No. 6 Volume 2 Chapter 2

Previous Chapter: Volume 2 Chapter 1 – Life and Death

Even less edited than the last chapter I posted. I’m really getting lazy… Anywho, some of the prose in this section is especially bad because I’m lazy and terrible as usual. I’ll try to fix it later.

Chapter 2: The Realm of the Gods

Thus, the goddess Hannahanna used the means she had reserved. She called forth several, no several hundred, several thousand bees and she said, “Your bodies are small and nimble, go forth as swift as light and seek out the god Telepinu. Now go.”

(The Legend of Telepinu. From “Mesopotamian Legend.” Yajima Fumio. Chikumashobou.) [1 - I couldn't find this in English, so I just straight translated from the Japanese]

Someone was collapsed at the base of a conspicuously bare, thin, white tree. It was a boy, smaller than the girl. He was squirming. Reaching out his arms. Even in the darkness, I could see how ghastly pale his face was. He tore at his throat and though his mouth was open his lips had no color.

He was breathing hard. Something was blocking his airway. I didn’t have any time. I rolled him over and struck him on the back with my palm.

“Spit it up, come on, spit it up.”

Two, three times I struck his back. Four, five…

“Guh––”

Vomit poured out of the boy’s mouth. There was something dark and round in it. The boy’s body twitched and convulsed.

“Water. Bring water.”

I turned to Mouse and shouted again. I laid the boy down and brought my cheek close to his mouth. I could feel him breathing. He’s okay. He’s breathing.

His airway is free and he’s breathing on his own.

“Call out to him.”

The girl responded promptly to Shion’s request.

“Riko, can you hear me? Riko.”

“Riko, can you breathe?”

The boy’s chest swelled. He opened his eyes. Tears streamed down his face.

“…Sis”

“Riko!”

The girl stopped herself from embracing him and Shion gently sat him upright. He brought a cup of water to his mouth.

“Can you drink?”

“Yeah.”

“Good boy. Drink it slowly. Your name’s Riko, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Riko, you can hear me and your sister, right? You can see us too, right?”

“Yeah… This water is delicious.”

“Good boy. You’re a very good boy. Does your stomach hurt? What about your chest?”

“My throat…”

“Yes?”

“My throat… hurts.”

He must have scratched at it in desperation. There were several marks on Riko’s neck oozing blood.

I took some gauze and a sterilization pad out of the first aid kit. They were already four years old, but I didn’t have anything else.

“This is going to sting. Don’t cry.”

“I won’t.”

I cleaned the wounds and wrapped his neck in fresh gauze. I could only give him basic first aide. It was all I could do.

If I were to say something like “we should take him to a hospital right away,” Mouse would just sneer at me again. I knew that the area around No. 6′s West Block didn’t really have any hospitals.

Shion picked out the round object from the vomit that had been blocking Riko’s airway.

“A berry?”

It was a nearly round berry.

“Why did you…”

Riko looked away. Mouse folded his arms where he stood and sighed.

“Because he was hungry.”

“Huh?”

“He was starving. Though, actually, you can eat those if you mash them first. He got hungry when he was collecting one and just popped one in his mouth… and accidentally swallowed it. Or something like that.”

“Riko is always hungry.”

Said the girl.

“Even though Mom gives us bread, it’s not enough.”

“The bread is so small. It’s gone in one bite.”

Riko coughed a bit after he spoke. His voice was rough and his color was still bad. I wrapped him in a blanket.

“This should warm you up. If your wounds hurt I’ll treat them. Come any time.”

“Why don’t you take him home?”

I turned toward the sound of Mouse’s words.

“Me?”

“Who else would I be talking to? You saved him. And you’ve been taking care of him this whole time. He lives in the first house at the bottom of the hill. It’s not far. His mother is probably worried sick.”

If I do that I’ll be exposing myself to the adults. I got up. Why was I shaking?

“But, I”m…”

“You have to go outside anyway. If you hesitate to do this much, you’ll never make it through the whole town. Well, I don’t really care what you do. Plus, if you linger in the rain like this you’ll catch pneumonia.”

Now that he mentioned it, it was raining. I finally noticed how cool it was. The rain chilled me to the bone, evidence that winter was coming.

“Well, the rest is up to you, your majesty.”

Mouse turned around and headed underground. Riko sneezed meekly. All of a sudden a child’s hand was around Shion’s finger(s).

“Thanks.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks for saving my little brother.”

“Oh, no, it’s noth…ing, really. What’s your name?”

“Karan.”

“Karan? That’s the same as my mom.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

The girl smiled. Her fingers were warm. Shion picked up Riko, wrapped in the blanket.

“I’ll take you home. Karan, lead the way.”

-

Steam poured out of the pot on the stove. There was soup in it. Mouse sighed while stirring the soup, full of vegetables and meat. He got flustered when he realized that he’d sighed unconsciously. Several drops of soup fell out of the pan onto the burner and made a sizzling sound.

I hate sighing {you sure do it a lot though}. I hate doing it on purpose, but I really can’t stand it when a sigh leaves my mouth unconsciously.

“Don’t sigh and don’t cry. You’ll be taken advantage of.”

It was something an old woman, who had long stopped counting her age, had said.

“Sighing means your guard is down. If you want to survive, keep your mouth shut. Don’t let your guard down to anyone. Don’t trust anyone, ever. Don’t believe anyone.”

They were the words of someone on the verge of death. Even though they had been shot through the chest and were spitting up blood, those words reached his ears clearly. He didn’t think he could ever forget that. It was a voice that he couldn’t forget even if he wanted to. It would cling to him, forever.

Yet, he disobeyed. He let out a careless sigh when he wasn’t paying attention.

This is all his fault…

He clicked his tongue.

Maybe it was a mistake to bring Shion here. He really felt like that might be the case.

He opened the door without hesitation. He threw open the door and peeped outside without hiding himself. If you’re not lucky that could be fatal. Even if it wasn’t an armed soldier, what if it was an armed robber, using a child as a decoy––it’s not an uncommon occurrence here. But Shion doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know suspicion, caution or fear. It’s the insensitivity and defenselessness cultivated by living in absolute safety.

And he’s burdened by dangerous and cumbersome baggage.

I think. But it’s not like anyone made me do it. I burdened myself with him on my own. I wanted to repay him. I couldn’t just stand by and let the person who saved my life and asked nothing in return be killed.

I can’t repay a corpse. I’d rather not carry a debt I can’t repay for my whole life. So that’s why I rescued Shion and brought him here. But, I might be going too easy on him. Bringing him here might have been a much bigger risk than I’d anticipated. He’s stupid and defenseless and a dangerous burden…

He threw a fleeting glance at the door.

But, if Shion hadn’t opened the door, he wouldn’t have saved Riko.

That little kid was choking on the verge of death. And Shion acted quickly and treated him appropriately. He was spared that fate. Just like I was in that storm four years ago. Back then Shion saved me without concern for his own well being, and this time he did it for Riko.

He only understands theory, he’s overly optimistic and he hasn’t even learned to be suspicious. He was such an airheaded dumbass that he hadn’t even heard of Hamlet. But, he’s better than me. Not in knowledge or skill so much as… if not in knowledge or skill then what?

“I’m attracted to you.”

I attempted to repeat Shion’s embarrassing confession with a straight face. Is it just the ability to trust [people]? Or is it the ability to put one’s self in danger to save a total stranger?

I don’t know. And things you don’t know are dangerous. It’s very–– Footsteps. A knock. The door opens  and Shion returns. {since this came up elsewhere, yes this literally jumps, mid-mid-sentence, from Mouse’s stream of consciousness to 3rd person omniscient narration; Japanese prose is dumb}

“If you’re going to knock wait for an answer before you open the door.”

“You wouldn’t answer anyway. But, then again, it wasn’t locked.”

“Huh?”

“The door. I wondered if you’d lock it. You left it open for me.”

That’s right. I hadn’t locked the door. How careless of me.

“Man, your bad habits are rubbing off on me.”

“Huh, what are you talking about? Anyway, look, they gave me some grapes as thanks.”

It was a measly little bunch of fruit.

“They offered me dried fish too, but I refused it.”

“Ooh, I see, you’re not comfortable taking handouts from poor people.”

“No, that’s not it. I refused it because you hate fish.”

“Me? I’d eat it. Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“But, you said you hate seafood, didn’t you?”

“I said I won’t eat it raw. Because the sanitary conditions here are too poor to eat fish raw––that’s what I meant.”

Shion blinked and put his hand in his white hair.

“Oh, that’s what you meant… But, well, it’s for the better.”

“What is?”

“At Karan’s house––oh, that girl’s name is Karan.”

“I know.”

“Oh, right. Her name’s the same as my mom’s.”

“I don’t give a shit about your mother. So, did you start crying about how much you missed your mama or something? How sad.”

I was trying to be sarcastic, but Shion just shook his head with a serious expression.

“I did not. There was another, smaller girl, younger than Riko. And I’m pretty sure that fish was their dinner. One fish for three children. I couldn’t take it. They wouldn’t take no for an answer about the grapes, they really wanted to thank me. It made me kind of happy.”

“Should it though?”

“Huh?”

“If you’d let that kid die, Karan and the other girl would have had more food. And in Riko’s case, maybe it would have been better to have died than to have to grow up starving. But you probably think that’s none of your business.”

Shion sat down in front of the burner. His white––though it was really more transparent––hair was dyed red by the fire. Even though his youthful hair had lost its color, it had retained its luster.

It’s beautiful.

He reached a hand out to Shion’s hair, colored by its environment and glistening. It had a sort of crisp, but smooth feel. Like normal hair.

“You were the one who told me to live.”

Shion muttered, face toward the fire.

“Mouse, weren’t you the one who said, life has meaning, so live.”

“I just said that victory goes to the survivors.”

“Same difference.”

“As if.”

The dead cannot speak. They are but shells, laid out and returned to their King. They can speak of neither malice nor misery nor grief nor hatred nor sorrow. So, live on. Live and carry on their memories.

No. 6.

A barren tree blooming atop the blood and bodies of those innumerable, unrecorded souls. One day, I will pluck it out. I will make it such that the voices of the dead of malice of misery of grief of hatred of sorrow swell from the ground in a torrent that cannot be silenced. Until that day, I continue to live and remember. I cannot suffer myself to forget. This body itself will not suffer it. {lol Mouse is such a faggot, though this was fun to translate}

“She complimented me.”

Shion smiled and looked up at Mouse.

“Complimented you? On what?”

“My hair. Karan’s mom complimented me on it, she said it was pretty. ‘What an unusual color. You hair is very beautiful,’ she said.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I guess it is pretty unusual. There are a lot of malnourished kids around here who have white hair, but theirs isn’t pure-white like yours.”

“It’s not just unusual. She said it was pretty too.”

“You’re a boy aren’t you? Why are you so happy to have your hair complimented?”

“Hey, come on, it really boosted my self-confidence. Since you said you were gonna show me around town tomorrow and all…”

“I don’t remember saying any such thing.”

“Yes you did.”

I totally did. I said I’d show him around myself. He’s acting like a sulky little kid. My eyes strayed to Shion.

“I’ve got a busy schedule. You can do what you want.”

“Okay. I want to follow you around then. Oh, also…”

“What is it now?”

“I promised I’d read to Riko and Karan when they had time. Since I found a bunch of picture books earlier.”

“Here?”

“Or outside if the weather’s nice.”

I sighed again. I closed my lips tightly, I could barely stand it.

“Are you trying to turn this into a kindergarten?”

“Are there that many children around here?”

“A great many. This is my home. Don’t do shit without asking permission. Don’t just do things on whims.”

I used a rude tone. I was irritated to the core. I was irritated with Shion. My patience was wearing thin. I don’t really think Shion’s selfish or does things on a whim. He’s just, unpredictable. I can’t figure out what he’s thinking or what he’s going to do. His actions and words always catch me by surprise. I’m exhausted.

Shion put two plates on the table. The soup was done and a gentle scent was wafting out.

“I wasn’t doing it on a whim… I’d just become friends with Karen and the others, so…”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re friends. They’re the first friends I’ve made here. I didn’t really have any friends in No. 6, aside from Safu.”

“That chick said she wanted to bone you. I don’t think she counts as a friend.”

She was a pretty girl with short hair.

Shion I want to have sex with you.

Shion couldn’t accept the confession she mustered up all her courage to make.

Come on, don’t fall in love with such a hopeless boy.

I’m talking to a girl I don’t really know at all in my head.

When did I become so strange?

“What?”

Shion cocked his head, puzzled. Two little mice sitting on top of a book cocked their heads to the side too, as if mimicking him. I burst into laughter.

Mouse crumpled over and surrendered to the laughter welling up from the pit of his stomach.

-

The rain had stopped before morning. It was overcast and dawn broke while the earth was still cold.

Mouse briskly weaved through the crowd. Shion desperately tried to keep up with him. He was out of breath. He ran into people and got yelled at. Inquisitive glances rained down on his head, smells that he couldn’t even identify the source of were mixed and melting together, his feet stuck to the mud, tents and barracks shops were lined up along both sides of the street, from which smoke poured onto the street, unrestrained, angry voices, beautiful voices, the voices of peddlers coming and going, his eyes were spinning.

After I was kicked out of No. 6′s high-class residential area, Chronos, I had settled in Lost Town, which was a rather diverse and lively place, but compared to this it was a relaxing resort town.

On the main street, vehicles and, naturally, people, were arranged by the direction they were headed. It was a rule that you don’t abruptly change direction or stop. Everyone walks in an orderly fashion in the same direction. People didn’t run into each other or call out to friends very often. Nothing unexpected happened. It was arranged so that it wouldn’t happen. That’s the kind of place No. 6 is.

There was a suddenly a loud shout next to me. And at the same time I was shoved away. I staggered and fell onto to my knees in the mud. Several men were running by me. One of them dropped something in front of me. It was an orange.

“Thieves!”

A man dashed out of one of the barracks shops with a gun. He was a short and stout man.

“Thieves! Someone catch them!”

It didn’t seem like anyone was going to help. There were people smiling, people who were completely disinterested, people shouting something, and the men he’d called thieves had slipped into the crowd.

Shion gulped. The man was waving the gun about. The passers by who noticed crouched down.

Is he sane?

I wouldn’t think so. It’s pretty insane to discharge a gun in a crowd like this. But, he looks serious. The long barrel of that old gun was pointed straight forward.

One of the fleeing men shoved an old woman out of the way. The old woman cried out, and tottered out into the middle of the street. She was completely unaware of the gun. The big man’s fat finger was on the trigger.

Just before his fat, hairy finger pulled the trigger, Shion ran into him. He forced the gun’s barrel upward with all his might.

There was a huge shock in the palm of my hand. A gunshot rang out in my ears. The muzzle of the gun bellowed fire, pointed at the dark sky. I staggered. My legs were kicked out from under me and I hit the ground. I couldn’t breathe.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

My field of vision was filled completely by the image of a man holding a gun over me. I cowered. The big man was unexpectedly nimble and kicked Shion in the side.

“Guh”

I couldn’t speak. The contents of my stomach started to rise.

“You’re one of those bastards aren’t you? Goddamnit, hand over the goods!”

The man’s footwear stunk like animal fat. He gave another sharp kick aimed at Shion’s stomach.

“I’m not one of them!”

I narrowly evaded the kick and shouted. If I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have hesitated even a little bit.

“I’m not with them… you’ve got it wrong.”

“Shaddup. You helped those thieving bastards get away, didn’t you? You got in my way.”

“If I hadn’t you’d have probably killed someone… What would you have done if you’d fired your gun and hit someone?”

Surprisingly the man laughed. And several people along the road did too.

“So what if I had?”

The smell of animal fat filled the air as the man laughed.

“Whadda you care what I do? Huh?”

His expression turned serious again and he suddenly grabbed Shion by the hair.

“I don’t like that funny face you’re makin’.”

He lifted Shion up by his hair and threw him down with great force. It hurt so much he thought his scalp  would be torn off. But his feelings of anger and humiliation were much greater than the pain in his body.

“Stop!”

Stop. Unhand me. Don’t treat humans like animals.

I charged into the man. I could feel my elbow dig into his protruding stomach. Guh. His voice became haggard and he fell to his knees.

Before long, a crowd had gathered around. Then they started clapping and cheering.

“Get ‘em kid! Give that bastard what’s coming to him.”

“Kill that little fuck, old man. Don’t wait around”

No one tried to stop it. The people around me were just enjoying it. Shion searched for ash-colored eyes in the crowd. They’re not there.

“How dare you, you little shit!”

Something crashed against my cheek as I heard that beastly voice. I saw sparks. My vision went dark for a second. My mouth felt warm. It was filling up with something warm. I spit it out so it wouldn’t build up. Blood mixed with spit fell to the ground.

“Stop acting like you’re hot shit.”

The man’s face was red and trembling. Both eyes were blood-shot, the capillaries looking like red nets. They were full of real murderous intent.

“I won’t let you take it for free.”

He put the gun between Shion’s eyes. My mouth hung agape. I felt like my heart would jump out of my chest. No one could stop him. Not a single person in this crowd even made a gesture to stop the man. I felt nauseated. I couldn’t tell if the gun pointed at my head was real or an illusion.

“Hey.”

Said an audacious {derp} voice. It was a man cooking meat at a shop. Black looking meats were hanging in a line as black smoke billowed up.

“Don’t fuck up my storefront.”

“I’m not fucking it up.”

“But you’re going to. You’ll contaminate all this food with blood and brain matter. Go somewhere else.”

“Tch, half-rotten meat is contaminated enough as it is.”

“Oh? Rotten meat? That’s interesting to hear from someone who sells rotten fruit and vegetables.”

“My products are all fresh.”

“Don’t make me laugh. They’re covered in flies at this time of year {it’s winter, remember}. They’re getting mummified.”

“How dare you, you piece of shit.”

They started fighting and Shion used the opportunity to get up and run away.

“Oh, goddamnit. Hang on.”

I heard the man’s angry voice but I didn’t have time to turn around. The fear that I’d be shot in the back overcame me. My feet twisted.

“Over here.”

Someone grabbed my arm.

“Hurry, over here.”

I was dragged into a narrow alley between buildings. I leaned against a wall and caught my breath.

“Are you alright?

I looked up. A girl was smiling at me. I could see her red lips in the darkness. They opened to speak.

“Oh my, your lip is cut. You’re bleeding. That must have been awful. You poor thing.”

The scent of her strong perfume filled my nose.

“Thank you very much.”

Shion took a deep breath and thanked her. She was silent for a second and then she started to laugh.

“I wonder how many years its been since someone’s thanked me. That hair of yours is pretty strange, kid.”

“Yeah… Well, it’s complicated…”

“Everyone’s ‘complicated.’ Even me.”

This cold woman with open lips was wearing a pale dress. It had a rather open neck line, displaying her generous assets. The white of her skin stood out even more than her red lips. It pierced my eyes.

“Look here. It’s a burn mark. A while ago, a man burned me with a hot iron rod. It was horrible. But, if you look at it, doesn’t it sort of look like a snake? Like a snake creeping around.”

I have a snake too. Wrapped around my entire body.

That’s what I thought, but I didn’t say a thing. The woman continued to laugh.

“Kid, have you known a woman?”

“What?”

“Shall I enlighten you? There’s a room near here. We can take our time and have some fun. What do you say?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking you to play.”

I could sense some irritation in her voice.

“You’re free until evening, aren’t you? Don’t worry about it, I’m not that expensive. Let’s play, come on.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed me against the wall. And then she kissed me. I could smell her thick makeup. I felt dizzy. She thrust her tongue between my teeth and started playing with my tongue.

I reflexively pushed her away.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh… It’s just… I don’t…”

“Out with it. I saved your ass. You could at least give me some business.”

“Business? …But… I…”

“If you’re not into it there’s nothing I can do for you. But since we kissed you’ve gotta pay.”

“But––”

Her lips twisted. He voice became disgustingly sweet.

“Come on, don’t cause a fuss. You’re a man aren’t you? Come on, I’ll show you a good time. It’ll be a lot of fun, come to my room, kid~”

“No…. I’m… fine…”

Her pale arms wrapped around me again. I was even more frozen than when the gun was put to my head.

“Sorry, but he’s already spoken for.”

Mouse was standing at the mouth of the alley way. The woman raised an eyebrow.

“The hell are you talking about?”

“He’s mine. I’d appreciate it if you returned him in one piece.”

Mouse gestured for me to come to him.

“Oh I see how it is. I thought he was a little slow to react, if he’s not into women that makes sense.”

“What? No, that’s not––”

Mouse covered Shion’s mouth with his hand and flashed the woman a smile.

“Yes, that’s exactly how it is. He’s just deliriously in love with me. He wouldn’t have any response regardless of how beautiful the woman tempting him.”

The woman’s lips narrowed. She shot Shion a look that said ‘money, now.’

“I don’t really care what he’s into, he’s still gotta pay for the kiss. It’s one silver coin.”

Mouse laughed.

“That kiss was worth one silver coin? That must have been some kiss.”

“It was worth at least that much. If he can’t pay, then you will. He’s your boyfriend isn’t he? Aren’t you at least responsible for that?”

“Alright. Sure. Can you make change?”

“Change?”

Mouse leaned over the woman.

“What are you…”

Mouse planted his lips on hers mid-sentence. Right in front of Shion. Just a second later the woman was motionless. Her exposed collar alone was moving up and down {weird description of heavy breathing}. And then he broke the kiss.

“How about that?”

“Not bad, but”

She smiled.

“asking for change is a bit much.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Then how about this for the lady.”

Mouse handed her an orange and turned around, grabbing Shion by the arm.

“Alright, let’s go.”

The woman called out with arms crossed.

“Don’t let that man ruin you {骨抜きにされる}, kid. It’d be such a waste, not even knowing the pleasures of a woman.”

We returned to the bustling crowd. The bustling crowd and mixed smells that had bewildered me earlier were somehow comforting now.

“What was with that?”

Shion mumbled and Mouse walked to his side. {herp, they’re walking together and Mouse starts walking next to Shion}

“What was with what?”

“Why am I a ‘kid’ but you’re a ‘man’?”

“It’s a matter of experience.”

“And why’d she say I was slow to react?”

“Because you are slow. Particularly with respect to members of the opposite sex. Sorry, bro, I didn’t mean to interrupt your first time.”

Mouse chuckled.

“Mouse.”

“Yeah?”

“How long were you watching?”

“From about the time you jumped that fat guy.”

I stopped in my tracks. Someone ran into me from behind and shouted.

“Why didn’t you save me?”

“But I did. You were about to be eaten by a witch. She was gonna chew you up, head first.”

“What about earlier, when I had a gun pointed at me?”

“Don’t be such a baby.”

His ash-colored eyes shone like a blade. Mouse’s smile always disappeared in a second.

“Honestly Shion, did you survive this long just thinking someone would always be around to save your ass? Take care of yourself. You won’t survive long relying on others like that. Get it through that thick head of yours.”

Mouse abruptly turned away and started to walk faster. Shion could feel his cheeks burning red.

He’s right, I’m a such a baby. I really did think he’d come to save me. I’ve been defenseless, dragging him down by relying on him. I want to be his equal, but I still think it’s normal to be protected. I’m so ashamed.

He followed right behind Mouse’s shoulders, wrapped in super-textile cloth.

“But, you did manage to take care of yourself pretty well back then.”

Mouse said, easing his pace a bit.

“Back then?”

“With the fat guy. You saw an opening and escaped.”

“Oh, that. I was sort of in a daze. I thought he was really going to shoot me…”

“He probably was. That was some seriously bad luck, your head could have been half blown off and gone rolling down the street.”

“I don’t want to think about it. Gives me the willies.”

I really did feel cold. The knees of my pants and the hem of my jacket were covered in mud. When I tried to wipe it off I tripped on something.

“Woah”

I fell forward. I barely managed to catch my balance and looked behind me. Two bare feet. The dark of the alley swallowed up the rest of his body, lying on the ground.

Is he sleeping? Here?

“Um… Can you hear me?”

I called out. I was pulled firmly from behind.

“What the hell are you doing? If we don’t hurry it’ll be completely dark. Man, what is with you and these detours?”

Mouse clicked his tongue.

“But, if this person sleeps here, he’ll freeze.”

“I think he’s got bigger problems than freezing. He’s already dead.”

“Wha-”

A woman selling clothes called out next to me.

“Hey, if you two know this person you should get this cleaned up. It’s in the way.”

Mouse shook his head softly.

“No, I’ve never seen this old man before.”

“Old woman. She’s a beggar. She just had to kick the bucket next to our shop. Shit.”

“My condolences. You better take care of this properly.”

“Shut up you stupid brats.”

The woman waved a red cloth about. Her arms were about as thick as Shion’s thighs. He’d be blown over if she were to hit him.

I walked, still being dragged along by Mouse. Withered legs were covered by fine trousers and feet wrapped in leather shoes. They were the feet peaking out from behind a bench in a corner of No. 6′s woodland park. That was the first body and their first victim Shion had seen first hand.

“They didn’t kill her, right?”

Mouse smiled slightly, as if he could see right into Shion’s heart.

“That old man… woman was probably not killed by parasitic bees. Cold and hunger––that combination will send you to the other world. It’s getting to be the season for that.”

“That season?”

“The freezing season is coming. The old, children, the infirm… weak people die. It’s the season of natural selection.”

“The season of natural selection…”

I whispered. It was cold as ice. But it lacked the delicious sweetness of ice. It was just cold. The tip of my tongue went numb.

“Shion, you said that if the bees reappear in spring, there could be any number of victims in that holy city, right?”

“Yeah.”

“People die here every day. Particularly in winter. What do you think is more fun, being killed by a parasitic bee or dying of hunger and cold?”

I unconsciously brought my hand to the back of my neck. There was a scar at the base of my neck. Traces of an incision. One of them was right under here. It had failed to hatch properly and looked half-melted, but it was trying to chew it’s way out and head into the world. The pain and anguish and despair of that moment are still fresh in my mind. I don’t want to feel that ever again. But, I can’t compare that with this old woman’s death. I have no idea what it means to freeze or starve.

“Mouse, what’s going to happen to that person?”

“That person?”

“That… corpse. It’s not just going to stay like that, right?”

“Not a chance. No matter how cold it gets, dead bodies will still rot. But before that dogs and crows will gather––they’ll clean it up even if no one does anything.”

“Don’t you have public cemeteries?”

“Cemeteries? We don’t have space to give to the dead. ‘Cleaners’ will come. Look, over there. Those guys sitting over there eating meat. You see?”

Several brawny men were sitting under a worn out tent where Mouse was pointing. They were eating fatty meat and making a lot of noise. There was one painfully skinny dog, frantically licking up any juices that fell from the meat.

There was a weird vehicle next to the tent. A trailer was attached to the back of a bike. And on top of it was a big box.

“They’re ‘cleaners.’ They take take money and clean up corpses. That old lady’s ‘friends’ must have paid them in the end. You can’t just have dead bodies littering your storefront, but carrying off bodies is pretty disgusting, so naturally those who have issues with that curse their luck and call in the ‘cleaners.’ People with no family drop dead all the time, so business is actually pretty good it seems.”

“Do they bury the bodies?”

“They burn them. They gather them in one place and burn them. I don’t know if you could really call it cremation. They don’t offer any prayers or anything tasteful like that.”

I made eye contact with one of he men as he was biting meat off a bone. The man, with bits of fat in his sparse mustache, was grinning. He stood up and came toward us. He tossed the bone and the skinny dog jumped on it.

” ‘sup boys. Wanna have some fun?”

He reached out and before Shion could do anything, he’d grabbed his hair.

“Ooh, I thought it was a wig or something. I guess it’s real. What strange hair you have.”

“Stop it. Let me go.”

“Ooh, I like it. I’ve never seen hair like this before. It’s as pretty as a doll’s, boy.”

The men behind him laughed vulgarly. I looked to my side. Mouse had disappeared.

“Let me go.”

“Don’t make a fuss. Let’s have a drink together. We have meat.”

“I said let go.”

The brawny man loosened his grip. His breath hit my cheek, it smelled of booze and meat. I looked away.

Mouse.

I chewed my lip and resisted calling out his name. If I don’t take care of myself, no one’s going to protect me. Shion went limp.

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“I said okay. I’ll have one drink.”

“Ooh, now you’re talking boy. Commere.”

The man’s arm relaxed just a little. Shion lifted a leg and kicked him in the groin as hard as he could.

Guh. He groaned and fell over. Shion jumped over his hunched over back and ran.

Somehow, all I can do is run away.

That thought fleetingly passed through my mind, but it disappeared right away. I was running with all my might. There were less people coming and going. It was easier to run through them. I don’t need the alleys anymore. Anyway, I just have to run straight down this street. He’ll grab me by the neck if I stop.

“Ah.”

My feet slipped. In an instant I was floating in the air. And then I hit the ground. Pain ran from my head to the tips of my toes.

“Ah, ughh.”

And then I just started to slide. Down the grey, concrete hill-road. Though it was more like a steeply slanted playground slide than a road. I slid.

Shion closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands. When he lost his balance he started to tumble.

It was pitch black. When he tried to scream he breathed in the smell of wet earth. He was thrown down on the ground. Dirt flew into his mouth. He coughed and collapsed face up. His heart was pounding like an alarm bell, it was hard to breathe. There were dull and sharp pains all over his body.

The taste and texture of dirt filled his mouth. He had never imagined that dirt could be sweet and aromatic too.

He could see the stars. Stars twinkled in the darkening sky. It wasn’t black and it wasn’t blue, but nearly indigo with some purple in it, the sky was too beautiful. His soul was sucked in. He’d never laid out on the earth and looked up at the sky before.

Was there always something so beautiful just above my head?

He could hear soft footsteps. A somehow pitying voice. A warm tongue slowly licked my face from top to bottom.

“It’s you…”

It was that dog. The skinny dog that was with the men. It was licking all over Shion’s head.

“Were you worried about me?”

When I said that I realized––when the man grabbed me and messed with my hair {moral of the story: don’t touch the hair}, his hand was covered in meat juices. The dog was intently licking it up.

“Okay already. Now it’ll be all sticky with your drool.”

I got up and slowly got to my feet. The pain wasn’t too bad. I managed to avoid any broken bones or sprains. I looked ahead and took a breath.

“This is…”

There was an abandoned building before me.

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• Anime
• No. 6
• noitaminA