kscans

Chapter 17 - With A Naked Heart

On the embankment away from the bustling crowd, he and I sat cross-legged, observing the festivities from afar.

...At least we had put our pants back on.

(What the hell is this situation?)

Everyone else must have sensed something. Still, they kindly refrained from mentioning it.
Thanks to their warm consideration, the anger and other emotions that had started to flare up inside me had subsided.
However, now that I've returned to a neutral state, I'm not sure how to interact with him.

"...You've changed. You've become incomparably stronger than you were back then."
"...That tone of yours, have you washed your hands of the underworld?"

If he were still in the underworld, he would've inevitably heard about me.
Despite that, his attitude suggests that, like Chika-san, he must have distanced himself from that world.

"Yes, I've been like this since you defeated me."
"A man of your caliber could have aimed for a comeback if you were still alive."

This guy's name is Yanagi Seiichi. He was once the leader of the Chaos Army.
Not only was he capable, but he also had charisma. Despite being an organization that advocated for "true chaos," they had unparalleled unity.
Conversely, the True World, which claimed to establish absolute order through the Star's Fallen Children, had a rather rough leader and frequent internal conflicts.
...Anyway. Even though I defeated him, he was still alive. With Yanagi's talents, he should have been more than capable of making a comeback.
In fact, his former underlings were plotting a resurgence behind the scenes.

"...It would be a lie to say I didn't have that intention."
"Then why?"

As I asked, Yanagi gave a small laugh and began to explain.

"Defeat on the brink of achieving a grand ambition was hard enough to bear. But what's more,
I was thwarted by a mere boy with no principles or assertions, just sheer strength.
It would have been better to lose to the True World bunch. I was utterly crushed."

That's harsh. But what's truly terrible is that I can't even argue against it.
Just strong. There couldn't be a more accurate description of me.

"But I didn't have time to be depressed. You may have let me go, but the others wouldn't, right?"
"Yeah. That was actually my intention."
"I thought as much."

I was sharp-edged back then.
I thought it would be better if he was killed by a mob rather than by me, the one who defeated him.
I thought that would be more humiliating. So I spared his life and let him go.
I never heard that he died, but since his shadow never loomed again, most people, including myself, assumed he was dead.
Well, since he's alive, my plan didn't work out.

"I was deeply wounded, not just mentally but physically too. You adjusted it to be prolonged, didn't you?"
"That's right."
"I didn't want to be killed by hyenas preying on a corpse, so I ran. With a broken heart."

He says he couldn't stay in the underworld.
That's understandable. It's not too harsh for individuals, but it's different when you're part of a group.
Those who were lying low and waiting for an opportunity must have been eager to strike down Yanagi in his weakened state, like kicking a dog that's already down.
After all, he was the man who had once elevated his organization to become one of the two major powers in Japan's underworld.
They must have been determined to kill him at all costs before he could make a comeback.

"I considered fleeing abroad, but that would have been too predictable. I decided to stay in the country, but with a twist.
I couldn't stay in the underworld, but I couldn't live in normal places in the surface world either. In the end, I ended up in places like this."

"...I see."

Indeed. No one would have dreamed that the Yanagi would be hiding among the homeless.
That's how he managed to evade his pursuers, so his judgment was correct.
He's truly a capable man. It makes me sick.

"It was humiliating."
"I bet it was."
"But adversity makes people stronger. Thanks to that, I was able to regain my ambition in about a month."

What incredible mental strength...

"However, I couldn't do anything right away. My power hadn't returned, and I knew that even if I recovered, I wouldn't be able to return to the underworld for at least ten years."

And he's level-headed too.
Ah, I realized my past shortsightedness. Of course, he couldn't be killed by a kid's shallow schemes.

"For the sake of a future comeback, I wandered through homeless communities across the country, constantly on the run.
There were only a handful of good things. The bad far outweighed the good. Well, thanks to that, I managed to keep my ambition alive."

?

"...At the same time, another feeling began to sprout. Let me put it bluntly. I was moved by human kindness."
"That's unexpected."
"The bad things were more numerous. But precisely because of that, the good things—human kindness—really touched me."

Despite living in the same rock-bottom conditions, people would show kindness even to unknown drifters.
Not everyone was like that. Such exceptional people were a minority.
However, Yanagi laughed, saying that no matter where he went, if he stayed long enough, he would encounter such people.

"In the end, what I had been doing was unnecessary meddling.
I thought that without intervention, people would degenerate into an unbearable state. That's why I desired chaos.
I believed that if people struggled and persevered in the mud of chaos without breaking or bending, they might eventually bloom.
And those blooming flowers would influence others... Haha, what shallow insight I had."

He spoke self-mockingly, yet somehow cheerfully.
I could only stare at Yanagi's profile with a dumbfounded expression.

"I realized that people can manage without being harshly pushed away or tightly bound."

And at that moment, he says, the ambition that had burned so strongly vanished as if it had been a lie.

"So that's how you ended up like this?"
"Yes."

After a brief silence, I spoke up.

"...With your talents, couldn't you set up some kind of support organization?"

It might be difficult to reach into the core of the nation and make significant changes.
But even if not on a national scale, he should be able to create a considerable flow of money.

"If I had the minimum foundation, sure. But I don't even have a legal identity now. It was erased when I was defeated."

He could probably obtain an identity if he returned to the underworld, but that's difficult too.
Even if it's not discovered initially, once his true identity is revealed, it would harm the people he wants to help.
Yanagi smiles wryly, saying he's made that many enemies.

"...Then, if I guarantee your position, there's no problem, right?"
"What?"
"You might not know, but I'm now the strongest in the underworld. I've saved the world from crisis multiple times."

I have plenty of favors to call in.
Moreover, if I, who has a history with Yanagi, back him up, no one would openly complain.
There might be some who try to do something behind the scenes, but if the environment is set up properly, Yanagi should be able to handle it.
Even if he can't, it won't affect me.
Chika-san, Rika-chan, Hikaru-kun, everyone at the company... the people I want to protect now.
There aren't many who would dare to touch them and incur my displeasure.
Well, there might be some, but the benefits of having a man like Yanagi at their disposal outweigh the risks.

"...I don't understand. What are you thinking?"
"Because of you guys, I ended up losing my friends. I don't intend to forgive that."

But that's that. I'm not a kid anymore either.
Even if I can't forgive the past, I can at least make concessions in the present and future.
At the very least, I can deal with the current Yanagi in a level-headed manner.

"For what purpose?"
"Of course, it's not just out of pure goodwill. It's give and take. I've been wanting the power of a free-thinking strategist."
"..."
"So, what will you do?"
"...There's no loss for me. But are you sure about this?"
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be proposing this. It's a conclusion I've reached after careful consideration."
"...It seems the core of your unpredictability hasn't changed... but to think that child would grow into such an adult... It's quite moving."

Shut up.

"I understand. I'll accept that deal."
"Then it's a contract. Well, let's at least go through the motions to seal the deal."

I took off my pants right there.

"...I see, very well."

He seemed to understand and also took off his clothes.

"Let's go."
"Yeah."

It's a naked dance of reconciliation.