Vol 7 Chapter 2.2 (1/2)
This is a continuation of PART A.
Rikiga peered into the bundle in Inukas.h.i.+'s arms, and exhaled a breath that reeked of alcohol.
”Mama,” he echoed.
”What? You miss your Mama, old man?”
”My mother went six feet under a long time ago. She crawled into that grave when I was ten, and hasn't tried to crawl back out since.”
”She must be really comfortable in there,” quipped Inukas.h.i.+. ”And she probably wouldn't want to see how much her son has gone downhill anyway. Maybe she's choosing not to come out.”
”Who are you calling downhill? But anyway, about s.h.i.+onn...”
”What about s.h.i.+onn?”
”He called you Mama.”
”So he did.”
”Why 'Mama', huh?”
”Dunno.”
”Mama.”
”See, there it is again.”
Inukas.h.i.+ lowered s.h.i.+onn back into the bathwater, and warmed him. s.h.i.+onn found it very comfortable, apparently, for he gave a relaxed smile. Its radiance touched upon everything: beautiful things, refres.h.i.+ng things, exciting things.
I didn't know babies were such precious beings.
”Why is it 'Mama', Inukas.h.i.+?” Rikiga insisted.
”Everything is 'Mama' to babies, old man. Hard to believe, but even you were crying for you mama some decades ago. Did you stop crying once someone flashed you a gold coin back then too, huh?”
”You're one to talk,” Rikiga shot back. ”You're just as attached to money as I am. Look at the pot calling the kettle black.”
”Hah, shut up.”
They're such precious beings. I never knew.
All the babies Inukas.h.i.+ had buried without feeling―in the frozen ground; in the sun-beaten and parched soil; in the muddied earth of the rainy season―now, for the first time, Inukas.h.i.+ cast his thoughts to each and every one.
Maybe s.h.i.+onn wasn't the only one. Was that baby a precious existence? Or that baby, or that other baby, too? If they were, then... they shouldn't have died like that. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense that they have to die so skinny, with their skin so wrinkly you'd think it was some old woman. To draw their last breath with such innocent eyes, without any hatred for anyone, without even knowing how to hate. Like the one I buried at the root of a honeysuckle bush,or the one I dug a grave for in red soil, or the one I wrapped in rag before burying, or that one, or that one, or that one―they all should have been cherished more;. They shouldn't have been forced to die that way.
s.h.i.+onn, don't you die. Live on. Live, and grow big. Learn to hate, learn to cherish.
”Muh-muhhh.”
Inukas.h.i.+ scooped the baby up, and briskly put his clothes back on him. A black female dog got up as if it had been waiting its turn. The mat it had been sprawled on had cotton stuffing poking out of its ripped seams. Inukas.h.i.+ had fished it out of the rubble in the marketplace. It was faded, worn thin in many places, and more like a rag than anything else. But upon closer examination, one could see an adorable pattern of baby chicks. Maybe a baby much like s.h.i.+onn had been using it before. On the day of the Hunt, maybe he had been put to sleep on this very mat, and been immersed in a dream.
”He's all yours,” Inukas.h.i.+ said to the dog. After s.h.i.+onn had been laid down beside the dog, he immediately latched onto the dog's teat. He suckled eagerly, making gurgling sounds in his throat.
”Rather furry nurse he's got.”
”We've got as many furry girls as you'd want,” Inukas.h.i.+ said. ”Black fur, red fur, white fur, spotted fur. Care for a night with a lady of your choice?”
Rikiga ignored Inukas.h.i.+'s sarcasm, and heaved a sigh.
”A human baby being raised on dog's milk... that's quite something. But is that alright? G.o.d forbid he should start barking next.”
”He just said 'Mama', didn't he?”
Rikiga looked down at s.h.i.+onn, and heaved another sigh.
”Old man.”
”What?”
”Have you made the preparations?”
Rikiga's face slowly turned towards Inukas.h.i.+. ”Yeah.” He lifted his arm languidly, and pointed at the black bag on the table.
”Good. Let's go, then.” Inukas.h.i.+ lifted the bag. It weighed down heavily in his hands. Rikiga knitted his brow and made a reluctant face.
”Inukas.h.i.+... why don't we call it quits?”
”Quit?”
”Let's just forget about the whole thing.”
”Forget about it, and then what?”
”We crawl back into our holes and keep quiet. Don't you think it'd be... better that way?”
”Of course.” It would be better, old man. I feel that way hundred times stronger than you. I want to forget all about it, and crawl back into my den.
It would be cold tonight, but not enough to freeze. If Inukas.h.i.+ had his dogs with him, he'd be able to ward off the cold. Just minutes ago, he'd filled his stomach with stale biscuits and a soup of vegetable rinds. It was good. That means right now, I'm more or less fulfilled. If I could just lie down with my dogs and fall into a deep, deep sleep...
That'd be nice.
”Right?” Rikiga continued. ”Why don't we do that? You have s.h.i.+onn. You have to protect him. If something happens to you, who's going to take care of him? Think about it.”
”The dogs are here. The dogs will raise him even without me. Just like my mum did.”
”Yeah, but... Inukas.h.i.+, let me be straight with you. I value my life as much as you do. I don't want to do anything dangerous. So,” he said hesitantly, ”let's back out of this. Forget it ever happened, hm?”
”And what happens to Nezumi and s.h.i.+on? You gonna abandon them?”
”Those two are already dead. There's no way they'd be alive. They couldn't have lived if they've been rounded up by the Hunt, anyway. You know this as well as I do. That's why it's useless. We're about to put our lives on the line for something completely useless. Come on, let's just stop this. It's for the best.”
”Old man.”
Rikiga drew his chin when he saw Inukas.h.i.+'s gaze.
”―What?”
”That's enough yammering. It's almost time. Let's go.”
”Inukas.h.i.+!”
”I'm going. If you wanna quit, old man, you go do that. I don't care. The bag comes with me, though.”
”Inukas.h.i.+, why? Why are you so bent on fulfilling your duty to them? You always acted alone. So have I. I could understand for s.h.i.+on, but to go this far for someone like Eve...”
”He's one of us.”
”Huh?”
”They're part of our group. I can't abandon them.”
Rikiga's dark eyes darted about. His mouth twisted into a scowl, like someone had force-fed him some bitter herb. He scratched furiously at the rash on his chin.
”I can't even bring myself to laugh at your joke,” Rikiga said scathingly. ”You've got no taste. Just listening to you makes me nauseous.”
”Well, gee, I mean, your stomach is probably already a mess from your binge-drinking. I'd advise you to give up the booze for you own sake, though it's probably too late for you. Heheh, but I sounded pretty cool back there, didn't I? You'd agree I was pretty suave, right?”
”Idiot. I can't believe you could rattle off those embarra.s.sing lines as if you actually meant it. Maybe you've got potential to be an actor like Eve. You must be kidding me,” he spat, ”one fox is enough.”
Inukas.h.i.+ bared his teeth on purpose into a vulgar grin. Rikiga's mouth twisted even more severely.
”The only members of your 'group' are your dogs,” he said. ”You have as little trust for humans as the length of your pinky. Keep shooting off lies like that, and one day your tongue will rot.”
”Ooh, I wouldn't want that,” Inukas.h.i.+ said sarcastically. ”Fine, let's be frank. You first.”
”Me―” Rikiga began. ”Well, like I said, I want to back out. I've been saying this over and over.”
”That's honestly how you feel?”
”I'm an honest man. I don't lie.”
”I can't even bring myself to laugh at your joke. Forget your tongue. Watch it before your w.a.n.g rots and falls off, too. How much money did you spend to come up with what's inside this bag, huh, old man? I'm sure you've gotten tons of gold from Nezumi, but at best, that gold'll offset your expenses and you'll be even... no, you'll probably be down. If you scamper on back to your hole, you'll be losing all that extra money you spent for nothing. Could you stand that, really? Of course not. Are you the kind of humble man to just back down and submit to your loss? Hmm, even a pure and innocent kid like me finds that hard to believe.”
Inukas.h.i.+ whistled. A few dogs that had been laying low near the walls stood up. He whistled again, this time at a slightly lower pitch than before.
The dogs surrounded Rikiga. Without so much as a snarl, they formed a circle with Rikiga at the centre.
”Don't a.s.sume they're just normal dogs that are a bit on the big side,” Inukas.h.i.+ said. ”These guys have been trained to be guard dogs since they were born. I trained them myself, you'll see they're not just any kind of dog. What would I call them... yeah, like elite troops trained exclusively for the offense. They'll latch onto human throats―h.e.l.l, even a tiger's. It's too bad we don't have any tigers around here. We got tons of humans, though.”
Rikiga clutched his throat, and shrank back. A p.r.o.nounced fear swam in his bloodshot eyes.
”Inukas.h.i.+... cut that out, that's a stupid joke.” He knew it was no joke. Rikiga's voice cracked, and the fear in his eyes deepened.
Inukas.h.i.+ repressed his emotions, and continued speaking in a flat tone. A cold, inscrutable voice was much more fearsome than a rough and aggressive manner. He had learned that from Nezumi.
”Only Nezumi was able to escape from these guys. But barely. They managed to chomp down on his shoulder. Pretty deep. He didn't make a sound, but I think it must've been painful.”
”That Eve, huh... what an accomplishment.”
”Hmph,” Inukas.h.i.+ sniffed scornfully. ”If you've got better moves than Nezumi, old man, you'd be able to make it through. If not―”
”As if I would be able to scurry around like Eve does. Just climbing the stairs leaves me out of breath these days, and I know it's nothing to brag about.” Rikiga sighed deeply, and let go of his throat. ”Fine, Inukas.h.i.+. I lose. This is your kingdom, after all. I could struggle all I want, but I wouldn't be able to win.”
”Feel like coming clean now?”
Rikiga glanced furtively at Inukas.h.i.+'s face as if to gauge his mood.
”Starting to resemble Eve more and more. Don't let him poison you. Nothing good will come of it. Actually, you might be beyond all help already.”
”That was the most useful piece of advice I've ever gotten from you since we met, old man. Thanks. But you don't need to worry. Once this business is over and done with, it's good-bye to him for good.”
This was his honest intention.
Inukas.h.i.+ didn't like to be around Nezumi. He couldn't see through Nezumi at all, nor could he place a finger on him. But despite that, Nezumi had a strange magnetism about him. Inukas.h.i.+ found himself entangled in Nezumi's web. Like Rikiga said, he was being poisoned by him.
Danger, danger. Gotta say good-bye.