kscans

Chapter 27 -

Midnight Conversation

"Did I keep you waiting? I'm sorry. The cleanup took longer than expected."
"No..."

What's with this exchange?
It's the complete opposite of Yanagi. When that guy reunited with me, he tried to act calm but seemed uncomfortable.
In contrast, this one has the casualness of meeting an old acquaintance. Well, she is an old acquaintance, but... we were enemies, weren't we?

"But my, you've... aged, haven't you?"

She puts her hand to her cheek, muttering in astonishment. Stop putting on airs.

"And your body, well, it's gotten quite sloppy."

Shut up.

"You used to be quite the fashionable one back then, but those clothes from that time, they probably don't fit you anymore, right?"

Yeah, that's right! Exactly!
When I was sorting through old stuff and found clothes I bought back then, I tried to put them on, but it was impossible!
My waist was so tight I couldn't bear it! When I tried to force it, the buttons flew off!!

"You've changed quite a bit yourself, haven't you?"

No, that's not it. It's not good to let her control the pace of the conversation like this.
I sighed deeply and interrupted Onisaki's words.

"Do you understand your position?"

I release a bit of power.
I hit her with enough pressure to easily kill her former self.
In my estimation, Onisaki has become weaker than before. But she nodded without the slightest tremor at my pressure.

"I understand. I'm in a position to beg for my life pathetically now."

Saying that, she knelt down, put both hands and forehead on the ground, and bowed her head.
I'm dumbfounded by such a perfect dogeza, but she continues regardless.

"Satou Hideo. I'm well aware that you have your reasons to resent me. I'm an enemy you can't kill enough times."
"..."
"But, even so, please. Please, just for a little while... spare me."
"..."
"There's something I must do."

...If I were my younger self, I would have said "I see, but die" and cut off her head.
But well, having aged and learned various things, I now understand.
This person is now sincerely begging for a temporary reprieve. And it's not out of fear for her life.

"...I can't give you an immediate answer. I'll decide whether to kill you or not after hearing what you have to say."

I tell her to raise her head and stand up.
We can't have a calm conversation with her on her knees.

"I understand. Where should I start?"
"First, why are you alive?"

I deliberately spared Yanagi to humiliate him.
It was the same with Onisaki, but a bit different from Yanagi.
I wanted to humiliate her too, so I didn't directly finish her off.
But knowing her tenacity well, I did inflict a fatal wound. I also took away her means of recovery.
Then I left her. I thought if I left her, someone who didn't like her existence would kill her like a looter in a fire.
She seemed to have been abandoned by luck in the final battle, and honestly, I thought she had died.
In fact, I heard stories like that later.
Although no body was found, given the situation, it wouldn't have been strange if not even a piece of flesh remained, so I thought she had died...

(Onisaki was strong, but she wasn't good at underhanded tactics...)

She didn't have the brains like Yanagi either.
Abandoned by luck and unable to wield much power, it should have been checkmate.

"Yes. I thought I had died too."
"Then..."
"But several coincidences intertwined, and I managed to escape from the brink of death."

You've got to be kidding me...

"At that time, I was swallowed up by the distortion in space caused by the clash of powers."
"But..."
"Yes, I had received a fatal wound from you and was further exhausted from fighting the pursuers."

That life should have been flickering like a candle in the wind.
How on earth did she survive from there?

"I was saved by a subordinate who was transported with me to where we ended up."
"Subordinate?"

This doesn't make sense. I should have killed all the executives who could have done something beforehand.
In preparation for the final battle with Onisaki, I had cut off several escape routes.
Killing all the executives was part of that. I should have thoroughly crushed those who were skilled in transfer or healing.
To my puzzled look, Onisaki says:

"I understand your doubt. In fact, the one who was with me at that time was more like a caretaker, even if they were a subordinate."

They were from the underworld, but a small fry among small fries.
They tried to intervene to protect Onisaki during the fight with the pursuers, but rather Onisaki herself had to maneuver to protect that subordinate.

"But at the last moment, they awakened to their power."
"Is that even possible!?"

There's no way I could have predicted that!
There's no end to it if I have to factor in the awakening of small fries when making strategies!

"That child took my death in my place, and I was able to survive.
However, faced with the fact that I had lost to you, my ideals were thwarted, and I couldn't protect the subordinate I should have protected, I was completely crushed."

It was then, she says, that she met Mama.
An acquaintance had fallen seriously ill, and she was picked up by Mama, who was temporarily acting as a substitute Mama in the land where Onisaki had been transported.
Well, yeah. Mama wouldn't abandon someone who was in tatters both physically and mentally.

"Having recovered somewhat thanks to Mama's kindness, I initially worked as a boy to repay the debt."

However, gradually thinking that this way of life might be okay... she apparently changed jobs to become an okama.
She says that as she interacted with Mama and various people, she completely gave up on the grand cause she had been advocating, realizing it was wrong.

"Satou Hideo. You said it, didn't you?"
"Huh?"
"'Your dream is just your personal opinion. Don't be so presumptuous.'"
"Ah. I did say that."
"You were right. Even without being bound by order, there are wonderful people like Mama."

And the reverse is also true, Onisaki says with a bitter smile.

"No matter how strongly you try to bind them, there will always be... people who rebel against that and raise the flag of evil."

She says she realized this during her life with Mama.

"In the end, the fact that I was indulging in lawlessness before finding my dream was my own problem.
There was no need to use such a grand subject as 'humanity'... that was just an excuse to avoid responsibility."

...Mama is great, isn't she?
She showed through her way of life, her way of thinking, a flexible way of living to a fool who was running in a strange direction.
Mama, were you actually the protagonist?

"Let me get back to the story. I was having fun with Mama, with the weight off my shoulders, but remember I said it was a substitute at the beginning, right?"
"Yeah."
"In the end, it turned out to be difficult for the original to return, so we had to close the shop."
"Is that so..."
"Mama invited me to come to Tokyo together, but... I couldn't trouble Mama, so I declined."

Of course, it would be too risky to work in Tokyo. It was a natural decision.

"Then I was introduced to a shop run by an acquaintance in Fukuoka, and I started working there."

She smiles, saying that she eventually became independent, owned a shop, and spent happy days.

"But you know, when I stopped and looked back at the past, I thought..."
"What?"
"That there might still be children trapped by the dream I had advocated."
"..."
"Then I couldn't just stay as I was anymore. After all, I started it. I have to end it with my own hands."

To persuade with words, and if that's impossible, then with these hands...

"If there's any meaning to this life that survived that day... it must be for that purpose."
"So you're asking for a little more time?"
"Yes. I know I'm in no position to ask, but please."

She bows her head again.

"...Well, your concern isn't wrong."
"! Could it be..."
"Yeah. I recently prevented the remnants of the Chaos Army and True World from trying to cause trouble together."
"!"
"Well, I only captured two who seemed to be the ringleaders, but there are probably still others aiming for a comeback."
"...All the more reason I can't die. Satou Hideo. Please, I'll do anything I can. So—"
"Alright."
"Huh?"

I tell Onisaki, who looks dumbfounded as if caught off guard:

"If you accept the conditions, I'll let you live."
"...What do I need to do?"
"Work under me. I want to do something about those guys too. But I can't let you run free."

So, work under me. Absolute obedience to orders. If you can swallow that, I'll let you live.
To the conditions I presented, Onisaki:

"I accept."
"That was quick."
"Because I feel I can trust the current you."
"Oh?"
"The old you would have killed me without question, right? But you didn't. You listened to me sincerely."

And, Onisaki smiles.

"It's for her... for Saionji Chikage, isn't it?
I have no objection to following the current you, who has become a good man capable of swallowing grudges for the sake of someone important."

"...I see. Then the contract is established. Work like a horse."

I gulp down the miso soup that has gone completely cold.
Somehow, you really never know what life will bring.

"So, specifically, what should I do?"
"You'll work together with Yanagi."
"...That man is alive too?"
"Yeah. Seems like he found his own answer. He's harmless now."
"I see."
"I'll arrange for you to return to the surface world, so wait until then."
"Understood."

...But you know what.
I wonder what the remnants think when they see their former bosses like this.

"By the way."
"What?"
"What's Yanagi doing now?"
"Ah... He's homeless."
"Homeless!?"
"After barely surviving, he became homeless and hid himself."

When I tell her that he reformed after experiencing human kindness there,

"That man... becoming homeless... You really never know what life will bring, do you?"

Hey, you're quite something yourself, you know?