1932 Drug & The Dominos

by Ryohgo Narita

  And then he threw him at Eve.

  The lean man’s body bounced off the floor, and his back crashed into the corner of a table that had been beside the girl.

  “Even with a weapon, you couldn’t do squat. You think you can beat me bare-handed?”

  Possibly because he had the advantage, Gustavo was gradually regaining his ability to make levelheaded decisions.

  He didn’t need the girl anymore, either. He’d just blow them both away.

  With that thought, he looked for the shotgun he’d dropped earlier, but for some reason, he didn’t see it on the floor.

  Luck took that opportunity to whisper to Eve:

  “I’ll draw him off, so run. Claire’s the only one who could take this monster…”

  His voice trembling from the blow to his spine, he turned to look at Eve. And then—

  “Oh, Eve…”

  “Little giiiirl!”

  Gustavo noticed it at the same time.

  With a shockingly calm expression, her eyes filled with tears, the girl held the shotgun at the ready.

  The gun, which seemed too big for her body, was pointed directly at Gustavo.

  With her eyes fixed on their assailant, she quietly spoke to Luck. Her tone was calm, as though her real emotions had been shut away somewhere. Even as she cried, her eyes were vacant, as if she was looking at something far away.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Luck. I’m really sorry. I said all those selfish things to you a moment ago, and I thought that was the right thing for me, but even so, right now, I can’t forgive this man—I just can’t.”

  An intense strength came into her eyes. They were fearless eyes, dark and clear.

  “Now I understand what you said to me earlier. And so, and so—”

  Big tears fell from her eyes, and she depressed the trigger.

  “You damn chit! You think you can shoot a piece like that with a body like yours? That’s real funny! Bring it on! Just you try firing that thing at me! Try to kill me, try to avenge your idiot papa, you rotten little girl!”

  Gustavo taunted her, and with no hesitation, the girl pulled the trigger.

  There was a roar like a bomb blast, and blood sprayed through the air in the reception room.

  The recoil that struck the girl’s body was much weaker than it should have been.

  When Eve looked, fearfully, there was Luck, blood gushing from the place where his left arm should have been.

  The arm had fallen to the floor; the shot had broken the bone, and its end was exposed.

  Luck had held the barrel of the gun with his right hand, aiming it at his left arm.

  Breaking out in a greasy sweat, Luck stood in front of the girl, whose eyes were wide with astonishment.

  “…I accept your pain.”

  Then, turning to Gustavo—who’d frozen for a moment—he picked up his left arm and launched himself into a charge.

  “You moron! Whaddaya think you’re doing?!”

  As the giant clenched his fists, Luck thrust his left arm, held in his right hand, out at him with all his might.

  The end of the broken bone slipped past the big man’s fists, stabbing him in the windpipe by a small margin.

  “”

  Gustavo’s mouth flapped several times. Then his eyes rolled up into his head, and he keeled over backward.

  After making sure that the huge body had stopped moving, Luck murmured, his eyes cold:

  “And that’s for my cut throat.”

  Holding the wound on his left arm, he turned back to Eve.

  “Are you all…righ…?”

  Unable to bear the onslaught of pain, Luck passed out.

  What do I do? I lost her.

  Roy had meant to go hide with Eve Genoard, but while they were running away in a panic, he’d lost sight of her. Had he left her behind, somewhere along the way? Or maybe she’d run on ahead… He was pretty sure the door they’d been brought in through was just up ahead, around the corner.

  However, the armed guard was still out there. Neither of them could handle him on their own.

  And so, at the very least, she probably hadn’t gone out that door yet.

  That said, he couldn’t go anywhere near that earlier room now. Starting a little while ago, he’d heard several sharp, dry sounds, and there was some sort of unpleasant metallic creaking, too.

  He couldn’t run, either. He’d pulled that girl into this. He really couldn’t leave her.

  He knew this logically, but even so, he really wanted to run. He wanted to make a break for it very badly, from the bottom of his heart.

  No good. I’m such a no-good bastard. Dammit, dammit, the drugs, when I’m high, I can do such awesome things. I could do anything. That was me, and so is this, so what’s up with this difference?! Dammit! I could do it before, so why can’t I do it now?! That’s just pathetic…

  As Roy fretted, he began to hear a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

  “…y, Royyyy!”

  Damn, that’s Edith’s voice. I’m hearing things. Knock it off, you. Do you think you can’t do a blasted thing without relying on Edith or something? …Yeah, you’re right. So what?

  Stop it, though. I’ve got to do this on my own now, all on my own—

  “Roy!”

  He finally came to his senses: Edith’s slap had hit him square on the cheek.

  “Get ahold of yourself, you idiot!”

  Edith’s slaps crossed Roy’s face again and again, back and forth. When she backhanded him, the bones on the back of her hand struck his cheekbone, and it hurt like hell.

  “E-Edith!”

  “You moron! Why?! Why are you so considerate of other people when you’re that timid?! …Or that’s what I thought, anyway, and then you pull a complete stranger into this like it was nothing! I promised! At least let me keep my promise! I told you I’d save you. I told you I’d protect you. So don’t run!”

  She straddled him, punching him, but there wasn’t much force behind it, and at the end, she hugged him tightly.

  “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” he offered.

  Lame. I’m so lame. What’s lame? The fact that at a time like this, I can’t think of any other words to say.

  Just then, an unfamiliar shape appeared behind Edith. “So…you’re…Roy, hmm?”

  A sickly-looking man spoke his name, his words breaking off in small fragments.

  “Wh-who’re you?”

  “My…name’s…Begg. Still, you…really…are…an…or…dinary…man, aren’t…you? I…suppose…it…could…be…recoil…from…that. The…fact…that…you…showed…extraordinarily…strong…reactions.”

  At first, he’d simply been intrigued. He hadn’t thought anyone would grow so bold, even if they had used his drugs. He’d been surprised that a man had been reckless enough to steal the drug—a drug that was less powerful than the ordinary, illegal types—from the Runoratas.

  Maybe he’d been violent to begin with. In that case, it would have been natural for him to lose himself that badly after a small dose of uppers. On that thought, he’d asked around at the drug den the man had frequented, and the more he heard, the more interested he’d grown.

  Apparently, a new type of downer whose effect would ordinarily have worn off in less than two hours had kept this Roy fellow on the other side for more than three days. He’d regularly had excessive reactions to other drugs Begg had compounded as well.

  He didn’t know whether it was mental or physical, but with reactions like those… With reactions like those, he might be able to see what he’d been searching for.

  Taking a rubber band and a syringe out of his jacket, Begg held them out to Roy.

  “It’s…drugs. Shoot…this.”

  Roy looked at the syringe and band that had been unexpectedly handed to him. He had no idea what was going on.

  “It’s…a…stronger…version of…what…you…used…to…use…all…the…time. A drug…cocktail…I made…mixed…with…stimulant
s. If…you…shoot…that, you’ll…probably…never…be able…to come…back…to…this…world.”

  Edith hadn’t known what he was talking about at first, but as soon as she realized what he meant, she shouted:

  “What…? Hey, you! What are you thinking, out of the blue?! He couldn’t do a thing like…!”

  As she stood up angrily, a gleaming black gun muzzle came to bear on her.

  “Un…fortunately, you…can’t…refuse.”

  “Edith!”

  Roy hastily scrambled to his feet, but the man pulled Edith back toward him, then pressed the gun to her temple.

  “Show…me. Let…me…see…you…die…smiling. Let…me…see…you…feel…the…world. Show me…your…pleasure. Your…world.” He set his finger on the trigger, his tone gradually growing more emphatic.

  “I…I don’t get it. Why? Why?! Wha…? Have I been using stuff a crazy guy like you made?! Explain this!”

  Completely ignoring his plea, Begg quietly cocked the hammer. “Do…it…now.”

  Roy huffed, mouth pursing. “All right… All right, just don’t shoot Edith.”

  However, unable to do anything else, he slipped the tight rubber band onto his arm. The veins bulged out right away, and an intense feeling of pressure dominated his arm from his wrist all the way to his fingertips.

  “Stop, Roy! Don’t! You can’t! You’ll die!”

  “Promise me—yeah, promise me! Once I—once I shoot up, you let Edith go. Promise!”

  After a short pause, Begg agreed: “All…right. I…pro…mise.”

  When he heard that, Roy cinched the rubber band even tighter. With no hesitation, he stabbed the syringe into his arm.

  The liquid that filled the chamber was gradually pushed in, until finally it was empty.

  “Roy!”

  Edith screamed and tried to run to him. However, Begg wouldn’t let her go.

  Rather than going back on his promise, it was as if, in his excitement, Begg had forgotten to release her. His eyes were riveted on Roy, in anticipation of the change that was about to occur in him.

  “I’m sorry, Edith,” Roy pleaded. “I’m really sorry. I guess I couldn’t keep my promise. So, well, you know…”

  Although there was no telling what he was thinking, Roy raised his hand.

  “You don’t have to keep your promise, either.”

  That was all he said before he took his left hand, the one he’d raised high in the air…

  —And slammed it into the glass in the corridor window.

  A sharp sound echoed in the corridor, and the window glass shattered into splinters.

  Then Roy jammed his arm down onto the sharp fragments that remained in the window frame.

  A large quantity of blood spurted out, spraying into the air.

  “Roy! Royyyy!”

  Edith screamed, and as Begg realized the intent behind his actions, confusion came into his eyes.

  “You…promised. I took…that shot. After that…I’m…yeah, I’m free to do whatever, right? Right?”

  As his own blood splashed back onto him, he smiled a little.

  “Point…less! Did…you…think…that would…be…enough…to get all…the drugs…out of your arm?!”

  “Won’t know unless I try, will I?”

  “That’s…insane. Why? If…you’re…going to…go…that…far, why…can’t you…accept…the world?! If…you’re…going…to die…anyway, don’t…you want…to…die…in the midst…of…pleasure? To die…in your…own…world?”

  Roy snorted at Begg’s question, smiling with lips that were wet with blood.

  “I’m the one who knows the world I saw the best. I know it real well. I’ve been there over and over and over, see. It felt insanely good. That’s why I remember it so well.”

  “Then, why?”

  “Yeah, I remember it clearly. That’s why I don’t want to go!” Glaring at Begg, who was still holding Edith, he mustered the biggest voice he could manage. It was almost like a triumphant war cry, declaring his victory. “In that world, over on that side, there’s no Edith! That’s what I remember most! So, hurry up, let her go! Please let her go!”

  Dragging his arm, which was dripping with blood, he steadily approached Begg, step by step.

  “Don’t—don’t break my world!”

  He took the words he’d once yelled at Edith when she tried to pull him back from the world on the other side and slammed them into the world Begg wanted.

  If he let Edith go now and the man died, he would probably die smiling…having denied everything about Begg’s drugs.

  If he killed Edith, the man would die without any hope or happiness at all.

  Either way, the result would be far from his ideal.

  Fierce sadness and hatred mixed inside Begg. It felt as if everything he’d ever been had been denied. He couldn’t forgive Roy, and at the same time, he desperately wanted to save him.

  Tell me, Maiza. What should I do? This feeling… Is this the “exhaustion of the soul” you mentioned? Well? Tell me. Tell me—

  Shoving Edith toward Roy, Begg pointed the gun at the side of his own head.

  “If…you…get…him to…the hospital now, you’ll…probably…make…it in…time. Get…out…before…I…regenerate. Other…wise…I…think…I…might…kill…you…both.”

  The next instant, a small gunshot sounded in the corridor.

  As if that sound had been a signal, Roy fell into deep darkness.

  “I’d call that a success.”

  “Yes, a huge success!”

  Having toppled all the dominos, the Martillo Family was brimming over with a sense of achievement.

  Several thousand domino tiles littered the floor, and the pattern they’d drawn was still faintly visible.

  As the feeling of accomplishment enveloped the entire place, only Firo, who’d declined to participate in the carnival, felt oddly excluded.

  Since Lia had taken part as well, his lunch still hadn’t arrived.

  “I mean, it’s fine and all. I don’t care.”

  While he watched Isaac and Miria dance on the carpet of tiles, flamenco-style, out of the corner of his eye, he muttered spitefully, “So who’s going to clean all this up…?”

  But dropping his gaze to the floor, Firo noticed something.

  He’d thought it was just a group of geometric designs, but there was some sort of birdlike thing depicted in the center.

  “Maiza, what’s that?”

  The designer seemed a little embarrassed as he answered the question. “Oh, it’s Phoinix.”

  Phoinix. He’d heard that word somewhere before, but the memory was fuzzy.

  “He was one of the gods worshipped in Phoenicia. He wasn’t originally shaped like a bird, but now he’s classed with various sacred birds and known as the phoenix.”

  “Ah.”

  He understood phoenix. It was a mythological, immortal bird that threw itself into the flames and was reincarnated, over and over again.

  “The two of them said they wanted me to include a phoenix, no matter what.”

  Overhearing those words, Isaac and Miria broke into the conversation, although they didn’t stop dancing.

  “It’s perfect for dominos, isn’t it? No matter how often you knock them down, they always get back up again!”

  “Yes, and when it comes back, it’s much, much prettier than it was when it flew into the fire!”

  “Huh.”

  Firo meant to let the comment go in one ear and out the other, but their words gave him a bad feeling, and he muttered:

  “Wait, don’t tell me… Are you gonna do this again? Make it even more impressive than the one you just knocked down?”

  “Well, of course,” Isaac said.

  “That’s the duty of those who topple dominos!” shouted Miria.

  On hearing their innocent resolution, Firo held his head and slumped facedown over the counter.

  “Gimme a break…”

  A phoenix, hmm?


  As Maiza watched Firo, Isaac, and Miria’s exchange, he smiled a little ironically.

  Getting through the jaws of death again and again, then coming back even stronger: It’s humanity in a nutshell.

  Even if it was also immortal, it was a completely different being from the immortals.

  In terms of mythology, we’re like the Tower of Babel. We aim for the heights, but we’re no match for the birds, and when we fall, that’s the end of everything.

  “Ordinary humans are much closer to gods than we are. Don’t you agree, Begg?”

  Knocking back the liquor in his glass, Maiza grumbled quietly to a friend who wasn’t there.

  January 3, 1932 The Daily Days newspaper

  “First, Tick over at the Gandors’ got information on Gustavo’s pilfering out of the man they nabbed. In exchange for that information, I told Keith how to contact Bartolo, although I don’t know what sort of conversation they had. Then we told Miss Edith about the strategy Keith and the others were setting up, as a way to save Roy… Or, rather, we’d already been pulled in as well, and we were only following Keith’s group blindly.”

  The voice from behind the documents was cheerfully giving a rough outline of the incident.

  The explanation they’d railroaded through with the police regarding the affair had been that Gustavo, hopped up on drugs and deranged, had rampaged around the offices of the newspaper, which had been about to run an article on the dangers of the drugs his group was dealing.

  They hadn’t had to fabricate evidence: They’d put the black bag beside Gustavo. If the police investigated the drugs they found inside it, someday the stuff the Runoratas dealt would be regulated by the law as well. There had already been incidents of assault and damage to property, so the law would handle things smoothly. The government loved frame-ups, too. All in all, the men decided that even if the truth was noticed, there wouldn’t be a problem.

  “Well, I’m just glad you’re all safe. They’ll probably send Gustavo straight from the hospital to prison, so I expect it’s all right to consider this incident closed.”