novelSunekosuri / No One Can Predict the Future (2)
| ← Ch.28 | Ch.30 → |
Meanwhile, she stepped on the rental car's gas pedal and left the roadside station. She drove along the road zigzagging down the mountain and I spoke while making sure I didn't get carsick.
"Wh-where are we going?"
"Hakone contains a few different Intellectual Villages. The city grew as it repeatedly absorbed other cities, but it was later split apart again. To lose this unknown grim reaper, it would be best to head to another village."
Her answer was not enough to eliminate my anxiety.
It was possible I had worded my question poorly
"What are you planning to do?"
"Sunekosuri, what is the name of the person behind all this?"
"Udou Itsuki, a member of the Western Restaurant, right?"
"Are you sure?"
"Eh?" I said without thinking.
Mai-san grinned while turning the steering wheel.
"Well, it doesn't matter if you hadn't noticed. For now, the problem is how to approach Udou Itsuki. He belongs to one of the Restaurants that control both the ruling party and the opposing party. Simply put, even using the word Restaurant in this way is a dangerous thing. We need to prepare if we're going to attack someone like this."
"B-but everything went so smoothly just now."
"That's just because Goudo Akira was incompetent. I doubt our next opponent will be so easy and I doubt the fortuneteller strategy will work either."
"Then what are you going to do?"
"Udou Itsuki is powerful. His influence is thinly spread across the entire country, but at the same time, the Western Side only represents Japan. He can't control frameworks larger than that."
"W-wait... This has nothing to do with the G20 summit meeting, does it?'
"I see you've caught on." She grinned."Let's abduct someone even more powerful and threaten Udou. I know. How about an Under-Secretary-General of the UN?"
Part 13
Tremble tremble!!
Tremble tremble tremble!!
"Sunekosuri, you don't have to be so scared. If you keep shaking like that, I'll use you as a massager. Do you want me to press you against all my naughty bits?"
"H-how am I supposed to stay calm!? A-a-a UN Under- what was it?"
"Under-Secretary-General. That's two below the Secretary-General. But the five permanent member nations have the special privilege to choose the USGs. In the end, it's a peaceful organization created by the victors of war."
The curtain of night had already fallen over the entire area, so everything was dark. The rental car was lit by the light on the ceiling and Mai-san used a handheld device with shady modifications to search something online.
Surprisingly, simply searching news sites and the like was enough to find what national leaders and cabinet members were in Japan for the summit. They must have thought no one would misuse that information to cause some kind of incident.
Mai-san snapped her fingers.
"Good, good. There's someone nearby we can use. Thomas Albert Jr. He's American and an Under-Secretary-General. Let's go for him☆"
"We can't!! If we attack some VIP from the UN, they'll send swat teams or Delta Force or some other group of muscular men in black masks to shoot us!!"
"They won't do that, so don't worry. And not even I'm going to try any point-blank range kung fu magic while wielding two handguns. It would be exhausting and just a general pain in the ass."
"Eh? B-but you said you have business with a strictly-guarded UN Under-Secretary-General."
"There's a loophole. And in this business, it's only polite to take notes of the characteristics and weakness of world leaders even if you don't need anything with them. Even cutting out tabloid articles to take with you makes a difference. I doubt anything in there is true, but you can still find the truth from that twisted information."
"But this is a VIP of the UN. What kind of opening could there be?"
"It's an issue of different systems. Something might be legal in one country but illegal in another. That's where we'll make our strike."
Part 14 (3rd person)
Either a first-string football player or a hitman.
That was usually people's first impression upon seeing Michael Lucas.
He was a muscular black man measuring over two meters tall. His arms were a surprising 49 centimeters around. When wearing sunglasses, he looked frightening enough that even back-alley gang members would move out of his way, but he did not actually want any of that in the slightest.
Athletics were not his strongpoint.
He did not like horror movies or tests of courage.
He was utterly bewildered as to why he had lasted so long in the bodyguard business, but every time he asked, the VIPs would laugh and say it was because of what a good person he was. For that reason, he had yet to solve the mystery.
"Honestly. What a pain."
His glove-like palm held a small handwritten note and he nervously checked it again and again.
Simply put, it was a prescription.
UN Under-Secretary-General Thomas Albert Jr. , the one Michael had been hired to guard, had handed this secret note to this man he knew he could trust.
There was a tacit understanding that there could be no worries about the physical or mental state of anyone involved in politics or the administration, but this was a bit different than that.
This was about the differences between nations.
It was easier to get prescriptions drugs in America than in Japan. Doctors would prescribe painkillers and sleeping pills for people to take every day like they were Vitamin B, Vitamin C, or other supplements. They officially had migraines, insomnia, or some other ailment, but it had actually become a habit. They were taking them because they did not feel right without them, not because there was anything wrong with their bodies.
And some drugs that could be prescribed in great quantities with a single signature from one's attending physician in America were unobtainable in Japan because they were considered too potent. And just for reference, the lethal dose of drugs was based on the subject's body weight. When the size of the average Japanese person was compared to the average Westerner, that deviation in standards was not too surprising.
There was no point in arguing who was right. It was simply a difference between nations.
"But what am I supposed to do? Is this really right? I hope this will turn out okay.... They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do, so I don't think we should be making waves if we can avoid it."
Michael Lucas was muttering to himself because he could not contain it inside. He was generally a timid person. It was so bad that he had been momentarily tempted to go confess it all when he had seen a church within the city of Hakone. However, he had just barely restrained himself. An important G20 summit meeting was underway, so not letting the Under-Secretary-General focus could spread unnecessary chaos through the United States and even the entire world. Or so he told himself.
It was already night, so the hospital's outpatient reception desk and the pharmacy built adjacent to the hospital were both closed. Also, he was unlikely to find the painkiller on the note at those places.
Michael instead made his way to a large drugstore that stayed open late into the night.
However, the product in question was not stocked on its shelves. He walked straight up to the register of that store filled with bright fluorescent lights and he hesitantly spoke to the bored-looking clerk.
"Excuse me."
"Ee!? M-may I help you?"
"Don't worry. You can speak Japanese."
It really did depress Michael a little how scared the clerk was, but he did not let it show. This was always how it had been. Before entering junior high, he had already reached 180 centimeters. Not only had the neighborhood kids looked at him in fear, but their parents had as well.
The young clerk made his way into the back of the store and returned with a cardboard box big enough to hold a soccer ball. The side of the box had the logo of an online store familiar even in Michael's home country.
Once the ban on selling drugs online had been lifted, the stores had quickly branched out into a number of services. This was one of those. Instead of having the package sent to one's home, it could be picked up at a local store. When ordering athlete's foot medication, hair growth medicine, erectile dysfunction medication, emergency contraceptives, and other products one might want a secret, this service left as few ties to the receiver as possible. Not even family members would know.
When ordering from a foreign company, the hurdles to reaching their products could become unclear.
"Um, this should be it. The product name is 'pills'. Yeah, as usual, that's a pretty broad category."
"This is what you call an embarrassing errand. You should have picked up on that when I offered to pay with cash instead of a card."
"O-oh, um! I was not trying to pry. That will be five thousand yen. That includes the tax. Um, hm... How do you say that in English?"
"I understood you."
Michael handed over the money, took the box, and felt a pleasantly cool sensation on his glove-like palms. The box must have been stored in a refrigerator.
The large store's exit seemed quite far away, but it did not actually take more than twenty seconds to reach it. After exiting the automatic glass door and stepping onto the parking lot, he finally let out a sigh.
"Should this really be so easy? Even cold and headache medicines are made by gathering just the drug components using a handmade centrifuge."
"You're right. But thanks to this, I managed to capture you."
He did not catch even a glimpse of the speaker.
An instant later, his vision blurred, he fell to the side, and at the very, very end, dull pain spread through his head.
Part 15
Mai-san took a small cardboard box and a cell phone from the large black man collapsed in the drugstore parking lot.
Tremble tremble.
I did not particularly like the asphalt parking lot, but the pressure in my stomach made me forget all about that uncomfortableness.
"H-how... How did you pull that off so well?"
"Is it really that strange? It's already night, so the hospital, pharmacies, and PO boxes are all closed. They can't exactly have a bike courier carry it directly to the inn because of all the media presence. That leaves an online purchase shipped to a drugstore as the most likely option. They can arrive as soon as three hours after you make the click."
"B-but this is a national chain. There are tons of the exact same chain in the city portion of Hakone."
"Even with convenience stores on the same street, some will thrive and some will go under. With the summit meeting underway, a look at the security report will tell you where people gather. And they're sure to have their package sent to the store that stands out the least and that is farthest away from the crowds."
I glanced around the asphalt and my gaze stopped on the muscular bodyguard.
I want to believe I'm wrong, but...
"Why do you look so worried, Sunekosuri-chan?"
"Eh? W-well..."
"Don't worry. Even I won't kill people who I don't have to. The biggest problem isn't the people with flashy combat skills or great influence. It's the honest citizen of a small town that everyone loves. Kill them without thinking and the people afflicted by the 'kind noise' will never leave you alone. I'd rather not deal with that."
I followed Mai-san toward the rental car and she used the swiped cellphone to call someone.
"Hello, hello. Good evening. Yeah, a direct line is a wonderful thing. Oh, you'd be better off not tracing or recording the call. That would only be wrapping the noose around your own neck."
"..."
"The bodyguard you sent out on a secret mission has failed. I have the package, so what will you do? I plan to deliver these painkillers you gulp down like mint tablets, so make sure your back door is unlocked."
"..."
"If you'd rather I didn't, that's fine too. I'll just take out the next person you send out. But how are you going to survive that migraine? You might be suffering all night long."
With that said, Mai-san ended the call and dropped the phone to her feet. After crushing it underfoot, she winked at me.
"The negotiations are complete. Let's go for a direct delivery☆"
Part 16
"What? How can you call this cloudy!? Look, the bright full moon is right-... No, wait a second. Don't tell me... !!"
"The Pon Poko Pon floats in the night sky."
"Y-you're kidding. That... that guy isn't the full moon!! That's... !?"
"A wonderful stomach that can be mistaken for a perfectly round moon.... I cut down evil to protect good! I am Samurai Pon Poko!!"
Mai-san and I made our way to Ennetsu Village, one of the several Intellectual Villages newly created from a piece of Hakone. The American UN Under-Secretary-General Thomas Albert Jr. was staying in the high-class inn there.
Thomas-san was a well-built old white man. He must have just taken a bath because he wore a yukata supplied by the inn and was watching a period drama on TV with a sake bottle in one hand. He might have been a Japanophile, so I hoped this crazy incident did not change his impression of the country too much.
Mai-san held the small cardboard box and her eyes opened wide when she glanced at the TV.
"Huh? They're showing Samurai Pon Poko here too? Personally, I prefer Kokkuri-san Conquers!! That's the one about the adventures of a fox, dog, and tanuki traveling around the country and reforming the world! The tanuki was especially nice."
"Mh. What's so great about a tanuki? Those fat Youkai just sit around drinking all the time."
"Heh he heh. Sunekosuri, are you jealous?"
"Jealous? Of what?"
"Chomp☆"
Bfohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?
She suddenly picked me up and then went straight for the face! Not the nose and not the jaw. She bit my entire protruding face!
"G-geh!! Cough cough!! Wh-what are you doing!?"
"You were just so cute I couldn't help but give you a stimulating kiss."
"I thought you were going to bite my entire face off! Like in a tomato ad!!"
I heard someone clear their throat and Thomas-san interrupted our conversation as if slipping a thin blade between us.
"Why are you here?"
"Here, we have a present for spoiled littler Junior.... But are you sure? These are a lot stronger than some illegal herbs."
"This is an issue of the system. These are treated like cough drops in my country."
"So what control system do you use?"
"What?"
"Which Western system for drawing out the power of the inhuman do you use? Rusalka? Nixie? I'm not a specialist in this, but I detect a feminine scent of death. But if you can't keep the spirit's fatalness from leaking out, you're not going to successfully harness their inhuman power. In fact, you'll end up losing your own life."
"Leannán Sídhe."
"Out of all the options, you had to choose the one that defaults to taking your life force in exchange for her ability. I can see why you need such harsh painkillers."
"But this is necessary. Three years ago, we sent a large number of container plant factories to central Africa as humanitarian aid. The large boxes were decorated with ribbons and had a message card attached. When combined with solar power, those plant factories could be harvested more than twenty times a year, so they should have resolved the rampant food shortages there. However, they are showing no sign of recovery due to an unexpected turn of events."
"A local criminal group took over and turned them into narcotics factories?"
"Fully-enclosed plant factories can be hidden inside or underground, so not even satellite photographs are any use. If they are not found immediately, the entire area's development could be set back thirty years. I need to locate them even if it means taking inspiration that exceeds the human realm. So..."
In a country where prescriptions for large amounts of drugs were normal, even severe symptoms could be hidden. In that case, the price of protecting something had likely left his body in a terrible state.
"What did you gain from going that far?"
"My dream, I suppose. I did reach that dream, but I had lost everything else by the time I did."
Mai-san gave a bored sigh, brushed a hand through her bangs, and spat out an annoyed word.
"Caladrius."
"What?"
"That is the name of a German medical society. They are researching the use of a fairy by the same name that looks like a small bird. It heals the patient by absorbing the illness filling their body, which makes it the natural enemy of a certain gloomy bastard I know. Use your connections to their fullest to look into it. If you're lucky, you might be able to turn your life around."
The old man in a yukata fell silent for a while.
But finally...
"Fine then. I will forgive your impoliteness to make us even. I saw nothing tonight."
"Why thank you."
"But your goal wasn't to interfere in an old man's business, was it? Why are you even here?"
Mai-san gave a quick shrug.
"Sorry, but I have no interest in you yourself. But that also means I won't harm you. I didn't kill the macho bodyguard you sent out on an errand either. I hope you can accept that on good faith."
"Then..."
"Shh. You'll know soon enough. Although you might be better off not knowing."
Just as she pressed her index finger against her lips, the room's phone emitted a simple ring. Thomas-san reached for the receiver out of habit, but she snatched it before he could.
"Hi there. Are you starting to sweat yet? Has it been over a decade since you've felt this way?"
"Who would go that far? This is a UN representative and someone supported by the United States. Do you have any idea how much a single scratch on him could harm our national interests? This could even affect our national security."
"And that's why you called directly instead of using an agent or negotiator. Isn't that right, Udou Itsuki of the Western Restaurant that runs Japan? I'm thankful you were willing to spare some time for a single freelance agent who lurks in the back alleys."
"Let us get to the issue at hand."
"I want to know the whole picture. To be blunt, I hadn't touched on anything related to the criminal plan using an Aburatori Package, so why did you try to take my life by making that false news report a reality?"
"Why do I have to answer you?"
"Are you sure you should be saying that? You assembled that in the separate-style, didn't you?"
"Well..."
"Have you forgotten? The separate-style alters the breakup of a single Youkai's symbolism to run multiple Packages at the same time. It's a convenient system that lets you concentrate your efforts and immediately cut off the supply of power if someone betrays you, but it also means every Package is linked back to that single core."
"..."
"I've already come into contact with a few paranormal incidents related to your Aburatori, so I have the opening needed to reach that core. I don't know what you're trying to do, but if you keep this up, I'll go destroy the core."
Straining my ears was enough to just barely hear a sigh come from the phone.
"What do you know about the Aburatori?"
"It is a deadly variety that specializes in killing children, " replied Mai-san."It's a new one that appeared in the mountain villages of Tohoku during the Meiji period. It sneaks in dressed as a farmer, secretly abducts the village's children, takes out their organs, and cooks them to take the oil. It's an easy one to use for offensive Packages, but it must be hard to control."
"Pathetic. Did you study using children's picture books?"
This may have been Udou Itsuki's true character.
Or perhaps he put on an act of extreme mental superiority to eliminate his anxiety.
"The greatest trait of the Aburatori is its relative lack of a historical background, " said the voice on the phone."Youkai can be called paranormal phenomena with wills of their own that have been sharply honed after a natural selection process lasting hundreds or even thousands of years. Some of them are even referred to as gods that fell into ruin after no one worshiped them. But..."
"The Aburatori is a newcomer that suddenly appeared during the Meiji period. In only just over a century, it has transformed into a major Youkai standing alongside the all-stars. Almost as if it took the stairs three at a time. Is that what you focused on?"
"Our hope was to speed up the process at which legends mature, " bluntly explained Udou Itsuki."How much can the modern Japanese tell you about the gods? Can they name even ten gods from Japanese mythology off the top of their heads? And I mean without checking the internet and acting like they knew it."
"Can't we let the history textbooks take care of that?"
"Religion is untouchable. That is the unwritten rule of this nation. And yet they still pray when they're having trouble and feel a certain spirituality in all things.... It's all too vague. They call themselves atheists, yet they have a general fear of areas said to have spiritual or mystical power. And at the same time, they do not follow any strict doctrines or traditions. Their belief is fragile. That is why the threat of criminal Packages is so rampant. This country is far too powerless when it comes to the supernatural. Packages may be the only threat at the moment, but in the not-too-distant future a much larger calamity will swallow up the country because of this."
That was why he wanted "something" to renew the country's view of religion.
That was why he had focused on the Aburatori that had quickly reached the level of the more historical Youkai.
That was why he had tried to use such a deadly being that brought nothing but fear and death.
"Ha ha!!"
And yet Mai-san gave a laugh as if mocking a just cause.
"You wanted a religious boost for the imprudent younger generation? Don't make me laugh. What you're doing is no different from using the name of a famous noble to have an easier time catching people in a scam. What exactly are you trying to artificially increase and spread throughout the country? It's probably some nasty ideology that would never spread under normal circumstances. Something that would create an era of insanity but send a massive fortune your way."
"Say whatever you want. We..."
"Also, you aren't really thinking about Japan in all this, are you?"
It seemed like all sound had vanished from the world.
That was just how much Mai-san's words had torn into the situation.
"It is true Japan is a crazy enough country for videos of ghosts and spiritual entertainers to have real influence, but that doesn't mean everyone in the country has a complex about the occult. Even if they don't know much about Shinto or Buddhism, they're still proud just knowing those things have a history of more than a millennium. This country doesn't need the kind of system you're talking about. No matter how much effort you put into making this 'new product', no one is going to give it a second glance."
"..."
"In that case, are you perhaps focused on exporting the paranormal? Did someone from the G20 come to make business negotiations with you here in Hakone? Some of them are probably very interested in that kind of thing."
She glanced toward the corner of the room where the UN Under-Secretary-General sat in a legless chair.
"For example, America. Their country was founded a mere three hundred years ago. They may be a religious nation that uses the Bible during trials and the president's oath of office, but they also top the world when it comes to handgun suicides. They wouldn't want that transforming into random shootings or group suicides. What is it that is shaking their citizens' hearts? How can they stop it? If they only had a system to forcibly mature a solid historical background to tell them everything would be fine, they could stop that shaking of their hearts. It seems to me that would establish the needed supply and demand to export there."
"Ending the chaos in America is important for our own country as well. No matter what excuses people make, it is a fact that we are relying on them. It is a problem when your partner trips in a three-legged race, isn't it? So to help them..."
"How many people have died for this? There must have been quite a few failed test runs before you successfully won over what is an especially horrid Youkai even among the deadly ones. And where were those lost lives born?"
"You have no right to say that after laying a hand on your own brethren with a smile on your face!! We are doing everything we can to solve these problems while focusing five to ten years down the line. We are focusing on the future! We are nothing like a Hishigami that kills people without reason for her present convenience!! Do you think we sacrificed our own nation's citizens because we wanted to!?"
"I hope your fellow Japanese citizens will accept your excuse. What will it be? We were afraid our allied nation in the three-legged race would betray us, so we exported a Package with a backdoor to create an environment where we have a way of manipulating the public opinion of the American people?"
"Wh-... You!?"
"Ha ha ha. You want to know why I suddenly brought up a backdoor? Because I know you would do that. This isn't about evidence to submit for a police investigation or trial. We both live in a world where no proof is needed. But are you sure that's a good idea? If this is found out, both Japan and America will string you up like a bat in a picture book. You'll probably be kicked out of the Western Restaurant too."
"This is why I wanted nothing to do with a wild beast like you."
That comment sounded like a groan and like a curse.
The low voice seemed to ooze out of the phone and into the room.
"No matter how much the information is restricted or cut off, you fill in the gaps with incomprehensible logic that only makes sense to you. You say what you would have done, but that's enough to find the right answer and you attack at that weak point! Media control and destruction of evidence is powerless against a madwoman's inspiration!!"
"Why thank you. My job doesn't give me enough time to slowly search through a massive amount of information. In the end, it's the 'nose of the beast' that finds the answer. And if you can't believe that, you probably won't last long."
Mai-san's expression remained unchanged.
She maintained a relaxed smile from beginning to end.
"More importantly, you have this backwards. You were the one that attacked first with that emergency news report. You can try to hit me as much as you want, but don't be so selfish as to beg me not to hit back."
"What are you talking about? We know that you were investigating us!"
"..."
"And either way, you would have picked up on the project somewhere once it began to advance. As I said, we were looking to the future. It could not hurt to take you out early. Even if the news method failed, we will definitely kill-..."
"Sigh."
It was as if a switch had suddenly been thrown.
Mai-san gave an icy sigh. It contained the same overwhelming disappointment as a long-married couple rejecting all their nostalgic memories and resolving themselves to break up.
"That's enough. I understand most of it now. I had my suspicions, but that settled it. Sorry about interrupting your excitement, but I have no more business with you."
"What!?"
"I mean, you're supposed to be Udou Itsuki, right? You belong to the Master of the Restaurant that controls Japan from Akasaka in the east and Gion in the west.... If that was really who you were, you would not be so sloppy. You may be under the impression you are speaking logically, but you are clearly speaking from emotion. And that got the better of you."
She sounded listless.
Her voice contained no hint of respect or caution.
"And you have completely mistaken where the problem lies. The biggest threat is not Hishigami Mai, the lone wolf. It's the UN Under-Secretary-General listening in from the side, right? He's an American citizen, so he's the last person you want learning you're exporting a Package with a backdoor installed. If you had any sense, your first priority would be figuring out how to naturally eliminate a well-known individual. Of course, pulling off a natural assassination swiftly and quietly at this point would be impossible for almost anyone but a Hishigami woman."
For a while, no response came from the phone.
However, I could hear an odd sound that was not quite moaning and not quite muttering to oneself.
Mai-san continued while sounding truly fed up with all of this.
"That's enough to leave your mind blank?... That's it. I get it, so just transfer me to your boss. Talking with a little boy like you isn't going to get me anywhere."
"Th-there is no one higher than me! Ha ha. You seem to have misread that at least. Your cleverness seems to have crossed a line and turned into a victim complex!! In other words... !!"
"And Udou Itsuki may have a lot of 'power', but that's in reference to the political power balance. Direct confrontations using the occult are outside his field of expertise. The brain of the operation must be somewhere near you.... When did you realize they were simply flattering you? They lured you past the point of no return and then used you as a puppet, didn't they? 'They' being the true leader and brains of the operation who respectfully bows down to you."
"Wh-what?"
"Wait. Did you seriously not catch on? Wow. I did not expect that level of incompetence. But in that case... Hmm. You would have to know that at least, right? But then, if you really are that incompetent... it's possible."
"What!? What are you hiding!?"
"Well, " said Mai-san with a thin smile."Are you aware you're only Udou Itsuki's body double?"
"What?"
This time, the phone truly did grow silent as if it had been swallowed up by a void.
After several seconds, something finally happened.
However, it was not Udou Itsuki speaking.
It was a loud gunshot and the sound of something heavy collapsing to the ground.
"This is hopeless."
After a pause, I heard a young female voice that was clearly different from the previous man.
Who is this?
"Completely hopeless. I thought an idiot would be easier to control, but they end up tripping you up when they're that stupid. In a way, this was a good lesson."
"Oh, so are you the brains? But why did you work with the body double? You could have dealt with the real Udou Itsuki."
"Are you an idiot too? What's wrong with this country? The real one is too strictly guarded to get anywhere close. But the body double is given a portion of the Restaurant's authority so no one can tell they aren't the real one and that portion was enough for me."
"You mean for assembling the Aburatori Packages?"
"You really are an idiot. Or am I just too brilliant? The Aburatori was nothing more than bait to lure in the body double."
"Yeah, despite claiming to look to the future, everything he said was way off the mark. Almost like someone was guiding him."
"I always thought the biggest villain of Snow White was the mirror of truth. Much like an Ungaikyou, " said the annoyed voice."By the way, my target is you, Hishigami Mai."
"I don't recall doing anything to leave a grudge."
"I'm not going to kill anyone for something like that. Are you stupid?"
"Then why?"
"Because this is a small industry. I can tell that we would collide somewhere around the project after the project after my next if I do not take care of you now. And so I will kill you for the sake of the future. Clever, isn't it?"
She was not killing Mai-san because she had gotten in her way.
She was killing her because she would probably get in her way eventually.
And to do so, she was willing to deceive anyone and drag anyone into this. Succeeding would make her a murderer and failing would make her a murder victim. She had flung herself into that hopeless abyss for what might be an imagined dream.
"Oh, so pretty much what I usually do, " replied Mai-san.
"Please do not compare me to an idiot like you. You only just thought that up, didn't you?"
They sounded like they were simply chatting.
To Mai-san, that may have been fairly accurate. But this person was intent on killing Mai-san for her own safety, so how did she see the ferocious Hishigami Mai who would press onwards and break through any and all barriers?
The two agents continued on while paying me no heed.
"But my plan will continue even if this idiot of a body double is dead. Don't think you will survive to see the dawn."
I heard a strange sound resembling a laugh.
It came from Mai-san's throat.
"No, no. That isn't enough."
"What? Don't tell me you're so stupid you think you'll awaken to some special power if you're cornered. Approaching the truth of the situation isn't going to change anything. You are always being chased within this industry and I will slip through those gaps to kill you. Learning the truth only resolves the problem in cheap mysteries. That won't work in reality."
"Hah hah. I think I'll throw those words right back at you☆"
Mai-san immediately replied in an obviously mocking tone.
One of her most frightening traits was her tendency to grow disrespectful instead of shouting angrily.
"In this world, whatever happens happens. You don't say that things happen no matter what. You say that whatever happens happens. Do you get the difference? One of them includes a human will trying to change it and the other does not."
Her voice was icily cold and yet she continued to give a smile of true enjoyment.
"You seem to be trying to hammer down the tallest nail as a logical way of ensuring your victory, but in my experience, logic backs off if you truly, truly force your desired result through. That's why your emergency news didn't reach me despite supposedly being a surefire method. You could also call that the essence of the Hishigami women. And afterwards, the people around us clean everything up. The people who realize the disaster would reach them as well if they did not contain it will automatically head in and clean up after us."
"I see. And are you saying their numbers and influence is greater than that of the people I have set in motion? Are you viewing this as an election that counts the negative votes of fear and violence?"
"You don't stand a chance if you think this will turn into anything like a proper election. My method is to smash the ballot box and stuff in billions of forged votes to turn everything my way."
She seemed to be utterly, utterly enjoying herself.
Her expression was filled with the hostility of a beast tormenting its captured prey.
But at the same time, the person on the phone may have had the exact same expression.
"You didn't make it that far, " said Mai-san."You stayed inside the framework and gathered logical violence that can be understood in a normal sense. That's too bad. Things are a lot easier if you break free of that framework and it isn't often I see someone crawl their way up this high in our industry. It really boggles the mind why people become slaves to the rules here despite having fallen into these back alleys of the world because they couldn't stand following the rules."
"I tried to hear you out, but that's nothing but the logic of a fool. Are you perhaps the kind of person who thinks wars can be won by trying harder? If so, that's pretty sad. Real fights to the death are decided by numbers. If you could raise an individual's value so easily, any of the six or seven billion people on the earth could become a historical emperor. And the human race would have been wiped out a long time ago."
When both sides spoke with no intention of gaining mutual understanding, could it really be called a conversation?
They both produced an avalanche of words to crush the other and they were both just about equal. It felt like proof that they were standing on the same field.
And yet I was unsure how many people or even Youkai could stand up to this monster without being "swallowed up".
"While we're at it, how about giving me your name?" asked Mai-san."That would make this more exciting."
"Are you stupid? I'm going to lie in wait and kill you instead."
The call ended there.
It ended as easily as a phone call between friends who called each other all the time.
Mai-san shrugged and tossed the receiver onto the landline's hook.
"Let's go, Sunekosuri. From here on, it's a race against time."
"Eh? Eh? Do you mean you're going to fight that agent one-on-one?"
My honest question brought a troubled look to her face.
It seemed to say "Oh, I found an actual idiot."
"No. That is definitely not going to happen."
Part 17
After leaving the fancy inn and returning to the rental car, Mai-san said the following.
"The enemy never gave her name and she sealed the lips of the one connection we had: Udou Itsuki... or his body double, I guess. It's easy to focus on how she kept talking about going on the attack, but she was definitely making sure to get rid of any information we could use to track her down. If we don't settle this before she can escape, we'll always be in danger of attack."
"Th-then why was she acting so belligerent?"
"So she could escape to safety while I went on the defensive. The most obvious example was 'Don't think you will survive to see the dawn. ' Someone who was actually afraid would probably hole up in a building, seal up the windows and doors, and wait until dawn. Meanwhile, she would have vanished and could wait until a month or year down the line to kill them. But I'm not going along with that."
The way these people always had a secret plan or two behind what they said made my head spin.
I felt exhausted, but my only choice was to ask a question.
"What are you going to do now?"
"To successfully vanish, she'll be rushing around to destroy any hint that could lead back to her. In that case, we can run into her by getting to one of those hints ahead of her. That's where we can kill her."
This was a race against time. To arrive ahead of her, we would need to get moving faster than her. It would be too late by the time she had destroyed all of the evidence.
And once again, these people worked on the assumption that they would kill their opponent. I just couldn't keep up.
"Anyway, the biggest and most obvious hint would be the Aburatori. If she directly assembled the Package, the idiosyncrasies and traits of the assembly could give away her personal information. As she said, this is a small industry. She'd definitely want to destroy that if she's planning to vanish here."
"I can't quite picture the situation."
"She put together a separate-style Package. That means removing the central Youkai will destroy all of the Packages it was used for. So if you wanted to completely destroy everything as quickly as possible, what would you do?"
"You mean use some kind of ridiculous technique to kill a deadly Youkai that can't be killed even if you stab or shoot it?"
"Anyone in this business should be able to kill a Youkai."
You make that sound so easy.
Just so you know, I'm a canine Youkai myself! Tremble tremble!!
"In that case, the issue is where the Aburatori is located. She was probably tricking the body double to keep this whole thing secret and she can't leave such a dangerous Youkai out in the open. It's probably locked up somewhere or kept in a state similar to hibernation."
"Are you saying there's a secret base or something hidden in Hakone?"
"That would actually stand out too much." Mai-san sliced my idea in two."When smuggling drugs, you can slip them into the bag of an unsuspecting tourist. Even if the drugs are discovered, you can still escape. That's how a professional treats anything truly dangerous. I'd say the Aburatori was secretly thrown in the attic or basement of some normal person who has no connection to the occult."
"B-but if she's going to swiftly destroy that evidence..."
"Look at this."
Mai-san turned her handheld device toward me.
It displayed an article from an online news site.
"Mysterious fires in the new urban region of Hakone. Three homes completely destroyed. Gasoline residue was discovered on the exterior walls, so the police are investigating it as arson."
"Very unnatural. These timely fires are almost asking me to investigate them. And while I'm digging through empty rubble, she'll be leisurely finishing off the Aburatori."
"That's why she did this? Y-you have to be joking!! The people who lived there lost their homes and some might have died!!"
"We can discuss morality later. To look at this another way, she thinks I'll outdo her if she doesn't go this far. That means our target must be somewhere pretty obvious. Somewhere that would stand from just a glance at the map."
As she spoke, Mai-san opened her device's map service. She also called up the locations of the fires in the residential district of Hakone's city area.
It looked like that area dealt more in selling ready-made homes than renting out apartments.
"Sunekosuri, what stands out most to you?"
"E-eh? W-well, the entire place is laid out neatly like a chocolate bar, but I guess somewhere with an unnatural amount of land would stand out most. For example..."
"Oh, but no choosing the parks. If the place has no clear owner, you can't accuse the owner if something goes wrong. In other words, it has to be a privately owned building."
"Th-then here maybe?"
I casually pointed my front paw at a building.
"Um, Green Leaves Home? A nursing and welfare facility? Eh?"
"In other words, an old folks home. It was built half a year ago, so it's almost brand new. I don't know when the Aburatori decoy project started, but someone could have dug a space under the floor during construction and created a secret space not even the owner knows about. In other words, she could have done whatever she wanted."
"So the person behind all this will be going there? To destroy the evidence by killing the Aburatori? B-but then..."
"Right." Mai-san cheerfully nodded."Let's stake the place out to see what she does. Once we know what methods she uses, killing her will be easy."
For an instant, my brain refused to understand what she meant.
Eh?
You mean... um... what you're saying is... To sum it up... !!
"W-w-w-w-wait! I don't know who this enemy is, but she's coming to this facility if we don't do anything, right!?"
"That's right."
"She dumped gasoline on and burned down innocent people's houses just to throw us off her trail! Can she really kill this hidden Aburatori with a single attack? Because... because if she gets into a large-scale battle with it, what will happen to the old men and women staying there!?"
"It doesn't matter if they get caught up in this. Our enemy doesn't have time either, so she isn't going to considerately sneak in or anything. She'll probably pretend to be a home invader and go around killing people. If she steals some random bankbooks and seals, the police will be fooled. And if she later withdraws some money and exchanges it overseas, they'll think it was the work of a foreign group."
That's not the point.
That's not what I'm talking about!
You don't get it at all!!
"If you know that, how can you suggest we just watch!?"
"It's not like I'm killing them myself."
"Those old men and women are completely innocent!! Are you just going to sit idly by while they're killed!?"
"If I don't, I won't know what the enemy can do."
I distinctly felt my mind shake.
Why couldn't she understand something that anyone should know without being told?
And why was someone like that in a position where she held in her hands the lives of everyone in that facility?
"Um, Sunekosuri. It goes without saying, but I didn't enter this world because I wanted to be some righteous hero. Did you really think I wouldn't get civilians involved? What about that UN Under-Secretary-General? Was he a villain?"
"..."
"You can think what you want, but I don't follow those rules. I take the actions necessary for a certain victory and sometimes that process will just so happen to save civilian lives. However, that doesn't have enough value to leave the path of certain victory."
Ahh...
Most likely, she was overwhelmingly right. In this small industry at least. Idealism meant nothing here. You would never win, you would never survive, and you would never stop having everything taken from you. I had known that. Even my wife had suddenly vanished one day and I hadn't found her no matter where I looked. I didn't think something so unreasonable could be explained away while sticking to idealistic ideas. That was why I had entered a dangerous organization like Hyakki Yakou in the first place. I had been taught all this by the very thing that had brought me here.
But...
Even so...
"To hell with that, you damn roach. Do you have any idea what you're saying?"
A painful silence fell over the rental car.
I had said something decisive.
I understood that and because I understood it, I opened my mouth again.
"Do you think you'll end up on the top of the world if you act like some kind of superhuman and look down on everyone like that? You're taking the world too lightly. Your position doesn't rise just because you look down on someone else. You haven't gained anything."
"Sunekosuri."
"Are you afraid of putting in any actual work? Are you afraid of having a clear loss thrust in your face if you take on an actual challenge like protecting those old men and women but fail? Is that why you don't even try and minimize your losses!? If so, you're just laughable. You aren't protecting anything. Not one thing!! You let the numbers mislead you while you abandon what matters most!!"
"Sunekosuri."
I didn't know if it was the reflection of the moonlight entering through the dark car's window or if it was something else, but definite light filled her two eyes as she silently looked at me.
"You can pick a fight with me here if you want, but Hakone is a battlefield now. The rule about Youkai not dying doesn't apply here.... Are you sure you understand that? You aren't thinking some mysterious power is going to neatly settle everything in the end, are you?"
"..."
"You may feel like god is on your side right now and you might mistakenly think a righteous power will reside within you because you made the right decision, but that's nothing but kind noise. If you continue on like this, you'll find yourself surrounded by enemies. You'll turn around, but you won't find anyone there and no one will give you any help. The source of your power is a hollow delusion. Do you understand that?"
"I do."
I was a Sunekosuri.
I had no cruel power to kill people like a Yuki Onna or Shichinin Misaki. I looked like a small dog and all I did was rub up against the shins of passing travelers. I knew just how dangerous it was for such a tiny and powerless Youkai to head out alone.
"But I am standing here. Whether by coincidence or inevitability, I am here now. No matter how weak or puny I might be, I can influence the overall situation now that I'm standing on the stage. That possibility remains, so the rest is my problem. You have no right to tell me what to do!!"
"Is that so? Well, if you do understand, I won't stop you."
Mai-san rolled down the passenger side window. There was nothing more to say, so I leaned out the window and entered the Hakone night.
I was certain she was not as bad a person as she claimed to be.
If she was truly living a life free of bonds like this mysterious enemy of ours, she would have no reason to choose her targets so carefully. While disguising it as a failed unexploded ordnance recovery or a sudden volcanic eruption, she could have blown away the enemy along with the entire city of Hakone with no concern for the civilians or G20 leaders. It sounded absurd, but with her power and skill, it would have been a piece of cake.
But she did not do that.
No matter what anyone said and even if she mocked the idea herself, she drew a line between who she would kill and who she would not.
But she had not noticed that fact herself. And right now, she was trying to crush that small bud underfoot without ever noticing it was there.
Even if it was temporary and forced on me by my higher ups, I was her partner.
I could not allow her to crush that small bud. And to do that, I had to protect the old men and women of the old folks home from our enemy!
Part 18
I could not rely on the great power of Hishigami Mai.
I had to fight someone of equal or greater power on my own.
The situation was hopeless.
In fact, my specs were no different from a small dog's, so even arriving at the residential area in question would be difficult. I approached a truck waiting at a light in the dark city, made a few failed jumps, and finally gathered all my effort and willpower to climb up onto the back of the truck.
On the way, I was nearly taken in a completely different direction, but I moved to different trucks a few times before finally reaching my destination.
I was met by such silence that it felt like the world had been destroyed.
The night was pitch black.
My vision blurred and it was likely due to more than just a Youkai's dislike of modern cities. There was some unknown presence here and it was on a level to instill fear even in a Youkai like me.
Even this late at night, it was strange to find no lights whatsoever. I felt the same sharp aura as when the electricity was cut off before a SWAT team barged in on a criminal barricaded in a building. Had the enemy already arrived? Would I really make it in time?
For the time being, I ran along the asphalt road to reach the Green Leaves Home.
The grounds were smaller than a school's. They were closer to the size of a kindergarten. The well-maintained lawn contained a few pieces of playground equipment and the sort of grill set found at campsites. They may have been for when the residents' grandchildren visited.
A quick look around showed no signs of broken windows or doors.
Deciding I had arrived first, I rang the front doorbell. More specifically, I began jumping again.
Kh... Hitting the button with my front paw is surprisingly hard!!
After a while, a few lights came on inside the building and slippered footsteps approached the door.
When the door opened, a short old woman stepped out.
"Oh? What do you want at this hour, little Youkai?"
"I am..."
I just about named myself, but quickly realized something.
What would I gain by identifying myself as a powerless Sunekosuri?
I rethought my plan and gave a meaningless snort.
"I am a Youkai that predicts the future."
"Oh, my."
"A tornado is coming! A huge disaster is coming! In just a few minutes, it will pass through here. If you understand, then please wake everyone and evacuate. A rectangular portion of the lawn has been cut out and there's an underground space there, right? That should work as a tornado shelter."
"Oh, my, my. That is a problem. We need to tell the neighbors too."
"Hurry!! I'll go tell the neighbors!!"
When I urged her on, she looked troubled but still moved back inside the facility. Despite the late hour, the thirty to fifty old folks obeyed my instructions. It may have been their age that let them trust the words of a Youkai like that.
"Hurry! I don't know if it's a storehouse or what, but there should be a door in the yard leading underground. Please head there!"
"Oh? Aren't you a Sunekosu-..."
"Hurry, hurry!! The tornado will be here soon. Woof woof!!"
One of the old men just about saw through my lie, but I silenced him with pure momentum. Right now, I was an ominous canine Youkai that predicted disasters.
After making sure they had all made their way below the yard, the previous old woman began to close the door from the inside, but she stopped for a moment.
"What about you? There's a storm coming, isn't there?"
"A tornado is coming, but don't worry. I may not look it, but I am a Youkai and I still have work to do. I need to inform as many people in the neighborhood as I can."
"Okay, but come back here if it gets dangerous. Just because you're a tough Youkai doesn't mean we can force all our pain onto you."
I said I would and she finally closed the door.
Now, then.
I pictured the general layout of the old folks home and hurried around to check with my own eyes. There was a rectangular concrete building, a tank of what was likely town gas out back, swings and a slide in the large yard, and the grill set. Was there anything I could use as a weapon or otherwise? There would be blades in the kitchen, a fire extinguisher in the entranceway, and a tool box I couldn't find one. There was probably a storage closet or something somewhere, though. After looking around a few times, I found the gardening tools: agrochemicals, plastic rope, and steel stakes.
I would do everything I could and I ran around making my preparations.
The enemy would arrive eventually and she would kill all witnesses even if there were a hundred or even a thousand of them. Those elderly people could not escape on foot in the middle of the night, so intercepting the enemy here was the only option.
And meanwhile the only person who has an actual chance of pulling that off is-...
Just as that thought entered my mind, something happened in just an instant.
The sound of destruction was simply overwhelming and it took me a while to realize what had happened.
I had been standing on all fours in the large yard, but my vision began spinning around and around. Everything transformed into a collection of meaningless flowing lines. My body was in midair and even the cement blocks surrounding the yard and the ground itself had been blown away by a massive strike on the level of a plane crash. By the time I realized all that, my thoughts finally caught up.
I had been knocked into the air by something frightening.
It was a giant arm measuring several dozen meters long. It looked like it was made from armor panels and thick leather held together with glue. A scooping upper cut had torn through the cement blocks and the ground to mercilessly strike me.
That was all there was to the attack, but I shot across the grounds of the old folks home and mercilessly slammed into the building's wall. The stones that flew along with me broke through the windows and even the wall.
"G-gah!? Gbbh. Bebhh!!"
I can't... breathe!!
My own blood... is blocking my throat!!
"Cough.... cough cough!! Pant pant!!"
I somehow managed to cough up the blood and secure a path for air, but my head was still shaken. I was a Youkai and thus wouldn't be killed even if I was stabbed or shot, so what was this? I felt the pain of having my ribs squeezed to their limit and having every single organ crushed. I was undoubtedly approaching death.
By the time I noticed the sound of scraping metal, the giant arm had vanished.
In its place, someone stepped over the smashed cement blocks and into the yard.
It was a girl who looked about high school age and who wore a showy yellow sailor uniform. I did not know if any school actually used that uniform, but there was another more important issue. Simply meeting this kind of person would mean death, so was it even possible for her to have a normal school life?
She gave me an utterly scornful look as I unsteadily tried to stand.
"Don't tell me you actually thought you'd gotten here ahead of the professional agent and that I just so happened to attack just as you finished your pathetic preparations. If so, you're not very bright. Not very bright at all. Of course that isn't what happened."
As she approached, I detected a sweet juicy aroma similar to peaches. The kind smell seemed so out of place in the otherwise nightmarish scene that I felt like my senses had been thrown out of whack.
"I'm a freelance agent, you know? I make my way through this world without the help of an organization and I've survived this long. Did you really think you were faster than someone like that? It was the opposite. The complete opposite. I had already arrived and I was monitoring you to judge your strength. That's what happened. You may be stupid, but I assume you get it now."
"..."
"Now, here's a question for you. If I went to the trouble of judging your strength, why did I just make a blatant head-on attack? The answer is because I judged you were nothing worth fearing!!"
With a metallic sound, her slender right arm transformed from fingertip to shoulder. It was now a mass of steel and leather held together with glue. It almost looked like old Japanese armor.
That was the identity of the previous attack. It was a transforming suit of armor.
But as soon as I thought that, the truth far outdid my imagination.
"The Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach. That is the name of the artificial Youkai I created. In other words, this is my Shikigami. Now, what legend do you think I based this on?"
The Scarlet Peach.
A gentle and sweet aroma filled the air.
I shuddered and all of my fur stood on end.
It can't be...
I thought of a name so well-known even a child would recognize it.
"Momotarou!?"
"His extermination of the oni is the simplest symbolism there is when it comes to killing Youkai. Even if you gathered thousands upon thousands of deadly Youkai, I could kill the entire horde unharmed. Sorry, but if you were a human who could be killed by normal means, you might have actually lasted longer."
She would not even try to use a gun or a knife.
She was the type to choose a different set of weapons when fighting a human or a Youkai.
And here, she had switched gears to truly become my natural enemy.
Part 19 (3rd person)
Inside the V-shaped flying wing that was Hyakki Yakou's mobile headquarters, the group's Mamedanuki let out a smoky sigh. The Youkai was less than thirty centimeters tall and looked like a stuffed tanuki, but her(?) role was that of a body double.
For that reason, she was ridiculously good at information analysis.
What information should be thrown out and what information should be protected? Who suspected her and who trusted her? If she made a single lie to protect herself, how would it eventually come back and affect her? If she could not instantly analyze all that and smoothly make a decision, she would never have been given the job of a body double.
Currently, that expert of a Manedanuki was grimacing while staring at the documents on the low table she lay on.
"Honestly, he let the kind noise get the better of him. Does he really think a contact who supports things behind the scenes could really defeat a professional monster if he stood in harm's way? And against someone who built a Momotarou specialized in slaughtering Youkai no less."
It was hard to think he stood a chance.
And oddly enough, a certain mindset would view that itself as a reason to fight.
That mindset was an ally of the weak.
Those were the heroes of epics told the world over and of the fictional period drams and westerns derived from those epics. The deeds of those heroes were indeed attractive, but that was the attraction of doing something that would normally never succeed. If one hundred people attempted them, not all of them would be successful.
That attraction was the maw of a great monster.
If you let it tempt you, you would be unable to resist its pull and its many fangs would tear you to pieces.
"That idiot is going to die. And yet he's seen countless people disappear in this same way."
At that point, a voice directly opposed the Mamedanuki's accurate analysis.
"He won't lose."
The voice came from a small child of an already small species.
The puppy was only about five centimeters tall and he looked up at the Mamedanuki with his four legs braced against the floor.
He stared straight up at her.
"Daddy won't lose to a bad guy."
"You're right, " muttered the Mamedanuki while toying with her slender Japanese-style pipe."He still hasn't settled things with me. And he won't give this an ending that would make the lady sad."
Part 20
The hard creaking sound of the armor continued.
It was coming.
I didn't know how it worked, but that ridiculous attack that instantly grew to several dozen times its size was coming.
"... !!!!!!"
The massive fist tore through the air itself as it flew straight toward me.
I only had the athletic ability of a small dog, so I could never avoid it even if I jumped out of the way now.
But I was a Sunekosuri.
I was a Youkai that could do nothing more than rub up against travelers' shins in the night. But even if that was a useless ability, my movements could reach the supernatural when doing that.
"Oh?"
The girl wearing the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach sounded surprised.
To her, it may have looked like my small form suddenly vanished.
In truth, I had only snuck right up to her feet.
The great destruction arrived a moment later.
That building had looked so sturdy, but a great din burst out as the first floor was torn to pieces as easily as a spider web.
My chest hurt, but I had avoided the attack.
And from here... !!
As soon as that thought came to me, I heard a hard sound.
The soft girl's skin I was rubbing my cheek against changed to cold and hard metal.
...............................................................................................................................................................
She made such a skilled recovery that my mind grew absolutely blank.
She did not hesitate to bring her Japanese armored foot down to crush my back. It was a sharp strike as if from a pile driver. At the same time, the armor made of metal and leather expanded and increased its destructive force with its incredible mass.
I was fairly certain I heard something break inside my body.
But in reality, I was feeling the ground cave in and collapse below me because of all the weight bearing down on me. Yes, there was a space underground. I should have been crushed between the giant foot and the ground, but the thin layer of ground broke instead and I fell into the space below.
But wait.
The space below the lawn would be... !
"Cough, cough."
I heard coughing from surprisingly nearby.
A large pile of dirt covered my head and someone was looking down at me instead of worrying about themselves.
"Wh-what is it? This isn't a tornado. What is going on? And... and why are you bleeding so much?"
Dammit!! How could I let myself fall into the very place I had the old men and women evacuate to!? This is no different from pushing them right in front of the wild beast!!
"Hee hee."
Directly above, I heard the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach girl laugh.
The gentle aroma of peaches invaded this supposed area of safety.
"Hee hee. Hee hee hee."
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!"
I could not let the fight come here. I had to avoid a location that would get them involved.
I immediately moved through the elderly group by travelling from shin to shin. My swift movement looked like someone darting through the gaps in a forest or like the movements of a snake or eel. My goal was the stairway leading up and the door to the surface. Nothing mattered except starting this anew from a position that would not put the old men and women in danger.
But my efforts were not rewarded.
By the time I had run up the stairs and to the door, the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach had already attacked.
The giant arm of armor defeated the entire purpose of an underground structure much like destroying a car's roof to turn it into a convertible. The wrecking ball of a fist approached along with a tremendous amount of dirt and knocked me and the steel door into the air outside.
I did not even have it in me to cry out.
When my small body finally slammed into the ground, I found myself a disturbing distance away. This was the area with the playground equipment. Specifically, I had landed on the gas range of the grill set.
I can't win.
Even if infinite options spread out before my eyes, every single one of them would ultimately lead to my death. The girl wearing the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach had made that a reality. She had set things up that way before beginning the battle. That was why I could not win. It did not matter how much I struggled. In fact, the more I struggled, the more I would be hopelessly cornered.
"Ahh, ahh. I was spotted."
I heard a footstep.
"So which would you prefer? Should I slaughter those old people after roasting you or should I wait to roast you afterwards? Now that they saw a professional at work, their fate is sealed. You can choose whichever order you like, though."
I heard another.
She was slowly approaching, but I could not move. I was like a fish on the chopping block. I could not even move enough to fall from the dangerous-looking gas range.
The unnaturally gentle peach aroma reached my nose.
The girl controlling and wearing the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach had arrived close enough to look down on my bloody form. Her expression was less that of someone preparing a meal and more that of a child torturing a captured insect. But despite knowing what fate awaited me, I could not make the nimble movements of a movie star.
An ominous vibration shook the gas range and myself.
When I realized her slender fingers had grabbed the ignition switch, an unpleasant feeling ran down my spine.
"Have you learned your place yet?"
"A-all too much."
"Then die."
Her smooth and unhesitating words seemed to burn my stomach as she spoke without holding back.
"I'd really rather not eat dog, but it would be a shame to have you go to waste. How about I feed you to those old people? I wonder how they would react to that."
"But thanks to this, I've learned some of the secret behind your Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach."
Her fingers on the switch paused for just an instant.
But this pause was rooted in interest and curiosity, not fear and caution. She seemed to be saying she would ignite the gas range the instant those feelings cooled down.
"It's not quite accurate to say that strange armor harms me as a Youkai. The punching and kicking aren't what really matter. If so, you wouldn't be trying to cook me on a gas range in the end. You can't kill a Youkai by stabbing them or shooting them, even with a harmless Youkai like me. Even a gas range is a normal method. Using it to torture me is one thing, but you wouldn't choose it as a finishing blow."
"Meaning?"
"You use two different supernatural powers. The first is the armor and the second is the creation of a field in which Youkai can be killed with normal methods. And outside the armor, there's only one symbol of Momotarou here: that peach aroma. You scatter that around to prepare the environment needed to exterminate the oni."
The girl gave a surprisingly cute laugh of confirmation.
"You may look pretty stupid, but you made it that far, did you? Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach includes both a Shikigami and a fire altar. Combining Onmyoudou and Mikkyou is a heretical method much like combining non-complementary foods for a gimmicky dish. That's why it should have slipped past any specialists in this field.... It looks like taking on an idiot backfired."
"You were never wielding any especially strong power; you were weakening us Youkai. That armor is being used entirely to attack. It isn't actually protecting you at all."
If she could truly wield such unmatched power, she would not have needed to use a gun when killing Udou Itsuki's body double. It would be best to assume her supernatural power, the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach, could only wield its full power against a Youkai.
"So?" She tilted her head."Whatever the case, you're still going to die here. Just like any old dog, you can easily be killed with a knife or gun right now. Or are you so stupid you don't even know what it is you're lying on or what my right hand is holding?
"Ha ha." I laughed without meaning to."Maybe it's because you scatter that peach aroma everywhere, but have you really not noticed anything 'off'?"
"... ?"
"This is indeed an outdoor gas range used for cookouts. And it's really easy to ignite because a gas pipe buried underground carries fuel to it. But what if someone had sabotaged it ahead of time?"
She stopped breathing when I said that.
She seemed to have finally noticed the stink mixed in with the peach aroma.
"I'm a weak Youkai that can't do anything more than a small dog and I have no traits that would let me kill a human, but even a small dog's prank can cause a disaster. For example, he could bite through the rubber hose connected to the gas line."
"Do you really understand what you're saying?"
"And your technique only provides offense! You completely ignored defense because you assumed any Youkai weakened by the peach aroma couldn't do anything worth worrying about. So what if someone brings a normal method into this? If you're caught in a gas explosion, I doubt you'll escape unharmed!!"
"My fire altar is still weakening you, so you can't say you won't die because you're a Youkai. If there's an explosion here, that normal method will-... !!"
"Yes, I know."
As I spoke, I moved my mouth to show off my teeth.
Specifically, I showed off the piece of flint the size of a sesame seed I had glued to my canine tooth. I had taken apart a cheap lighter I had found inside the facility to get the flint.
And after choosing to show it off, I made an announcement.
"But what does that matter, you damn roach?"
I immediately clacked my canine teeth together.
You'll probably never understand just what strength fills my heart while I desire to help these complete strangers without trying to earn anything from it myself.
And that is why you will lose!!
A tiny orange spark burst into the dark night.
The look on the girl's face had been that of someone who had never once thought of anything but her own victory, but in this instant, I saw that look distort.
And a moment later...
... my vision...
... grew... white.
Part 21
I was gasping for breath.
My vision faded in and out. I felt like I would lose consciousness if I stopped focusing for even an instant. I was lying on the lawn a good distance away from the grill set. I heard what sounded like a crackling fire and a corner of the facility grounds was glowing orange.
I desperately tried to stand, but I could not put my legs below me. My front right leg would not move as I told it to. Half of my vision was covered in something dark. Part of me may have been broken or burned, but I was a Youkai, so it was possible I would naturally recover. After all, we generally gathered strength through the passage of time. Even so, I had no way of healing my wounds right away.
"This isn't..."
I gave up on standing and practically dragged my face along the ground to move at about the speed of a caterpillar.
"This isn't over yet..."
I had to evacuate the old men and women from the facility grounds. I had not been able to predict where the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach girl would attack, so I had sabotaged the gas lines all over the grounds to create as many attack points as possible. It had just so happened that the outdoor grill set was the one I ended up at. For example, I had also created a gas leak in the facility's kitchen, so I needed to prepare for a possible ignition of that one as well.
And if Mai-san's prediction was correct, the girl had been controlling Udou Itsuki's (or his body double's) organization and they had kept the deadly Aburatori somewhere on these grounds. I didn't know what method they were using, but it was impossible to know who the Youkai would bare its fangs toward if the battle or fire woke it up.
That meant it would be best to have the old folks escape as soon as possible. My goal was not defeating the Brave Warrior of the Scarlet Peach. No matter the reason, if even one of them died in the very end, it would mean I had lost.
And so I dragged my battered body toward those old men and women.
One day, when I found my missing wife and had my family back, I would be able to tell them with pride the path I had taken to reach that point.
I can't give in now.
Part 22 (3rd person)
A quiet noise sounded from the sea of spreading flames caused by the gas explosion.
"Oh... gh..."
"It" had a mouth to speak.
However, the exposure to the intense heat had completely destroyed its lips and throat.
"G-g-gah-gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
Unable to speak properly and letting loose something like a roar, it forcefully stood up within that scorching orange hell.
The damage went beyond the face.
All of its skin had melted into something like a cream and fused with its crumbling clothing. Its entire body had become a twisted mass of muscle fibers. Its hair had vanished in the flames. Its soft subcutaneous fat had completely cooked and separated from its body, so it looked like a sexless anatomy model.
Even so, it did not die.
Something odd was mixed in with that model. An amber-dyed material that looked at least one hundred years old had been hidden below the skin. The material was placed around the body as if to strengthen the skeleton, so it looked like a cyborg made with traditional Japanese mechanisms.
With a wet sound, it walked through the flames. Its eyeballs had almost started to boil and its vision was as foggy as looking through frosted glass, but it still searched for a single target.
That being a harmless Youkai.
The Sunekosuri.
That Youkai had apparently not escaped unscathed, but he was better off than her. His lighter weight may have allowed the explosion to throw him outside the scorching hell.
She could not accept that.
She could not accept that his injuries were lighter than hers, that he was in a better position than her, that he was desperately crawling through this hellish scene to save some normal people, or that he had achieved victory despite being infected by the kind noise.
In short, she could not accept any of it.
(I'll kill him. )
The girl tried to mutter under her breath, but her melted lips had fused together and she could not even do that.
(I'll kill him! Crush him!! Ruin it all for him!!!! I have to do that if I'm going to get back on my feet. Whether it turns that damn Youkai into a corpse or a pile of flesh, I'll thoroughly smash him to pieces!!)
She moved her melted body toward the Sunekosuri.
She would first smash the canine Youkai to pieces, show him to those old people, and then ask them to eat him. Any who refused, she would kill right then and there. Any who did eat him, she would line up and kill at the very end. Either way, she would slaughter them all.
But as soon as she made those plans, she heard what sounded more like an explosion than a gunshot and a fist-sized hole opened in her chest.
"Ah?"
What had once been a girl looked down to her own chest.
The flesh, blood, bone, and organs were all missing. She had been pierced straight through and what had been there was the most important of the human organs: the heart. It had vanished like a magic trick that stole the hearts of anyone who saw it.
It had been done so skillfully that she forgot to die.
It was just like a fish prepared and served while still alive. And her melted ears heard a dull electronic tone. A cellphone was ringing. The remains of what had been a skirt were stuck to the waist of that roasted anatomy model. She grabbed the device that had transformed into something like cheese melted on toast and she answered it.
The connection was so clear it seemed like some kind of an illusion.
She forcibly ripped her fused lips apart and finally managed to speak.
"Hishigami... Mai..."
"That's right. You're the one behind all this, aren't you? Do you know what I did☆?"
"An anti-materiel rifle?
"Nope. Wrong. It was a. 50 caliber heavy machinegun. But there are some crazy people who use them for sharpshooting from 2000 meters away. The rounds are the same after all."
"No... the sound of the shot and the hit... were almost simultaneous. This is just like thunder and lightning... You have to be nearby. Where... are you? I was waiting here... to capture you. But you... had that Youkai... hound me. Get... out here. I'll kill you... with my own hands."
"Ha ha ha! I had the Sunekosuri hound you? Are you sure you want your dying words to be a pun!? And sorry, but I'm not about to take you head-on when you can still move around after all that. And I don't think he was wrong when he said a normal method would kill you, so just die already.... Besides, I've 80% lost when I rely on a gun, so this definitely isn't a fight I want a part of."
"..."
The anatomy model briefly fell silent but finally spoke again.
"Why are... you here? To save the residents... of the old folks home? Or to... save that Sunekosuri?"
"Sorry, but I'm a professional who knows where to draw the line. I know all too well how frightening the kind noise can be. I'm not foolish enough to risk my life for something like that."
"Then..."
Why had she attacked now?
Whether it was the Sunekosuri or the old people, the best time to take the shot would have been the instant the girl-turned-anatomy-model had killed her target and let her guard down.
"To be honest, my plan was to stir up the Sunekosuri, have him run off to where you were waiting, and then shoot you once you showed up because you were irritated with the eyesore of a Youkai running around."
"..."
"But he did better than I had expected. He actually pulled off that absurd fairy tale of his. He didn't quite finish the job, but dragging out your secret was quite valuable indeed.... That's right. Momotarou did not have special power because of a legendary weapon or undergoing some amazing training. His very birth included the symbolism of the peach, a fruit believed to ward off evil. So you're an evil-destroying cyborg given a boost by the scented wood placed inside your body. If I hadn't noticed, I might have taken you too lightly and made a mistake."
That terribly arrogant woman was saying her life had been saved by that stuffed animal of a Youkai.
"In that case, this is an agreement between professionals. Now that the Sunekosuri has achieved his goal of saving those old people and has also found your weakness for me, I should finish my own job. I'll kill you, take care of the Aburatori, and bring this incident to an end. That dirty work is my part to play."
She sounded almost jealous.
This tone was one she would never use in front of the Sunekosuri.
It was like she had seen something she had once possessed but had thrown away in order to survive.
And most likely, she was not really speaking to the anatomy model that had been their enemy.
Head, gut, waist, limbs, etc. Before thoroughly destroying every part of that girl's body with. 50 caliber bullets which were the size of hammerheads, Hishigami Mai muttered one last sentence.
"You were really cool, baby☆"
| ← Ch. 28 | Ch. 30 → |