Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Volume 3 Chapter 4

Top of Fourth Inning

Four years since he entered the facility, Lin had grown a little bit. He had gotten taller and gained some weight. And recently he felt like the bed he slept on in his cell has gotten more narrow. His slim limbs and his ribs visible on his stomach had supple muscle. He persisted through the intense muscle training and honed himself not just in body and soul. He also had training to follow moving objects, discern poisons by scene, and train his senses. He was taught the necessary knowledge in order to kill someone as well.

Lin felt like he truly had grown strong. He was nothing like his past self who would break from just a two hour marathon. There was no doubt he grew strong. Nonetheless, in front of the instructor they all were just thirteen year-old children to him. No matter how much taller they all had gotten and got closer to meeting him in the eye, under his cold gaze they could not help but shake, and they followed his orders loyally. They still felt the difference in overwhelming strength. They were no match against this man. They could not oppose him. That was imprinted in their minds, Lin included, since a young age and that pulled at their hearts.

As such,

"Fight me with the intent to kill me."

When he gave them that order they honestly wavered. They had an exam once a month at the facility. They called it the 'monthly exams,' and the curriculum was divided into subject and practical skill sections, most of which were application question they learned daily in lecture or during drills. The two trainees paired with each other would get their scores totalled together, and the most talented group with the best grades would receive a reward. Thus all the trainees desperately worked hard in studies and training.

There was one other reason they were so desperate. The results of these exams would greatly impact their future employment. If they did not do well with their grades they would be regarded as 'a useless weapon,' and buyers would have no use for them. In the worst case scenario, they would be used as a sacrificial p.a.w.n and sold at the price of cattle to be sent head first onto the battlefield, rus.h.i.+ng towards enemy soldiers with bombs in their arms. When the instructor told them that, the trainees had paled. Although, no matter what they do they would be employed into a dangerous career where they had a high chance in losing their lives on duty. Nonetheless, they considered the former as the better option than to receive the role as human bomb.

The four subjects of the exam were: 'education,' 'language study,' 'knowledge for a.s.sa.s.sination in battle,' and 'memory & observation ability.' Since they were separated from society, the exam covered various topics from general common knowledge so they could live and not stand out when they do return to society again to necessary skills including knowledge on world affairs, how to read and write various languages, and how to use weapons and learning the vital points on the human body for combat.

The subject they particularly paid attention to was 'memory & observation ability.' They were tested on how much information of a situation they could retain. For instance, after being shown an image and looking at it for thirty minutes, they would be asked, 'what is the color of the man's clothes running from the right? What is the plate number of the vehicle parked in the back?' They would be asked a vast amount of questions, and they had to answer them correctly. They even had one problem in the past where they were shown a photo of fifty men and their names for a certain time frame, and afterwards were shown a picture of one of the men and had to answer what the man's name was.

Once they finished testing all the core subjects, they took an exam in practical application. For that, they generally had three subjects: 'physical ability,' 'target practice,' and 'combat.'

'Physical ability' was also referred to as their physical strength test. They were evaluated on their speed, endurance, arm strength, output.

For 'target practice' they used various ranged weapons. They had used handguns to shoot targets at a shooting range, and other times they had to hit dummies set up in the distance with a rifle. They even had used a crossbow to shoot at animals before. Their time from setting up and taking position to evacuating the scene was marked as well.

For 'combat' they fought another person in a fenced in area they could not escape from. They fought a variety of opponents, from ex-servicemen and martial art instructors to active boxers making black money in gambling matches. Their opponent for the combat exam this time was surprisingly the instructor.

"Fight me with the intent to kill me." He ordered them in his usual manner.

The exam began. They had a five minute time limit. Lin grasped the knife he received and quickly closed the distance. With the intent to kill – he reflected over the instructor's words and put force behind the weapon he gripped tightly. The other man was unarmed.

He swung the knife down and tried to make a slice on the instructor. However, he had predicted it and warded it off with the smack of his hand. He had three minutes left. He had no time. Lin started to get impatient. And he must have made himself open to an attack because of it. He made a huge swing, and an opening was made. The instructor was able to deliver in a kick. The hard tip of his boot struck into Lin's side. Ow, Lin grimaced. But that was it. He had grown used to the pain. He was trained to be accustomed to it.

He fixed his posture and attacked again. He used the blade in his right hand as a trap to punch the man in the face with his left. However, the man caught Lin's fist and twisted it.

"Finished."

That was the sign that the exam had finished. Five minutes had pa.s.sed. It had ended with Lin unable to do anything against him.

"I believe I told you to fight with the intent to kill me?"

The instructor had a tone of despondency. Lin was disgraced by the results of the exam.

"You must have underestimated me as well."

At that statement, Lin had a realization. The man saw through him; that Lin did not take his order seriously. Lin had no intention of killing him. More specifically he thought he must not kill him. He did not desire to kill anyone. He did not want to do it. Even as he had been taking cla.s.ses for it he still rejected the act in his mind.

That was natural, he thought. Murder was a crime. The notion that they must not kill people could not simply be shaken off. No matter how many killing techniques they learned, he could not become a murderer. People could not kill others.

"The angle of your blade is important. Your attack just now could only graze the skin."

You were taught a person's vitals, right? The instructor shrugged his shoulders out of exasperation. Lin could do nothing but sit in silence.

The man turned his back to Lin and said one final statement. "If you hesitate for even an instant, you'll lose your life. That is the world you'll be living in from now on."

And with that he had finished all his course exams.

The next day they received the results from their monthly exams. All of their subjects were marked from the top in order: excellent, good, average, below average, and poor. They showed their individual grades and the group grade that was averaged out between the points the two received. Lin's grades was always at the top among the trainees.

"We did it. We're the top group."

Feilang called out to him as he was looking at his grades. His personal grade was in second place.

"You got 'excellent' for shooting? That's awesome. I got 'below average' for that."

"Didn't you get an excellent grade for it last month?"

"It was because last time I had to use a crossbow. I'm not good with guns."

It was a custom for them to compare each other's grades.

"You're really good at j.a.panese. I'm not good with that language. I don't get that hiragana and katakana stuff."

Their scores in language studies could affect which country they would be dispatched to.

"And while I'm good at English, you're not as good with it. But if we team up, we'll be fine."

Definitely, he nodded in agreement. They both varied in what they specialized in and what they lacked skill in.

"That's right. Hey, Mao." Feilang gave him a grin. "When we get out of here, how about we work together?"

"……Eh?"

For a moment he was bewildered. Lin was solely focused on leaving this place he never considered what to do afterwards.

Feilang spoke excitingly with his eyes alight. "We probably can't do it right away, but we totally will meet up again. And when he do we can team up, save a bunch of money, and spend our day-to-day lives enjoying ourselves."

"That sounds great." Lin raised his voice. "We'll be stronger than anyone if we team up."

They would undoubtedly make a great team.

I can't wait. I want to become free already. I want to go outside. He started to feel elevated. All the activities he wanted to do pa.s.sed through his mind consecutively. That's right, he recalled.

"When that happens you should come over to my house. We're poor, so we might not be able to do much, but I want to introduce you to my family."

Feilang nodded multiple times.

"I'll come. I'll definitely come to see you. I can't wait."

The two laughed, discussing their dreams excitingly. They could just continue to laugh like this from now on together. And to accomplish that, they had to pa.s.s the exams and obtain freedom.

"…….Our final exam is just around the corner."

A half year from now they would have their final exam. If they pa.s.sed that, then they could leave this establishment.

"It is." Feilang muttered.

All the trainees spent these five years yearning for freedom. There were even groups who tried to break out, got captured and put into the punishment chamber for it. Although they never returned.

There were more than a handful of times the harsh training made him want to try and escape. But each time he overcame the trials with Feilang. His presence was a huge support for him. They had helped each other out and managed to get through it. Feilang was his best partner.

"…….Thank you, Feilang." Lin stated in a small voice. This was the first time he had said his thanks directly. He felt a little bashful. "I made it all the way here because you were here."

"That's the same for me."

Feilang smiled back.

"Let's give it our best for the final exam."

He faced Lin and held out his right hand.

"Yeah." Lin grabbed that hand and nodded deeply. "Let's pa.s.s, together."

"We're going to pa.s.s, and the two of us are going to leave this place."

They exchanged a handshake and made that vow.

This would be the end. Their five years here would soon come to an end. They managed to overcome the cruel training they were put through. No matter what the final exam had in store for them, they would pa.s.s without fail. It would be alright if they were together. Lin had that confidence.

Until that time.

Bottom of Fourth Inning

Again.

He had been thinking a lot about the past as of late. They were present enough he would see them in dreams. Is this some kind of omen? His heart pounded in his chest. He woke up feeling unwell, and he could not shake off the feeling.

Banba was nowhere to be seen in the office. He must have went out. He's probably at the batting cage, Lin slumped his shoulders.

It was around the afternoon. He did not have any particular plans for the day. Guess I could go out and do some shopping, he considered and stood up. When he was like this, the best thing to do was to spend some money and get new items he liked to make him feel better, like clothes, shoes and makeup. He had enough money to buy as much as he wanted. He no longer had to limit himself on how much he could buy like before.

He went to change and took off his sweat covered T-s.h.i.+rt. He looked over his bare body. I look so unsightly, he thought to himself. He had numerous, old scars across his whole body. These scars he received during training in the facility.

There was one particular scar that stood out across his rib cage on his side – a mark made during a torture session. The establishment had them go through training to bear with torture in the instance they ever got captured by the enemy and could not tell them any information.

Now thinking back on it, it was rather extreme.

They were first shown a photo. On it had the profile of a certain man. They had to remember his name, age, address, career and other bits of information on him. No one else knew of its contents. After they were shown it, the trainee would be locked into a small room. They would be left alone with a torturer they hired and would be subjected to torture for half the day. The torturer would show the photo of the man and would try to force the trainee to give him the information they wanted with every possible method on hand. They would hit them, kick them, cut them and stab them. The torturer would hurt them using several incentives to get them to speak and have them get familiar with the different kinds of pain. They were to be conditioned to be able to control their fear and withstand the intense pain, no matter what the torturer may do to them or how much pain they would be inflicted upon with. That was the instructor's idea.

'You must fight the fear, not the pain. If you feel fear, you'll be more susceptible to talk. Don't imagine it. If you imagine what they will do, then fear will take over you. Prepare for the pain and seize the torture.'

That was what the instructor had told them.

And even in that they were evaluated. They were graded out of a hundred based on how much they were able to endure it and on how much did they talk. He received nothing but hard training there, but there was nothing worse than that session.

Lin had loathed the instructor at the time. He was an inhumane, cold, s.a.d.i.s.tic man who did not bleed or cry tears. When I leave here the first thing I'm going to do is kill you. I'll have you put through the same activities you made us do and kill you. So he swore, holding that resentment in his heart while enduring the five years of training, but ironically enough what he learned from the instructor has ended up being useful to him. Even the torture training.

As he was changing, Lin suddenly had a thought. Could I beat the instructor now? Would I be able to kill that man as a lone wolf killer? He wanted to give it a try. He oddly enough had the confidence he would not lose to him. He pondered over whether he should have Enokida find that instructor's whereabouts and smiled to himself.

Maybe it was because he thought of him that he ended up meeting with Enokida when he headed out. He spotted the silver mushroom-head in Tokyu Hands in JR Hakata City. He knew it was him right away. He was wearing a gaudy outfit as usual. He had shopping bags in hand and was about to take the elevator.

"Hey."

Noticing Lin, Enokida raised one hand cheerfully in greeting.

"You shopping?"

"Yeah. I'm out buying materials for a new model."

"New model for?"

"A redback spider keychain for the redback spider transmitter. And then a redback spider hand grenade and a redback spider plastic bomb. When I'm finished making those, I'll give some to you."

"……No thanks. I don't need them."

A grenade and a bomb? He makes even those things? Lin shrugged his shoulders. Does he plan on changing careers and become a weapons dealer or something?

"Ah, that's right."

Enokida suddenly remembered something.

"Do you know of a man named Yang?"

Lin tilted his head in response. "Yahn?"

There were a ton of people with that name in the country. However, there was no one he knew that he could think of with that name.

"No, I don't."

"Then never mind." Enokida left with just that.

It took them less than three hours to get from Busan to f.u.kuoka on the high speed jet. When they arrived in Hakata bay that morning they decided to go around to all the informants to try and find out about Maomei and the Kakyuu Group. Zhao met up with Yang again in the evening. They were at an Asian restaurant that was about a five minute walk from the subway at Ohori Park Station.

"Did you manage to get anything?" Yang asked first after their nasi-goreng with sunny-side-up fried eggs on top and their fresh, red-colored c.o.c.ktails were brought to them.

Zhao shook his head. He ran around f.u.kuoka City and tortured two informants for any intel for half the day, but he was unable to gain any noteworthy information.

"It seems Maomei has changed his name. Looks like he's going by Xianming Lin now. Although I was expecting him to at least have changed his name." Zhao only knew that about Maomei. He sighed as he stabbed the egg yolk with his fork. He wasted precious time. He killed the informants that were of no use to him.

He then exchanged looks with Yang. "And? How did your end go?"

"I have figured out a lot of things about the Kakyuu Group – the organization Maomei was sold to."

Zhao leaned forward and listened closely to what Yang had to say.

"It seems a few executives in the Kakyuu Group have been killed in succession. A few days ago the top head of the organization was a.s.sa.s.sinated. It appears an opposing organization is using the opportunity to plan on annihilating the Kakyuu Group."

"Really?"

"And right now the group has been reaching out to the mediators in the area and are searching for a skilled hitman to hire. This is in an attempt to compensate for battle strength and to fight back against their enemies."

"Wait a second." Zhao tilted his head in confusion. "Maomei is employed by the Kakyuu Group, right? Even though they have a specialized killer working for them, why would they try to hire another one?"

"Wouldn't that mean Maomei is insufficient to them?"

Insufficient?

Feeling as though he was the one who got rejected, Zhao turned sullen. "There's no way that's it."

I can't accept that. We went through h.e.l.lish training and were made to be elites. There's no way he's insufficient.

What's the meaning behind this? Zhao thought over the possibilities. Could it be that Maomei was killed? Is he no longer in this world?

No matter how much he pondered over it, he would just be wasting meaningless time. The fastest way to figure it out was to directly ask someone from there. "Did you make any contacts with anyone in the Kakyuu Group?"

"Of course."

Regardless of the reason, if the Kakyuu Group was searching for a killer then that would be most convenient for him. In exchange of helping them out, he would just have them give information on Xianming Lin.

"Tell them that they have a skilled killer."

"Yes, right away." Yang consented. He then mentioned as though he just recalled it. "……Ah, yes. Sir, take this. This may be of some use to you."

He told him and took out a black shaped object from his pocket.

"What is this?" Zhao questioned.

When he inspected it closer, he saw it was a spider. However, it did not move. Is this a dead one or a fake?

"It seems to be a listening device and transmitter. I received this from an informant I met with earlier today."

Thoroughly inspecting it, he saw a tiny switch on the side of the spider. The power was currently on.

"……I see."

The place Banba met with Enokida at was a ramen shop in JR Hakata City.

"That's right, the fireworks display is gonna happen soon."

Banba muttered to himself, looking at the poster hung on the wall. He read through the details posted on it. The date of the event would be on August 1st from 8 pm until 9:30 pm. It would be held at Ohori Park. They apparently planned to fire 6000 fireworks this year.

"Oh yeah, the one at Ohori, you mean?" Enokida was sitting facing towards him and looked up to glance at the poster. "Looks like there's going to be a crowd of 450,000 people."

"Whoa. There's quite the crowd every year."

The city held the largest fireworks display in f.u.kuoka, and every year on that day the roads and transportation facilities were packed when commuting.

"I wasn't able to go to the Yamakasa this year, so I at least want to see them fireworks."

Just as Banba muttered that keenly their order had arrived. They had ordered two roasted pork fillet with ramen. Enokida began the discussion just as he began eating.

"Anyway, about that case."

Banba had Enokida track the whereabouts of the Kakyuu Group's executives after they went into hiding, but it seemed Enokida was having difficulty with this case for once.

"My spy was killed."

Enokida had a few information providers. He had one of them sneak into the inner workings of the Kakyuu Group to obtain information.

"I suddenly lost contact with him for a period of time, and then just recently he was found in the ocean. You saw that newspaper article about it right? It the body they found in Hakata Bay that died from poisoning."

"Yeah, now that you mention it."

Banba felt like he saw an article on that recently.

"On top of being severely tortured, he was also put into a gas chamber. And they discarded his body in an easy spot to find him."

"So they did it for show."

They probably did it to threaten other traitors in their midst, 'this is what happens when you betray the organization.' And it had an effect.

"I have another helper there too, but he's not in the position to do anything reckless at the moment. They're being very cautious. It's going to be pretty dangerous to find out the locations of the executives right now."

That meant his Kakyuu Group executive hunt would be delayed.

"According to his information, a man named Suzuki is responsible for all of them. It was his suggestion to have all the executives to go into hiding."

"I reckon' if I should just target that Suzuki then. He oughta be in contact with them."

"Probably." Enokida agreed.

"Tell me if you hear of any movement from Suzuki then. I'll tail him."

"Okay. Well, they seem to be busy dealing with an organization called Shou Wan recently, so they probably don't have time to deal with you guys. ……There is another suspiciou figure around though."

"Suspicious figure, you say?" Banba put down his chopsticks and glanced up to Enokida.

"I had a client named Yang who was looking for information on Lin-kun."

"Yahn?"

"This is him."

Enokida showed him a candid photo of the man, but Banba did not recognize him.

"Who is this fella? Is he someone from the Kakyuu Group?"

"Apparently not. He wanted to know about the Kakyuu Group."

What? Banba tilted his head to the side.

If he was searching for information about the Kakyuu Group, then Yang must be someone from an opposing organization. Either way, Banba could not ignore him if he was searching for Lin.

"Do you know where that Yang fella is?"

"Naturally." Enokida took out his laptop from his bag. He typed on his keyboard and brought up his location with the GPS.

However,

"…….Ah."

Enokida's fingers suddenly came to a stop.

"What's the matter there?"

"The transmitter switch has been turned off."

"Oh no."

It seemed he realized he was being tracked.

"This guy is good. He's sharper than I gave him credit for." Enokida made a toothy smile. "He was just in Ohori a little while ago, but the log cuts out there."

It could not be helped then; for now he had no choice but to give up.

"Well, Lin-kun should be fine regardless."

Banba could not nod at Enokida's words. "Nah," he mumbled before slurping his noodles.

"Are you that worried about him? You're overprotective."

"……He's been actin' a little off recently. He's been dazin' off."

"Really?"

"It's like he's lost in thought."

Banba made a small sigh before biting into the roasted pork.

A certain man made contact with Suzuki. It was about an hour ago. It was a Chinese man named Yang. A mediator he was acquainted with called him and told him, 'there are a lot of skilled hitmen that are active in China, so how about hiring them?'

A skilled foreign hitman – his wish that should not have even been granted happened in the most convenient time.

They met up at a shot bar in Nakasu. When Suzuki arrived, Yang had already taken a seat in a booth and was drinking his beverage. He was red in the face, probably due to the intake of alcohol.

After he ordered his drink, Suzuki began to discuss the job.

"Is Zhao capable?"

That was the most crucial point he had to know.

"Of course. He is young but strong." Yang nodded with confidence. "He was raised to be a weapon to kill people since he was nine. Or more accurately, he is a factory-made product."

"A factory-made product……?" Suzuki said that to himself in a murmur.

A factory. He had heard a little bit about it through rumors. It was a training facility that produced soldiers for hire in a certain ministry in China. They also called it the boy weapons factory. "From what I recall, that place gathers poor children from around the world and has them undergo training, right?"

"That's right. Their main interests are boys around ten years of age. And the duration of the training is five years. Only those that pa.s.s all the curriculum will be sold to an organization needing their power through a specialized broker. Zhao is also from that facility. Although he is a freelance killer who has never joined any organization in particular. And I work with him as his mediator. Even during his years as a trainee, Zhao was quite talented, but he really has improved since the graduation exam. I believe his work will more than satisfy you."

If he is talking about him that much, maybe we should give this man a try, Suzuki considered. Although, even if he were to turn down the offer there would be no other options.

"By the way, he wants to make an offer instead of pay."

"What offer?"

What does he mean? Suzuki frowned. He doesn't want money?

"He wants to make a bargain. Zhao is searching for a certain man. If you are willing to aid him in that he will kill any number of people for free. That is what he told me."

Yang gulped down the remainder of his drink and made a bitter smile. "He's a mad man. Pretty much everyone who leaves that factory is crazy. If they weren't, they wouldn't have spent five years in that h.e.l.l of a dump."

"Is that the case……." Suzuki did not quite grasp his meaning once more.

"There is a certain reason for Zhao's upbringing. He was raised rather rebellious. If I can describe it in other words, it would be he is extraordinarily talented." Yang made a fishy smile.

"What do they do in that factory?" He was intrigued. Just what kind of coa.r.s.e environment was the establishment for young boys to go mad in just five years?

"Put simply, it's brainwas.h.i.+ng and corporal punishment. Under the name of training."

Yang spoke with a calm expression.

"In the first two years they build up their basic physical strength. As well as their mind, of course. In order to work globally they are taught English, j.a.panese, and Spanish from a young age. After they strengthen their body, they move to on-hands training. They even learn about weapons."

"……I see." Suzuki murmured. He could not form any other words to it. It was a world he could not imagine – one where very young boys were all gathered and had to undergo harsh training to become hitmen.

"In the facility they usually worked in teams of two. They are put in the same cell and spend time together for twenty-four hours. They are brought up together, distract each other from their loneliness, and support each other to push through the cruel training. They share one's lot together and have dual liability. The other teams are rivals, so they did not intermingle much. They only had their partner they shared a room with to talk to as well as their sole ally."

Yang was quite loquacite. It did not seem to be because of the alcohol. He continued to talk skillfully.

"And then after five years they have their graduation exam. Only the ones who pa.s.s this test are allowed to leave the facility. The ratio of those who pa.s.s are fifty percent. It's a cruel exam."

"Fifty percent……One out of the two then?"

"Yes, one out of the two." Yang nodded. He then began to chuckle. "Naturally it has to be one out of the two."

He smiled in an unsettling way.

"After all the cellmates fight to the death."

"What?"

When Suzuki questioned that, Yang repeated what he said. "The children fight to the death."

Suzuki s.h.i.+vered. This is a twisted world, he thought. He could not say he was in the same position as them.

Yang smiled more and stated.

"They have to fight the partner they share a cell with and pa.s.s when one finishes off the other. That is their final exam."

Thank you to Voissane for editing as always!