Chapter 58

CHAPTER 4 Excuse Me! Don’t Make Me Call the Police, Sir! The next day, rental office, Saitama Prefecture “Mr. Shijimaaa. Kidnapping women is just as low as dealing drugs. Let’s not do thiiis…” It was late afternoon, and the sun was approaching the horizon. Jami had just shown up at the hideout and started complaining. Shijima exhaled and asked, “What are you talking about?” “I heard some bad-looking kids talking about it at school. They said Heaven’s Slave is trying to abduct people in Ikebukuro. The lady who runs the used item shop. That’s the Sonohara person, right?” “…I told you, I abandoned the organization known as Heaven’s Slave… No, wait, stop. What was that? Tell me more.” Earthworm, who’d been listening nearby, smiled lasciviously and interjected, “Oh, I just heard the same rumor from a customer today. I assumed it was you, plotting to get Saika. Or maybe you’re only after her body?” She pressed herself fully against Shijima’s back. In a monotone voice, he replied, “You’re just enjoying yourself, knowing that that’s not the case… Anyway, go ahead and tell me the details.” Minutes later, after he’d heard everything, Shijima readjusted his glasses and remarked, “I see… I would have ignored them if they were merely using the Heaven’s Slave name, but if they’re going after Anri Sonohara, that makes this a bit more personal.” “Why’s that?” Jami asked. “…Few people know about Saika, the cursed blade. I don’t know who is using the group’s name, but if there’s another group out there looking for Saika, I want to know the reason.” “What’s Saika, Mr. Shijima?” “I’ll tell you later,” he said, trying to get Jami off his back. Shijima considered what to do next. Apparently, this mystery group wasn’t just going after the owner but plotting to take something from the Sonohara-dou storehouse, for reasons that were unclear. “In any case, if their plan is getting leaked this easily, it’s going to break down imminently. We could probably let that happen without taking any action, but I’m curious who put them up to it. That might be someone with a connection to Saika.” He coldly watched Jami, who was doing a handstand on a chair deftly balanced diagonally on two of its legs. “…Depending on the situation, I might need to have Jami destroy them.” Outside Sonohara-dou “Well, Anri, take care of yourself,” Akabayashi said, leaving the building. After a bit of a walk, he noticed a writhing blackness at the corner of the street ahead. “You know, if you stay this close to Sonohara-dou, I’d prefer not to be seen with you.” “It’s just as I reported this morning… I’m sorry. I lost our lead…” “Don’t apologize. That wasn’t supposed to be your job anyway. You were staking out Anri’s place until dawn, weren’t you? If anything, I’m the one who should feel sorry.” “I was only worried about my friend.” “Your friend, huh…? I don’t have many of those. I’m jealous of Anri.” He smirked self-deprecatingly. Celty tilted her helmet to the side. “Aren’t Mr. Shiki and Mr. Aozaki your friends?” Akabayashi burst into laughter. “Ah-ha…hak…koff! Ha-ha-ha… You know, you can be a real airhead at the oddest times.” “Uh, r-really?” “…Well, let’s see. I find I get along with the guys at Russia Sushi even when I’m not on the job, so I suppose you might say they’re friends of mine.” Akabayashi paused, his gaze sharpening. He bowed to her. “Thank you, courier. I mean it. You might not need it, but let me say it anyway. You have the word of Mizuki Akabayashi that this debt will be repaid one day.” “Mr. Akabayashi…” He was so dead serious that she knew it would be insulting to refuse his thanks, so Celty decided it was better to accept the sentiment. Akabayashi’s usual lilting smile returned, and he struck the ground with the tip of his cane. “You just let me handle the rest. I can’t be using my own people on a garden-variety burglar, obviously. But if Heaven’s Slave is involved, that changes things. It means I can unleash man power on the problem.” Celty extended her senses outward and became aware that there were men in suits walking about in notable number around them. They might have seemed like ordinary pedestrians at first, but a closer examination of their general air and unceasing observation made it clear that they were on the lookout for trouble. Are they from Jan-Jaka-Jan or foot soldiers for the Awakusu-kai? Celty wondered, pegging them as protégés of Akabayashi’s. In any case, she was relieved that Anri would not need to expose herself to trouble anymore. If the enemy just wanted to kill Anri, consequences be damned, snipers would be a major concern. It would be easier for them to just light Anri’s house on fire, so Celty decided the guns weren’t worth worrying about. Either way, we need to capture the people behind this as soon as possible. And preferably before Anri recognizes what’s going on. At the same time, however, she was worried about her own job. While he earned it himself, I can’t help but be concerned for Yukihiko Natsugawara’s safety, being in the midst of this group. After her conversation with Akabayashi, Celty found herself making a new resolution as she zipped along on Shooter. If I don’t want Awayuki to cry over her brother, I need to nab him as soon as I find him, no matter what… Rental office, Saitama Prefecture “Oh my.” Earthworm chuckled, seeing the collection of intelligence stored on the laptop. “It really is a small world, isn’t it?” “It’s a crazy coincidence, huh, Mr. Shijima? Um, also…sorry?” Jami apologized for some strange reason. “…” Shijima glared at the screen, not taking his eyes off it. “Who could have guessed that Heaven’s Slave had turned out to be such a complicated mess? It’s like the karma from abandoning them has blown back on you all at once.” “It’s divine punishment, Mr. Shijima. Like I said, you shouldn’t have been doing that wicked plotting in front of Kishimojin…” “I did nothing of the sort!” Shijima snapped. He got to his feet. “Well…I suppose it’s time to act.” Earthworm noted his calm demeanor and flashed a seductive smile. “Act how, exactly? Are you going to cry to Daddy or Grandpa and say, Pweeze help meeee? Actually, I really want to see that. You have to do it, Hiroto.” “Like hell I will,” he snapped again, then closed his eyes. “What I have to do hasn’t changed. I either pour gas on the fire or send the wind… Well, a breeze is already blowing, so I guess it’ll be gas this time.” “I hate to douse your fire while you’re acting very pretentious and cool, but you make it sound like you’re setting up a charcoal grill for your food cart.” “That’s fine. Aren’t professional grillers cool?” Shijima put on his jacket and went to the door. “Where are you going?” asked Jami innocently. As usual, Shijima was nothing but cold. “Off to see the monster that sells gasoline.” At night, Ikebukuro The sun had just finished setting, and a reddish glow still remained in the western sky. Yukihiko Natsugawara was in the midst of the crowds, watching the Headless Rider rush about the city in search of something. “So that’s the Headless Rider,” he murmured, shaking loose memories from years ago. “The thing that looked for our snake and brought it back…” Although he had only briefly glanced at her through the window then, he vividly remembered the motorcycle and riding suit that seemed black enough to absorb all light. “Is that my dad’s henchman? Could be looking for the stuff I took with me…?” Yukihiko murmured—half correctly, as it turned out. He kept his hat on to hide the top of his face as he walked. He’d heard about how the Headless Rider had prevented the break-in at Sonohara-dou last night. If that’s Dad’s agent, then how did she know I was involved with that shop? I hope she hasn’t already found the stuff and taken it out, he worried to himself as he hurried toward Sonohara-dou. But a mere graze of the handle of the hammer in his pocket caused those concerns to dissipate into thin air. Yeah, that’s right… If my plan failed, I can just steal it out of the house again. At worst, I could kidnap Awayuki and demand ransom from Dad, he thought. The lowest of the low. When Yukihiko arrived at Sonohara-dou, he approached the owner with his cap pulled low. If the rider had a connection to the owner, they might have photos of his face all around, at which point his presence here could be reported to the Natsugawara family at once. Deciding the chances were greater than zero, Yukihiko resolved to be cautious. If the owner shows any sign of that, I guess I could use this thing to knock her out, he thought boldly. “Welcome. Are you looking for anything in particular today?” the owner asked as he approached. “Yes. Well, I’m looking for something rare… Would you happen to have any shark tooth fossils?” She might not have organized everything in the storehouse, but if she was aware of it, she would react in some way. And if she realized that he was the culprit, he’d just have to knock her out with the hammer. His plan was rapidly going from bold to reckless. Yukihiko squeezed the handle of the hammer. The woman looked apologetic. “Oh…I’m very sorry. We did have one until recently, but it’s already gone.” He very nearly uttered a twitching uh…? but managed to hold it in, pivoting quickly to a nervous “Ah, I s-see… Well, uh… What about a wooden parquet puzzle box sort of thing? My little sister loves those.” “I’m very sorry. We also had one of those until recently…” “…Oh. That’s…too bad.” This doesn’t make sense. Does she know who I am? Is she saying these things on purpose? Since she didn’t say, I don’t know if we have that, and go off to check, but instead claimed, It’s already gone, should I assume that she does know the store had those things? Dammit, who notices their inventory is growing and then immediately sells the new things? What is this bitch thinking?! fumed Yukihiko, who could not have known that there was never a register of items in the storehouse in the first place. But a possibility occurred to him. What if…she already checked the contents and used the Headless Rider to return them to Dad…? But without any confirmation, it would be reckless to go back to the family to search… Do I just need to knock her out and question her? Confirming that no other people were inside the shop, he started to run a mental simulation, trying to figure out how long it would take to attack the woman and drag her into the back of the shop, out of sight. But then the door opened, and a new person entered. Yukihiko clicked his tongue in irritation and turned to see who had come in. The sight threatened to pop his eyes out of his skull. The visitor, dressed in a high school uniform, was holding the very megalodon tooth fossil that Yukihiko had taken right out of his family home. “Oh, what’s the matter with that?” “Well…I was examining this, and I found out there was a weird data card stuck inside of it. I was wondering if it was actually something important to your family, Miss Sonohara…” “…!” Outside of their view, Yukihiko’s eyes twitched. Dammit! It’s that kid! And he knows about the card?! What did he do—take that priceless megalodon fossil and immediately smash it to pieces?! he panicked. Meanwhile, Anri and Yahiro were having a very matter-of-fact conversation about the item. “Umm…I don’t think so. My father and mother weren’t good with that kind of tech; we never had a computer… It’s possible that it was sold to us while my father was running the shop over a decade ago, and it was still hanging around,” she said. “Ah, I see.” “I don’t know what the data is, but if it was sold to a used items store, I think it’s perfectly fine for you to have it, Yahiro. Please don’t worry about it. If it seems like the contents of the card are important, you can tell me, and I’ll try to find something about it in the ledger from my father’s generation.” “That’s a good idea,” Yahiro agreed. Yukihiko’s jaw dropped. No, no, no! It’s a terrible idea! That’s a micro SD card! Why would you assume it’s that old?! You could make a solid guess of when it was sold just by looking at the dates on the files! Ugh, dammit! What now? Did he bring the SD card here with him…? I suppose I could follow him, beat him up, and take the data with me… Of course, I’ll also need the data inside the puzzle box, but I doubt that will be a problem because it only looks like pornography at a glance. With this resolution in mind, Yukihiko silently slipped out of the store. …The main thing is, I don’t want people recognizing my face. First things first, I need to find this kid’s hideout. “But this shark fossil seems expensive on its own, so it feels wrong to receive it for something as simple as cleaning up…” “Oh no. Please don’t worry about that… Oh, that’s right. There was a customer who was just looking for a shark tooth fossil over there… Oh?” If Yahiro didn’t want it, Anri thought, she could suggest that he negotiate with the other customer who was looking for one—but that person was already gone, leaving behind nothing but a clammy breeze through the open door. Several minutes later, Yukihiko watched from a distance as Yahiro climbed into a van parked next to the store. He got on the phone and called his Heaven’s Slave companions. “…Yeah, that’s right. It’s a van with some kind of anime character printed on one side. If you see it around town, follow it and find out where their hideout is.” Saitama Prefecture “…We’ve learned the location of one of the data sources. A civilian has purchased it and discovered the card, it seems.” “What do we do? Should we retrieve it ourselves?” The suit-wearing men were calm and collected but with an undeniable sense of menace. “No, better to have Heaven’s Slave take the blame. We’ll just observe, like yesterday, and if they’re about to be caught, provide sniper backup. If the other side is civilians, no kill shots: just enough to scare them. Make sure the men understand that.” “Understood. I’ll do so.” Once the other man had finished passing along those orders to the subordinates, the leader of the group exhaled and murmured, “But the real problem…is that magician rider.” “Our observation made it clear that the shadow effect is not a trick or illusion of some kind. We shot it when it was trying to catch Heaven’s Slave last night, and there was barely any damage. The rider just scooped up the bullet with its shadow and left.” “Then was our prior information correct? Is that the Natsugawara Group’s secret tool?” “What even is it…? Some kind of liquid metal controlled at will through electric current, perhaps…?” “No point in boots-on-the-ground men like us trying to figure it out. We all know how to shoot guns, but can a single one of us list off more than five chemical equations? Is there a single person here who’s a regular reader of Newton magazine?” said the seeming leader of the group to the amusement of the men in suits. “We’ll let the boys at the lab figure out what that thing is. But you don’t need to be an expert to know at a glance that whatever it is, it’s so valuable that it could overturn the industry in multiple respects.” He tapped the picture of the Headless Rider on his tablet, his voice flat and matter-of-fact. “The pilot can go dead or alive. Just wait for your opportunity and retrieve the Shadow Ghost that takes the form of a bike and its rider.” Evening, Ikebukuro Unaware that her shadow had been given a new nickname, Celty was proceeding with the tedious work of investigating her case. “…So with that in mind, have you heard any rumors about Heaven’s Slave?” “Heaven’s Slave, huh? I haven’t heard anything good, that’s for sure.” Celty was in a park, collecting information not from Shizuo Heiwajima but his superior at work, Tom Tanaka. They were on a break at the moment. Tom had a deep understanding of the local motorcycle groups, street gangs, and other delinquent sorts—at times, he even knew more than Izaya Orihara about such folks. Celty had spent all day going from Saitama to Ikebukuro in search of Heaven’s Slave, but as Libei had said, she could find small groupings of their members but was not getting any closer to finding the body that controlled all of them. She was beginning to feel like she was playing a game of whack-a-mole with a broken score counter. She had spotted Tom hanging out in the park when she realized she needed to be asking other people some questions. “I just can’t get to the higher-ups. Everyone I threaten or butter up just says the same thing—that they can’t get in touch and they’re all annoyed and waiting for orders…” “…Uh-huh. It sure does sound like the Dollars,” Tom said. “Do you have any insight on the main group?” asked Celty, at her wit’s end. Tom considered the question. “Well…maybe it’s possible…that Heaven’s Slave isn’t one group.” “Huh?” “It’s like okonomiyaki shops or what have you. There’s always the ‘original’ recipe, or the ‘true flavor,’ and whatnot… The initial Heaven’s Slave group dissolved, right? Some of those folks who no longer had any affiliation probably retained some know-how of dealing drugs, I assume,” Tom conjectured, sitting on the bench and looking up at Celty. “So if some of those leftovers drifted off to Tokyo or Saitama and recruited partners of their own and decided, I’m the new Heaven’s Slave boss now, of course you’re never going to reach the real organizing body. Because there isn’t one.” “…But that doesn’t make sense. We know they’re working for a leader named Shijima, and while they can’t contact him, they all showed signs of having a boss of some kind giving them orders…” “So like I was saying, inferior copies of Heaven’s Slave start popping up like bamboo shoots after the rain, right? And if there’s someone who recognizes this is happening, with longer reach and a wider perspective…he might choose to use all those inferior copies to his advantage. Someone who has to have the power to control all those hoodlums—through money, for example.” “I see… In that case, out of all the various Heaven’s Slaves, you could choose only to use the ones who suited your purpose.” “Exactly. And it’s easy to cut them off, like a lizard’s tail. You stay hidden in the shadows and move on to using a different Heaven’s Slave.” Interesting. That could be possible…but it seems to me like Shijima’s been too visible for that to be true, Celty thought. Or maybe Shijima himself is being manipulated and is only, like, Heaven’s Slave number five himself… Tom could sense that Celty was uncertain about this argument. He scratched his cheek with a finger and suggested, “Well, I don’t know the truth. But from what I hear, there are at least three Heaven’s Slave groups in Ikebukuro, one each in Narimasu and Wako, and they’re all completely independent. To the point that some of them almost started getting into turf wars. I assumed it was an internal conflict in the whole group, but maybe they’re each thinking, We’re the real originals.” “How do you know so much about this?!” “Lately, though, that competition has died down. Maybe one of them won the fight and they all united…or like I said earlier, some kind of generous sponsor stepped in and mediated the conflict.” Shizuo had been sitting back and observing the conversation with his arms crossed, but now he finally spoke up. “Celty, what you’re really looking for is this Yukihiko Natsugawara and Hiroto Shijima, right? So what do you need to figure out all this complicated stuff for? Forget about the Heaven’s whatever and narrow it down to those guys. Wouldn’t that be easier?” “That’s the problem. I was looking for Heaven’s Slave so that I could find them, so it might be putting the cart before the horse… Shijima has some distinct features, though. I might recognize him right away if I ran across him.” “What’s this Shijima guy like?” “Well, he’s got bandages all over his head and glasses on top of them.” Shizuo and Tom read the message on her phone screen, then looked at each other. “Is that the guy from the other day?” “The one who was with the weird circus acrobat guy.” “…?! You know him?!” Celty asked, shocked. They turned toward her to explain—but both of them froze, looking over her shoulders. “Ah.” “Huh…?” “Hmm? What is it?” Celty asked. They pointed behind her. “…Isn’t that him?” “What?” she began to type in response, but she stopped partway as she checked around her. She extended her senses in that direction, toward the entrance to the park, and perceived a young man with bandages around his head standing there. Huh? Wha—?! Are you kidding me?! she thought, completely flustered, looking between him and the two men she was with. Then she bowed briefly to Tom and typed, “S-sorry. Let me make this up to you sometime later!” As she rushed off toward her task, Tom and Shizuo could only stare at each other yet again. “Uh, did we…actually do anything for her?” “I have no idea…” By the time Celty reached the entrance to the park, the bandaged man had already moved, sliding toward the shadows of a different road. She caught up to Shijima just as he entered a narrow alley with very little foot traffic and reached for his shoulders. He spun around and came to a stop just as her fingers extended, and he sent a chilling gaze into the darkness in the depths of her helmet. “I suppose this isn’t really a get-to-know-you situation, Headless Rider. After all, you’re very familiar with me, and I’d like to think I know a few things about you already.” “…You’re Hiroto Shijima?” “And if I say yes?” “I’m dragging you over to Mr. Akabayashi. But first, you’re going to tell me the reason you singled out Anri, and you’re going to tell me where Yukihiko Natsugawara is,” Celty stated, holding back nothing. Shijima chuckled. “That’s not a negotiation. You’re just issuing demands.” “…Do you think you’re in any position to negotiate?” After her failure last night, Celty decided to use her shadows in advance this time and slipped them around Shijima’s hands and feet. Relieved that she could either hold him down or string him up if he tried to run now, she resumed her questioning. “What do you think you’re doing with Anri? What is your goal?” “Do I have to answer that? If you had any relationship with Izaya Orihara, you would know that all information has an equal cost.” “And I told you that you’re not in any position to make deals with me,” she snapped, grabbing him by the collar. But his gaze remained cold and calm. “Actually, I am.” “…What?” “If you take me right over to Akabayashi or kill me yourself, it will mean the death of someone you care about.” …! An eerie chill rushed through Celty’s body. It felt cold enough to rattle her spine. Her first thought was of the black-market doctor in his white coat. Next, she thought of Anri, Mikado, Shizuo, the van group… Their faces each flashed in her mind. Wait… How much does he know about me? Can I be sure it’s just a bluff? She went utterly still, and Shijima grinned triumphantly. “Don’t worry, monster. I don’t know where your family and friends live. Although I did just learn how close you really are to Anri Sonohara.” With a surge of sudden relief, Celty lifted Shijima by his shirt with both hands. She extended fingers of shadow to hold the smartphone up and type into it at the same time for Shijima’s benefit. “So it was a bluff!” “No, it wasn’t. If anything happens to me, a couple of people around Ikebukuro are going to be shot and killed at random—that’s all.” …?! Celty froze again. Shijima’s explanation was delivered with chilling simplicity. “You care about everyone in this city, don’t you? In fact, it’s not limited to the city—you care about humanity as a whole, right? Look, when I say random, I mean total strangers to you. There’s no reason to feel guilty about it. I’m the one who’s at fault for doing this.” She considered that this might be a bluff, too, but the memories of being shot the previous night led Celty to believe that Shijima was probably serious. She lowered him to the ground, arms trembling, and typed through barely suppressed anger. “Hiroto Shijima…what do you want?!” “I want nothing from you. I merely wanted to express that I am in a position to negotiate. I’m not some murderer, and killing innocent children minding their own business is not something that brings me any joy.” “…So I’m supposed to trust you?” “Well, it’s better not to trust wicked people like myself, of course, but I’d like to have a little more trust than Izaya Orihara, let’s say. I don’t want anything from you, and because of that, I have no reason to be antagonistic to you.” He says all this after having me shot! fumed Celty, who believed that the sniper had been acting on Shijima’s order. However, losing her composure would be playing into his hands, so she decided to cool her metaphorical head and continue the “negotiation,” as he’d called it. “Then why are we talking together now?” “I just so happened to hear that you were out looking for me today. Do you have anything to say to me outside of the matter of Anri Sonohara, Yukihiko Natsugawara, and Akabayashi?” he asked with a shrug. Celty balled her fists and used shadow to type on the phone. “Plenty of things. For one, stop dealing your messed-up drugs all over town!” “Got it. I’ll stop.” “There haven’t been that many victims yet, but who knows how many— Ummm, hang on, hang on, wait—wait, what?” typed Celty, getting confused in the middle of her sentence. She erased the message in progress and started over. “Huh? You’ll stop?” “Yes. Even my partners told me that people who deal drugs are the worst. And personally speaking, I have no desire to make the Awakusu-kai’s Akabayashi any angrier with me. So I haven’t been selling anything to ordinary folks for quite a while.” “I can’t believe that! The drugs are still going out all over the city…” “Whoever’s doing that is doing so against my orders. That happened with the Dollars, too, didn’t it? People revolting against their friends and causing trouble.” Shijima sounded rather unconcerned. “So you’re able to tell those folks to stop selling?” “Yes, I can get them to stop within a few days… Is there anything else you want to say?” Celty considered this question for a few moments. There was something else very important to her that she could prod him about. “But…you were the one who was dealing the drugs that amplified and accelerated the delusions of the cult worshipping me, right?” At the very least, Himeka Tatsugami’s two sisters had been driven mad by Shijima’s drugs. They were already leaning that way at the start, but the drugs essentially caused that clock hand to tick faster and further. “Yeah. That was an experiment. There was no business there. The results were quite fascinating.” “…I could punch you,” Celty admitted. Shijima narrowed his eyelids. “Will one be enough?” “What?” she replied, her helmet tilting to the side. Shijima pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and called someone. “…It’s me. The Headless Rider’s going to hit me one time. It’s already part of the deal. No need for retribution against any civilians.” He hung up, not bothering to remove his glasses, and said to Celty, “All right. Hit me with whatever single punch will satisfy you, monster.” “…You’re sure?” she asked because she was not. Behind the glasses, Shijima’s eyes narrowed as he grinned again. “I’d prefer it to be nonfatal.” Shijima’s body flew sixty feet down the narrow alley in an instant. She had created a fist formed of shadow to perform the deed. It had been a massive three feet across and too fast to see. It had hit Shijima directly in the face, propelling him down the street as though he were shot out of a cannon. He tumbled until he hit a fence and went still. …Huh? Was that too much? H-he’s not dead, right?! Celty was less concerned about Shijima himself and more about the possibility of indiscriminate sniping in the streets out of revenge for his death. She rushed over to where he lay, coughing violently and ejecting spittle flecked with blood. A piece of his broken glasses was stuck in the skin near his eyes. He made for such a miserable sight, even his attacker felt a little bit queasy about the damage she’d done. And then, out of nowhere, blood oozing from scrapes all over his body, cradling what appeared to be a broken left arm, Shijima laughed.