by T L Brevis
“Th-Thank you very m-much m-ma'am, I promise to use them w-well!” said Hiroshi, sounding the same as before but with more of a hopeful tone this time.
The lady smiled, said goodbye to Hiroshi and stepped back inside. Hiroshi turned around, and with a blank look on his face, returned to his newest motel room to await his opportunity to strike.
∞
There Hiroshi stood, at the entrance of Sunada Juzaburo's apartment building. He resided on the 12th floor, so Hiroshi decided it would only make sense to pitch his so-called “Product” to a few people below his floor and above, so as to confirm that Hiroshi could not have possibly been involved.
Hiroshi stepped inside, donning the uniform he had been given, holding some papers. Hiroshi stepped up to the main counter where a woman, seemingly in her mid-twenties sat, eyes glued to her computer monitor.
“Excuse me, ma'am, I would like to ask residents of this building if they would be interested in some cookies my school will be selling soon,” Hiroshi said, attempting to mimic a child his age’s attempt at a professional-sounding voice.
“I would like to confirm their names and phone numbers so we can call them when the cookies are ready,” Hiroshi said, holding up the stack of papers he had prepared.
“Oh, yes that’s perfectly fine, go right up,” responded the woman unenthusiastically after taking a quick glance at the stack of papers, then almost immediately snapping her gaze back to her monitor.
Hiroshi did not waste a second for further formalities and calmly stepped up the apartment building’s stairs. He arrived on the second floor and knocked on the door of the apartment closest to the staircase. An elderly woman answered and Hiroshi did not hesitate to begin his “sales pitch”.
“Excuse me, ma'am, me and my school are gonna be selling cookies soon. Do you wanna buy some when they come out? If you do, please write your name and phone number down here,” Hiroshi said very quickly, gesturing to his stack of papers with his free hand towards the end of his sentence.
“Well you seem to be very straight to the point young man, very well, I'll order some. Are four boxes enough?” the lady asked kindly.
“Yes, ma'am. You can write your name here,” said Hiroshi with a smile, pointing to the top of his stack of papers.
The woman complied and wrote her name as well as her phone number on Hiroshi's piece of paper. Hiroshi thanked her and moved on. He did the same for people in the apartment building on floors four, five, seven, nine and 10, then finally, he reached the 12th floor.
Hiroshi rang the doorbell and patiently awaited a reply. When Juzaburo heard it, he immediately got up from his comfortable position on his armchair to answer.
“Hello sir, my school is going to be selling some fantastic cookies soon. We are gonna have many flavors, which are, chocolate chip, shortbread cookies, sugar cookies, butter cookies, and even gingerbread men. I hope you can help us out because we’re raising funds for our new parking lot, if you want to buy some, please leave your name and phone number here,” said Hiroshi, holding out the same pen and stack of papers he had used previously, and ensuring that he drew out and enunciated the words perfectly.
Juzaburo's expression immediately switched from condescending and annoyed to unfeeling, and he curtly spoke in a monotonous tone.
“Alright, sure. I'm always happy to help,” said Juzaburo as he took Hiroshi's pen and wrote down his name and phone number.
“Thank you, sir, I look forward to meeting you again to hand you a few of our finest boxes!” said Hiroshi, in the most sincere and innocent tone he could muster.
The man smiled lightly in response and waved goodbye to Hiroshi, then proceeded to shut his door.
Hiroshi made his way down the stairs to his right and simply proceeded to wait for what would come in twenty hours.
∞
“Decent work yet again, Hiroshi. I'll forward you the face and crimes of the next killer, as usual,” said Kaito.
Kaito did just that and Hiroshi repeated the same process of discovering the man's information yet again, eager to improve even more in his future cases, longing to get Kaito’s approval and be trusted with the mission to kill that corrupt senator, and then move on to more and more important missions until he could take on Owari directly.
1 WEEK LATER…
This last criminal he would have to take care of was named Hirai Ryushi. He had black hair and eyes, and overall, appearance wise, he was as typical as they came, but Hiroshi knew what lay underneath. According to what Kaito had sent him, the man was hired by Owari to murder anyone he saw fit, no matter who they were. This no doubt meant that he was less dangerous than those who solely targeted children, but this also made him unpredictable, especially since Owari went out of their way to give this man that sort of power in particular.
In terms of housing, the man lived in a humble one bedroom apartment, only a few floors down from being at the top of the building. Hiroshi could definitely make do with that, but as he did with Juzaburo, he would need to get creative for this man as well.
∞
Hiroshi felt his body being pushed upward by the elevator. He was now only a few floors from his newest target’s home, and the nervous sensation he felt was as suffocating as per usual, but regardless, it was obvious he would have to soldier through it once more.
He finally reached the 37th floor and he stepped out of the elevator. He was met with three corridors leading to a door at each of their ends. His target’s corridor was directly in front of him. Hiroshi stepped out of the elevator and slowly made his way towards the door.
He stretched his hand out when he was within arms-reach of the entrance and gently knocked once. He immediately heard scurrying footsteps approach, and before he could even fully consider all of the possibilities they entailed, the doorknob turned and the door itself was forcefully swung open.
Hiroshi was met with the man he had laid his eyes on for two hours the day before, this time with a wide smile across his face.
“Hello sir, I’m looking fo-”
Hiroshi was cut off by the man grabbing him by the arm and pulling his full body into the apartment and slamming the door forcefully behind him.
Hiroshi’s eyes grew wide as the situation became exponentially more dangerous. He saw now, clear as day why Owari left the choice of who to kill up to him. He would choose children either way, so they figured they would grant him extra freedom to keep him loyal. Hiroshi would need to think of something quickly. He was sprawled on the floor by the door as the man stood over him. He turned his body to face the man directly.
“Little boy, don’t make this difficult. I appreciate you comin’ here all by yourself. Looks like this month’s rent’ll be easy to get now.”
Owari truly was paying him to kill children. Hiroshi was disgusted even more now. Empathy only went so far, but to actually be put in this kind of situation himself truly put into perspective how low these individuals went.
“H-Hey, can you take me out for dinner? I’m kinda hungry,” Hiroshi said in his childish voice, as innocently as possible, acting like he was completely oblivious to what was occurring. This strategy was worth a try.
“You know, why not, huh? I guess it's only fair since you’re gonna be getting me my rent this month,” the man said mockingly and condescendingly.
What a disgusting individual, truly. He actually enjoyed doing this as well. Hiroshi noticed something though. The man began looking directly into his eyes now, as opposed to how he stared at the ground previously. That was very interesting indeed. How convenient?
Hiroshi reciprocated with eye contact of his own as his brown eyes faded, being replaced by a deep scarlet hue.
“So little man, where do you wanna go, huh?” the man said, somehow even more mockingly.
“O-Oh, well there is this very nice place close by, I think it's um around the corne-”
He reached the five second threshold, and on cue, the man’s face swit
ched to a blank and distant expression.
“Alright then, you scum. Time for dinner.”
∞
Hiroshi watched with a smile from the cover of an alleyway wall as the man he had been walking with until about a minute before suddenly turned left and sprinted into the bustling traffic before him, lowering his head to be parallel in height to his torso in the process.
Hiroshi did not flinch as he laid his eyes on the gruesome sight. The image left in his mind would surely affect most his age, probably even those older, but the only effect it had on him seemed to be that it broadened his smile.
It came back to him. His burning desire to clean up Japan from its crime-ridden state from before his parents died. Yes, he would truly begin that process starting then, and ensure he would do it as quickly and effectively as possible. He would enjoy taking Owari’s murderers off the streets now, it would no longer just be a means to an end. His previous goal aligned with his current one, and he was only now waking up to that truth.
∞
“Well done. You were able to execute all of your missions well enough, and as promised, you will get the opportunity to order me around once again,” Kaito said unenthusiastically. “However, do not get used to it. This is only for one mission, so make the most of it, and enjoy your reward.”
This was not about Hiroshi enjoying it. On the contrary, it would be beneficial for Kaito for Hiroshi to be able to carry out missions like this on his own regularly, and not just as a reward every once in a while. Hiroshi’s current goal was to be trusted by Kaito enough to take on missions by himself consistently. That was of the utmost importance at that moment.
“I will, thank you. Could you forward his information to me?” asked Hiroshi, not seeming the slightest bit pleased with the fact that he had gotten the reward he had been working towards for the last three weeks.
“I already have. You know, you really should begin to take your time on these. Often, I see you complete your plans in mere hours, then just reflect on them witho-”
Before Kaito could even finish, Hiroshi was already rushing over to his latest designated bedroom to begin development on his new plan. Kaito did not seem the least bit surprised or even perturbed at his actions. He simply casually paced over to his own room and shut the door, locking it a second after, without even so much as a change in expression.
Chapter 5
Hiroshi's eyes widened at the information he had received. This senator's crimes were horrendous. He had caused the deaths of many innocent people with his influence. Even worse, he convinced Judges to let off major criminals, child predators and child serial killers among them because of his influence, even after there was plenty of evidence against them. He had even bribed the respective juries to keep quiet about his actions.
Hiroshi was disgusted, and beyond upset. How dare he aid and abet in such despicable acts? People like this senator were what was wrong with the world. Hiroshi saw that firsthand with that scum Hirai Ryushi. He had opened his eyes to the true horrors these children endured, and Hiroshi would ensure they got the justice they deserved for the crimes against them.
“I've never been this motivated to look at someone's picture for two hours, but this time is different,” Hiroshi muttered before smirking at the thought of killing this senator.
Getting the opportunity to bring down this senator from his obvious high horse, on top of getting more of Kaito’s trust was an excellent package.
The senator's name was Yabuto Sofu. He had dark, neatly combed hair, paired with black eyes, with a hint of grey. He resided in an immensely costly mansion in Tokyo and was a widow with no children. Hiroshi vowed to ensure the resolution would definitely involve this man’s death in as quickly a time as possible. He needed to be taken off the planet that swiftly.
Yabuto Sofu’s Home:
It was the day of Yabuto Sofu's house party. Hiroshi and Kaito arrived not too early, but not too late, right when the party was getting lively. They were both dressed in very formal suits, the same as the other male guests, although quite a stark difference from the children there.
Hiroshi and Kaito both produced an invitation which Kaito had obtained through a connection with another guest, as per Hiroshi's request. The bouncers allowed them inside without much hassle, and the two stepped into the massive home of Yabuto Sofu.
The house was stunning. There were massive chandeliers overhead, rugs and carpets that were obviously extremely pricey, and only the best furniture. On top of all of that, the whole house was completely air-conditioned, every single spot, which for a monstrously gargantuan home like this, must have cost thousands, possibly even tens of thousands monthly. However, it was plain as day that wealth was not an issue for Yabuto Sofu, so Hiroshi did not pay much mind to the luxurious building that most would feel incredibly privileged to even step foot in. Nonchalantly, he proceeded to follow the strategy that he had prepared.
The two casually strolled over to a crowd and began striking up a conversation. Kaito told the crowd he was Hiroshi's adopted father and asked if there was a children’s area in the home. They smiled and gestured Hiroshi over to a colorful, fenced-off area of the party, where their children and others’ were, and Hiroshi hurriedly made his way over to it. It had a very juvenile aesthetic to it.
Slides, plastic and rubber balls, toys and everything else you could possibly associate with childishness could be found there, all in rainbow colors too. Hiroshi calmly stepped inside and laid his eyes on his fellow children.
“Why do you have a suit on? You think you're a bigshot or somethin'?” asked an overweight child, who looked almost comically like a stereotypical school bully.
Hiroshi scoffed and rolled his eyes at the cliché situation he found himself in, although it was not unexpected.
“Oh, so you think you're better than us or somethin'?” asked the same bully, more aggressively now.
“I've found him,” Hiroshi casually thought to himself.
Hiroshi stayed silent and ignored the boy. Vexed by this, the boy gathered the other children around Hiroshi and they seemed like they hoped to engage in a physical altercation with him.
“As if this boy couldn't get more immature, wasting time on physical bouts as well? How barbaric,” Hiroshi contemplated to himself, not the least bit concerned about the situation he found himself in.
“Don't try to act tough.”
At these words, Hiroshi finally began to make eye contact with the bully, eyes colored a deep scarlet, though, of course, the other children did not recognize the change.
“Who do you think you are? You're just a nobody. I heard you're here with your loser dad, you probably barely made it in here. I bet talkin’ to someone like me is the best thing that'll ever happen in your life you loser. Hey guys, how 'bout we teach this know-it-all punk a lesso-” The bully's expression went blank.
Hiroshi smirked, ever so slightly, to the point where you would have to be searching his face closely to catch a slight glimpse of it. Everyone's attention was now set on the bully who had suddenly stopped his rant to Hiroshi.
“On second thought, this punk ain't worth it, I think we can go after someone else, come on guys!” and just like that, the bully and his underlings forced their way out of the children's area. Two adults, who Hiroshi presumed were chaperones, attempted to block them while they pushed through, then proceeded to tail the group of children, leaving Hiroshi standing alone, now smiling ear to ear.
“What a fool.”
∞
“Hello ladies and gentlemen, I happen to be new in the area and I was invited by Mr. Toyotaro to experience how parties are held here,” said Kaito with a wide smile to a group of guests, as well as Yabuto Sofu himself.
“Oh, any friend of Toyotaro is a friend of mine as well! Welcome, oh, and what might your name be?” responded Yabuto Sofu with a smile.
“My name is Araki Kunisada. I am visiting here from Kyoto for a while, and am honored to be at
the most prestigious party of the year.”
“Oh, well thank you for deeming it that, I wouldn't personally hold it in such regard but I am certainly flattered that my team's hard work towards planning this party is recognized!”
Yabuto Sofu's expression changed at that moment from an inviting and gracious smile to a blank look that only lasted a fraction of a second until it reverted back to its original expression. This change was only seen by Kaito, who had been the sole person face to face with Yabuto Sofu during that brief moment.
“Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you would excuse me for a moment, I would like to get some fresh air on my balcony upstairs. Would you care to join me?”
There was a thunderous and unanimous “yes!” from the crowd, including Kaito and with that, they made their way up the massive and glamorous granite stairs. When they arrived at the top of the flight of stairs, they made a sharp right towards a corridor, which had a curtain at its end. They continued their brisk-walk straight toward it and reached the curtain in seconds.
