Kure-nai

The doorbell had been ringing for two hours.

It was an intermittent ringing. It would occasionally pause only to be replaced by a few dozen knocks on the door. When the knocking would end, the doorbell would begin ringing once more. It was an invasion of noise. Sugihara Mariko, the owner of the room, covered her ears with both hands, curled up on the sofa, and desperately tried to bear with it. She had tried turning up the TV and radio to drown out the noise, but the man on the other side of the front door had continued nonetheless. He knew she was within the house and he was a.s.saulting her with noise. The man was trying to get her to reconsider her decision. He intended to continue until she apologized and opened the door to welcome him in.

It had been like that for some time.

Half a year had pa.s.sed since she had moved to Tokyo for college and begun to live alone. A bit before, things had not been like this. Her life had been quite pleasant and she had made her first boyfriend, a man she met at a college club. He was a refreshing young athletic man named Yanagawa. He had done an excellent job of helping her get used to the city life. She had been born and raised in a quiet rural city, so she had been completely thrown by the busy lifestyle. However, she had been satisfied with her college life while dating Yanagawa.

A single letter had been an omen of all that coming crashing down around her.

One day, a letter without a sender’s name given had been in her room’s postbox. The letter had contained a single piece of stationary. The stationary had only the words “I love you.” written on it. As the letter had no stamp, she guessed the sender had brought it to her postbox personally. This creeped her out, so she ripped up the letter and threw it away.

The next day, she found a letter in her postbox once more. Mariko was especially freaked out because it was the exact same letter she had ripped up and thrown away the previous day. She had put it in the plastic trash bag for burnable trash and put that in the apartment complex’s dump site before heading to cla.s.s. The sender of the letter had searched it out, taped it back together, and once more put it in her postbox. She could not believe that, so she shredded the letter with scissors and threw it away in a trashcan within one of the college buildings.

The next day, the latter was back in her postbox.

The shredded letter had been painstakingly taped back together and the characters of “I love you.” were warped. Mariko was now sure. The sender of the letter was spying on her and had even entered her college. She guessed it was one of the stalkers she often heard of on TV or in magazines. Mariko closed all the curtains in her room, burned the letter, threw away the ashes, and went to the police. She had thought about talking to Yanagawa about it, but she decided the police were the better option. The police reacted calmly, but they reacted too calmly. Apparently, there were so many reports of stalkers that they could not give their full attention to all of them. As more heinous crimes were on the rise, an issue like Mariko’s would not get much attention without the proper connections. They listened to her story, told her what to be careful about, and that was it.

Mariko insisted that they do something, but she was only told that whoever it was might give up if she started living with her lover. She felt angry at how cold they had been toward her, but she also thought the idea of living with Yanagawa was not a bad one. If the sender learned that she was living with her boyfriend, she felt he would surely give up. Her relationship with Yanagawa had been a relatively lax one. Mariko was rather shy, so they had not yet advanced to a physical relationship. However, it was possible their relationship could advance if she discussed the problem with him. It took courage to be willing to have him live with her, but she felt having him there would solve the issue.

Mariko tried talking about it with Yanagawa. Feeling pleased that his beloved girl could rely on him, Yanagawa pounded his chest saying, “You can count on me!” Apparently, Yanagawa had been on the karate team in high school, so he was confident in his ability. He enthusiastically announced that he would stay in her room for a while in order to capture the man who was stalking her. Mariko finally felt relieved and she regained the calm needed to have some sweet daydreams about what it would be like living with Yanagawa.

Yanagawa’s role became necessary surprisingly quickly. On the first day he stayed in Mariko’s room, the two of them chatted late into the night and were just considering getting to sleep when a knock came at the door. When they peered out through the window and into the hall, they saw a thin, lanky man who looked to be in his late twenties. When she saw him expressionlessly knocking on her door, Mariko cowered in fear. Seeing his girlfriend like that, Yanagawa immediately headed out. While he tried to peacefully persuade the man to leave, Mariko hid behind him and took a picture of the man. They thought a picture might be enough to get the police to act if the man ran off. The man did not even look at Yanagawa. His pupils that looked like they were filled in with black ink stared at Mariko the entire time. When she heard him muttering “You burned my feelings”, Mariko realized he was talking about the letter she had burned and her face paled. Yanagawa told her to get back and gave a warning to the man while cracking his knuckles. When Yanagawa showed his intent to fight, the man pulled out a knife he had been hiding behind his back and sliced of Yanagawa’s right ear with the first swing. The fight continued completely one-sidedly. Making sure Mariko was watching, the man broke both of Yanagawa’s arms, smashed his nose in, and broke his legs. That sight was enough to send her collapsing to the floor in shock. She a.s.sumed that man’s violence would then be turned on her, but he seemed satisfied with seeing her trembling on the floor. He announced that he would be back and then left.

After that, Mariko was only left with a life of withstanding the man’s hara.s.sment.

Hospitalized, Yanagawa had lost all confidence in himself. He feared the man’s revenge, so he refused to admit what happened in the attack to the police. He decided to cut all ties to Mariko, claiming he just wanted to forget about it all as quickly as possible. He wanted to avoid all trouble. No one wanted to actively approach trouble. Especially when that trouble put one’s life in danger. Since she had forced her parents to let her move to Tokyo, Mariko did not tell them about it. Instead, she asked her college friends for advice because she did not know what else to do. However, while some were interested in a gossipy way, none of them offered to help her. In fact, some of them even said it was Mariko’s own fault she was in that situation. They laughed and said she must have done something to allow it to happen. When Mariko saw that the general consensus was along those lines, she gave up talking about it at school.

Maybe they are right. Maybe it is all my fault.

As she listened to the doorbell and knocking, she began to think that.

If so, then this is a punishment. This is my punishment for something I did, so I need to accept it. G.o.d, forgive me. Please forgive me.

Holding the Buddhist rosary she had received from her grandmother when she had left her rural hometown, she brought her trembling hands together and prayed. And then the ringing and knocking suddenly stopped.

She waited cautiously for a bit, but the silence continued.

All she could hear was the ticking of the clock.

Was I forgiven?

Just as she folded her hands once more to pray that it was so, a voice spoke from right next to her ear.

“Do you wish for forgiveness?”

“Ee!”

A short scream leaked out as she slowly turned in the direction of the voice.

Pupils that looked like they were filled in with black ink stared at her.

She could see the wind blowing a curtain in the edge of her vision. She vaguely realized that he must have entered through the window. She was on the third floor, but it was not an impossible height to climb from outside. That man was willing to go that far.

As the man watched her tremble in fear, he spoke in a dry voice.

“Have you had a change of heart? Have you realized you were wrong to burn my feelings?”

She nodded.

She thought he would kill her if she did not.

“Do you want my forgiveness?”

She nodded again.

The man traced the path of the tears on her face with his finger.

“Then say it. Ask me to forgive you.”

“P-ple…for…ve…m…”

She tried to say what the man told her to, but she was too scared to breathe properly and the words would not come out.

The man’s eyes opened so wide they looked like they would pop out.

“…You can’t say it?”

He put his hands around her neck. The strength that had easily broken Yanagawa’s thick arms constricted around her narrow throat. With her breathing forcefully cut off, she frantically flung her arms and legs about and the pain sent her tongue sticking out from her mouth. Seeing that, the man smiled.

“Women are all like this. They never understand until they feel some pain. If you do not hurt them, they will never understand. They are simply too stupid.”

The man removed his hand from her neck. While ignoring her violent coughing, he pulled some duct tape out of his pocket.

He is going to tie me up with that, she realized. He is going to kidnap me and imprison me somewhere.

And then he will break me.

He will break me.

She had now lost all will to resist and the man began binding her arms and legs with the duct tape. After making sure she could not move, he grabbed her jaw and pointed her face toward his.

“Are you ready to apologize now?”

Her mouth opened and closed, but no voice came out.

The man squeezed with the hand holding her jaw.

“Apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize, apologize.”

Tears flowed from Mariko’s eyes and a small voice just barely started leaking from her mouth. However, a striking voice with the tone of someone correcting a distortion cut her off.

“You have done nothing wrong, so you have nothing to apologize for.”

The man’s gaze turned from Mariko and to the person who had spoken.

A boy stood at the entrance to the room.

He had a docile face like the boys in the novels she always read in a corner of her room. He was not tall, but he was not short either. He may have been on his way back from school because he was wearing a school uniform and had his school bag under one arm.

Mariko had met that boy once before.

The boy lowered his head slightly and looked troubled.

“Sorry I’m late. I meant to get here earlier, but the preparations took some time. I also apologize for unlocking your front door and entering without permission. By the way, you should probably change the lock. I’ve had enough of these cheap all-purpose locks.”

“Who are you?” asked the man.

He had let go of Mariko and was staring at the boy.

The boy calmly replied, “Kurenai Shinkurou.”

“Kurenai Shinkurou…?”

The man faced Mariko again and once more grabbed her jaw.

“Who is he?”

“Sh-Shinkurou-kun, this is the man!” Her strength that had withered from fear boiled back up allowing her to shout out. “This is the man who has been-…!”

“I asked you who he was!”

The man swung down his fist and Mariko clenched her eyes shut. However, the pain she was expecting did not come. The school bag Shinkurou had thrown had struck the man’s arm with amazing force. The man let out a cry of pain and let go of Mariko. Shinkurou used that chance to get her behind him.

“This will be over soon,” said Shinkurou.

However, Mariko felt unsure once more when she noticed his legs shaking slightly. However, there was nothing she could do in the situation, so she merely gripped the Buddhist rosary and recited the Buddhist prayers her grandmother had taught her.

The man was surprised at Shinkurou’s appearance, but he was still calm. He moved back to put some distance between himself and Shinkurou and then pulled out his knife. He held the knife up to show off its 30 centimeter blade and approached Shinkurou. With a blade pointed at them, anyone’s movements would dull. However, Shinkurou easily deflected the blade to the side with the back of his hand and kicked the man in the crotch. His kick must have been extremely accurate because the man stopped moving altogether and the knife dropped from his hand. He continued forward a few steps while holding his crotch with both hands, but he collapsed forward before reaching Shinkurou or Mariko. When Mariko tried to sneak closer, she saw that the man was foaming at the mouth and was completely unconscious.

Shinkurou bound the man’s arms and legs with the duct tape that had fallen to the ground and then spoke to Mariko.

“That should deal with this for now.”

“It’s…over?”

“No, not quite.”

Shinkurou lifted the man up over his shoulder. He did not look like he was all that strong, but he easily carried the much larger man to the front door. He then called someone on his cell phone. After a while, a few men arrived. They all looked dangerous, so Mariko thought Shinkurou might have tricked her, but he denied it with a bitter smile.

“Sorry for frightening you. Umm, your request was to ensure your safety, right?”

“Yes…”

“We have to do something about this man to make sure of that. I called these men in to help accomplish that. Everything has already been settled, so don’t worry about anything.”

Shinkurou pressed his thumb against the back of the unconscious man’s neck and pressed hard. The man immediately came to. Mariko thought he would struggle upon seeing the situation he was in, but he was surprisingly calm.

“I will not give up,” said the man with a voice filled with malice while staring at Mariko. “I will never give up. I will make sure that you are eventually mine.” The man then looked over at Shinkurou and a sneer appeared on his face. “What are you going to do to me? Send me to the police? Beat me up as a group? It won’t be enough. I will not forget you and I am persistent. No matter how many years it takes, I will hunt you down and make you regret this. Yes, you will regret this.”

Knowing that the man was serious, Mariko imagined her and Shinkurou’s eventual destruction, but Shinkurou did not seem to mind too much.

“You’re name is Tabuchi Kaoru, right?”

The man did not respond, but Shinkurou continued.

“In this day and age, a single photo is enough to find everything you need to know about someone. By the way, are you okay with hot weather?”

“…What?”

“I was just thinking that it’s going to be pretty tough for you if you’re not.”

Shinkurou gave a signal to the men waiting outside the front door. They put a gag in Tabuchi’s mouth and worked together to pick him up. Tabuchi had no idea what they were going to do to him, so Shinkurou kindly explained.

“There is a dam being constructed in a certain foreign nation and they have been having trouble finding workers. There are no recreational facilities around and the construction is expected to last at least 10 years. There are also a few supplemental construction projects in other areas, so a volunteer would likely not return to j.a.pan for over 20 years. It really isn’t too surprising there are so few volunteers. Anyway, the guy in charge of construction is looking for hard, motivated workers and I recommended you. If you were willing to stalk someone, surely you have the perseverence needed for something like this. And you’re plenty strong. Well, work hard. You do get paid and I’m sure the local people will thank you.”

Tabuchi’s face paled. Given the looks of the men carrying him, he guessed Shinkurou was not joking. He would be worn down with hard work for the next few decades. In fact, it was unclear if he would actually survive. That kind of work was dangerous in the first place and the work tended to be overly harsh when those from underground industries helped gather the workers. It was essentially a death sentence.

Tabuchi finally tried to beg for his life, but the gag prevented anyone else from understanding what he was saying.

“Take care,” Shinkurou said as he waved farewell to Tabuchi.

Even after the front door had closed, Mariko remained in a stunned silence.

Is it over?

“U-um, was all that…true?”

“Yes, it was.”

Shinkurou explained that the man in charge of the construction hired criminals and others who could no longer be allowed to stay in j.a.pan and they were not allowed to escape until the job was over.

Mariko felt that it served him right, but she also thought that was going a bit too far. However, Shinkurou sensed that she was thinking that and gave an additional explanation. According to the research done by an information broker he knew, Tabuchi Kaoru had two previous convictions. He had only been let out of prison a half year before and both of his previous crimes had involved a.s.sault and confinement. The two female victims had received deep scars both physically and mentally and were both still hospitalized. Basically, he was a habitual criminal. Even if they handed him over to the police, he would be out of prison in a few years and would likely either be plotting revenge or be searching for a new target. That was why Shinkurou had dealt with him personally.

“In the unlikely event that he does escape, you will be contacted. And then I will make sure to capture him again and abandon him on a deserted island in some distant ocean or something.”

Mariko had no idea how serious he was, but that was what Shinkurou said.

Finally feeling relieved, Mariko looked back at the boy named Shinkurou.

She had casually heard of a rumor from one of her college friends when she had discussed her problem with them. She had heard of a dispute mediator who would take on any job even if it was a bit dangerous. She had jumped at the idea and had contacted Shinkurou a few days prior. Since the fee had been barely anything at all, she had almost completely forgotten about him after making her request. She had certainly not expected him to resolve everything so completely.

“Well, now that I have completed your request, I will need my fee.”

“Thank you.”

Mariko was so happy that she almost embraced Shinkurou, but she resisted and merely handed him the envelope containing the fee. Shinkurou took it, checked on the contents, pulled out a few bills, and returned them to Mariko.

“That’s for just barely making it in time.”

“Eh? But…”

Mariko would not have complained had he asked for ten times as much, but Shinkurou merely stowed the envelope in his bag.

“Bye then.”

“U-umm…”

Mariko wanted to speak with him some more, but Shinkurou merely waved and disappeared out the door.

So that is what a dispute mediator is.

Mariko stared at the closed door and sat limply down on the floor. She could see a sky dyed with red out the window. That was when she finally realized that it was evening.

Silence was finally restored to her room. Peace was finally hers once more. As she felt the cold wind blowing in through the window, she felt the despair that had led to her resigning to her own death disappearing to some distant place.

She felt the city was a scary place, but she still wanted to stay there.

She knew of the frightening malice it could hold but she now also knew of the power there that would not lose to that malice.

Mariko realized she was still holding the Buddhist rosary and suddenly wanted to hear her grandmother’s voice. She had not called for a while, so her grandmother was probably worried. Mariko had lots she wanted to talk to her about.

After making sure to lock the door, Mariko called her rural hometown.

“Hm, it’s still pretty expensive.”

Shinkurou was on his way home after having finished with his job. He had bought food for dinner at the supermarket in front of the station and had then discovered a kotatsu and kotatsu cover set on sale for 20% off at an electronic appliance store. He was conflicted. A kotatsu would be very nice in the coming season, but he gave up once he went through the math in his head. Instead, he bought a pack of cigarettes from a nearby vending machine. It was the same brand he always bought. He put it in his pocket and continued on home with a shopping bag hanging from one hand.

The cold wind that cut through the shopping district made it clear winter was coming. In a group of elementary school kids running about, a few of them were wearing scarfs. The housewives seemed in more of a hurry than usual because they feared that it would get even colder once the sun set. It was still November, but it was so cold, snow would be no surprise. Even the dog awaiting its owner while tied to a telephone pole shivered in the cold.

It was the first winter since Shinkurou had entered high school. That also meant that it had not even been a full year since he had begun his work as a dispute mediator. He felt he was doing rather well given that fact.

With each job, he was rewarded with both great thanks and great hatred, but he was managing to continue.

Eight years ago, he would never have been able to imagine he would be in his current position.

He looked up at the evening sky and saw a flock of crows flying overhead while cawing carefreely. That scene was the same as always. The media was always warning everyone about the extent to which the environment was being destroyed, but perhaps it was not something humans really needed to worry about too much. At the very least, humans were definitely the only creatures that gave so much focus to the changes in the environment that had given them their lives in the first place.

As Shinkurou thought about all that, he recalled that he had not yet read the newspaper that day, so he entered a convenience store. That store’s workers had a habit of not caring, so they would not complain even if someone read through the entire newspaper in the store. For someone who did not receive a newspaper like Shinkurou, it was an excellent store. As usual, the newspaper was filled with gloomy stories. A middle school boy who had stabbed his mother to death for using the bathroom ahead of him. A salaryman who had grown sick of a crying child on the train, so he had s.n.a.t.c.hed it from its mother and threw it out the window, killing it. A policeman who had shot an elementary school student to death for ignoring his warnings. A serial rapist who targeted only children aged 5 and below. A drug addict who had attacked children with a knife as they had returned home from a cram school.

The world had been so gruesome of late, that Shinkurou had once asked, “Do you think there is a G.o.d?”

His childhood friend, Murakami Ginko, had replied, “There has to be. It’s only because there is one that things are only this bad. The world is just barely holding together. If there was no G.o.d, things would be much worse.”

In that case, G.o.d must have his hands full.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t save me back then.

When Shinkurou felt his mood sinking, he returned the newspaper to the rack and left the convenience store. While annoyed with the biting wind that immediately blew in at him, he left the shopping district and pa.s.sed down a road lined with trees.

Shinkurou lived in the Samidare Apartments, an old apartment building about a 10 minute walk from the station. It was surrounded by thick trees which gave it a quiet existence where the flow of time seemed to be different. It was a two story building made of reinforced concrete. Its rooms were numbered 1-6, it had no bath, and its only bathroom was shared.

He pa.s.sed through the old, stone gate and entered the fairly large grounds. Immediately to his left was a large tree. It was a grand tree of unimaginable age and it had such a presence that it seemed like the master of all the plants in the area.

Shinkurou looked up and spotted an acquaintance of his. A woman was sitting on one of the large branches with her back against the trunk. Her clothes were black from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She wore a black hat with a wide brim, gloves made of black leather, a black blouse, a long black skirt, and black high heels. The necklace with a fist-sized skull was her sole accessory. With a black cat seated on her lap, she looked very much like a witch.

She was a black witch staring at the twilight in an ancient tree.

“h.e.l.lo, Yamie-san,” Shinkurou called out, and the black eyes that had been staring into the distance turned toward him.

Her face had seemed to hold no life in it but its lack of expression had still held a bewitching beauty. However, upon seeing Shinkurou, a slight smile appeared on her lips.

“h.e.l.lo, boy. Are you back from your job?”

“Yes.”

“The sight of someone working hard is most beautiful. Keep at it.”

She spoke in a very theatrical manner, but it did not seem out of place when coming from her. After all, her entire existence seemed out of place. When he had first met her, Shinkurou had thought she was a ghost haunting the apartment. When the neighborhood students would occasionally catch sight of her, he had heard that they would scream and run away. At any rate, she had a very other-worldly feel to her.

Yamie lived in Room 4 of the Samidare Apartments and she was the most mysterious of its residents. Her occupation and age were both mysteries, but she would usually be up in that tree in the evenings.

Shinkurou pulled the cigarettes out of his pocket and the black cat in Yamie’s lap jumped down to the ground nimbly and rubbed up against his legs. Yamie owned the cat and its name was David. Shinkurou petted its head and handed it the package of cigarettes. David skillfully grabbed the package in its mouth and returned to its owner’s lap.

“Thanks as always, boy.”

Yamie pulled a cigarette out, put it in her mouth, and lit it with a match. Using matches rather than a lighter was one thing she was oddly picky about. Done with the match, she lightly shook her hand and it disappeared as if by magic. Yamie held the cigarette between the fingers of the black leather glove she wore and exhaled the tobacco smoke with a satisfied expression. The wind picked up the smoke and it trailed off and dispersed into the sky.

Shinkurou was not particularly fond of cigarettes and he disliked having people smoke in front of him, but Yamie and one other person were exceptions to that. When the person used it as part of their style, it seemed odder when they were not smoking.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but is that skull real?”

“Oh, this?” Yamie held the skull hanging from her neck up to the setting sun. “This is part of the man I once loved.”

“Eh?”

“He had a strong sense of justice. He wished to bring the truth to the world, so he became a freelance journalist and traveled around the world. When he would return, he would tell me all sorts of wonderful stories. However, this was cut tragically short. When he was in an area of great conflict, he stepped on a landmine which blew off one of his legs. After that, he was shot and killed by guerillas. His body was burned at the site, but the remains were sent to me according to his final request. I decided to keep a portion of him with me at all times as a means of remembrance. This way, it feels as if his soul is always with me.”

“I-I see… Then is that also why you always wear black?”

“Yes, they are mourning clothes.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

Shinkurou looked down apologetically as Yamie calmly exhaled some more smoke.

“Not a bad story for making it up on the spot, don’t you think?”

“Hah?”

“Would an adult man’s skull be this small? You need to use your head.”

Once she had mentioned it, Shinkurou realized she was right. However, when she was speaking, he always had a strange tendency to just accept everything she said. With Yamie, anything seemed feasible no matter how strange.

“Um, then…”

“I found it at a street vendor when I was overseas long ago. I bargained and bargained over the price. I finally bought it once I had bargained the price down so much the man selling it was in clinging to me in tears. It is a nice memory. I always wear it because I like it. It is a processed monkey fetus skull.”

“A monkey…?”

“By the way, I always wear black purely out of my sense of fashion. One of the reasons black clothes became fashionable is said to be that widows in Paris after World War 1 became prost.i.tutes while still wearing their mourning clothes and they were seen to be very attractive like that. This was both because men find a grieving woman to be intriguing and because black brings out the beauty of a woman. Women started wearing black at all times because they wish to be beautiful no matter the state of their hearts.”

“Oh, I see…”

Shinkurou did not really understand, but he nodded vaguely.

Yamie had a tendency to confuse people about what the truth was. Thinking deeply on it would get you nowhere.

Shinkurou recalled he had raw food in his shopping bag and headed for his room.

“Well, I have to go.”

“Boy, beware of ill fortune concerning women.”

“Ill fortune concerning women?” repeated Shinkurou, but Yamie’s gaze had already returned to the evening sky.

She had a way of saying the most important things in pa.s.sing as if she were speaking to herself. She may have only been speaking something she had just thought up or felt, but those things had an eerie habit of coming true.

Ill fortune concerning women, hm?

Shinkurou could not think of anything that could be referring to, so he decided to just forget about it.

Having chased that from his mind, he removed his shoes in the shared entrance and headed for Room 5 with the shopping bag swaying by his side.

Shinkurou headed up the creaking stairs to the second floor, unlocked the door that said Room 5 on the frosted gla.s.s, and entered his room. He put the contents of the shopping bag in the refrigerator, removed his school uniform, and changed into his casual clothes. He then opened the window as wide as it would go to air out the room. He stared at the red evening sky and let the cold wind wash over him.

The small room had a small kitchen area, but the room had only come with the bare minimum, so most things in the room had been gifts or things he had found on a good sale. Shinkurou had little desire for physical possessions, so he was relatively satisfied with his living conditions. The only thing he really wanted was a heater.

The trees surrounding the apartment must have had a purifying effect on the air because the wind that blew in did not smell of exhaust. Shinkurou filled his lungs with that fresh air and slowly exhaled. He then prepared a tea table that functioned both as a dinner table and a desk. On the table, he placed his reward for his job that day, an abacus, and the notebook he recorded his finances in. He was not exactly well off, but he was not horribly poor either. He had enough for the necessities and a bit more besides. One of the reasons people gave for the worsening of society was the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Some people could easily buy cars that cost a hundred million yen while others had such difficulty feeding themselves they were driven to murder. Things were not equal, but that was the natural state of things. Equality meant two things were the same. One person was different from another. Just as that one person could not become the other, the other could not become the first.

As Shinkurou worked the abacus and realized he had lost money on that job, he heard a knock on the door. The individual rooms in the Samidare Apartments had only very weak locks, but the building itself was like an impregnable fortress when it came to preventing entry. Thieves, robbers, door-to-door salesmen, newspaper solicitors, or religious evangelists were all out of the question. None of those things ever came to the Samidare Apartments. Everyone there implicitly understood that. The only visitors were acquaintances of the residents or people who had definite business with a resident.

Shinkurou closed the notebook with his pencil keeping his place, stood up, and headed for the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

The tone of voice made it clear the person did not feel she needed to introduce herself.

Very few people in the world could get away with that kind of arrogance.

Shinkurou frantically opened the door and then froze in place.

He had known the woman a long time, but he was still completely overwhelmed by her beauty seconds after seeing her each time. Her beauty greatly outdid that of a top rate model and her proportions were outstanding. She wore a wine red suit and had a trench coat draped over her shoulders. With a cigarette in her mouth, she had the same presence as a young female mafia boss strutting through a dark street. The smile on her face looked like something one would see on the leader of a neighborhood gang of kids and it was one of her peculiar traits.

Her name was Juuzawa Benika. Shinkurou felt that she was the result you would get if you refined the shine of adolescence down to its purest form.

He naturally lowered his head.

“It’s been too long, Benika-san.”

“You seem to be doing well. Now enough with the formal greeting,” said Benika with a bitter smile as she waved her hand.

When Shinkurou invited her into the room, he finally noticed a small figure trying to hide within the trench coat draped over Benika’s shoulders.

It was a young girl who did not even look old enough to be in elementary school.

As soon as Benika entered the room, a figure behind her removed her trench coat. Shinkurou’s eyes opened wide when we saw the figure carefully folding the trench coat.

“…You’re here too, Yayoi-san?”

“I am.”

The woman who had given that brief response was Inuzuka Yayoi, Benika’s subordinate. She was young and beautiful, but she left a strange impression that made people forget her soon after she left their vision. Being with the flashy Benika may have been a part of that, but she had such a faint presence that no one noticed her until she spoke or interacted with Benika. Shinkurou had once asked about her, and Yayoi had said she came from an old ninja family. She was not the type to joke, so he supposed it must be true.

As she stood in waiting behind Benika, she held a large suitcase.

Shinkurou wondered if it had anything to do with their visit as he boiled water in the kitchen. Yayoi never ate or drank anything given to her by someone else, so he was preparing tea for three. He placed the tea on the tea table and politely sat down, awaiting Benika’s words.

Only after taking a sip of the tea did Benika begin speaking.

“Protect this girl.”

With no preamble, she immediately got to the core of the issue.

Shinkurou looked to the girl sitting next to Benika for the first time. For an instant, he almost lost his sense of reality.

The girl looked like she had been pulled straight out of a picture book. Specifically, a picture book telling a foreign fairy tale about a prince and a princess. The lovely dress she wore was certainly one reason for that impression, but that was of course not the only reason. Her long hair, her slender arms and legs, her thin lips, her lowered gaze, and her white skin all had a certain elegance to them and simply seemed almost too refined. Shinkurou was not interested in little girls even in the slightest, but her loveliness was great enough to utterly captivate him.

Sitting next to Benika, the girl looked like a princess kidnapped by a female thief.

Pulling himself together, Shinkurou turned back toward Benika.

“So this is a job for me?”

“Precisely.”

Benika’s tone was light, but Shinkurou felt his heart begin to race. She was not merely an acquaintance of Shinkurou’s. He owed her so very much and she was also a much more advanced member of his occupation.

Juuzawa Benika and Shinkurou were both dispute mediators. Her skill put her at the top of the field worldwide. She worked in areas across the world and countless stories of her heroic deeds existed. From the point of view of a complete novice like Shinkurou, she was in a position he could only dream of reaching. This was a request from her, so it was not surprising that he would be nervous. While calming himself down, Shinkurou thought.

Benika was busy, so she occasionally pa.s.sed requests to her off to others in the business. Of course, she would only pa.s.s them off to those she trusted, so Shinkurou was naturally happy she had come to him.

However, he had some questions about the job itself.

Who is that girl anyway?

“This is Kuhouin Murasaki. She turned 7 this year.”

Benika had sensed Shinkurou’s question and had preemptively introduced the girl.

She pressed her cigarette b.u.t.t into the ashtray on the tea table and put a new one in her mouth. With practiced ease, Yayoi reached out and lit it with a Zippo lighter.

“You mean…that Kuhouin?” asked Shinkurou.

“Is there any other?”

“I suppose not,” muttered Shinkurou as he looked back over at the girl.

Only one family in the country went by the name Kuhouin. The Kuhouin family was an extremely rich family that’s a.s.sets were said to make up a few percentage points of all the wealth in the world. It was a distinguished family among distinguished families.

Apparently, that girl was a member of that family.

Even when she realized Shinkurou was staring at her, Kuhouin Murasaki did not look up even once. She merely sat politely and silently looked down. Her mouth remained closed and she said nothing.

“You want me to protect this girl?”

“Yes.”

“Is someone targeting her?”

“I cannot say.”

“Why is she being targeted?”

“I cannot say.”

“Why me?”

“I thought you would be suitable.”

“But this is a request from the Kuhouin family, right? Then wouldn’t you be a much better choice?”

“I don’t like children.”

“But…”

“And she will be safe here, right?”

“Well, yes, but… Wait a second! Don’t tell me I’m supposed to keep her here?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Well, yes…”

Benika calmly puffed on her cigarette, paying no heed to Shinkurou’s trouble.

He was being told to guard a young girl without the situation being explained to him. And the girl in question was part of the Kuhouin family. Normally, he would have dismissed it all as a lie without a second thought, but he could not simply refuse. Things were different when he was being asked by Benika. Shinkurou looked up to her as a dispute mediator and he owed her so much. He had to seriously consider it.

What do I do…?

To give himself time to think, Shinkuoru picked up his teacup and headed for the kitchen. He filled the teacup with the hot water left in the kettle and drank it down in one gulp. He felt his eyes widen as the hot liquid pa.s.sed down his esophagus. His blood flow grew more active and must have affected his brain because he felt like his thoughts grew a bit clearer.

He thought about the situation calmly.

This would be his first time acting as a bodyguard. With himself and the one he was guarding to worry about, he would have to put twice the effort into defense. And the situation would put him constantly on the defensive. It was not something he could go into half-heartedly. The suitcase Yayoi held was likely filled with Kuhouin Murasaki’s luggage. Benika must have expected Shinkurou to accept the job. That would mean he would be living in that small room with a child.

Shinkurou sat back down at the tea table and looked back at the girl without having made up his mind.

A sudden shock came over him.

Kuhouin Murasaki looked up for the first time and looked toward him.

Her young eyes were damp with tears. Shinkurou found himself unable to turn his eyes from that pure glow. She was 7 years old. When he had been that age, he had possessed very few words compared to the present. That was why, when he wanted something, he had only been able to put that desire into his eyes. He had wanted to be saved, but the pain had been so great that he had been unable to form words. He had only been able to silently watch on. He had believed that the other person would understand from that, that the person would understand how he felt and save him. It was a child’s illusion, merely a convenient idea. But Shinkurou’s family had accepted that and had always saved him. He would never forget the joy he had felt at those times.

And so there was only one thing he could do now.

“What will you do, Shinkurou?”

“I accept.”

Hearing Shinkurou’s answer, Benika smiled in satisfaction and Kuhouin Murasaki opened her eyes wide in surprise. Shinkurou nodded silently and Kuhouin Murasaki looked down in embarra.s.sment.

Well, things are going to get difficult from now on…

He was more worried about this job than any of his previous ones. However, he had not become a dispute mediator in order to have an easy life. Also, it somehow made him feel good. That was likely because it was the right answer.

Or at least, that was how Shinkurou saw it.

For now.

Leaving Kuhouin Murasaki in his room, Shinkurou was seeing Benika and Yayoi off.

The sun had already set and darkness had set in. It was probably just Shinkurou’s imagination, but he felt like the trees surrounding the Samidare Apartment were larger and more active than during the day.

He walked Benika and Yayoi to the gate while listening to the wind rustling in the leaves.

“But why did you come to me?”

“Would you rather I hadn’t?”

“No, I didn’t say that…”

“I make the important decisions on instinct rather than reason through them. That’s the way I’ve always done it. And you just seemed like a good choice to me.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Benika’s words had sounded as if they held some hidden meaning.

He had a feeling she meant something other than that she expected him to make a good bodyguard.

“I cannot say.”

Benika grinned with a cigarette still in her mouth.

The great quant.i.ty of secrets made Shinkurou think there was some hidden aspect to the job.

However, since he had accepted it, he had no choice but to carry it out to the best of his ability.

“Shinkurou, I have high hopes for you. There is nothing I can do about this one.”

“I see you’re still up to your sinister conspiracies,” said a voice coming from the darkness in the direction of the gate.

Shinkurou looked over and only saw a small red point of light at first. Next, a figure seemed to ooze out of the darkness. The red point of light was a lit cigarette. The figure was Yamie. Her all-black outfit made her seem to melt into the darkness of the night around her.

Benika did not seem surprised by Yamie’s appearance, so she may have already realized she was there.

“You’re as gloomy as ever, Yamie.”

“You’re as flashy as ever, Benika.”

Shinkurou had never asked about the details, but it seemed the two had known each other for a long time and they always exchanged those disagreeable words when they met. The two’s auras were in stark contrast, but their elegance and the cigarette in their mouth were identical.

“Benika, how is your kid?”

“How should I know? I’m sure he’s getting along.”

“It’s so sad.”

“What is?”

“That someone like you is a mother.”

“Are you trying to start a fight?”

They started glaring at each other. Normally, Shinkurou merely watched on during these confrontations, but today something had caught his interest.

“Benika-san, you have a child?”

“I do.”

She readily admitted it, but it was quite a shock for Shinkurou who looked up to her so. Benika appeared to be in her late twenties and he had no idea what her private life was like, but he had never even considered the possibility that she had a child. He had known her a long time, but it had never come up before. He certainly did not see Benika as what he thought of as “motherly”. He had a lot of questions about how she was able to raise a child, but he suppressed that kind of ill-advised curiosity.

“Well, you take care of the rest, Shinkurou. I will contact you again soon.”

“Understood,” said Shinkurou with a nod.

Meanwhile, Yamie watched Benika with cold eyes. She pointed the lit end of the cigarette between the fingers of her black leather gloves toward Benika.

“You can walk down the path of violence all you want; I really don’t care what happens to you. But do not get that boy wrapped up in it. He still has a future ahead of him.”

“As rare as it is for me, this is a benevolent job,” said Benika with a bitter smile. Smoke escaped her mouth along with the words. “I am fulfilling an old promise…”

Shinkurou was curious as to what she meant, but he did not ask. Only children were free to ask whatever they wanted and get answers to whatever they wanted. He now had to find his own answers. And if he could not find the answer, he had no choice but to make do with what he knew. Shinkurou believed that the measure of an adult was how well he or she could do that.

After seeing Benika and Yayoi off, Shinkurou thought about telling Yamie about Kuhouin Murasaki, but she was already gone. It was as if she had become one with the darkness of the night now that her business was complete. Only the faint smell of cigarette smoke remained.

Smelling that, Shinkurou decided he could just tell her the next day and headed back to his room.

For a while, he was going to have a roommate. And this roommate was a little girl.

He was unsure how to treat that princess-like girl. If someone was targeting her life, she must have been worried, so he considered treating her carefully like a fragile piece of gla.s.s.

When Shinkurou arrived at his room, Kuhouin Murasaki was still sitting politely in the same spot as before. She must have been waiting for Shinkurou, the owner of the room.

Shinkurou greeted her while making sure his tone was kind.

“Nice to meet you.”

He stretched out his hand to rub her head, but she slapped it aside.

“Don’t touch me, commoner.”

That was the first thing he heard Kuhouin Murasaki say.

…Huh?

While Shinkurou stood speechless, Murasaki stood up and walked over to the suitcase filled with her luggage. She opened it and suddenly began stripping off the dress she was wearing. She seemed to be treating it like something that was in her way.

Shinkurou’s mind was racing as he wondered how best to speak out to her and if he had only imagined those words of hers. Before he came to any kind of answer, she had finished changing. She still looked like something straight out of a picture book. However, she no longer looked like a fairy tale princess. She now looked like someone from a Wanpaku Kozou adventure story. Murasaki wore a boys T-shirt and shorts with a sweater on top. She lightly shook her head to bring her long hair into place and then looked back toward Shinkurou. The loveliness from before had disappeared and now an impertinent and arrogant smile appeared on her face.

She lifted her chin as if to stretch her small chest and put her hands on her hips.

“What is your name?”

“Eh?”

“Do you not understand j.a.panese? If you do, then answer me. What is your name?”

“…Kurenai Shinkurou.”

“I will remember that. Now, show me to my room.”

“This is it.”

“What? Then where is the bedroom?”

“This is it.”

“The dining room?”

“This is it.”

“The living room?”

“This is it.”

“The bath?”

“There isn’t one. There is a public bath nearby, though.”

Finished with her series of questions, Murasaki tapped her toes on the floor to show her irritation and looked around the room. She then looked back at Shinkurou, back around the room, and finally back at Shinkurou.

“Hm, I see, I see. I get it now. You’re mocking me because I am a child, aren’t you? No human could live in such a run-down room!”

Shinkurou was glad the other residents had not been around to hear that.

Shinkurou let his gaze wander to escape reality and he spotted a container of eye drops near the dress Murasaki had stripped off.

Don’t tell me the tears and the dress were both part of an act…

They were just to get me to accept?

Then…

“Hey! Say something, commoner!”

Shinkurou had a single thought as he listened to Murasaki.

Ill fortune concerning women couldn’t have been more accurate.