only three more minutes, huh?”
“Three minutes? What are you talking about?”
“Kawanami-san, did you know that there was a robbery at the Hisamoto Bank in Osaka?”
“…Yeah? What about it?”
“I wonder how the thieves are going to use those 400 million. They even have the series number.”
“…What does that have to do with you?”
“Nothing. But it might have something to do with you all. Because you will be branded the thieves of those 400 million.”
“…What did you say?”
“Let us talk about what’s going to happen from now on. Or rather, what the world will believe to be the truth: M&D attacked Hisamoto Bank and stole 400 million yen. They then interacted with the administrator of Pikaro, trying to set up a fake trade. You bought 400 million worth of the Pikaro currency, tanking the market. Instead, you receive particular accounts that give you special rights. M&D then uses those 400 million to buy a ten-year-old girl that they previously supplied. Of course, this money comes from the M&D account. The 400 million yen of stolen money then gets pushed onto the administrator of Pikaro.”
“…What are you talking about? We never did something like that…”
“Of course not. But it will look like you did. So for now, let me continue. The administrator of Pikaro is shocked to learn of that. The account he lent to M&D…was actually used for money-laundering purposes. Because the money is branded with the number of the bank, it can’t be used. For that reason, the administrator of Pikaro goes directly to the Kyoto branch office of M&D.”
“…What kind of fantasies are you having?”
“In just one more minute, the whole world will think that. And we have all the proof. Kurosaki Masaya should currently be on his way here to deliver Karasu’s smartphone he found in Hinago Asami’s flat. And we have proof that the 400 million has been brought here. The story is completed.”
“You fool. Where exactly are those 400 million then?” Kawanami’s voice was clearly agitated, but Shinohara ignored that.
“You’ve got people under your belt? Sure. You’re popular with the rich and influential? I’m sure. However, that only works as long as you people play the part of being the obedient pet. They would not look after you if you actually went so far as to rob a bank. And not to forget the magic password. It’ll turn into a massive outroar that not even all your resources will be able to silence.”
“…Your story is all over the place. Did your allies steal the 400 million? And to pull the rug from beneath our feet? But there’s no way anybody would believe that. Where is the link that chains us to that robbery?”
“Then let’s continue with the conclusion. The administrator from Pikaro and M&D did not know about the explosives brought right here into this facility. Do you happen to know, Kawanami-san? The banknotes, at least one out of 300, have special ink from Blooth and Bayatt on them. It’s still in testing, but it’s explosive ink. And if they don’t get charged in certain intervals, they explode. Worst of all, the GPS activates to reveal the group or people who stole the banknotes.”
In that moment, Kawanami finally understood just how dangerous Shinohara had become. The proof that they had stolen the 400 million was right in front of them. Shinohara showed a devious grin and finished his explanation.
“And apparently, they pack this ink in a small…pink package.”
Kawanami ran and reached for the pink ball in front of him. But right before it reached, the Zeit Mina—the replica of the ink bomb—activated and spread the ink everywhere because it ran out of energy. It colored the floor pink and sent GPS data—the fake location of the 400 million yen.
CClaw Translations 