Hey guys sorry for not updating yesterday, I wasn't feeling quiet well and it slipped my mind. And since I forgot I'm going to post three chapters one to make up for yesterday and two, I'm going to be at my grandma's this weekend and as I mention before she doesn't not have the best wifi so I'm going to post the third chapter that would have been for Sunday. So you guys get three chapters today!
Also a happy birthday to Aoba!
Koujaku's Route Part 8
…I'm fine. I'm fine.
I recite that in my head because I feel like I'll fall down if I don't.
I fix my clothes back to normal, pick up Ren, and then walk down to the first floor. I pick up my bag sitting on the sofa and place Ren inside it.
"Are you going out?" Ren asked.
"Yeah. I… I could use some fresh air."
"I see."
I pet Ren's head and leave through the entryway.
Rain is still falling. But it seems much lighter than before. I breathe in some open air and feel just a bit of my anxiety wash away. Without an umbrella, I walk around the streets.
.
.
With the rain and the glittering illuminations from decorations, people still enjoy themselves while walking down the wet streets. I'm a bit nervous out here, so I walk on the edge of the street. The rain is light, but the feeling of my hair being drenched is an unpleasant one. Even so, right now I don't have the energy or motivation to do anything about it.
.
.
Without thinking about anything, I just keep on walking. I eventually end up in front of the club.
"…" I don't have any desire to go in, but I lean on a wall near it.
The wall is freezing cold and completely wet.
Just being outside makes it feel like that incident was just a dream. But it wasn't. I can still feel the pain from Koujaku's grip on my arm.
…I wonder if he's going to come back.
I don't know if he ever will. Even if he did, would he even help me as far as to get to Toue? I wonder about it, and then suddenly hear the sound of water splashing.
"You're soaked."
…When I turn around, I see the man in the kimono again.
He smiles and comes towards me, offering his umbrella. "I know it's simply raining, but what's wrong? Do you enjoy being in the rain?"
"…"
"What an awful look." He grins and tilts his head. "Has somethin happened?"
"…"
"But you should be careful. You're a little too defenseless. If you're not, something you take for granted will…Chomp! They might just gobble you up, you know?"
It was just like he said…
The man lets out a weak sigh at my silence. "I guess you don't want to tell. And that's why you're standing around here. But you'll catch a cold, you know? You should go home." He looks up to the rain, and then his gaze returns back to me. "Aren't you going to go home?"
"…I don't want to go back."
"Oh, dear." The man suggestively squints his eyes and smiles. "You sure are a heartbreaker if the man heard you say that. It's not good to stay out here, so why don't we go get a warm drink?"
"Huh? But-"
"It's right over there." He jerks his chin to the building. "I'm acquaintances with the owner of that club. I can get us a private room. I also don't actually live in Platinum Jail." He says that while shrugging his shoulders.
So he's inviting me to a room.
…What should I do?
Following him sounds fine. Even though I don't know his name. Why would he do all of this for me anyway? It seems so strange.
…But my thoughts flicker between going and not going with him anyway.
Koujaku told me not to come close to here. And he reacted badly to me talking with this man here.
Then, could this man…
Does Koujaku know something about him?
It may have just been a coincidence, and the man starts pushing my back, as if to encourage me to follow his words. "What do you want to do?"
I… give a small nod.
"You must come." The man gives another grin and holds onto my shoulder. "Come closer so you don't get wet. Ah, would you mind telling me your name?"
"…Aoba."
"Aoba, what a nice name. Mine is Ryuuhou."
"Ryuuhou…"
"Yes. Nice to meet you." Ryuuhou's smile fades, and he starts to pull me along with him.
…Is this really a good idea?
I listen to the sounds of raindrops falling overhead on the umbrella as we walk.
.
.
"Go ahead."
"…Thanks."
There are white teacups placed on top of the black table. In the cups are a light, brown liquid with an assortment of lower petals: they're floating in the water and emit an amazingly fragrant sent.
"Isn't it nice? I specially placed an order for these; you can't buy them in Japan." Ryuuhou smiled.
I take one sip, and the fragrance floats up to my nose. The flower petals swing around in a lovely sort of way. "…It's good."
"That's good to hear." Ryuuhou brings another teacup and sits down across the table from me.
I watch his ever constant smile, and then turn my eyes away. Once I agreed to go with Ryuuhou, we went inside the club. The dance floor and bar were on the first floor, a tattoo parlor and dressing rooms on the second floor, and a staff room on the third. His room was on the third floor, and it felt as if there was no one who quite compared to Ryuuhou. The room had a Japanese style, but the furniture was European so it was a mix of cultures.
I found my eyes wandering to various papers of tattoo designs around the room. It was a strange sight in such a dim room, so it felt a little odd to me.
"Are those pictures…"
"Yes, I'm a tattoo artist."
"Really…"
So that's why it smells a bit like ink in here.
A tattoo artist, huh…
Mizuki was one too…
I feel a faint pain in my chest and take my eyes away.
…Hm?
That design…
I feel like I've seen it somewhere before…
"Aoba-chan, do you have an interest in tattoos?" Ryuuhou asked.
"Eh?" I was startled by the sudden question "Uh, sort of… but not enough to actually get one."
"You seemed a bit enthusiastic. If you have any requests, I'd be happy to do them for you."
"Oh, no, that'd be… Actually-"
"Hm?"
"Why would you go so far to… why are you being so kind to me?" I ask what I've been thinking about non-stop for a while now.
Ryuuhou looks to the ceiling, thinking to himself. "I had some interest in you at first glance. Or in simple terms, love at first sight, I guess you could say."
…Eh?
"…"
"I mean that as a joke." He smiles at my reaction as he grips his teacup. "You must think that's a suspicious thing to say. To be frank, I felt that you were different from others."
"…"
"That I didn't mean as a joke. When I saw you, I felt that you had some sort of power… you were overflowing with vitality."
"…Okay." I slowly nodded my head. Somehow the conversations topic has turned to a mystical mumbo-jumbo direction. But Ryuuhou speaks with a serious expression.
"I felt a force from you. And not just one. Reason, protection… destruction. There's a mixture of those separate purposes within you."
"…!"
…Destruction. The urge to destroy.
Granny said the same thing about my power.
Just as Koujaku said, this guy…
Ryuuhou looks into my eyes and his smile has faded away. I cast my gaze down, feeling uneasy, and then put my teacup to my mouth. The now lukewarm tea goes down my throat, and I start to calm down.
"Was I right?" He asked.
"…"
"But I don't want you to misunderstand; I'm not trying to delve too deep into you. That would be unrefined. Rather than a rose-colored over-simplified concept, I'd have it be difficult and extremely complex. Just like for tattoos." Ryuuhou looks at his decorations on the walls, and touches his design sketches lovingly. "They may only look like rough drafts, but all of these have been made with precise calculations in mind. I get absorbed when I do tattoos. Gliding down the skin, distorting, circling, extending, blurring, and even the variation in colors. Skin is a rugged thing. Wouldn't you understand if you've seen blood run down it? When something unexpected occurs, as well. There's no part of a person that can't wrap. That's why, when I add ink, I feel like I'm adding life to them through that piercing needle. I give even more texture to their skin. And it must be a respectable work." He talks about it with a loving tone, and his gaze turns back to me.
He…
After hearing him say that, I feel even more disturbed as I've seen some of his true colors show. I always thought his smile was just part of an act… But when he spoke about tattooing, his expression made him seem like an entirely different person. He has a strange attachment to tattoos. And that was likely Ryuuhou's real face.
That wasn't a normal conversation. But he seemed very happy when he spoke about it.
Ryuuhou's eyes… How do they look at people?
…My eyelids suddenly feel heavy. My eyesight goes blurry.
"I have a genuine interest in you." Ryuuhou's words swell in my ears, and mix together.
I can't… open my eyes.
"Your individual purposes conflict with each other inside of you, and eventually all that's holding you together will be unfastened. That's the fate you're burdened with. there's no option for coexistence."
My fate…
I'm soon unable to lift my eyelids, and my thoughts are drowned out by tiredness. I can't think of anything.
This awful drowsiness…. I see.
That tea…
"I bet my life on tattoos, and now you. If I put the two together, I wonder what it would give birth to… Interesting."
"…" By the time I realize it… it's already too late.
Unable to fight of the drowsiness, my consciousness fades.
