Chapter 8

CHAPTER 2 B The Instigator Ikebukuro—Rakuei Gym, night Of all the martial arts gyms to be found in Ikebukuro, Rakuei Gym was one of the biggest. On paper, the German MMA world champion, Traugott Geissendorfer, was a member, and for that reason, the gym’s name was known worldwide. It was a mixed martial arts gym for the most part, but it had different floors for specific disciplines like karate and boxing. You could even take weapon lessons with swords, spears, and staffs. Their members varied from serious disciples to housewives looking for an effective weight loss method. If you took out the particular kind of tension that all fighting gyms have, it was an eccentric place where people of all kinds could be found. In that sense, it was much like the city itself. “Wow, I wouldn’t have guessed that you go here, too, Kuon! I’m a bit shocked, actually,” said Mairu, who was dressed in her fighting dogi. Kuon, still in his school uniform by contrast, scratched his head awkwardly. “Well…I went to the Takadanobaba location up through middle school…but now this location is easier to stop by on the way home from school.” “Got it, got it. Well, it’s wild to think that Aocchi introduced you to me during spring vacation, and we’re already running into each other here.” “I’m just as shocked as you.” At the start of every school year, it wasn’t particularly rare to find fellow students having conversations like these—if perhaps not this precise circumstance. But no sooner had the mood settled than Mairu broke it down by glancing behind Kuon. “So who’s this boy?” “Oh…sorry. Um, hello,” said another boy wearing the same school uniform, bowing and looking around nervously. It was Yahiro. “I’m Kuon’s classmate. My name is Yahiro Mizuchi.” “Ohhh. So you’re another one of my underclassmen, then! Hi there.” “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” Mairu gave the nervous new boy a close examination. She was wearing special athletic glasses at the moment, although she took them off when performing fiercer activity like sparring and competition. “Hmm—hmm—hmm. No dyed hair, no piercings. I don’t smell cigarette smoke or paint thinner. That’s great! Unlike Kuon, you seem like a model student.” “Uh…th-thank you?” Yahiro replied, unsure why he was being assessed like this. But Kuon, cheek twitching, rounded on the older girl in protest. “Hey, uh, I don’t smoke or huff thinner, either…” “That’s true. Although if you’re hanging out with Aocchi, you’re probably up to much worse.” “H-hey, that’s not fair!” complained Kuon, as Mairu cackled. Yahiro stared at the two opposites in wonder. She turned to him and asked, “So are you looking to join?” “Um, I’m just observing for today…” Then Kuon interjected, “That’s right, he’s a stick-in-the-mud, Mairu!” and jabbed Yahiro with his elbow. “We were supposed to be going to look for the Headless Rider together, but Yahiro’s no fun!” Outside school One hour earlier… “Let’s go and find that Headless Rider ourselves!” Kuon said, all momentum and excitement. But Yahiro quickly replied, “No, I’ll pass for today.” “Wha—? Why?! You’re not doing anything!” “Yes. I’m fine doing something else…but I’m not thinking of looking for the Headless Rider until at least tomorrow. That’s the one thing I’m not ready for today,” Yahiro said. His voice was gentle but firm. Kuon was flustered. “Why is today not the right day for the Headless Rider?! What does that mean?!” “…” Yahiro considered his answer. What should I tell him? I was going to follow Tatsugami’s advice and at least wait until tomorrow… But mentioning that felt like it would be revealing a secret, and he wasn’t sure if it would be proper. She didn’t swear him to secrecy or anything like that, but he had the sense that it wasn’t the kind of conversation meant to be repeated to others. So he told Kuon, “Sorry, the reason’s a secret. I couldn’t even tell a friend.” “What? Is it that important?!” “I don’t know if important is the right word…” The sight of Yahiro seriously uncertain of how to explain it gave Kuon a strange sensation of culture shock. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. “You really are weird…” “Huh?! I…I am?” Uh-oh. Where did I go wrong? Yahiro was not the most adept at judging the proper emotional distance of a friend, so he adopted what he thought was a polite smile—but not being used to smiling, it just looked like an awkward grimace. Kuon wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this, either. He sighed. “Well, I guess we don’t have to do it today. Maybe I’ll go visit the dojo instead.” “Dojo?” “Yeah, it’s called Rakuei Gym. I’ve been going to the dojo in Takadanobaba, but now my high school’s over here, right? So I’m going to visit the main location in Ikebukuro.” “Dojo… Like, for martial arts? What do you do there?” asked Yahiro, suddenly eager and interested. Kuon wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he kept up a friendly smile nevertheless. “Oh, all kinds of stuff. I’m learning self-defense. But you can do anything—mixed martial arts, karate, boxing, kendo, you name it.” Yahiro’s eyes widened a bit. He considered this for a moment. “Can I ask you some more questions about that?” And that was how Yahiro came to be at Rakuei Gym to observe the offerings there. “I can’t believe it. He moved here to Ikebukuro, and he’s going to be all passive and hesitant about checking out the Headless Rider? It’s unthinkable. You’re just wasting your time.” Kuon grumbled, clearly not over their change of plans. “Huh? You guys are interested in the Headless Rider?” asked Mairu. “Well, yeah. I was definitely curious to check this whole thing out. But Yahiro is, like, obsessed. He says he came to Tokyo from Akita—just to see the Headless Rider. That’s crazy, right?” “Wow, all the way from Akita?! That’s some dedication! Very cool,” exclaimed Mairu, her eyes sparkling. Yahiro’s wandered aimlessly. “Er, well…I guess the Headless Rider…isn’t my only reason…” “What? What’s that? What are you after? Is it my body?! But you can’t! Every inch of my body belongs to Kuru and Yuuhei! It’s been preordered! Already sold out!” “I’m sorry. I…don’t know what you mean…,” stammered Yahiro. Kuon muttered into his ear, “I’ve only known her for a little while, but I know you can ignore when she’s being annoying like this. Plus, I don’t think it’s worth coming all the way from Akita for her body. Her sister, on the other hand—” “I can hear you!” Mairu grunted, swiftly spinning behind Kuon’s back and grinding his temples with her fists. “Aaaaah! H-hey, isn’t this the kind of thing little kids do?! It’s like slapping hands or flicking foreheads! I’ve never actually seen someone do this in real liii— Aaaaaow!” “Well, I’m certainly not going to be telling any naughty underclassmen like you any tidbits I know about the Headless Rider!” Tidbits about the Headless Rider. Yahiro and Kuon pounced upon the offhand mention. “Huh?” “Hey, Mairu, could you please tell me how much you know?” She grinned and hissed laughter through her teeth. “Oh, lots. I’ve met the rider several times. Kuru even got the Headless Rider as a bodyguard once.” “Bodyguard?” Yahiro said. That word didn’t seem to have any relation to the urban legend he was familiar with. “Yep. I mean, our brother was friends with the Headless Rider.” “Friends…?” Yahiro was even more confused than before. Kuon gave her a piercing look. “Now there you go again, making up stuff to tease younger people who don’t know better.” “What’s that look for? You don’t believe me? I’m not joking, and I’m not some habitual liar. You can ask Kuru or Aocchi for the truth.” “Ask Kuronuma?” Kuon repeated, frowning. Yahiro looked from Mairu to Kuon with confusion. “Who’s that?” “Hmm…? Oh, he’s an older kid who helped me out when I was in middle school,” Kuon explained vaguely. Mairu added, “He’s the boss of a big scary group of bad boys, so be careful of him, okay?” “Hey, read the room! I was trying to avoid details!” “I did read the room. And then I ignored it, so don’t worry!” “Ugh, you’re the worst!” Kuon lamented. But he realized the cat was out of the bag, so he followed up with, “First of all, Mairu is completely wrong that he’s the leader of some army of thugs. There are a few intimidating people in the group—that’s all. You know, guys who are quick to jump into a fight…” Then he realized that he was not exactly reassuring his audience and tried to change the subject. “A-anyway! If your brother is supposed to be friends with the Headless Rider, then that makes things super-easy! Go ahead—call him up right now! Call, call, call, on that celly-cell-cell!” he chanted, slapping the gym’s pillar with his palm. Mairu just laughed. “Ha-ha-ha-ha, I can’t.” “Why not? It’s not fair! You can’t bring that up and then say you won’t!” Kuon protested. But her expression didn’t ease the tiniest bit as she admitted, “I can’t because my brother’s been missing for over a year.” It was a bombshell. “…” “…” The two boys in uniform shared a look but no words. Mairu seemed unfazed by their shock, however. She went on, “Oh, it’s fine; don’t worry about it. He’s vanished a bunch of times before—this one just happens to be longer than usual.” That was a bit of a relief to Yahiro. “Oh…I see.” But that feeling did not last long. She said, “Plus, if at worst he happens to be at the bottom of Tokyo Bay, then that’s a fitting end for my brother. Especially if you assume he probably wanted it that way, y’know?” “…” Yahiro was once again intimidated into silence. This time it was Kuon who spoke up. “Uh…that sounds really worrying, though… If one of the Headless Rider’s acquaintances vanished, that’s just like what’s been…” Before he could finish his sentence, a different voice joined the conversation. “You’re wrong.” “?” “The Headless Rider wouldn’t do that.” The trio turned toward the voice and saw a girl a whole head shorter than Yahiro, wearing a white cotton vest and white hakama, a kind of traditional pleated trousers tied high around the stomach. In her hand was an octagonal pole carved from evergreen oak, indicating that she was attending the gym to learn polearm combat. Mairu recognized the girl at once. “Oh, it’s Akane. Heya!” “It’s nice to see you, Miss Orihara,” said Akane, bowing politely. Kuon asked, “Uh, who are you?” “…I am Akane Awakusu, a pupil of Rakuei-Style Jodo,” she said, referring to a form of combat using short staffs. Like with Mairu, she bowed very politely to the boys. “Oh, uh, I’m only here to observe. I’m Yahiro Mizuchi.” “Kuon Kotonami. Nice to meet you, young lady.” “It’s a pleasure,” Akane said, taking their first introductions very seriously. Then she insisted, “The Headless Rider is not going to kidnap you.” They had no idea when she started listening in. But at the very least, it seemed that she had something to say about Kuon’s suggestion that Mairu’s brother's disappearance was related to the Headless Rider. Yahiro, of course, had no way of knowing why she felt that way, so he could add nothing to the discussion. He just listened closely. “Everyone has the wrong idea. The Headless Rider isn’t some scary monster like everyone online says…,” Akane noted mournfully. Yahiro felt something in his heart twinge. Huh? What…is this feeling…? It didn’t take long for him to recognize the strange sensation rising within his chest. The people back home who called him a monster. The people who looked at the Headless Rider the same way. Did that mean he was hoping to look at the Headless Rider just like that, too? Was he here to see the Headless Rider so that he could prove to himself that he was normal? Was that not the height of arrogance? This sudden epiphany threw Yahiro into a deep and sudden malaise. …Have I been acting incredibly rude toward the Headless Rider…? Then I guess that makes me no better than an inhuman monster… Completely oblivious to his classmate’s sudden funk, Kuon asked, “Akane, right? Are you saying you know the Headless Rider, Akane?” “…” She did not answer his question. If anything, she seemed wary of him. That was a natural reaction to his shocking green hair and piercings, but there seemed to be more to her reaction, too, swirling beneath the surface. “Hey, don’t get all freaked out! This is all just, uh— You know how frogs in the jungle have some crazy colors sometimes? Like poison dart frogs. It’s just as harmless as that.” “Those are lethally poisonous,” Mairu noted. “It literally says poison in the name…,” Yahiro added. Kuon ignored their comments and tried to win over Akane with friendliness. “Plus, none of us said we think the Headless Rider is a bad guy. We only wanna know what their deal is.” Mairu cut in. “You can stop there, Kuon.” “Huh?” He turned back, cowed, as she continued, “Akane’s on the broadcasting committee at school, see? And one of the older kids on the committee vanished not that long ago.” “…” “So that was two consecutive things you said that were very inconsiderate. Not that I mind, personally,” she said. Kuon broke into a cold sweat. “…Yes, my upperclassman was a huge fan of the Headless Rider,” Akane said. “But I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I chose not to say anything about how I actually know the rider.” Her face drifted downward, and her expression was grave. “But…then that girl just disappeared…and everyone imagines all kinds of crazy things and says them like they’re true…” She was thinking back on the memory of her schoolmate about a week ago, when she met her during spring vacation. “Hey, Akane. I think I might finally get to meet the Headless Rider!” The girl had been the student president in elementary school. She was famous around school for her obsession with the Headless Rider. Akane would have been happy to introduce her, but to do so would mean getting her family involved, and that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. “And if I get to be friends with the Headless Rider, Akane, I’ll introduce you sometime!” Only a few days after that, the upperclassman who had been kind and considerate to Akane when she was feeling down—and was to be her fellow student at the new middle school after spring vacation—went missing. From what Akane understood, she’d been classified as a runaway with the police, but there hadn’t been any news of the girl showing up. The news trickled around the school in a similar fashion, and it was soon the talk of the entire student body. “The Headless Rider abducted her into its shadow,” the absurd rumors went. But everyone living in Ikebukuro knew that the Headless Rider was indeed real. It hadn’t been seen in around half a year, but anyone who had witnessed it even once would come to the same conclusion: That is not something of this world. A motorcycle that made no sound. Shadow that writhed and exuded something like smoke. There was no room to classify the urban legend of the Headless Rider as a simple folklore tale once you had seen these things for yourself. Which is why a rumor like that could grow legs and spread throughout the school so quickly and effectively. To Akane, whose life had been saved by the Headless Rider before, it was very difficult to watch the urban legend be cast in such dark and ominous terms. But no one was going to believe her if she claimed, “I was saved by the Headless Rider once!” And in order to explain it in enough detail to be believable, she would have to talk about her family background. Akane was smart enough to know that would not make anyone happy. So she held her tongue at school, pretending not to hear any of the gossip, and swore to herself deep down that she would investigate and get to the bottom of the disappearance herself. This was the mindset she was in when she overheard Kuon, Yahiro, and Mairu talking at the gym—and she couldn’t help but jump in to defend the honor of the Headless Rider—and now she was paying the price of Kuon’s unnecessary attention. “So what are you going to do?” “…I’m going to go look for her.” “Look for her…by yourself? Seriously?” “I can’t leave it to the police,” she said gloomily but firmly. “If you’re going to such lengths, you must really like this girl, huh? Or are you just that confident that the Headless Rider didn’t do it?” asked Kuon, not shy in the least about getting into her business. “Well…,” she murmured, looking away. “Look, we’re not gonna do you wrong. Just tell us more about the Headless Rider! If there’s some mistake going on, you should help clear it up. And if we know it’s all mistaken, we can help spread the word that the rider’s one of the good guys. Cool?” “…” Akane stared at the green-haired boy with suspicion, despite his gaping grin. “Hey, you shouldn’t be picking on poor little girls.” “Agagagagah!” Mairu ground her fists against the sides of his head again, causing him to shriek. “Everyone has things they’d rather not talk about. Take a hint and be cool!” “Owwww… But…but I’m curious,” he protested. Meanwhile, Yahiro had recovered from his funk. He approached Akane and said, “All right, if you don’t want to talk, we won’t ask about the Headless Rider anymore.” “…I’m sorry, thanks,” she said, more in gratitude than apology, and bowed her head. But she seemed to view Yahiro as being slightly more trustworthy than Kuon, because she added, “You would know if you ever shared a conversation…that the Headless Rider isn’t a bad person at all.” “I believe you.” “Huh?” “Not being human doesn’t mean you’re bad,” said Yahiro, with a strangely self-effacing grin. Akane found that mystifying, but his response cheered her up. “Thank you!” She beamed. “I agree! It seems like everyone’s getting the wrong idea…about the Headless Rider…” Then she paused, and this time she was the one wearing a self-effacing smile. “And about Shizuo…” “Huh?” “Oh, er, I’m sorry. That was just me talking to myself!” Akane said. Mairu broke her silence with a smack of her fist against her palm. “Ah, that’s right! The Headless Rider is friends with Shizuo, too!” Yahiro’s heart began to beat faster. Shizuo? Is that…? But Kuon reacted before Yahiro could speak his question out loud. “Whoa! Are you serious?! You mean, like, the Shizuo?! Shizuo Heiwajima!” “Yeah, him. Oh, you know him?” “Of course! Kuronuma tells me stories about him all the time. And I did see him throw a vending machine one time! Wait, so you’re saying the Headless Rider knows Shizuo Heiwajima, too?! For real?” “Aocchi doesn’t tell you anything about stuff like that, then?” Mairu reacted with surprise. Meanwhile, Yahiro’s previous downcast mood had done a one-eighty into fierce excitement. Shizuo Heiwajima. Threw a vending machine. That must be it! It’s him! When searching for urban legends of Ikebukuro online, that was a name that appeared again and again. They called him the “Fighting Automaton,” and he was often listed next to the Headless Rider as one of the “living urban legends of Ikebukuro.” And his name pops up here, right in this conversation! But why? Is it because they’re both urban legends? he wondered, then shook his head. No. This isn’t the time to think about this stuff. Yahiro steadied his breath and said to Akane, “I’ll help you find your friend.” “…Huh?” Her eyes were wide at this unexpected offer. She wasn’t the only one surprised at this. Kuon looked just as stunned, and Mairu was grinning at this development as though she found it quite entertaining. “I want to know what the Headless Rider is like. If they’re not a bad person, like you say, I would like to help prove that. And to do that, I’d like to hear what this schoolmate of yours who’s obsessed with the rider has to say.” Well, I said it, no taking that back. I’m okay—I didn’t lie. I didn’t…right? This was the perfect chance for Yahiro to find out more about not just the Headless Rider but this mysterious Shizuo Heiwajima person as well. Yes, he was worried for the sake of the missing girl, and he wanted to help this Akane girl, too, making it more of a “two birds, one stone” situation. Would it be duplicitous of him not to mention what the second bird was? No. It doesn’t matter. Besides, I really do want to know: Is it possible to be a monster and not be hated by others? …In any case, the missing girl is clearly the biggest worry here. It’s obvious what’s most important of all. Despite the oddly guilty feeling in the back of his head, Yahiro kept it hidden. He really did want to help find the missing girl. He was sure it was the right thing to do for someone else; he just couldn’t be perfectly confident about it. “…” Akane said nothing but glanced at Mairu. It was the look of someone unsure of a new and unfamiliar person who is seeking reassurance.