Koushounin Wa Damaranai Volume 3 Chapter 1

t.i.tle: Koushounin series 03 Koushounin wa Furikaeru [交渉人は振り返る]
Chapter: 1
Page: 019 – 043
Author: Eda Yuuri [榎田 尤利]
Ill.u.s.trator: Nara Chiharu [奈良 千春]
Publisher: Taiyō Tos...o...b..> Year of Release: 2009

Disclaimer:

Eda Yuuri is the original author of this work, and this is a fan translation. Feel free to re-post this elsewhere if you like but please credit this site. I did buy the original copy of this book, along with the rest of the series, so it'll be great if you can support her by buying her books.

By the way, this work contains BL, or h.o.m.o-eroticism.

Note:

As I have no formal training in translation theory nor am I an expert in j.a.panese (nor English, for the matter), I cannot guarantee the quality of this translation work, but I promise I did my best.

I have been a big fan of the Koushounin series by Eda Yuuri ever since I got my hands on the BLCDs for the first and second instalments of the series, and have been waiting patiently for the BLCDs for the third instalment onward… to no avail. It has been 8 years since the sensei published Koushounin wa Furikaeru, and I am beginning to accept that there might be no BLCD after all.

Nevertheless, the fujos.h.i.+ doesn’t give up. The following is my attempt at the English translation of the rest of the series.

Chapter 1

"Three sumo wrestlers from the Aranami House catch a wire transfer fraudster."

"They completely knocked down the fraudster who was pretending to be a motorbike courier."

"It was Sayuri Murai (72) who first noticed that the phone call was fraudulent. The police sends an appreciation letter to her for having the sound judgement to pretend to be conned on the spur of the moment so that he could be caught."

"… Kiyo. There is no particular need for you to read that aloud."

This won't do. The tone of my voice was a tad peevish.

With the newspaper spread out on his desk, Kiyo, who was reading with a rather restless voice, shot me an upward glance. Standing behind him was Sayuri-san. Pus.h.i.+ng up her spectacles and peering into the newspaper, she said: "Ara, how impolite", with her lips pulled in a straight line. "Our chief's name didn't appear at all. Even though he contributed greatly to this case, too."

Kiyo nodded silently in a.s.sent.

Right? Isn't that right? It would have been nice if I could catch a glimpse of my name anywhere at all. They ought to have reserved a little praise for Mebuki Akira's contribution to the case. Although the police also thanked me, the newspaper article and the news wholly featured only the sumo wrestlers and Sayuri-san. Well, I do understand that they make a far more interesting feature, but it does feel lonely being the only one left out.

… And so forth, but of course, making childish complaints wouldn't be of any use.

I put on my best smile and obstinately a.s.sured them that it was okay. "The newspaper article had a word limit. It can't be helped." I said.

"However, it was chief who didn't let the culprit get away even though you were crushed by those wrestlers." said Sayuri-san as she shook her head from side to side, as if to say that she was simply cannot accept this.

"Eh well, should I say that I didn't let him get away? Or perhaps I should say that there was no way I could move anyway, or how shall I put it…"

At that time, I really thought that I might die. It was difficult to even breathe and I swore I saw a revolving lantern turning inside my head.

"But you even got handcuffed by the detective!"

"That was simply an honest mistake."

"The police should be sending you a thank-you letter instead of someone like me."

"No, no, it is true that Sayuri-san, you did them a great service… Oof."

I was about to sit on a chair but I stiffened about halfway down. Pain ran through my lower back whenever I bent over. Needless to say, it was the after-effect of having three sumo wrestlers sit on top of me.

It was two days ago, on the first Wednesday of October, that I had an accidental encounter with the phone call scam incident and its crime scene.

Sayuri-san had been saying since some time ago that she wanted some sort of shelving in her dressing room. Even shelving with a rather ugly appearance will do, she said as she implored me to take up the job, and this was the reason why I had paid Sayuri-san's house a visit with wooden planks on my shoulders. Kiyo was supposed to be helping out, but he had some other urgent business to attend to and couldn't turn up.

I haven't had the slightest idea that the wire transfer fraudster would call there and then.

"That con-man… I wonder what will happen to him. He was rather large in size but when they took off that helmet, he has such a youthful looking face. His parents will probably be very sad…" Sayuri-san, who was born and bred in the downtown areas of Tokyo (and therefore a softie) muttered.

"He is probably just an underling. Of course, his actions cannot be overlooked just because he was one, but as wire transfer fraud is usually organised crime, there should be someone who was giving him instructions."

"Means he didn't tell anyone to transfer to him money but is still involved in the scam somehow?" Kiyo proffered the question in a subdued tone. Indeed, in this case, the criminal was a bike courier who had simply come to collect the money; he was not the person who asked the victim to transfer money into his account.

"Un. Previously, wasn't there something they called Ore ore fraud (type of fraud involving distress phone calls from con-men pretending to be on close terms with the victims)? Indeed, since 2004, Ore ore fraud, fraud involving demanding payment for false claims or bills, along with fraud involving refunds or loans were all consolidated and officially known as ‘wire transfer fraud’. All of these are similar in that they trick the victims into transferring money to a bank account. However… It seems that the cases in which bike couriers and express door-to-door couriers are used have been increasing."

The fraudsters have successively come up with new tricks in order to continue exploiting good, honest citizens.

"Good grief, to think we have that many bad people around… Ouch."

Seeing that I was unable to even pull open the lowermost drawer in the chest, Sayuri-san said: "I have a wet compress here," and to my grat.i.tude, took it out of the drawer for me.

Here, 'Mebuki Nego Office' is a cosy office of just three people.

I, Mebuki Akira, am the chief the office, and I have just turned thirty-three last autumn.

Previously I worked as a public prosecutor and then a lawyer, and although I also did other stuff like scanning barcodes at convenience stores, right now, I appear in situations in which mediation is required as a civilian negotiator.

As for what a negotiator is—right. For example, every single night from the apartment next to you, troubling sounds like "An an an" can be heard, and you are in great distress. Of course, if you call the police they probably will not entertain you. Depending on who you are, you may find bringing up this issue to the relevant authorities difficult. To confront your neighbor on your own might bring forth even more trouble. In this situation, you may wish to pay "Mebuki Nego Office" a visit.

I will make use of my wit and eloquence, and via the best means available with respect to you, the client, solve the "An an an" problem for you. In the event that there are difficulties with solving that problem, I will negotiate with the relevant parties for a change of room or soundproofing works to be done in your room. If even that doesn't work, I will explore other methods of getting it done. Do not worry, for I will never throw out a job that is not complete.

Kiyo, or Mimura Kiyoi, is still at a young tender age of twenty-two but he is a reliable partner. However, he has a separate primary job thus he is working with me as a part timer.

Murai Sayuri-san's job revolves around accounts management and taking charge of the office. Her fingers, when tapping on an abacus, move at a speed which my eyes cannot keep up with. If I didn't hand in my receipts before the deadline even I, the chief, would receive a severe tongue-las.h.i.+ng.

"Here you go chief, a wet compress. I heard that the Ferubinaku brand compresses are pretty effective."

"Really? It'll be great if they were… alrighty."

I stepped past Sayuri-san with an unsteady gait, who in contrast had her back straightened out in a dignified manner, and made my way to the sofa meant for visitors. I intended to have Kiyo paste the compress on my back for me. Most of the pain was quite low down my back; it'll be awkward if a lady like Sayuri-san did so instead. Just as I was about to open my mouth to call Kiyo over, the office's doorbell rang.

Since I happened to be right next to the door, I opened it to find a very familiar person standing outside. "Oh! You came." I said, while still hunched over. He took one look at my sorry state and his brow, one that was overflowing with intelligence, crinkled in worry.

"I came over immediately when you said you wanted to meet, you know. That aside, what on earth happened to you?"

"I hurt my back after being squashed under three sumo wrestlers."

"… Akira, even up to now I have never figured out how your jokes are funny."

Erm, no, that wasn't the least bit a joke. Anyway, I bid him to enter and showed him inside.

s.h.i.+meno Tokio, whose rather strange name when written in kanji consists of seven characters and in hiragana six characters, is my friend of ten years. He was tall, handsome in a clean and polished way, and was looking snappy in a gray British suit.

"I really did get squashed by three sumo wrestlers. Here, look at this article."

I pointed at the newspaper that Kiyo brought over and s.h.i.+meno, after reading it silently, "But your name isn't mentioned here?" and put into words the painful reality I was grappling with earlier.

"Un… Not even once. My name is not mentioned in the article, but I was there too, at that point of time."

"That's right. The person who first threw himself at the culprit was none other than chief." Sayuri-san, who was bringing out tea, added for my benefit. "I was beside myself with worry thinking that chief would end up like a frog that was run over by a car!"

"I see. However, I do think it was splendid of you to have the wit to pretend to be bluffed over the phone so that the police can catch him. Most people would have been caught by surprise and not be able to think straight." said s.h.i.+meno.

Sayuri-san, who was on the receiving end of praise, replied with red cheeks and shy laughter: "Oh no, it's just wisdom that comes with age."

The snack accompanying the tea was not the usual fried dough sticks, but yokan, sweet bean jelly, from Toraya. Our capable office manager has a soft spot for handsome, intellectual types.

"Akira, did you injure anything else other than your back?"

"Eh, nope. Just cuts and grazes. Sorry to bother you when you were busy."

s.h.i.+meno was partic.i.p.ating actively in the scene as an extremely capable lawyer. Just a while ago, I had heard that he had served as a legal adviser to a fraud victim support group. It was only yesterday that I sent him an email as I thought it was a good chance to ask him about the present condition of the battle against fraud. He sure is someone who acts really quickly.

"Seriously, you were rash. It's great that you had the courage to go after the culprit, but weren't there policemen present at the scene too?"

"There were policemen present but the culprit looked like he was going to get away."

"A civilian such as yourself needn't co-operate with the police to the point of getting injured, right?"

"My body moved of its own accord. Hey, I'm a champion of justice after all." I meant to poke fun at him by saying that, but s.h.i.+meno glowered at me.

I know that he was just being concerned about my well-being, but it seems that s.h.i.+meno tended towards over-protectiveness at times; not so much as a friend on an equal footing and much rather like how a big brother would treat his younger brother. In reality, s.h.i.+meno was only a year older.

"You said in your email that you wanted to discuss with me something regarding wire transfer fraud?"

"Yes, yes. They seem to be having more tricks up their sleeves recently, don't they?"

Ah, s.h.i.+meno concurred with a troubled look.

"I get angry thinking about the number of people who make use of their intelligence to commit crimes. What caught our attention recently were cases in which small to medium businesses who, in times of economic recession have fallen into financial difficulties, were falsely promised loans but were cheated of deposit they put in for the loans. There are also cases in which the elderly is the intended target group, in other words Ore ore fraud… these cases have not yet disappeared. These people deliberately ask the victims, ‘There have been stories of scammers going around these days Grandma, I wonder if you are alright?’"

"No doubt they are a shameless and unscrupulous bunch… but I guess this is one such technique they use in order to cheat people."

"It's as you said. If they say something like that, the victims will inadvertently trust them as they think the con-men themselves will not voluntarily bring up the subject of scams on their own. Humans are, contrary to what we think, are rather easy to deceive. The more you believe you cannot be deceived, the more likely you fall for their trick."

"The victims are, as I thought, mostly the elderly?"

"They tend to be relatively older, yes," answered s.h.i.+meno. "Phone calls from scammers claiming that your relatives have been involved in an accident or have molested someone tend to target the elderly, but truth is many single men are victims as well. Most are involved in scams that involve sending them false demands of payment for visiting adult sites, or the like."

"As in, oh, you have visited this adult site, so now you need to pay up, that sort of thing?"

"Exactly that. If they have a vague feeling of having really visited the site, it will make them feel uneasy. Furthermore, it is hard to discuss with someone else matters such as these."

"Un un, I kind of understand that sort of feeling…?" I broke off in mid-sentence, and s.h.i.+meno gave me a sharp glance. No, it's not as if I have ever met with such a scam. Not ever. I did get strange emails, but I ignore them. …But well, when I read them, my heart sometimes skips a beat. I strove to wear a serious expression as I asked "Many victims of such scams don't even file a report with the police, don't they?"

"It is likely that there are many people who simply paid up as they were told." s.h.i.+meno, while spearing the expensive yokan with a toothpick, politely said the customary ‘Itadakimasu’ before eating it. In front of s.h.i.+meno, who was eating his yokan with poise, I leaned my body back, no doubt because of the pain in my back, and drank my tea.

"Criminal groups are also becoming more organised. The person who is in charge of withdrawing money obtained from scams from a bank account is called a das.h.i.+ko; however even if you were to catch this das.h.i.+ko, you won’t be able to catch the person on top who was giving him instructions. Almost all of these das.h.i.+ko do not even know the name or the face of person who was giving them orders. Even the handing over of the cash or the receiving of remuneration is done outside, and they are not able to freely enter and leave the scam group’s base of operation."

"What kind of place is usually used as a base?"

"I heard that small apartments rented by the week are often used."

"But don’t you need some proof of ident.i.ty before you rent these apartments—ah. I see. They use tobas.h.i.+."

s.h.i.+meno wore a bitter expression as he nodded. “In other words, the names that they use to rent these apartments are taken from licenses and insurance papers they have bought from other people. Moreover, they move their base repeatedly after a short period of time, making it difficult to get a lead on them,”

“Recently, I heard that one of the scammers we caught had defiantly said that those who get swindled are idiots. If I were there at the point of time, I would have wanted to punch him.” he added.

Even s.h.i.+meno, being the gentleman he was, looked like he could barely contain his anger as he said as such. I, on the other hand, may very well have punched him. I dislike violence, but I dislike even more people who commit crimes and still manage to remain unrepentant. To say that those are swindled are idiots? There must be a limit to how aggravating some people can get.

s.h.i.+meno held out an A4 sized envelope.

"This is recent year data on wire transfer scams. Please take a look when you have the time."

"Thank you. This is a great help."

As I took the envelope from him, s.h.i.+meno’s gaze fell onto the box of wet compresses lying on the edge of the table. “Ferubinakku works like a charm!” declared the slogan on the packaging. I’ve always wondered how Ferubinakku differed from the Indometas.h.i.+n brand, however.

"What is that?"

"Erm, compresses. I was just about to put some on…"

"I see. …Un, I’ll do it."

"Harh?"

I looked up at s.h.i.+meno, who had suddenly stood up, with a slack jaw.

"Ah. Ah… Naw. I’ll just have Kiyo…"

"There is no need for you to hold back. I’ll do it, since I’m here. Look, just lie face down over here."

s.h.i.+meno, who was beginning to look strangely eager, motioned towards the three-seater sofa. Eh well, it made no difference as to whether s.h.i.+meno pastes it on me or if Kiyo does it instead. Since there was no reason to turn him down, I said: “Then…” as I stood up, and with some rustling sounds managed to get my s.h.i.+rt out of the waistband of my slacks. After brief consideration, I also removed my belt and undid the front hook on my pants.

"Okay, here we go… ouch."

Once I was stretched out on the sofa, s.h.i.+meno leaned in and asked, “Around where should I put it?” In response, I brought my arm around my back and pointed at the area just slightly above the coccyx.

"Just about here…"

"Is there a bruise where the pain is?"

"Wah, s.h.i.+meno, what are you doing?"

"If you don’t pull them down I won’t be able to see, and if I can’t see I won’t be able to put it on, will I?"

I needn’t explain what was being pulled down. In one fluid motion my slacks, along with my knitted boxers were pulled down till half my a.s.s was exposed. Immediately, my ears flushed red. I have been with s.h.i.+meno to an induction course which included a trip to a hot spring, and we were on good enough terms to go into the baths together. I was not embarra.s.sed to be completely naked in front of him, but I was embarra.s.sed to have half my a.s.s sticking out. Humans sure are complicated beings.

"It seems like the bruise has not formed yet."

"I guess. It was not a heavy blow I took, rather, my back was made to bend backwards with a loud creak…"

"I’m sure that hurt. …here?"

s.h.i.+meno, using his fingers, pressed on the area on my back to confirm the place he was to put the wet compress. At that very point on my back, there was pain but also some sort of pressure point that unfortunately had me howling like an Alaskan fur seal.

"I’m sorry. Did that hurt?"

"It… it did hurt, or should I say it also felt pretty good…"

"Then, what about here?"

s.h.i.+meno pressed on another part of my back.

“Kuwa-”

“Here?”

“Bugi-”

“What about around here?”

“Ngaa-”

As s.h.i.+meno rubbed relaxing circles into my stiff muscles, I felt mixed feelings of pain and pleasure and unwittingly let loose some strange grunting sounds.

Enough of that rubbing and just paste that compress on my back… just as I raised my head in order to tell s.h.i.+meno that, a voice “Senpai, are you there?” wafted into the room along with the sound of an opening door.

I instantly realized who it was, and my body stiffened in shock.

In my sprawled out position on the sofa, my head was pointing away from the office door. I wasn’t able to see the person who has entered the office, but Kiyo’s figure entered my field of vision. This is Kiyo, whose expression hardly changes, but his eyebrows, ever slightly pulled together, conveyed the gravity of the situation.

I became fl.u.s.tered as the sound of footsteps approached, and frantically tried to think of pa.s.sable excuses for this situation. Yet in the first place, I haven’t done anything wrong. In order for a friend to put a wet compress on my back for me, I was lying sprawled with half of my a.s.s out. I was making strange sounds due to pressure on my back, that’s all. I was free of any blame whatsoever.

However, the position of s.h.i.+meno’s hand is rather unfavorable. It was sitting right smack on top of my b.u.t.t. Overwhelmed by the extremely bad timing of this situation, I forgot to sit up and instead timidly turned only my head to face the door.

“That person… Hyoudou, was standing right there.”

Hyoudou Juuetsu. The young head of Suou-gumi, a group that falls under the mafia organisation that is s.h.i.+nwa-kai, clad in an Italian suit and radiating silent fury behind gla.s.ses rimmed in an icy cold stainless steel frame. For some reason, he also had in his hands a rather magnificent looking basket of fruits.

"…Hakuta-san."

Hyoudou had spoken. The stare he wore while looking down at both s.h.i.+meno and I was blank but on the contrary extremely frightening.

"Yes?"

"Are you carrying a pistol?"

"My apologies. I don't have one on me today. There's an apple in here though, if you like."

"If I hit him with that, it won't kill him."

"Wha-wha-what a thing to say… Ouch!"

The moment I tried to jump to my feet, my back once again went creak. I lost my voice in the ensuing shock-wave of pain and s.h.i.+meno went "Are you alright?" while patting my lower back. This won't do, please stop, now is not a good time… That isn't my lower back but more like my a.s.s you are touching…

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…" growled Hyoudou in a low voice. "If you continue touching that a.s.s, I'll beat you to death."

"It's not yours. It shouldn't concern you."

"Shut your trap. Senpai's a.s.s is mine."

"Are you claiming to have owners.h.i.+p of someone else's behind?"

"I've written my name on it… really deep inside."

"Let me educate you, as we all know that you are a foolish member of a band of thugs. Even if you were to write your name on the all the sacred texts on Houichi the Earless, not one part of Akira's body would belong to you. Akira belongs to Akira."

s.h.i.+meno isn't someone who would by rattled by something like a threat from the yakuza. He looked like he was dealing with Hyoudou with a cool and indifferent demeanor, But I wondered if it was my imagination when I felt that he was being very much more obstinate than usual.

"… Akira this, Akira that, how annoying you are."

s.h.i.+meno finally moved away from on top of me, and he and Hyoudou stood glowering at each other.

This is bad, at this rate a duel might take place in my office. With Hakuta's help, I hurriedly sat up and went "Wait wait wait!" while placing myself in between those two.

"Please stop fighting. My a.s.s is really not important at all and not worth fighting over."

"Not important? Senpai, how can you say that, while knowing how much I have poured my heart and pa.s.sion into that a.s.s of yours? Of course, it isn't just pa.s.sion I have poured into…"

Stop! I yelled with a red face.

"Enough with this talk about b.u.t.ts! Hyoudou, what did you come here for?"

"Jeez."

Hyoudou, who seemed to be in ill humor, straightened the collar of his suit with a sharp click.

"I came to visit you. Heard that you were crushed under a couple of sumo wrestlers."

"Ah… is that so. News sure travels fast."

I accepted the fruits basket that Hakuta-san presented to me. Whoa, there's even a melon in it.

"I got worried and came to visit, and yet here you are getting your a.s.s groped by some other guy and making an an sounds…" said Hyoudou with a sigh, and I said sharply: "It's not like that!" while flus.h.i.+ng red all the way down to my neck. "He was just about to help me to put a wet compress on my back, that's all!"

"Compress? You just need to say the word and I'll paste a hundred or even two hundred pieces on your back for you."

"I don't have that sort of surface area… anyway both of you please calm down."

s.h.i.+meno, as per my request, had paid me a visit while Hyoudou came to visit to ask after my back. As such it is difficult to ask either person to leave. Well, it is normal for Hyoudou to unexpectedly appear, stay as long as to drink cup of tea and then disappear, and I hope this time it would be like always.

"Eh… well. Anyway, do have a seat. Whoa, what is this?"

As I lowered myself onto the sofa, both of them also squeezed onto the sofa on either side. The couch was a three-seater but it was clearly far too cramped for three large men. That aside, why on earth are they sticking so close to me?

"Oi, it's too narrow here. Aren’t there are other places to sit over there?" after I said that, Hyoudou turned to s.h.i.+meno and said: "You go over," to which s.h.i.+meno scoffed: "You go over instead."

For heaven's sake, why are both of them being so immature…? Having no choice, I moved to the other side to sit. The moment I left the couch, they moved to the extremities of the couch in order to be as far away from the other as possible. They look like they were completely unable to get long with each other.

Sayuri-san, while handing out Hyoudou's tea, flatly told him: "Let me say this in advance, but we don't want a brawl or any sort of disturbance here, you understand?" I know, answered Hyoudou with a brief shrug of his shoulders.

I directed my gaze at the two men sitting before me; both of them who seem alike and yet again nothing like the other. Blessed with good physiques, good looking features and keen minds; they were similar in the sense that both cannot be dealt with in a straightforward way. Yet, the impression they give others could not be more different. To put it figuratively, even if they were both colored silver, one would call forth the image of stainless steel and other, oxidized silver.

Akira, s.h.i.+meno spoke."I'm going to ask you a direct question. Is your relations.h.i.+p with this thug one of that sort?"

Probably due to the nature of his job, s.h.i.+meno never asks questions in a roundabout manner. His question was so forthright that when I stammered, “that sort?” he, regrettably, ended up rephrasing his question to be even more forthright.

"I am asking if your relations.h.i.+p with him is s.e.xual or not."

"We do it all the time, sometimes with reckless abandon. Right, Senpai?" Hyoudou answered instead, with no small amount of pride. My voice, on the other hand, had gone up in pitch.

“N-Not all the time!”

“So you two have been doing it.” s.h.i.+meno said, while being as calm as always.

"Er… well. About that…"

"Akira, you being h.o.m.os.e.xual does not bother me. I do not discriminate against h.o.m.os.e.xuals and I will still think of you as a friend I hold dear. However, the problem lies with your partner of choice being a member of the mafia."

Chi, Hyoudou clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"You intend to discriminate against me despite being a lawyer?"

"I'm saying this in the capacity of Akira's friend. There is no way someone would be happy if his friend a.s.sociated himself with the yakuza."

"No, s.h.i.+meno, before Hyoudou became a member of the yakuza, he was my junior in high school…"

"Even so, he is now top management in a gangster organization."

Every single thing s.h.i.+meno had said was fairly reasonable. If I were the neutral party in this discussion, something like "We are free to choose whom we love" or "the value of a person is not decided by the organisation he belongs to" would have rolled effortlessly off my tongue in an attempt at refuting his argument… But when one is the person in question, I wonder why it becomes so difficult to say the same.

Furthermore, s.h.i.+meno continued in a rational sounding tone, "As for the wire transfer fraud groups I was talking about just now, the top guys in the group are often from mafia organizations. These professional fraudsters often become part of the mafia organizations with fraud becoming one of their sources of income. You understand, right?"

s.h.i.+meno had hit where it hurts the most, and I could find nothing to say in return. As I quietly looked at Hyoudou, I found him glaring bitterly at s.h.i.+meno. Hakuta-san stood up behind Hyoudou with a smile that looked somewhat troubled and said: "Ah well. It is true that we are yakuza after all. The path we walk is always the fine line between what is legal and what is not. However, at the very least the Suou-gumi doesn't lend a hand to fraud and the petty amounts of money that comes with it. The big boss of our group ascended to his current position from humble origins as a stall holder from open air markets, and he still holds on to his old fas.h.i.+oned ways."

"What about s.h.i.+nwa-kai, then?" said s.h.i.+meno.

"That's a huge household you're talking about. As if someone like me would know what's going on upstairs!" snarled Hyoudou.

s.h.i.+meno snorted derisively. "Or you mean, you pretend not to know. Akira, let's be real here. I find it difficult to accept the fact that you are seeing a member of the yakuza despite knowing that you have a strong sense of justice."

"… I find it hard to accept, too." I mumbled in subdued tone, and I saw Hyoudou's lower eyelid twitch in chagrin at my words.

"Yes, that's right. It's natural that you find it hard, Akira." s.h.i.+meno’s voice had become gentle. "People at times can get swept away by the current without meaning to be. However, they are also able to correct the flow of the current," he continued to say, while looking at me like how a teacher might look at a student while admonis.h.i.+ng him for something he had done.

"It's true that I might have simply been swept away…" As my voice trailed off and I hung my head, s.h.i.+meno pressed on.

"It is not too late to set yourself on the right path," he said.

It is only natural that a friend would insist that I severe ties with the yakuza. That at least, I understand. It is true that I have been swept away by Hyoudou's high handedness, and that he has taken advantage of my weaknesses. I cannot deny any of these, but—

"…  s.h.i.+meno, you know what?"

I lifted my head and looked at the two men; one that was worried for me, and the other standing beside him wearing a very sour expression.

"Maybe I thought it was okay to be swept away, nevertheless."

"Akira?" There was a puzzled look on s.h.i.+meno's face.

"I guess if that was a crack I had in my defense… then I have been thoroughly taken advantage of." I said, with a small smile. Hyoudou was staring at me intently with an unsure look in his upturned eyes.

"Even if it turned out that I have been taken advantage of, I am not particularly angry about it, and I think this is sort of like a quirk of fate. In actual fact, after I met him again after all these years, I have been on the receiving end of his help many times. Just as they say that everything comes in handy when used right, even with his being a yakuza there are times where he helps with my work."

"Are you going out with him because he helps with your work?" s.h.i.+meno's voice had grown stern.

"That’s not it. Like I said just now, I think the real reason is that I'm being swept away."

"Even if he is a help now, a time may come where he might be the one to trip you up instead."

"That is true."

"Even so, you consent to this relations.h.i.+p?"

"Un." I nodded with a smile, s.h.i.+meno let out a sigh of resignation and stood up.

"It can't be helped then. You are still as stubborn as ever."

"Sorry to make you worry."

I stood as well, in order to send s.h.i.+meno off. Hyoudou pretended not to notice, and crossed his long legs.

s.h.i.+meno opened the door, but he looked back at me. "Just in case, I must say I haven't approved." he said.

"I know that."

"A cute girl would have been more suitable for you."

"Un. One with a soft and bouncy a.s.s."

And somehow, I am going out with a guy who has an a.s.s that felt quite the opposite… and I don't quite know why myself. I guess life is interesting only because there are  strange things that happen to you sometimes that cannot be explained by logical means.

I once again thanked s.h.i.+meno and waved him off at the landing of the staircase. Relieved that he was gone, I returned to the office to find to Hyoudou eating his way through a banana.

Why the banana, I thought, and realized he had taken it out of the fruits basket he had brought over.

"Oi, that banana belongs to me now, does it not?"

"I was an idiot for bring over stuff like bananas and melons for you. Being swept away? Taking advantage of a crack in your defense? …I don't know how you are able to say things like that when I am standing right in front you."

Oh dear, he is sulking.

Inadvertently, I find myself thinking about how adorable he looked when he sulks. Hyoudou then said something along the lines of "I was in such a state of shock that I thought of thrusting this into you," while fixing his gaze on his half eaten banana, and any thoughts of him being cute vanished.

"I was just saying what I truly think, you know."

"To think you were a person who would so easily go with the flow. In other words, you don't have any feelings for me at all; instead, you got carried away by the mood at that point of time and somehow ended up in a relations.h.i.+p with me?" said Hyoudou as he threw me a sidelong glance, and I inwardly groped for words to say.

"Rather than to say it was the mood at that point of time, er. How should I put this? I am a person who is capable at my job. My work output is precise and punctual. Accordingly, I become unreliable when it comes to my private life."

"As if you could, without thinking, be pushed onto a bed by a man!" said Hyoudou, while throwing down all that's left of the banana—the peel, onto the table with a thwack.

Maybe it was true that in the beginning that I was only being swept away by the flow. I did tell him that I did not know if I liked him or not. But this is slowly changing. Day after day, he was becoming a larger part of me and my life, and I wonder if I should have said that just now instead. Nope, I couldn't have. Hakuta, Kiyo and Sayuri-san were in the office as well, and there was no way I would say something that embarra.s.sing in front of them. That is although, yes, the situation was already embarra.s.sing enough.

As I thought about how to pacify Hyoudou, he noticed the stack of doc.u.ments on the table, which was the report on wire transfer fraud that s.h.i.+meno had brought over for me. Without asking for permission, he took the stack in his hands and started to flip through it, so when I threatened him with a sharp "Oi…" he immediately returned it to the table with a disinterested sniff.

"Isn't catching con-men the police's job? You'll get into trouble if you stick your neck out like that."

"I always get into trouble anyway." I grumbled as I rubbed my back, to which Hyoudou said: "You asked for it." Of that at least, I am aware… which is why I could not come up with a good retort.

Hyoudou continued to stare at me intently and looked like he was about to say something, but all I heard was a small click of his tongue.

"Hakuta-san, shall we go?"

"Sure."

Hyoudou, whom I thought would be more difficult, stood up to leave. With Hakuta in tow, he pa.s.sed me by on the way to the door. I guess, he did bring me fruits basket after all… so I should probably see him off at the door.

"Thank you for the fruits basket." I should probably give thanks where thanks are due. As I spoke to Hyoudou's back, that masculine outline of his face of his slowly turned around to face me.

On the other side of a pair of lens a rather long set of eyelashes fluttered.

"… This sure is complicated." said Hyoudou, his words like a drop in a puddle.

I couldn't understand what was or how it is complicated, and just as I was about to ask for an explanation, Hyoudou, with his long, swinging strides, went out the door. Hakuta gave me a polite bow, and I returned the gesture.

When I lifted my head, Hyoudou was no longer there.

Only at the staircase landing could I catch a fleeting glimpse of shadows of men in suits.