messiah novel (drive me crazy, part 3c)

[devilism]

--- It had been a spring evening.

The air had suddenly become very lukewarm, he remembered it very well even now.

His family was killed by a strange man. He had still been a young boy.

He ran away for his life. The last thing he saw was how horrible his family looked along with the silhouette of the criminal----. After that moment, his memory is as clouded like a worn out video tape that's been played over and over too many times.

He still doesn't know a thing.

Who had killed his family? Why had they been killed?

— — — — — — — — —
Eiri really didn't remember what happened after that; what he did as he put distance between himself and Setagaya, whether or not he reached Chiba after struggling to get there*.

Next thing he knew, he was at the back of a Chinese restaurant near a small overpass, having been dumped in a plastic trash can. Maybe someone had thought that Eiri had been dead and put him in there to hide him.

Eiri, who had been on the verge of dying, had been pulled back from the Sanzu River*. And coincidentally, a man kicked the plastic trash can that he had been dumped into.

The trash can fell over with a loud sound, and Eiri quickly was thrown out of it.

"Who put a corpse in here!"

Eiri almost had no memory of that moment. Just the stinking smell of the rain mixed in with the irritating smell of red peppers.

It was a coincidence upon coincidence.

The man was a member of the mafia named Huan Yuan Xi.*

Eiri had survived, and spent three years at Huan's headquarters.

— — — — — — — — —
Ichijima spoke up.

"What's your other name?"

"... It's Suregi.*"

— — — — — — — — —
"Suregi." Since he had been reborn in a plastic trash can.

Huan had said that, and he grew affectionate and playful with Eiri, even though no one knew who Eiri was.

Soon Eiri had joined the other members of the mafia, and learned how to take care of handguns by watching other people's examples. He made a name for himself as someone who could shoot well, and the people in charge sent him off to a shooting range on Jeju Island and called it "studying abroad."

Eiri's markmanship was mainly used to harass and threaten other people the mafia was facing. They purposefully shot paintballs at the leaders of other groups with the implication that they could be killed at any moment, it were those kinds of threats.

In the neighborhood the mafia got a reputation for having a very good sniper.

Huan's life came to an end when he was killed in an attack by a hostile group the mafia had been facing for many years now.

Of course Eiri had been chosen as the sniper for the revenge.

— — — — — — — — —
--- The moment he aimed at the target boss who just got into the black Sedan, a hand grenade was thrown from the pedestrian bridge. In an attempt to run away, the target started shooting to his heart's content from the back hood of the car. Although the target in the Sedan had stopped moving in the rain of that day, the opponent was out of luck as well.

As Eiri ran away, he had received five gunshots in his abdomen. The rain coming from above was cold, and Eiri had grown pale as he had been leaning over to act as a sniper.

Most of the street lights around were broken, and although he tried to avoid the billboard displaying snacks, he bumped into it and started rolling. Before he knew it, Eiri ended up in a small alleyway.

That day it had also been raining.

As he could see the plastic trash can he had once been reborn in right in front of his eyes, Eiri laughed.

Although the air had become lukewarm, the rain that was hitting his cheeks was cold to the touch. Spring is approaching.

It's spring. Ah, he was dying again in the spring.

— — — — — — — — —
"You seem to be doing well."

A voice came from somewhere above Eiri, who was on the verge of death.

It was a middle-aged man with a truly suspicious appearance, wearing sunglasses and sitting in a wheelchair. The wheelchair constantly gave off noises as the man restlessly moved it back and forth.

"You're a good sniper. If you can still move even after losing that much blood, you have the makings of a spy."

The man muttered as if he was impressed.

At that moment Eiri didn't really know what exactly it was that the man admired about him.

Only a long while later did Eiri understand the meaning behind the man's muttering. For now he just assumed the man was trying to not stand out so he could torture him in this place. Usually mobsters would draw out a large amount of blood with a syringe, and when people's heads were cloudy just before dying, they could draw out any confession. That was the way those kinds of people preferred to work----

"If you were going to die anyway, then why not die again? This time in a different way. ... That's right, like freezing to death, or drowning."

Anything is fine, was the answer the man heard.

This time, the man that had found Eiri smelled like fresh citrus rather than red peppers.

Again, he survived. Although he was involved in circumstances this time where it'd be weird if he didn't die, he still survived.

That's why Ichijima showed up. He said Eiri definitely had to become a "Sakura."

"Sakura?"

"They bloom quickly and suddenly, and they fall just as quickly and suddenly. They're graceful, don't you think?"

Security bureau special section five. The special section five that was commonly known as "Sakura," or so the man explained to Eiri.

"Your fate of not dying suits it."

— — — — — — — — —
And so Eiri was here now.

"Just being a sniper... it's not that bad."

Ichijima gave half of the potato he had divided to Eiri. Eiri thought it tasted sweet, like the mashed sweet potatoes with sweetened chestnuts that you'd eat during New Years.

"I don't dislike it. I just move whenever I get some instructions from somebody."

"You said something a seasoned soldier would say."

Ichijima balled up the aluminum foil that had been around the sweet potato up until it looked like a golf ball and shoved it into his pocket.

"Well, that's why you were scouted. Not just anyone would say something like that. It's one of your qualities."

"Qualities..."

"Just like how you won't die, hm?"

Eiri sank into silence.

Certainly, he was the only person that survived when his family was slaughtered. When he had been collapsed and dying in the street, he was saved from a plastic trash can. Moreover, even when he was shot five times in the stomach by the mafia, he still lived.

If you heard about that kind of luck, it'd just seem like a mystery.

After all, there was no reason for him to live. He had no idea why he had to lose his family like that, nor an outlook on what he was going to do with his life now. Until now someone showed up every time he was about to die, and they forcibly put him back on the road of the living. Only that is why he's still alive.

... Sometimes it seems strange.

There are a lot of people in this world that have to work so they can earn money. He should have spent every day working to earn money, and after deducting living expenses from it, he should have used the remaining little bit of pocket money to enjoy himself. But that's not the case for him. Even though he was being paid a lot of money by the government, he didn't have anything to use it for.

He wondered if that sort of thing could be called living.

"So I have someone I want to make sure to introduce to you, the guy who can't die."

Eiri looked up.

Klank, klank.. footsteps were gradually approaching.

It wasn't a police officer, he could tell that from the way the other's way of walking seemed untrained.

A heel made of slightly hard rubber, and judging from the sound the shoe size was about twenty-six. It wasn't large. The shoes were either new, or the heel hadn't gotten much shaved off it yet. Maybe he didn't have a specific walking habit.

Maybe it was just a normal passerby. Eiri turned his gaze as far into the distance as he could and threw the last part of the sweet potato that had almost gone entirely cold already into his mouth, waiting for the passerby to move past.

The footsteps stopped.

A blue-grey wool middle sized coat, somewhat thin feet and skinny pants, and dark brown leather shoes. A slanted bag. A man who would seem like a college student at first glance just about anywhere slowly approached the two people and opened his mouth.

"--- I wonder if you can even see the sea."

Eiri looked at Ichijima. Ichijima didn't seem particularly surprised, and slid his cuff up to look at the time.

"Just on time, huh?"

(Who is this guy?)

Now Eiri looked at him thoroughly, the guy's face seemed like it was very arranged, with very little facial expression. His face seemed to move very little, even if you'd include blinking. He was almost like a mannequin in the window of a luxury brand shop. Beautiful, but without personality. And somehow unapproachable.

The guy also had a straw in his mouth. The straw was attached to a small drink box with some sort of milk drink.

'Nanny.' Eiri used to drink it long ago too, it was a sweet drink intended for children.

(This guy is...)

Eiri realised the reason why Ichijima had lead him outside of Church with that entire detailed process.

— — — — — — — — —
Inside of Maru school where Sakura are trained, there are the headquarters for the special section five. Because it's an old crypt in the style of a church, it's known as "Church." Within Church, there's a few absolute rules.

Those are:

Sakura members will hold their silence in protection of Church.

Sakura members who leave / graduate from Church will have no contact with Church.

Sakura members will not aid / rescue another Sakura member who has failed in their mission.

Sakura members will not become friends or lovers.

It's since their professional duties violated the law, for example by actively murdering enemies of the country.

That's why when someone enters Maru school, they're written down in their family register as either having died, disappeared or having received the death sentence. It's a hidden department and the existence of it should never be known to the outside.

That's why they're called "Sakura."

It's since they fall gracefully.

— — — — — — — — —
"You already guessed it, didn't you? He is your "Messiah."

If, for example, you are caught while infiltrating another country once you've become a Sakura or end up getting tortured, it's impossible for the country to come and secure your safety. It's since Sakura carry out murder and other acts that violate the law for the country's sake. No one can save a Sakura that's been captured.

But that rule doesn't count for just a single person, only that person is allowed to carry out any rescue activities.

That is their "Messiah." A companion you've been partnered up with at Maru School.

"This is Mitsumi Haku. His code name is 'Nanny'. As you've seen, he is a little older than you. Well, due to the nature of the Sakura scouting system, the ages of potential Sakura tend to vary. Because of a certain reason, he's already been here for five years."

"Five years...?"

Since a stay at Maru school usually lasted four years, it was strange that Mitsumi hadn't graduated yet.

"Why is someone like that teaming up with me?"

"There's a difference in how long you've attended school, true. But you're about on the same level when it comes to training to the point where you won't hold each other back despite the difference. But we have another reason too when it comes to you two."

"Another reason."

His way of speaking was very suggestive. There was a reason as to why they were being forced together like this by Ichijima. It seemed unusual.

"Mitsumi is very talented, but there's one unfortunate factor. That is... every time he teams up with someone, they die."

Eiri stared without saying anything. Instinctively he started looking back and forth between Ichijima and Mitsumi Haku's faces.

"In that five year period his two Messiah have either been killed in action or possibly gone missing. They cruelly call him a 'jinx'."

Saying that right in front of the person you're talking about is just as cruel, Eiri thought to himself as he exhaled.

"That's why it's you now. Kaidou Eiri."

"Me...?"

"You're immortal. Even if you're attacked by robbers or shot at by the mafia, you don't die. A remarkable Sakura whose bad luck causes the death of his partners and a new Sakura who's able to survive anything that comes his way. Such a great combination has never seen before. Don't you agree?"

Eiri instinctively started laughing, like it was all some sort of joke. But Ichijima's facial expression was serious. The guy named Mitsumi didn't even twitch or blink. He was still staying silent, still sucking from his Nanny drink box.

"Well, you two should pick up your first mission to celebrate your partnership. It should be safer now than doing it by yourselves."

Eiri wondered if that was really the truth if he'd be together with a jinx, but he didn't say it out loud.

"We'll talk about the details of the target later. In any case, please do your best. Either until you graduate... or until you die, hm?"

Right away, before Eiri could even reply, his new partner made a loud sound by slurping the drink through his straw.

( back to index. )

notes:

* setagaya is a district in tokyo, while chiba is a city a little bit outside of tokyo.
* the sanzu river is the buddhist equivalent of the river styx, the river that seperates the world of the living from the world of the dead.
* the man has rather unusual kanji for a japanese name (懽元喜), so i'm assuming it's chinese instead and will therefore use that. i'm not 100% sure though because names are a pain in the ass to read, especially in the messiah series.
* 'suregi' means trash.