“Hey, don’t get too worked up. He’ll be out real soon,” said Tom Tanaka gently, walking a few steps behind her in recognition of her mood.
She didn’t seem to be aware that he had been trying to cheer her up at all. She raised an eyebrow and said, “The progress of my understanding is at a standstill. What kind of connection can exist between Sir Shizuo’s apprehension and arrest and the upset condition of my mind?”
“Okay, so you do recognize that worked up means ‘mad’ in this context…”
Vorona’s Japanese was always very hard to parse, despite her perfect pronunciation. The president of Tom’s company once theorized, “She’s probably just stringing together as many fancy, stuffy words as she can in a row, thinking that makes it beautiful Japanese or something.” But not only was it not beautiful Japanese, it was almost impossible to have a conversation with her until you got used to it.
“And yet, and yet, there is no end to seeds of suspicion. Why Sir Shizuo…?”
The police brought Shizuo in that evening. It wasn’t a formal arrest with a warrant but instead an agreement by all parties. His arrest was for suspicion of assault on a civilian.
When the notice of damages was submitted, the police quickly arrived at the building where Shizuo worked. One detective in plainclothes and five uniformed officers was unprecedented for such an arrest, which spoke to how infamous the name Shizuo Heiwajima was to the department.
The company president told him, “We’ll go through our lawyer, so deny all charges,” but Shizuo simply confessed, “I can’t claim I’m being framed here. I’ll be fine,” and went peacefully with the officers.
“Before he started working with us, there was a time he got arrested for something he didn’t do. They suspended his sentence, so he didn’t get jail time, but he was put in a holding facility for a while, I hear,” said Tom as they walked.
“It is inconceivable,” said Vorona. “Despite the clarity of his innocence, the sentence was still executed upon him?”
“They knew he was innocent of the first crime. But when they caught him, he snapped and threw a vending machine at a cop car and all this other stuff. So he got nabbed for destruction of private property and obstruction of justice. From what I hear, he was lucky he didn’t get attempted murder.”
“But the possibility is more high ranking that he is under observation for a different matter,” Vorona insisted.
In her mind, Japan had some of the strictest police observation and legal order in the world. With the illegal activities and possession of weapons that she’d been engaging in, it had taken all the tricks of the trade for her to hide her tracks from the cops. So it was shocking to her that Shizuo could tear out guardrails and light posts and not get arrested.
Tom sighed and looked up at the night sky over the city. “Whenever he breaks something, the boss pays the cost of the repairs for him. So each time, Shizuo owes him more money and has to work even harder to pay it off.”
“Is it not a violation of law to demand labor due to personal debt?”
“Technically, there’s some fine print about subtracting a percentage of what he owes from his salary, which is apparently allowed. But on the other hand, this debt collecting we do is actually supposed to be carried out by a lawyer. So it’s kinda shady all around.”
“Then it is even more impossible to understand. Why should Sir Shizuo…?”
“Do you want him to be arrested?”
“No, that possibility is nonexistent,” she stated flatly.
Tom shrugged and grinned. “If they try to make a case against Shizuo for destruction of property, there are disadvantages to them, too,” he said, relating something the boss had told him.
“?”
“For example, let’s say you’re bringing your case to a judge who’s never seen Shizuo’s strength in person. If you tell them, ‘This suspect broke a power line pole out of the ground and swung it around like a weapon,’ how are they supposed to take you seriously?”
Vorona started to nod her head in agreement, then paused. She wondered, “It is mysterious. Would they not be able to provide any amount of evidence? It should be possible to ascertain with video footage. Besides, I cannot think he would deny any crime he is responsible for.”
“See, that’s a problem in its own right. Let’s say Shizuo really did tear out a guardrail. The people who don’t realize that Shizuo’s just uniquely special that way are going to think, Are these guardrails made with material so weak and shoddy that a person can break them barehanded? Is this the kind of sloppy workmanship our tax money is going toward?”
“…!”
“Nobody says that the buildings Godzilla knocks down are just cheaply built, but the world treats Godzilla as a fictional creature. Shizuo’s strength belongs in the realm of fiction. And how much do you think it would cost to install streetlights and guardrails that even Shizuo can’t break?” he asked, smiling slyly at Vorona.
Her expression was a mixture of both understanding and unwillingness to accept what he was saying. “Is this a valid philosophy for a policing organization?”
In a sense, she really didn’t know that much about the workings of the police department back in Russia, either. The books and newspapers held reports of past scandals and corruption, but they contained no information beyond that. And Vorona was not well suited to inferring the reality of a situation from what was written.
As she mulled this over, Tom replied lightly, “Who knows? I basically trust the police about halfway, and I don’t have a problem helping them with an investigation. On the other hand, there’s a tendency for police in any country around the world to look at a dead body that is obviously fishy and willingly classify it a suicide. So I guess there’s no legal body that perfectly executes justice. Guess we’ve just got to pray that Japan’s police are gonna take their job seriously.”
“Then why did it happen to him today of all days…?”
“Oh, that’s easy. They couldn’t arrest him on destruction or vandalism, for the reasons I just said, so they were searching for a way to get him on assault. See, the types Shizuo’s usually hurling and punching around are the guys who have good reasons not to get the police involved, even if they wanted to report him. So the fact that someone actually pressed charges against him was kind of like their big chance to nab him, if you want to put it that way.”
Then he sighed and continued, “I’m not gonna believe any story that says Shizuo beat the crap out of a woman for no reason. Either it’s some stupid misunderstanding, or someone’s trying to set him up again.”
Suddenly, his expression turned even grimmer.
“What I’m worried about…is that in the middle of questioning, he’s gonna snap and start trashing the police station. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
After that, Tom asked Vorona if she wanted to pop into Russia Sushi, but she was feeling apprehensive about seeing Simon and Denis still, and so she wriggled out of it as diplomatically as she was able.
On her way back from the office to the apartment she was given to stay in, Vorona considered what might happen to Shizuo now. If he really did start struggling inside the police station, wouldn’t it be rather easy for him to break free? He could probably smash the bars or walls of the holding cell with his bare hands or snap off the cuffs as easily as candy.
The Japanese police wouldn’t open fire on an unarmed person—and in Shizuo’s case, he might be perfectly fine even if they did.
Sir Shizuo, the wicked criminal who escaped. I could challenge him to a proper fight in self-defense. But I do not believe I have advanced to a winning level. And I have not paid him back for the can of coffee. Or the time he took me to the establishment with delicious cake…
Without realizing it, her expression clouded. Why am I looking for reasons not to fight with him?
The reason she hung around with him was that he represented a kind of goal for her entire life. He was, unlike the monstrous Headless Rider, an exam
ple of whole, completed human strength.
Once the two of them could engage in destroying each other to their hearts’ content, her long-held questions might finally find answers.
Is the human being a brittle or hardy creature?
Unable to see anything but physical strength, the realization that there was a desire not to fight inside her was baffling, impossible to understand. And thus, she walked home in the dark, a frown on her face, as she grappled with this unknown haze that hung over her.
…Until a large figure blocked her path.
“It’s been a while, Vorona.”
“……?!”
The appearance of the large silhouette set every nerve in her body on edge, revving her muscles into combat status immediately.
But at the same time, she realized she knew the man standing before her.
“Slon?!”
He was well over six feet tall, with a sizable aluminum cane to match. Almost all his exposed skin was covered in bandages, making him look like a mummy, but the overall figure and atmosphere of him was enough for Vorona to be positive that this was her former partner.
A few months earlier, during a period of hostility with the Awakusu-kai, both Vorona and Slon had been apprehended. But thanks to a deal between the Awakusu-kai and some Russian arms dealers, Vorona was set free, and Slon was taken to another location associated with the yakuza group.
“Your survival was possible?! In what place have you been doing what actions until the present moment?!”
While Akabayashi had told her Slon might be alive, she didn’t have any clues to his whereabouts, and he had never been anything more than a work partner, so Vorona never had much reason to do anything but pray for him. Still, the sudden meeting took her by shock, eliciting a rare wide-eyed look from her.
“Yeah, some stuff happened,” he said, reaching up to his mouth and pulling out a denture plate with a good ten false teeth in it. He started talking as he put it back. “I loss abou teng oee teefh buh eh…let me go.”
She couldn’t make out what he said when the denture plate had been out, but she got the idea. It was easy to imagine that all over his body were particular kinds of scars that one would never suffer through ordinary circumstances.
Slon took a step toward Vorona, jabbing the tip of his cane into the asphalt as he dragged his foot closer. “The Awakusu-kai essentially dispatched me to be an assistant of sorts to an information broker. I should be dead, but somehow I’m still alive—I’ve no idea what kind of secret deals went on to make that happen.”
“I see… I am relieved to confirm your life.”
“It’s a bit too early for relief.”
“?”
She gave him a quizzical stare.
“You ought to stay away from this city for a while,” he warned her. “This place is going to be very dangerous for you.”
“Unable to understand. I feel this town is exceedingly gentle. Absurd to compare to conflict areas. Elements suggesting danger are essentially nonexistent.”
“That’s true. But I’m not saying the city is dangerous. I just mean, you’re being used like a cog in a brewing conflict now. You and me, in fact.”
“Cog?” she wondered, so curious about Slon’s concern that she momentarily forgot her joy in their reunion. “Then I desire it. If they seek to plunge me into a vortex of intrigue, I shall make them embrace regret over the sheer difficulty. Who is the agitator? I shall dispense with them immediately.”
“You can’t handle it. Especially not now.”
“What does it mean? I request explanation,” she demanded, slightly irritated.
Slon’s mouth curved into a sneer. “You’ve felt pleasure in the tepid warmth of this place. You can’t fight like you used to anymore, can you?”
“…! You dare expose me to such vituperative obloquy?!”
“I…don’t even know what that means,” he said.
Sensing that she’d been insulted, Vorona began formulating a plan to knock Slon out cold, when a voice from beside them dashed her aggravated nerves.
“You shouldn’t tease her like that, Slon. Often a nice lukewarm bath is better for you than hot or cold. Perhaps lurking in this peaceful atmosphere has made her far more dangerous than she was before.”
“…Did you follow me just to tease us?” demanded Slon.
The young man shrugged, glancing at Vorona, and said, “Hardly. I’m just curious about your former partner.”
She asked Slon, “Who is this?”
Instead of Slon, the man himself gave her a friendly bow. “Actually, I hired you to do a job for me once, but I guess I didn’t see you in person, did I? Izaya Orihara. I run a unique kind of information-dealing agency that exists to help those who need to know things.”
“Izaya…Orihara,” she repeated, realizing she recognized that name. She turned to him. “I remember you.”
“Ooh, you remember the names of all your clients? Very professional of—,” he started to say, until a vicious kick from Vorona came rushing toward his nose. “Whoa!”
He dodged out of the way just in time, fell several steps backward as he caught his balance, and slipped behind Slon. “My goodness! I’m hard-pressed to say whose kick is fiercer, yours or Mikage’s! Has she lost any of her edge after all, Slon? Why was she trying to kick me anyway?” Izaya wondered.
“Sir Shizuo’s eternal, unchanging blood enemy. So I have heard of you. By finishing your life here, it is possible to return the debt I owe him. Hatred of you is nonexistent, but I desire your ruination. Accept your destruction.”
“Well, well… So Shizu’s made friends not just with kids who love giant monsters but girls close to his own age, too.” Izaya laughed with interest. But Vorona, who had observed many people over her years, detected that there was almost extreme aggravation behind his smile.
“But anyway,” he continued, “I’m very interested to see whose pawn you end up being, given my interest in human observation. Also, I’m quite generous and merciful. Even if you are on the side of that metal-boned monster, I’m perfectly content to love you as much as any other human being.” He followed this up with a delighted cackle.
Vorona recalled how Shizuo Heiwajima had called this man “vermin” and found herself agreeing with his assessment. He is a man like an insect. He smiles, but it is just an insect mimicking a human.
She smoothly stepped away from him, finding him eerie. She understood why Shizuo had warned her to stay away from the man now. He was like a termite: He devoured the foundation of where people lived, until the house collapsed with the owner still inside.
When she worked for her father in Russia, she had seen a number of men like this. One of them had been a senior member of the Russian mafia, the recollection of which only increased her wariness of Izaya Orihara.
“Hmm. She doesn’t seem to like me very much. Let’s go, Slon.”
“…Go? Where? I finished all my work.”
“There’s been some funny stuff happening, and now I can’t get in touch with Namie. I think someone may have gotten the jump on us,” he told Slon, his cackling at odds with the seriousness of the situation.
Despite the fact that Vorona was right there listening, he told Slon, “Let’s wrap this all up by tomorrow morning. That way, the former partner you’re worried about won’t wind up as a pawn in their scheme.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t mind her overhearing it—he was choosing his words intending her to hear them. A deep furrow ran through Vorona’s brow. I do not like it. What is with this man?
She didn’t detect obvious malice from him, but the sensation was palpable that his very presence was harmful. Perhaps that was just a sign she was being influenced by Shizuo, Tom, and the entirety of Ikebukuro itself. But if so, she didn’t recognize that it was happening. She glared at Izaya with outright hostility.
He grinned back at her, practically basking in her hatred, and then left the alley. After he was gone, Vorona’s expression remained hard.
>
Something was happening in Ikebukuro. And it was somehow connected to their presence here.
“…”
The scene from a few months ago, when the man named Akabayashi easily held her down, flashed into her head. There had been some secret agreement between her father and the Awakusu-kai, without her knowing about it—and that humiliation, of knowing that her life had been in the palm of others’ hands, sharpened her thoughts.
I won’t let that happen to me again. If anyone dares to try to use me to his own gain, he had better know that I will extract the price from him.
Ice enclosed her heart. Her features were looking more like they did when she first came to this place. Shizuo Heiwajima served as a kind of brake on Vorona’s tendencies. Just as Kadota served to slow down Yumasaki and Karisawa, so did Shizuo Heiwajima represent a goal, a purpose that burned and bubbled within her.
And now there was no man to stoke the fires of her heart.
Was this intentional or coincidental?
The taunts of Izaya Orihara, the man Shizuo called vermin, poured their cold venom into Vorona’s veins.
Ruined building, 2F, Tokyo suburbs
“You don’t mind, do you, Mikado Ryuugamine?”
The man’s unexpected appearance completely changed the complexion of the scene.
“Huh…?”
No longer did Mikado merely stare with suspicion. Now his body froze.
The man did nothing special. All he did was speak the name.
But his bearing, his breathing, the weight hidden behind his voice, the inconceivable fact that he knew Mikado’s name on their first meeting, the eerie inscrutability of his tinted sunglasses—all these things combined to form pressure and put Mikado Ryuugamine into an impossibly nervous state.
More than when he faced Seiji Yagiri’s sister during the Dollars’ first meetup.
More than when he heard Anri had been attacked by the street slasher.
Durarara!!, Vol. 10 Page 11