Vol 2 Chapter 2.1 (1/2)
[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 2 Ch 2 (a)
These are English translations of the novel NO. 6 by Asano Atsuko.
CHAPTER 2
The Place of the G.o.ds
Then the G.o.ddess Hannahanna decided to use her last resort. She gathered not several, but hundreds, thousands of bees, and said, ”You are small and nimble, and fly as swift as the light, so you shall surely be able to find the G.o.d Telepinu. Now, go.” [1]
- The Disappearance of Telipinu, Hitt.i.te Myth
There was a person collapsed at the foot of a spindly tree whose bark was whiter than the rest. He was a little boy, even smaller than the girl in size. He was writhing in pain. s.h.i.+on took him in his arms and sat him up. Even in the settling dusk, he could tell that the boy was deathly pale. He was clawing at his throat, and his mouth was open, but his lips were bloodless.
Suffocation. He was choking from something stuck in his throat. There was no time to waste. Supporting the boy's belly with one arm, s.h.i.+on thumped his back with the palm of his other hand.
”Spit it out. Come on,” he urged. Twice, then a third time, he kept hitting the boy's bony back. Four times, five times...
The boy wretched, and vomit spilled out of his mouth. There was a dark, round object mixed in with it. The boy twitched slightly.
”Water! Bring water!” s.h.i.+on commanded Nezumi again. He lay the boy down, and brought his own cheek to the boy's mouth. He could feel definite breathing.He's alright, he's breathing. He didn't need to clear the boy's airway, or give him artificial resuscitation. But his consciousness―
”Call his name.”
The girl responded quickly to s.h.i.+on's words. She bent over the boy, bringing her face close to his, and called his name.
”Rico, can you hear me? Rico.”
”Rico, can you breathe?” s.h.i.+on called after her.
The boy's chest swelled largely. His eyelids fluttered and opened. A tear spilled over and rolled down his cheek.
”―Sis―”
”Rico!” s.h.i.+on gently restrained the girl as she tried to throw her arms around the boy. He slowly raised Rico's upper body off the ground, and brought a cup of water to his mouth.
”Can you drink this?”
”Yeah.”
”Good boy. Drink it slowly. So your name is Rico, huh?”
”Yeah.”
”Rico, can you hear your sister's voice and my voice clearly? Can you see us just fine?”
”Yeah― and the water tastes good.”
”You're a good boy,” s.h.i.+on enthused. ”You've done a really great job. Does your stomach feel alright? Does your chest hurt at all?”
”My throat...”
”Hm?”
”My throat hurts...”
Rico had probably torn at his throat in pain, for it was covered in scratches which were beginning to bleed. s.h.i.+on retrieved some gauze and rubbing alcohol from the emergency kit. They were four years old, but now, this was all they had.
”This is going to sting. Don't cry.”
”I won't.”
He swabbed the wounds, pressed a fresh piece of gauze to them, and wrapped Rico's neck with a bandage. s.h.i.+on could only give him the most basic of emergency procedures. This was the best he could do. If he had said anything along the lines of 'to the hospital', Nezumi would have laughed in his face. s.h.i.+on knew very well that in this area, the West Block of No. 6, there was no such thing as a decent medical facility. From what Rico had vomited out, s.h.i.+on picked out what appeared to have been blocking his airway.
”A nut?” It was small and round. ”Why would this be―”
Rico hung his head. Nezumi folded his arms as he stood, and gave a short sigh.
”He was hungry.”
”Huh?”
”He was probably so hungry he couldn't bear it anymore. That nut― if you grind it into flour, it's― well, it's edible. He was probably in the middle of gathering them when he got hungry. He got so hungry he decided to put one in his mouth, which was all good until he swallowed it by mistake― is my guess of what probably happened.”
”Rico's always hungry,” the girl said. ”Even if Mum gives him part of her bread, he's still hungry.”
”It's such a tiny piece of bread,” Rico protested. ”One bite, and it's all gone.” He dissolved into a fit of coughs. His voice was raspy, and his face was still pale. s.h.i.+on wrapped his body in a blanket.
”Keep warm. If your neck still hurts, I'll treat it for you. Come again anytime.”
”Take them home.”
s.h.i.+on raised his face at Nezumi's words.
”Me?”
”Yeah, you. You helped them, so finish your job and see them through. They live in the house down this slope, it's not too far. Their mother is probably getting worried right about now.”
That meant he would have to show himself to an adult. s.h.i.+on stood up. He didn't know why, but he had started to shake.
”But I―”
”You'll have to go out there one day anyway. If you're getting scared now, you'll never be able to walk the streets. ―Well, not that it's any of my business. But if we stay out here in the rain any longer, someone's going to catch pneumonia.”
He had forgotten that it was raining. s.h.i.+on finally noticed its coldness. It seeped right into his bones, and reminded him that winter was approaching.
”Well, I'm off. The prince can do as he pleases.” Nezumi turned his back to them and descended down the steps below. Rico sneezed. The girl extended her small hand and grasped s.h.i.+on's fingers.
”Thank you.”
”Huh?”
”Thanks for saving my little brother.”
”Oh― no, I― It's not―” s.h.i.+on stammered. ”You don't have to thank me. What's your name?”
”Karan.”
”Karan? That's the same name as my mother.”
”Really?”
”Yeah.”
The girl smiled. s.h.i.+on could feel the warmth of the girl's hand as she clasped his fingertips. He scooped Rico up, blankets and all.
”I'll take you two home. Kalan, lead the way.”
There was steam rising out of the pot on the kerosene heater. Inside it was soup. As he stirred the broth of vegetables and meat, Nezumi gave a sigh. He flinched when he realized he had sighed without thinking. A few droplets of soup splashed out of the pot, and hissed as they hit the RDF heater.
He hated sighing. Sighing on purpose was a different matter― but this kind of sighing, the kind that escaped his lips without his knowing, irritated him.
”Never sigh in earnest. Never cry. You'll be taken advantage of by demons.” He had been told that by an old woman, so far in her years that age seemed not to matter. ”Sighing creates an opening, a vulnerability. If you want to stay live, keep your mouth shut. Never let anyone see your weak spot. Let your heart warm to no one. Never trust anyone but yourself.”
They were her dying words. She had been shot through the chest and was frothing bloodily at the mouth, but her words had rung clearly in his ears. Nezumi didn't think of ever forgetting them. Even if he did, her voice would not let him. It clung tenaciously to his mind, and refused to let go.
But he had turned his back on it. He had let an unheeded sigh escape his lips without even realizing. All thanks to him. He tsked his tongue in frustration.
Maybe it was a mistake to bring s.h.i.+on here. He seriously thought so. s.h.i.+on had opened the door without hesitation. He had thrown it open wide, without even checking what was on the other side, or concealing himself in shadow. If they had been unlucky, he would have lost his life. Even if the visitor had not been an armed soldier, it may as well have been an armed robber using a child as bait. Here in the West Block, it would not be an uncommon thing. But that was something s.h.i.+on didn't know. He didn't know how to be suspicious or cautious, or to be afraid. It was the ignorance and recklessness of one who had grown up in safety and security.
He honestly felt that he had taken a dangerous and troublesome burden under his wing. No one had forced him to. He had born the burden of his own will, because he wanted to return the favour he owed. There was no way he could have let him die ― s.h.i.+on, who had saved his life, expecting nothing in return.
There was no way of returning a favour to the dead, and Nezumi didn't want to carry a debt that he would never be able to repay. That was why he rescued and brought s.h.i.+on here. But now he thought it may have been careless for him to do so. Maybe he had brought with him a bigger risk than he had imagined. An oblivious and careless, dangerous and troublesome―
He threw a glance at the door.
But if s.h.i.+on had not opened the door that time, Rico would not have been saved. It didn't take a lot of time for a choking young child to lose his life. Swift action and appropriate treatment ― thanks to that, Nezumi hadn't had to see a small body with its face permanently contorted in pain. A life had been saved. It was the same as the stormy night four years before. That time, it was him― this time, it was Rico. s.h.i.+on, both times, had taken them in recklessly and as a result, saved them.
s.h.i.+on knew the world only through theorems and rationales. He was naive and hadn't even learned how to doubt the trustworthiness of others. He was naturally oblivious, he was clueless, idiotic, and didn't even know who Hamlet was. But s.h.i.+on was also definitely above him in some ways. Not in knowledge or skill, but ― but what?
”I'm drawn to you.”
Was it the power to attempt at this embarra.s.sing confession, and to believe that his sincere feelings would actually get across? Was it the power to lend a hand to a total stranger without thinking of the risk it reflected on himself?
He didn't know. All he knew was that s.h.i.+on was, indeed, dangerous and troublesome. He was very― there were footsteps. Knocking. The door opened soon afterwards. s.h.i.+on had come home.