Vol 5 Chapter 3.2 (1/2)
This is a continuation of PART A.
Please hover over the text to see annotations.
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Someone was coming. The dogs lying down outside were now raising their voices in apprehension. But there was nothing to be agitated about. The barking of the dogs, both large and small, was not overly wrung in alarm or threat.
It was not an enemy. No stranger had wandered in; no thief had snuck in either. It was someone unwelcome, but of low risk.
Inukas.h.i.+ raised his face and quivered his nose. He caught the smell of alcohol. At the same time, a puppy with a torn right ear burst into the room. It yapped insistently, reporting who the visitor was. Inukas.h.i.+ gave a light wave of his hand to shut it up. See, dogs were great. You told them to shut up, and they did.
”I know, I know. I could smell it from here. The alcoholic old man, yeah?”
His eyes fell on the coins sitting on his table.
”Oh, c.r.a.p.” He shoved the baby onto the dog, and hurriedly shovelled the coins into a bag. The moment he stuffed the bag into his pant pocket, he heard footsteps clambering up the stairs.
The door burst open violently.
”Will you knock, at least?” Inukas.h.i.+ seated himself in a chair, and scowled exaggeratedly. ”What if I was changing?”
”How many―times―in your life―do you ever― change your clothes?” Rikiga panted heavily, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath. He leaned against the wall.
”Hey old man, you better not run around so much. Your lungs are probably half-melted from the booze. Watch you don't suffocate and die.”
Rikiga thrust his right hand out, still gasping.
”What? You want a handshake?” Inukas.h.i.+ said.
”Get me a... gla.s.s of water.”
”One copper coin.”
”What?”
”You want something to drink, you trade me one copper coin for it.”
”Inukas.h.i.+... you little...”
”Hey, this is a ruins. I don't have any running water like your place, old man. I draw the water from the stream. Precious stuff. One copper, no change.”
Rikiga clicked his tongue. His forehead was damp with sweat, despite the biting cold. He must have been in a great hurry, for his breathing took a while to return to normal. Wheezing raggedly, Rikiga sank into a chair, and quipped in a sarcastic voice:
”You're not... charging for seating, are you?”
”This time it's on the house. So, on what visiting business, sir?”
”So the Hunt has actually come, huh.”
”Uh-huh.”
”s.h.i.+on's been taken away.”
”Looks like it.”
”I'm... worried, so worried... I can't sit or stand still.”
”So that's why you decided to run a marathon here? Kudos to you.”
Rikiga's fist pounded the table. A copper coin that Inukas.h.i.+ had forgotten to put away fell to the floor and rolled. He stopped it with his foot, and picked it up.
”No matter how much you worry, it isn't gonna do any good, old man. Besides, things just went according to plan, didn't they? They managed to slip into the Correctional Facility, just as they wanted. We should congratulate them.”
He blew on the copper coin, and s.h.i.+ned it with his sleeve. ”If they make it out alive, it'd be a cause for celebration.”
A deep sigh escaped from Rikiga's stubbly mouth. It stank of alcohol.
”s.h.i.+on... poor boy... when I imagine what horrible things he must be going through right now... a good boy, such a good boy... please be safe.”
”Old man.”
”What?”
”Not that I really care or anything, but―aren't you forgetting something?
”Forgetting? What?”
”s.h.i.+on didn't sneak into the Correctional Facility alone. Well, they didn't 'sneak in' really... more like 'captured',” he added as an afterthought. ”But anyway, he's not alone. He's got a partner. Aren't you worried about him?”
Rikiga's face contorted. If someone were to thrust a rotting corpse under his nose, his face would probably not be as twisted as it was now. It was an expression of blatant dislike.
”Are you talking about Eve? I don't care about him. It'd be a load off my chest if he could get himself caught in a mouse trap while he's at it.”
”I do agree,” Inukas.h.i.+ said amiably. ”Just imagining Nezumi flailing around in a mouse-trap box makes me giddy. But you were his fan, old man. I heard you used to go see him at the playhouse all the time.”
Rikiga sniffed dismissively, and turned aside.
”I was being tricked. Who could imagine that personality from a face like that, a voice like that? Goodness, he's as deceitful as a female fox.”
”He's a guy.”
”Either way, it doesn't change the fact that he's a trickster fox demon.”
Fox demon, huh. That's a good description. More suitable for him than Rat, though he's probably closer to a wolf than a fox.
Inukas.h.i.+ shrugged, and closed one eye. ”s.h.i.+on's got a demon fox with him, then. He'll be fine.”
Rikiga leaned forward and grabbed Inukas.h.i.+'s arm. Inukas.h.i.+ almost let out a cry: Rikiga's grip was that strong. He instinctively clapped a hand over his pocket. He felt like silver was going to be stolen from him.
”Really?” Rikiga had his bloodshot eyes open wide. ”You really think so?”
”Th-Think what? Holy c.r.a.p, old man, that hurts. Leggo of me.”
”You really think s.h.i.+on is okay?”
”How the h.e.l.l should I know?” He withdrew his arm. Rikiga began mumbling to himself.
”Eve is a knave, a trickster, a fraud, but he's there when you need him.”
”Are you insulting him or complimenting him?”
Rikiga ignored him, and continued mumbling.
”Yeah. I can count on him. Eve would probably protect s.h.i.+on just fine. Am I right, Inukas.h.i.+?”
”I told you, I dunno.” He closed his mouth, and directed his gaze at the ceiling.
Nezumi was a knave, a trickster, a fraud, no mistake, and that was putting it mildly. But you could count on him in any situation too, to put it mildly. This was also no mistake. Nezumi was more cunning and cautious than anyone Inukas.h.i.+ knew. He was also level-headed, nimble, and tough. He was like a wolf that didn't conform to a pack.
He had never seen a real wolf before. But he had heard about them from his mother.
They're terrifying creatures. They don't open their hearts to humans like we dogs. Never. They would rather die than be taken care of by a human. They're prideful. But they're also treacherous and always on the prowl for a profit. They're greedy and ruthless. They don't carry a tiny bit of sympathy in their hearts. That's the difference between dogs and wolves. Now you listen, you're a dog. You're not a human, or a wolf. You're a dog. Don't you forget that.
A prideful and heartless creature. In Inukas.h.i.+'s mind, the image of the wolf he'd been told about so many times overlapped perfectly with that of Nezumi. He was dangerous if he turned against you. But as a guard, he was cut out for the job.
If Nezumi seriously tried to defend s.h.i.+on, maybe they would be able to return from the Correctional Facility alive. It was a slim chance, but it wasn't zero.
Nezumi would probably defend s.h.i.+on seriously, and with all he had. He would. As long as s.h.i.+on didn't trip him up, they would probably return alive like they'd promised.
Inukas.h.i.+'s heart grew calm. Yeah. Yeah, that's right, he told himself.
Evidently reading something from Inukas.h.i.+'s expression, Rikiga adjusted himself in his chair, and nodded resolutely.
”If that's the case, then we should get moving as well.”
”Huh? If what's the case?”
”We have to help them from the outside, so s.h.i.+on can come home. What else?”
”When did we decide that? I'm staying outta this,” Inukas.h.i.+ said hastily. ”I already agreed to be bait once. I've contributed way more than my share.”
”You're acting like you did volunteer work,” scoffed Rikiga. ”You did receive your pay for that, if I'm not mistaken.”
”That doesn't even amount to pocket money. Whatever. I have no plans of having anything to do with them or the Correctional Facility again. None. Zip, I tell ya.”
”You're not going to help s.h.i.+on?”
”Lemme tell you something, old man. I don't got any debts or favours to repay to that airhead. We're not friends, or brothers, or relatives, or a parent and kid.”
”But he's part of our group.”
”Our group?” Inukas.h.i.+ drew his chin back. He had not expected to hear the words ”our group” from the kind of alcohol-pickled example of a corrupted man who published lewd magazines and made his money off of selling women's bodies. What a surprise.
Group mates?
”We're all in it together. Am I wrong?”
Wrong he most certainly was. In it together? The tip of his nose tensed. Inukas.h.i.+ remained silent, not knowing whether he should laugh or be exasperated. Rikiga, on the other hand, seemed to turn more eloquent by the minute.
”s.h.i.+on is part of our group. n.o.body could ever replace him. Come on, Inukas.h.i.+, you like him too, don't you?”
”Not―well―I don't hate him.”
”He's like an angel. Untainted. You can't find people as pure as those just anywhere.”
”Uh-huh, is that so?” Inukas.h.i.+ said flatly. ”So sorry, for being the tainted one in your company.”
”n.o.body said you were tainted. See, s.h.i.+on would never twist people's words around like that. He accepts things openly, honestly, and as they are. His heart is rooted in the same place as his mother. Oh, Karan, I wonder what she's doing now,” Rikiga said forlornly. ”What if she's fallen ill from worrying about her son?”
”Who's Karan? Aren't we talking about s.h.i.+on here? Besides, old man, all you've been talking about so far is s.h.i.+on-this and s.h.i.+on-that. What about Nezumi? If s.h.i.+on's part of our group, then Nezumi has to be too, doesn't he?”
”Eve, part of us? Give me a break. I'd rather welcome a slug into my extended family than be in the same group as a deceitful fox like him.”
”You sure treat him differently from s.h.i.+on, huh.” Inukas.h.i.+ glanced up into Rikiga's liquor-flushed face. Pure and angelic? Is this old man really serious about that?
Just like how he didn't know what Nezumi really was, he didn't know what lay inside s.h.i.+on either. If he peeled off a layer, what would this angelic and pure figure reveal? Maybe he would be more horrendous and fierce than he ever expected. Maybe within s.h.i.+on, there existed some dark pit of truth that even Nezumi feared.
Rikiga favoured s.h.i.+on too much. Angel? That was absurd. People could become devils, but never angels. Besides, sometimes angels could be much more brutal than devils. A man like Rikiga, who was thoroughly versed in wiles through his life experience, should know best.
It stinks.
There was a stench, other than alcohol. But it wasn't a smell Inukas.h.i.+ disliked. He preferred the smell of rotting meat over the perfume of flowers.
Catching Inukas.h.i.+'s gaze, Rikiga smiled vaguely.
”So selfless, don't you think Inukas.h.i.+?”
”Who? Me?”
”Please tell me where the h.e.l.l I can find a trait like 'selfless' inside you. I was talking about s.h.i.+on. He infiltrated the Correctional Facility, risking his own life, to save his friend. He's putting his life on the line for someone else.”
”Around these parts, we call those kinds of people Huge Idiots.”
”Inukas.h.i.+, knock it off. If we don't help them out, who will? s.h.i.+on believes in us, and he's waiting for our help.”
”Old man.”
”Hm?”
”I can help you, depending on the event and circ.u.mstance.”
”Now that's more like it, Dogkeeper of the Ruins. Admirable decision.”
”Stop b.u.t.tering me up, and let's hear your real story.”
”Real story?”
”Your aim, old man. What're you after in the Correctional Facility?”
Rikiga blinked.
”What am I after... what're you talking about? I just wanted to help s.h.i.+on, that was the only―”
”How much profit is it gonna make you?” Still holding his pocket with his hand, Inukas.h.i.+ leaned forward. In response, Rikiga slid back, chair and all.
”Geez, look at you. Every other word out of your mouth is 'profit'. Money, money, money. Don't you have anything else to think about?”
”Lots. My brain is always going full-throttle. And you too, old man. Your gears are still turning in there, your greed is still going strong. The only thing that's gotten sluggish is probably the blood in your veins, from the alcohol. There's no way you'd stick your hands into a job that didn't carry profits, am I right, old man? And we're talking against the Correctional Facility, a direct affiliate of No. 6's Security Bureau. Enemies don't get any more dangerous than that. Both you and I helped Nezumi sneak in, either because we were tricked or because we got talked into it. But this is where it ends, usually. We get however much money we deserve for that job, and go back to our own nests. Whatever happens afterwards isn't any of our business... right? That's usually how it is.”
”Inukas.h.i.+, listen―”
”But this time, old man, you're crawling out of your nest on your own, even saying you wanna stick your nose into dangerous territory. For s.h.i.+on? Of course not. I'd never believe it. If my dogs started baa-ing like sheep, I'd believe that over you.”
”Like I said, it's―”
Inukas.h.i.+ waved his hand impatiently. He was sick of excuses and justifications. He found himself a little irritated. More and more he felt like he had had enough of wasting words, trying to make excuses to each other. He was beyond weary of coating his honest words with lies, and trying to read the other's intentions.
At the very least...
Inukas.h.i.+ inhaled through his nose. The frigid air of the room, which had no heater, coursed through his body.
At least those two never made excuses to each other.
He didn't think Nezumi and s.h.i.+on had bared all to each other. Nezumi, especially, probably hadn't. But they never made excuses to each other. They didn't try to manipulate each other, or shroud their honest opinions. They lived for each other, not out of give-and-take, nor greed, nor calculation.
Inukas.h.i.+ had never encountered that sort of relations.h.i.+p. There were mothers who threw away their lives for their children. He knew a girl who had sold her body to support her family. But those two weren't in such a sacrificial relations.h.i.+p. One of them didn't have to destroy himself for the other to be saved.
Friends.h.i.+p, love, group mentality, pity, sympathy, empathy―it didn't matter what name it was given, but none of them seemed to fit their relations.h.i.+p.
Both could live for the other, without the give-and-take, without greed, without calculation, without sacrifice. Perhaps he was tired. Inukas.h.i.+ found himself envying that relations.h.i.+p―just a little.
He inhaled again.
But I don't have to be jealous of them. I've got my dogs. Humans will always betray you one day. They'll never give back to you with their whole body and soul, like dogs do. Dogs are enough for me.
”Fine.” Rikiga's shoulders shook. A smug smile spread across his lips. What a hideous grin it was. He committed almost any crime for money. He had nothing against tricking, threatening, or swindling people.
Yeah, that face is more like it. The day you put on some mask of a kind-hearted good Samaritan is the day I stop talking to you.
”You know, Inukas.h.i.+, I don't think there's much time left.”
”For you? Oh, really? What a shame. I thought so too. The alcohol's poisoned you, old man. If you've got anything to leave behind, give it to me before it's too late.”
”Who said I was talking about myself? I was talking about No. 6.”