Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Volume 5 Chapter 4

Warnings: Heavy descriptions of child abuse and domestic violence.

Top of the Fourth Inning

It seemed like the time needed to find the child would take a while. Lin got out of bed earlier than usual and washed up. Banba was already dressed.

"……I'm hungry."

Lin said while stifling a yawn. "Should I make some ramen?" Banba asked, heading to the sink. He was going to take out cup ramen from the cupboard.

"No, I feel like having rice today." They had been having nothing but ramen recently, so Lin wanted to have something different once in awhile. "You still got mentaiko left, right?"

The rice cooker was empty. Banba consented although he made a slightly annoyed face when Lin chose an option that would take some time. "……Fine."

After a few moments, Lin heard the sound of the rice being washed. He turned on the TV, deciding to watch the news program for a bit while Banba was preparing the rice. The latest event was being reported. 'Mari Aikawsan – a housewife living in the Hakata ward was found dead in her own home by her youngest daughter when she came home from-'

Lin immediately came alert, his eyes widening. "……You serious?"

It was their client from the night before. The photo of the woman shown on the television was without a doubt that mother they met.

"Hey, Banba." Lin quickly called out to Banba who was standing in front of the sink. "Banba!"

"Wait another second, I'm was.h.i.+n' them right now."

"The rice doesn't matter! Look at this!" Lin yelled, pointing to the television screen.

Banba walked over while drying off his soaked hands. "Ah," he muttered when he saw the news.

"That woman was murdered."

They could not eat food nonchalantly at the moment. Lin and Banba looked at each other and immediately ran out of the office.

"How come you guys get nothing but troublesome clients?" Enokida, having heard the full story from the two, said more cheerfully than usual. "You got real catchers at your home."

Banba muttered with an annoyed expression. "……I wanna know too."

Lin and Banba had headed straight to Nakasu once they left the office. Enokida was in his usual cafe. They approached him as he was having his snack and brought up the unexpected developments involving their client.

"So how did your end go?" Lin asked him. "Did you find out anything?"

Enokida was tasked to find information on Mari Aikawa. He looked at his computer screen and read his results. "I looked into her, but Mari Aikawa was just an ordinary person."

"Really?"

"I looked back a few decades, and she has zero connections to the underground."

But Enokida then clarified.

"However, this woman was taken under the CFWS."

"The CFWS?"

"Child and Family Welfare Services. Someone reported her for abusing her daughter. This is the report here."

Banba and Lin looked at the piece of paper handed to them simultaneously.

"A neighbor reported hearing a hysteric yell and a child crying. When the personel went to visit the household, they found the eldest daughter Rena with a huge bruise on her cheek. The mother proclaimed that her daughter fell over and crashed into something during her interview, and Renchan also covered for her mother, so the CFWS wasn't able to take action. In the end, they had to release the mother from the establishment."

"I see." Banba groaned. "That's why she didn't report to the police."

The reason why Mari Aikawa did not report to the police and reached out to a private detective instead was that. It had intrigued them, but now it was clear as day.

She was afraid of being found out for abusing her daughter.

"Then do you think her daughter disappearing was a ruse?"

Maybe she had gone too far and accidentally killed her daughter. The possibility that she disposed of the body and attempted to showcase it as a disappearance was there.

"Perhaps," Enokida snorted. "Well, we won't know unless we ask the person herself."

The sole person who knew was no longer in this world.

"Do you know who killed Mari Aikawa?"

Lin was wondered if this man had found other information on her.

"Look at this."

Enokida told them, moving the computer screen to face them. An image of the crime scene was displayed on it. A woman, dripping in blood, was hung upside down.

"This is Mari Aikawa's body. s.h.i.+gematsu-san sent this to me discreetly. This is quite intriguing."

Enokida hit a key, enlarging the image to the close up of the victim's face.

"What the heck is that……?" Lin's eyes widened.

There was paint on the body's face. There were heart shapes on both of its cheeks. They were crooked, as though a child drew them.

"The culprit drew these on the body's face. With the victim's own blood."

"Why would they do that?" Lin found it incomprehensible. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Perhaps it is his signature."

"……His signature?"

"He leaves a sign on the body or at the scene to indicate it was him that killed them. There are only two types of people who would do this: a psychopath or-"

"A hitman."

When Banba whispered that, Enokida nodded in agreement, "yes. There were those murders of the yakuza guys from Noma Group a few days ago, right?" Enokida put up a different image on the screen. "This is a photo of that crime scene. They were attacked while they were in the middle of carrying out a drug exchange."

"……They're the same." Lin whispered, looking a the photo.

There were three bodies of men there. They were killed in the same manner Mari Arikawa was. They bled out and were hung upside down. That was not all. They had the same marks on their faces.

"Indeed. You can see the victims in this case have the same signature."

"What's the chance of it being an impersonator?"

"Unlikely. The details on how they were hung upside down and that they had marks on their face was not released to the media."

No one else could imitate that style. Unless the culprit was among the investigators.

"When I looked further into it, I found a lot of other cases just like these that happened in the past. Drug dealers handling the trade of drugs like the Noma Group did were killed in the same fas.h.i.+on. Although, since these helped eliminate harmful insects that flooded the populace with drugs, the police just treated it like a conflict between other gangs and let the cases off the hook like that."

However, Lin could not see a connection between those cases and this one. Banba also tilted his head in confusion. "Fellas who handle drugs and a mother who abuses her child……The two targets are completely different."

"Exactly." Enokida exclaimed. "A serial killer psychopath just targeted a certain category of people."

If someone preferred blondes, then they would only target blonde women. If someone resented large men, then they would only target large men. If the culprit was a psychopath, then they should have similar targets.

However, the victims for the two examples differed.

"So then it was the work of a hitman?"

"That would be the appropriate a.s.sumption." Enokida replied ambiguously. "But I feel it's a bit different."

Banba examined Enokida's face closely at that.

"……Enokidkun," he narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "Do ya know somethin'?"

"Eh?" Enokida played dumb. "What do you mean?"

"Dontcha try to hide it."

Enokida relented when Banba pressed him for an answer with a stern voice. "I'm not match for you, Banbsan."

He had no intention of hiding it now. Enokida chuckled untimidly.

"Truth is, it was my fault that Mari Aikawa got murdered."

"Ha?" Lin frowned at his unexpected statement. "What do you mean by that?"

"This man who was killed," Enokida pointed to one of the three bodies in the photo. "He was a client of mine. I would often give him information, and yesterday I got a job from him. He said he wanted information on abusive parents. But he was already dead by the time that message was sent."

Getting a job from a dead man was beyond peculiar.

"So the culprit pretended to be this man and asked you to do that?"

"Probably. And I even sent them those CFWS reports. The information on Mari Aikawa and her daughter was among them. And now the other day, Mari Aikawa was found dead."

'It is my fault that Mari Aikawa got murdered.' Enokida was not wrong when he said that. It was difficult to consider the person who asked Enokida for information and the person who murdered Mari Aikawa as different people. Enokida's information had lead that woman to death.

I hope Enokida didn't had over that information while aware they were a fake. Lin could not help but think that. There was no way that this sharp man did not see through the imposter.

"Can you find the culprit's location with your hacking skills?"

"I tried, but they already discarded the cell phone. I was a step too slow. Here, this is the newest case." Enokida took out his smartphone and showed the screen to the two. An article on a murder case that happened in f.u.kuoka was shown on a news website on the internet. The name of the victim was Ryouji Aoyama. He was a company employee, age thirty-two. "This man was also taken under CFWS for abusing his son."

This murder case had the same objective as Aikawa's.

"So you're saying you left the culprit fodder?" Lin grimaced. "How many reports on people did you send to them?"

"Thirty people altogether."

Having said that, Enokida placed a stack of papers down onto the table; it was the information on abuse he had collected.

They glanced through the data. Mari Aikawa, Ryouji Aoyama, Hiros.h.i.+ Is.h.i.+hara, Kazumi Ueda. Lin sighed as he looked at the thirty names of parents on the list. "Because of you, thirty people will be sacrificed. You better reflect on that."

"I do know it was wrong of me to do, you know?" Enokida told him, smiling.

Liar, Lin muttered in his mind. As if this guy would reflect on anything he does.

"Hey, do you know of benitsuchikamemus.h.i.+?"

Lin c.o.c.ked his head at Enokida's abrupt question. "No idea. Where are you going with this?"

"Benitsuchikamemus.h.i.+ are bugs that raise children. They'll bring food  and provide for their own children. Don't you think that's cool?" Enokida glanced at the stack of data files and stated ironically. "I find it ridiculous that those bugs could raise children right, but people like these won't even feed their child properly and would just lash out at them violently instead. I don't imagine anyone would be sad when these parents – the worst of the worst – die."

He was not reflecting on his actions at all.

After Lin had glared at the defiant information with a side glance, Banba, who had remained silent the whole time, spoke. "……What do ya reckon' the culprit's objective is?"

He considered they were going around and killing anyone involved in purchasing and selling drugs, but now they were targeting child abusers. He had the impression that the person was killing selected groups indiscriminately now. He could not figure out the culprit's motive. However, he could say one thing for certain. Whether the person behind these acts was a hitman, a psychopath, or a serial killer, they certainly could not be stopped anytime soon.

"What's the possibility that the person who killed Mari Aikawa is the same as the one who abducted her child?"

"Impossible. The daughter was taken before I provided the information to the guy."

Banba hoped they could get some sort of lead if Rena Aikawa's disappearance was linked to the murder of her mother, but there was not.

"So what are you two going to do now?" Enokida asked. "Your client is dead, so there's no more need for you two to get involved in the case, right?"

"Since a child is missin', we can't overlook that."

"She's probably already been killed."

"……You're merciless."

"Even if you managed to save her by some chance, she's going to have some emotional scars for the rest of her life."

Enokida whispered as he looked at the photo of Mari's body.

"Did you know? There's more than 60,000 cases of child abuse reported every year? It's only been on the rise since 1990. And if you factor in the number of crimes committed, then they're even more absurd."

Only a small portion of children among those numbers would make the news and made public. Many children in j.a.pan lived their lives while being tormented by their guardians because the populace was unaware.

"This country is sick." They did not hear the usual joke in Enokida's words. "From drugs to abuse……I can get this guy's desire to kill people like that."

They were not as frequent as before, but there were occasions the past would come to her mind. Sometimes it would be when she was watching TV, when she was just about to go to bed, or when she laid between the blankets. Or even like today, when she became lost in thought at school. For an abrupt moment, the memories of her past flickered by in her mind.

Even as she looked at the blackboard, resting her chin in her hand, the scenes from a few years ago would appear before her.

That man was the worst.

She wished he would die.

What did her mother like in a man like him?

Misaki could not help but wonder to herself.

Her new father who her mother brought into their family hardly worked and spent every day in pinball parlors and mahjong clubs. Whenever her mother would try to confront him about it, her step-father would go into a rage. 'Shut up, you d.a.m.n woman! Acting like you're all high and mighty and s.h.i.+t!' He hit her mother as he said those words.

Her step-father's violence grew worse and worse by the day. Whenever he was in a foul mood, he would even hit the then four year-old Misaki. Whenever her mother would try to advice him, he would take offense to it and strike her.

Misaki hated that home. She felt awful being there.

She despised meal times even more.

'The food is s.h.i.+t.' 'The miso soup is cold.' 'You make nothing but the things I hate.' Her step-father jeered every time they sat down for dinner. Misaki always ate her food quietly, as not to incur his wrath. Whenever she made even a little bit of noise, he would go into a rage, yelling at her that she had ate disgustingly, spitting saliva or grains of rice at her face. And even when she was eating properly, he would hound her like a delinquent would in a fight, saying, 'I don't like how you're eating,' or, 'you're making fun of adults.'

Everyday she would unhinge her unreasonable father in some way. There was nothing a four year-old could do. She had no way or ability to fight back; she could only wait for the storm to pa.s.s.

How long would this h.e.l.l continue on for? Misaki would pray for her father to calm down as quickly as possible as she watched her mother being repeatedly beaten by him.

Then one day, her mother disappeared. She had runaway, leaving Misaki behind.

Now her mother would not get beaten up anymore. She should be glad. But instead, a hollowing feeling of loss and despair clamoured in her heart.

She had been abandoned.

Even though she had considered her mother to be her sole protector.

Living with the man was miserable. Misaki was not even able to go to kindergarten, so she remained only at the house. She would dig through the refrigerator for food while the man was out at pinball parlors and watched educational TV programs and dramas so she would not forget words.

She was always hungry and was not properly clean. She was in a terrible environment, but it did not end there. The h.e.l.l only grew worse. When the woman ran away, that man had went into a fit of anger. He drowned himself in even more alcohol and lashed out more frequently than before. And he had let out all his stress on Misaki.

When night fell, the man would coerce Misaki to pour him his drinks. He would order the four year-old girl to hold the heavy bottle and pour it for him. If she spilled any at all or did not pour enough for him, the man would scold her in a large voice and smack her upside the head. The level of violence gradually escalated as the man would strike at Misaki daily, finding a fault even in the most trivial of actions. He did this in place of her mother. And Misaki continued to hold up against it. She always braced herself, tense, expecting to be attacked at any time.

One time, Misaki was kicked in the stomach and because her arm was held up in a twist her right arm and ribs broke. The man had taken Misaki to a hospital and told the doctor that she got those injuries in a fight with a friend. The man was worried that the doctor would still suspect him of abuse. So since then, he had changed tactics.

'Hey, come here.'

The man called for Misaki at nightfall. He thrust a bottle of j.a.panese sake, holding a cigarette in his mouth as he lit it, and ordered, 'pour it.'

Misaki gripped the s...o...b..ttle with her tiny hands. She tried adding strength to hold it, but her arm shook from the weight. Unable to pour the drink into the narrow gla.s.s, she spilled the alcohol onto the man's hand.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing?! You stupid kid!"

The man yelled at Misaki as usual and grabbed her arm. He pushed her to the ground and got on top of her so she could not escape, restraining her. The man rolled up her clothes. He picked up the burnt cigarette and pressed the tip against Misaki's back.

A scream fell from her lips.

It burns.

It hurts.

I'm scared.

The man laughed above her as she wailed, pressing the cigarette repeatedly into her back. Every time he did she would hear the crisp sound of flesh burning, and there was a sharp pain that shot through her.

Misaki lost control of her bladder from the immense fear and pain. "You dare p.i.s.s yourself? You're disgusting." The man swore at her. While the man moved back away from her, Misaki rushed into the closet to hide.

"Hey, come out 'ere!"

The man's yelling drew closer. The man sounded more menacing than ever before.

She thought he would kill her. She could not stop shaking.

"I told you to get the h.e.l.l out here!"

The man's arm reached out to her and grabbed a hold on her leg. Just when he attempted to drag her out, they heard a cheerful voice, unfitting to the situation going on around them.

"Hii~, good evening."

"……Ahh?" Misaki's step-father let go of her leg and turned around to face the speaker. He was shocked to see a sudden intruder. "Who are you?"

Misaki also observed what was going on outside from the open s.p.a.ce to the closet.

"The door was unlocked, so I let myself in." An unfamiliar man stood inside the room. Even though he was a man, he spoke femininely. "Oh my, it reeks of alcohol in here."

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?!" Her step-father raised his voice.

"I'm an avenger."

Ah-ven-ger?

The young Misaki had no idea who this man was. She was unsure whether he was an ally or an enemy.

The avenger went on to explain to the dumbfounded man, "I got a job request from your wife. She told me she wanted me to avenge her by beating you up endlessly."

The avenger then grabbed the man by his collar and punched him in the face. He made more punches, over and over again.

Misaki watched the scene unfold in front of her silently.

The man who had always lashed out at her mother so arrogantly was now being beaten up. His face swelled up, blood dripping from his mouth. He pleaded for mercy while crying out in pain pathetically.

After a while, the man lost consciousness.

"……What's this?"

The avenger had noticed her presence. His eyes were wide in surprise.

He found me!

Misaki braced herself.

"Come on out," the avenger held out his hand to her. "It's alright; I won't do anything to you."

He had a gentle smile.

Misaki fearfully grabbed that hand. The avenger padded her head gently once she got out of the closet. "You're okay now. You did well."

He had large, warm hands.

"……Avenger-san." Misaki looked up at him with a tear-stricken face. "Thank you for taking down dad."

Bottom of the Fourth Inning

Researching into the avengers was proceeding well. A certain man saw the post on Undergroundjobs and gave them their contact information. From what Sanjou's lackey told him, the person who provided them the information had contacted an avenger for a job a few months prior and had been introduced to the avenger via someone else's recommendation. He had contacted the avenger and met with him in a restaurant in the city. The man was around his thirties, tall, and gentle-mannered.

'Capture the avenger and make him acknowledge the brutal acts he did to Shota Yamazaki.' Those were the orders Sanjou received. He was allowed to be a bit rough with him, but he could not take his life. The client that was the Yamazaki household had the right to decide the avenger's fate.

Sanjou's lackeys, including Ishara, made contact with the man. They both used e-mail addresses that could be discarded, but they had safely set up an appointment to meet directly. They would meet with him at nine in the afternoon. The location would be at a bar in Nakasu called the Smokin hot.

When Is.h.i.+hara got into the car and left home, he picked up a man younger than him named Kase at the office. Kase got into the pa.s.senger's seat, and they headed for Nakasu.

"What's wrong, Is.h.i.+harsan?"  Kase addressed Is.h.i.+hara, who was looking in the rearview mirror wearilly.

"……I feel like that vehicle is following us."

He once again looked at the mirror. A few cars behind them, there was a bright red RV trailing behind them. He saw that car since he had left home.

"Which one?"

"The red one."

Kase turned around to check for the car in question.

"As if anyone would tail us in a conspicuous car like that." He chuckled.

It was as he said. It was too obvious for someone to be tailing them. "Well, just in case maybe I should shake them off."

Is.h.i.+hara turned the wheel sharply. They had more than enough time until their meeting. There was no issue in taking a little roundabout way to get there.