And so, their conversation strayed aimlessly into other topics.
But Mizuchi Yahiro, who sat in the next table, was left with the name Snake Hands repeating over and over in his mind.
âWhatâs wrong, Yahiro-kun?â
âWhatâs wrong? Are you nervous? No guts to sit with girls?â
Yahiro tilted his head. Kuon sighed.
Kuon was looking at Awakusu Akane, the girl in the middle school uniform sitting with them.
Akane bowed her head quickly. Yahiri bowed his head as well, apologising.
âNo, thereâs nothing wrong, Iâm sorry.â
Unable to stand seeing Yahiro and Akane bowing back and forth like this, Kuon cut in.
âAh, sorry.â
âStop! Iâm putting an end to this right now! No more apologising!â
âItâs a good thing your senior returned to school safely, right, Akane?â
Akane nodded fiercely.
Although the incident made a flurry on TV and online for a day or two, since there were no deaths and it was revealed as a coordinated series of runaways, it was simply reported as a bizarre incident that turned out as a false alarm, and public attention quickly moved on to the serial assault case going on in the city.
âOur teacher was very mad, and all of us had our own words for her⊠But it seems everyone else just thinks she played truant for a weekâŠâ
Replying to Kuon, Yahiro said,
âAh⊠Iâm not saying I wanted it to, okay? Yeah?â
The senior Akane spoke of was her younger sister, and furthermore, her older sister had been the mastermind of the whole thing.
âYeah⊠Apparently she could go back to her job, too.â
âAre you serious?â
âI was told the magazine she works for published a special issue for the incident. They said it would be all right so long as she put in her thrilling firsthand account.â
âHer boss doesnât seem to mindâŠâ
Kuon answered disbelievingly, prodding at the ice in his cream soda with his straw, while beside him Yahiro smiled somewhat happily.
âWell, I guess.â
Relieved at this, Yahiro continued,
ââŠYou can tell?â
ââŠNo.â
âOi, whatâs up with you two?! Iâll even repeat that! Whatâs up with you two!â
âHuh? Did I do something wrong?â
âArgh! Are you two trying to be robots?! Act your age and have some sexual tension at least!â
Himeka said this coolly, and glanced at Akane.
Kuon, now the odd one out, began to stir his cream soda noisily with his spoon, grumbling at Yahiro under his breath.
With these childish words Kuon sipped up the melted concoction of ice and soda through his straw.
âIf youâre asking if I like her or not, Iâm going to have to say yes. Sheâs pretty, and sheâs a good person, after all.â
ââŠâ
Said girlâs face remained emotionless as she replied, coolly,
Yahiro nodded firmly at her answer.
âI donât think you need to apologise, but all right.â
âOi, whatâs up with you two?! Iâll even repeat that! Whatâs up with you two!â
Their conversation having reached full circle, Kuon, who had now finished his cream soda, changed the topic.
âSlasherâŠ?â
âIâve heard of it.â
Word was that despite suspicions the case was linked to colour gangs, namely Dollars or the Yellow Scarves, the perpetrator was never identified, and the incident had died down on its own.
âI donât know. Maybe they had a change of taste. Itâs possible the Slasher got bored of seeing blood and had the urge to whack something with blunt force instead.â
Himeka finished her salt-grilled saba set meal, and looking at Yahiro, who was munching with his mouth full of pancake.
âHuh? Who? Headless Rider-san?â
After a brief silence, Akane startled as though realising something, and began,
Associating with her, the granddaughter of the Awakusu-kaiâs chief, could put them at risk of danger.
âItâs not you, Akane-chan; Iâm sorry my words bothered you.â
ââŠItâs you, Kotonami-kun.â
Kuon answered with  exaggerated surprise, but she cut to the point.
â!â
His hand occupied with his pancake stilled, and he eyed Kuon, beside him, surreptitiously.
âI dunno. Itâs what the people next to us were talking about, right? Maybe itâs the name of the Headless Riderâs boyfriend or something, the one who appeared during the recent case?â
Himeka, still expressionless, took out her smartphone, and thrust it at him with a certain page.
And written on the screen was:
âConflict resolution for Ikebukuro.
Ikebukuro Communal Aid Group âSnake Handsâ
There were only these words on the page, without any details on what the business entailed or the fee, or even any means of contact.
âWhatâs thisâŠ? Itâs just a weird page.â
âThatâs only advertised on sites with Nozomi-sanâs style?â
âIf you keep going on, youâll find a page that says, âWe have information on the Headless Riderâ. I think this goes beyond âfooling aroundâ, yes?â
âYou got me. It shouldnât be accessible just by clicking, though.â
âDamn, since Nee-chan was nagging me alreadyâŠâ
âAh, well. I was going to tell you two sometime, anyway.â
âTell us?â
An evil smirk came upon Kuonâs face, and he replied to his classmates, whispering,
âBusiness?â
And, still wearing that evil expression, Kuonâs smile sharpened.
âYeah. We made a cool club to solve Ikebukuroâs problems for money.â
âThe groupâs name is âSnake Handsâ⊠Your underground name, Yahiro.â
âKuu~! Damn it! Whatâs with snakes having legs! More isnât always better! It makes me want to ask if theyâve heard too much of a cure becomes poison! Itâs exactly in situations like this where people say less is more! Exactly! This situation! Exactly!â
âWhatâs wrong all of a sudden. Yahiro-kun again?
Although angry just seconds prior, his mood quickly swung and he held Celtyâs hand with a lovestruck expression.
On the screen was a forum where rumours about Snake Hands were being discussed.
âI heard the Headless Riderâs tagalong that everyoneâs been talking about recently is called Snake Hands.â
âWell, that bike gang⊠people from Dragon Zombie.â
âBut thereâs nothing else to call him anyway. Itâs troublesome to say âthe Headless Riderâs loverâ all the time.â
âThereâs a rumour the Headless Riderâs a she⊠Well, if thatâs true maybe that makes Snake Hands her boyfriend?â
âWhat slander! Your only boyfriend is me! The rumours arenât dying, down, theyâre spreading! At this rate Iâm going to have to go on the Headless Rider page on online wikis and write âCelty is cohabiting with her boyfriend Kishitani Shinra. They live an exciting, erotic life every day,â in a cornerâŠâ
âOw?!â
Seeing her cohabitant rolling around on the floor pressing his head, Celty rushed over.
âIâm fine Celty. I can love even the pain you give me!â
âBut I really do envy Yahiro-kun. He got clothes handmade by Celty.â
âHey, Celty.â
Celty said curtly before he could even ask.
âIf I do anything for you youâll just ask for more and more.â
Shinra bowed his head in contrition, and Celty sighed.
Celty typed somewhat bashfully. Shinra gaped for a full momentâ
âUwahhh! Thank you, Celty! Celty, thank you! I know that day will come⊠That alone will become my reason to go on living!â
âMy birthdayâs 2nd of April, so thatâs just 11 months to go! Iâm so excited!â
Just then, Celtyâs phone that was on the desk began to ringânot the smartphone she normally used to communicate, but the flip phone she carried around for work.
As Shinra saw the sender displayed on the phoneâs screen, he shuddered.
[Snake Hands]
At the sight of these words, he cried out again,
âItâs not like that, donât misunderstand.â
âThis Snake Hands isnât Yahiro-kun.â
Pressing the button to check the message, Celty continued,
âLike I said, I have a new side job.â
âIts name is Snake Hands, Shinra.â
The next day. Ikebukuro. Karaoke box Pasela. Inside a private room.
âAh, so youâre Yahiro-kun!â
It was the first day of Golden Week in Ikebukuro.
The man had narrow slit-eyes and looked to be of mixed blood, while the woman was black-haired and decked in black.
The pair sitting opposite Kuon saw Yahiro enter, and addressed him amiably.
âKarisawa Erika, nice to meet you.â
Nodding, Yahiro sat beside Kuon, and asked,
âNot exactly, more like people Aoba-sempai knows, so weâve spoken on the street a couple times beforeâŠâ
âAh, yeah, same as always.â
Karisawa laughed. Yahiro tilted his head.
âOh, just an inside joke. So, whatâs your relationship with Kuocchi⊠ah, Kuon-kun?â
Yahiro said promptly. Karisawa questioned further,
âIâm not sure. Heâs the first friend Iâve made in my life, so I donât really know.â
âI see~, hm~, oh~âŠâ
âYour first friend ever, huh? That works. Onee-san loves that kind of scenario. Itâs cute that Kuocchiâs embarrassed, too.â
Yahiro tilted his head further. Yumasaki, breaking out in cold sweat, said,
âAh, sorry, sorry, Onee-san made the two of you 2D in her head for a moment, thatâs all.â
âNo worries. Really.â(Y)
âWell, actually. We used the contact details on the Snake Hands site. We were surprised Kuon-kun was a member, when we made contact.â
Kuon shrugged.
âSo, about the commission.. Iâve been able to handle everything up till now with just my connections, but theirs is a little tricky. We need help.â
âNo, itâs not a job anyone can handle. Itâs going to take someone special.â
ââŠA very strong fighter, specifically.â
A brief silence.
âKarisawa-san, down. Down down down.â
Silence enveloped the room.
âSorry, Kuon-kun. Iâm not very willing to do that kind of jobâŠâ
Yahiro bowed his head in apology, but Kuon quickly waved his hands in denial.
âYouâre not?â
âYep. Do we look like the kind of bad guys to hire high schoolers to do that?â
âYeah?â
âI see. Sorry, Kuon-kun. I misunderstood.â
â?â
Kuon mumbled. Karisawa said clearly in his stead,
âHuh?â
âWe didnât expect it to be someone we knew, though.â
âBut you see, weâre up against the Slugger here⊠Whatever Kuocchi says, I didnât think we can put children in danger like this, you know? But Kuocchi was very confident went he said you would be okayâŠâ
ââŠâ
âTrump card?â
âSince he said you have Celty-san on your side, we can relax.â
Yahiro looked at Kuon with surprise.
âUm⊠Do the both of you know Celty-san too?â
âYou even visit her house⊠You might as well be best friends!â
Karisawa, while surprised, smiled mysteriously with an air of thoughtfulness.
âEh, we couldâve asked Celty-san from the start, but itâs a dangerous job after all.â
(*Nicococo!! reference.)
âI see.â
âYou see, itâs similar to what we did for the kidnapping case. Itâs just that if we catch the eye of the Slugger thereâs a risk of being attacked. Youâre a strong fighter, so if itâs you we donât have to worry.â
âDonât be humble! I donât know what youâre thinking, but the moment you fought on par with Shizuo the public consensus is youâre strong! Give up on the modesty, âkay? More than that, you wouldnât want that Slugger on the loose, right? We never know, you or Himeka-chan might be next!â
Yahiro nodded immediately, but Kuon felt bothered rather than relieved.
âYeah. I made up my mind during the last incident. When it comes down to it, the only gift I have is with violence. So at least, I want to make sure I donât apply it in the wrong place.â
âWhat Iâm sure of right now is that protecting friends like you and Himeka-chan is the right thing to do. So I can accept helping to catch the Slugger.â
Kuon said, intending to criticise Yahiroâs thoughtlessness.
âEven if I said that and backed out right now, youâd still continue without telling me, right?â
âIf weâre going to make an enemy of the Slugger anyway, rather than getting ambushed without knowing a thing, facing it head-onâŠÂ is less scary.â
âSo if youâll have me, please let me help.â
âNo need to be formal. Weâll be paying you, anyway, plus weâre business partners; equals. Eh, you can hear those details from Kuon-kun. Anyway, what weâre paying for is information, so if you feel like thereâs any danger at all you have to pull back, okay? No matter how strong you are, you should leave the dangerous stuff to adults. Thatâs the one thing you shouldnât be stubborn about, got it?â
Yahiro bowed his head again, but suddenly a question occurred to him, and he asked,
Had a relative or friend of theirs been attacked?
But instead of an answer, Yumasaki took out a stack of books from his bag, and began arranging the books on the table.
The books appeared to be manga volumes.
The manga was titled âOwl of the Peeping Deadâ. The anime and live action adaptions of the series had earned the title popularity.
Yumasaki smiled cheerily, and slid the books out to Kuon and Yahiro.
âThis?â
âWait, I know the Slugger cosplays a character from this, butâŠâ
Yumasakiâs tone suddenly grew agitated. He picked up a microphone from the table, and announced to the room,
âOPDÂ did nothing wrong! Nothing!â
10 minutes later.
âBut halfway through the series they discover something terrible⊠A zombie that had lost sentience and regained it afterwards appeared. The protagonist âThe Owlâ received a major shock, realising that there might be a way to save the zombies he had killed thinking they could no longer return to who they were. That it might have been as the zombie protection association said, that they were only sick and could be curedâŠâ
âAaaahhh! Iâm so sorry! To reveal spoilers in front of a to-be readerâŠ! Iâve failed as an otaku! Iâll live in regret!â
âItâs all right, I know the story.â
âNo, I saw the live action movie.â
At this, Karisawaâs eyes began to shine as well, as she added,
âYeah, there wasnât much CG because of the low budget, but Zakuroya Tenjin-sanâs zombie makeup more than made up for it.â
âWhoa, you know Zakuroya-san! Yahiro-kun, you actually know quite a lot, huh?â
âO, oi, you know OPD?â
âOh, so youâre into movies.â
Yahiro replied as if it were obvious, and reminisced,
âOi donât say that, I feel lonely just hearing it.â
âIf a self-proclaimed loner said something so mood-ruining for attention, like, âhey, arenât I pitiful,â I could just nod along and ignore it. But youâre saying it so stoicly. How do I react?! If I outright say youâre a poor thing, Iâll just feel bad!â
âWas I pitiful?â
âItâs OK itâs OK, maybe youâre a poor thing but youâre very very cute.â
At the unexpected touch, Yahiro shivered like a cat that had had its tail pulled.
âAnyway! Anyway! I canât forgive the culprit! I have old friends from dĆjin circles in WWW who are really bothered by this case!â
If his friends were being affected, then this Yumasaki personâs anger was well-justified.
âBut⊠Say Celty-san catches the culprit, what then?â
âWe just want to talk to the criminal.â
âWe want to ask why they would do something to tarnish the image of anime fans like this⊠Thatâs all, nothing more.â
Yahiro, cowardly as he was, sensed something terrifying lurking behind their smilesâand chose, silently, not to probe further.
One hour later. Karaoke box. corridor.
Afterwards they wrapped up with the talking, and under the guise of a âbonding sessionâ Karisawa and Yumasaki had an anisong fest.
Most of the songs were unfamiliar to Yahiro, but he was able to select theme songs from movies he liked, and enjoyed his first karaoke experience whole-heartedly.
But when he left the room to go to the restroom, he wound up having a confrontation with Kuon, who had been on the phone in the corridor.
ââŠYeah, Iâll call you again later, Nee-chan.â
Then, with a fearless smile, he said mockingly,
âAt what?â
â?â
Had he done something to anger Kuon?
Seeing this, Kuon bit at him,
âThere were?â
Kuon asked this so bluntly he tutted at himself, and began to rail at Yahiro.
âYeah.â
âBut does that really mean I should be angry?â
Kuon found himself speechless, and they were left with the muted sound of music echoing through the soundproofed walls of the hallway.
âŠWhen do you get angry?â
After some thought, Yahiro replied, his expression darkening as he did so,
ââŠHey, like I said, if you bring up examples that are so heavy I really wonât be able to answer, so please.â
âHey⊠Havenât you thought that I might do something like those people? Havenât you imagined that I might use your family or Himeka to force you into bad situations?â
âThatâs why you need to be angry at an earlier checkpoint! Draw the line between right and wrong, wonât you? You can tell Iâm the bad guy with one look, right?â
âThis is what I think, Kuon-kun. I donât think right and wrong are so simply defined. At any rate, I donât have a good understanding of such things.â
âIf itâs clear-cut, like a serial killing random people, or the serial assaults going on now, I can understand it. But I donât have the confidence to distinguish less simple things, like whether you and Himeka-chan are good people. All I know is that the things Iâve done up till now are no better than the Slugger. So I donât think Iâm capable of deciding who is good or bad, and I donât have that right.â
âThatâs why, if you think youâre being a bad person, and you want me to punch you in the face so you can stopâŠâ
Yahiro reflected on himself, and taking those thoughts into account, finished,
Yahiroâs words were honest to the point of foolishness.
âSorry.â
Grinding his teeth, Kuon said angrily,
âIâm sorry. Iâll try to fix it.â
Kuon tsked, and began to walk away, signalling the end of the conversation.
âYeah⊠Thanks for worrying about me.â
His expression stiffened, but by the time he turned Yahiro had already walked away, and Kuon only caught sight of his back as he rounded the corner towards the restroom.
âShit, Yahiroâs really crazyâŠâ
âIf only he were a villain like Orihara Izaya, I could just squeeze him dryâŠâ
Night time. Somewhere in Ikebukuro.
âThanks for today, Horada-san!â
After his juniors bade their farewells, the man was left to walk home alone.
He was a former officer of Blue Square, and for having hijacked the Yellow Scarves once, he was the man knownâself-proclaimedâas luckâs favourite child.
However, right now colour gangs themselves had faded from Ikebukuro.
Having been left behind during his jail time, Horada now continued to plot his next era.
To stand his ground in Ikebukuro under these circumstances, having decisive power was necessary.
âShit, there hasnât been a good time to catch that Mizuchi Yahiro since ten.
In the recent fake kidnappings, it was Horada who had tracked where Tatsugami Himeka had been taken by her abductors, though it was by complete coincidence.
This meant the boy now owed him a debt, but if he pushed the matter too much or too clumsily, the boy might obey him only once and there would be no chance to create a long-term alliance.
âBut Iâll be in trouble if word spreads around⊠I donât know just what happened, but I heard Awakusu-kai and Dragon Zombie and whatnot were all there. If things go badly I could wind up targetedâŠ
âAnyway Iâm thirsty.
Standing in front of the vending machine, Horada selected the no-sugar milk coffee.
The vending machine, no different from usual.
When he noticed one abnormality.
Sensing a shadow moving at the edge of his vision, he turned his head to the left.
âUwoh?!â
âWhat the hell? Whatâs with that costume! Iâll kill you!â
It was a slim object bound in white cloth.
From the shape alone it was obvious it was a metal hammer beneath those bandages.
âUwooaahh?!â
âWha⊠B, bastard! You donât know who I am?! What gang are you?! Huh?!â
âAnd dressing like a weirdoâŠâ
He got to his feet immediately, but the person in the black mascot suit swung the hammer again, undaunted.
Horada flung the canned coffee he had just bought at his assailant.
Mascot Suit blocked the can aimed at their abdomen with both arms.
Before Mascot Suit could raise the hammer again, he began to punch the hooded face without abandon.
âBastard⊠You think a weakling like you can beat the great Horada?! Huh?!â
Yelling that, he moved closer so as to deliver the final blow, about to kick Mascot Suitâs face, butâ
âGah?!â
An impact rocked him, and the upper half of his vision went dark.
âTwo on orrrne⊠Donât think Iâm scarrred⊠Bas⊠tardsâŠâ
Was the bandage-wrapped hammer coming down upon him without mercy.
And his own blood staining those white bandages.
The next morning.
âNext on the news. The current serial assault case has a new victim.â
âThe casualty is a 22-year-old unemployed man in Tokyo, Horadaââ
****CHAPTER END****
Â
Interlude: Rumours on the Internet
Ikebukuro Information Site, IkeNEW! Version Iă»KEBUă»KURă»O
Latest Article, A gang war breaks outâEx-Colour Gang Topdog Falls Victim to the SluggerâRevival of the Yellow Scarves?
âWhere has the Headless Rider Gone?ââ(Excerpt from Tokyo Warrior Digital Edition)
âIn the early hours of the morning today, an anonymous call from the public that a man was being assaulted on the street drew the police to said scene, where they discovered a man on the ground with a head injury.
According to the caller, the attacker was wearing something black that looked like a mascot suit, and had attacked with a white rod-like object. As such, the police are investigating this case with the possibility that the culprit is the same one behind a serial assault case.
There is also news that the man attacked was an officer in a colour gang that used to exist in Ikebukuro. One of our sources offered the following opinion: âThis could be a war between colour gangs or bĆsĆzoku disguised as random assault.â As there could be an outbreak of gangfights, various groups are keeping up their guard.â
â(Click here for the full article)
Reference materialâTsukumoya Shinichi-shiâs commentary, extracted from another news site
âWhether related to the Slugger or not, it is true that the return of Dragon Zombieâs leader has affected the power play between gangs.
I would like to continue observing if he, or she, or they, will become the eye of a new storm in Ikebukuro.
As the Sluggerâs victim this time is a man who was noted widely back in the era of the Dollars, it is possible that old coals may be rekindled with this incident. It may be worth keeping an eye on this.â
IkeNEW! Administratorâs Comment
âAccording to online rumours, itâs H-san who only recently came out from prison-moja.
A scary ex-convictâŠ
If itâs a gang fight, who did it?
Jyan Jyaka Jyan?
Yellow Scarves?
Saitamaâs Toramaru?
Creepy-moja. Scary-moja.
Touch wood-moja.â
Administrator Lila Tailtooth Zaiya
Excerpts of typical tweets from microblogging site Twittia.
The way Tsukumoya-san talks on his website is way too different from how he sounds in his books.
Heâs proper when it comes to formal settings, but he gets wild when heâs writing frank articles.
I wonder which is the real him.
Itâs like thereâs more than one person.
Like thereâs multiple people.
So in the end was that the Slugger? Or just a gang fight?
There were witnesses so it must have been the Slugger. Unless it was a cosplaying gang?
But the witnesses were anonymous, right? Maybe the rival gang reported it themselves.
If you assault someone and call the police yourself, itâll come off exactly like Slugger, wonât it?
Then wouldnât the police think the Sluggerâs behind it?
Then the motorcycle gangs would be beyond suspicion, right?
Uhyo~, arenât I smart?
Uh, anyone could have thought of that, why are you so smugâŠ
Just shut up?
Ooh, youâre so smart (deadpan)
If you look down on me Iâll block you, yeah? Iâll really do it, okay?
I think that is a possibility. Itâs even possible that all of the attacks up till now have been the doing of bĆsĆzoku.
I know, right~? But maybe the previous ones werenât?
Is there a difference?
Motorcycle gangs have no reason to attack couples or old men taking walks, right?
Horada was the victim?
Apparently.
Ha, serves him right.
Isnât that a bit harsh?
Iâm not surprised someone like him got it.
Yeah, he just clung to Izumii-san like a limpet and acted like a fucking hotshot.
I heard he had a gun at one point.
Shit, heâs just trouble. They should put him to death.
The Headless Riderâs behind it.
Is everything the Headless Riderâs fault?!
The recent fake kidnapping case was indirectly caused by the Headless Rider, tooâŠ
Itâs not good to pin everything on the Headless Rider.
Because the Headless Riderâs a very cute person.
The fake kidnap victims put her on a pedestal without consulting her, they were more like antis than worshippers.
The Headless Rider was the one who resolved the fake kidnapping case, too.
What a desperate guy.
I checked his profile it says âOccupation: underground doctorâ lmao
Underground pfft doctor pfffft
Speaking of which, I wonder what Snake Hands is exactly.
Thereâs been no further news, hm.
Wasnât Snake Hands the Headless Riderâs girlfriend?
Boyfriend, wasnât it?
Is the Headless Rider a woman?
There are rumours.
She must be a woman. I saw her get off the motorcycle once, those hips are a womanâs alright.
She has some chest if you look from the side, thatâs definitely female.
So, unless sheâs gay Snake Hands is her boyfriend?
No.
Snake Hands is not her boyfriend.
Their relationship is whatâs unnecessary. (*âUnnecessaryâ = dasoku = snakeâs legs)
Underground doctor (rofl) shut up. Or I wonât give you your license~.
â»The rest of the conversation was kept private.
Oi, Shinra. Iâll write this here since Iâm out. Tone down a little.
Youâre harassing people.
Youâre usually so calm, why does Yahiro-kun agitate you so much?
Sorry, Celty. I was just so frustrated.
Yahiro-kun and other strong people can fight alongside you, but IÂ donât have that ability.
Iâm envious you can watch each otherâs backs!
âŠUh, weâre not that close, okay?
Seriously. You were never jealous when I talked to Shizuo or Izaya.
Yeah⊠I know itâs weird.
Itâs just something Iâve been thinking since what happened the year before.
When I got kidnapped by another woman you went so far to chase me.
So now youâre being wooed by another man⊠I feel like I have to be jealous with all my mightâŠ
Mm, Iâm glad you feel that way, but your targetâs completely wrong, yeah?
Yahiro-kun isnât courting me, okay?
Anyway, I got it. Weâll talk about it when I get home.
And Shinra. You should delete âOccupation: underground doctorâ from your profile.
Itâs fine, no one will believe it. I wonât get reported.