Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

 He thought back on the past. The first time he had brought Misaki here, she would not sit down at the table. Her step-father had always abused her at meal time. As such, she was afraid around dinner time. She hated to sit down and eat at the table.
And now she has become able to do that. That was enough for him.
Misaki suddenly mentioned. “The first thing you had me eat was omelette rice, wasn"t it?”
“Now that you mention it, yes it was.”
It was from a family restaurant though. Jiro smiled bitterly.
“That omelette rice was really good, but I love the omelette rice you make, Jiro-chan.”
“Really?” Jiro smiled. “That makes me happy.”
Misaki continued to scoop up and devour her meal without restraint when she suddenly stopped.
She was looking at him with upturned eyes. “...Hey, Jiro-chan.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you crying?”
Once she said that, Jiro noticed for the first time that he was crying.
“...Oh dear.” He quickly wiped his eyes. “I"m not sure why.”
Misaki realized what was going on immediately. She was smart.
“Jiro-chan...What did you do to me...?”
Jiro had mixed a sleeping drug in her juice.
Misaki was overcome by sleep, and she  reeled. She slumped against the table and fell asleep.
“...I"m sorry, Misaki.”
He reached for her small head.
“Goodbye,” he gently brushed his hand through her hair and placed a kiss on her head. “Thank you for everything.”
The intercom rang. A guest had arrived. Jiro headed to the door and opened it. Lin stood there. He was on time. “I"ll leave the rest to you.”

‘I have a favor to ask you."
Jiro told him the night before.
‘Misaki is going to be given to her foster parents tomorrow night. I want you to accompany her there."
Naturally Jiro could not drop Misaki off. He admitted it himself. He could have a change of heart and waver on his decision in the middle of the exchange. He had no confidence in being able to hand Misaki over to them, so he needed someone else to do it for him.
‘I do get where you"re coming from," Lin shook his head. ‘But why me? Couldn"t you have Banba or Mar do it instead?"
‘Those two would be soft on her."
Jiro replied with a bitter smile.

And the following day, Lin did as asked and went to Jiro"s apartment to get Misaki. He picked up the dozing Misaki and put her in a taxi before taking off to meet her foster parents. Once Lin got out of the taxi, he carried Misaki on his back and walked to the park where they would meet up. He then laid her small body out on the bench and sat down next to her. They still had time before the foster parents showed up.
After a couple of minutes, Misaki began to shift.
“You awake?”
Misaki still seemed to be drowsy as she was looking around her surroundings with dull eyes. “……Where are we?”
The last thing she knew she was in her house, and now she was on a bench in a park. She had not yet caught up with her situation.
“Jiro asked me to take you to your foster parents.”
“...Foster parents?”
“Yeah. You"re going to be living with a new family as of today.”
Misaki"s complexion turned pale when he said that.
“No.” She drew closer to Lin, looking as though she would burst into tears at any moment. “Why-”
“You have got to know after what just happened. You know how dangerous the world we live in is now, right?”
She was still an elementary school girl, but she was quick-witted. She understood everything that was going to happen to her.
“No!” Misaki stood up and yelled. “I won"t go anywhere! I"m staying with Jiro-chan!”
“Sit back down,” Lin ordered her in a stern voice. Misaki swallowed, seeing his eyes filled with killing intent.
“Please, just do as you"re told. I don"t want to be rough with you.” Lin gave a sigh and placed a hand on Misaki"s shoulder. She obediently sat back down on the bench.
He understood how she felt. There was no way she could accept leaving Jiro like this.
Seeing Misaki bite her lips to stop herself from crying, Lin quietly told her. “There is one thing I learned because of you and Jiro.”
“...What is it?” Misaki asked, her gaze still downward.
Lin recalled what happened back then. The memory of them embracing each other and crying was still vivid in his head.
“You can become family without having to be blood related.”
He was exactly right, Lin smiled bitterly.

At this rate, Misaki would be separated from Jiro. She had to do something. But she was not confident that she could get away from Lin. If she attempted to run from this spot, he would use any method available to him to capture her. And he was capable of doing that, which was why Jiro had asked him to be with her in the first place.
But Misaki had nowhere else she belonged than with Jiro. And Jiro wanted them to part, so now she was being sent to foster parents.
There was nothing she could do. She felt the strength to fight leave her. Once Misaki obediently sat down on the bench, Lin nodded his approval, “that will do. Here, I have your belongings.”
Lin handed Misaki her red bag. It was the one she got at the Houjouya festival, but she took a liking to it and kept using it since. Her cell phone and wallet were inside it.
She took the cell phone and began to fidget with it. She noticed her list of contacts in it had decreased. “...Everyone"s numbers are gone.”
It was no just Jiro"s number that was missing. Martinez, Banba, Enokida and the rest of the Ramens" numbers were removed. Everything was gone: messages, call history, photos she took – everything.
“Jiro deleted them. He probably thought it would be better that you didn"t have any connections with someone in the underground.” Lin told her.
Misaki immediately felt overcome by loneliness. A chill ran through her, feeling as though she was being cut away from the world everyone was in.
“You may face danger because of Jiro. Or you could be used as bait and Jiro gets hurt. That"s why he"s doing this. You"re not an idiot, so you understand, right?”
Misaki nodded silently and hung her head. She understood why. Jiro did this for her sake.
“You"re still a kid. You can"t do anything on your own.”
It hurt to admit it, but Lin was right.
“However...I guess you just have to try harder then, right?”
Misaki raised her head hearing that. She looked up at Lin with wide eyes.
He smiled at her teasingly.
“Here,” Lin told her as he gave her a white sheet of paper with a phone number on it.
“It"s Jiro"s number.”
Misaki"s eyes widened even further in shock. “...Eh?”
“Keep this a secret from Jiro,” Lin smirked.
“Why-”
Why would he do this?
Misaki was stunned. In turn, he admonished her. “Try living a normal life for now. Who knows; maybe you"ll find it works out for you. But if you try out the normal life and still want live the dangerously as an avenger, then make your resolve by then.”
“Resolve?”
“The resolve to pa.s.s the line.” Lin added. “People like us won"t have a happy life; we"re criminals after all.”
Lin was a hitman. So was Banba. And Genzo was one too. Enokida was an informant and Martinez was a torturer. Everyone had already had the resolve to live their lives like this.
It was the same for Jiro.
“You went through a painful experience this past time, right? That"s just a common occurrence in our daily lives. Once you make the resolve to live that life as well,” Lin glanced down at the paper. “Call that number and make him come get you.”
Misaki gripped the white paper tightly.
“Come see us again once you get big and strong – to your real family.”
Until then, it was goodbye for now.
Misaki nodded. She carefully took the paper with the number written on it and placed it in her bag.
“Look. They"re here.” Lin pointed with his chin. “There"s your foster parents.”
When Misaki turned around she saw a man walking towards her.
“And now it"s goodbye.”
Bottom of the Extra Eleventh Inning “That girl will be here for certain, right?” Mieko Yamazaki asked while puffing out smoke in the backseat.
“Yes,” Sanjou replied, still gripping the wheel and facing forward. “We"re to meet her at the designated park today.”
“You do know what will happen if she"s not there, right?”
Mieko tossed the used cigarette out the window and put a new one in her mouth. This was the fourth one. What Kunio had mentioned about her smoking more since her son"s death was apparently true.
Although annoyed by the arrogant woman"s att.i.tude, Sanjou conceded. “Of course.”
They were heading to a small park where the girl in question would be waiting at. Sanjou pulled over to the side of the road once they arrived in front of the park.
“Please wait here.” Sanjou instructed Mieko as he got out of the car. “I"ll go get the child.”
Proceeding into the park, he saw a bench where a young woman and a small girl were sitting at. It was the stand-in for the avenger and the avenger"s daughter Misaki.
“Good evening,” Sanjou approached them and bowed his head with a smile. “I"m Matsushima. I"ve come to pick up Misaki.”
The woman stood up from the bench and replied, “I"ll leave the rest to you.” She then placed a hand on Misaki"s head and said to her as she left, “until next time.”
Misaki watched her retreating form reluctantly.
“Well then, shall we go?”
When Sanjou lent out a hand to her, Misaki nodded wordlessly and took it. She was shy around him but otherwise did not seem to be weary of him. Sanjou pulled the girl"s hand and returned to the car.
Mieko had gotten out of the backseat and was waiting for them.
“Nice to meet you, Misaki-chan.”
She forced a smile. She crouched down in front of Misaki and examined her face.
“Starting today, we"re going to be your family.”
After Mieko hugged Misaki she put her in the back seat, “let"s go.” She then put on and fastened the seat belt over her small body.
Sanjou got in the driver"s seat. When he glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw Mieko chatting with Misaki with a smile. She was truly acting as though she was trying to connect with her new child, but she must be seething in fury on the inside. He found her to be frightening.
Mieko"s wish was to torment the girl in front of the avenger in the same manner her son was killed. And to do that she needed this girl to contact the avenger without her being suspicious of it.
The plan began to move.
“That reminds me.” Once the doors locked and the car took off, Mieko pretended to have recalled something. “I have forgot to mention something to your father. I want to contact him, but can you tell me his number?”
Misaki nodded earnestly.
“Here,” she took out a white sc.r.a.pe of paper from her bag and gave it to Mieko. “It"s my father"s cell phone.”
“Thank you.”
Mieko smiled and took out her cell phone. She immediately rang up the number listed on the paper.
“h.e.l.lo?” The call seemed to have connected. There was a sudden change to Mieko"s voice. “Good evening, mister avenger.”
The moment Misaki heard those words, Sanjou saw her face stiffen from the rearview mirror.
“I"ve got your precious daughter. What should I do to your cute and adorable Misaki-chan?” Mieko smirked.
The avenger appeared to have been at a loss for words as he seemed to have remained silent.
“Hey, are you listening to me? ...Whatever. Please come by yourself to the location I tell you. I"m going to give you quite the show.”
Mieko gave him an address and emphasized the condition of coming alone.
She then turned to Misaki and pressed her cell phone to her face, “here. Let your daddy hear your voice.”
“...Hurry and come save me,” Misaki spoke, scared. “Please.”

Sanjou and his men took up positions in the abandoned warehouse that sat quietly on the outskirts of the city. They had two men stationed outside the building.
“What a despicable child.” Mieko spoke with resentment towards Misaki who was sitting in a chair. “I want to kill her as soon as possible.”
She held a handgun in her right hand. It was one of the Mutagawa Group"s products.
“Your father took my Shota from me.” Mieko pressed the barrel of the gun to Misaki"s cheek. “I"ll avenge him. I"ll torment you in front of your father. I"ll pull out your hair, peel off your skin and mince you up...You want to see your father sobbing and pleading for forgiveness, right?”
Mieko gave a high pitched laugh, but Misaki remained silent.
She was the avenger"s daughter. She did not cry once. That did not amuse Mieko, and her mood turned sour. She put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. “He"s late. What is he doing?”
After a few more minutes, they heard the engine of a car.
“Look. Your beloved father has arrived.”
Mieko glanced over to Misaki and froze for an instant.
“...What"s so funny?”
The girl had a slight smile and was shaking from suppressed laughter.
Sanjou and his men all exchanged glances, frowning.
“You"re a naive woman.” Misaki looked up at Mieko and grinned. “Both you and your son were lost causes. A stupid son and a stupid parent.”
“What did you say?” Mieko"s face contorted in confusion.
Just then, they heard a man"s yell. It was one of the lackey"s.
“You still haven"t figured it out?” Misaki smirked. “I didn"t hand you my father"s phone number back there.”
She was referring to the piece of paper she had handed Mieko earlier.
“What?” Sanjou"s eyes widened. “Whose number is it?”
At that, Misaki glanced over to the entrance. “It was that person"s.”
The side entrance to the warehouse had opened.
“Who-”
Sanjou was at a loss of words when he saw who appeared.
It was a clown.
He instantly recalled what Ishihara had told him. ‘He was really odd. He was dressed up like a freakin" clown."
There was no doubt the man in front of them was the same person who attacked Carlos and everyone in the bar.
The clown had taken one of the lackeys as hostage and had a knife pressed to his throat.
“Hey, Misaki,” the clown approached them. “Méqué is here to save you.”
“Stop right there!” Sanjou shouted.
He immediately held up his gun and pointed it at the clown. He threatened him to not come any closer, but he could not shoot since the clown was using his subordinate as a shield.
“No.” Mieko shrieked at the creepy man. “Wh-who the h.e.l.l is this guy?”
“My friend.”
Misaki replied.
They knew right away that he was not just a mere friend. This man was likely the same criminal who slaughtered the Noma Group"s men. How could this girl be correlated with a serial killer?
Sanjou shook his head to dispel his thoughts. He could not worry about that right now. His main concern at the moment was how the clown got here.
“I had two pieces of paper with numbers on them in my bag. If you guys were my actual foster parents, I would have given you the right one. It was just a sleight of hand.” Misaki had seen through Sanjou"s mind and revealed her trick.
Mieko had called the clown, not the avenger. But that meant-
“...You figured out we weren"t your foster parents?”
Misaki had given Mieko the number as soon as they got in the car. That meant this girl had already seen through our true ident.i.ties by that point?
“Of course I did.”
Misaki snorted.
“How?” Sanjou questioned her. “How did you figure it out?”
“The smell of cigarettes.”
Misaki glared at Mieko.
“You stink, old lady. You sure are a heavy smoker. The inside of the car reeked of it. So I knew something was off right away.”
It was true that Mieko always smoked.
“He would never choose any smokers to be my foster parents.”
Sanjou"s eyes widened. So she not only realized we were fake, but she pretended to go along with it?
He tutted. They had set a trap, but they did not expect to have fallen into one either. Especially by a child.
“...I"m sorry, Méqué. I didn"t mean to use a friend like you this way.”
Misaki glanced over to the clown.
“But I"ll save you if you ever get into trouble. I will do everything I can to help you.”
Sanjou looked at her face and was at a loss of words.
Are there children like this in this world?
Are there really children with such cold eyes?
“So please, Méqué,” Misaki stated. “Kill all of them.”
The clown named Méqué nodded with a smile.
“Méqué will gladly do it,” he gripped the f.l.a.n.g.e of his hat and made a small bow. “Anything for a friend.”
And then the clown immediately took action.
He took off his hat and threw it at them. The moment he did something inside the hat exploded. It was a smoke bomb. Pure white smoke spread around the area.
Once they had lost their sight, they stood stock still when they heard a woman"s shriek. It was Mieko"s voice.
s.h.i.t, Sanjou cursed. He quickly ran backwards to try and get away from the smoke. Mieko probably did not make it.
Just then, he saw a silhouette enter his vision. It was rushing towards him. Sanjou held up his gun and pulled the trigger. He heard men shout along with the gunshots. They were his subordinates.
d.a.m.n, he swallowed. It wasn"t him?
At last the smoke had dispersed, and the area began to clear up gradually. Both the clown and Misaki had vanished. Mieko and his subordinates were laying on the ground of the warehouse. All of them were bleeding out and dying.
What the h.e.l.l?
Sanjou felt dread raise up within him. The plan failed. And Kunio"s precious daughter Mieko was dead. If Kunio heard of this, he would not remain silent. In fact, Sanjou"s life would be targeted for it. He was going to get killed.
He had to get away. Somewhere far away where Kunio Transportation could not reach him. Sanjou went to the car and reached for the door to the driver"s seat. He saw his emaciated expression on the gla.s.s. He fastened his seat belt and stepped on the acceleration pedal.
However, the car would not move.
He had a moment of realization. Were the tires cut?
Sanjou then sensed a presence behind him. He glanced at the rearview mirror and his eyes widened in shock. The clown was there in the mirror. His white face was grinning at him.
By the time Sanjou noticed him, it was already too late. The man"s red arm reached for him from the backseat. The clown held a knife and sliced open Sanjou"s neck. Blood spurt out from the wound, staining the front windshield in red.
The man was humming a tune.
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Translation: Kaede726
Reposts are prohibited and should be exclusive to Kaede726 on blogger.
Editor: Voissane
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