by Unknown
“Alright” said Bunshichi in a thick, deep voice, “It's time to come out now.” He seemed to be calling out to someone behind him. Once the words had left his mouth, there came the sound of footsteps through through the dried grass from behind. The sound was getting closer. And then the sound stopped. Bunshichi took a few steps away before turning around. There was a young man standing at the foot of the path. It was the young man from before; the pickpocket who had been chased by those three men, and who had bumped into Bunshichi near the temple archway. He had his hands in his pockets and stood with his legs slightly apart. The young man turned his head towards Bunshichi and looked up at him through is shaggy shoulder length hair.
[018]
He had sharp, penetrating eyes.
“You knew I was there, huh?” the young man asked.
“What do you want?” Bunshichi asked. The young man let out a short whistle and raised his head.
“Don't play dumb,” the young man said, striking a pose. He was stained red from his nose to his lips. He looked like some kind of majestic wild beast. Some kind of carnivorous, predatory feline. A young panther. That's what he looked like.
“Play dumb?”
“I'm talking about the money,” the young man said, a razor sharp grin running across his face.
“Oh, you mean this?” Bunshichi said, pulling a small black wallet from his pocket. The young man had shoved it into Bunshichi's pocket when he ran into him near the shrine.
“I'm gonna need that back.”
“Give it back?”
“Yeah.”
“You mean hand it back to that guy with the sunglasses?”
“I mean give it back to me”
“Back to you, huh?”
“C'mon man,” the young man started, “I put my life on the line stealing that. It's mine now,” he finished bluntly.
“Oh really?”
“There was nearly 300,000 yen in there when I looked. I'm gonna need you to give that back.”
“322,000 yen to be exact.”
“You looked?”
“I looked.”
[019]
“Shit...,” the young man said before spitting on the grass that lay at his feet, his hands still firmly in his pockets.
“But I thought I was going to get to keep it,” said Bunshichi.
“I risked my neck for that cash. Did you really think I was going to just let you walk away with it? I was just letting you hold on to it for me. That's why I was following you. Being so big, you are easy to find, that's why I had you look after it for me.”
“Why didn't you call out to me right away?”
“Because you decided to come down this deserted path. It's a lot safer to try and talk to you when there is no one else around.”
“That makes sense,” Bunshichi said, relaxing a little.
“Give me the cash.”
“What would you have done if I had left the park still holding the wallet?”
“I would just have to pretend that I didn't know anything. If things got really bad I would have just ran for it.”
“...”
“I just got a little nervous. So I didn't say anything before you started walking away.”
“I see.”
“Gimme the cash”
“That's a nice story, but it's doesn't quite hold water.”
“Oh really,” as soon as the young man had spoken, Bunshichi put the wallet back in his pocket.
“What are you doing!?” the young man asked, his voice was stern but his heart nearly jumped out of his body. He looked like he was ready to explode.
“Maybe I should try my luck with you and get to keep the money.”
“What!!?” the young man yelled, his hands now out of his pockets.
[020]
He turned and walked towards Bunshichi.
“Are you serious?” he said, still making his way over.
“I'm still thinking about it,” Bunshichi said to the young man now standing in front of him.
“Give it back, man,” the young man said, pushing his open palm towards Bunshichi.
“Well then...,” said Bunshichi, his hands still in his pockets. He looked the quiet young man over with his cold, emotionless eyes. Out of nowhere the young man flung his leg up into the air. Unlike the a little while ago when he had that run-in with the thugs, now he showed amazing force, almost like he had purposely pretended to be weak. His leg was straight and headed for Bunshichi's crotch. It had incredible spring. It was if he had been hiding his natural ability this whole time. The spring in his leg was born from his ankle, knee and back. The tip of his foot missed Bunshichi's crotch, flew upwards and left a slight mark on his baggy shirt. It looked as if his foot would have hit the bottom of Bunshichi's thigh, but his leg wasn't long enough.
Bunshichi had moved his body back about half a step. The young man had also jumped back quite a distance. There was now around three meters between them. Bunshichi still had his hands in his pockets. It was then that the young man finally noticed the mysterious air that seemed to wrap itself around Bunshichi.
“What? Do you train as well?” the you man asked, relaxing his stance a little and clenching his hands into fists. Bunshichi was still standing casually on the grass.
“I'd say you were holding yourself back just a short while ago.”
[021]
“Heh,” the young man said, a beast-like grin forming on his crimson lips, “Even the cops would have started chasing me if I had started showing off.”
“Huh.”
“It was just that tall guy that was acting a little weird.”
At that Bunshichi removed his hands from his pockets. He was holding the black wallet in his right hand. He flung towards the young man. The young man caught it in mid-air with his right hand.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I've got no plans to try my luck against four opponents,” Bunshichi answered.
“What?!” The young man finally noticed the presence behind him as he spoke. He side-stepped to the left, his face still locked on Bunshichi's. Once he had put a bit of distance between them, he turned away from Bunshichi and glanced back towards the path. The three men were standing there. The guy with sunglasses that he had stolen from and the other man had stepped into the clearing. The tallest of the three, Shimamura, was standing behind them.
“SHIT!” yelled the young man. He had those three men standing to the right of him, Bunshichi standing to the left and his back to the woods. There was a mass of tall dried tussock grass that stood between him and the forest. It would take a lot of time to try and escape through the trees. Bunshichi blocked him to the left, the young man had no idea what he was capable of, and the three men stood to his right. Even trying to make it to the tree line would be too much of a risk. He had hesitated for a moment and let his chance to escape slip away. The three men moved towards the center of the clearing.
“Hey kid,”
[022]
grumbled the man wearing sunglasses
“Looks like that guy was holding on to the wallet for you,” said the man standing next to him, turning his attention to Bunshichi. Shimamura stood behind the two men with his arms crossed, watching the situation unfold.
“He used me to hold on to it for him, it doesn't mean we are working together,” said Bunshichi.
“Huh,” the man wearing sunglasses said, his mouth only half open. He had propped his head forwards a little and his chin pointing straight out, “What do mean?”
“In all the confusion of the crowd, this kid jammed the wallet into my pocket.”
“...”
“We're not working together” Bunshichi said softly. It was then that the young man spoke up out of nowhere.
“What are you talking about bro? You were the one that told me to do it!”
“What!?” the man in sunglasses said, string straight at Bunshichi.
“I only did it because he told me to! It's a bit late now, but he told me to
meet him here when it was over!”
Bunshichi looked bemused. The young man could really think on his feet. He seemed like the type that would try anything. He was dirty. Cunning. But his cunning and dirtiness were somehow invigorating.
“Must be time to break the two of you up, then,” said the man in sunglasses. As he spoke a flash of golden light came from his hands. He was holding a hunting knife.
[023]
The young man took a sudden step back. The other man also pulled a knife from his pocket. Shimamura was the only one not moving.
“Give that money back,” said the man wearing sunglasses.
“Even if I do give it back now, you're not about to let this end peacefully, are you?” said the young man, putting the wallet into his pocket and slowly moving backwards. Regardless of how much training one may have, light gleaming of a blade invokes human fear on a subconscious level. The young man was no exception. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around his fist as the the two other men moved towards him. Fine beads of sweat started to form on the young man's brow. He still had that devilish grin on his face.
“You look like you're about to piss yourself,” said the man wearing sunglasses. The young man lowered his posture and readied his heel. He parted his legs slightly and and raised his fists in front of his face. It was similar to a boxing stance, but you probably couldn't use it in an actual boxing match. His right hand was sticking out at the same level as his chin. His finger tips sat naturally, not balled into a fist. His left hand, with the jacket wrapped around it, was poised in the space between his right hand and his face, for protection.
His hands weren't sitting still either. They were moving around in the air as if waiting for an attack. His legs were also restless. His knees were moving, keeping in rhythm with his fists. While it might look like a self taught style, it seemed that he had some knowledge of Karate.
[024]
“You mind if I head home?” said Bunshichi. He was standing in the grass, not moving. He was like a thick wall of muscle.
“Not a chance,” Shimamura spoke up, “you're going to face me.” A sharp light shone from the back of his narrow eyes as he spoke. He unfolded his arms and began walking towards Bunshichi. Then, as if someone had given a signal, the other two men closed in on the young man. The man in sunglasses made the first move. He lunged forward and thrust his knife out in front of himself. Much like the knife, the young man thrust his hand wrapped in his jacket and struck the man with sunglasses' right hand. It was then that the other man held his knife at his waist and ran towards the young man.
“AH!” he said, using his jacket-wrapped hand to dodge the attack. The blade had managed to puncture through the fabric of the jacket.
“Yaaaah!!” the young man cried out as he let fly a kick to the man's mid-section.
“This has got nothing to do with me,” said Bunshichi watching the young man move.
“It does now,” said Shimamura, putting black leather gloves on his hands as he walked towards Bunshichi. Once he had finished putting the gloves on, he was close enough to make an attack. He moved like a boxer. He made a straight right jab.
Bam.
[025]
The sound of muscle hitting muscle. Bunshichi shifted his weight to the left hand side of his body and caught Shimamura's fist in the palm of his right hand. His palm was thick, like a cliff face. It was probably about double the thickness of a normal person's hand. And it was big. He caught the fist and began to squeeze it in his palm. Bunshichi then caught Shimamura's elbow in his left hand. A sharp 'crack' came from within Bunshichi's palm. It sounded like a dry branch being snapped in half. The sound stopped everyone in their tracks. It was a chilling kind of sound. The kind of sound that made your skin crawl.
Shimamura's piercing eyes became big and round. He turned his vision to the wrist of his right arm. His hand was no longer protruding from his wrist. It hadn't been torn off either. His hand had been bent all the way underneath his arm, leaving his wrist looking like a smooth round stump. His fingers were curled up at the tips. The palm of his hand was flat against the underside of his arm. It was grotesque. It looked like some kind of practical joke. But they soon understood that there was nothing to laugh about when Shimamura started screaming.
“Gyaaah-!!” he sounded like a woman. He elongated the “aah” sound as the pitch of his voice rose. He kept screaming like that until there was no air left in his lungs. And then his voice was gone. His lungs were empty. The last of the sounds weren't screams of pain, but fear.
[026]
After the scream stopped and he sucked in another lung full of air, the true screams of pain began. They were the kind of unashamed screams you could never imagine coming from someone like Shimamura. He had been playing it so cool up until then. They weren't the cries of a human, they were more like the cries of an animal.
“Nahgah!”, “Nugoh!” rang out, along with 'Ugo' and 'Gogogo'. It was like he was trying to say something but he just couldn't get the words out. It seemed a mix of natural shock, extreme pain and psychological damage. Shimamura fell to his knees and rolled over on the grass. He rolled over and over. You could see the whites of his eyes.
“What the hell did you do?” yelled the man in sunglasses.
“You-you-you...” the other man seemed like he wanted to say something, but was only able to make sounds like a chicken.
“Go home,” said Bunshichi. But the other two men didn't quite seem to understand. The young man turned and looked at Shimamura, his mouth half agape. The man in sunglasses, still clutching his knife, cleared his throat a little. The other man's shoulders were moving up and down in time with his deep breaths.
[027]
“Just leave,” said Bunshichi, as he took a step forward. The other two began to move towards him as if sucked in by his movements.
The fight was over in an instant. Bunshichi's cliff like right fist few out and struck the man in sunglasses on his left cheek. The man in sunglasses went flying backwards. As he pulled his right fist back, he pushed his right elbow forward. His elbow struck the other man's face and sent him flying in the opposite direction. They fell back into the grass. The sharp blades of dry grass were probably scratching their faces or their open eye balls, but they wouldn't have noticed, they were completely unconscious. Bunshichi had knocked their consciousness right out of their bodies. The man wearing sunglasses was lying face-up on the grass. His glasses had flown so far you couldn't see them anymore. The two of them were still clutching their knives.
The young man was looking at Bunshichi with a look of awe. He was trembling with fear. Bunshichi cast his sleepy gaze over to the young man.
“Hey,” Bunshichi called out, un-balling his fists, “good thing we didn't fight, huh?” he said in a low voice as he turned his back to the young man. He turned towards the path and started walking. The young man didn't move, he just stared at Bunshichi's back. No, it was more that he couldn't move.
“That...,” the young man started, pausing slightly as if unable to get the words out, “was amazing” he muttered to himself, clearly impressed.
“Simply amazing! Incredible! You!” his voice became so loud you would think he was using a megaphone. He started to run after Bunshichi.
[028]
Chapter II
Light shone on the surface of the water. It was coming from the street lights and a nearby hotel. It was dusk. The wind was calm and the color of the moon tinged of the surface of the lake. There was still a little light in the sky to the west. The clear blue sky was turning to a deep shade of purple. The sun was setting and with it the light was leaving. The moon sat large and bright in the sky to the east. There were one or two stars in the sky. There was no wind on land, but there was some higher in the sky and it was making the stars twinkle.
Lake Sarusawa. It was surrounded by hotels and lodges. There wasn't much left of the traditional Japanese town that once stood there. People who visited as children probably wouldn't recogni
ze it if they came back today. It was nothing but a popular tourist spot now. Bunshichi Tanba was standing on the shore of that lake, watching the light dance on the water. He had his hands firmly in his pockets. He had been staring out over the lake for about half an hour. The town was light when he arrived, but it was now sinking into darkness. It was clearly changing from dusk to night.
[029]
