Top of Eighth Inning
Saitou was shaking in fear of an a.s.sa.s.sin from Murder Inc coming for him and did not want to go home, so it was six in the morning by the time he left Saitou at Shigematsu"s place. It was seven in the morning when he returned to the office, treated the wound on his leg and laid down onto the bed. He then slept like a log, and before he knew it night had already fallen. His days and nights have been completely reversed.
Hearing the sound of Banba coming back, Lin woke up. He must have been drinking somewhere as Banba was in high spirits.
"Lin-Lin. I"m hooome~."
He was acting like a stranger compared to how he usually was. He"s completely hammered. He let out a sigh.
"Righty, here"s a present!" Banba says and hands it over to Lin. "A redback spider cell phone strap!"
"Don"t want it." He snapped back.
"I saw Enokida-kun earlier and got this from "im. It"s a new model. Here, you can have it."
"No, I said I don"t want it." He quiped at him again. "It"s disgusting."
"Why you say that?" Banba pouted. "It"s cuuute."
"How?"
"……Well whatever. I"ll put it on." Banba said and took out his cell phone. However his drunken hands were unreliable and were unable to put the pin through the small hole in the cord.
Just by watching him he got irritated. He seized his cell phone out of his drunk hands. "Argh, fine. I"ll do it. You just go and sleep."
Banba wavers as he heads over to the bed and collapses onto it.
My G.o.d, he said to himself and shrugged his shoulders before putting the strap on. At that moment Banba"s cell phone rang. The usual tune began to play. "Old man" was displayed on the screen.
Lin unwillingly answered the call in Banba"s place. "Ahh, h.e.l.lo?"
[……Hm? It"s you, Lin? Where"s Banba?]
"He"s drunk as a skunk and dead asleep."
That"s a problem, Genzo whispered.
"Something wrong?"
[Well, you see. I have something for the Niwaka Samurai.]
He glanced towards Banba. He did not appear to be able to talk about work at the moment.
"Are you in a rush?"
When he asked Genzo consented to it.
[There is a client who says he wants to talk with the Niwaka Samurai right away. The downpayment is 10,000,000, and the reward is 90,000,000. They say it"s fine for him to decide if he"ll accept the job or not after he listens to them. ……Dontcha reckon" it"s a good deal?"
"Definitely."
It was too good to be true. His instincts were telling him there had to be something behind it.
[What should I do? I thought of consultin" with the person himself and decide, but……] However, Banba is in this state.
He suddenly thought of an idea. Could this possibly be a trap set by the Kakyuu Group? What if a killer hired by Li has finally sniffed him out? He must not let Banba go. On the contrary, he had the most ideal chance to beat that a.s.sa.s.sin first.
"I"ll go in his place."
[Ha?]
"It"s fine if I pretend to be the Niwaka Samurai, right?"
[Well, that"s true there but……]
"Leave it to me."
Cutting the call, Lin began to change clothes. It had been awhile since he last worn a suit. He often wore one for when he went to the office when he worked for the Kakyuu Group.
"……Mmm." Banba shuffled seemingly waking up from the loud noises he was making. He asked in a sleepy voice while rubbing his eyes. "……Huh? Lin-chan, where you goin"?"
"I"m going to work in your place."
He fastened his necktie and tied his hair back.
"Come on, lend me your mask and katana."
He handed out a hand towards Banba. Hurry up. After he urged him on, Banba stood up unsteadily.
"……Seriously. Getting all drunk like an idiot even at your age."
Banba mumbled while holding out the Niwaka mask in his left hand and the j.a.panese sword in his right hand, "Soorryy."
It was immediately after that when he called Lin. Men he was familiar with came into Genzo"s store. First Jiro came in, and as he was eating his ramen Yamato appeared next. Both of their expressions were sullen.
"What"s up with ya now?" Genzo questions. "You two are makin" gloomy faces."
"……The truth is," Yamato answered him with a truly troubled expression. "I met up with a dead end for work."
"That"s a coincidence. Same here." Jiro chimed in.
"By work do ya mean pickpocketin"? Or host work?"
"It"s neither of those." Yamato snorted. "Lin is helping out a client that came to Banba"s office. And I guess some guys are going around calling themselves the Niwaka Samurai and are doing advance payment fraud."
"……That"s been popular recently, ain"t it? Fraud where guys pretend to be famous killers." Genzo whispered with a frown.
"Seems that client had 100,000 yen taken by the fake Niwaka Samurai. So he told me to find them and s.n.a.t.c.h 100,000 yen from them."
Why do I have to do this? Yamato pouted resentfully.
"I asked Enokida to find out their ident.i.ty from the number plate of the car……But I guess it"s a stolen car purchased from an underground dealer. I"m at the end of my rope."
"Same for me." Jiro piped into the conversation. "I got another revenge request from a lover of someone, and I had Enokida-chan look into it. In the security camera footage it showed the culprits put the body into a vehicle, but since it was a stolen car he was unable to figure out who owns it. We just know the culprits are a group of two who drive a white van."
"Huh? You too, Jiro-san?" Yamato instantly raised his face from his slumped position. "The guys I"m tracking down are also a group of two. In a white van."
Yamato and Jiro look at each other.
They took out a photo at the same time and placed it on the counter. The same white van and two men were in them.
"Could this be……"
"……The same culprits?"
"Let me see." Genzo peeked over at the two photos and muttered. "Ah."
Jiro and Yamato turned towards Genzo. They remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"These guys……" Genzo stared closely at the men in the photos. He knew these too. "……There ain"t no doubt about it. They were killers of mine."
Leaving the office, Lin hurried to Ca.n.a.l City. He headed over to where the client was waiting once he put on the mask and strapped the j.a.panese sword to his waist. The rendezvous point was at the 24-7 commercial parking garage. In a corner on the north side area a man was waiting for him. He was sitting, reclined against the wall.
"……Are you the Niwaka Samurai?" The man took notice of Lin"s presence. He asked him as he got to his feet. "You the real thing? You"re frickin" tiny compared to what I was expecting."
He could not make out his face. On top of the hood covering his head he was also wearing a black cloth around his mouth. He was suspicious just by looking at him. He did not appear to be just a client. Lin braced himself. "Yeah, I am."
"I have the 90,000,000." At the man"s feet was a huge duralumin case. "I want you to kill someone with this money."
"Who do you want killed?"
"Me."
What? Before he could question this the man moved. He hurled himself at Lin with his blade over his head. He blocked the hit with the scabbard of the j.a.panese sword.
"That"s quite a request, isn"t it?" The client had suddenly came at him, trying to slash him. So it was a trap after all, Lin glared at the man. "……You"re a killer, aren"t you?"
"You pulled that out quick." The man said and pointed with his chin at the j.a.panese sword. He then placed his right foot on the case with the money in it. "If you beat me you can have the 90,000,000 in here."
The man used the case as a stool and jumped high. He swung his sword at Lin"s head, swooping down from above.
Lin blocked the attack again with his sword. A dull sound was made when the blade and the scabbard clashed against each other. He pulled out the j.a.panese sword and made a swing to cut him in the torso. The man dodged it on nimble feet. It was like he was moving as though with pivoted steps. He looked composed.
Lin distanced himself from the other and observed him. Calm down. Be calm. He told himself. What is the enemy"s weapon? He squinted in the dim lighting. His blade was around 50 centimeters in length. The pattern was that of a j.a.panese sword, but it had a short, linear form. The guard was square shaped.
– It can"t be. A ninja sword?
The moment he realized that the man took out some kind of weapon from his jacket. And he threw it with a strange form, bending his body over to the right.
His response was slow. He could not dodge it.
"O-w."
A sharp pain shot through him. When he looked he saw a black shape piercing his side. The object had four pointed ends jutting out – it was a shuriken.
A j.a.panese sword and shuriken. An underthrow. He recalled what Enokida told him. Could this guy be the Submarine Ninja? The one who was hunting down killers?
I see. So the killer hunter from Kitakyushu now has his eyes on the Niwaka Samurai and came all this way to f.u.kuoka for him? So he wasn"t an a.s.sa.s.sin under the Kakyuu Group?
"I"ve been thinking a lot of how much I want to fight you." The man said. His eyes were creepily narrowed, gazing at him from between the s.p.a.ce of the hood and cloth.
Lin clicked his tongue. This guy is enjoying himself.
"I won"t forgive ya if you die so easily."
The man a.s.saulted him with attacks in succession.
Lin was not used to handling a j.a.panese sword. The weapon was too heavy for him to make a counterattack. He could not swing it well.
"……d.a.m.n, this is really hard to use!"
He thrust the sword, throwing it at the enemy. While the other dodges it he took out his favorite knife-pistol from his pocket. He was not a samurai anymore; it could not be helped that he had to return to being a normal killer.
The j.a.panese sword Lin threw pierced into one of the parked cars behind the man.
He had confidence in his agility. But the other was even more fast. Lin was on the defensive. The shuriken stuck in his side was weakening his movements. Even if he pulled it out there would be no difference in strength. Acutely sensing the overwhelming presence in front of him, a cold sweat formed on Lin"s brow.
The man kept taking flying objects out of his pockets like a machine gun. He rolled over and moved around behind a vehicle. He used the vehicle as a shield and waited for the attacks to stop.
At last silence falls. He placed a finger on the trigger of his weapon to prepare for a counterattack and searched for his target.
However, the man is gone.
Where is he? Where is he hiding? He looked around the area. He felt no one"s presence. It was then. Suddenly his legs were grabbed. The man"s hands reached out from underneath the vehicle. I let my guard down. He was hiding there?
He was dragged down between the vehicle and the ground. He was unable to catch himself.
Bottom of Eighth Inning
It was a let-down.
What "killer of killers". Put before the Niwaka Samurai, Saruwatari was just disappointed. "You weren"t that much of a big shot."
He had been antic.i.p.ating just how strong the so called "Hakata"s strongest killer" really was. And certainly compared to the other killers he had faced in Tokyo and Kokura to a degree he was better. This man was the first killer to have held up to more than five minutes fighting Saruwatari. And yet it did not change the fact he did not match his expectations.
The j.a.panese sword that was thrown at him earlier was still stuck in the vehicle. Saruwatari grabbed a hold of his head and put the blade near his throat. "If you got any final words to say, I"ll listen."
"Hurry up and kill me." The man replied. His opinion of him shifted slightly. All the killers he had met up until now sputtered nothing but plies before they died. "Save me, "stop," "I don"t want to die." Everyone shook as they said them with teary eyes.
But this man was different. Even though both of his palms were pierced by kunai and his legs were slashed he stood to face him. Even in an overwhelming situation he did not lose his will to keep fighting. He could at least respect his courage. He will let him off easy for his manliness and give him a quick death. Saruwatari put force to his hand.
The next moment after he tried to slice open the man"s throat – a strong light suddenly shone on them. They were the lights of a car. A familiar van was speeding towards Saruwatari.
The van came to a screeching stop in front of Saruwatari. There was the sharp sound of breaks that could pierce someone"s eardrums as the tires slid against the ground. Those two were in the vehicle: the fake Niwaka Samurai and his manager. The other poked his head out of the driver"s side and pointed a gun at him. Saruwatari immediately hid himself behind a car.
The van"s slide door opened and the other man jumped out of it. He was attempting to pick up the Niwaka Samurai, unmoving and crouched over.
– Could they be trying to s.n.a.t.c.h him from me? My prey?
He held the Niwaka Samurai under his right arm and s.n.a.t.c.hed up the case with the money in it with his left hand and then got into the van. The door closed shut loudly.
"s.h.i.t."
They got me, he clicked his tongue.
The car took off. They changed from going in reverse and then sped off. He chased after them, but naturally he could not keep up to the speed of a van.
"Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds……!" Left behind, Saruwatari kicked the car next to him.
They succeeded in grabbing the Niwaka Samurai and even stole the money. Yet he was scared that they accomplished too much.
They shook off the man that was on them and continued to drive. For the meantime I want to keep ourselves hidden. Abe had his eye on an old building over the Naka River. It was an apartment building set in ruin with ivy overgrowing there. There was nonsensical graffiti written on one side of its white walls. Since the management was poor there were many trespa.s.sers, and criminals and homeless people made themselves home there. Abe and Yamato also had used a room there as a place of refuge on occasion.
They parked the car in front of the apartment building and carried the Niwaka Samurai up the stairs. As usual they entered the room on the second floor. They bound the wounded Niwaka Samurai"s limbs and put him in a chair.
"Whoaa, please look at this mountain of bills."
Yamamoto opened the duralumin case and his eyes shone at the sight. He then started to stuff the bills into his wallet and his pockets.
Abe reported to the person who made the post that they have captured the Niwaka Samurai. He received a reply from them shortly after. [We have received intel from witnesses on the Niwaka Samurai, so we want you to use this as reference. His height is between 170 and 180 centimeters. His hair is black and swept back.]
That"s strange. Abe tilted his head. The man they caught was not even 170 centimeters, and he had long brown hair.
"Wait, are you……a fake?"
He took off his Niwaka mask. He was able to clearly see his face. He was still a young man. He looked to be around twenty years old. He had neat and androgynous facial features.
"You"re slow on the uptake." The man laughed.
That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Genzo. Abe tutted. So we just caught a fake?
"Where"s the real Niwaka Samurai?"
"Who knows." The man smiled provocatively to Abe"s question. He did not appear to be willing to answer honestly.
"Let"s just make him talk with force."
Yamamoto smirked and punched the man in the stomach. He punched him in the face and stomach as he was strapped to the chair. The man choked and coughed out spit mixed with blood.
Even after he was. .h.i.t to the point for bruises to appear on his face the man still kept his mouth shut. Not quite afraid, he gave them a light smile. "……What"s wrong? Is that it?"
Yamamoto became exhausted and gave up using violent attacks on him. "This guy just won"t give."
"He could undergone training for it." He must be used to the pain. "Just hitting him won"t do it; there"s no point in this without a proper torturer."
"A torturer. That seems like a good idea, right? How about I look one up."
Yamamoto took out his smartphone. He opened that website again. He made a search for a "torturer" to find anyone there.
"Oh, there"s this guy."
On the bulletin postings for job applications there was one post that called themselves a torturer. "Do you want to get information out of someone?! Do you want them to suffer?! Do you want them to hurt?! I"ll answer to any of your needs. A cheap torturer will be sent. Quotes are free via e-mail. Your first time will be 50% off."
"We should hire a pro for this."
Surprisingly enough Abe also was in agreement with Yamamoto for once. They were poor at hurting someone for information. He did not want to soil his hands by going through with cruel methods like tearing out fingernails or peeling off skin. It would be better for them to leave it up to someone that has already done that.
They decided to contact that torturer right away. They sent an e-mail saying, "we want a man tortured and have him give us information."
There was an immediate reply. [For a quote I need information on the intended candidate.] They listed off the man"s features and replied to them. [His age is around twenty years old. He is less than 170 centimeters and slim. He has long hair. And probably a hit-man. No matter how much blows he takes he doesn"t fess up.] They had wrote that and attached a photo of the man.
The estimated price for a torture fee was 30,000 yen. Paying a large amount of money from when someone did not give them information was a fair system in this case, so they hired him. They sent over the address of their current location.
It was less than an hour later when the torturer arrived.
The torturer was a black man of a large build of nearly two meters tall. He held a large carrying case and something like a toolbox in both of his hands. He had brought in large luggage as though he came back from a trip overseas.
"Ahh, h.e.l.lo." He greeted them in fluent j.a.panese without making eye contact. "Thank you for the job offer."
He looked down at the man in the chair and asked them in an informal tone. "And so? What should I make this man say?"
"The Niwaka Samurai. Everything he knows about him."
"The Niwaka Samurai, huh. Okay."
After he gave them a short answer, the torturer first released him from his restraints and began to take off his clothes. He took off his jacket, shirt, and necktie, leaving his upper body bare. He then opened his tool box. Inside there were various torturing tools.
Just when he thought the torture would begin he took out bandages.
"What are you doing?" Yamamoto asked him.
"Stopping the bleeding. He"s injured, right? It"d be a problem if he were to die in the middle of the torture session."
The torturer began to wrap the bandages around the man"s open wounds. Both of his hands and stomach. And then his legs. "Gugh," the man groaned from the pressure put on his injuries.
After he stopped the bleeding the torturer picked up pliers. "Sorry, but could you guys give some s.p.a.ce?" He turned around to them and gave them a bitter smile. "When other guys are around I can"t focus on the job at hand."
He had planned to leave even without him telling him to do so. He did not enjoy watching people get hurt.
"We"ll be in the next room. Call us when you"re done." Abe turned on his heel and left the room with Yamamoto following behind him.
"Okay," the torturer replied back.
"Ugh, gwaagh." Behind them they heard the man"s screams, bearing against the pain. Are his fingernails being pulled off? Abe wiped the unpleasant image from his mind and quickened his pace.
There was a cafe open until dawn on the first floor of the Gate"s Building. Saruwatari awaited Nitta"s arrival while drinking his iced tea among the mix of salarymen and women working at the nightclub around him.
After a while, "sorry to have kept you waiting~," Nitta waved to him and came over.
He finally was able to meet up with him an hour and a half later after he had called Nitta to "come to f.u.kuoka right now" when the Niwaka Samurai was s.n.a.t.c.hed from him.
"You"re late."
"Sorry about that. But I really rushed over here." Nitta then asked him. "So, what happened? Why"d you call me so abruptly?"
"……Someone got in my way."
He grew irritated just recalling it. Saruwatari clicked his tongue.
"The two guys came and stole the Niwaka Samurai and the money from me."
He explained the whole story to Nitta. After hearing it, Nitta grinned. "That"s rare of you. For you to make a blunder like that."
He was offended, but he did not snap back at him. It was true that he slipped up. He let his guard down. He was too focused on the Niwaka Samurai and did not pay attention to his surroundings. And so he was left open in that moment. He felt like he was focused too much on the batter and a base was stolen while he was unaware.
However, he was not completely had.
"I put that tracking device I got from you on their van."
When he got into their vehicle the first time he placed the tracking device between the backseats.
"That"s great." The edges of Nitta"s mouth curled up into a smile.
"Hurry up and find these blokes" location."
"Alright, alright. Wait a moment."
Nitta took out a tablet device from the inside of his bag and began to look up the current location the transmitter was sending out.
"……Oh, here they are."
He found them right away. He turned the tablet to Saruwatari. The screen showed a map of Nakasu. On it there was a red point blinking.
"Looks like they"re at a building alongside the Naka River in Nakasu. I"d say it"s about a ten minute walk from here."
They were at a distance not that far away. Saruwatari stood up. "I"m going to go kill them."
"Ah, wait. I"ll go too."
Nitta also stood from his seat.