Yo! Here"s the promised update. The last time I updated this, I said there were still three parts left to this chapter, but I decided I won"t split the chapter up, so here"s the rest of chapter 3.
Btw, anybody who"s also reading LMW, are you also dying a little inside with every d.a.m.n cliffhanger? We"re so close to the end of this great epic, and it"s just driving me nuts.
Anyways, that was my rant of the day, enjoy the rest of the chapter 3.
Fair warning though, for people who have read my previous translation SNITIP, and were uncomfortable, this story in my opinion is way worse. I"ve no problem with it personally, but I"m a veteran Fujos.h.i.+, I"ve read worse. So read at your own discretion, there is a happy ending at the end of the road, but it"s gonna take a while.
~^>^~
Immediately following that cry within his chest, as if pulled into the darkness by an earth-shattering power, Takahito"s awareness blackened out.
…
The next time he woke up, Takahito was immediately a.s.saulted by a terrible nausea and a headache. His head hurt like it was splitting open, and his stomach felt extremely queasy.
"U….ughh…."
As he fought against the feeling of nausea welling up in his throat, an enamel wash basin was held out in front of his eyes.
Instantly, his stomach cramped violently. With the sensation of vomiting rising impatiently, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the wash basin as if he was stealing it and plunged his face into it.
"Uhh…gee…ughhh…"
Vomiting something like gastric juices, after a moment pa.s.sed he again vomited repeatedly. After he had intermittently vomited several times, the nausea finally settled. His head still hurt, but he was much more comfortable now that his stomach had stopped getting nauseated.
"Ahh…ahh"
Unconsciously grasping the held out towel, he wiped his face that was soggy with tears and snot. Thereupon, this time there appeared water in a gla.s.s. Because the feeling inside his mouth was bad, he rinsed it with the water and spit it out into the wash basin. As if someone had been awaiting the conclusion of the series of actions, the wash basin was gently withdrawn.
"…uh…"
With this step at last, Takahito could pay attention to the situation he had landed in. Raising his body up by the strength of his arms, he surveyed his surroundings.
He realized he was lying on a bed.
Though you could call it a bed, it was not a normal bed. Its width was about that of a King size bed and there were posts on the four corners, and a canopy lay over them. While the canopy drape was drawn, the transparent cloth was hanging down. It would be more fitting to call the gorgeous bed palatial. [1]
[1] 寝台と言ったほうがしっくりくる豪華なベッドだ。- This one can"t really be translated directly, but basically it says the bed should be called "寝台" rather than "ベッド"which is just the j.a.panese version of the English word "bed", because the bed is really fancy. I don"t think English has a separate word for "fancy bed".
From the gap between the pieces of cloth, he could peep at the state of the room he was currently in. It was fairly s.p.a.cious.
There were detailed reliefs engraved on the ceilings that were as high as the eye could reach, and the walls were painted with motives of flowers and plants. He could also glimpse the grand double doors, the oil paintings that adorned the walls in a cramped way, the antique furniture dotting the room, and the polished marble floor.
Overall, the room was an old-fas.h.i.+oned, the kind of gothic that could have come from a European movie. It looked deserted with no sign of people. The person who had earlier handed him the wash basin and the towel was not to be found either.
(Where…am I? Why am I here?)
He grimaced at the persistent headache, and searched his memory.
But his head was as dim as if it was covered in a mist, and he could not immediately recall if something had happened.
Right…he had been studying for the exams at the school"s library with Michiru…then they had gone home together. …he had separated with Michiru in front of the guy"s house.
As if untangling a thread, he followed his memory.
After that, he had met a man while returning to his own home.
It was the foreign man he had pa.s.sed by the previous day.
There had been a "scent" he had not smelled before drifting from that man, and the moment his nose had caught that sweet "scent" his body had heated up, perspired…even now as he recalled that, it had been a mysterious sensation.
Because the man had been staring at him and not moving, he had thought the man might have gotten lost, and had started speaking to him.
…is there anything troubling you, Sir?
Instead of answering, the man had seized his arm, and pulled him close.
He had been embraced from behind, and his mouth covered, so as to contain his resistance.
Even though Takahito had mustered all the strength he had, the man"s hold did not loosen as he had hoped…
Right after he had felt a p.r.i.c.kling pain at his neck his body had become sluggish…and his awareness fainter.
(That pain at my neck…)
There was no doubt he had been injected with a needle filled with sleeping medication or something. The nausea and headache were probably aftereffects of the medication.
They made him lethargic, and while he had been unconscious, had brought him here.
In other words, he had been kidnapped by that man.
Most likely that man had been aiming for him since yesterday. Today as well, the man had probably ambushed him for the sake of abducting him. And yet he had been the one who had started to speak with the man.
(That was stupid.)
Takahito grinded his teeth in regret.
However, even if he regretted it now, there was nothing that could be done about it now.
That man"s ident.i.ty, his goal in kidnapping him, where is this place, those and more were all things he did not know, but the one thing that was clear was that he should escape from this place as quickly as possible.
There was n.o.body here, so now was his chance.
Having come to such a conclusion, Takahito stripped off the down quilt and rose from the bed, putting his feet on the floor. At that moment what he noticed was that at some point his uniform had been removed, and a white silk pyjama had been put on him.
(That"s right. His mobile phone was in the pocket of his uniform.)
If he got his phone back, he could contact his family.
Quietly standing on top of the furry carpet, he surveyed the room. As far as he could ascertain with his eyes, his goals, those being his uniform or schoolbag, could not be found. They had probably been deposited in a different room.
At any rate as he first of all tried to walk towards the door, his body shook and sank.
(Ah…?)
There was no strength in his legs. He could not even take one step forwards. Far from walking, as he tried to do it his knees shook and folded, and he ended up crouching on the floor.
"…what?"
Why can"t he move? Is the medicine still in effect?
As he got irritated by his flesh that did not obey him, the sound of the doork.n.o.b turning resounded.
The double doors that Takahito had tried to walk towards opened, and a small, pale face peeked through. The light blue eyes that saw Takahito sitting on the floor, opened widely.
"You shouldn"t move around suddenly."
The words that warned Takahito were spoken in English.
The person, who approached, his fine eyebrows set in a frown, had a very peculiar appearance.
His silky hair that reached his chest was a shade of silver that could be mistaken for white. His eyes were a light blue like the lakes in Turner"s paintings. With his daintily arranged face like that of a bisque doll, at first glance his age was unidentifiable. It was also difficult to tell the gender of the person, but because he had no b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Takahito guessed he was probably a man. A white s.h.i.+rt peeked out from the neckline of his navy blue sweater, and he wore a pair of dark brown woollen pants.
He also had a gorgeous pet.i.te build. Maybe because of that, even though the man had soon approached him, he did not feel anxious.
The man extended his arm and Takahito got up somehow. After he sat Takahito on the bed, the man asked.
"How do you feel? I thought you felt a little better after you vomited."
With those words, Takahito realized that this man was the one who had given him a wash basin and a towel before. It seems the man had gone to empty the dirty was basin and had now returned.
"I"m Eugene. I have knowledge of medicine, so please don"t worry."
"…"
Even though the man said not to worry, since he did not know whether the man was an enemy or an ally, he could not let down his guard.
He talked gently, and he gave off a gentle feeling, but he could not say he was not a bad person based on just that.
As he waited for the silent Takahito"s move, Eugene"s face became worried and he asked "Do you understand English?"
At this, Takahito slowly nodded.
He had mastered several foreign languages by self-study, but because among them English was the one he had been studying since childhood, he had confidence that his level could be comparable to a native"s.
"…that"s good. I can"t speak j.a.panese. I had been told to look after you, but I was worried what to do if we couldn"t communicate."
Had been told…that would mean probably by the man who had kidnapped him.
"Your head is probably still aching, but that should also clear up soon. Is there any other physical problem that"s bothering you?
"…I have no strength in my body."
"It"s because you"ve been sleeping for 3 days, there"s probably still a little bit of the medicine left. It"ll take a little bit more time for you to be able to move…"
"Three day?!"
Takahito interrupted Eugene"s explanation.
"I, have slept for three days?!"
Eugene inclined his head, nodding.
"Yes…you"ve been in a lethargic state for almost three days."
"…"
At the thought of three days having pa.s.sed while he was unconscious, Takahito received a shock.
(Then…that kidnapping he had thought of as if it had happened just now…happened three days ago?)
If he had gone missing suddenly, and there had been no news of him for three days, everyone must be extremely worried. It had probably become a big uproar by now.
His parents and Kizuki, grandfather, grand uncle, uncle, Tachibana, Tsuzuki, Mizukawa, Michiru, everyone"s faces floated in his mind one by one.
He did not doubt that they all had spent their nights unable to sleep.
"You people, who are you?"
Takahito scowled at the pale face in front of him.
"For what reason did you abduct me?"
"That is…"
The moment Eugene was about to respond, the doork.n.o.b turned with a clank. The sound of the door creaking continued, and the sound of multiple footsteps clang on the floor.
Takahito made a surprised noise as the men entered the room.
That was because of the three people the one standing in lead was the perpetrator who had kidnapped him.
His "kidnapper" with the arrogant aura, unlike the all black ensemble he wore in his memory, was dressed in a white s.h.i.+rt and a black suit.
Behind him stood a man with a goatee and a tough physique, and a tall lean man with sand blonde hair. Both were Caucasian foreigners.
The goatee man was casually dressed in a dark round-necked sweater and dark brown corduroy pants, while the tall lean man wore a military style sweater in a khaki colour and moss green workpants.
The kidnapper leading the group slowly approached the bed, and stopped next to Eugene.
"When did he wake up?"
The man"s voice, its low tone had a depth that did not go against the profound image his outer appearance gave. His p.r.o.nunciation was perfect Queen"s English.
(They"re Englishmen…?)
"Just now. He vomited right after waking up, but it seems he"s settled down now."
Eugene responded to the man"s question.
"So? Is this guy here "it"?"
At the kidnapper"s mysterious enquiry, Eugene again mysteriously answered "Yeah, I think he is "that"."
"As I thought."
Having received confirmation, the man turned towards Takahito.
The man was the same as before, with a sharp glint in his eyes, looking at people like he was piercing through them.
From the overbearing conduct and presence, Takahito guessed the man must be the group"s leader. Judging as such, Takahito turned to glaring straight at the man"s amber eyes.
[T.n.: This just occurred to me. Amber eyes, is a d.i.c.k, thinks kidnapping counts as a proper first date…Is this guy trying to be the British ASAMI RYUICHI?]
"Who are you guys?"
He repeated the question he had previously thrown at Eugene.
"Arthur Gosford."
Contrary to expectation, the man readily gave his name. Because he had thought the man would not reveal his name easily, Takahito was taken aback, but though he heard it, the name was unknown to him.
"Then there"s Edgar, and Wolfgang."
The man…Arthur, introduced the two men standing behind him.
The lanky one was Edgar, and the tough one Wolfgang. As expected, both were names he did not recognize. That was, of course, natural as he did not have any foreign acquaintances.
"Eugene, did you give your name already?"
Eugene nodded in affirmation.
Even though he knew all of their names, irritated by the fact the puzzle had not become clearer at all, Takahito added another question.
"Where am I? Why did you bring me…"
"We"re in Wales, England."
Takahito did not immediately realize the answer had been made in response to his question. Coldly looking down on Takahito who wore a confused expression, Arthur repeated.
"Did you not hear? This is Wales, in England."
He, of course, had heard of Wales. It"s the name of one of the regions that make up Great Britain.
"Wales…in England."
After parroting the man"s words, one beat later he exclaimed in a shrill and nervous voice "England?"
"Wait, that England!?"
"Is there any other?"
"No way…"
As Takahito murmured in blank amazement, the man returned with a slightly discouraged expression "It"s not a lie." The other men aside from Arthur also had serious faces, not the sort of atmosphere for laughing at their leader"s joke.
Nevertheless it still did not feel real, so he ascertained half in doubt.
"In…in that case…during those three days I was unconscious, had I been taken from j.a.pan and brought to England?"
"Indeed."
"For what reason!?"
Kidnapping is a crime. Furthermore, amongst all the crimes, it is an especially serious felony with a heavy punishment. The men were definitely older than him as they looked to be at least 30 years old. Being old enough to know better, there was no reason to think they did not know that.
The reason for being kidnapped by unfamiliar Englishmen, who committed the crime.
That was the biggest puzzle.
If it was an organization that was rivals with his mother"s birth family"s organization the Oogami Group…he had yet to understand.
Since his mother had left the Jinguuji family a long time ago, there was no direct connection between them and the Oogami Group, but nevertheless it did not mean that the possibility was not there.
For his grandfather, grand uncle and uncle he was a relative, so kidnapping him to try to use him as a tool in some transaction, the existence of such fellows could not be excluded either.
However, the four Englishmen did not look like they were connected with the Yakuza.
And even if his family gave in for the moment, it was clear there was no need to especially take him away from j.a.pan and bring him to England.
Catching Takahito"s gaze that was filled with suspicion, Arthur who had been silent for a while, suddenly opened his mouth.
"We brought you here to give birth to my child."
"…"
Ever since he regained consciousness he had continually been hit by surprises, but this had to be the biggest shock he had received. The shock was so intense he could not speak for a moment.
After being speechless for full thirty seconds, Takahito opened his stiff mouth, and squeezed out in a hoa.r.s.e voice that came from the depths of his throat.
"Just now…what did you say?"
Arthur intently knitted his brows. His expression oozed scorn and irritation, as if he was looking down on someone of little understanding.
However, at such nonsensical words, there was no way he could consent to them.
"You said I have to give birth to your child?"
"We brought you here for that reason."
"I don"t understand. I"m a man."
At Takahito"s objection that obviously had a point, Arthur did not falter either. With a haughty expression like that was something he was completely aware of, he exclaimed.
"Your mother is a man as well, but he gave birth to the both of you."
"…"
Takahito"s breath was taken away.
The only people who knew that secret were the Jinguuji family, the three families that served them and Tachibana.
"How?!"
Reflexively standing up, although he was staggering, he pressed Arthur for an answer.
"How do you know that…?"
"We"re from the same race."
"Same race…?"
"Indeed."
"You"re saying you"re werewolves!?"
As he shouted a memory abruptly returned to him.
The moment before he had lost awareness, he had indeed felt a familiar "scent" from this man.
Because it could not be faked, it was a "scent" that was a more solid proof than anything.
I see…"that" indeed…was something that had to do with their same race.
(Then, the four men here are all…werewolves?)
Realizing that, he once again tried to discern the four people"s "scents".
"…ah."
Maybe because the after-effects of the medicine had weakened his senses he had not noticed it until it was told to him, but when he tried to concentrate his sense of smell, there was no doubt, the four people had the same familiar "scent".
(Whole four unknown werewolves…!)
As both of Takahito"s eyes opened in surprise and he froze, Arthur continued speaking.
"The place from which werewolves originated is not sure knowledge, but most likely your and our families are connected by an ancestor from a long time ago. Have you not heard about our Gosford family from the head of the Jinguuji family?"
Takahito shook his head.
[t.n.: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why you should never hide s.h.i.+t from your kids that could end up biting them in the b.u.t.t (literally and figuratively). Life lessons learned.]
He had never heard of the Gosford family.
Moreover, he had not known there were any other werewolves besides themselves either.
It was the first time he saw any other werewolves besides his grandfather, uncle, mother and Kizuki.
"I had been told that the other werewolf families besides Jinguuji had been…wiped out a long time ago."
As he whispered, still under shock, Arthur pulled his mouth in a line.
"I see. It means they hid the truth from you."
At the man"s cynical tone, Takahito"s shoulders shook with a twitch and he glared at Arthur.
"What do you mean?"
"…well, it doesn"t really matter."
Arthur shrugged his shoulders, the tone of his voice dropping "There"s no point in bringing up past event now."
"The important thing is the future ahead of us. You will give birth to my child. Nothing else is of any importance."
"That"s why I"m telling you I"m a man!"
Unable to communicate his point to the man, Takahito raised his voice in irritation.
"How do you imagine me giving birth to a child?"
"It"s possible. It"s because you"re an "Eve"."
Earlier, he had thought he could not be any more shocked than this. He"d been naive.
"I"m…"Eve"?"
His voice shook.
He knew what "Eve" was.
It was a unique mutation among werewolves, an idiosyncrasy where although one was born with a male body, he goes through feminisation and is able to conceive.
His mother had been like that. His mother had met his father, gone through feminisation and given birth to him and Kizuki.
But, really, could he be like "that" as well…
Had he really inherited his mom"s "Eve" gene…?
Up till now n.o.body had told him anything like that. Not even their family doctor Mizukawa.
(It"s a lie…it has to be!)
His head went into confusion at the shocking fact.
"You"re…wrong. I"m not like "that"!"
Takahito denied while furiously shaking his head. His heart beat loudly, and his body temperature rose in one go.
"Liar! Don"t lie to me!"
He shouted in a loud voice he seldom used. The usual him had become just that emotional.
But, if he did not do so now, it felt like the foundations of his ident.i.ty would break with a snap.
"I"m not an "Eve"!"
However, no matter how he screamed, there was no change in Arthur"s countenance. The men surrounding him were also expressionless.
Almost as if they were adults, ignoring a temper tantrum throwing child.
(…d.a.m.n…)
Takahito abruptly squeezed both of his hand into fists at the futility of being the only one who was agitated and fruitlessly exerting effort.
"Even if you"re not aware of it now, sooner or later you"ll realise it whether you want to or not."
Takahito s.h.i.+vered at the coldness in Arthur"s ominous promise.
"Even…even if I am an "Eve"…I won"t give birth to your child."
Who would give birth to the children of a man who looked at them like one looks at an insect!
"Your intentions are irrelevant. The continuance of the Gosford family depends on you. I as the Alpha and you are going to create the next generation. It"s your purpose as an "Eve"."
"What purpose! You can"t decide that on your own!"
With a cool expression the man turned aside the snapping Takahito, and on the contrary, uttered something unexpected.
"If you don"t give birth, we will abduct your mother and make him give birth."
Takahito doubted his ear as he listened to the calmly thrown out remark.
They will kidnap his mother…and make him give birth to that man"s child?
"I"m fine with either. Be your mother my breeding partner or you. As long as a child is born."
Arthur"s cruel way of speaking was such as if he really was fine with either.
"What makes you think my father will ever let something like that happen?!"
"People who get in our way will be dealt with!"
The one who had just threatened Takahito was the grim faced man who had remained silent up till that moment.
"…"
"We will kill your father."
In Wolfgang"s eyes, there dwelled a dark flame of hatred as he spitted out those provoking words.
Seeing the killing intent rising from the solidly built man in waves, Takahito realized it was not just an empty threat.
(He"s serious…he would really kill…)
He did not know why this man hated his father so much he wanted to kill him, but his face stiffened witnessing real killing intent right in front of his eyes for the first time since he was born.
While Takahito was lost for words, the other man, Edgar, who had been silent observing the situation up till now, spoke in a cool voice.
"That"s probably enough of an explanation. No matter how long we talk, he probably won"t consent, so there really is no need to continue this."
"You"re right."
Arthur was of the same opinion.
Edgar looked at Takahito with his blue grey eyes.
"It"s pointless to resist, no matter what happened before, needless to say you are now under Arthur"s rule. Accept your fate. The sooner you do, the easier it"ll get."
Leaving behind such persuasive words, he turned on his heel. Edgar went through the doors, and Wolfgang followed him.
Eugene also followed after the two men, but turned around just before exiting the room, and looked at Takahito as if he wanted to say something to him.
However, he was urged on by his male pack mates, and before long he disappeared behind the other side of the door.
Following the sound of the door closing with a bang, the solemn sound of the door being locked resounded.
(They"re locking the door!)
The three men had left, and he was left alone with Arthur in the locked room.
Bearing the sensation of growing pale, Takahito s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the man standing in front of him.
Their eyes met.
The amber eyes that were focused on Takahito were tinged with the ferocious heat characteristic to predators.
Finally Arthur"s fleshy lips opened.
"We have waited for 17 years."
His tone was solemn, as if he was reflecting upon the heavy pa.s.sage of time.
"We won"t wait anymore, not even for one day."
The low husky voice declared, and the back of Takahito"s neck exploded in goose b.u.mps.
What was going to start now?
What would happen to him?
A dark premonition crept over Takahito, and his whole body s.h.i.+vered.
I"m not sure what I"m going to update next, this or TATEV, they"re both around the same length (30+ pages), it"s just that this one is harder to translate. We"ll see. But it"s going to be the full chapter most likely either way, so it"s gonna take a while.
See you next time~
…
If you do like the book, consider supporting me on ko-hi. Translating this takes a lot of time and a whole lot more of sustenance~
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