Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Volume 3 Chapter 8

Top of Eighth Inning

His younger sister was killed. His mother died as well.

They were his treasured family. They were irreplaceable. And he lost them.

He left his family when he was nine years of age. He pushed through five years worth of intense training. He became a hitman and did work that made him close to danger on a daily basis. He fought with his foes and won every time. He discarded his heart and killed people. He killed, and he killed, and he killed. He continued cutting down people earnestly in order to survive in this world.

All of that was for his family. So that he could meet with his mother and sister again. So he could live with them again. He sacrificed himself, other people's lives, and dirtied his hands for his family's sake and their sake alone.

And yet, they were taken from him.

"Didn't you promise not to touch my family?!"

Lin's yell echoed in the office. His superior, Zhang, was a vulgar and cruel man. His lips curled into a smile. "Are you an idiot? You think a person who does not follow the law could keep a promise?"

This man stole the most important people from him that were worth more than his own life.

"You cannot kill me." Zhang stated with a triumphant look. "You're not a killer. You're just a murderer."

Lin bit into his lip at those words. After stealing my family from me, you're going as far as to ridicule me too?!

Don't joke with me. I'm a killer. I was brought up to become one since I was nine. I had already killed someone for payment by the time I was fourteen. I'm an authentic, professional killer. I'm not just some murderer.

Don't deny me.

Don't deny my life, my existence, and the five dreadful years I had to go through.

He wanted to kill him right then and there. He hated the man.

But he could not kill him.

"This serves you right, Lin."

That man looked down on him as he crawled on the ground.

He was unsightly. Pathetic. He wanted to cry at his pitiful self.

Just what have I been living for?

He felt like everything he did for those nineteen years were all for nothing. He lost all strength in his body.

"You d.a.m.n kid. I'll tell you what happens when you make light of the adults."

It was game set. I lost.

He had already given up in his mind. I can't do this anymore. He closed his eyes. The tears that were welling up in his eyes fell.

"Dontcha cry now."

He abruptly heard a voice. It was a pleasant Hakata dialect. It was Banba's voice.

Lin slowly opened his eyes. He was in a car this time. He was in the backseat of Banba's car and was lying down unresisting. Banba's face reflected in the rearview mirror was gentle.

"I'm not crying." He replied weakly. There was no way he could cry. He had thrown away his heart.

"You're makin' a face of someone who thinks he can do ever'thing by himself, but people can't live alone."

Lin shook his head at Banba's words.

Even so, he had to live alone. That was what he was taught.

"You gotta learn to depend on others more."

Even if he asked for help, no one would. That was the world he lived in.

"I'll take your request for five years worth of mentaiko."

However, he did.

"Whatcha gonna do now?"

Lin was suddenly asked that as he was slurping down his cup ramen and put the chopsticks down. He was unsure how to reply. His sister's revenge had been settled. He did not have any current objective either. Even if he returned to his country, he had no home there. All of his family was dead. He had no place to return to.

So what should I do?

I guess I could stay at a business hotel for a while until I can find a new place to stay. He considered to himself. But can I rent a home? It might be bothersome to deal with the whole registry problem. And my ID is fake to begin with, and what if I'm caught as an illegal immigrant?

He thought over what he should do in silence.

"You don't got a place to go?"

Banba tilted his head to the side and peered at his face.

Well, if I have to say so, sure. Lin replied ambiguously.

"Then how 'bout you stay here?"

He suggested that so matter of factly, Lin accidentally replied, "I guess so."

"Then from today on this place will be your home."

Banba showed his white teeth in a broad smile.

……Absolutely not. Not in this filthy place.

Lin cursed, even though it was already too late.

Bottom of Eighth Inning

Was it his life flas.h.i.+ng by? Memories of his past appeared up one after the other and vanished just as quickly.

Fully returning to consciousness, Lin slowly opened his eyes. The scenery around him came into pristine clarity. Where am I? Lin tilted his head slightly. He was in a tasteless room with no furniture inside. It was just a s.p.a.cious rectangular room without any windows and only one side had bars. The metal bars reached all the way to the ceiling, and Lin could see a door on the other side of them. He seemed to be in a jail cell.

His head throbbed. That's right, I was. .h.i.t. I must have lost consciousness and taken by Feilang, and now I'm locked up in here?

Lin caught sight of a man lying on the ground a few meters away from him. It was Banba. He did not move an inch. He looked like a corpse, startling Lin. Is he dead?

"Banba!"

He yelled and rushed over to him. He got to his knees and roughly shook him.

"Banba! Hey, Banba!"

"……'nough with the ruckus."

Lin gave a sigh. "What the h.e.l.l……I thought you were dead."

"Yeah, I would've died then."

"Wha?"

"Look here." Banba was topless and had bandages wrapped around his from his broad chest to his stomach.

"Looks like someone treated us. They neatly sewed my wound too." Banba told him as he pointed to his injury covered by the bandages.

When Lin examined himself, he noticed there were bandages wrapped around his ankle as well. Someone attended to him while he was unconscious. He could not even feel pain from his twisted ankle. I must have been given a shot of painkillers. Was that Feilang's work?

"Why would he do this?"

"I reckon' that means he needs us alive for now. I don't got an idea what will happen later though."

What is Feilang planning? Lin had a bad feeling about their situation.

Even though they were in enemy territory, Banba was sprawled out on the ground carelessly.

At any rate, we need to get out of here as fast as possible. Is there any means of escape? Lin examined every nook and cranny in their cell. However, he did not find anything. There were no opendings in the walls or floor, and the bars were st.u.r.dy and did not move an inch. Giving up, Lin sat down next to Banba. For a while, they sat in silence.

"……Say," Unable to bear it, Lin spoke up. "You're not going to ask me anything?"

Banba had lied down face up and only gave him a side glance. "Ask of what?"

"……A lot of things."

About me leaving or about Feilang for instance. There should be a lot of matters Banba would want to know about, but he seemed disinterested. "I'll ask if there is something I want to."

"……It's not that I wanted you to ask."

Lin lied. He actually wanted to talk about it. He thought he should give an explanation to this man. More specifically, he wanted him to know.

"You liar. You want me to ask." Banba chuckled. He sat up and leaned towards him. "So tell me. I'll give money for the info if that's whatcha want."

He pulled out a thousand yen bill from somewhere and handed it to Lin. Lin was unsatisfied with his grinning face, but he had to talk about it. "……I guess I don't have much of a choice now."

"Who was the fella who shot me?"

Lin answered Banba's question while averting his gaze. "He's Feilang."

"Is he an acquaintance of yours?"

"Yeah. We grew up in the same establishment. He was my best friend."

You got some wild friends, Banba shrugged.

"Feilang was kind to me. He was my one and only friend, partner, and companion. And yet……he apparently planned to kill me from the very beginning. I was betrayed by him."

Lin hung his head and bit his lip.

"……Remembering what he did to me, I questioned whether the same thing would happen again." So he wanted to be on his own.

"So that's why you wrote that note and left?"

Lin nodded wordlessly. He was prepared for Banba to be angry with him. He was expecting him to say, 'why dontcha believe in me? Would ya really condemn me even though I saved your life?'

However, Banba agreed readily.

"I do get that feeling." He cast down his eyes in sadness. He had a serious yet somehow gloomy expression. "I was betrayed by someone dear to me before too."

"……You were?" Lin raised his head, eyes wide.

Even though he had lived with this man for more than half a year, this was the first time he heard of it. He did not expect Banba to have gone through a similar experience as he did.

"There was someone I liked a long time ago."

Banba began to speak at length.

"It was when I was still in my s.p.u.n.ky days in my early twenties."

Lin could not imagine this wore out and laid back man as 's.p.u.n.ky.' Lin kept those thoughts to himself as he listed to Banba's story.

"I was walkin' and drinkin' 'round Nakasu when a woman approached me. She was a looker, and I fell for her on sight."

For a man who used to mess around with women to fall for someone at first glance, she must have been beautiful.

"We dated, and I met her parents and even considered marrying her. But apparently she was a killer."

"……Hm?"

Lin had heard this story before at some point.

"She got close to me……and tried to kill me."

"That's……"

There was no doubt about it. The woman was Sayuri.

"When it happened I was shocked. ……After bein' betrayed by my most loved person, I couldn't bring myself to trust other women. I couldn't help but think if I tried datin' anyone I would just end up bein' betrayed again. So ever since then, I stopped womanizin'."

"Well, um……Didn't you just bring that onto yourself?"

Since you were philandering around, naturally you got that as consequence. Isn't it your fault for falling for a woman's charm and being lovestruck?

He felt a bit ripped off for listening to his story so seriously. Lin gave an apparent sigh in relief. "G.o.d, I feel like an idiot."

Lin was overly paranoid with his incident with Feilang. I'm such a fool, he laughed. What was I worried about? I thought I'd be betrayed by this guy? By this simpleton? I over thought it.

"Oh, and this happened earlier," Banba changed the topic as if he just recalled something. "I fell into the ocean."

"……Ha?" Fell into the ocean?

"My clothes still ain't cleaned."

"Yuck," Lin had no idea what happened, but Banba seemed to have just left his wet clothes laying around. They had to smell. "Then do laundry."

"I got lots of laundry to do. If someone ain't gonna come home soon, I won't have none clothes to wear."

Banba glanced over to Lin and smirked.

Yeah, no, do your own laundry.

Lin wanted to say something in retort, but for some reason he smiled instead.

"……I guess there's nothing else to do about that." Lin laughed and stood up. We need to head back and do laundry. "Then let's hurry up and get out of here."

They could not just loiter around here forever.

"Do you have a plan?"

There was no reply. Banba remained silent. Is he thinking something over?
Lin asked him again. "Hey, did you hear me?"

"……Yeah. I hear you."

"So what are we going to do?"

Banba pressed his index finger to his lips to suggest to talk quietly.

"The enemy may be watchin' us. We can't talk carelessly."

That's true, Lin agreed. There must be bugs installed, so even if they formulated a plan of escape in here it would fall through as their enemy would see through it.

"Lin-chan, how's your leg?"

"It's no problem." The pain was gone. "The painkiller is still in effect."

"That so? Good. I can also walk more or less."

Banba stood up slowly with a hand pressed to his stomach.

"We seem to have been taken to the Kakyuu Group hideout."

"……Is that so?"

But why the Kakyuu Group's place? Are they teamed up with Feilang in order to capture us?

"What place is this?." Banba looked around the area. "Looks like a cell, but there's strange bars."

Lin had a realization. A large prison cell at the Kakyuu Group's home base. He recalled a place fitting that description. "Maybe we're in the execution room."

"……The execution room?"

"I heard rumors about it before." Lin had heard other lackeys that lived in the same building as him talk about it before, when he was still in the Kakyuu Group. "This was built so the boss Long Fang w.a.n.g could tame a tiger."

"Ahh, I see. So that's why there's such st.u.r.dy bars."

"But the tiger died, so they had no use for this room. They destroyed the windows and made it airtight." Lin dropped his voice to a lower pitch. "In other words, there's a high possibility we'll be executed."

There was no reaction from Banba. He did not appear to have listened to Lin.

"That's right." Banba raised his voice as though he recalled something. "Today is the Ohori fireworks show."

"Whaa?"

Lin was stunned. What's with that cheerful att.i.tude?

"This isn't the time to worry about some fireworks show."

"I'm lookin' forward to them."

"Why are you……" Lin could not believe it. Banba was even more of an insolent to be thinking about fireworks at a time like this.

At that moment the door on the other side of the bars creaked open.

"Seems the enemy has finally come to greet us." Banba smiled.

Nitta parked his car in front of the solemn main gate. He looked up at the building from his side mirror. It was the Kakyuu Group's main office. The building was surrounded by a high and st.u.r.dy fence like that of a fortress.

"……Hey, are you really going to go in there?"

Nitta looked over to Saruwatari from the side. "Of course," Saruwatari snorted in reply to his partner's unwillingness of his decision.

"That redhead b.a.s.t.a.r.d is hired by the Kakyuu Group."

"Is that true?"

"Yeah," Saruwatari nodded. It was certain, although he would not say who he had received that information from.

"Like I said though, there's no certainty the man is even here. Actually, I think that possibility is rather low."

"And if that's the case, then I just gotta catch a high and mighty guy from the Kakyuu Group and threaten him to make him come out."

Saruwatari spat out and got out of the car. He strided up to the gate and pressed on the intercom for the office. Seeing that, Nitta was taken back. He quickly poked his head out of the car window and called over to Saruwatari. "Eh? Wait, what are you doing?!"

A young man appeared from the side entrance. He was likely a lackey of the Kakyuu Group.

"Ah? Who the h.e.l.l are you?" The man glared at Saruwatari menacingly.

Without even introducing himself, Saruwatari asked immediately.

"Where is that red headed b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"

The man frowned at the sudden question.

"Wha? What do you-"

Saruwatari moved. He pulled out his ninja sword and struck it into the man's heart. "You should have answered the question."

The man died with wide eyes and fell to the ground.

"Whaa, what are you doing?! Why did you kill him?!" Nitta exclaimed from behind him. Saruwatari did not acknowledge him and walked up to the intercom's camera and stuck out his tongue.

If he provoked them like this, there was no way they would stay quiet about it. Just as he expected, there was movement. There was the creaking sound, and the closed metal doors of the entrance gate slowly slid open. A group of thirty to forty men appeared from the other side of it. All of them had a villainous look to them. It was a masterpiece. All of them were holding weapons.

"Looks like you all are giving me a warm welcome."

Saruwatari grinned.

"……Oh man, looks like everyone is p.i.s.sed." From the car, Nitta was holding his head in his hands.

"Nao, run away."

"You don't have to tell me!"

Nitta stepped on the acceleration pedal without waiting for a reply. After he watched the car speed off, Saruwatari turned back to his enemies.

The men rushed up to him while shouting out vile and ghastly comments. Saruwatari took out his shuriken. The first one he threw in exchange for a greeting splendidly struck the man in the head.

I'm in top form today.

Saruwatari looked among the group of men in black he was facing off with and smirked.

The doors to the execution room opened, and Feilang came inside. Three men in black likely from the Kakyuu Group followed in behind him.

"I feel like I'm a lion from the zoo." Lin cracked a joke after looking at the men from their side behind the bars.

"You, a lion? Don't you mean a kitten?"

Feilang snorted. He took out a cell phone and showed it to Lin.

"I took a look through this."

When Lin looked closer he saw that it was his cell phone. Feilang must have taken it while he was unconscious.

"There are some strange messages on here." Feilang read aloud some of the text while typing on the phone. "Buy mentaiko. Tomorrow's practice is at nine o'clock. We're going to Gannosu Stadium. What are these? You joined a baseball team? You're a killer though."

"This job builds up stress. I can let off steam by getting some exercise."

"I saw your call history too. All of the calls you made and receiving calls were to and from a Banba. He's this guy here, right? You sure seem to be on good terms with him."

Dammit, Lin grimaced. When Sayuri came to the office, he had repeatedly called Banba numerous times. And Banba had just continuously called Lin when he was searching for him.

"Ha," Lin gave a forced laugh. "On good terms with him? As if I would with this guy."

"You aren't then?"

"Not at all!"

"I see, then I'm glad to hear it. You just escaped certain death."

His comment pulled at Lin's heart. Lin frowned. "……What do you mean?"

Feilang did not respond. He instead turned to the Kakyuu Group members in the room and exchanged a look. "Hey," he signaled for something.

The men held a large traveling bag. They took out various objects from inside it and tossed it through the metal bars. There was a survival knife, a short sword, an axe, a club, and even a metal bat. Numerous kinds of weapons clattered at Lin and Banba's feet.

This was a familiar scene.

"You don't mean to-"

It dawned on Lin.

You finally figured it out? Feilang laughed.

"Your observation skills are terrible, Mao. Did your senses dull from living the peaceful life?" He cheerfully smiled and then ordered them. "Kill each other. Between you two. I'll let the one who survives leave."

So that's what you want, Lin bit into his lip. Feilang was trying to make him re experience their final exam.

'You can kill him, right? Since you don't get along with him at all. Come on, hurry it up then."

There was no way Lin could do it. Lin stood stuck in place.

'I told you to hurry up and be done with it!" Feilang lost his temper and shouted at him. He took out a handgun out of the traveling bag and fired at Banba. There were the sound of consecutive gunshots, and the bullets missed Banba and hit the walls and floor. He made continuous warning shots for a few moments.

At last Feilang had ran out of bullets and tossed aside the gun. "Next time they'll hit."

"……Got it."

The one who had answered was Banba. He reached for the metal bat among the pile of weapons they were given. A bat isn't something to hit people with – Banba had told him that before in the past. Then that must mean he had no intention of fighting.

They were being pressed to fight each other at this point. They had to follow along or else they would be killed. They had to make a plan to get out of this situation. Lin racked his brain on what they should do. Including Feilang, there were four opponents. Fortunately, Lin still had his knife-pistol in his pocket. He had fired once when he confronted Feilang earlier. So he had two shots left. Even if he used those two shots for each person, they would not be enough for the remaining two.

However, unfortunately the others had weapons. They had given them a knife, short sword, axe, and club……they probably could use them. Lin could shoot two of the men, and use a knife or short sword to throw it at the other two. It was a tight situation, but he had no other choice.

Lin picked up a knife from among the weapons. At the same, he took out his own weapon from his pocket, and as not to be noticed he quickly side stepped.

"Hurry up and get started already." Feilang ordered again.

Lin moved immediately. He stretched his arm out and held up his knife pistol, pointing it towards Feilang. The moment he went to pull the trigger there was a gunshot. A sharp pain shot up his right arm.

A man from the Kakyuu Group held up a similar gun. He had aimed at Lin's right hand. The bullet collided with the blade of the knife, blowing away Lin's weapon far from him.

"You're naive, Mao." Feilang had a triumphant expression. "Your thought process is easy to see through."

s.h.i.+t, Lin clicked his tongue.

"You seem adamant in killing him." Feilang slumped his shoulders. "Then I'll just kill him for you."

He told him and held up Lin's cell phone.

"I have all of your a.s.sociates. I'll have them all experience the same fate. And all of your friends from your baseball team too. I'll continue this until you kill someone. And if you don't, then I'll just kill them right in front of you. Just like this."

Feilang took out another weapon from the bag. It was a crossbow.

"And I'll start with him first." He turned to Banba and held up the crossbow. "This arrow is dipped with poison. You'll get to see your friend wither in pain and slowly die in front of you."

"Stop!" Lin shouted. He grabbed the iron bars and yelled. "Your target is me, right?! Then shoot me!"

However, Feilang did not reply. He smirked and took aim at Banba.

"Lin."

He was called by his name. It was Banba's voice.

Lin turned around and looked at him.

"It's alright."

Banba had the bat resting against his shoulder. His right hand moved. He touched his belt and then his chest.

Lin immediately understood. He had sign that hand motion before. That's right, it's that. It was a sign. It was a sign for an end run. It meant he had to run the moment he swung.

Banba was telling him to run. To run and dodge. At the same time Feilang let the arrow fly.

However, even if he ran and got out by himself, he did not know what would happen to Banba.

'When you get the sign for an end line, you gotta place trust in your comrades and run. Believe that they will hit it.'

He suddenly recalled what Banba had told him.

Believe that he would hit it.

Got it. If he is saying that, then I'll just have to believe he will do it. Lin gave a small nod to Banba so that his enemies would not notice his sign.

So don't you dare miss.

Feilang fired.

Under Zhao's orders, Suzuki had provided various weapons. He had arranged for an underground doctor to treat the men's wounds too. He a.s.sisted all of this to save Li's life. He had no idea what connection Xianming Lin had with this man, but Suzuki had about enough. He could not waste anymore time with this farce. He watched the end of the event with an anguished expression.

There were two men in the cell. Zhao was aiming a crossbow. He slowly pressed the trigger. There was a snapping sound, and the poison arrow sprung. At the exact same moment, the two men moved in sync.

The man off on the side, Lin, ran. He dashed for the weapon that had fallen onto the ground without hesitation. Banba on the other hand held the metallic bat, gripped it with both hands and hit back the arrow.

There was a small metallic sound.

"Gwahh."

One of Suzuki's subordinates cried out next to him. The fired arrow was. .h.i.t back through the bars and struck his subordinate through his throat. He collapsed onto the ground, and while Suzuki was distracted by his subordinate's suffering Lin had picked up a knife.

His target was Zhao. He stepped into his blind spot on the left and pointed the knife-pistol at him. He pulled the trigger in the next moment. The gunshot resounded in the room.

The bullet hit Zhao in the stomach. Zhao groaned and pressed both of his hands to the wound. He wavered and dropped to the ground on his knees.

Banba made his next attack at Zhao. He picked up the short sword and threw it at Zhao. Zhao dropped down to the right to dodge the blade thrown at him. However, he was unable to do so fully. The sword struck him in his left thigh. Zhao grit his teeth and grimaced at the pain.

Lin also held up his weapon and went to make another shot at Zhao. Suzuki had moved unconsciously.

He thought he could not let Zhao die. If he died, then Suzuki could not save that person. His body had moved on its own and stepped in front of Zhao. The bullet sunk into Suzuki's heart.

"Suzuki-san!" His other subordinate had yelled. He was a.s.saulted by the sensation of his lungs collapsing, and blood poured out of his wound heavily. Suzuki gritted his teeth and ordered. "Take him out of here! Hurry……ngh!"

His subordinate nodded and picked up the fallen Zhao. He immediately rushed outside and quickly closed the door.

After Suzuki watched them leave, he fell to his side. It hurt to breathe. He could not feel any strength in his limbs. At this rate, he could die.

Suzuki coughed and spat up blood. His red stained lips curled into a smile.

This is fine.

His eyelids grew heavy. He unwilling closed his eyes, and the face of that man appeared in his mind.

Lin had aimed to kill. He only managed to fire one bullet at Feilang. And moreover, he had only hit him in the stomach. That was hardly a vital area. Just how soft had I become?

One man had picked up the injured Feilang and ran out of the building. The doors shut, and they were once again shut inside.

"Dammit."

Lin tutted and kicked the bars.

"Here we go," Lin heard an unnervous voice from behind him. Banba had lowered himself to the ground and sat down cross-legged.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm a bit tuckered out, so I thought to rest up a bit."

Lin sighed in exasperation as the man chuckled. How recklessly carefree is this man? "This isn't the time to rest. This is a gas chamber."

From what he had heard, this building had surveillance cameras installed and Long Fang w.a.n.g enjoyed himself with a drink while watching the people inside die in suffering. So if the Kakyuu Group felt like it, they could kill them at any time.

"……Then what you're sayin' is," Banba looked up and pointed to the ceiling. "That this here smoke is poisoned gas?"

"What? You're kidding me-" Lin looked up and lost color to his complexion at the sight.

A white smoke began to emit from the equipment installed on the ceiling. The smoke began to get thicker and grow.

Lin quickly covered his mouth.

"They got quite the likin' to execute people by poisoned gas."

"Don't talk, you idiot! You'll breathe that in!"

Lin had yelled when it happened.

There was a large bang from outside the building.

"Oh, the fireworks have started." Banba said.
"Just how stupid are you……!"

This isn't the time to be interested in fireworks.

"Okay, got it."

Banba suddenly nodded. He grabbed Lin's hand and pulled him around with a strong force.

"Eh? Wait, hold on."

What is he doing? He looked up at Banba's face in doubt. His lips had slightly moved. He must have whispered something, but it was blown away by the sound of fireworks going off.

Banba smirked with a toothy grin. I can't believe it. He would smile in a situation like this?

The sound of fireworks stopped for a moment, and for a moment the vicinity had fallen silent.

"Boom."

Banba whispered something incomprehensible.

The next moment there was a roaring sound, and the building shook.

Is this an earthquake?

Lin swallowed.

No, it's not. This isn't an earthquake.

There was the scent of gunpowder.

That was an explosion.

Notes:

Thank you to Voissane for helping me with editing and giving suggestions!