Kami-sama no Memochou

Chapter 2Chapter 2

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Kamisama no Memochou:Volume 7 Chapter 2Chapter 2

Thus, we soon found Ginji-san. Sunday afternoon, at around 4pm or so, right when I took a step out from the door and was about to ride on my bicycle, the cellphone in my pocket rang. It was from Major.

“Ginji-san, Mori-san, Conductor and Marienkhof-shi are together with me under the bridge. I only intend to chat with everyone. Oh, remember to buy some beer.”

But I’m underaged. Right when I was about to protest, the phone line got cut off. It appeared everyone forgot that I was still in high school, though there were times even I would forget.

Leaving aside the fact that I’m underaged, Conductor and Marienkhof-shi should be the names of some other homeless folks. That’s what they would casually call each other. Right, if Ginji-san’s really Yui-san’s dad, he probably has a real name.

I would be meeting him later, and I had to be cautious when I affirm this.

Are you Katsuragi Genji?

I bought cans of coffee from the convenience shop, and went towards the station. The world under the railway was a strange world; every 30 seconds, the train could be heard pa.s.sing by above, and there were a lot of small bars and stalls cramped there. The sun had yet to set, and most shops had yet to open. The nauseating stench from the hill of trash bags, the crows pecking at the trash, a large number of abandoned, rusted bicycles, homeless seated on them, smoking, being like the precipitate of the city. All these scenes hastened a pedestrian’s footsteps.

However, the situation today differed slightly. There was the face of an elementary school kid tucked amongst the homeless, dressed in camouflage suit and a helmet.

“Vice Admiral Fujishima! Over here!”

Major spotted me opposite the road, and waved at me. The quartet of men chatting away turned to look at me. While wary of the surrounding stares, I pulled the collar of my jumper, and hurried across the road.

“Everyone, please have some coffee.” The old men reached into the convenience store bag I opened for them, including Ginji-san.

“Why isn’t it beer?” “Well, good for this cold weather.”

“Why are you treating us now, Narumi? Are you planning to end up homeless anytime soon?”

“You can follow Hiro and be a gigolo yourself, guhaha.”

I was flanked by two men, and they ribbed me. Conductor-shi’s was dressed in a suit, his hair a color of black sesame and salt, and might be mistaken for a salaryman. The one with the little beer bottle behind his overalls was probably Marienkhof-shi. I could only obtain a vague impression of everyone, but everyone could remember my appearance and face. What’s going on?

“Narumi, which yakuza are you going to challenge next?”

“The payout was 24 times the last time you challenged the Chinese mafia. Thanks to you, I made a killing.”

“Gamble? I’m not a race horse!”

“Eh? You aren’t talking about that today?” “We heard from Major that you’ll provide us some intel.”

Shocked, I turned to Major. He seemed to be discussing something furiously with Ginji-san and Mori-san, and only for a moment did he look up at me. Through the stare under the visor, I could tell he wanted me to make up something. This guy spread lies using my name to gather the homeless. Left with no choice, I could only speak up.

“Eh, there hasn’t been much going on recently. When we took on the Huang Coalition the last time, Hiro—”

I made up some heroics, and peeked aside at Ginji-san. Really, I couldn’t help but be curious about what they were talking about.

“…I see. Those living in the park and under the bridge were already wiped out. n.o.body heard any gunshots, so we can’t tell the gun make from the sounds and the frequency there—”

“Who’s able to tell! It’s not like everyone’s a military nut like you.” Ginji-san noted.

“And it’s so dark. Who’s able to tell whether it’s an air gun or something. I thought I got hit by nails.”

Mori-san rubbed his shoulders as he answered,

“Let’s go check the scene of the crime. Do you know what shoes and equipment were worn?’

“As we said, it’s too dark, and we can’t see.”

“We’re not soldiers. Who cares about such things?”

“In that case, can everyone please carrying this recorder along with you.”

Major seemed to be investigating something with the homeless, and Ginji-san cautiously inspected the watch-sized recorder Major took out from his backpack.

“What’s this? How many microphones have you set up inside?”

“16 directional microphones. I caliberated the angles; it’s my best work.”

“This is too much cost. If you want to ma.s.s produce this, you should modulate the recorder and the power source at least.”

“Your thoughts are really profit-oriented, Ginji-san. I never thought of that.”

“How about using the electromagnetic reception from before?”

“Ohh, that can work.”

It sounded as though they were happily chatting. I approached Major silently, pretending to be interested in the conversation, and stared at the devices in their hands.”

“…Ginji-san, you seem to know electronics well. Did you study engineering before?”

It was a straightforward question. Major inadvertently stared right at me; it was a taboo to ask a homeless’ past.

But Ginji-san merely snorted, and answered,

“It was a long time back. Technology has advanced so much though, and I can’t catch up to Hitoshi now.”

“But the thought process will never age. It’s after hearing your words that I’m starting to think going to a research university might be a good idea. Though this will delay my time as a NEET…”

Hearing these words, I suppressed the shock and conflicted feelings within me. Major wanted to go to a research university? He originally declared that he would keep repeating his year until he couldn’t, drop out and become the strongest NEET. On the other hand, it felt as though we were talking about someone else’s matter entirely, as Ginji-san was calling Major Hitoshi. No, the important thing wasn’t about Major, but to hear out from Ginji-san.

“Do you know how to make a recorder, Ginji-san?”

I glanced aside at the recorder in Major’s hand, and nonchalantly asked,

“I can, but it’s not in my expertise.”

“E-erm, your expertise?”

“Making spare parts for cameras.”

I gulped. It was as Yui-san told us, that he worked in a spare parts factory.

“You also mentioned cost and such…were you the owner of a company or something?”

“I did run a business before alright. But why do you seem as though you know?”

“E-erm?” I coughed a few times to hide the awkwardness. It appeared I asked too much, “Just thought of it.”

“If there’s something you want to ask, do it.”

My voice was frozen deep within my throat, bringing some pain. I barely forced myself to swallow it.

I glanced at Major, and found that he had already slipped off to the abandoned bicycles where Mori-san, Conductor and Marienkhof were, explaining how easy it was to picklock them. He sounded aloof, but he was serious in a.s.sisting the investigation.

Again, I faced Ginji-san, and quietly inhaled.

One day, I would have to state the truth to him. Better give up on any tricks now. I rather gain his trust and continue with the investigation than find definite proof on him before explaining about Yui-san.

“Erm, actually, I’m the a.s.sistant to a private detective.”

“I know, and so?”

Ah, I guessed so. He knew my name after all.

“A while back, our agency had a customer called Natsuki Yui-san. She’s an artiste. Her actual name is Katsuragi Yuina…she requested us to search for her father.”

I stopped, and watched Ginji-san’s expression. However, his face only showed a stoic look.

“Katsuragi Keiji, that’s the name of the father she told us.”

Again, I paused, waiting for Ginji-san to reply. However, he would not say anything, and I could only hear the noise from the train, the voices of hawkers in cellphone shops, background music from the drug store, exhaust sounds of the pa.s.sing vehicles, and countless footsteps.

“Yui-san said that she once saw you when she went filming at the park. She suspected that you’re her father.”

“I don’t know.”

Ginji-san sounded as though he was crushing a ball of dirt onto the wall. I was certain that this man was Yui-san’s father.”

“Yui-san says that she wants to be reunited with you.”

“I have no daughter.”

“Just meet and have a talk.”

“I told you I don’t know.”

“Yui-san said that she doesn’t hate her father. She just wants to meet you again. Right, she said that she can help repay the debt.”

Ginji-san threw the empty can of coffee into the basket of a abandoned bicycle, got up, and wrapped the m.u.f.fler around his neck.

“Thank you for the invite, but I’m leaving.”

”Wait! Please wait!”

I wanted to give chase after Ginji-san only, to hit my thigh onto the bicycle, and nearly toppled over an entire row of them as I barely managed to hold onto it.

“Ginji-san, where are you staying right now?”

“I don’t have a place to stay. Are you an idiot?”

“I-I know that. That’s not what I mean. I’m asking how to contact you again.”

I couldn’t allow the conversation to end in such dire situation. Even though I felt that I could be rejected, I had to seize my only chance.

“Go ask Hitoshi.”

Ginji-san straggled a trolley of dirty bags, and went towards the shadows under the bridge. For every step he took, I felt the silhouette of his back shrinking. Thus, I could only stop my hands from holding the bicycle and watch him leave beyond the horizon.

Ginji-san’s departing footsteps were finally overcome by the noises of the train.

I inadvertently hugged myself and shivered. Was the sudden cold due to the buildings, or because I just recalled that it was Winter already?

“Ginji-san left already?”

I turned to look at the source of the voice, and found that Mori-san and the others were already behind me.

“It’s rare to have a young guest treat us, and he went off.”

“That man’s always scowling.”

“I never saw him smile before.”

“When was that time when Ginji-san went to the job agency in all our stead, and we treated him? Even then, he wouldn’t smile…”

“Let’s have a bet! First to make Ginji-san smile will take all.”

“That’ll be a huge wager!”

The old men stared at everyone’s tanned faces, and grinned.

The trio probably sensed that Ginji-san and I were talking about something serious, but n.o.body asked us. Everyone’s deliberate obliviousness gave me a real sense of warmth, which I guess would be similar to keeping something warm with vacuum? Impossible. What exactly was I thinking?

Immediately afterwards, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and found Major with his goggles and helmet lifted, looking on with innocent eyes.

“The sudden investigation failed?”

“Well, yeah…” I lowered my shoulders. I felt apologetic to Major, who finally managed to bring Ginji-san to me. “Ginji-san can’t go back to the park now, can he? Hasn’t the construction work started?”

“No, he’ll come by once in a while. It’s a little complicated though.”

Major started to explain the situation of the park to me.

The construction started 4 days back. There were still many homeless huts in the park, and they started work in a somewhat threatening manner. It’s only due to the civilian groups increasing the frequency of protests that the construction work got delayed again. At this point, the park was fenced up, and the plan to modify it to a sports park was paused again.

“Hercules can’t possibly give up on its business plans just because of some protets, and it’s now the cooldown phase. They’ll start work again, so Ginji-san had to move away before then.”

“That’ll be bad. If they move, how can I find them?’

“Don’t worry.”

Major tapped me on the shoulder.

“I’ve grasped the waste recycling company and the shops Ginji-san frequent, and I have Mori-san’s contact, so I’ll be able to find out where everyone lives. Also, for the time being, I’ll be patrolling around specific places.”

“Eh?” I stared at Major’s face. Specific places here would refer to the places the homeless stayed at. “Why patrol? Because of this request?”

“What are you saying now? I’m investigating on the one who shot the homeless.”

“Ah…”

I glanced aside to peek at the three old men, holding coffee and chatting about gambling eagerly.

“I investigated all the places this week, and obtained lots of evidence.”

Major took out a few transparent plastic bags filled with BB bullets and dirt-covered metal sc.r.a.ps.

“These aren’t things any ordinary person will throw. Must be some maniac who loves to play survival games. This is a small world for us gamers, I’ll be able to catch him soon.”

I felt something was amiss. Why was Major so insistent on figuring out who shot the homeless? He was on good terms with Ginji-san and the others, and he naturally would be angry about it.

But despite this, it wasn’t like Major.

…Why was Major not being himself?

I shook my head to shake off such thoughts. What did I know about Major? We only knew each other for more than a year, and only met at the detective agency. How could I possibly understand the pa.s.sions and darkness hidden inside his diminutive body.

“…Anything I can help with?”

Major stopped, and turned his head back.

“I can’t ask you for help, Vice Admiral Fujishima. This isn’t a request.”

“I know it isn’t, but—” I was at a momentary loss of words, and tried to find excuses, “Anyway, I just hope that you’ll let me partic.i.p.ate. If we can nab the culprit…it’ll be like owing a favour, but I guess Ginji-san would be more willing to talk to me.”

It was an excuse based on the heart. But actually, what I was really curious was—why was Major being so anxious?’

“Vice Admiral Fujishima, have you heard of the organizational theory by General Hans von Seeckt?”

“No, I don’t.” I muttered. Why this out of a sudden.

“Your lack of hard work really is something to lament. Seeckt was limited by the harsh regulations of the Treaty of Versailles to downsize the military, but with his intelligence and indomitable will, he managed to rebuild the German Army, and insisted on the military being a pillar of civilian governance. He resisted defied Hitler until the very end.”

“W-wait, Major. Don’t make a speech in the middle of the streets. Everyone’s watching.”

Major ignored my protests, and raised 4 fingers in front of me.

“According to Seeckt, soldiers can be cla.s.sified into 4 different kinds. The lazy and smart, the hardworking and smart, the lazy and stupid, and the hardworking and stupid.” For every category he listed, Major bent a finger.

“…Ah.”

“The lazy and smart ones are suited to lead the frontlines. Scared of death, that guy will try his best to think of a way to win easily. For example, I’m of this category. The Major’s a camp commander.”

In other words, a willing NEET. Anyway, what’s Major talking about? Did this have to do with me?”

“The hardworking and smart are more inclined to be advsiors. They need smarts to come up with plans, and willingness to work hard for the preparations . For example, Yondaime’s this kind of person.”

Really? Right when I was being sceptical, Major pointed at my nose.

“As for the lazy idiots, they’re suited to be commanders. Never doing anything, and just need to nod and what others say. In other words, you’re the type of person, Vice Admiral.”

I gulped, unable to refute. In any case, I let Major finish what he wanted to say.

But despite this, I cautiously asked,

“…Then, what about the fourth kind? The hardworking idiots?”

“it’s better if they don’t exist. They work for the wrong purpose, and only serve to spread the damage. What I want to say is that I don’t want you to go from being a lazy idiot to a hardworking idiot.”

I knew I shouldn’t have asked…feeling limp, I sat down on the backseat of a bicycle.

“Well, only the j.a.panese would have known of such stupid words. Guess it’s made up.”

“What’s with the long talk then!? You wasted my time!”

Major waved at me, and left. I watched him vanish down the path below the bridge, and again sat back on the back seat of the abandoned bicycle. Looking back, I found the 3 other homeless folk had vanished. The sun was setting, and the long shadows of the bicycle and I fell onto the railway. A chilling wind ruffled the convenience store bag.

I b.u.t.toned up my duffle coat, and stood up.

I waited until the following day, after school, before deciding to give Yui-san a call.

She’s the client this time, and no matter the outcome, I had to report to her. However, when I went to ‘Hanamaru’, there would surely be people trying to talk to me. Thus, I called Yui-san immediately once I got out of the cla.s.sroom.

“Sorry, I’m on the road now!”

I could hear the noise of a road in the background of Yui-san’s voice.

“I’ll call you again later. Sorry.”

I stared at the phone right after the call ended, and reflected on my actions. She’s a blooming idol, and very busy at that. Calling her at this point would be hara.s.sing her.

I sent her a message, briefly reporting on Ginji-san. It was about how I confronted Ginji-san about Yui-san, only to be denied. However, we got intel on his whereabouts, and I would continue to try and convince him. These words were difficult to express directly, but after conveying into a message, I could easily send it to her.

I rode the bicycle out of school, and the cellphone in my pocket vibrated. This time, it’s from Yui-san.

“I’ll have some time later. I’ll be going to the ramen shop later. I have something to hand over to you.”

I remained leaned on the pillar of the school gate, bending over from the bicycle as I read the message thrice. I sighed, and closed the phone.

I guess I had to explain to her directly after all.

There was the silhouette of a tall, lanky man in the kitchen of ‘Hanamaru’ that was preparing to open. Black rubber bands were used to roll up his lemon yellow shirt, and he was sorting out the dried goods in the cardboard boxes. Only Hiro could wear such a striking shirt without feeling out of place, and even in the entertainment industry, not many could do so.

“Narumi-kun! I heard that there’s some really amazing person with the request this time?”

Hiro noticed me pa.s.s through the curtains, and lifted his head, saying,

“Alice told me, and I was shocked. When that girl debuted on a gravure photo on Young Jump, I knew that Natsuki Yui would strike it big one day.”

Hiro’s the only one in my circle of relations who was familiar with the entertainment circle, I think I should really leave everything to Hiro, for a moment, that was my thought.

“I’ll come back to work again. This time, I’ll be able to get a chance to meet Yui-chan.”

“I’m definitely not letting you to meet her….” I sighed, and sat in front of the counter. “So you aren’t going to be a gigolo leeching on Yi Ling-san now? She’ll be angry knowing that you’re popping by at ‘Hanamaru’ often, right?”

“Ahh, I was shooed out from Yi Ling’s room.” Hiro chuckled, “Well, I know a Chinese madame, you know? Right now, I’m living in an apartment she bought for me. I haven’t lived alone for quite a while, so I got really bored.”

“You’re utterly terrible!”

“No, Narumi-kun, I pale in comparison to you.”

What? Don’t say such things that can be misunderstood, okay? However, Hiro went back to the cardboard boxes.

“Min-san, do I wash the turtle leg? I can grill the fish jaw.”

Hiro shouted into the corridor of the kitchen, and at this moment, a lady with a ponytail showed up from there. It seemed Min-san was inside, preparing the broth.

“Then you can boil the pork belly—” Min-san instructed, only to stop midway through and walk out to the kitchen, “…No need for that. Why did you enter the kitchen again, you gigolo b.a.s.t.a.r.d?’

“No, I just thought I should help you with work.”

“You’re no longer an employee. And how are you able to just show up in front of me without a care in the world?”

“Why not? That madame bought an apartment for me, but my heart belongs to you, Min-san.”

After that, Hiro got chased out, literally kicked up and sent rolling from the back door. I hurried out, and went to the back.

“Owwww.”

Hiro rubbed his backside, and I helped him up onto the old stack of tires.

“That punch from Min-san’s really powerful. That’s worse than when I got beaten up by Hong Lei.”

“You reap what you sow…”

Didn’t he propose to Min-san? What was he thinking?

“Well, as long as I don’t give up, Min-san will understand my feelings.”

“You’re saying such innocent words for a gigolo.”

A fuming Min-san suddenly rushed out from the back door, and Hiro instinctively raised his hands to protect his head.

But Min-san did not show up to beat him, instead putting a large metal bowl on the wooden table between Hiro and me. There was a hill of garlic there, some even falling out.

“Hiro, peel them all! Narumi, don’t you dare help him. Let him finish.”

And then, she slammed the back door with enough force to rattle the entire building.

Hiro-san cautiously lowered his arms, and heaved a sigh of relief, before he began to happily peel the garlic.

It’s a strange relationship between those two. n.o.body around us gave Hiro a chance of succeeding in his pursuit of love, but Min-san never rejected him outside, and seeing them like this, I felt a vague feeling of both gaudiness and relief.

I felt that Hiro would continue wandering around the many girls out there, and occasionally come back to ‘Hanamaru’ from time to time. In other words, this is Hiro’s home. It’s not the posh apartment the filthy rich madame bought for him, and neither was it the simple apartment of a hostess. His home was at Min-san’s shop.

Thus—this was the difference between the NEETs and the homeless.

“…Did you talk to Ginji-san?”

Hiro stopped, and asked me.

“Eh? Ah, yes. Sorta.”

It seemed Hiro already knew about the request somewhat, and I didn’t have to explain.

“Is he really the father?”

“I couldn’t be sure. Ginji-san insisted that he didn’t know, that he doesn’t have a daughter. Looking at his reaction though, I guess it’s him.”

I added on to convince Hiro, and looked down at the ground between my shoes. A brief silence was interrupted by the peeling sounds of garlic.

“That’s tough.”

Hiro muttered. I lifted my head.

“It’s been 10 years since he left his daughter and home. It’s going to be difficult for her to salvage anything now.”

I too understood this logic. Time would gather all kinds of precipitates, bury wounds and flaws, and coagulate them. It was completely impossible to revert matters to normal. By removing the burden of the wounds, all that would be revealed would be more wounds.

“Even if Ginji-san’s really Natsuki Yui’s father, the daughter earns enough money for her dad to pay off the debts, and start a new life, it won’t be settled that easily.”

I know. Right when I was about to answer, I swallowed back my words. Did I really understand? What feelings did Ginji-san have when he left home and wandered all the way to Tokyo? What feelings did he have when I mentioned about Yui-san to him while he was holding that can of coffe? I didn’t understand anything at all, I guess.

I guessed Hiro would be more suited for this case. I never heard Hiro mention about his family situation, but he was always wandering around like a drifting plant, and probably understands the homeless better than I do. I guessed he’ll be able to explain the conversation Ginji-san and I had to Yui-san without much difficulty.

At this moment, Hiro patted my shoulder,

“But you’re the detective’s a.s.sistant, Narumi-kun.”

Hearing that, all I could only do was nod deeply. I felt ashamed for trying to toss a hot potato to Hiro.

“But Major’s helping with this case, right? Both Tetsu and I aren’t taking action because Alice hasn’t told us to, and it looks like Major has been running around alone. I haven’t been able to get him on the phone recently.”

“Ah, erm, that’s because.”

I explained to Hiro the cases of the homeless being shot at, and his beautifully shaped eyebrows scowled slightly.

“Looks like Major’s involved in some trouble again.”

“What was he really serious about? I thought he was joking about the pride of a soldier, but he looked really angry about what the culprit did.”

“Really? I always thought he was serious.”

“Always? He said that attacking non-combatants is the worst possible crime, but this is 21st Century j.a.pan, and an airgun was used.”

“He’s for real, but—”

Hiro stopped peeling the garlic, and his eyes drifted coldly, aimlessly.

“I guess this isn’t the only reason as to why he’s so furious.”

I followed Hiro’s stare, and the grey sky between the buildings got gloomier.

I did see a strange, dangerous presence in Major’s eyes, despite him trying to bluff with some crazy general’s talk.

‘Hanamaru’ was at its busiest after 8pm, filled with all kinds of customers, including the salarymen returning from work, the workers at the construction sites, the guards, the college students headed for the next stall, the old man managing a block of apartments, and some hoodlum-like property dealers. The 5 seats in front of the counter were occupied by the regular customers of drunkards, and the customers unable to enter had to sit on beer crates turned upside down. The cold drafts from the buildings blew in, and only a small electric heater provided some warmth. Despite this, the lights and red curtains at the doors seemed to attract lots of pedestrians. The crowd showed no signs of abating, and Ayaka alone could not cope with them. Thus, when Min-san popped out of the back door, stating that she was willing to hire for 700 Yen per hour[1], Hiro giddily put on the short black ap.r.o.n and ran into the kitchen. I guessed the rumors spread fast, for an hour later, a large group of young women came by later.

Yui-san just so happened to show up at the ramen shop’s busiest moment. Outside the lights of the shop was a silhouette looking around. Looking at the shape of the wool cap, I could tell it was here.

“Over here, over here.”

I waved my hand from between the buildings.

“Narumi-kun!”

Yui-san called me with a voice audible to everyone else, probably because she was relieved to see me, and came running over. I put a finger at my mouth to shush her, dragged her to a dark corner at the back door, had her sit on the old tires, and peeked into the shop. Some customers noticed the back door, but none of them noticed that it was Natsuki Yui.

“You can’t be loud now. What’ll happen if others notice you?”

“So-sorry.”

Yui-san shrank back, lowered her sungla.s.ses slightly, and looked up at me, apologizing. I grabbed Yui-san by the shoulders just when she wanted to peek into the shop, dragged her back, and had her sit on the tires.

“The one who drove you off on that day was your manager, right? Did he say anything?”

“A lot of things. Is that your boyfriend? It’s a crucial moment now. What are you thinking?”

Ah, I guessed so. She’s a rare breed of proper idols in this day and age after all.

“Bu-bu-but don’t be mistaken! You really aren’t my boyfriend though.”

“I know. I’m the victim here!” Why explain this to me?

The back door suddenly opened, and the humid air suddenly blew at my neck.

“Fujishima-kun, is that a customer? Anything she’ll like to order?”

Yui-san lifted her eyes, and just so happened to exchange looks with Ayaka, poking her head out of the door.

“H-huh? E-eh? Th-this is, Natsuki—”

I frantically got to my feet and blocked Ayaka’s line of sight.

“So-sorry, Ayaka. Please pretend that you didn’t see anything.”

And appearing beyond Ayaka’s shoulder was Hiro.

“I heard Yui-chan showed up? Take my place in the kitchen, Narumi-kun. I’ll take over.”

“You guys.”

While Ayaka and Hiro stood side by side, a terrifying growl could be heard behind them, and a fuming Min-san came out to grab her two employees by the back of their collars.

“No skimping on your work! We’re not done delivering the customer’s dishes! She’s not one of our customers!”

Hiro and Ayaka were dragged back into the kitchen, and I really expressed my thanks to Min-san before closing the back door.

“…Sorry, everyone wanted to get involved.”

“W-was I found out? That’s weird. I switched to yellow sungla.s.ses on this day though.”

That makes it more obvious! I really wished Yui-san had some awareness as a celebrity. I brought her to the first stairwell of the emergency staircase.

“But this ramen shop owner really seems amazing.”

Yui-san muttered as she leaned her back on the handrail.

“What’s amazing?”

“The lady with the ponytail’s the shop owner, right? I met her the last time I came by. She’s really a beauty.”

Beauty…? Hm, well, Min-san’s pretty, no doubt about that. I recalled the image of her wearing the wedding dress when she got engaged, and if I did help take a photo of her, it’ll be beautiful. Photos can’t talk or beat people up after all.

“The girl helping at work’s cute too, and there’s also that employee who looks like a Johnny.[2]

“Erm, I’ll be serious about this, don’t you ever approach that guy. He’s not a Johnny, just a gigolo.”

Yui-san blinked a few times, probably overwhelmed by my serious expression, and smiled. I then added on,

“No, this isn’t a laughing matter. He’s really a terrible gigolo.”

“Sorry, I’m laughing because you said the exact same words as Washio-san.”

Washio would refer to that fierce looking manager, right?

“He said he could tell from your face that you’re a gigolo, Narumi-kun, that I shouldn’t be approaching you.”

“From my face!? We only just met!”

“Ahh, I don’t have the time to chat. I came out for a while after an event ended. I still have to rush back later.”

“Next time, say that earlier! Erm.”

I hurriedly pondered about what to say next, and continued on,

First, about that homeless man called Ginji-san.

I did tell Ginji-san that we accepted a request from Natsuki Yui—Katsuragi Yuina.

And Ginji-san’s response were, “I don’t know.” “I have no daughter.”

And finally, though he had no fixed place to live at, we could find him if we did some investigations.

Yui-san kept biting her lower lip as she listened to my report quietly. Once I was done, she merely nodded,

“I’ll go back to talk to Ginji-san later. Anything you want me to say to him? Oh yeah, didn’t you say you have something to pa.s.s to him?”

Yui-san reached her hand into her handbag, and took out a box smaller than a palm. She opened the box that was wrapped in red velvet, and there was a ring embedded halfway in it.

“…So the thing you said you want to hand him is this?”

“Yes. This is my dad’s wedding ring. He left this ring by my bedside before he left home.”

The words ‘Kenji Katsuragi’ were clearly imprinted on the inside of the ring. I looked up at the side of Yui-san’s face; did she see her dad leave home?

“I was awake back then, but I overslept, and I wasn’t sure what dad left behind, or why he left home…and I just went back to sleep.”

Yui-san’s eyes were hidden under the sungla.s.ses, and she looked up at the distant night sky.

“Every day, he would work until it was late at night, and mom and I were used to sleeping early. My biggest impression of him would be him sliding the fusuma slightly to peek in, and see my upside down face. He would head to the factory every morning, and it wasn’t uncommon to not see him for 3 days straight.”

Her voice sounded as though it was beyond a curtain.

“But back then, I was just a kid, and I didn’t know the factory was in dire states, or that I ever thought that dad would vanish. It was almost Christmas, and I kept telling him to stay at home when it was Christmas. Ahaha, I was like an idiot.”

Yui-san wiped her eyes with her fingers a few times.

“Mom seemed to have known too. She knew immediately what happened on that day. There was the ring by the bed, and the money at home was gone.”

But she didn’t request to look for him. Yui-san showed a hollow smile.

“After dad vanished, mom spent the next 3 days s.p.a.ced out on a chair, sometimes laughing. She hardly did anything, and the people at the factory helped report to the police to search for him.”

The weather got colder, and I looked away from Yui-san’s face as I leaned on the handrail. The bustling lights between the buildings looked surreal.

“So, please hand the ring over to him.”

Yui-san pushed the box to me.

“And told me that mom’s ring is with me.”

I heard from Yui-san that her mother kept cursing the husband for leaving such a huge debt behind and abandoned the factory and family. I firmly held onto this hard sensation in my palm, and it still continued some warmth from Yui-san.

“I know it’s bad to ask you to lie, but please ell dad that mom wasn’t angry with him, that she wanted to meet him until the very end.”

Yui-san and I looked over at the night sky, in the same direction, and I nodded to her.

A lazy idiot like me would be more suited to convey such a stupid, harmless lie. It would be great if Ginji-san could open his heart a little to me.

The sound of a cellphone echoed in the chilly night, and Yui-san’s shoulders shook in shock as she hurriedly took it out. However, she merely stared at the phone, and did not receive the call.

“…Ahh, what do I do? Washio-san’s definitely angry with me now.”

“You got to go back now, I just said that there’s still things to do, more or less.”

“Yes…that’s right.”

Yui-san closed her phone, and slipped into into her handbag.

“What do I do? Do I have some ramen before going back? I heard that the ice cream here is really good, right?”

“What are you saying? Your manager’s going to come right at us!”

“Well, I have to go back, I guess…”

Yui-san leaned her back on the backrest, and bent down. What’s with her? Did she not want to return to her manager than much? I couldn’t see her expression, but that ball of wool on her cap was still bobbling.

On the other end of the silence were the cheerful sounds of the customers, mixed with the vibration of the phone. Yui-sna shrank even further, and waited for it to stop.

“…I’ll rest for a while longer. Washio-san won’t know that I’m here.”

I sighed, and scratched my head.

“Erm, Yui-san, did the company issue the phone to you?”

I asked, and Yui-san tilted her head slightly towards me, showing a shocked look.

“Yes…but why?”

“I guess the company had a GPS function installed in the phone.”

“G—P—S?”

“A function that uses the satellites to check on a phone’s location—erm, anyway, the manager can figure out where you are through this function, Yui-san.”

If this idol talent was being so unstable, there would be no doubt she would be forced to use this phone, and thus, it would explain why the manager would suddenly show up in front of us that weekend night. Hearing this from me, Yui-san got pale, and stood up.

“Wh-what do I do? Just destroy the phone?”

“I said, just hurry back now! Also, give a call to your manager later!”

“U, uu, yes, I guess…”

Yui-san lowered her shoulders dejectedly, and began walking down the stairs.

She’s a dangerous one, I thought as I watched her leave from behind. Her emotional state was highly unstable, and how was she like in front of the cameras? I never saw her on TV before, but I could imagine her going crazy. I got increasingly worried, hoping that she could report good news to me next time.I looked back at the little box in my palm. Thinking about it, I was really entrusted with something really significant. Would Ginji-san really accept this? Even if I made a flawless lie, he might be able to see through it.

I supposed I should at least report to Alice, but right when I was about to head up the stairs, I heard frantic footsteps from above. Following that was a blue pet.i.te body, and glossy black hair swaying in the night.

“Narumi! Why are you taking your t—”

Alice exchanged looks with me, and stood on the taller stairwell, looking too embarra.s.sed to say anything. She looked beyond me, and down the stairs. I turned around to look, and saw Yui-san peeking outside before walking out of the alley.

“…You spent time talking with the client again?”

I turned back due to the seething anger in Alice’s voice.

“Seriously, you would rather talk to Natsuki Yui than report to me whenever she shows up…”

“Not at all. Yui-san didn’t have much time, and I didn’t have anything to report to you directly, so we had a talk here.”

“Nn, mph.”

“You threw a tantrum and came running out of the office the last time.”

“I wasn’t angry.”

“Yeah, maybe, I get it.”

I had an idea, and after peeking at the back door of ‘Hanamaru’, I found that Yui-san was gone.

“W-what is it?”

Alice’s voice got shrill.

“You’re Natsuki Yui’s fan, right? You wanted to talk to her, right?”

Alice froze, her mouth partially agape, and even late at night, I could tell her face was turning beetroot.

“…I-I had enough! Why are you coming up with such stupid ideas!? Even a Russian who drank two bottles of Vodka is able to talk better than you!”

“I just had a thought…”

“Whatever, don’t you enter the office for the time being. Report to me through mail, so that I won’t be infected by your stupidity!”

“Got it.” I shrugged. I was always infuriating Alice for some strange reasons anyway.

I heard Alice teeter up the stairs, and turned my back on her before returning to the back door. I would not do as she told me, to send her a mail once I got home. Having been her a.s.sistant for a year, I could deduce what she would do next. Thus, I sat on a beer crate in the cold, damp darkness between the buildings, wheezing.

And as I expected, 5 minutes later, I had the intro melody to ‘Colorado Bulldog’.

“I ran out of Doctor Pepper. Get me two crates of them and come back! Ah, I didn’t call you because I knew you were downstairs, and not because I was watching you on the surveillance cameras!”

Okay, okay, I said as I stood up. Even I was feeling confused as to why I was relieved by this.

The next day, after school, I met Ginji-san at the park. A fence was set up at the steps of the park entrance, but there was a man in trench coat opposite the abandoned cardboard house. I parked my bicycle by the road, and wanted to slip in through the fence, only to find someone else talking to Ginji-san.

“…So right now, it’s an important moment for Yui. Do you understand?’

I heard a man’s harsh voice, and stopped going up the stairs to crouch down instead.

“Getting suspected would be a bad thing. I don’t want someone like you to show up beside her now!”

“I said that I understand, didn’t I? This has nothing to do with me.”

“Then, please hurry up and leave. If the civilian groups start protesting again, the TV stations will start filming here again.

“So what?’

“Don’t you understand? Hercules is promoting Yui heavily right now! Soon after, there’s going to be a large display out there airing advertis.e.m.e.nts and promotional videos of Yui. If you got caught on camera, anyone who knows you may recognize you as Yuio’s father.”

The man closed in on Ginji-san, and only then did I see his face clearly. It was the manager, Washio-san.

“You’re annoying. Just go back already.” Ginji-san shoved him on the shoulder.

“Is it money? If it’s money, I have as much as you need.”

“I don’t need it. I do have my own situation. It’s not as simple as me moving just because you say so.”

But despite this, Washio-san took out a large bundle of notes from his wallet, and shoved it into Ginji-san’s coat.

“Anyway, hurry up and go! Don’t show up in front of Yui-san again.”

Washio-san poked a finger at Ginji-san’s chest, and then turned around to head down the stairs, resulting in me being unable to hide. He got down the stairs, and stopped in his tracks, meeting me in the eyes while I was foolishly trying to hide by getting down onto the ground.

“Are you still doing your investigations?”

Washio-san nudged his gla.s.ses, sounding really frustrated. He walked towards me, and I could only stand up to dust the dirt off my knees.

“Yui told me everything the previous day.”

“Everything, as in?”

“Whatever Yui requested to you. Don’t go overboard in your detective games, we’re being serious about work here. It’ll probably get Yui hundreds of millions.”

I merely shrugged. As a detective a.s.sistant, I had an obligation to keep secrets for my clients. It was possible that the manager was just trying to fish something out from me. He coughed, and returned to the stairs.

“It would have been fine if Yui was mistane, but that homeless man really appeared to be her father. d.a.m.n it!”

Washio-san bitterly grumbled, and turned back to look at me.

“Listen, there’s a lot of ways to get you to shut up.”

He went by me, and descended the stairs. During the entire time, I did not look back, and quietly stood on the stairs, waiting for the footsteps to depart. Only when I heard the sound of a car engine being activated did I turned around, and the blue-purple car, parked at the dirt road at the bottom of the hill, exited through the pedestrian walkway, accelerated, and shrank.

I continued climbing the stairs, and saw Ginji-san standing under a treet, his hands in his pockets as he watched the car leave.

“What do you want?”

Ginji-san said those words, and returned to his cardboard house. I ducked past the fense, and caught up to him. There were lots of evergreen trees grown in the park, and between the trees were plywood, blue vinyl sheets and cardboards everywhere. The sun shone above us, but the place was filled with a gloomy atmosphere. The water cooler in the middle of the park oozed no water, for the tap was wrapped in metal wire and tape. There was no other person to be seen around here.

“You’re going to say the same things as him, right? Stop bothering me, leave.”

Ginji-san said, and ducked into the entrance of the cardboard house, starting to sort the empty cans he picked up from the black trash bags. I slowly approached his slender self.

“Yui-san—Yuina-san asked me to give something to you.”

The figure dressed in the trench coat did not waver because of my words. He maintained his usual poise, and continued searching for empty cans from the trash bags, and once he found some, he put them into a transparent plastic bag. I sat down beside him.

When I took out the ring box to show Ginji-san, he finally stopped. The heavy look in his eyes caused me to be unable to open it.

“You left this behind when you left the house. To give it to dad, she said.”

The black stained hands started sorting the empty cans. I ostensibly tasted aluminium as I continued,

“Do you know…that Yui-san’s mother has already pa.s.sed away?”

Ginji-san again stopped what he was doing, and stared at my face.

He combed his messy hair backwards, stood up, took out a cigarette from his mouth, stared at the metal fence, and had a smoke. I waited for a while, and he remained silent. The purple and white smoke remained stuck on the thin lens of his gla.s.ses and the dried hair, almost in a longing manner.

“Yui-san’s mother didn’t begrudge you for leaving…she always wanted to meet you again.”

“Did Yuina ask you to make such a stupid lie?”

I gasped, and swallowed a sigh. As expected, I was seen through.

No, well, there was still some development. At the very least Ginji-san admitted that he’s Katsuragi Yuina’s father.

“I don’t know whether that’s a lie or not.”

I continued on with a stoic face,

“But Yui-san really wanted to meet you again. Even if it’s just once, please meet her again and talk with her.”

Ginji-san slowly puffed out some smoke, gnawed at the cigarette, squatted down, and placed the plastic bag full of cans onto a cart.

“Do you want to know why I left home?”

“…I heard that it was because of the debts. The factory didn’t seem to be performing well.”

Ginji-san turned his face away from me, and snorted,

“Because I got sick of it all.”

I stared at Ginji-san’s sidelong profile.

“It wasn’t as bad as being unable to issue payslips to the employees, and I didn’t explain to them about it. I could try and go to a few more loan sharks, but I got sick of it. I left simply because I got sick of bearing responsibility for my family and company.”

Ginji-san threw the cigarette onto the sofa, and stomped on it a few times.

“Do you think I’ll be happy to meet her again? Don’t be stupid.”

Ginji-san pulled his m.u.f.fler up, and pushed the cart towards the stairs at the exit of the park. I gave chase after him.

“Please wait, at least—”

“Stop pestering me.”

“The ring! It belongs to you, at least. I was told to hand it over to you.”

“I don’t need it.”

At this moment, I finally found myself to be slightly furious. You’re the one who abandoned your family, took a huge debt and ran off, right! Do you know how much that mother and daughter suffered? It’s all your fault, and you’re acting like that! That Yui-san too, why didn’t she request us just to be able to beat her dad up and grumble a bunch? If she said that, I could have gotten Tetsu-senpai involved without worry to tie him up alive. Why did she just want to meet her father and talk a little?

The unexpected surge of rage left me speechless. Ironically, what I did this time was exactly the same as that manager Washio-san. I merely grabbed at the hem of Ginji-san’s coat, and shoved the ring box into the pocket.

Ginji-san raised his hand, and slapped my hand away.

His dirty eyes were glaring at me, and I, left with nothing to say, could only retreat. He glanced at the pocket that was a lump at this point, and turned his back on me, lifting the cat as he headed down the stairs. The sound of cans clashing echoed emptily, gradually departing.

The next day, the homeless returned to the park. I received a notification from Major at around 8pm, and brought some j.a.panese beer and ‘Hanamaru’ dumplings to the park. I could see a weak light shining on the blue vinyl sheets and several people beyond the fence that to cordon people away.

Even till this point, I was worrying, Is it fine to come in? We won’t get scolded by the police?

“Vice Admiral Fujishima! Over here!”

The smallest silhouette waved at me. I had no choice but to duck under the fence, and climb up the stairs.

“Oh, Min-san’s dumplings.”

“Aren’t the dumplings made by Hiro nowadays?”

Major and the homeless scented upon the fragrance coming from the plastic container in my hands, and approached me.

“Beer too. You’re getting smart there, Narumi.”

“Erm…where’s Ginji-san?”

I scanned the dark park, and found that the tent village was still quiet. The only ones present were Major, Mori-san and Pe-san.

“He went somewhere to do some teardown work.” Pe=san said. It appeared that he was lucky enough to have some work on this day.

“I too finally managed to get a picking job at a logistics center.”

Mori-san patted his bald head with his hand, and grumbled,

“There wasn’t much work, so I was shooed back before noon, and got only half the salary. I was so angry, and I could only s.n.a.t.c.h lots of cardboard from the furnace.”

Looking down, I found that there were a lot of cardboard that were slightly charred in Mori-san’s cart. The homeless were really a bunch of determined people. It was only recently that I realized that the homeless were really hardworking, not to be lumped with the NEETs.

“Will Ginji-san return here after he’s done with work?”

“Probably, but I don’t know what time it will be.” Mori-san scratched his head as he said this.

“He was sick, so he didn’t have to force himself to do manual labor. He could work as an instructor instead.”

Hearing Pe-san’s words, Mori-san and Major nodded. Ginji-san was sick? He didn’t look well, but Mori-san and Pe-san both had wrinkles and ash on their faces; they didn’t look healthy either.

“Ginji-san hasn’t had a fixed home these days. When he can’t sleep because it’s too cold, he would just walk around.”

Major grabbed a dumpling with his hand and gnawed at it as he said this. I widened my eyes; no wonder he was sick.

“We can only stay here until next week.”

Pe-san said that, and turned around to inspect the tents behind him.

“No matter how delayed the work is, they’ll definitely start work at the end of the year, latest.”

“How’s the situation of the park now? Any developments?”

Major shrugged upon hearing my question.

“Sooner or later, they’re going to use the administration laws to lock down the park, remove the fence and start work. It might look like it has nothing to do with the protests, but Hercules said that they would keep the old name of the park.”

“…Why’s everyone so against rebuilding the park?”

“I don’t know. Ask them.” Pe-san chuckled. Mori-san looked a little gloomy, and told us the details,

“This place has always been like this, and not really a park. The only area that could be used was the futsal court, and at night, we would be the only ones pa.s.sing through. The city council had been trying to chase us out for a while already, actually.”

Mori-san took out a wrinkled cigarette, lit a fire, and took a smoke.

“It probably started from Sprig this year, when the city council started beautifying the park. You see, the street lamps are new now, aren’t they?”

I lifted my head up, and looked at where Mori-san was pointing. The mini crystal-like lamps were glittering atop a tall pillar beside the fence. It was true that it felt out of place here.

“They cleaned up the graffiti on the wall, the murals and had more flower beds planted here. Of course, we wouldn’t move away that easily.”

“This guy here is really stubborn. Pe-san pointed his chin at the tents, “They can’t be moved easily, and the city council hasn’t really chased us away, so we ignored them.”

“But the town council only started chasing people away for real after the fire in August, right?”

Major interrupted,

“Ahh, yes. It’s probably due to the fire in August.” Pe-san said, “The trash, cardboard, and a house got burned down. So this fire was blamed on us…”

The homeless felt that the city council hardened their stance after the fire, and quickly sold the land to Hercules Company as a park in name to renovate into a sports park.

This announced plan for this area was to develop this place into ‘an area for youth culture to be expressed’, and the renovation of the park itself was probably part of it. Ironically, the spokesman for this plan was Natsuki Yui, the daughter of a homeless, Ginji-san, who had his home robbed by the plan.

“If they really start tearing down the place for real, what will you do?”

Major lowered his voice, saying this,

“If you need any weapons to fight back, I can lend you some and teach you some fighting techniques.”

“Idiots, we won’t be doing anything.” Mori-san puffed some smoke out of his nostrils. “Once our houses are taken down, we’re running away.”

“You’re running away? But isn’t this your home?”

“That’s not a home. We’re homeless. Listen. We’re home, less.”

I was taken aback due to Mori-san’s sudden aggressiveness, and stared at his face.

“Some call us wanderers, unemployed, or beggars. Some stand up for us, saying that those are words of prejudice, that we should be called street buddies. But I think calling us ‘homeless’ will be the most accurate in this case.”

It was about half an hour later when Ginji-san returned to the park. Mori-san, Pe-san, and Major gulped down what was about a liter of beer, and they, being all drunk, were starting to excitedly discuss exaggerated topics like covering Himeji Castle with carboard, building a Rolls Royce with vinyl sheets, and empty cans to build an F-22 and so on. I had enough of it, and got up to turn away, only to hear footsteps.

The silhouette entered my sights, and I saw messy hair and the gla.s.ses reflecting the flect.

“What are you doing? Stop fooling around.”

“Ah, Captain Ginji’s back! Sorry for finishing all the rations!”

Major saluted to Ginji-san with a reddened face. They really did finish up all the dumplings. Ginji-san glanced at the drunkards, and glanced at me.

“…What? More things to talk to me?”

“N-nothing.”

I averted my eyes swimmingly. I did say what I had to, but I had yet to report to Yui-san.

“Can I message Yui-san right now? Tell her that you’re here, Ginji-san?”

“You can, but I’ll be gone after this.”

Ginji-san looked annoyed, and sat on a cardboard box laid on the floor. Mori-san and pe-san were drunk and collapsed onto the floor, while Major offered the bottle of beer that was almost finished to Ginji-san. The latter received it, pulled his m.u.f.fler down, and took a swung at it. I, still perturbed, continued holding the phone.

“You’re being foolish here. Couldn’t you have just sent it discreetly?”

Ginji-san lifted his eyes and said to me, but I shook my head. Even if I did send the message discreetly, it was pointless. Yui-san’s request wasn’t just about us finding someone. I sighed, and closed the phone. With Yui-san being so busy, she wouldn’t be able to make it in time even if I did send a message to her.

“Just ignore the obtuse Vice Admiral Fujishima for now.”

Major pushed me aside, and sat in front of Ginji-san.

“I have something ask of you, Captain Ginji.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the shooting of the homeless, of course!” Major took out a flat laptop from his backpack, and the monitor showed a map near the station. “I haven’t been able to gather the intel successfully. I can’t grasp where all the homeless are, and everyone isn’t willing to help you.”

“That’s because everyone feels that you’re like those brats, Hitoshi. When you’re dressed up like that, you’ll be mistaken, and your bag definitely has a whole lot of air guns.”

Major was shocked, and lowered his head to look at his military getup, furiously patting the chest of his camouflage uniform.

“Don’t lump me with them! This is the uniform of the famous British Army!”

“Who knows?”

“Anyway, Ginji-san, can you please help me sort out every homeless around here? They’re your subordinates.” “They’re not my subordinates.” “I’m willing to be a military advisor and explain what to do when they’re attacked, so please lead them.” “I said they aren’t my subordinates.”

Suddenly, a sound interrupted that conversation that was going nowhere. The dried pelting sound could be heard in the knight, flicking the sand grains. Major was the first to react, and put his little body in camouflage suit onto the ground.

“Get down!”

Major shouted, and I too cupped my head with my hands, while Ginji-san clicked his tongue and hid at the trees. Major remained on the ground as he dragged Mori-san and Pe-san, still rolling about on the ground, to a cover of the shelter. A dry sound again grazed by my ear, and I found a stinging hot pain from my neck to my shoulder, causing me to collapse onto the sandy ground.

“Vice Admiral Fujishima!”

Major came running over, grabbed my arm, and at the next moment, I was dragged forcefully into the shadows. I remained lying on the ground, touching my aching neck. Was that really the damage from an air gun? I could feel an icicle stabbing at me despite me wearing a duffle coat. Was that really just a toy gun?

The shooting sounds got dull, and I found that it was because the bullets were shooting through the wall on the other side. At this moment, I was startled, the other side? Opposite the fence was the railway! Where’s the shooter firing from?

The sounds of the pa.s.sing train overwhelmed the gunshots. I stopped breathing, closed my eyes, and quietly waited for the pa.s.sing train to move down the tracks. Finally, it was quiet all around again.

I opened my eyes.

5 people frozen in fear were hidden in a corner of Ginji-san’s tent. Major was the first to stand up, and he poked his head out from a corner of the tent to observe the railway opposite the fence; beside me, Ginji-san coughed a few times.

“U…n?” “It’s noisy…”

And the two drunkards continued stleeping, rolling about.

“It’s too dangerous. Don’t show yourself now.” Major said, “Ginji-san, can I check your tent?”

“What do you want?”

The bullet shot through the tent, and I want to take back the bullet. Looking at the angles they’re fired, I can guess where the shots came from.”

“Do wh

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