Chapter 30

CHAPTER 7 B The Heir (2) A few dozen minutes earlier—Tokyo Akane was next to a lonely park not quite in the center of the city, a place that she would normally never visit at night. Even during the day, she didn’t have much of a reason to be here—but for some reason, despite Shiki’s very recent abduction, Akane found herself heading down this backstreet. She was looking around as she went, as though waiting to meet someone. “This should be the place,” she muttered to herself. A van pulled up and stopped nearby. “?” The next moment, a number of men emerged from the van and casually surrounded her. “You must be Akane, right?” “…” She sensed danger from them and reached for a long, thin bag over her back. But the men just smiled at her and opened the door on the side of the van. When Akane saw the person inside the van, her eyes went wide. And then she smiled with relief and started walking toward the van on her own. “Hey, what the hell do you people think you’re doing?!” bellowed a man’s loud voice before Akane could say a word. Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a number of men rushing over. They were clearly yakuza by the look of them, but Akane was not afraid of them. She recognized them as the men who were always with Shiki. “…!” The men who got out of the van panicked and jumped back into their vehicle when they saw the newcomers. One of them reached out for Akane, trying to drag her in with him. “No!” she shrieked, pulling her hand free as she sensed something dangerous in his expression. “Ugh…” They slammed the door of the van shut, and it drove off just as the scary-looking men arrived. “Get back here!” One of the men tried to jump on top of the vehicle, but he failed to reach the roof and tumbled right onto the pavement. Akane and the newcomers were the only people left on the street. “Mistress Akane, why are you out here so late…?” “What about you all? Why are you here?” “Er, w-we just happened to be passing by.” The menacing men sent each other rather obvious glances, prompting each other to play along. They didn’t expect that Akane would know Shiki had disappeared. “More importantly, what was happening with you, miss? You were about to climb right into that fishy van…” “…I know,” she admitted uncomfortably. Then she told them the unvarnished truth. “I saw someone I know inside that van…” Basement garage of Shinra’s apartment “So is that Shijima guy the culprit? Or was he the first victim? It’s one of the two, I bet…” “Dunno. In either case, now that you’re back, I’m sure he’s going to do something,” Libei said to Celty. Despite the fact that he was rapidly becoming involved in the incident, he was acting like outside help, solving other people’s problems. “If he sees me chatting amicably with you, I suppose I’ll be a target next, just like that green-headed boy.” “Hmm? What do you mean?” “Huh?” “What?” Libei realized that they weren’t quite having the same conversation. A horrible thought dawned on him. “Oh, wait…do you not know yet?” “Know what?” “That green-headed kid got kidnapped, too.” … …Huh?! Time stopped briefly for Celty as she grappled with this unexpected fact. And then, perfectly on cue, a loud incoming ringtone blasted out of her phone. “Hello? Is that you, courier? If I have the right number, tap the phone twice,” came the voice over the phone. It’s Mr. Akabayashi, she recognized. Another Awakusu-kai lieutenant, like Shiki. Despite her confusion over the news of Kuon, she hurriedly tapped the mic on the phone. “Well, it’s an emergency, which is why I called, rather than writing you a message. You see, Akane was very nearly abducted just a little while ago.” …?! She had just been talking to Akane during the day. Celty’s mind was unraveling even more now. “I know that you were talking with Akane earlier today. I’ve had the young guys keeping a constant eye on her, as a matter of fact. I know that you’re not responsible, and the guys they saw trying to take her were unfamiliar. They didn’t look like yakuza, but we don’t know anything else about them,” Akabayashi explained to set up the situation. “Now, at the moment, I’ve got my friends in Jan-Jaka-Jan trailing them on their motorcycles. So my question is this… “Do you want to clear your name by catching the real culprits yourself?” Tokyo “Mr. Horada, we managed to follow them without being spotted… They went into a mansion in the woods in Hachioji.” “Nice! Good job. Keep an eye on them there,” Horada said to his henchman over the phone. He was in a very good mood. “Okay…but it’s looking kind of dicey.” “How so?” he asked, frowning. The younger kid sounded pressed. “There’s a bunch of vans here on this spacious lot…and a good number of people going in and out…” “What set are they reppin’? W-wait…it’s not the Awakusu-kai, right?” Horada asked, knowing that if it was yakuza, he was withdrawing immediately from this plan. “No, it’s not them…but it’s weird. They’re not mobsters. There are, like, normal people coming and going… Plus kids in high school and middle school…” “What the hell?” “But there are seriously a lot of people… I’ve seen at least a dozen of them on my own.” “Damn, really? If it was only the four or five from that van, we could rustle up the boys and take them… But anyway, give me a map of the area or whatever and e-mail it over,” Horada said and ended the call. Almost immediately, another person was on the line. It was one of his friends from his Blue Squares days. This person was watching the kid named Mizuchi on Horada’s orders. “Yo, how’d it go?” “Uh, well, we found the Mizuchi kid’s house…but it’s kind of dicey, man.” “What, you too?! Everyone’s telling me it’s dicey this, dicey that. What the hell is dicey about it?” he snapped with annoyance. “His apartment building… It’s Togusa’s house.” “What?!” “He was polishing up his van out front, talking with the Mizuchi guy.” Togusa had once been a member of the Blue Squares, but he betrayed Izumii, the leader at the time, and joined that Kadota guy in staging a rebellion. “Wait a sec, are you tellin’ me Kadota’s already taken that kid under his wing?!” “Uh, I have no idea. I said it was Togusa’s apartment, right? What if he’s just renting a room there?” “Rrrgh.” Horada scowled, as though he’d taken a bite of something bitter. Shit, what now? he wondered. It’s one thing to make that Mizuchi kid owe us one, but I don’t want Kadota involved. How do I make him grateful to me once we know the girl’s safe, without getting my hands dirty? For one thing, it’s kinda dangerous to try to raid a group when you don’t even know who they are… He went over all the information he possessed as quickly as he could—and came to one solid conclusion. That’s it. This is what the Blue Squares are for. I’ll send them in, and if it turns out to be bad, I can just pretend I didn’t know about it. If everything works out, and I get Mizuchi into the Blue Squares, I’m golden. Then I can just go to where they hang out and be like, “Hey, I’m the one who found where they were keeping your girlfriend.” That’s not a lie, so the current Blue Squares can’t complain about that, yeah? With all these very self-serving thoughts in mind, Horada hit the call button on his phone. And I just gotta pray that Izumii doesn’t show up, he added, feeling a shiver in his spine. When the boy answered the phone, he affected a very pleasant tone and said, “Hey! Is that Aoba Kuronuma? It’s me, man! You know, me! Your friendly friend Horada! I got a juicy tip here that I figured you kids in my old gang would want to know about! “There’s this big rookie in town—they say he can hold his own against Shizuo Heiwajima. And I want to get him in my debt!” Basement room—Tokyo It had been over half a day since they were locked in the basement room, but Shiki and Kuon were still calm. Shiki’s subordinate complained every now and then, but a silent glare from his boss immediately restored his fortitude each time. The two sides did not say much to each other, either to keep their secrets close to their chests or to avoid the guard overhearing what they had to say. So time passed, slowly and silently. As far as the bathroom was concerned, that was the one time the guard would undo the bonds on their feet, then blindfold them all the way to the bathroom. Once they were inside, the guard would wait on the other side of the door. But as far as their stomachs went, they hadn’t been given even a single drop of water to drink. Based on the bathroom interior and the general sense of the walk to get there, Shiki suspected that they were indeed in some kind of mansion. He attempted conversation a few times, but the guard always said he couldn’t talk. This wasn’t the way of his line of work, Shiki decided. Everything about the way these people were holding them hostage struck him as amateurs trying to fake it with brute force. If they were real amateurs, there was no reason for them to be abducting people, but based on the information he’d gathered, Shiki was close to a conclusion. He was going to test that hypothesis. “Hey, kid,” he said to Kuon. “Yes? What is it?” asked the boy politely. His manner had changed once he learned the other man was a yakuza. But Shiki could see through the false show of respect. He’d made ample use of Izaya Orihara over the years, and everything about the boy, from his attitude to his way of speaking, was extremely similar to the info dealer. Izaya wasn’t quite as flippant, but they both shared that sense of sardonic malice lurking beneath the surface, the sheen of smug superiority. “When you first showed up, you said something about Aya and Ai Tatsugami being here.” “Yes, I did.” “So which are they?” “Which…? What do you mean?” Kuon asked. But Shiki was in no mood for games. He snapped, “Are they here because they were abducted, like us? Or were they…?” “If you’re far enough along to ask that question, you don’t really need me to answer it, do you?” Kuon chuckled awkwardly. There was some noise outside the door, so Shiki and Kuon paused and glanced toward the entrance. “Oh…do we have a new guest?” Kuon said. Appearing before them was a teenage girl whose hands and feet were tied up in the same way as theirs. She was also wearing the same uniform as Kuon, making it clear she was a student at Raira Academy. “Oh? Himeka!” Kuon exclaimed. “…Kotonami. I’m glad you’re all right,” said the girl when they took off her blindfold. Her expression was completely flat. “Look, it’s our emotional reunion, so the least you could do is get tears in your eyes and say, ‘I’m so glad you’re alive!’ or something, right?” “I’m sorry. There’s no guarantee we’re getting out safely…” “Well, when you apologize like that, it really starts to sound like we should be worried, so let’s not do that, okay?” “Your sister was worried,” Himeka said. Instantly, the smile vanished from Kuon’s face. “…You saw her?” “The two of us met her,” Himeka said, choosing her words carefully to avoid mentioning the name Mizuchi where anyone else could hear. It wasn’t just the kidnappers she was worried about. The man tied up right next to Kuon was clearly not an ordinary civilian, going by the fierce look in his eyes, so she judged that it was safest not to mention any names. Kuon was silent for a few seconds, then exhaled and shook his head. “Oh, geez… I can’t believe she opened the door for anyone other than the delivery person she knows.” “I’m sorry. Was that invasive?” “No, it’s fine. If she let you in, I have no right to complain about it.” Himeka chose to mention only the result and not the fact that she had pried the lock open. “She said you were abducted with a plan in mind… Do you already know who’s responsible?” “…Wow, how much did she tell you?” “…She told us about Izaya Orihara.” “…” Izaya Orihara. The mention of that name caused Shiki to raise an eyebrow. But the kids weren’t watching him closely enough to observe that reaction. “…Wow, really? So she told you a lot,” Kuon said. He smirked, his eyes cold and dead, and continued, “Then I guess I don’t need to keep up the act anymore.” He gazed at her not in his usual lighthearted way but with eyes like a snake watching its prey. “In fact, I have a question for you, Himeka: How did you figure out who was responsible?” “I always had a bad feeling about it. A sinking sensation that I knew the answer. And to be totally honest, from the point that I learned the Headless Rider was nice… I knew there was no other possibility,” she said. She was as blunt as always, but her voice was ever so slightly weaker than usual. “Even still, I wanted to believe. I was ready for this outcome…but a part of me still wishes it were all a mistake.” Of the two grown men who’d been listening to the whole conversation, the bald-headed one shouted, “What the hell are you two talkin’ about over there?! Explain it for us, too!” The other man, who appeared to be his superior, used his trussed-up feet to stomp on him. “Gwugh!” “Shut up. You’re the only one in the dark.” “Huh? Wh-what do you mean, Mr. Shiki?!” wailed the bald-headed man. Kuon just smiled at him coldly. “It means the first victims of this incident are you two.” “…Huh?” “Then me, and now this girl is the latest victim.” “What the hell are you talking about?! From what we’ve learned, at least fifteen people have been abducted!” the bald man shouted. Shiki replied, “They weren’t abducted. We’ve had the wrong idea about this case from the start.” “What? Wh-what’s that supposed to mean, Mr. Shiki?!” “The people who vanished weren’t abducted by the Headless Rider. They just disappeared and lay low to make it look that way.” “…?” His subordinate looked baffled. Shiki was going to elaborate—but the door opened, cutting him off. “Well? Have you calmed down a little?” The woman who appeared in the doorway smiled down at Himeka, who was tied up on the floor. Himeka answered with absolutely neutral emotion. “I’ve been calm from the very start. Can you say you’re actually calm?” Then she paused and enunciated very clearly so everyone else could hear, “Well, Aya?”