K side red, p.1
K Side Red, page 1
Prologue
Ten years ago, Japan’s map had been a little different.
Up until then, the Southern Kantou region could boast a much wider area of land. Nowadays, however, a large round-shaped dent marred it where a considerable portion had sunk into the sea and formed a crater.
“Officials” referred to it as the “Kagutsu Crater”.
“Seems like the former Red King’s power was what did it.”
That was something he’d found out from Kusanagi.
Apparently Kagutsu had been the previous Red King’s name. The name of the king before Suoh — a king who, ten years ago, had self-destructed and created that crater.
And so, the crater was said to be the form a King’s downfall took.
‘Hmph,’ Suoh thought.
He felt it wouldn’t be too bad.
If you had to bind yourself with chains in order to live in this small, narrow world, then he honestly found that abandoning yourself to a strong, overpowering urge and burning everything to ash as you met your own end was a far more enticing idea.
And it was precisely because he thought so that his stomach turned.
Chapter 1.: The Girl In Blue
As he sat backwards on his chair, Totsuka Tatara stared intently at the boy’s face. In turn, the other seemed to almost sulk, somewhat bewildered, and averted his eyes from the scrutiny which sought to dig in deeper past his glasses.
“…What do you want?”
“Hm? Nothing, I was just taking a good look at Mr. Newcomer’s face.”
They were inside Bar “HOMRA”, situated somewhere in a well-reputed area of Shizume City. With its lacquered floor and a sleek counter that almost smelled faintly of wood, the stylish interior didn’t quite match its description as the gathering place for a violent gang of vulgar young men. The shelves behind the counter were lined full of bottles packed closely together – assorted beverages to the owner’s personal taste, from the most common to much rarer stuff that could prove quite difficult to come by.
Even as ill-mannered as they could be, the boys unfailingly never went on a rampage inside, nor would they ever break things or make a mess. And that was likely because they knew it all too well; should they do such a thing, there would be no telling what kind of punishment they might receive from the bar’s owner. Kusanagi was the pleasant kind of guy who always wore a detached smile, behaved with good manners and had a great sense of humor; but, if he got mad, that slender arm of his could lock even a giant in an iron grip like no other.
Today too, just as usual, the boys were gathered inside the bar for no specific reason. They laughed about trivial things, and clamored loudly together, and their voices resounded along. To the members of Homra⁽¹⁾, this place was home.
For now, Totsuka had turned his back on that tumult and straddled his chair, choosing instead to observe the lone boy who sat in a corner of the bar and purposely avoided everyone else. He wore glasses with black frames and, from behind their lenses, he always seemed to only study everything around him with an air of perpetual boredom.
He was one of the boys who had just recently joined Homra after middle school graduation. The partner he’d arrived together with, Yata Misaki, had already completely fit right in, but this other – Fushimi Saruhiko – still showed no intention of opening his heart to any of the Homra members at all.
Roughly speaking, taking care of newcomers was something like Totsuka’s job. Though, in this so-called ‘taking care’, he didn’t really do much more than guide them a little. He took a look at them, taught them a few easy rules, and then they just made friends.
But, even for Totsuka, Fushimi had proven to be something like the perfect foil.
“Hey, Saru-kun?”
“………………”
Fushimi responded to that call by leveling a visibly displeased stare on Totsuka.
He should have just admitted that he hated being called Saru-kun, and then everything would be easier; but the boy just wouldn’t open his mouth to voice any discontent at all.
When they were first introduced and he’d gotten a “Misaki-kun”, Yata had immediately yelled – “Don’t call me by my first name!” – and then that had made everything much simpler. But this was an entirely different story.
For the time being, until Fushimi himself came out and said it annoyed him, Totsuka had decided to just continue to call him like that.
“Saru-kun, did you know? I’m actually super into shougi⁽²⁾ right now.”
“…Is that so.”
“But, you see… I don’t have anyone to play with. Yata’s terrible… or, more rather, no matter how many times I explain the rules, he still won’t remember. Kusanagi-san is really good, but he’s always busy and won’t indulge me at all. And then, I tried to play with King once too, but that guy’s also hopelessly weak… It’s like the concept of protecting the king doesn’t even exist in his head. He only played one turn, and then immediately got bored and called it a stupidly draggy game.”
“………………”
Yet again, there was only silence.
But Totsuka didn’t mind.
“So, Saru-kun,” he continued. “Will you have a match with me?”
Smiling brightly, he watched Fushimi carefully for a reaction.
…No doubt about it, he was annoyed.
Fushimi never acted openly hostile, but he didn’t exactly try to hide his inner frustration either, so his true feelings were still quite easy to read. He was probably the type who hated feeling coddled; so, if someone purposely tended to him like this and tried to get him to fit in, he’d only get annoyed. All in all, leaving a certain amount of distance was probably the better way to deal with him.
Totsuka knew that well, but somehow he still found himself trying to tend to him. He really thought Fushimi was a very interesting boy.
“Totsuka!” Kusanagi called him from the counter.
When Totsuka turned to look, the man pointed with his chin as he continued to clean a glass, indicating the bar’s second floor.
“Go call Mikoto down for a bit.”
“What for?”
“He hasn’t shown his face for days, so now the things I needa talk to him about‘re all piled up. Geez… Playing hermit like this ‘n the second floor of someone else’s bar…”
Totsuka laughed uncomfortably.
For all the racket they’d been causing not even a moment ago, the other members had sure all fallen suddenly silent as they carefully watched, curious to see what the exchange between Kusanagi and Totsuka might be about. Their King’s disposition was a matter of the greatest import.
When he was in a bad mood – or, it would have been more accurate to say he had these times when he just seemed to get completely lost in the depths of his own mind – the carefree joy of his comrades just wouldn’t reach Suoh and he looked like he might murder everyone over a single touch.
Though it’s not like he ever shouted or beat them up.
All he did was give those who came close just one look.
But that look alone could send his young comrades shaking to the point of being unable to stand.
As he gave a strained smile, Totsuka waved lightly to Kusanagi and headed upstairs.
✤
The vacant guest room above the bar was where Suoh Mikoto had settled to live.
Apparently, he didn’t care about his living conditions. The only things in the room were a sofa and bed so worn out they looked like they’d been picked up from wherever, and then he at least had a small refrigerator, which overall gave the place such an empty aspect it didn’t even seem as if someone was staying there at all.
He didn’t care about privacy either, and Totsuka and Kusanagi could enter as they pleased without really getting any complaints.
But, as he hesitated a little in front of the door, Totsuka knocked just in case.
As usual, no response from inside.
“King, I’m coming in,” Totsuka announced simply as he opened the door.
Suoh lay down on the sofa like dead.
Shoes still on, he’d propped his legs up and was watching the ceiling with empty, unfocused eyes.
Making his way to the edge of the sofa, Totsuka peered down at his face.
As if he found it a bother to do so, Suoh lazily turned his gaze to meet him.
“…What?” he said in a voice that sounded like it came from the depths of the earth.
“Lately, you haven’t shown your face at all.”
Suoh snorted a bit through his nose at those words from Totsuka. That gesture alone was enough to convey he already found this way too bothersome to deal with.
Despite that, though, even just lying there like that, he gave off a menacing aura.
He was an imminent danger, likely to destroy something any minute. So instead, to keep from exploding like that, he left himself to this abnormal apathy.
But Totsuka didn’t mind and only smiled brightly as he called to him again.
“Kusanagi-san said there’s a bunch of things he needs to talk to you about.”
“…………”
“You have to show up sometimes. It’s hard for all of them to be in high spirits when their king isn’t there.”
“…………”
“You know, King… Because you’re in a bad mood, everyone’s kind of worried. …Anyway, Kusanagi-san told me to go and get you, so just come down with me for now.”
&nb sp; “…………”
No matter what he said, Suoh didn’t respond. Lips curling down into a pout, Totsuka turned away from him and slid to the floor, sitting with his back against the couch.
“Did you have a bad dream?” he spoke from there.
Silence fell for a bit. Then, finally, there was a click of one’s tongue.
“Don’t remember it, so I donno.”
At the sound of Suoh’s deep voice, Totsuka lightly closed his eyes.
“…I wonder what kind of dream I’ll have.”
The noise from the bar still faintly reached the second floor. As he listened to that, Totsuka waited patiently for a response.
Out of the blue, Suoh reached out and grabbed him by the head.
“Woah…!” Totsuka cried out in surprise.
For Suoh’s big, strong hand, it was all too easy to get a good hold of Totsuka’s head. And from there, he swiftly tightened his grip.
“Owowowow…! Why!? King, why!?” After being constricted roughly for a while, Totsuka was suddenly shoved off. “Ouch… What was that for…?”
Acting completely outraged by the direct attack he’d received, Totsuka crawled away from the sofa Suoh lay sprawled on and turned to stare reproachfully at him, eyes almost brimming with tears from the pain. Even after he’d abused someone’s head like that, the man still only stared at the ceiling with the same listless face as before.
“King?”
“…That head of yours would be easy to crack even with one hand, huh,” Suoh just casually said something disturbing like that in a bored voice.
Had he wanted to do so, Suoh could have probably smashed Totsuka’s head as easily as he would have crushed an egg. Knowing all too well the hidden truth behind those words, Totsuka only gave a small wry smile. Stretching one leg towards the sofa the other lay on, he lightly kicked it with his foot.
“I’m alright,” he said, but Suoh didn’t respond.
The sounds of someone running up the stairs could be heard. As Totsuka eyed the door, the footsteps which had so vigorously climbed all the way seemed to hesitate there and stopped just outside. The next moment, there was a careful knock.
“M-Mikoto-san…!”
As expected, Suoh didn’t react to that obviously scared voice either. In his stead, Totsuka stood up and went to open the door.
The one waiting there, large both vertically and horizontally, was the rather bulky Kamamoto Rikio. He must have been really worried about Suoh’s state, as even while he’d pulled back warily he still kept trying to steal quick glances into the room.
“What happened?”
“There’s a lady named Kushina waiting downstairs.”
✤
“Honami-sensee⁽³⁾, didn’t we say it’d be better if you don’t come by here much?” Kusanagi spoke in a jokingly distressed voice to Kushina Honami, who sat before him on one of the stools at the bar.
“Don’t be so cold, now. Here’s one of my students, running a lovely place like this. Of course I’d want to visit.”
Honami cheerfully laughed. She was in her late twenties, but behaved so youthfully it was easy to mistake her for younger. Fair-skinned and bearing a calm, bright smile, she held a particular air of elegance, but at the same time, just like when they’d first met, there was a less formal laid-back side to her too. For example, just earlier she’d spilled a glass of water by accident, and then started to clean up on her own as she lightly chided herself.
A small, doll-like girl of about six or seven sat next to her. Her features were smooth like a mannequin’s too, and her face just wouldn’t show any expression at all, looking as if she really were an inanimate object. She wore a frilly dress, abundant in lace, like those seen on antique dolls as well.
The dress was a deep blue in color.
Looking at this customer the likes of which he obviously didn’t get all too often as if to appraise her, Kusanagi finally brought out some orange juice.
“And you go bringing a small child like this ‘n here too…” he joked. “When’d you even have a kid?”
Honami smiled wryly and shook her head.
“No, no, you got that wrong. This is my older brother’s daughter. Right, Anna?”
As Honami looked at her, the girl named Anna only nodded once, not saying anything.
She completely lacked the shyness of someone her age, and her expression more rather resembled a mask. Somewhat concerned, Kusanagi gave Honami a questioning look. Meeting his eyes, the woman gave an uncomfortable smile, as if to tell him it was a complicated matter.
Before Kusanagi could think of what to say next, the sound of several people descending the stairs made itself heard.
When he looked, Kamamoto and Totsuka were coming out through the door next to the bar, which led to the second floor. Totsuka brightly greeted Honami with an exchange of smiles. A little further behind him, Suoh also dragged himself in, looking groggy.
“Suoh-kun!”
Honami’s expression brightened even more and she looked up at Suoh. He only met her with tired, bored-looking eyes.
“…I told you not to come here.”
Face reading total discontent, he dropped himself on a chair one seat away from Honami.
Kushina Honami had been Suoh’s homeroom teacher in high school. Back then, she’d barely finished her studies the year before that and was fresh out of high school herself. And yet, despite how he was generally feared by those around him, Honami hadn’t cowered or backed off from Suoh at all.
Kusanagi, who was a senior in the same school, had also ended up in her care a few times.
Of course, Honami didn’t know the details of their current situation. At most, she was only vaguely aware that Suoh had become some kind of prominent figure in Shizume City’s underworld.
Homra had a lot of enemies, so Kusanagi and the others tried not to get too involved with people who had nothing to do with that sort of life.
But, whether this was because they’d known her from such early days or not, they somehow couldn’t bring themselves to cut off ties with Honami completely. In a sense, it could have been said Suoh had a slight soft spot for her, and the same applied to Kusanagi.
Noticing this favoritism, the other members were quick to misunderstand.
“Ma’am! I’m putting your luggage down here!”
“Ma’am! Do you want a blanket for your lap?”
Kamamoto who had totally gotten the wrong idea about Suoh and Honami’s relationship, and Yata who assumed as well from watching him and was awkwardly trying his best to act helpful and considerate, kept buzzing around her as they tried to be of service. Not fully realizing she was being treated like the boss’s consort⁽⁴⁾, Honami assured them she was alright and thanked them each time with the same soft kind of smile she’d give to her diligent students.
