“...It happened around a year ago.”The avenger Jiro leaned forward when the client slowly began her story.

Jiro went to a family restaurant in the city to discuss with his client today. He was together with his helper, Misaki.

The restaurant was packed as it was near lunch time. There were a lot of families and small children chatting away around them. At a table next to theirs, a child around Misaki's age was throwing a tantrum at their mother, demanding ice cream.

Jiro's client was a beautiful thirty-year old woman. She looked like someone on the career path with her beige jacket and tight skirt. She had branded bags and necklaces, creating the impression made a great income. And she was also single.

Jiro and his client had ordered coffee while Misaki went with orange juice. Once their drinks were brought over, the client resumed her story. “I went to a matchmaking party that was going on in f.u.kuoka City.”

“...A matchmaking party?”

“Yes. However, rather than being pressured to get with someone, it was more like a gathering for men and women who are thinking of marriage. It was a pretty casual place…”

The client continued her explanation.

Singles meetup and matchmaking party events took place within f.u.kuoka on a nearly day-to-day basis. The party Jiro's client attended took place roughly once a month. She had graduated university and entered the workforce immediately after. Once her workload finally lessened, she began to consider finding a partner and getting married, so she decided to attend the party.

The party reservation was at a slightly chic, buffet restaurant in Daimyou. There she had hit it off with a man who approached her, and after the party the two relocated to a different restaurant by themselves.

“I was drunk, so I don't remember him too well…”

The client gave forewarning before proceeding to talk about the man. She recalled he was handsome with fine features, but she did not have any memory of his face. He had told her he became a freelancer at twenty-six as a business consultant, and everything with his job had gotten smoother too and thus attended the party, considering he should settle down soon.

Jiro's client had felt they were on the same page, so she strongly emphasized with him. She had fun hanging out with him, and afterwards progressed to drinking. They moved to another restaurant together and drank more. And then she had gotten dead drunk.

When she returned to her senses, she was on a bed in a hotel, but the man was not there. Her branded wallet and bag were gone along with the memories of what happened, and even the wrist.w.a.tch she wore was absent.

She could not remember what had happened to her at all. Before she knew it she was alone in a hotel, and her precious belongings gone. She had been drinking a lot that day. Her wallet, bag, and her watch could have been dropped while she stumbled through the street. It was not improbable.

However, she could not shake off her uneasiness. Any traces of the man's contact information he had given her were gone. She had dug through her smartphone but did not find the man's number or e-mail address.

“You've heard how recently in Tokyo there has been these drugging robberies, right?”

Jiro nodded. “Yes, I have.”

There were cases of robberies occurring in Tokyo in which items were stolen after intoxicated women fell unconscious. It was being reported on TV frequently.

“When I saw it, I remembered what happened and thought maybe I had been a victim of a drugging-robbery.”

Jiro hummed in understanding. “So that's what this is about.”

“That wrist.w.a.tch was a memento of my deceased parents…” The woman hung her head and bit into her red colored lips. “But I have no proof I was a victim of it, and I can't even send a damage report to the police at this point…”

Believing she had been a victim of one of those cases, she could not sit idly by. But there was nothing she could do. At a loss, she was introduced to an avenger from someone she knew and decided to ask them for help.

She turned towards Jiro and bowed her head deeply. “I want to get revenge. Could you steal back what was taken from me?”

“Nonetheless, what a terrible act. To make women intoxicated and steal from them for work.”

Misaki nodded in agreement. “It's the absolute worst.”

Jiro glanced at his watch after the client went home. He had another appointment with another client here today as well. It was around two in the afternoon. They should be coming soon. Jiro and Misaki kept waiting in the family restaurant.

A few minutes later, the client finally arrived. It was another woman.

“Nice to meet you. I'm the avenger.”

They exchanged greetings and sat down across from each other. The female client was around thirty years old and worked in an office.

“So what job do you have for us?”

Jiro started the discussion.

“I want revenge against the person who stole my money.”

The client replied. She then began to explain the details.

“You see, I attended a matchmaking party about half a year ago…”

Jiro and Misaki's eyes widened when they heard the term, and they glanced over to each other.

An hour later, the interview was over and the woman left. Jiro moved seats after seeing his second client off. He sat across from Misaki and looked at the menu.

“Mischan, would you like ice cream?”

“No thank you.”

“Would you like any refills for your juice?”

“No thanks.”

Jiro placed the menu back on the table and rested his chin in his hand, thinking over the requests he got today.

Two similar jobs back-to-back. It felt more odd than just pure coincidence. The details of the incidents were the same too. The women both claimed they had been victims of a drugged-robbery and turned to an avenger for help. But both also could not remember the crucial information on the man. They did not know the culprit's name, age, height, or facial features. Jiro did not even have a way of finding out who it could be.

“I can't avenge them if I don't know who the culprit is…”

Jiro sighed.

With Enokida, an informant and a skilled hacker, helping, he could easily get a glimpse of the man with the victims from the security footage, but it would be difficult to confirm if the person they were with actually committed the crime. The robbery took place in a secluded hotel room with no witnesses, and the victims involved had no recollection of the incidents.

And from how efficiently it was done, Jiro could tell the culprit was familiar with this. He did not believe there were only two victims. The man could have other offenses. And there was even the possibility it could be a professional doing the drugging-robberies. If that was the case, then it was plausible the culprit had committed more crimes that have not been reported on the news. Maybe there was the possibility the police had evidence. Jiro considered going to see the police detective, s.h.i.+gematsu.

“At any rate, let's go discuss this with s.h.i.+gematsu-chan and Enokidchan.”

Jiro suggested.

“Okay. Let's divide the labor.”

Misaki nodded with a firm gaze.

“...Eh? Divide the labor?”

“Yeah. I'll go talk with s.h.i.+ge-chan, so you can go to Enokida.”

“We're going together.”

“But wouldn't it be more efficient that way?”

“Out of the question.”

“Why?” Misaki raised her voice defiantly.

“I want to work on my own too.” Misaki puffed up her cheeks. “I don't like always sticking to your side.”

“And why's that?”

When he c.o.c.ked his head slightly and asked for her to elaborate, Misaki cast her eyes downward. “...As things stand now, nothing has changed from back then. I'm not even helping you.”

She seemed to be unsatisfied with her role.

“Not at all.”

Jiro was quick to deny, but Misaki did not believe him. She kept staring at him, unconvinced.

“Don't worry, you'll work on your own eventually. Once you grow up a bit more.”

“......”

“So until then, stay by my side and learn the ropes.”

Misaki pouted and put the straw back in her mouth, sipping the remainder of her orange juice loudly. She still did not accept Jiro's conditions.

Naturally, he understood her feelings. Misaki held the fear of being abandoned if she was not useful ingrained into her. Her upbringing was unique. She was left in an abusive environment in her early childhood, and how she was being raised by an outlaw. Jiro knew the right thing to do was to let her go, but he could not bring himself to do it. After one incident, Jiro decided he would raise her as both a parent and an avenger.

In another ten odd years, he would have Misaki work in multiple ways. If they received a similar job like these ones, he could have her sneak into the party and act as a decoy. As a parent he would try to avoid getting her in danger as much as possible, but that was why she needed experience and the training to avoid danger. It was just too soon to have her do it right now.

Just as Jiro brought the coffee to his mouth, he stilled.

Sneak into the party and act as bait?

An idea came to mind.

“We do have another option.” Jiro exclaimed.

s.h.i.+gematsu sighed heavily as he walked around Nakasu, disheartened. His job as a police detective required a lot of walking. He was exhausted today as well. Plus he earned little income for his fatigue, despite hard work running around. And the truth of that made s.h.i.+gematsu mentally fatigued as well.

Once evening fell, the streets alongside the Naga River became crowded. People lined up for the food stalls, as they started to get ready to open. s.h.i.+gematsu spotted his acquaintance working at the food stall Genchan and hurried his steps.

When s.h.i.+gematsu pulled back the red curtains, he called out to him.

“h.e.l.lo, Gen-san.”

The owner, Genzo Gouda, was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper. He looked up and exclaimed. “Oh, it's s.h.i.+gematsu. How's it goin'?”

“I was around the area and thought to drop by.”

“What, are ya skippin' work?”

“Caught me barehanded, huh.” s.h.i.+gematsu laughed. He had been walking around the neighborhood to gather information for a case, and he felt like resting his feet for a couple of minutes.

He sat in the high seat in the center.

“So how have ya been lately? Been busy?”

Genzo turned to face him and asked.

“As per usual.” s.h.i.+gematsu sighed. “We've been going after someone behind drugging-robberies as of late.”

“Drugging-robberies? ...That reminds me, that there has been happenin' in Tokyo, right?”

“It's happening even in f.u.kuoka. It's popular right now.”

“Even crime has its fads.”

The culprit in Tokyo had already been arrested, but the police were still tracking down the criminal over here in f.u.kuoka.

“Still, they're good.” s.h.i.+gematsu's shoulders slumped. “We don't have many leads, so it's been hard for us. We visited shot bars and tokuyoku around Nakasu for questioning, but in the end we did not obtain any useful information.”

Since the victims were intoxicated, they did not remember the culprit well. The security footage was unclear, and they could not create a portrait of him. The only evidence they were able to scavenge were the fingerprints taken from the business card the culprit gave the victims, but they did not match any ex-convicts.

“That sure seems like trouble there.” Genzo groaned meekly as he folded the newspaper.

Genzo was reading the today's sports paper. The captions ‘retiring from active duty' and ‘a pa.s.sage of the past twenty years of the hawks' were on the front page in large font. That reminded s.h.i.+gematsu: a veteran player for the Hawks was retiring at the end of this season. There was a segment on the topic on the f.u.kuoka local sports news station.

“The winner of the triple crown is retiring this year too, huh.”

s.h.i.+gematsu muttered keenly. Genzo nodded. “The time for the key player of the Hawks' golden age has come.”

Every star player would retire eventually. This was the most painful event to happen for baseball fans.

“...That reminds me, speaking of retirement.” s.h.i.+gematsu recalled what happened the day before. “He also seems to plan on retiring.”

“He?”

“Banba. Banba is going to.”

Genzo looked shocked momentarily. “Is that true?” He leaned forward. Genzo had yet to hear the news from Banba.

“He said he would quit being a hitman once he takes his next kill.”

“Why all the sudden?”

“That man is going to be released from prison soon. He probably plans to have him be his last kill.”

The man Banba wanted to kill more than anyone was going to be free soon. Once Banba settled his score with the man, he planned on retiring.

“Ah, I see.” Genzo nodded. “I knew this day would come eventually…”

He expressed with a melancholic tone. Banba's retirement was moving to Genzo, who had watched Banba ever since he was a rookie. Furthermore, Banba was only twenty-eight. It was far too soon for him to retire.

“What a waste. He could still keep goin' at it.”

The police had always been in debt to the Niwaka Samurai as well. He had helped them deal with criminals which could not be punished under the law. And as a killer-of-killers, he had helped deter the a.s.sa.s.sination industry. He had been their companion over the last several years time and again following the previous generation.

“I would've liked it if he kept at it, if possible.”

s.h.i.+gematsu was earnest. Then again, as a police officer he could not forcibly detain someone who was trying to cut their ties with the underground.

“d.a.m.n. Without him ‘round, I'm gonna get more busy.”

Genzo cracked a joke, but s.h.i.+gematsu knew he would respect Banba's decision.

“What do you suppose he'll do from now on?”

s.h.i.+gematsu could not even imagine what Banba would do after quitting being a hitman.

“I reckon' that myself.”

Genzo c.o.c.ked his head.

“Maybe continue workin' as a private detective?”

“If I were Banba, I'd get married and start a happy life with a family.”

“He might be a surprisingly good father.”

“The problem would be if there isn't that special someone, right?”

The two looked at each other and laughed.

They were pitching ideas of what Banba's future would be despite not being present. They knew it was pointless to discuss, but they could not help but worry.

“But this is him we're talking about, so I'm sure he'll always be into baseball. He'll be a player even when he gets all old and wrinkly.”

Genzo smiled in agreement. “He'll be happy as long as he gets to play baseball.”

And then-

“All we hafta do is pray that Banba's final match goes well.” Genzo looked up at the sky and muttered. “...It looks like a storms comin'.”

Bottom of the First Inning There was a black building towering over the office district in s.h.i.+njuku. At first glance, the building looked no different than other corporate buildings, but within criminal business dealings took place.

They were the hitman contracting company, alias Murder Inc. The trade of this company, which was modeled after an existing organization overseas, was as the name implied ‘murder.' They a.s.sa.s.sinate individuals designated to them by their clients and receive payment for the task. Their targets varied from gang members to politicians and idols.

The employees in Murder Inc, which had branches all over the country, were working tooth and nail today as well. The Vietnamese Nguyen was one of them. It had been seven years since he started to work for this company. Before he knew it, he moved up to a position as a center fielder for the company. The division he belonged to was something akin to a personnel department in general companies. His main job was to hire new employees as well as dismissing them. At least, that was a nice way to phrase it, but his work was more horrific. Nguyen's job was to eliminate any troublemakers, including those who try to run from the company and rat them out to the police or those who try to cut their ties with the business. The other divisions teased them that they were the ‘fugitive ninja killing' department.

When Nguyen returned to work after lunch, all his co-workers were out. There was only himself and his superior, who was on the phone. Nguyen met eyes with his superior in the next seat over from his while he was cleaning the doc.u.ments on his desk. He grinned when he saw Nguyen's face. Nguyen had an ill premonition.

“Nguyen, come here for a moment.”

His superior called his name. He motioned him over after putting down the receiver, and Nguyen got up from his seat and went over to the front of his desk.

“You're free right now, right?”

His superior smiled.

There was not a single person in this division that was not busy. Everyone was running around scouting for hitmen in an attempt to resolve the shortage of men throughout the company.

Nguyen frowned and objected. “I'm most definitely not.”

“Say you are.”

“I'm busy.”

“Make yourself free.”

“I said I'm busy.”

“I need you to take care of this.”

His superior handed over a piece of paper to press the matter. The sheet had a photo of a man and his history on it. It looked like a profile for a Murder Inc employee, but Nguyen had never seen his face before in this building.

“Who is this?”

“Eitarou Bessho.”

The superior reclined in his seat and continued his explanation.

“He's a former employee. He was an excelling employee working under the main branch, but he suddenly ran from the company thirteen years ago.”

“Thirteen years ago?” Nguyen c.o.c.ked his head. “If it happened so long ago, we should just leave him be, right?”

“We can't do that. Orders from above. The specifics are written in the data, so look over it.”

“I just have to kill him, right?”

His superior added. “After you make him confess everything.”

Outwardly Murder Inc posed as a general company, but it was an underground corporation wrapped in darkness. They wanted to avoid information on the company's misdeeds to come to light. They especially needed to keep an eye on the company's employees.

Bessho was left alone for these thirteen years. He should have had plenty of opportunities to tell someone about the company. And so they had to confirm if he did. They needed to interrogate him on if he sold the company's secrets somewhere and why he betrayed the company in the first place, and afterwards kill him to leave no trace behind. This was a frequent job in their division.

“So,” Nguyen asked. “Where is this man now?”

“In f.u.kuoka.” His superior provided.

In other words, Nguyen had a business trip.

I got a troublesome job shoved onto my plate, Nguyen tutted internally.

Afterwards, he immediately made preparations and bought a plane ticket. It had been awhile since his last business trip. He got on an hour and a half flight from Haneda Airport to f.u.kuoka. He arrived in f.u.kuoka airport after his light nap. It was just a five minute ride from the airport to Hakata station on the subway; it was a short ride. Nguyen was envious of this convenient source of transport.

Once he took the elevator up to the exit of the subway, he walked out into the JR Hakata Station's concourse. Foreign tourists were together in groups around the station, and Nguyen could hear Chinese and Korean being spoken. He felt like he was in a foreign country.

The sweet smell of croissants lingered in the area. There was a line in front of the register. This shop was famous for its croissants, but Nguyen also had heard their chiffon cake was a delicacy as well. Should I buy some to take back? ...Ah, that reminds me. I need to get souvenirs for the head of our department and my colleagues. I guess I could just get torimon for them.

Nguyen thought to himself as he walked with his carrying bag in hand when he recalled his visit in f.u.kuoka during the summer. I believe I chased down a company employee named Saitou who ran from the company around this area. Back then someone interfered. I never expected to fight on a train before. He smiled wryly at the memory.

I hope the job will go smoothly this time…

Nguyen just hoped someone else would not try to get in his way. He kept walking towards the Chikus.h.i.+ exit as he prayed that in his heart.

He had gotten an inn in advance. He walked out of the Chikus.h.i.+ exit and checked in the business hotel right outside of it. Once he got in his room, he immediately laid down on top of the bed. It was a single guest room, but Nguyen did not want to stay in a luxurious area for just a week trip. He was satisfied with this, even if the intention was to save some money.

Nguyen looked over the data his superior had given him as he laid on his back once more. His target's history was written in detail on it. Nguyen processed the information in his head.

His target's name was Eitarou Bessho. He was currently forty-one years old. He had never married and was currently single. He had no parents and grew up in an inst.i.tution, but he had a brother ten years younger than him. He had committed minor crimes including thievery and robbery during his younger years, and he joined Murder Inc when he was just eighteen years old. His reason was, “I need money for my younger brother.”

Bessho had been born and raised in f.u.kuoka and was a.s.signed to the f.u.kuoka Branch of Murder Inc. He was excellent in his work, and his scores were fairly good. He carried out the jobs given to him perfectly, increasing his reputation within the company. He held a creed to follow his client's orders obediently and was given the nickname ‘artisan.' His reputation remained stagnant over the next ten years.

However, Bessho suddenly left the company one day. And immediately after, he committed murder. Bessho was arrested by the police and was put into prison. According to the data, his sentence would be over soon.

I see, Nguyen thought. That was why Bessho was left alone for thirteen years. Even a hitman contract company could not do anything to a man in jail. The company waited patiently for him to get out of jail, and that time had come. And so Nguyen was given this job.

Nonetheless, it was strange. Bessho murdered again immediately after running from the company. What was the meaning behind that? Nguyen pondered the question to himself as he read the data.

There were many company employees who were tormented by a sense of guilt and fled, taking a dislike to murder. It was not uncommon. However, Bessho killed another person despite running from the company. That meant he did not become averted to the occupation of murdering people. It was possible he quit Murder Inc and went freelance.

Speaking of freelance hitmen, I wonder how that man is doing lately.

The face of a former colleague pa.s.sed through Nguyen's mind. Nguyen took out his cell phone, deciding to try and give him a call after so long.

‘What the h.e.l.l is it!?'

A yell pierced his eardrums as soon as the call went through.

The belligerent Kitakyushu dialect was nostalgic. He hasn't changed a bit, Nguyen smiled bitterly. “Hey, Saru. It's been a while.”

‘...Ah? That voice. Is this Nguyen?'

The recipient was Shunsuke Saruwatari. He had joined the company at the same time Nguyen did and was an ace employee at Murder Inc, but he was unsatisfied working for the company. He quit Murder Inc after a heated argument with his superior and relocated to his hometown, Kitakyushu city, working as a freelance hitman.

In any case, Nguyen was pleased to know he was doing well.

“Are you in the middle of something? Sorry about that.”

‘No, not really.'

Saruwatari said in response, but it was noisy in the background. Nguyen could hear a man plead near Saruwatari, ‘please, let me go. Don't kill me.' Saruwatari was apparently in the middle of an a.s.sa.s.sination.

“How have things been? Is work going well?”

‘It's been alright. Right now I'm just killing small fry.' Immediately following, Nguyen heard a man die in agony. ‘Finished. And how about you?'

“I've been busy as h.e.l.l. The company has had many disputes.”

Saruwatari snorted. ‘Ha, I'm glad I quit.'

“We're short on staff in all the departments. At this rate, the company is at risk.”

‘They should fall apart already.' Saruwatari responded cheerfully. He despised the company more than Nguyen imagined.

There was one other purpose to Nguyen's business trip. His superior ordered him to find any hitmen they could use in f.u.kuoka after killing Bessho.

“Hey, come back, Saru.”

Nguyen did not know of any other hitmen they could use besides this man. Their lives at the company would be much easier if he came back.

“We'll welcome you with open arms any time.”

‘h.e.l.l no.'

Nguyen shrugged. He expected him to refuse, but he still added stubbornly, “well, think on it.”

‘So why'd ya suddenly call me?'

“Ah, right.”

Nguyen went back to the main issue at hand. He did not call Saruwatari just to idly chat.

“You see, I'm in f.u.kuoka right now.”

‘Tell me that sooner.'

“It's been awhile, so how about we eat out sometime. I've got loads to tell you anyway.”

Maybe he could complain about the company to him as they drank.

“I'll contact you later,” Nguyen gave his farewells and cut the call.

Translation Notes: Banba's father's name, Kazuyos.h.i.+ is written as 一善. The 'yos.h.i.+' part is the same character as the 'zen' in Zenji (善治). Tokuyoku are popular brothels throughout Kyushu. ----

Translation: Kaede726

Reposts are prohibited and should be exclusive to Kaede726 on blogger.

Editor: Voissane

----