Volume 3 Chapter 6 (1/2)

title: Koushounin series 03

Koushounin wa Furikaeru [交渉人は振り返る]

Chapter: 6

Page: 165 - 199

Author: Eda Yuuri [榎田 尤利]

Illustrator: Nara Chiharu [奈良 千春]

Publisher: Taiyō Tosob>

Year of Release: 2009

Disclaimer:

Eda Yuuri is the original author of this work, and this is a fan translation Feel free to re-post this elsewhere if you like but please credit this site I did buy the original copy of this book, along with the rest of the series, so it'll be great if you can support her by buying her books

By the way, this work contains BL, or homo-eroticism And some animal cruelty too, with the bear’s paw and all, if it bothers you

Note:

As I have no for in translation theory nor alish, for the uarantee the quality of this translation work, but I promise I did my best

I have been a big fan of the Koushounin series by Eda Yuuri ever since I got my hands on the BLCDs for the first and second instal patiently for the BLCDs for the third instalment onward… to no avail It has been 8 years since the sensei published Koushounin wa Furikaeru, and I aht be no BLCD after all

Nevertheless, the fujoshi+ doesn't give up The following is lish translation of the rest of the series

Chapter 6

The business that I started in October last year have otten on track

The first two months were difficult; at that time, after I paid Sayuri and Kiyo their salaries there was close to nothing left for me But by the time summer came, I was finally able to drahat a normal salaried worker would ive Sayuri and Kiyo a little bit of a bonus in Deceer of the office, I can putwell

”Shall I buy a bear's paw to pray for the prosperity of this business?” I muttered to myself as I watched the news on the old CRT television we had in the office On the screen showed the hustle and bustle of the crowds that thronged the shrine at Asakusa

”If you want to pray to O-tori-sama, you'll only have until the end today, you know,” said Sayuri as she tapped audibly on her abacus Kiyo had to go for a shi+ft at his ht be done by evening

”It'll be okay if I tried bargain for a better price for the bear's paw, right?”

”Of course The more you drive the price down the luckier the charive the difference back to the shrine, though”

”Ah, that sounds good I would like to do that, you know, the thing when you go 'shan, shan, shan' and clap your hands…”

”You ? That's only if you buy a bear paw that is considerable in size We could probably start with a s you start so”

As what you would expect of soeable about such things I picked at fried dough sticks and nodded eagerly at what Sayuri-san said Though I was due to meet t clients today, it so happened that both of them cancelled their appointments This wasn't uncommon, so I didn't mind

The wintry wind tapped its cold fingers at our , but the inside of the office arm The air-conditioner didn't work very well in the su fine I also introduced a huet too dry After all, it is said that a cold is the root of a thousand illnesses

”Today is San-no-Tori, the Third Day of the cock, so I think it'll be pretty crowded”

”Nn”

The news had ended, and the screen had switched to a variety show The perfor a comedian said

”If you were going to go, shouldn't you hurry?”

”Un I probably should” I said, absent-mindedly

I should do that, I should do this—thoughts like that swirled in hts into action It is different when it coh When I think, this is for work, I could y, but it was difficult to su else

I knehy I felt this way

Asahina was still weighing heavily on my mind Some time had passed since I decided to pull out of his case, but I have been unable to put it behind me

”How about going to the shrine with the young head?”

”Un… Huh? With Hyoudou? No, I won't!”

”Why not?”

”Why… you ask Wouldn't it be bad luck to buy a bear's paw at a shrine with a gangster?”

I was cohed loudly ”Oh, chief You really don't need to be shy”

”I am not!”

It was a lie Actually, I had gotten a little self-conscious I are that Sayuri-san and Kiyo had noticed the true nature of my relationshi+p with Hyoudou, but I was still embarrassed every time they said it out loud

”I thought he would be a great person to have around alking through a crowd”

She had a point there The powerful yakuza aura that Hyoudou gave off would probably reduce the population density around us… But if I asked Hyoudou to go to a shrine with me for a reason like that, he would be pretty pissed, I think

”I’ll just quickly go there by myself and come back Would a 3000-yen one do?”

”I think it will It's cold, so do take care”

”Un”

Sayuri-san sawHyoudou's coat on top of ht and warm so I found it really handy Hyoudou must have been busy, as he hasn't visited my office since I met him at the coast that day

As I walked to the train station wondering if I could walk to the shrine fro, and the caller ID showed a nu such calls, so I answered it: ”Mebuki speaking” It was a phone I used mostly for work, so I usually start the conversation by introducing myself

I heard the caller's intake of breath, after which a husky voice on the other end of the line said, ”Sensei”

I knew in a thrice who it was Stopping in my tracks, I ventured: ”Asahina-kun?”

”Sensei, please save er”

”It'll be okay, so calm down”

His voice was shrill and nervous, so I kneas fairly upset right now In order to not distress him further, I consciously strove to keep ht now?”

”An apartment… A weekly apartment Will you come for me, Mebuki-sensei?” He sounded like the student he was, black then

”I'll go” I answered ”Tell me the address, and I'll head there now”

”I'll tell you how to get here, but please, don't hang up on ain” Asahina see, and I assured hi him where that weekly ed a cab noould reach in about fifteen minutes

On the way there in the cab, Asahina wouldn't stop talking about what he and his fah after the court decree—he rambled on and on, like he had been possessed

”The phone wouldn't stop ringing, and the fax-ot that when the case was still being heard in court… but it becaed 'Murderer', 'pay for your sins', 'you should die too', the callers said And after that I received text irlfriend that went, 'Why did you kill me? You will be sorry you did'… and also a poster with 'this is the house of a murderer' written on it was found on our front door, and et up from bed… our family photos were circulated on the internet… and then my father's company threw him away… debts we didn't know of started to surface… andwas a mess”

At that time, he repeatedly called the office of the fir as a lawyer for

”I thought that Mebuki-sensei would do so to save us,” he said However, I was always out of office when he called It was probably a busy period for me, at that time

Despite that, Asahina did not leave any es He had already pulled out the phone in his house and cancelled his hand phone contract, so he had been calling from a public phone, thus it was difficult to request that I call him back Asahina did not sound bitter, but his voice shook as he spoke about what happened in the past

”The bashi+ng had ot myself a new phone… but my father died, and my mother was admitted to the hospital…”

By then, I had reached the front of his apartripped my hand phone as I hurried to the unit Asahina said he was in When I rang the doorbell, Asahina said to me over the phone, ”I'll open that now”

”Sensei,” The steel door swung open, and there stood Asahina, looking like he was about to cry His clothes and hair were in a mess, his face had the same sickly pallor, and he looked even thinner than the last time I saw him Perhaps he was relieved to seeup

”How good of you to colad Please coed Weekly apartments were usually one-roo in was a 1LDK apart the dining table were the relance into the japanese-style bedroo still out on the floor It would see here for at least a couple of days

”I thought you wouldn't co room

With a faint smile I said: ”But I would,” I took a seat next to hiazines and empty snack wrappers, strewn all over the coffee table ”I thought you wouldn't contact ain”

”It's hard to say so like this now… but I'd like you to bailhis head I touched his shoulder lightly and answered: ”Un I want to”

”I will think about what I can do to help you, but first I would need to know exactly what is going on Would you tell me?”

”I'an as he lifted his face His hollow, vacant eyes stared into ht be killed”

”Did someone threaten to kill you?”

”T-They usedoff s … but then they suddenly turned their backs onfor them, too He was sent to keep an eye on me!”

”Asahina-kun, calhtly in mine, and his eyes started to swiinning Don't hold anything back First of all, what position did you hold in the scaroup?”

”… I am the leader”

There was no strength in his words, but he seemed to have calmed down somewhat Asahina shook his hand free ofto kitchen, he called: ”Do you want anything to drink?”

”I want to hear what you have to say first Do sit back down”

”I want so kind”

Froed through the drawers Sitting in the middle of the mess in the kitchen was an expresso machine, the newest model It was the kind which you push a capsule of powder in and it would brew a cup for you

”If you were the leader, don't you have a number ofthe capsule into the machine

”Yeah I had five guys make the calls Toshi+ and I did the accounts… he was from the kumi”

He was being surprisingly forthco

”He was sent to monitor you?”

”Uh huh They didn't trust me fuck…”

”Saitou-kun was a candidate for the sixth roup, then?”

”Yeah He seemed to be in need of money… and he is fairly sociable, too That's pretty i with old folks”

He then came back with two demitasses of coffee he had prepared The coffee hat you ht call a double espresso; the tiny espresso cups were full to the bri at the coffee he prepared for me made me feel that this apartroup

Right, o back to the kitchen, but I told him I didn't need any Wordlessly, he returned to sit next toat the rich colour of the thick coffee in his cup, he said: ”I thought that I shouldhim a formal member I need to see him with my own eyes what kind of person he was… that hy I set up an interview, and went down e It was at that time,”

He met me

”I was really surprised What was going on? Why is Mebuki-sensei following Saitou? Then I found out, aler a lawyer He was now a negotiator, with an office in Ryougoku—Toshi+ ran a check on you and all these turned up almost immediately”

”Then you got in touch with me, because you were afraid that I would alert the police?”

”There was that too… but that wasn't the only reason” Asahina hesitated briefly, before ad to me that he had found me particularly hateful As I sat next to him, I noticed that he smelled of sweat It would appear that he hadn't showered in a while ”My resentment was unjustified, really I know you have been kind You saved me fro sense Yet, I was furious with you You ht have won that court case, but h all that I wanted to ask you, if you knew”

”I can't really bla like that I wasn't aware of what happened to your family”

”Look at you That's how kind you are,” he hissed, and drank his espresso

I picked upon the edge had made me rather thirsty If I could not persuade Asahina to turn himself in, then I really have been of no help at all

”You are kind, with a strong sense of justice, and you also said things like 'you can still turn over a new leaf' to me But that's not true… there isn't a way out of this for me”

”You can't make blind assumptions like that, Asahina-kun” I put an arm around his thin shoulders and tried to lift his spirits, but when I looked him squarely in the eye, I found tear stains on his cheeks He had been crying

”But I have beco his upper lip The crying had ruined his pretty face, and he looked like a defenceless child I wavered, unsure of what I should say to him

A cris—that is what Asahina is, now Furthermore, he cannot hope to rely on his family With his current situation, it was hard to say to hiht', or 'it'll work out sorace

”Even so, I will believe in you,” I said, looking at those eyes that were overfloith tears

”…believe?” Asahina echoed softly

”Yep I believe that you can make a fresh start”

”What's that supposed to s like that so easily”

”Didn't you callthat I would help you?”

There was no strength left in his eyes, but his pupils trehtly at my question ”What if I said that I didn't?”

”Didn't you tell me to save you?”

Asahina started to roll the demitasse, now empty, around in his hands

”I would like to trust you, sensei, but I can't”

”Why?”

”Sensei and I are too different”

”That isn't true All of us have our weak points The only significant difference between me and you are our environments…”

”Prove it tomy sentence short ”Prove to me that you believe in , everything about the scauys on top of us—I would even turn myself to the police”

I hesitated, then Being trusting was the attitude I strove to have when dealing with others, but this was the first time someone had implored me to prove to them that I did Despite that, I was heartened by the fact he said that he would turn himself in I ht Asahina would be fine

”Tell me, then What do I need to do for you to believe me?”

Asahina did not answer He did not speak as he stared pointedly at my cup I picked it up and finished all the coffee in it, before putting it back down onto the coffee table

”Asahina-kun, what do I need to—”

”Do nothing”

No matter how many times I pressed hi, I'll believe you, sensei”

I fell silent, no knohat he meant

Asahina picked up my cup and murmured: ”You drank it all up, didn't you?”

A terrible chill ran upthose words I realised that I had broken a rule If I was on the 'Away' teaotiation had been specified by the other party, I must not accept any food and drink that was served to me I should not even drink the water, if they offered any There are far more instances in which the other party is not well-disposed towards the negotiator than not, and you never knohat they otiation, but I should not have overlooked this rule There was no one with me now and I haven't informed anyone of my whereabouts

”The coffee was really strong, so you probably didn't know”

”… Asahina”

”It's not poison I put in The stuff in it is the sa” He fished about in his pockets and pulled out a pill case, which he emptied on the coffee table, and numerous capsules filled hite clattered as they bounced off the table top I was at a loss for words, and could only watch

”It's a synthetic drug, but it packs a punch You'll feel clear-headed at first, like you've becory But the high is relatively short-lived… and the withdrawal syet pretty bad You'll start to feel like a worm that should be crushed under someone's foot”

”Why, did you—”

I was desperate, desperate as I tried to stay calested the drug orally, he didn't shoot it up et et it out before it gets into my system

”I said that, didn't I? I said that I wanted to trust Mebuki-san,” said Asahina as he threw one of those capsules into his h up You should, fall a little lower”

He then washed the capsule doater from a plastic bottle, a crooked smile upon his features

”If you would fall to where I was noould believe you, sensei You can't profess to kno I feel if you haven't had the sa you to become and addict… you only need to do this once, now You only need to stay in this roo”

”Do I… truly need to do this before you would trust me?”

Un, Asahina nodded The ghost of his smile was blurred with tears

”You're crazy” I one pale, and a cold sweat had broken out all over me

I had soe about narcotics, but I haven't had any experience doing drugs, naturally I could feel frissons going upup

”I's since back then too, you knoell then sensei, ould you do? Would you leave, and run to the hospital or the police station?” Asahina peered intothis ”That's to be expected, I guess You're angry, aren't you sensei? That I did so like this to you… That is why no one will save me now Sensei will abandon me now too, won't you?”

”I…”

Leave now, the logical side of ed Leave this apartht to a hospital after that Do not belittle the drug he gave you What could be more important to you then your own health? Go now, before it is too late This spoilt brat is hopeless, and you should not have concerned yourself with his affairs

”I… you…”

Will you forsake hi him lip service? Perhaps you were This isn't part of your job, and Asahina is not a client He is simply a person with a criminal record that you once helped… no, tried to help There is no way you could have believed that this person can turn over a new leaf, and it's natural that you wouldn't Why would you, when you know that he has even dabbled in drug use?

”It is only effective for twelve hours,” said Asahina as he looked at a clock on the wall ”It's now 6:00 PM, so by 6:00 AM toree to reo with you to the police”

”To, turn yourself in?”

”Un, I'll start anew, like you believed I would”

Are you telling me the truth, I asked, and Asahina only stared at me In hushed tones, he said: ”It's fine if you don't believe me”

I want to believe that he was

I want to be able to believe that he was

Perhaps, though, I actually did not think he was being truthful It is, after all, very hard to believe that he was Incredibly hard, in fact, which was probably why estion was activated Yes you can, it whispered to me You are a person who can listen to what others say to you and not doubt them Asahina needs me to believe him before he would believe me, and in order for that to happen—