#k ground zero

GROUND ZERO: FRAGMENTS

Chapter 2, coming soon!!

GROUND ZERO: FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 1: THAT DAY, THAT TIME, THAT OUTSIDE

*List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia

That day, at that time, Izumo Kusanagi was having tea with his sister at their home in Kyoto. Kusanagi was thirteen years old.

“Izumo, make tea.”

His sister was a third-year high school student, but she was relaxed without being desperate even in the summer called Tennozan. Like all of Kusanagi’s siblings, she was smart and credited with being able to achieve results without despair.

However, because she was an examined, she behaved as if her younger brother should take care of her, preferring to treat Kusanagi to tea and dinner.

Kusanagi was the younger boy who was loved and good at it, so even at that time, he obediently brewed black tea with the tea leaves according to his sister’s order. Due to the quality of the bean and the brewing, he learned the technique of brewing a delicious black tea that was unlikely to come from a high school boy.

“What about sugar and milk?”

“Leave it. When I use my head I don’t want sugar.”

“Don’t study for a long time.”

As he said that, he took out the box of cookies and served it with the tea. He sat at the dining room table across from his sister, drinking tea and biscuits while having a friendly conversation. He didn’t turn on the television. So at that time, Kusanagi, who was having a quiet time in the Kusanagi family’s living room, did not know what had happened to the world.

The house phone rang. His sister looked at Kusanagi. Feeling the pressure to “get out” of that line of sight, Kusanagi silently stood up.

“Yes, I am Kusanagi.”

When he answered on the other end of the receiver, the impatient voice of his older brother, who should be away from the sea, hit his ear.

“Izumo?! Is Japan alright?!”

“Eh?”

His older brother, ten years older than Kusanagi, was studying abroad in the United States. Kusanagi had rarely seen his older brother, who was smart and unfriendly, he was confused by the voice that seemed to be impatient as if it was a joke.

“What are you talking about? It’s midnight. Are you drunk?”

“Nothing happened in Kyoto? There was news that a huge explosion occurred in the Tokyo metropolitan area, but no detailed information came through.”

“Hey, sister, turn on the TV.”

Kusanagi told his sister as he held the phone to his ear. Although his sister looked suspicious, she immediately grabbed the TV remote no matter if she sensed anything unusual about Kusanagi’s appearance.

The channel that was supposed to be doing another show at the time was broadcasting urgent news. As the older brother said, there was a large still screen of “a large-scale explosion in the southern Kanto region”.

It seems that the news landscape was also confused, behind the scenes, there was a voice reporting something as if the staff were yelling at each other, and the commentators seemed to be upset and talked while rubbing the paper on their hands. They called for people not to approach the scene, they were urging the neighbors to quickly evacuate and to remain calm and save their lives, as they would be informed of the detailed situation as soon as information was available.

“What…?”

His sister muttered in a confused voice.

Kusanagi was confused, but he wondered if a large factory had blown up.

It was a video of the disaster site. As far as he could see, debris rising in the dust was spreading, and it was hard to believe that this was a modern view of the country. It seemed that a war had occurred.

It wasn’t a mistake in the sense that a war had occurred, but Kusanagi at the time naturally didn’t know that.

“The scale of the explosion appears to extend throughout Kanagawa Prefecture, and strong seawater inflow appears to be occurring in coastal areas.”

As Kusanagi was watching television in a daze, his sister approached him and leaned in. Kusanagi seemed to have dropped the receiver before he knew it, and his sister picked up the receiver that was dangling from the cord and told her older brother that he was worried.

Nothing bad had happened in Kyoto so far, it seemed that the southern region of Kanto was swallowed by the explosion centered on Kanagawa, but the Japanese news had not given details yet, and the safety of the second brother in Tokyo had to be confirmed urgently. She hit the hook switch with her finger and immediately called back.

The second brother of the Kusanagi family was attending university in Tokyo. There was no denying the possibility that he was involved in the huge explosion in South Kanto.

It seemed that his second brother’s cell phone was not connected. His sister bit her tongue and hung up the phone.

“This is not good. The phone line is out of service.”

His sister couldn’t seem to sit still, so she took the key to her bike.

“I’ll run to see how the main family is doing. I’ll get your phone, Izumo.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Kusanagi stared at the TV screen, holding his heart that was making a pounding noise.

He had no idea what happened. It could be an incident, an accident or a natural disaster.

Kusanagi wondered if there was a “criminal” who caused this ridiculous situation.

If there was “someone” who caused that, what kind of person was he and what was he thinking?

As he was thinking about it, the phone rang.

Kusanagi jumped a bit and immediately picked up the phone.

“Hello?!”

“That voice is Izumo’s. I’m Mizuomi.”

The person that called was Kusanagi Mizuomi, Kusanagi’s uncle who had a bar in Tokyo. Although he was an odd uncle among his relatives, Kusanagi loved him ever since he was a child.

“Uncle, are you alright!? Just watch the news…”

“Oh, Tokyo is in a panic. But your brother is safe.”

He heard that his second brother was at the bar “HOMRA” run by Mizuomi. When he was outside, an explosion happened in the southern area of ​​Kanto and he tried to send a safe report to his family who might be worried, but he couldn’t use his cell phone, so he went to borrow a phone from the Mizuomi store that was relatively close.

The phone was taken by his second brother, and he heard that there was no direct damage in Tokyo and that he was safe, and if the Shinkansen worked, he would return to Kyoto.

The phone was returned to Mizuomi, and Kusanagi spilled his thoughts of him from his mouth, nodding vaguely asking him to say hello to everyone.

“Man, I wonder if someone caused this explosion?”

“I dont know.”

Mizuomi replied as if he couldn’t say anything else.

“Recently, I’ve heard some horrible incidents from time to time. I had a feeling that a tumultuous time had come, but… I didn’t think this would happen…”

Kusanagi looked vaguely at the calendar hanging on the wall. July 11, 1999. He thought it would be an unforgettable day for many people.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Kuroh Yatogami was playing in his garden in Saitama. Kuro was five years old.

“Kuro, look!”

Kuro caught the ball thrown by his brother. This time he threw the ball at his sister. The ball flew straight and landed in his sister’s hand.

“Kuro, you are better than the boys in your class.”

His sister in the second grade of elementary school laughed. His third grade brother also proudly said, “Kuro has fine motor skills.”.

It seems that the reason why he is called Kuro by his family is that when he was born, his younger brother and sister couldn’t call him “Kuroh” but instead said “Kuro, Kuro”.

The mother was sitting on the porch looking at the fan while she watched the three brothers play in the garden. The suspended wind chimes made a chilling sound every time the wind blew.

Because it was a house where the air conditioner could not be turned on unless it was a very hot day, the sweeping window was open, and the sound of the television in the house could be heard as far as the garden.

“Oh, this is good. Would you like to take your children with you when you go into summer vacation?”

His father, who seemed to be watching a travel show on TV with his grandfather, said that.

His grandfather murmured.

“It’s nice to play in the mountain stream, but it seems to be a place famous for autumn leaves.”

“Hmm, it’s hard to pull off the fall leaf hunt.”

It was a quiet vacation.

The ball thrown by his brother flew towards Kuro again, and Kuro reached out to catch it.

At that moment, there was a low noise and the ground shook. Kuro lost his balance and threw the ball with his hand to get a mochi.

“An earthquake?”

His mother raised her hips and said that, but unlike a normal earthquake, the tremor was just a big tremor that seemed to push upwards at first.

Kuro stood up, picked up the ball and said, “Keep throwing the ball.”

Kuro and his brothers started playing with the ball again, but his mother was uneasy, probably because the earthquake was suspicious.

“Oh.”

His father who was watching TV made a weird voice.

“Earthquake bulletin?”

The mother on the porch leaned into the room.

“No, I switched to the news channel, but it’s a bit hectic. Why isn’t the news on right now?”

“Isn’t it strange? It’s really confusing…”

Even if the adults started running, the children continued to play without worrying about it. It was common for adults to make serious voices while watching the news, and that was usually followed by stories that children didn’t really understand.

When he got tired of throwing the ball and his sister taught him to play with the ball under her feet while she sang a song, his mother made a little screaming voice.

Amazed, the children watched television and saw their parents and grandfather with astonished expressions. In particular, his mother seemed to be in severe shock, covering her mouth with both hands and trembling a little.

“Mom?”

When Kuro got worried and came closer, his mother jumped back onto the porch and hugged Kuro tightly.

“You guys go into the house too.”

His father also came out on the porch and called Kuro’s brother and sister. The two of them were confused and entered the living room through the sweeping window, and the father hugged his shoulders with both arms. Even though he wasn’t old enough to be hugged, his mother picked him up and brought him home. Her feet were walking around with her shoes on.

“Was it an attack by a new weapon from a foreign country…?”

“Suddenly…”

“But if not, why would this happen?”

Grandfather and father were talking tensely. Kuro squirmed in his mother’s arms and looked at the television.

A super large explosion in the southern Kanto region. It seemed that there were many dead and missing. They were asked to please be calm and save their life.

The discomfort in the room that could be heard was transmitted to the young Kuro.

The mother held his head and pressed his face against her shoulder to take his gaze away from the television screen.

“Okay. I will definitely protect you. I will be with you forever.”

Kuro didn’t really understand what was going on.

However, he wanted to cheer up his mother who was still trembling a bit, so he patted her mother’s shoulder with his small hand.

++++++++++

At that time that day, Seri Awashima was eating a rice cake in the back of a Japanese sweet shop run by her parents in Tokyo. Awashima was eight years old.

The store where she was “Sweet maker Awashima”, it was a long established Japanese confectionery that existed since the Edo period. In particular, the bean paste was reputed to be exquisite, and the simple botamochi remained the most popular product.

Awashima loved red bean paste for as long as she could remember, and would go after any sweet that had it, she also liked to eat anko just with a big spoon.

For such Awashima, the botamochi of her parents’ house was the starting point and the pinnacle.

“How is it?”

The older brother presented the black letter rice cake and she put it in her mouth. After carefully chewing and swallowing, Awashima smiled.

“Delicious.”

“Yes!”

“But the bean paste is a bit tough and astringent. I think it was a bit early to throw out the broth.”

“Uh…”

The mother who was listening to the exchanges of the brothers laughed.

“Perhaps the tongue for bean paste is more than my father.”

That day, she was tasting a rice cake made by her older brother, a high school student. Her father’s policy was that “the sooner you start training, the better”, and her brother was forced to make sweets on his days off. He may have wanted to play, but it seemed that he already intended to take over the store as his eldest son, and he was seriously working on making sweets.

Although it didn’t work out, the impression that it was delicious was no lie, and Awashima loved any bean paste. She brought the rest of the rice cake to her mouth. “Damn. Even though it looks delicious.”

“There is no such thing as anko that is not delicious.”

“Damn.”

“Fufu, even if you make a mistake, it’s fine because she will eat everything.”

When her mother told that mocking her, the earth suddenly trembled.

Awashima was surprised and swallowed the last bite of Ohagi without chewing. “What? An earthquake?”

Her mother frowned and walked out of the tatami room in the back towards the store. She was talking to a customer who was choosing candy at the store and was saying, “Are you okay? It surprised me.”

“Isn’t that strange for an earthquake?”

It was a creepy and big tremor. Her brother nodded, “Oh…” to Awashima who was confused.

Awashima also went out to the store and noticed that the main street was noisy. She thought was suspicious and went outside. Looking in the direction the people on the street were looking, Awashima saw something like a red pillar of fire standing in the southern sky across the heavens and the earth.

“What’s that?”

Awashima muttered in astonishment.

Her chest made noise. She was sure something unusual was going on.

Awashima continued to stare at the southern sky with a strong expression until the ominous red light disappeared.

From there, spent some time before the situation was understood.

When it was reported on television that a huge explosion had occurred in the southern Kanto region and the city around the site turned into a heap of rubble, a woman who worked in the shop suddenly screamed.

“Are you okay?!”

The mother quickly knelt down, sat on the floor and held the shoulders of the crying employee.

“Wow, I… my parents’ house…”

She squeezed her voice out from under her painfully tear-wet breath.

It seems that her parents’ house was in the south direction of Kanto. Farther south than the debris-laden area in the news, a location that seemed closer to the center of the blast.

Cold, heavy, muddy air fell into the tent.

No one had a word for the crying employee. Her mother was still rubbing her back in silence.

Her brother bit his lip and quietly headed to the store to close up shop. Awashima also silently follows him and turned the sign around “open” with his brother who lowered the curtain.

Awashima, while listening to the clerk’s crying voice, looked at the “Sweet maker Awashima” curtain, looked at the older brother who lowered it, and looked at her parents in the store.

If that store, her home or her family were lost.

Imagination made Awashima shiver, and then anger began to rise.

It was stronger than the feeling of pity for the clerk’s crying, instead of the fear, the irrational childish anger aroused why she had to cry like that.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Misaki Yata (who didn’t have that last name yet because his mother wasn’t married yet) was playing with his friend Rikio Kamamoto in the Shizume shopping district in Tokyo. Yata was five years old.

Since it was Sunday, the nursery was closed, but his mother was not working.

Yata was five years old, but because his mother was busy as a single mother, he went out to play alone before breakfast. That day too, he headed to the nearby Shizume shopping district with a familiar step.

There was a friend of Yata’s at “Kamamoto liquor store” in the Shizume shopping district.

He attended the same kindergarten, graduated slightly earlier than Yata and went to elementary school, but he was weaker and less trustworthy than Yata. Yata, who was small, but was stronger than anyone in a fight, took control and turned him into a boy.

“Kamamoto. Ah, come here!”

When Yata yelled at the Kamamoto liquor store window, Kamamoto’s mother laughed, “Oh!”.

“Rikio! Misaki-chan came to see you.”

“Don’t call me by my first name!”

Yata insisted that he was tired of that name. It looked like a woman’s name. After being teased, Yata hated his name. When they called him by his name, he felt like a fool. That’s why he told Kamamoto to call him by his last name.

However, Kamamoto’s mom smiled, “Because Misaki-chan is Misaki-chan.”. He wasn’t satisfied with the fact that he looked like a woman when he was called that.

Kamamoto came out of the shelter at the back of the store, shaking his round body and laughing happily when he saw Yata. He was a cute boy who would become attached to Yata without any selection, even when he became an elementary student.

“What are you going to play today?”

When asked by Kamamoto, Yata took out a white stone from his pocket. It was a stone that he had picked up on the path that he traveled before arriving there.

Yata and Kamamoto crouched down on the street surface and wrote graffiti and collected stones on the asphalt surface. People in the shopping district were quiet, and although Yata and his friends were doodling in the street, they laughed and looked at them.

He got tired of drawing from the beginning, and when he was playing with many circles on the street surface, suddenly there was a terrible noise and the ground shook.

It was more like a big monster jumping and landing, rather than an earthquake.

Kamamoto, who had been making a sickle with one foot, suddenly screamed and rolled on the ground like a ball, and Yata also jumped a bit and looked around hurriedly.

“Oh!”

In the distant sky, he saw a red light that connected the sky and the ground like a great pillar. The sky there was dyed red like burning.

“What’s that?! It’s great!”

Involuntarily, Yata said so and pointed at the red light.

He didn’t know what it was at all, but the pillar of light like a bright red fire felt flashy and powerful and looked cool.

Of course, Yata didn’t know what was going on under that, and what he imagines was an alien invasion, the gate to the demon world opening, the superhuman hero’s super special move, etc.

Let’s go under that red light! Yata tried to say that. Running home and picking up his bike… and so on, all around Yata’s head.

At that moment, Kamamoto screamed. Yata looked at Kamamoto in a hurry. Kamamoto, who was still in a fallen position, burst into tears.

“What’s wrong? Did you scrape your knees?”

“I’m scared…”

Kamamoto said in a thin voice.

Yata didn’t say he was a queer.

When he was facing Kamamoto, who was crying because he was scared, he somehow got irritated and hurriedly hardened his expression and extended his hand towards Kamamoto.

“Okay! I’m here!”

Kamamoto looked at Yata with teary eyes. He takes Yata’s hand, intimidatingly. Yata made a great effort to help Kamamoto, keeping his hands on his chest.

“Kamamoto, when you’re in trouble, I’ll always help you! So it’s alright! I’ll help if something happens!”

Kamamoto looked at Yata and obediently nodded, “Yes.”, he pressed his hand back tightly.

Yata, that time, saw a pillar of red light in the distant sky with a somewhat mysterious feeling.

Still, the red light reflected in Yata’s eyes in a cold way.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Fushimi Saruhiko was walking alone through the gate of camellias in Tokyo. Fushimi was five years old.

As usual, his parents were not at home. He wasn’t happy with them at all, so he was quite happy that they were absent, but it was annoying having a housekeeper.

Being a housekeeper and not a babysitter, if Fushimi had an attitude that she would ignore, she wouldn’t have to take care of him more than necessary, but she said it would be bad if something happened to her employer’s son when she was there. That’s why she told Fushimi to tell her when he wanted to go out and play.

But of course he didn’t want to hang out and go out with a housekeeper.

Fortunately, the Fushimi family was uselessly large, so it wasn’t easy for the housekeeper to leave the house while she cleaned another room.

Fushimi walked out of the red brick Western-style house and headed for the camellia door. “Tsubakimon” was the name of that place, but it was also a common name for a building with a magnificent gate.

During the past few days, a large number of armored vehicles came out of “Tsubakimon” and passed in front of Fushimi’s house, and people in blue uniforms like “Tsubakimon” staff were running. Fushimi was curious about what was happening and turned his foot towards “Tsubakimon”.

“Tsubakimon” seemed calm. The door was closed and the building over there was also thin.

Fushimi grabbed the grille on the door, stretched, and looked inside.

It seems there were no cars parked at the time. Maybe they hadn’t been back since they were dispatched.

When he thought that, there was a shock and tremor that pushed up from the bottom of the earth.

Fushimi was a child with little emotional fluctuation, but he was really upset and clung to the door grate he was holding.

However, the shaking did not continue and ended with a big pitch.

Fushimi looked up and saw a red pillar of fire in the southern sky.

“That’s…”

Unintentionally, his voice leaked out.

Fushimi looked at the southern sky as if he was going to bite into it. He didn’t know if the red pillar of fire originated from the sky and burned the ground, or if it originated from the ground and went up into the sky, but the unrealistic sight caught Fushimi’s attention.

“Like the destruction of the world.”

When he tried to express his impressions of it, his heart fluttered a little.

There was a change in the building that was quiet up to that point. The door was flung open and several people in blue uniforms jumped out from inside as if rolling.

They directed their eyes straight to the southern sky, and when they looked at the pillar of fire, their expressions were tinted with despair. It seemed like they were talking about something, but he couldn’t hear the story because there was a big front yard between the gate and the building.

One of the blue uniforms suddenly knelt on the spot and groaned.

The roar, which was a mixture of pain and anger, reached the place where Fushimi was.

Fushimi was shocked at the appearance of a large man screaming and thought that the world would really be destroyed.

There was no particular fear in Fushimi. There was no one Fushimi wanted not to die, and he had no child-specific attachment to his own life.

Rather, he even felt that the event of the world’s destruction was better than his daily life.

However, he got tired of seeing adults moaning from the start, and Fushimi turned his back on “Tsubakimon” as he walked out the door.

Fushimi went home alone, imagining what it would be like to destroy the world.

++++++++++

That day, at that time, Miyabi Ameno came to a picnic with her parents in a park near her home in Kanagawa. Miyabi was two years old.

The picnic was fun both to go and to prepare.

While her mother was preparing a side dish for lunch, her father was preparing rice balls. Miyabi’s parents were a close couple who hung out in the kitchen during the holidays.

“Miyabi, it’s a fish!”

Miyabi insisted on that, standing next to her father, who was lining up rice balls on the table.

“Yes. There are salmon and tuna mayonnaise as fish ingredients.”

Her father held out a small ball of rice so that it would be easy for even Miyabi to eat.

He found it amusing to make a round shape out of rice, and on the way, Miyabi insisted that she do it, and even let her squeeze the paper-wrapped rice with her small hand.

They left home with a full lunch box. With Miyabi in the middle, the three of them walked hand in hand. It was a nice sunny day.

Miyabi sang a song in a good mood. A song about a lost kitten and a guard dog.

“Miyabi is good at singing.”

Her mother praised Miyabi’s singing.

“Miyabi may become a singer in the future.”

Her father also said that with a happy voice.

Miyabi continued to sing proudly. Both of her hands were firmly connected to her parents. Unlike Koneko-chan, Miyabi wouldn’t get lost.

The destination park had a promenade where you could enjoy seasonal flowers and a large grassy square, and it was a place where many families gathered during the holidays. As soon as Miyabi arrived, she rolled around on the grass and played, and when she was a little tired, her lunch box was open.

Her father grabbed the salmon rice ball, chewed on the sweet omelette her mother made, and Miyabi said that the distorted rice ball was delicious and ate it.

The lunch box was empty, when Miyabi was filled, she lay on her back on the grass.

“There, shine!”

Miyabi pointed to the distant sky and said that.

It shone in the distance and was as small as a bean, but the shape of the sword was clearly visible in Miyabi’s eyes. However, Miyabi didn’t know the word sword, so she used the word shine.

Her parents always praised her when Miyabi pointed to the sky and she said “Ohoshi-sama” or “Otsuki-sama”, so she hoped they would praise her again this time.

However, unlike the stars and the moon, it was an object that her parents didn’t even know about.

“Hmm? What is that…?”

“No, an unidentified flying object?”

Her parents looked at each other and fell silent.

At the point where Miyabi was looking, the red glow fell.

The red glow fell to the ground.

As soon as it hit the ground, there was a roar that seemed to tear at the back of her ears, and there was a shock as Miyabi’s body who was lying down rose up a bit.

Her father raised Miyabi’s body like a reflex.

Miyabi saw a column of red light rise up into the sky from where the red glow fell on her father’s shoulder, and a tsunami of light rush from there.

Her mother got up like a fight, pushed her father’s back and they started running together.

The people around her were running to escape the tsunami of light.

Miyabi opened her eyes and looked at the light that was chasing them.

The light swallowed the city.

A person running behind her hit her father’s back hard. Her father, who had Miyabi, lost his balance and fell, but he protected her so she wouldn’t be crushed.

The mother who was running with them also stopped and knelt beside her father.

The great wave of light was right behind.

The mother, realizing that she couldn’t escape, covered Miyabi with her father, using him as shield.

For Miyabi, who was only two years old, the world was full of surprises every day, so the light that she swallowed them was taken as a surprise.

However, she thought that the light was the most dazzling and beautiful she had ever seen.

++++++++++

That day, that hour, everywhere, every person acknowledged the incident with every emotion.

The children who would eventually carry the same sword above their heads received the incident where a huge sword floating in the heavens fell and scattered the ruins, with their own emotions.

Or they just looked at the light of destruction as they were without having a specific feeling.

Or, thinking of who he must be to prevent such ruin.

Or, as he was impaled on debris, he swallowed the fact and thought about the future.

On that day, even the fate of those who were not within that time, the only sword that had fallen to the ground moved silently.

GROUND ZERO, FRAGMENTS (Novel / In progress)

*Chapter 01
*Chapter 02
* Chapter 03
* Chapter 04
* Chapter 05
* Chapter 06
* Chapter 07
* Chapter 08
* Chapter 09
* Chapter 10
* Chapter 11
* Chapter 12

Note: This story will be released on the 10th of every month in Japan.

GROUND ZERO: FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 2: STARTING WITH A DREAM, AND…

*List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia

The largest “King” and “Gold King” on the ground, Daikaku Kokujoji, stood beside a wide-open window.

Near afternoon, the summer sun is already golden and slanting, but the setting sun in the aerial garden is late.

“A dream?”

When he muttered that, about 30 minutes had passed since the hearing began.

Nanakamado, on the rooftop of the Mihashira Tower, is Kokujoji’s private residence. A private space, normally accessible only to a very limited number of people who care about their surroundings, now welcomes guests.

There were two customers. He didn’t have an appointment, but when he visited the Mihashira Tower, he was greeted by the messenger from “Tokijikuin” before greeting and going to the rooftop.

Of course, it is usually unthinkable. Everything in the politics and economy of a country revolves according to its intentions: the ruthless giant Kokujoji Daikaku, of whom it is said that “if he stumbles, the country will collapse”, it is not common sense to meet unexpected visitors or spend minutes.

In other words, the client was an unconventional person.

“Colorless King” Ichigen Miwa. He sat quietly and watched Kokujoji’s back as if he were enjoying the atmosphere of a giant rock in a garden.

And another boy in casual clothes that he brought with him. His slim and well-organized appearance appears to be that of a girl, but his agilely trained body and central posture make it clear that he is not just a student.

His name is Yukari Mishakuji. Kokujoji also knows that he became a member of the “Colorless King” clan a few months ago.

When the helpers who had guided the two were evacuated, Kokujoji ordered Miwa to speak directly.

“Say the matter, Miwa.”

A direct tone that admits neither opportunism nor dignity. In a word, he easily dismisses the pressure with which a normal person could faint on their own.

“"I’m not in a good mood, Your Excellency. I had a bad dream this morning, so I’m a little worried.”

“A dream…?”

Kokujoji fell silent.

The vision of the future is a unique ability of Miwa. It may fall into his mind in the form of a mysterious poem, or it may arise in the form of a non-verbal vision. Such visions often come during special wakefulness before and after sleep. In other words, a dream. It is a dream of precognition.

“Ichigen Miwa visited the "Golden King” with an unwanted vision of precognition.“

In response to this fact, the tyrannical monarch, Kokujoji Daikaku, who made a quick decision, turned to the recipient. Things were serious and there was very little information.

In the background, there was a situation of immediate readiness.

The existence of a man who is losing control with enormous power.

Kokujoji waited for the next word, but since Miwa didn’t say anything, Kokujoji asked about the situation.

In that way, thirty minutes passed.

++++++++++

The Silent Thirty Minutes of Kokujoji Daikaku.

It was a time when the taiga water was blocked by the dam and the volume increased moment by moment. Kokujoji’s vassals, who were below, probably felt chills.

Not to mention the inside. Yukari Mishakuji tried to pretend to be calm, but the overwhelming "water pressure” seemed to crush his entire body. Miwa Ichigen said, “You just have to sit quietly.”, but that was just a life-threatening event.

It was Kokujoji who broke the silence.

“A dream?”

“Yes.”

In a word, Kokujoji’s wrinkled face looked slightly skyward.

“I’ve already encountered that.”

This is a confirmation, not a question.

The giant airship “Himmelreich” constantly orbiting over Tokyo. Adolf K. Weissman, the lonely inhabitant of the celestial world, who lives on the airship and has not set foot on land for more than half a century.

Miwa Ichigen, who had the vision of the ruin in a dream this morning, first visited the Himmelreich before the Mihashira Tower. Just a few hours ago.

This was to gain Weissman’s knowledge of the unprecedented “giant extraordinary disaster”.

The power of royalty, far beyond the limits of the different abilities of an individual. The possibility of the force losing control and going out of control was predicted from the beginning of “V” physics research, which began in Germany during World War II, with the danger that the trigger was left to the will of the individual.

In terms of simple calories, the energy release far exceeds strategic nuclear weapons, the explosion of royalty (Damocles down).

After the war, Kokujoji, who took control of the national affairs of his native country, turned the metropolitan area centered on the Mihashira Tower into an experimental site where the “Seven Kings” were concentrated, that was to study and control the state of that power.

The “kings” with seven attributes and seven destinies pursue life, society and power, and die. In the end, he was able to catch some truth… it was supposed to be like this.

However, there was a blind spot in the Kokujoji concept, no, a gross miscalculation.

The “Red King” Kagutsu Genji.

The man had a will for violence that could be said to be out of the standard, he was extremely radical compared to the “Red King” that existed in the past.

He had no stop. He ran full speed for the shortest distance that led to a fugitive and sought more destruction.

The means to stop the self-seeking “King” are very limited.

Normally, only another “King” can control the “King”, but trying to stop the runaway “King” makes it easy for the stopping “King” to escape. In other words, it is the blowout of a chain of blowups that goes far beyond a simple royal outburst and brings about global ruin.

The suburbs of Tokyo, where the “Seven Kings” are concentrated at close range, have been turned into huge bombs with the “Red King” as the detonator.

Adolf K. Weissman, the proponent of “Theory V”, was very concerned about the possibility of ruin. However, if he stepped in as the First King and one of the Great Kings, that power could immediately trigger an outburst from Kagutsu. He was afraid of interfering with the ground.

A few hours ago, Weissman told Miwa.

“I’m willing to provide information, but I can’t help directly. I’m just a helpless observer. If I try to do things, I’ll be the source of chaos.”

And now, Kokujoji, who heard the summary of the press conference, silently nodded.

His position was similar. If the “Earth’s Greatest King”, together with Weissman, came into contact with the fugitive “Red King”, it would cause an outburst of both, and even super-physical mutual interference involving all the other kings.

“Silver” and “Gold”, the two giants are tied to their respective positions due to their enormous size.

The acknowledgment was in line with Miwa Ichigen’s understanding. In a word, he doesn’t have a means of observation like Weissman or an information network like Kokujoji, but he has come to the same point of view just by his five senses and inspiration. He was another “King” with the same sense of crisis at this stage, and the only “King” with freedom of action.

“Tell me what you need.”

Once again, Kokujoji spoke. It was a tone that neatly stopped the flow of the conversation.

The exchanges thus far may have been a necessary process for Kokujoji to gather his thoughts and intentions, including the time of silence.

A man who was blown away by the wind and casually visited him was blocking the river so the giant could breathe.

The man, “Colorless King”, Miwa Ichigen, touched the tatami.

“Can you let me take a walk around your knees?”

“Permitted.”

Kokujoji responded immediately.

“If necessary, we will talk amongst ourselves.”

“I think I’ll ask you when necessary.”

“Well, do you need an escort?”

“Clansman, Yukari Mishakuji. That is enough.”

“That’s it.”

Kokujoji looked at Yukari’s figure. Yukari held his breath and just endured the “pressure”.

The steep line of sight turned out the window again.

“Go, "Colorless King”. Look down into the eyes of the heavenly whale, the power of the pillars, walk all the way to your heart’s content, and find a way to avoid ruin.“

"Yes.”

“…Miwa.”

As he looked at the garden, Kokujoji spoke. It was a huge back like a rock. Immovable, solid as a rock, but therefore…

“It takes time and effort.”

Heavenly giant whale, earthly giant tree. The two giant Kings in heaven and earth are motionless due to the size of their existence. The reason is that the giant tree that supports a country entrusts things to the fluff that rides on the wind.

“Come on.”

Miwa stood up as he urged Yukari on.

“Fortunately, I have nothing to carry on my back. The lightness of my waist is the key.”

++++++++++

The hearing ended in less than an hour.

After leaving the tower, the city on the ground had already fallen into darkness. Looking up, the setting sun was shining on the upper floors of some skyscrapers. Depending on the height of the viewpoint, the view that is seen will change.

But other than that,

“I wonder if you are responsible for my identity.”

Kokujoji’s parting word mentioned above. There was a complaint from an unexpected place.

“Yes? Oh, of course I feel responsible, Yukari.”

Miwa answered easily.

“But I haven’t brought him into your life, because you have your own path.”

Yukari still had a dissatisfied face. He didn’t seem convinced. He didn’t mind following Miwa.

“I’ve been a bit away due to my fitness and changes in my position, but I’m chasing ‘a stick, cut and stretched’. It’s okay to have a life like that. You can have a life like that. I’m sure it will be fun.”

He imagines a “path” that he couldn’t choose, Miwa’s tone seemed to be very funny. But,

“Hah.”

He couldn’t keep up with Miwa. Far from being fun, if life will continue like this in the future…

A world that can be said to be the secret behind the world, woven by kings and talented people. The sensitivity of Yukari, who has just set foot there, is still close to that of ordinary people.

If he organizes the situation in his mind to deal with an unusual situation…

The fugitive “Red King” and other “Kings” trying to stop him.

The Lord who plays a role in the “Seven Kings”, the “Colorless King” Miwa Ichigen visited the “Silver King” and the “Golden King” to understand the situation and guidelines for action.

In order to maintain the balance of power between the kings as mediators and avoid ruin, it is necessary to visit the remaining four “kings”.

In what order should he visit each one, and how should he work? It’s a dangerous puzzle that can even ruin the world if he made a mistake in one step.

First of all, the next move, except for the “Green King”, which is completely hidden, the choice is one of the remaining three “King”.

Namely,

“Red King” Kagutsu Genji.

“Blue King” Habari Jin.

“Grey King” Otori Seigo.

Of these, “Red King” Kagutsu and “Blue King” Habari are based in central Tokyo, which is Kokujoji’s knee, and engage in small-scale battles on a daily basis. The assault of the red clan “Purgatory” is being addressed by the security organization of the Blue clan “Scepter 4”.

The remaining “Grey King” phoenix has a huge autonomous territory “Cathedral” in the southern part of Kanagawa Prefecture, and maintains a calm demeanor.

Regardless of the power he came into contact with, “Red”, “Blue”, or “Grey”, there was a risk that the dangerous balance would be thrown off balance and the “Red King” would go out of control.

In particular, Yukari Mishakuji killed a member of the “Purgatory” clan in the “Yodomiya Incident” six months ago. Members’ lives are light for “Purgatory”, but it’s not hard to imagine expecting retaliation from Yukari due to the organization’s physical condition.

Also, before “Blue King” Habari who visited the place after the incident, he refused to join “Scepter 4” after being recommended.

“I tried to kill him…”

When talking about it for the first time, Miwa said in a cheerful tone.

“You only thought about it for a moment.”

Yukari denied it. It was surprising to think that he was a dangerous person, and even more so that amused to him.

“At that time, it was an instant. But did you think about it every time you remembered? "How could he be cut, can I cut him today?”.“

"Perhaps it is so.”

“Of course, Habari Jin is not a person who has such a root, but it can’t be helped if he is judged as a dangerous person. If you leave him alone, you don’t know which "King” to cut down next.“

"That is…”

“Haha… Just kidding, Yukari. Ordinary humans can’t kill the "King” in front of them, even if they have extraordinary powers. Even if you can think about it, you’re…“

At that moment…

The sudden sound of a bell interrupted Yukari’s memory. It was a telephone ringtone.

Miwa took out a clamshell mobile phone from his chest. The screen did not announce the sender.

"Hello?”

“Hello, "Colorless King” Miwa Ichigen.“

An electronically discordant voice. The owner of the phone was using a voice changer.

"You got your approval and secured the position of mediator.”

“Who are you?”

The owner of the phone kept talking without answering Miwa’s question.

“Your partner is Yukari Mishakuji from "Niibangai, in Yodomiya”.“

At that moment, with a single look from Miwa, Yukari noticed that he was talking about him, and his slender body tensed.

"Even if it’s a chicken, "Regicide”. You can take it anywhere in the name of mediation.“

"It’s out of my mind for him to be called that.”

“I’m not blaming you. I’m impressed that it’s an interesting move. Miwa Ichigen, you’re a good move.”

“Thank you. I will accept it obediently.”

Miwa replied.

“If you are going to praise me, can you tell me something instead of a reward?”

“Fine, but there may be a penalty for a boring question.”

Ignoring the words that could be taken as a threat, Miwa asked.

“What is your motive, "Green King”?“

The owner of the phone did not deny the sudden name, and…

”……“

After a few seconds of silence, a word was murmured.

”…Dream.“

"Dream?”

“Yes, it’s a dream. Is there something else that moves people?”

Mockery, ridicule, or a bit of urgency. Suddenly, the phone was hung up faster than Miwa could measure the true meaning of the word.

“Ichigen-sama, that phone call was from…”

“The messenger of the "Green King”… no, perhaps himself.“

Miwa seemed hollow, as if he imagined the appearance of a mysterious person.

"He called me a "move”. In other words, he viewed this one-touch situation as Go or Shogi…and he designated us as a pair.“

"Does that mean an unidentified "King” has declared us hostile again…?“

"Hostile… How about that? In any case, it seems that he invited me to play.”

Suddenly, Miwa stopped.

The “words” had gone down.

Ichimoku,

He plays with me,

Play of war.

“Yes.”

Miwa smiled back as if he wanted to release Yukari’s tension.

“Let’s enjoy this situation too. Well, we should move on to the next one.”

Miwa started walking again, followed by Yukari.

The smell of summer nights was beginning to waft through the urban streets looking up at the high-rise buildings like giants.

If he made a mistake, this mega-city would turn into a smoky plain overnight.

Miwa Ichigen knew his responsibility, but he did not allow himself to be overwhelmed by the weight of it.

There was no impatience in his steps, even light ones somehow.

GROUND ZERO: FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 3: CHILDREN

* List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia

The first time they went out in a high school uniform was not at the entrance ceremony but at their parents’ funeral.

Siblings Minato Hayato and Akito attended the funeral ceremony held at the “Scepter 4” camp in the second half of March when the cherry blossoms were about to begin to crumble.

“Draw your swords. Ready, Battou!”

It was Gen Shiotsu, a person familiar to Hayato and Akito, who issued such an order. While listening to the voice of Shiotsu as the deputy boss of “Scepter 4”, who was the uncle of a serious and caring relative, with a mysterious feeling, the two of them looked at the coffin in the grieving family’s seat prepared in the front.

The faces of Hayato and Akito’s parents, Minato Hayato and Akio’s bodies were beautiful, but their bodies were covered with white cloth and could not be seen. They knew that they were wounded from the battle with “Purgatory”, and wanted to see how their parents fought and died, just looking at the footprints, but Shiotsu’s face, begging for “Don’t look”, looked pained, so the two walked away in silence.

During the ceremony, neither Hayato nor Akito shed tears. It wasn’t a good idea to stubbornly cry after that, so they put their shoulders together and bid their parents farewell in silence while sharing a light body temperature.

When it was over, Hayato and Akito asked Shiotsu for an audience with the “Blue King” Habari Jin. The two decided it before attending the event.

Shiotsu had a complicated look on his face, but he didn’t refuse the request of the two. Shiotsu knew that they longed for Habari, so he may have wanted to repay the poor children who lost their parents, or perhaps he thought that if there was any grudge against Habari who had carried out an operation that would kill their parents, they should tell him. Shiotsu was one of those people.

Guided by Shiotsu, they entered the main building of the tunsho. The members who crossed stopped when they saw the brothers and gave them their condolences.

When they entered the command office, they saw Habari Jin standing by the window and looking outside.

“Habari. Akio and Minato’s children.”

Shiotsu called, Habari looked directly at Hayato and Akito as he walked away from the window.

Habari’s eyes, which had no sadness, no anger, no regret, and only saw the essence of what was in front of him from the front, made them somewhat flirtatious. When they got there, his eyes were clearly different from the eyes of the members who were directed at them, and the eyes were like a clear sky that was not suitable for children whose parents were killed.

However, Hayato and Akito thought that these were the eyes of the person whose parents believed and entrusted their lives.

“Make us members of the Blue clan.”

They didn’t plan it, but Hayato’s and Akito’s voices overlapped beautifully.

Habari looked at them with a faint smile, but Shiotsu, who brought them, averted his eyes.

“What are they saying?!”

“In the test, we were also diagnosed as having different aptitudes. We have qualifications and aptitudes.”

“I think I have enough motivation to become a member. I will fight with the will of my parents. I will defeat the enemy that killed my parents.”

“You’re still kid!”

“I am not a child.”

The voices of the two overlapped again.

Shiotsu seemed to have been swallowed for a moment, but he immediately made his facial expression pronounced and he glared at them stubbornly.

“No. I have a duty to protect them, Akio’s forgotten memory, and a responsibility as the underboss. As their guardian, I can’t let them go to their deaths, and as the underboss of "Scepter 4”, I can’t let some children get away with it, joining the team.“

Shiotsu stood up and said that in front of Hayato and Akito. The two defended themselves strongly, but there was no sign that Shiotsu was going to change his mind.

Habari silently looked at the children and the deputy chief who stood in front of him and began to argue with his pale eyes.

++++++++++

The matter of becoming members of the Blue clan flowed due to Shiotsu’s fierce opposition, but the Minato brothers’ whereabouts were moved to the member’s dormitory in the "Scepter 4” tunsho.

Because Akio and Hayatoshi’s parents died early, Shirahane’s arrow stayed in Shiotsu as a relative to take care of the Minato brothers. Although, Shiotsu is a distant relative. However, Akio grew up in the neighborhood as brother and sister, and Minato and his wife also worked together, so the relationship ran deeper than blood connection. Shiotsu was also willing to do his best as the twins’ guardian.

But, the story is different when it comes to acting as a parent.

Shiotsu is a single man, a lieutenant in a life-threatening organization. The battle with “Purgatory” was intensifying and it was difficult for the twins to leave the government building and live together.

Shiotsu, who was thinking about what to do, even thought about getting married for a moment, but…

“It’s rude to get married to take care of ourselves, Gen-san.”

“Even if we don’t do that, we can still do our thing, Gen-san.”

He got the very correct opinion from the twins and immediately returned calmly.

“If you find it difficult to live outside, why don’t you let your children live here?”

It was a good idea to say it.

“In the dorm, if you go to the cafeteria, you’ll get proper food. It’s hard to live.”

Zenjo was a man like a great wild child suddenly picked up by Habari. For Zenjo, the “Scepter 4” camp can be a place where a civilized life is guaranteed.

“It would be bad for emotional education.”

Zenjo made a neat face at Shiotsu’s words as he rubbed his eyebrows. He maybe he didn’t understand what was wrong with emotional education there, or maybe he didn’t understand what emotional education was like in the first place.

“But isn’t there a reason for what you say, Zenjo? The dorm has everything you need for your life, and Akio’s children will take care of it. It’s good to have a lot of eyes to watch. I think it is. Even if the deputy director doesn’t just carry them on his back, all the members can take care of them.”

It was Azuma Sohei from the Chainsaw Squat Sawing Unit who said that.

Chainsaw Squad, a special unit formed by Habari to kill Kagutsu Genji, the “Red King”. Although all members of the unit are projectiles with non-standard power and individuality, each one engages like a gear through thoughtful cooperation, becoming a huge, vicious chainsaw and mowing down the enemy. This Azuma, Zenjo and the now deceased Akio, mother of twins, were also members of the chainsaw team.

Azuma also had something to think about Akio’s death. Even in an environment where you are inevitably used to the death of your partner, the pain does not go away. In particular, it is humanity that made him feel that he couldn’t leave him alone when he heard that they had left behind two growing children. It seemed that Azuma, let alone Zenjo, did not question whether this place was a suitable environment to raise children in good health.

However, Shiotsu couldn’t think of any further measures, and when he asked people about his intentions, both Hayato and Akito wanted to live in the “Scepter 4” camp without hesitation, so a dorm room was reassigned to the two of them.

“If you have any problems, tell me right away. It doesn’t matter if it’s about life, school, or anything trivial.”

The two of them honestly nodded to Shiotsu’s words, but Shiotsu never consulted them.

Hayato and Akito woke up in the dorm, ate in the dining room, and went to the tunsho high school.

The children were between Akio, a famous member who was a small but ridiculous teacher as a child, and Hayato, who was a person with common sense and was soft on everyone. The twins were loved and well-liked by many members.

The twins also seemed to like the other members more than Shiotsu, who had known them since childhood. They wanted to hear about their work from the off-duty members, and said they wanted to learn swordsmanship, so they brandished a bamboo sword at the tunsho dojo and had a caring member train them.

When they saw the members returning covered in blood after being dispatched, they were not scared and worked handing out water and medicine and helping with first aid. Although Shiotsu told them, “You don’t have to do that.”, they said, “We want to.” and “I owe you.”.

If he witnessed such a healthy and honest appearance of a 12-year-old boy, it would make sense to be tied down. Among them, Azuma was particularly careful in caring for the twins, perhaps because they felt a sense of responsibility for the twins who lived in the tunsho.

“Oraora! Hayato, the driving is shallow! Akito, the armpits are open!”

The care was mainly in the dojo. Shiotsu often watched Azuma “play” sword training to Hayato and Akito.

Azuma, a user of twin swords. The bamboo swords he held in both hands wielded Hayato and Akito desperately at the same time. He thought he was dealing with Hayato with his right hand and Akito with his left hand, so he swung his sword to guide the two people’s movements and allowed them to switch their standing positions, this time with Akito with his right hand and Hayato with his left hand, taking the other part. They both have habits that usually appear when attacking from the right and when attacking from the left, so the bad habits are corrected by hitting them with words and a bamboo sword.

Azuma passively spun for a moment and continued to catch Hayato and Akito’s bamboo swords, but when the two were out of breath, they spun to counter and strike. He made a nice noise and hit two hands in a row.

Hayato and Akito groaned slightly and dropped the bamboo sword.

Unlike the members, the twins, who couldn’t protect themselves due to their incompetence, wore kendo armor, but they still seemed to feel severe numbness and pain from their beaten hands and couldn’t pick up the bamboo sword right away.

“Enough rest!”

“Yes!”

Although their faces were distorted with pain, the twins responded cheerfully.

Shiotsu, who stopped at the entrance of the dojo and was observing the situation, noticed that Hayato had noticed his presence.

“Vice-Commander.”

Shiotsu wiggled his eyebrows to the point that the voice he called didn’t notice.

Recently, the twins no longer called Shiotsu “Gen-san” like they used to. They call him “Vice-Commander” because of the title in “Scepter 4”. It seemed to be proof that they hadn’t given up on being members of “Scepter 4”, and Shiotsu felt awkward every time he was called that.

“Azuma. Don’t hurt them.”

Shiotsu frowned and the twins yelled before Azuma answered.

“We ask for strict training.”

“He wanted to be stronger, so I told him not to adjust.”

“Even if you say that, of course I’m adjusting it.”

Azuma said that with a straight face, Hayato and Akito puffed out their cheeks and fell silent.

“Hayaaki, please rehydrate.”

Azuma called them and gave instructions by the nickname of the two. The twins left the dojo saying “Yes.” with puffy cheeks.

“It’s okay to get along and take care of them, but don’t forget that Hayato and Akito are still twelve years old.”

Azuma listened to Shiotsu’s words, murmuring with a sigh, as he twirled the bamboo swords he held in both hands around his hands.

“Is age that important?”

“It’s important. Even if they look a bit older, they are immature in mind and body.”

“But Hayaaki is smart and they have enough sword qualities. If they want to be a member of the clan, they should.”

Shiotsu got a headache when he told him that he should let them do what he didn’t want them to do.

“Enough. I’ll say it again, they’re still kids.”

“Skill as a clan member has nothing to do with age. Hayaaki also had great aptitude for different skills, even if they weren’t as good as Akio-san, right?”

“It’s not a matter of ability. I’m saying we can’t allow children with poor judgment of themselves to enter the world of life and death.”

“I wonder if you can say that.”

The tone was benign, just asking a pure question, but Shiotsu was speechless for a moment.

“Other than that, I don’t want to see them on the front lines right away because they’ve been made a member of the clan. Right now I’m practicing with Hayaaki, but teaching a child a sword is completely different from teaching a child with different abilities a sword. If you put them in the commander’s facility, they will definitely be stronger. They may not be as outstanding as Akio-san, but they are warlike and have high concentration, and they also have Hayatoshi-san qualities, so they are smart. You should teach them and train them to handle their different abilities and give them a job when they grow up with a good feeling. You’re in trouble because you don’t have enough, right?”

In the fierce battle with “Purgatory”, the number of members of “Scepter 4” decreases every day. As Azuma said, “Scepter 4” was suffering from a shortage of members. If he does a small number of missions, the death rate of members will naturally increase. Currently, the defense forces and the police are recruiting a large number of personnel with different skills and are struggling to make up for the shortage.

When he saw Shiotsu silently with a bitter face, Azuma thought that he had said too much, and changed the tone of his voice with a laugh.

“Well, Hayaaki’s guardian is Vice Commander Shiotsu, so I’m not going to say anything.”

He saw Hayato and Akito return to the dojo.

Azuma raised his hand slightly and welcomed them, saying to Shiotsu in a low voice.

“Once I asked them if they wouldn’t join the kendo club at school and they said, "The swords you learn at school can’t cut people”.“

Shiotsu was amazed, but there was no time to return his words, and Azuma called out to Hayato and Akito, who came running in and said, "Okay, then break is over!”.

As he watched the two holding the bamboo sword again, Shiotsu remembered the conversation with Hayatoshi when he talked about the twins’ birthday presents.

Shortly before Mr. and Mrs. Minato were killed. he hears the twins said, “I want a sword for my birthday.”. Shiotsu said that he couldn’t give them a saber, but he could send them a small knife as a souvenir, but Hayatoshi shook his head gently. He refused to give the children a knife and said that the pen would be mightier than the sword and would send a fountain pen.

“I hope they are prepared to harm others a bit later.”

Remembering Hayatoshi’s calm but determined voice, Shiotsu looked down in suffocating humor.

++++++++++

Hayato and Akito went to school earnestly for the day, and when class was over, they flew back and went on to live a life wielding a bamboo sword in the dojo. When the members were training at the dojo, they would join the corner and when no one was there, they would practice together. In many cases, Azuma and other members of the group came to teach the sword.

Since the beginning of high school, they did not feel like making friends at school, engaging in club activities, playing games after school, etc. His parents were killed by a human like beast. The life that a normal child had disappeared from Hayato and Akito’s eyes.

They just studied hard during class, and the grades always stayed up. It was also because Shiotsu didn’t seem to neglect their studies when holding a sword. The two of them never gave up on being members of “Scepter 4”.

It was raining a lot that night.

Hayato and Akito wore raincoats and smoothly escaped from the room at midnight and left the dorm. The light footsteps were drowned out by the pouring rain.

The main building was packed with night shift members and several windows were lit, but the west building they were aiming at was dark. Hayato and Akito entered the building, took off their raincoats and rolled them up so as not to wet the floor.

Shining a flashlight on their feet, they aimed at the room at the end of the first floor.

The purpose of the two was the material of the case where their parents died.

The case materials were classified and could not be shown even to the grieving family of the line-of-duty deaths. But Hayato and Akito wanted to know the details of how their parents died and what kind of person killed them.

After living in the “Scepter 4” tunsho for about two months, they have been able to understand what is in the place and when there are people. The two of them went down the corridor of the barracks at midnight to see the materials.

They opened the door where the handwritten “Materials Room” sign was. The key was stolen from the general affairs section during the day.

They didn’t turn on the light in the room, they shined a flashlight on the file shelf. It wasn’t hard to find what they were looking for in the chronologically arranged files.

A tape with the words “March 1999 Kaume Detention Center Suppression Operation” was taped to the back cover of the plastic file that was removed from the shelf. Hayato and Akito sat down near the ground and opened the file. In the dark, they looked at the letters that emerged with the flashlight.

― For the purpose of subduing the “Red King” Kagutsu Genji, they hurriedly entered the ruins of the Kagutsu detention branch in the Fengze district, which belongs to the “Purgatory”. Zenjo Goki, Akio Minato, Sohei Azuma, Bado Ryoichiro, Chidjiiwa Gaku, Daiba Sadamitsu are the leaders of the “Chainsaw Squat Sawing Unit”, and the first, second and third platoon of the Mobility Division were introduced.

From what they read in the report, it seemed that the operation went smoothly in the early stages. The situation changed when they reached the depths of the detention center and entered a large-scale battle in a hall-like place made by taking out walls from several rooms centered on a common room. Akio Minato died after being attacked by “Purgatory” that was waiting for them.

― The cause of death was the penetration of the chest by the fist that housed the Red Clansman’s flame. Instant death.

― Akio Minato’s death interrupted the cooperation of the six chainsaws, and the formation of “Scepter 4” collapsed. The waiting “Blue King”, Habari Jin and Minato Hayatoshi rushed inside. Although the war situation was restored, Hayato Minato was also pierced in the chest and died by the same clansman who killed Akio Minato.

“Dad and mom were killed by the same guy.”

Hayato’s murmuring voice fell into the darkness of the sound of rain.

Following the report, there was also a corpse examination plan for deceased parents. There, Hayato and Akito learned about the state of their parents’ bodies, which Shiotsu did not show at the funeral.

When they slowly turned the paper over, the materials of the “Purgatory” members who participated in the battle continued. Noto Kongo, died. Katsunori Tada, died. Keiji Fujitani, died. Fumiaki Honjo, died. Shogoro Yamazaki, died. Kaga Kotetsu, died.

The endless materials of the dead continued to be delivered. Those whose identities were known were given their names, photos of their lives, and backgrounds. For those whose identities could not be identified, a photo of the body was attached to the material with only “Unknown” in the name column. Some of them were so damaged that it seemed impossible to identify them.

Neither Hayato nor Akito were afraid of the horrible pictures of the bodies. They looked and stopped at a page.

Makoto Magara, assassin of Minato Akio and Minato Hayatoshi, escaped.

He was in the materials of the “Purgatory” members who survived and escaped. He was a very young man compared to the other members. He even looked like a child.

“The guy who killed mom and dad is still alive.”, Akito said. He was a dry voice without emotions.

The two then silently stared at the material for a long time.

Finally, they closed the file on both sides and returned it to the shelf. They quietly left the library and walked down the dark corridor.

It was still raining heavily. However, Hayato and Akito forgot to put on their rolled-up raincoats and walked out as they were. A large drop of cold rain hit their bodies, but they felt nothing.

The heavy rain made them soak in a few seconds. When they returned to the dorm room, they took off their wet clothes on the floor, roughly wiped their bodies, and put on their home clothes.

There was a bunk bed in the bedroom, and Hayato usually used the top bed and Akito used the bottom bed, but they snuck into the bottom bed together without saying anything.

The two lay in silence, their backs pressed together to protect each other’s helpless backs. The rain-beaten body was cold, and the limbs remained cold, but the backs that touched each other were feverish and felt burning. They thought it was the temperature of anger.

They even had a strange feeling that the amount of heat from anger would change so much just by knowing the face of the human who killed them.

Until recently, the death of their parents was beyond the mist.

The sadness of loss was bitten many times, thinking that they could no longer hear the voice of their father who sweetly and intelligently advised them, and that they could no longer see the back of their mother, who was bold, and never made a mistake on the important point. However, the feeling of death itself was ambiguous. That’s why they wanted to be members of the Blue clan, they could choose a beautiful word to inherit their parents’ will instead of revenge.

It is also because it was adorned with the sound of martial arts, which seemed to produce proud, and they were sent only looking at the beautifully groomed face without seeing how their parents’ bodies were destroyed.

However, it was not the vague concept of “enemy” that brought death to his parents, but a living human being with a name. His hands pierced the bodies of their parents, crushed their organs and made a wind cave in his chest.

Hayato and Akito didn’t express their feelings about it, but shared their anger at not being able to handle it with their backs touching each other.

It was less than a few weeks after that that they were motivated to believe in the word destiny.

Hayato and Akito witnessed the appearance of a true childhood pattern.

++++++++++

After the hideout received the avalanche from “Scepter 4”, the people of “Purgatory” were chased and scattered.

Takao Yamiyama survived the battle with “Scepter 4” in the Kaume Detention Branch, and later returned to the house where his wife and children were.

Takao Yamiyama was married. He entered the registry long before Yamiyama entered “Purgatory”. The other woman was a cabaret girl with a deeply carved face and a dull atmosphere, and she said that she had a son, so he asked, “Would you like to get married?”. It was not a statement of sense of responsibility, but rather a favor to a woman who declared that she had a child. Yamiyama didn’t take marriage very seriously, so either one was fine. Even after registering, his life did not change, and the woman gave birth to a child and raised him alone. While doing anti-social work in an anti-social organization, Yamiyama would occasionally go see the faces of women and children.

Finally, Kagutsu Genji appeared, “Purgatory” was born, and Yamiyama’s organization was also incorporated into “Purgatory”. At that time, many of his friends died, but Yamiyama survived and obtained a life flame in exchange for his right ear.

He felt that the screw in his son’s head was flying, but as he grew older, he felt that he was weak, but the decisive factor was when he was expelled from “jail” and returned to the house of the woman who was his wife. He seemed like he saw it somewhere and had great admiration for Kagutsu.

“Father, are you that person’s subordinate? I also want to be a subordinate.”

The boy told him that, Yamiyama laughed, but was strangely devoured. Even if he threatened that he would be killed, even if he told him that he needed to be prepared to burn a part of his body to become a subordinate, the glow in his eyes kept increasing.

Upon receiving the installation from Kagutsu, a part of the body is destroyed by the captured flame. The one who dies will die, and only the one who survives will become a member of the clan. In Yamiyama’s case, the place where the flame went out and burned was his right ear.

The boy stared at Yamiyama’s burned and nonexistent right ear with eyes close to envy, saying, “Oh. I’ll dedicate every part of my body to him.”.

It was clear from the fact that his eyes were uncomfortable that it wasn’t a joke. It was a human eye that he would see daily if he lived in “Purgatory”, and he could throw away anything by the time he burned the life out of him.

He was somehow sick of his son not being old enough to have those eyes.

“It’s not crazy.”, he said.

“Yamiyama, what are you doing?”

The voice was released and Yamiyama raised his face. He looked like he was lost in thought of him with a pile of gold in his hand.

Yamiyama was counting money with two men in a room where the concrete wall was black from being burned.

“Oh, yeah.”

The man who spoke to Yamiyama bowed slightly and counted the money in his hand.

Yamiyama returned home after being chased by “Purgatory”, but after a while he left the house and entered the office of the organization he belonged to before becoming a member of “Purgatory”. The reason why he returned to the building where he couldn’t smell the scorching odor due to the donpachi when he was taken to “Purgatory” and joined his friends was to resume Shinogi, who earned the top pay. “Purgatory” is different from ordinary gangster society, but Hitoshi Soma, who is number 2, has a solid cash flow and has a mechanism to raise money from the bottom. He didn’t know if the maximum payout had been properly raised to Kagutsu or if it had been absorbed into Soma’s pocket.

It was Hiura who asked to restart Shinogi, and he was Yamiyama’s older brother in the previous organization. However, it is the same in “Purgatory”, and, in the first place, “Purgatory” has no other hierarchical relationship other than the force of power. He didn’t have to drag the hierarchy from his previous story, but he didn’t have the bad feelings of rubbing against it (rubbing usually means killing each other in “Purgatory”), so Hiura was still his older brother.

“Joe Norkin, this is good!”

Another man put a part of the counted gold in an envelope and made a cheerful voice.

Ed, whose real name is Edward, is a brilliant man and has a unique record of illegally entering Japan from Mexico and arriving in “Purgatory”.

The envelope that Ed had put aside was placed on the edge of the table and the remaining money was distributed by three people.

“Tonight is a party! Eat good meat and good sake!”

Ed laughed and fanned out his own layout.

At the back of Yamiyama’s right ear, there was a sudden buzzing of flames. Yamiyama’s right ear was burned to the eardrum, but on the right side he could hear the sound of flames instead of the normal sound. The flame was sensitive to signals from others, and Yamiyama survived for a long time thanks to the ability to hear the signals he had obtained in exchange for losing his right outer ear and eardrum.

“He is a guest.”

A few seconds after Yamiyama said that, he started hearing footsteps that could be picked up by his left ear and spoke.

When Hiura answered, the door opened and two young men dressed in black appeared. It is a boy-like duo that doesn’t look good in the black suit that is synonymous with “Purgatory”. Kyoji and Taku. Soma loved them quite a bit and they were often assigned to work as cabin messengers.

“This is Soma-san’s errand.”

Kyoji raised a hand and said that with a careless gesture.

Especially when he looked at Kyoji with a baby face, Yamiyama sometimes remembered his son. He told him that the “Red King” would not have a child as a subordinate, but when he saw Kyoji, he felt that this was not the case. Either way, there was no point in trying to guess Kagutsu’s heart.

“What is there to give Soma-san?”

Kyoji said with a meek mouth, moving his palm to urge him on. Hiura’s temple, who doesn’t like the attitude of young boys, jerked back, but Ed issued a bright voice at the right time.

“Oh! Sure! Yeah, wait a minute.”

Ed handed Kyoji an envelope containing the gold he had just set aside. Kyoji greeted him casually, “Yes, surely.”

During that time, Yamiyama’s right ear caught the sound of a small flame still buzzing. The flame in the right ear, reacting to the signal, emitted a flickering sound that was particularly sensitive to hostility.

“You guys got it with someone.”

“Eh?”

Kyoji frowned.

“He’s small, but I heard the hostility was directed at me. Out of the office. Maybe it’s two.”

At Yamiyama’s words, Hiura distorted his face and looked at Kyoji and his friends.

“What are these guys doing?!”

“What?!”

Hiura yelled at him, and Kyoji’s head filled with blood as well. However, Taku held Kyoji’s shoulder from the side and stepped forward.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to get rid of him soon, so you have no complaints, right?”

Taku tried to leave the room with Kyoji, but before he did, the sound picked up by Yamiyama’s right ear was far away.

“No, the sign is going to go away. Maybe I’ll call my friends.”

“Can you chase them?”

“I can’t keep up, but it’s a nuisance. That little sign isn’t blue clothes. Maybe something from the mob. It’s easier to wait for your friends to come back and then finish them off.”

Kyoji and Taku looked at each other as if to consult, but Yamiyama waved them away.

“I’ll get rid of him here, so you should go home and give Soma-san the money. I’ll kill you if you’re a cat.”

“I’m sorry!”

Beside Kyoji who barked, Taku gave Soma a warning as he made a slightly involuntary face.

Currently, “Purgatory” who has lost his home base is scattered and hiding on his own. Soma used youngsters like Kyoji and Taku who could become couriers and fundraisers.

To summarize the notification elements, it was said that the time of the war with “Scepter 4” would be indicated there, so they would avoid any flashy action as much as possible, but if they did, it would be an outburst in “Purgatory”. Such release was transmitted through Taku’s mouth.

“Yamiyama. Why did you go home? It’s his fault, so I wish they’d tighten up.”

After repelling Kyoji and Taku, Hiura said that in an unpleasant voice. The main reason was that it was troublesome for Hiura, who hated cheeky youths, and Kyoji and Taku would be an unnecessary quarrel, but Yamiyama scoffed as he lit a cigarette.

“I’ve been lacking in exercise lately, so I only wanted to do it if there were clients who might diverge.”

Hiura snorted and Ed laughed, “Takao, I’m fine!”

When Takao Yamiyama’s right ear heard the sound of hostility again, he was skeptical about the smallness of the signal, which was exactly the same as before.

Didn’t you call your friends? Are you going to keep monitoring? He was wondering, “I’m going to take a look outside.”, he said.

As he walked down the stairs of the building, the sound of hostility grew louder. However, it was strangely unstable. It was murderous, but it made a terribly immature sound. Anxiety, fear, and conflict mixed and wavered. The one of those who are not used to murderous intentions.

The immature killing intent was heard from the side of the building’s entrance. It was not visible from the stairs of a narrow, dark multi-tenant building.

When he deliberately left the building unprotected, a large leaf came out of the blind spot.

Yamiyama flipped the sword over with his arm engulfed in flames. It was an unusually thick and heavy blade, but the silhouette of the human with it was small.

“Huh?”

It was a boy who had a large sword that was as tall as his own.

A boy the same age as his own son. He forgets if he was eleven, twelve or thirteen, but he was a kid that age anyway.

The boy was attacked by Yamiyama and staggered from the weight of the sword. However, he did not let go of his hands that were holding the handle of the sword.

When Yamiyama stopped moving towards an unexpected opponent for a moment, his right ear heard another murderous sound.

An attack that pushed straight into the heart from behind him. Without turning around, he felt it alone at the sound and turned around.

The silver blade passed through the side. He put a roundhouse kick to his back holding him up. He was unable to light the flame because he was unconscious.

“Wow!”

The person who attacked from behind was also small. He groaned and rolled to the side with the greatsword, but soon got up and repositioned the sword. The sword was familiar to “Purgatory”. It’s a formal saber from “Scepter 4” that should normally emit blue light.

The faces of two children, each holding a standard saber and a huge saber that seemed to be a custom-made item, were eerily similar. The children, who had thin eyes and thin lips and seemed to copy and paste, looked at Yamiyama with a look like that.

“Where’s the baby-faced guy?”

Said the boy with the big sword.

At that moment, some scenes flashed in his head and Yamiyama grasped the rough situation.

A sword of the blue clothes, possessed by a boy who has no signs of special powers. A familiar formal saber and a rare but familiar great sword.

Immature killing intent and Kyoji’s name.

Battle in the “Prison”. A scene of killing each other with the blue clothes in the corridor.

The great Venus that Kyoji defeated.

“Are you guys relatives of Akio Minato?”

Akio Minato: Although she was a small woman, she looked like a fierce man who wielded a great sword that matched the good devil. He hears that it was Akio Minato who killed Hiiragi who was number 3 in “Purgatory”.

“Do you know my mother?”

The boy with the formal saber said that.

He wondered if there were two children as big in front of that woman as a boy. He thought she was her little brother or something.

Probably, after finding Kyoji and following him, they thought that this was his hiding place. Is it because they went looking for the saber?

It was shallow and meaningless to run to death.

In Yamiyama’s mind, the face of another boy who was in a hurry to die came to mind.

“Ahahahaha!”

High-pitched laughter erupted on the stairs.

When he turned his face, he could see Hiura happily distorting his face and shaking his shoulders and laughing at him.

“If you think about what kind of customers will come, will it be Minato Akio’s son?”

Hiura slowly walked down the stairs and stood in front of the children.

“No, the best! Two of them!”

Hiura’s eyes shone brightly. Hiura hated cheeky youths and he hated cheeky children more, but as soon as he became the target of harm, awkwardness turned to joy. In response to Hiura’s sadistic killing intent, a flame sounded in his right ear.

Yamiyama took a step back in a mood that couldn’t kill him beautifully.

“Let’s kill an animal here for the first time, and feed the other alive with blue clothes! If the child in the family becomes a hostage, can there be blue clothes that will be killed quietly?”

The children held the sword with a tense look. From that position, he knew they had some sword knowledge, but it means nothing to a combat-ready “Purgatory” opponent, other than just stabbing a shielded opponent in the back.

Flame violently erupted from Hiura’s chest. He burned the front of his black suit and ignited the burn marks on his chest. He spread his arms wide and lunged at one of the boys to hug him. It was a hug from hell that burned alive with flames and wouldn’t let go until you died.

There was a murderous sound in Yamiyama’s right ear.

It was not the sound of Hiura’s killing intent. It was not the sound of children.

It was the sound of his own killing intent coming out of Yamiyama’s body.

Well, he calmly acknowledged that he wanted to kill Hiura and decided that if he wanted to kill him, he couldn’t help it. The humans in “Purgatory” do not control his murderous intent.

Yamiyama circulated the flame from the back of his right ear to his entire body. He took a deep step and swung his right arm. Yamiyama’s fist hit Hiura’s defenseless back.

Yamiyama’s flame struck from his fist to Hiura’s body. Hiura, who had concentrated his abilities at the front of his body, boiled his blood and internal organs with a blow from behind and spit out boiled blood.

“Ku, Ya…Yamiyama…”

Hiura called out to Yamiyama spitefully, turning only his face and moving his mouth wet with thick blood.

“I didn’t mean to hate you enough to kill us, but I wanted to kill you. It’s bad.”

Hiura collapsed forward as he looked at Yamiyama. The flames on his chest that had been emitted completely burned the asphalt. On the back, the part hit by Yamiyama’s fist had the clothes and flesh burned, and the blood bubbled up for a short while, but it soon subsided.

When he raised his face, the children looked at the dark mountain with astonished faces.

He thinks it’s ironic.

On the battlefield of that “prison”, Yamiyama watched Akio Minato die. The woman, who had been slashing the necks, arms, and torsos of the people from “Purgatory” without hesitation, like a reflex monster, stopped moving for a moment when she saw Kyoji’s face.

The reason was that she was able to understand the dark mountain that she was looking at the end, but at the same time it was also mysterious. Akio Minato no doubt hesitated to cut when she saw Kyoji who was a boy. However, it often happens that the ace class in blue clothes, which is a different vector from “Purgatory” and mercilessly cuts the enemy so that there is no human heart, stops and makes a gap just because the opponent is a child.

However, as a person who had just inadvertently killed a friend with murderous intent, he had a feeling that humans are unexpectedly like that.

“It’s not crazy.”

To the children who stood up, Yamiyama vomited in a childish tone.

“Did you guys really believe that you could take revenge, even if you didn’t have the power? Is the child’s brain made of cotton candy?”

He looked at the children with a confused expression and bit his tongue.

“Go home, shit and go to bed. Or do you want to kill me with your mother’s sword?”

The children bit their lips hard and slowly backed away from Yamiyama and Hiura’s corpses. Yamiyama watched the cautious stance of not turning his back until he was out of range, taking out a cigarette. He chewed the filter, he turned it on and took a break.

After enough distance, the children ran off. After disappearing, Yamiyama called out to the stairs of the building.

“Are you going to go up like a traitor? Or are they killing each other here?”

“Hahahaha! Well done, Takao!”

Ed came downstairs and laughed happily as usual.

“I’m fighting because I didn’t want to do something with my friends. Do you understand?”

“Well, that’s right. It’s a daily fact that in the fights of "Purgatory” we kill each other, but now it can be said that it is a betrayal to kill a friend to help the relatives of a blue clothes.“

"No, no!”

Ed shook his head in excess of action.

“I’m here to burn my heart! By killing a child who isn’t a person with powers, my heart won’t burn. I’m fighting too.”

Ed said, “That’s more than that.”. He took out a bunch of gold from his chest and shook it.

“I’m planning on eating good meat and good sake tonight! Let’s go early, Friend.”

“That’s right. Because I let the child escape, this place will be invaded by the blue clothes, and I’ll move if I eat a meal?”

“Let’s split the money that was for Hiura-san.”

“I am not crazy.”

Yamiyama changed his mind and decided to think about the meat and sake he was going to eat, getting rid of his old friends and the troublesome boy who had tried to kill him.

++++++++++

A reckless barbarity that can only be said to be a miracle to be alive, such as seeing a human in “Purgatory” and leaving without reporting, pulling out a relic saber, and even trying to avenge his parents. Hayato and Akito were rebuked by Shiotsu like a burning fire.

Habari suddenly visited them when they told him to be reluctant, except when they were at school and they had written an overwhelming number of sentences of remorse in their room.

“Wow, Commander Habari.”

“Oh, why are you here?”

The members of “Scepter 4” were also excited, the two children who were not very active, were amazed by Habari came to their territory without warning.

“I wonder what the kids are doing that made Shiotsu angry and depressed.”

Habari said happily.

“Gen-san, is he depressed?”

Akito asked intimidatingly. He didn’t like that he was angry, but he didn’t know that he was depressed. Habari laughed.

“Oh. He’s depressed because he thinks he couldn’t stop them from acting recklessly.”

“That is…”

When Hayato rebutted, Habari easily nodded.

“He’s a creature that thinks too much. That’s also an advantage. I’m still thinking about it. What would be best for you and what should I do now?”

Incidentally, Habari turned to his brother.

“Do you still want to be my clansmen?”

++++++++++

“Oh! Not a good feeling, Hayaaki!”

Azuma made a funny voice and was attacked by Hayato and Akito with the bamboo swords in both hands.

The two of them used light blue light on their bamboo bodies and swords, and breathed together to challenge Azuma. Originally, the twins were so close to each other that they could communicate with each other without words, but ever since the swordsman Azuma started training them together, the precision of the cooperation improved dramatically. Who was laughing at the twins who had been trained by Azuma, saying that they could become twin swordsmen whose bodies split in two?

“It’s a face that doesn’t float, Shiotsu.”

Habari told him that from the side, Shiotsu deepened the wrinkles that had drawn between his eyebrows.

Currently, he was in the middle of randori training at the dojo. In other words, instead of Azuma playing with children in his spare time, Hayato and Akito also participate in training as members. They also trained to control the different abilities of blue and protect their body, so they didn’t wear kendo armor like they used to.

The twins received the Habari installation and became members of the Blue clan.

“Perhaps because you make them clan members without warning.”

“Haha, sorry, but it is up to the "King” to decide who will be the clan member, because there is no provision for the installation of a minor to have a guardian seal.“

When he looked at Habari, who said that lightly, he gave him a cold look back.

"And you’re too worried these days. It’s to your advantage to worry and think more than others, but you should be free enough to stop worrying about unanswered things, right?”

The air in “Scepter 4” and “Purgatory” was getting worse every day. Today he was able to spend his time training that way, but there were so many emergency dispatches every day that he didn’t know when he would be able to do it again. As the Vice-Commander of “Scepter 4”, he couldn’t afford to spend all his thoughts on his family.

Even so…

“Do you think the facility will reach a scene where those who have become clan members will be useful?”

“They can’t be put on the battle board yet, but I’m sure they have the qualities. If they continue to train for different abilities, they can awaken as a Strain. Facilities currently mean collars and seeding for them.”

“Sowing?”

Habari suddenly smiled at him.

“It’s a situation where it doesn’t matter when, who or what happens. It’s a good idea to sow seeds for the future and bet on what grows.”

“Don’t play with those kids.”

Habari laughed lightly and looked at Shiotsu with clear eyes.

“They will grow well, Shiotsu.”

With no confidence at all, Shiotsu sighed deeply.

GROUND ZERO: FRAGMENTS

CHAPTER 4: THIS SUMMER BEGINS

* List of Chapters

Translation: Naru-kun
Raws: Ridia

Many people remember “that day” in 1999 as a special moment.

For some, a shocking disaster that suddenly hit them. For others, the moment when an extraordinary catastrophe was felt through distant rumors.

The sun shining from above. A cicada screech they can’t even talk about. Sweat running down the cheeks. Some will remember such a scene.

But that was a little further.

The temperature had already started to rise every day, but it was still far from summer production.

In a fate similar to high pressure magma that swallows everything and burns it, the daily life of thin skin remained, that is the history of that time.

++++++++++

It was awkward getting on the train after a tough event.

A black suit with holes here and there and fraying. Burning smell. A soot-smeared face floated on a crowded station platform.

Just a few hours ago, “Purgatory” was attacking a gangster headquarters, a few miles away from the area where it was approved to live.

Number 2 splitting the plan, what Soma calls “room hunting”. At a minimum, to get a place to live in the land where the infrastructure is alive, he said, “I have a star in the correct yakuza”, but in reality, there may be strategic reasons such as expanding the territory of control, threatening the security system and secure a bridgehead.

However, such a “room search” failed due to the outburst of the “Red King” Kagutsu Genji, and ended in vain enough to destroy the unlucky gangsters.

The large car used on the outward route was also wrecked, so clan members procured their return journeys locally. Specifically, it was decided to divide into several vehicles and motorcycles that were stolen from the owners through threats, but it happened that two young people were run over by the number of members.

The baby-faced boy Kyoji and Takuya Choya. They didn’t care if they had a license or not, but they didn’t know how to drive either.

“No, Jibun and the others are going back by train.”

In response to Soma’s amused instructions, the boy was in a bad mood and Choya bought the ticket with a nihilistic mood. At that time, the transportation IC card service had not yet started.

“It’s better to go home… than stay and die today.”

As he waited for the train, Choya said that.

“Why, will we live long? No way.”

And, the boy answered that on the train platform.

In the battle that day, some members of “Purgatory” also died.

Most of them were influenced by the power of the “Red King”, and their bodies exploded due to a leak of different abilities, but there was only one man who died when he was hit by a yakuza’s ammunition.

Yusuke Kadota. He looked to be in his early thirties, but he still looked like he was in his early twenties due to his baby face and hip attitude.

About a month ago he had entered “Purgatory”. Immediately before, he killed 13 members of the antisocial organization he belonged to and got out. The case was registered as a normal criminal case, not an extraordinary case. Before the installation and manifestation of dysphoria, the man caused a mass murder with a single gun.

“Uh, I don’t think he shot. The yakuza and the police often shot, bang bang.”

The boy liked the “newcomer” Kadota. Unlike other members of the clan, he did not treat children lightly due to their age and appearance.

“Hey, how does it feel to shoot and kill a person compared to doing it with extraordinary power?”

Faced with such an unscrupulous question, Kadota did not seem offended and replied politely.

“Here we go… what’s up? I haven’t had a chance to compare. I’ve never killed a person with this power.”

Kadota extended his right hand and showed it. His index finger was missing and the cross section glowed red like a flare.

“I can’t shoot with this finger anymore.”

As you could see, Kadota’s stigma was that he was “missing his right index finger,” probably because one of the guns was traumatic. The power of extraordinary power was the “bullet” emitted from the missing finger, but the extraordinary power of the bullet was rarely used after only a few test shots.

“Then let’s shoot the yakuza in that area the next time we go in and out.”

“No, that’s a bit… what do you think?”

“I don’t care. He who hits and dies is bad!”

Kadota smiled a little embarrassed at the boy’s laughter, and today he was hit by a bullet and died. He wasn’t killed by the power of an extraordinary skill, he died like a normal man by mere ammunition.

“He could have shot, but he didn’t. He didn’t prevent it, even though he could prevent it. That was suicide… I think he chose to die like a normal person. I’m sure that’s what he wanted.”

“What is that? I don’t understand the meaning.”

The boy had a sharp mouth. Every time he was told a complicated story, he was in a bad mood. And…

“I think that old man was a bit tough, maybe he was too nice.”

He said it lightly.

“That’s right. I’m sure his personality was calm.”

“Whatever way you hit the weapons, which way, the guys above will disappear the weak guys.”

“Well, that’s right. I’m sure that’s correct. The train has arrived.”

Choya tried to round off the topic by saying that.

“Most of all, that old man was…”

The boy was eating even more.

Miscellaneous words about Kadota continued for many train stations after that. He was feeling a little upset, but he knew it was a shame for a child.

In everyday life, the children sometimes talked about people close to them and sometimes said mean things.

Mothers who couldn’t live with them, grandmothers who raised them, local childhood friends, etc. None of them were in the world now.

According to them, they were bulls. They were angry. She was a careless woman. She was a messed up slap. It was heartless shit, and the fight was weak. In this way, the children enumerated the reasons why they had to die. This is how he was trying to convince himself.

Choya’s idea was different. The outlook on life was simpler.

There was no meaning to life or death.

― So you don’t have to say bad things to someone you like.

He thought would say that, but he stopped himself.

Emotions, souls, life, life that has no meaning, he believed that it was not correct to think like that. In that way, he who lived as a zombie was meaningless and unnatural. That’s what he thought.

The boy lived in a slightly better world than himself as a dead person. He just stared through the glass at his sparkling emotional displays.

When five train stations passed after the criticism of Kadota began, the topic broke and she was supposed to be the grandmother of a child.

That grandma, she put a candy ball in her pocket and walked over to her and gave it to a kid in her neighborhood. That’s why the kid could lick it and also look at the bad guys. Even though she said that, he couldn’t hear it.

The train stopped at the station and a large number of students entered. It was the closest station to a famous private high school. Boys and girls in English-style blazer-style uniforms filled the seats, chatting like a flock of birds.

― It is bad.

Choya wondered about the boy’s situation.

Student, rich, nice guy. The boy hated “hanging out together and seeing their own faces”.

It was a complete alienation; it would be a source of fire if the stalemate turned out to be extreme.

“Smells like burnt?”

“Funeral… Coming back from the crematorium?”

“No, he’s a yakuza.”

He heard such whispers that they were exchanged.

“Kyoji… do you want to move to another platform?”

Although he tries to say that calmly so as not to irritate him, the boy’s line of sight was already fixed on a point ahead.

“Hey!”

The boy screamed. It was a loud voice that echoed throughout the vehicle.

“Sorry! You’re sitting there!”

Several male students sitting in the priority seats at the front of the vehicle looked at each other.

“Give your seat to the elders!”

“Uh…”

Choya finally caught on. An elderly woman, in her 80s, boarded through the vehicle entrance. Her waist was bent and she used a cane. The step was small and she was swaying a bit.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Please, Grandma.”

The students who hurriedly stood up bowed their heads to the boy and urged the old woman to sit down. There was no need to shout. It was easy.

Rather, the old lady suddenly made a noise and attracted attention, and she stood still.

It would be a problem if she was told to sit cross-legged in the middle of that situation.

The door closed and the train began to move while the situation was awkward and stuck.

“Hmm… I’ll be by your side.”

“Uh…”

At least if they were out of sight, the old woman would be able to sit down and the students would be quiet.

That was the world of ordinary people, and they were the obstacles. He was aware of that.

When the children were about to start walking…

“Uhahahaha! What is it?! What is it?!”

From behind, he heard crazy laughter.

Looking back, there was a strange girl there.

The girls in the vehicle were all girls who were wearing uniforms from prestigious private high schools and seemed refined. It wasn’t just about appearance, but behavior. They were elegant creatures carefully bred in a greenhouse.

On the other hand, the one in front of them was a completely wild species. Poor pedigree or poor growth, short, old-fashioned body shape. Her skin was dark, her hair was coarse and she laughed with bad makeup like a dark circle. The teething was also terribly bad. Her clothes were the same as the students, but she was also poorly dressed. She loosened her collar, tucked her skirt in, and loosened her stockings on one side. It was almost a costume from a fairy tale.

In a word, she was like a raccoon dog that failed to become a young girl.

“Mika-chan, you can’t do it. It’s rude if you suddenly laugh.”

“And they’re a little scary. They might get mad.”

From among the animal-like girls who were worried and whispering, the raccoon dog took an open step and stood in front of the boy. She was even smaller than a toddler.

“Fufufu, you’re weird. Aren’t you the kind of person who secretly picks up a kitten on a rainy day?”

“What… what the hell are you saying?!”

“It’s a waste to make a loud voice. I don’t know if you’re a good guy.”

“Ku…”

“She’s not your grandmother, right?”

“What did you say?!”

― If he thinks she’s just a stupid woman, he’ll be looking at her unexpectedly. No, were she listening to the conversation?

“You…”

Choya intervened.

“No matter what this guy and Grandma are, it’s not something that others should make fun of.”

The Tanuki laughed with a “Hehehe.” unafraid, and she put her hand in the pocket of her uniform.

“Sorry, do you want candy?”

Her palm, which was filled with individually wrapped sweets, was presented in front of the boy.

“Hm… I don’t need such a thing!”

“Hahaha, don’t hesitate.”

The Tanuki leaned towards the boy and put a piece of candy in the pocket of his black suit.

“What… what are you doing?!”

When the boy tried to push her away, the Tanuki quickly reached down, sat in the priority seat and touched the empty seat next to her.

“Bah, come on, it’s free here! Come on, sit down!”

It was a strange behavior, but when he noticed it, the tense air inside the vehicle was loose.

“Thank you…”

The old lady bowed to the boy and the boy gave up his seat, and with the help of the raccoon dog, she slowly sat down.

“I’ll get off next station, Taku.”

“It’s not the station to get off yet…”

“We can get on another train.”

When Koji and Choya spoke in a whisper…

“Haha, it’s a TV store!”

The Tanuki pointed at him.

Finally, when the train stopped and the door opened, a loud voice was heard from the back of the two descending.

“Bye, Kyoji, Taku, bye! Take care of yourselves! Stay together! Bye!”

Even after the train left the platform, the reverberation remained for a while.

After that, the two of them walked out onto the street from the station. They had to walk for more than an hour to the base of “Purgatory”, but they did not complain, they chose to go home on foot. It was so awkward that they couldn’t wait a few minutes for the next train.

“Hmm… who the hell is that woman?”

“I don’t care. We won’t see her anymore.”

“She’s like a raccoon dog.”

“Oh, I thought that too.”

“She asked me if I wanted a candy? Damn.”

The boy reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of candy, and handed it to Choya.

“Eh?”

“Look, I’ll give you half.”

Saying that, he peels off the packaging and throw it in his mouth.

― Oh, you eat it…

“Eh?”

When she noticed Choya’s line of sight, the boy looked intimidating and…

“I can’t turn it into a poor morsel!”

“That’s how it is.”

Choya also put the candy in his mouth. He couldn’t turn candy into food. He thought so, even if he said that, the boy would not be convinced. On the contrary, he would think it rude to refuse the food served.

“I see, Grandma…”

“Oh?! Grandma doesn’t matter!”

The boy was poisoned again. However, since he had the candy in his mouth, he didn’t spit it out.

++++++++++

The two met the “Tanuki” a few days later when they went out into the city as messengers for Soma.

In the post-processing of the gang attack case, there were some things that he had to talk about “Tokijikuin”. As a return to that, he delivers the documents to the nearest branch.

Order and deviation to “Tokijikuin” which represents law and order. Soma from “Purgatory” was always kept in the gray zone and as a result behaved freely without social or anti-social restraints. It was just a devilish twist.

“Wow, it was easy, right? I’m just a middle manager. My general and my junior boss, and the politicians and citizens, somehow, while they push me here and there, I managed to put him in a circle. I’m on his side. I am working for everyone. You can get a salary from your country.”

It was a man holding a poker card in his left hand, lighting a bomb detonator in his right hand, smiling a bottomless smile, and distorting his mouth.

Contact with “Tokijikuin” was often made by the boy and Choya. Among the mischief makers in “Purgatory”, he had an appearance that was exceptionally close to the general public and was rarely noticed in the city. He was a rare human resource in “Purgatory”, who could act as a courier without causing any trouble.

“I really don’t like this kind of use of children.”

That day there was no driver, so it was a train movement. As they headed to the nearest station, on the way, Koji told Choya.

“Soma-san says that he believes in us and leaves it to us. We have to live up to expectations.”

“No… that person wouldn’t wait for others. If we were wrong, we would just use it as a source to move another plan.”

“Huh? You’re like that.”

 At that moment,

“Oh, Kyoji! Kyoji!”

A loud voice came from behind.

“Eh?”

Looking back, some kind of raccoon was constantly running and stopped in front of them. It was the raccoon dog from the other day.

“Oh, Kyoji and Taku!”

“You… don’t disrespect people.”

“Oh, sorry, Kyoji and Taku.”

“I’m telling you to put the "kun” on it.“

"Hahaha.”

“You were called "Mika-chan” by your friends.“

Choya yelled from the side.

"Looks like the uniform is different today.”

“Oh, that’s right. Taku-kun, are you a person who knows about this kind of thing?”

That day, the Tanuki was wearing a uniform from a local public school. She wasn’t as floaty as the prestigious private uniform from the other day, but after all, she was in disguise somewhere.

“What is that? What do you mean?”

Choya answered the boy’s question.

“Maybe she’s walking around in another school’s uniform. I don’t know if it’s private or public, but I don’t know if she’s actually enrolled…”

“I will hit you!”

When the Tanuki said that without being afraid,

“Hey, Somekichi.”

Across the street, high school students in the same uniform and various men and women waved their hands.

“What are you doing?” “Are you going to karaoke?”

Thereafter,

“Oh, right~”

The Tanuki turned to the students as she said…

“I’m going to work part time!”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” “I’ll call you later.” “Do your best at the part-time job.”

The students started walking again.

“Part time job?”

“What is Somekichi?”

When Koji and Choya asked her…

“Huh, are you interested in that? It’s me.”

Saying that, the Tanuki smiled. As usual, the alignment of her front teeth was poor.

“Somekichi Mikako, part-time worker, 17 years old.”, the Tanuki called to herself.

Although she did not go to high school, she wore a uniform and went in and out of various schools, and she had many friends.

“Are you a fake student?”

“Well, it’s the value of the Joshi Kose, that’s why it’s in demand. Fufufu.”

“No way, you’re doing suspicious work.”

Before the boy, Tanuki-Mikako slammed the palm of her hand against the large cardboard box that had been strapped to the mamachari’s loading platform.

(Note: Mamachari is the shortened expression in Japanese for mama no charinko (mom’s bike). These types of bikes are equipped with a basket in front or behind, and a special seat can be placed on them to carry a child and circulate safely.)

“Fufufu…money to watch? It’s my job.”

The contents of the box were tightly packed pocket tissues. The phone number was printed on the package.

“Tissues distribution?”

Looking around him, there was a part-time job handing out similar tissues in front of the busy station. She will take a long time to complete the quota for a large box, as passersby often ignore her.

“Well, it’s okay to work seriously, but… it’s a normal job for a while.”

“Although my work is futuristic, "Puri” is different, “Puri”.“

"What is "Puri”?“

"Fufufu, look at me, look at me.”

Perhaps it was a part-time job uniform, Mikako put on a fluorescent cap that shone on her uniform, reached into the box, and held a bunch of tissues in her left and right hands. And…

“Love & Peace!”

“Eh?”

As she ran through the crowd in front of the station at full speed, she hugged the waist of a middle-aged office worker in front of her.

“What?!”

Several tissues swirled in the suit pocket of a salaryman who made a strange voice and stiffened.

“Uhahahaha! Uhahahaha!”

“Hey, peace, peace! Thanks!”

Mikako ran towards the children as she one-sidedly thanked the clerk who took it away.

“How about? A part-time job I thought up.”

“No… no matter what you say.”

“What is this "part time job”?“

"I call it "Aggressive Free Hug”. Fufufu… With this trick, the tissues will be sold 10 times faster and there will be no conflict in the world. Imagine…“

"It’s far from a Tsukkomi.”

“It’s a technique or an eccentricity, it’s almost the work of a youkai, that’s all.”

“Oh? I don’t know either.”

Mikako filled her hands with tissues again and…

“Fufufu, there is a secret in the low pass when tackle.”

“Don’t ask. She just said tackle. It’s not a hug.”

“So, next time I’m targeting that onichan, take a closer look.”

The target was a tanned young man in a tank top. He maybe he went to the gym, he had a good physique and was muscular.

“Come on! Love & Peace!”

Mikako ran towards the man and…

“Gak!”

The next moment, she rolled onto his back.

“Eh?!”

The boy hurried.

“Hey, Mikako, are you alright?! Wow, there’s blood coming out!”

“Uh…”

Mikako pointed at the man.

“I was able to adjust my knees to the tackle…”

“Hey, hey!”

“Wait.”

Choya stopped the boy who was about to activate his fire power towards a man.

Then, turning back to the confused man, he said…

“I was watching. Do you practice martial arts too? Something jumped out like a strange animal, so I tried to lift my leg and stop it. It came running out of his face.”

“Oh, yeah… Hey, Mikako, show me where did you hit… Oh, your front teeth are messed up!”

“That… isn’t that…”

“Oh, this is a row of teeth. Did you hit your nose? The nose isn’t crushed either. Does it originally look like this? You just had a nosebleed.”

“Sorry, I got involved in something strange. It’s okay, go away.”

Choya urged him to do so, but the man left at least 5,000 bills for medical expenses.

 And…

“Hehehe, I made a profit.”

Mikako, who covered her nose with a tissues, looked at the boy and Choya.

“I have cash, maybe I’ll have some tea. I’ll treat you!”

“Tea… what about your part-time job?”

“Well, it might not be a job if her nose bleeds…”

Mikako paced back and forth with a large box as the boy and Taku said so. And when she hit the side of the box and draw the attention of passersby…

“Hey, hey! Attention, free tissues! Free tissues! Take them away!”

She left the box in the middle of the street and came back.

“It’s finished. Let’s go!”

“It’s not finished. I’m going to get sick when I do technical work.”

“First of all, I’m not saying I’ll find you.”

“Hehehe. Don’t hesitate.”

While saying that, when she tries to pick up the mamachari parked on the side of the street, the ringtone of the mobile phone sounded from the pocket of Mikako’s uniform.

“Oh, the phone.”

The clamshell mobile phone was a type of clamshell that was common before PDAs. Many pets were hanging in the leash hole.

“Hello, this is Some-san. Eh, Nanisore, really? Ah… yeah, that’s fine. Thanks for helping me out. Hahaha. See you soon.”

She closed the mobile phone.

“Sorry, I have another part-time job. Maybe next time we’ll go for tea!”

“You don’t have to apologize. Go on your own.”

“Hmm…?”

Mikako stopped and looked at the boy’s expression.

“That’s right. Well, I’m glad Kyoji has recovered.”

“Ah? What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Actually, I was a bit worried. When I met him on the train, he surprised me.”

― She look closely.

Choya thought.

It is true that the boy that day was depressed about Kadota’s death. That’s why he constantly said bad things about Kadota and his dead family.

“Shut up…! What are you saying?”

Mikako suddenly hugged the boy who turned red and denied it.

“No…”

“If you feel sad again… wipe your tears with this.”

“You…”

The boy grabbed Mikako’s shoulder and pulled her away from him.

“That’s how you put your used tissues in the pocket! Also, you got a little blood from your nose! It’s dirty!”

“Uhahahahahahahahahahaha!”

Mikako jumped on the bike and ran off.

“Love & Peace!”

After that, on the train back, the boy was slandering Mikako.

Later…

“What’s wrong with that chibi?”

“Raccoon dog.”

“Gnashing teeth and laughing.”

“I don’t know… I can’t forgive her, a woman without manners.”

― Oh, this is… a lovable boy every time. If you are a little nice, you can understand immediately.

Choya thought that.

― I wonder why.

He also thought the same.

In a life where you see a dead body three times a week, how can this guy not be dead?

How can he grieve over people, get angry over irrationality, and people like him?

How can the light of the soul be kept forever as a tiny spark?

“Well, we won’t find her anymore.”

The boy leaned against the exit door and looked at the scenery outside the window. The setting sun shone red on his cheeks.

“I could be dead tomorrow… right, Taku?”

“Come on…what was that?”

Choya looked away with a dazzling sensation and at the same time a small backlash.

“Hey, what are you asking with that?”

This time, the point was directed at Choya. The boy said, narrowing his mouth as if he was sulking.

“Oh, you know, that guy is crazy, really crazy.”

++++++++++

Boys meet girls.

This is that summer story. It is the story of three children who shone and disappeared like sparks that summer.

One of the three did not wait for “the day.” The other was right in the whirlwind of “the day.”

And the last one is…