Chapter 23

CHAPTER 5 B The Mighty Basement garage of Shinra’s apartment—near Kawagoe Highway It was several days earlier. “I think you understand the situation now.” “…Yes.” In a corner of the empty garage, a man was speaking to a woman in a riding suit. “Is there anything you’d like to say to me?” “You have to believe me! I’m innocent!” “I know you are. And I want to believe you.” The man was dressed in a suit and had a sharp gaze. His name was Shiki. On paper, he was an art trader, but that was merely a public identity. His true nature was well known among people who lived in this neighborhood. While he did not have visible tattoos or menacing battle scars, the air about him was dangerous enough that anyone with a keen enough eye could instantly tell he was in the business of organized crime. In truth, he was Shiki, lieutenant of the Awakusu-kai under the Medei-gumi Syndicate. And he had been conducting business with the woman across from him for years. “But you understand my point, don’t you? If we’re going to continue a fruitful business relationship, we’ll need you to offer some kind of evidence of your innocence to the public.” “Right.” “We can’t have you under continual suspicion from the public, you see. That causes unwanted problems for us, being your business partner. We know you are entirely innocent and that everything you’ve suffered is unnecessary, but if we must, we will be forced to terminate our relationship with you.” Ordinarily, you would want to be free from any relationship with this man’s organization. The woman in the riding suit had reasons for keeping that alive, though. “That will mean we can no longer cover up any incidents involving you or offer you information in the future. Of course, we can’t physically disappear you. But if push comes to shove, we could inform the police of your hideout and have them drive you out of town. I would like for us to work together in finding the truth so that it won’t need to come to that.” It was harsh, even cruel, but the woman in the riding suit did not protest. Shiki exhaled a deep breath, then resumed speaking, the edge in his voice lost. “And on top of the business concerns, this is also a personal request.” “Why is that?” “One of the kidnapped people is Miss Akane’s friend.” “!” “Miss Akane would be terribly hurt if she knew the one who saved her life was under suspicion… I hate to burden you with this just when you got back, but could you prioritize this over your usual work?” The woman in the riding suit leaned forward, her helmet dipping down. The man from the underworld saw it and chuckled to himself, turning his back. “Thank you. I’ll send all the information we have to Dr. Kishitani by e-mail. I’m praying that we can continue to patronize the services both of you offer.” Shiki did not live in the light. He was part of the world that twisted the ethics of society with power of all kinds, not least of which was violence. It was how he made a living. But compared to him, the woman’s place in society was even more extreme. Because she was an urban legend who struggled to live in human society—though she herself was not human. She was the Headless Rider. No, Celty Sturluson was not human. She was a type of fairy commonly known as a dullahan, found from Scotland to Ireland—a being that visited the homes of those close to death to inform them of their impending deaths. The dullahan carried its own severed head under its arm, rode on a two-wheeled carriage called a Cóiste Bodhar pulled by a headless horse, and approached the homes of the soon to die. Anyone foolish enough to open the door was drenched with a basin full of blood. Thus, the dullahan, like the banshee, made its name as a herald of ill fortune throughout European folklore. But her background and nature didn’t matter anymore. Because now, she was under suspicion of something she had nothing to do with—and people were starting to think of her as the “Reaper of Abduction.” Shinra’s apartment—near Kawagoe Highway Thirty minutes after her conversation with Shiki, the Headless Rider, Celty Sturluson, curled into a gloomy little ball in her apartment. It was bad enough being suspected of kidnapping, but the story had also taken over the Internet so thoroughly that it was basically treated as fact. As she hugged her knees on the sofa, Celty’s live-in partner, the unlicensed doctor Shinra Kishitani, sighed. “I’m telling you, Celty. You shouldn’t let this bother you.” “It’s impossible for me not to be bothered by this. My reputation’s been completely obliterated.” Not only had both true and false stories about her spread all over the Internet, but people even lobbied insults at her like, “I bet the inside of that helmet is stuffed with kelp stalks,” which was rude to both Celty and kelp stalks. The whole ordeal had left her reeling. “Why kelp stalks…?” “It’s all right. I’ll ask my super-hacker friend to go after the people slandering you online, and then I’ll slice them in two like actual kelp stalks.” “Super-hacker? Are you serious…?” “I just recently got in touch with him online. He can find out all kinds of details about people. His name’s Tsukumoya. Anyway, he’ll be able to identify the people who are writing crap about you. I’ll ask him to hack their computers, grab their downloaded porn videos, then send them to their workplaces and schools.” Celty ignored Shinra’s revenge plan—which seemed designed mostly to cause trouble for those workplaces and schools—and clenched her fists. She bolted to her feet. “Argh! Forget about revenge. We have to start by correcting their mistake… And I’m worried for those who are missing.” “You’re more worried for others than your own reputation? Why, Celty, your compassion is unrivaled in quantity and quality!” “Whatever. Do we have any clues?” “Hmm. Mr. Shiki sent me an e-mail with some materials attached. It seems that the Awakusu-kai are doing some research on their own,” Shinra said, scrolling down the screen of the laptop set up on the table. “Of the recent disappearances, there’s a lot of attention being paid to the two sisters who vanished. And the older of the two was a tabloid writer who was doing some research on you, Celty.” “On me?” “Yes. Umm…looks like there are three sisters, and it was the eldest and youngest who disappeared.” “What about the second?” Celty typed, a natural question. “She’s not mentioned here,” Shinra replied, “so she must be all right. But if we find out why she wasn’t abducted, maybe that will be a big hint. Though I’m sure the police have been looking into that already…” “Hmm… And we don’t know anyone at the police we could ask for information… Oh, I know! Do you think that super-hacker of yours could peek at the police files for—,” Celty typed, then smacked the back of her own neck to scold herself. “Argh, no! No! What’s the point of asking people to commit crimes in order to solve a crime? I’m being stupid!” “That’s a funny thing to hear you say after running illegal courier jobs without a license or a headlight. But it’s also what I love about you… Anyway, it’ll be fine, Celty. The quandary of whether to peek or not is irrelevant; investigations like that don’t take part on externally accessible computers anyway, to protect against leaks.” “Oh, that makes sense. But then…what should we do?” “According to Mr. Shiki’s information, the middle sister is a student at Raira Academy.” Raira Academy. The mention of that name gave her pause. Ever since its premerger days as Raijin High, Celty had deep connections to that particular school. She’d never worn the uniform, of course, but many of the people whom Celty knew well had gone through that school. She even knew a couple of currently enrolled students there. Of all the schools that existed in Japan, it was easily the closest to her in terms of personal connections. “Well, that’s convenient. Ryuugamine’s still there as a senior, since he was held back a year during his hospitalization.” Ryuugamine. Another name that was very familiar to Celty, nearly as much as Raira Academy. Mikado Ryuugamine was a third-year student at Raira. He should have graduated already, but he’d suffered a terrible stab wound to the stomach and had to be hospitalized for a lengthy time. The ordeal forced him to repeat a school year. “Let’s have him get in touch for us.” “Wait, Shinra.” Celty grabbed his hand before he could pick up his phone and start typing. “I don’t want to get Mikado involved in this.” “Celty…” “His life is finally peaceful again. I still think of him as a friend, and that’s exactly why I don’t want to pressure him into getting into this dark, dangerous business.” “You’re so sweet, Celty. I almost feel jealous of Mikado,” Shinra teased. Celty kindly, gently typed, “Yes, you’re the only one I want to involve in dark, dangerous business, Shinra.” She meant it to be half-sardonic, but Shinra’s eyes lit up like a child’s who had just been given a new toy, and he clung to her. “Celty! Oh, Celty! That means we’re always one and the same! One in the hand, two in the bush, three’s company, four’s a—mrblmrbgh!” “Argh, now’s not the time for this!” She grabbed a handful of Shinra’s cheek to peel his face off her, but he was still delighted. “That’s better. Now there’s the Celty I know.” “Anyway, there has to be someone better than Mikado for this. Someone who’s meant for jobs like this! Someone who’s spent a lot of time manipulating us!” “Who, Izaya? He’s still missing,” Shinra pointed out. Celty typed, “Aoba, obviously! Aoba Kuronuma!” “Ohhh…” Shinra’s expression darkened slightly. He clearly didn’t think highly of the boy. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then grabbed his phone. “If you ask me, he only saw you as a tool to be manipulated to his own ends, so I think he deserves to take on a huge debt from seedy loan sharks, require drastic collection methods, and simply vanish off the face of the earth.” “Wow, that took a dark turn.” In the time that took, the call went through, and Shinra growled, “Ah…is that you, Kuronuma? Listen, you’re not my first choice, but I need your help for something. I want you to look for a student at Raira Academy and send their information back to me. “Let’s see…all I know is that her name is Himeka Tatsugami.” Ikebukuro—present day That was how, through Aoba’s help, Celty Sturluson had come into possession of a picture of Himeka Tatsugami, which helped her locate the girl in person on the street. It took just a few days for her to find the girl, based on nothing but the clue that she was walking around with a green-haired boy. However, since the discussion wasn’t really meant for a public setting, she had to trail them until they headed down this secluded alley before she could approach them. I would have preferred to talk with her alone, but I suppose she might have run away if I scared her too much. Celty’s supposition was correct; the boys with her were keeping her calm and capable of holding a conversation. First things first—I need to clear up the misunderstanding… Her idea was to prove that she was innocent beyond a doubt via the alibi of her vacation videos. If only the Dragon Zombie riders hadn’t shown up to interrupt them. “Very nice to meet you,” said the beautiful young man with the soothing smile. That was enough to instantly tell Celty what she needed to know: His was a face she had seen years ago, although she’d never talked to him. Libei. He’s back in town. Libei Ying. The Taiwanese expat once led the biker gang known as Dragon Zombie, splitting control over Ikebukuro with Jan-Jaka-Jan. In order to treat an illness, he traveled back to Taiwan to see his doctor. Apparently, he was back in Ikebukuro now. I’ve heard from Izaya that he shares ancestors with the Ying family in the Chinese mafia. But apparently, it’s a distant relation back in China, so who knows if he actually has connections to call upon… So why was this man here now? If he wanted a fight, he probably would have brought more people with him; two women stood beside him. Though maybe these two are each as tough as Mikage from Rakuei Gym… Celty was frozen, unable to decide what this situation meant. Libei used that opportunity to turn away from her and spoke to the boy standing next to Himeka Tatsugami. “I hear you’re very strong.” “Huh?” Yahiro blurted out. “Strong enough to beat Shizuo Heiwajima in a fight.” … Huh? What did he just say? That was a strange combination of words she thought she’d heard. A totally illogical combination, in fact—the subject, verb, and object made no sense like this. It was as if someone had just said, “The sun’s so cold.” She had to stay silent and listen on, just to make sure she hadn’t misheard. Meanwhile, totally ignorant of the Headless Rider’s mental gymnastics, Libei introduced himself to the young man. “I’m Libei. Libei Ying. Nice to meet you,” he said, smiling easily and offering his hand. The boy looked taken aback but accepted the handshake. “Uh, hi… I’m Yahiro Mizuchi.” “First things first, I need to apologize. Sorry, okay?” “Huh?” “I’m going to give you a little test now.” In the next moment, Yahiro Mizuchi’s world turned upside down. “?!” Yahiro instantly understood what had happened to him. His center of gravity had instantly been thrown off from the handshake, and a powerful leg sweep toppled him sideways. But even before his mind recognized this, Yahiro’s body reacted on pure instinct. Attacked. By who? Why? Sudden. But I did nothing. Scared. Scared, scared, scared. Hurry. Gotta beat him quickly. Before I get hurt. Before I get hurt. Before I get hurt. Before I get hurt, before I get hurt, before I get hurt! All of these thoughts shot through his mind in a fraction of a second, and without any time lag, Yahiro’s body launched a counterattack at his enemy. Before his body, rotating in the air, could fall to the ground, he shot his hand out below him. Holding up his entire body with the strength of one forearm, he twisted his body and tangled his legs around Libei’s neck. “Oh?” Libei failed to anticipate this maneuver. He expected more of a capoeira move, a handstand into a side kick. Instead, the legs tangled around his neck and threatened to pull him down sideways. Libei managed to slip free at the last possible moment, however, and retreated a step to restore his balance. Meanwhile, Yahiro managed to utilize his momentum to his advantage as well and was already on his feet again. He promptly rushed forward, glaring at Libei with eyes like a bird of prey’s, keeping his balance low as he rushed across the asphalt. Libei lifted his leg for a knee kick against his opponent, who’d started his dash from a crouch. But Yahiro either read that move ahead of time or exhibited superhuman reflexes, because he lifted himself upright and jumped just before contact. Thud. His right foot landed on Libei’s knee, and he launched himself off it for greater height. His target was the other man’s face. A vicious knee headed straight for the bridge of Libei’s nose—but the biker twisted out of the way just in time to avoid the blow. “…!” Yahiro’s posture shifted in midair as he reached for his opponent’s neck. If he grabbed it, he could choke out the enemy. In fact, the sheer momentum of the fall alone would probably break his neck. “Yaaah!” Libei rolled sideways to escape from Yahiro’s hands. He hurried back to his feet, but Yahiro was already approaching again. “…!” A palm strike rushed toward Libei’s jaw from a lower diagonal. The moment he evaded it, a hammer blow of the bottom of Yahiro’s fist rushed down toward his brow. “Wai…” Libei just barely avoided contact. Because he was successfully evading each strike, it might seem to a passive observer that Libei was quite a capable fighter. But in truth, he was feeling the pressure. Ever since his initial ambush attack was blocked, he’d been completely on the defensive. There wasn’t even an opening for him to try countering. Y-yikes… And it wasn’t like the younger boy was simply swinging as hard as he could at Libei. The alternation between the base of the hand and clenched fists was enough to make clear he knew what he was doing. Libei tried to put more distance between them, but Yahiro just pushed even closer. He got so close it would be considered a clinch in boxing—no room for either person to take a proper swing—and curled his body. A tightly folded elbow darted forward at Libei’s jaw like a sharp blade. Libei swayed out of the way—but the other arm lunged for his throat from the other direction, as though waiting for that cue. Libei swiped it back with his right, but it felt to him like he was doomed. It seemed like every one of Yahiro’s attacks was coming at full power, and he lunged for Libei’s vital points without mercy or hesitation. And despite the constant rush of attacks, Yahiro didn’t seem to be tiring in the least. No doubt about it—he’s strong! But it’s different from Shizuo Heiwajima! How much stamina did he have? Libei couldn’t even catch a breath to analyze the secrets of his opponent’s strength. I figured people were exaggerating when they said he nearly beat Shizuo…but now I believe it! What a strange kid. Libei stared at Yahiro’s eyes. What he saw there, through the narrowed slits of Yahiro’s lids, gave rise to doubt. Why…why do you look so terrified when you’re the one overpowering me? Despite his desperate defensive gambit, he felt himself grin—a crucial mistake. Yahiro’s leg came swinging up at the gap between his legs. Uh-oh! His hands jutted downward to stop the kick just before it could strike, but that was just a feint from Yahiro. With Libei lunging forward to block the kick, Yahiro was able to use both hands to grab his jaw and the back of his head. Then the kid twisted and pushed Libei toward the ground. An unwise act of resistance could easily break Libei’s neck. His instincts cut off all resistance, and he allowed himself to be taken to the ground to ensure he didn’t snap his neck struggling. The hands immediately came off his face, and he saw Yahiro’s ankle lift off the ground. Uh-oh, that’s not good. All the hair on his body stood on end when he realized the foot was going to stomp directly on his own face. I’m about to die… As Libei’s life began to flash before his eyes a dark shadow crossed in front of them. “?!” “!” Everyone present was stunned, not only Yahiro and Libei. The Headless Rider sent out a shadow that split the space between Libei on the ground and Yahiro standing over him, reaching for the foot that was about to plunge downward. “…!” Yahiro immediately changed direction to avoid the shadow coming to tangle up his foot, and he bounded backward. Once, twice—even that wasn’t enough—Yahiro backed away, jump by jump, like a shrimp fleeing in water. Once he’d backed away to a distance about as long as the street was wide, he stopped and cast a wary glare at Celty, the source of the shadow. Incredible. For her part, Celty marveled at Yahiro’s physical capabilities. I didn’t expect he’d actually slip away from me. She just wanted to stop the sudden fight that broke out, and as Yahiro was the one doing all the attacking, she thought that immobilizing him was the quickest way. But when she extended her shadow to grab him, the way she’d caught street thugs so many times, Yahiro reacted with all the speed and instinct of a wild animal. Does this mean…he really can beat Shizuo? Did something happen between them? What went on here in the last six months…? Celty could only imagine how the city had changed in the time she was gone. She didn’t realize all this had happened in just the last few days. But aside from that, her suspicions weren’t that far off. She watched Libei getting back up off the ground and considered further. The last time he was in Ikebukuro, he was a cause of concern to Kadota and Izaya, wasn’t he? And he got pushed around this easily… What’s going on? Who is that boy? Yahiro seemed like an average kid. He wasn’t as weak as Mikado, but he was hardly some powerful, muscled giant. She couldn’t tell what his muscles were like beneath his school uniform, but in terms of fighting styles, he was probably built more like a swift boxer than a bulky wrestler or judoka. There was no end to the questions, but most important of all right now was to stop this fight from continuing. How do I do that? Swallow him up whole in shadow? That feels like it’ll be a bit too involved… I can’t remember anyone evading my shadow so skillfully since that motorcycle cop. A shiver ran down Celty’s back at the thought of the traffic cop, her mortal nemesis. Fortunately, she didn’t need to wonder what to do for much longer. The boy with the dyed green hair called out, “Hey! Yahiro! Yahiro! Chill out, man! C’mon!” There was a slight shift in the look in Yahiro’s eyes. “Ah…” Then his head spun around. He glanced about, then down at his hands and feet. Suddenly, his expression was mournful, no longer feral and defensive. The green-haired boy rushed over to him. “Get a grip, man! It was over! You won, okay? Yeah, whoo-hoo! My hero!” “…” But Yahiro hardly seemed to hear the half-ironic cheers from his friend. Elsewhere, the two women accompanying the young man were tending to him. “Didn’t we warn you? You can’t go in unarmed.” “This is what you get for being cocky,” they scolded Libei. He shrugged and said, “Look, I’m sorry, Big Sis. You two were right.” That response bowled Celty over. …Big Sis? Wait…both of them?! The two women on either side of him looked so young. Barely more than girls. “Did you just say ‘Big Sis’?” asked the green-haired boy; Celty wasn’t the only one who’d caught that. “Yep, sure did. You might not believe it, but we’re siblings. I’m twenty-one.” “Twenty-two.” “And I’m twenty-three,” finished the girls, waving their hands. “Huh? Uh, okay. W-well, hi, I’m Kuon Kotonami,” he said, flustered into introducing himself. Yahiro was watching Libei with concerned caution. “Um…I…” But Libei cut him off. “Sorry about all that. Let’s just say I lost, the fight’s over, and we’ve all made up. Okay?” He smiled breezily, as though his face hadn’t been in danger of being crushed just moments earlier. “Uh, sure…I went way overboard. I’m sorry,” Yahiro said, deflated. He bowed, and Celty finally felt relieved. Is it…over, then? That’s good. At last, she would be able to proceed with what she wanted to talk about. She turned to Himeka, who had watched the whole altercation play out in mute shock, and typed some more on her smartphone.