Morning, or what could only be equated to morning if time really was a non construct, arrived in all its glory. It shone a light on the trashed room and the beaten face of Yaki Bata. He sat Indian style on the floor in a warming patch of sunlight. What remained of his uniform laid strewn on the floor; he donned a navy jinbei.
His head might as well have been off his shoulders for how little function was left. He remained unmoved as a knock arrived on the door. The sounds of the door being opened didn't even reach him. Nor did the tap on his shoulder. A figure stepped between him and the light.
'Didn't you see the sign on the door: Do not Disturb,' said Yaki.
'We had a noise complaint from a neighbour,' the robot woman said.
Yaki hadn't moved from this position since the altercation, which happened some hours ago.
'In the future if you could be mindful of your neighbours, it would be appreciated.'
She appeared more human than her first appearance but Yaki didn't have the mental energy to pinpoint how.
'Just to make you aware,' continued the robot woman, 'any damages to your room will be added to your fee, which I've been informed will be deducted from your salary.'
At this, Yaki stirred. 'I'm not being paid.'
'Which will be a surplus cost to be paid from services performed, on top of the penalty owing for evading the train fare, which I understand will also be paid back through your services to the Stationmaster.' She got down on her haunches, which Yaki didn't think possible. 'Also a bill has come in for you for the cost of the damage to the taxi driver's windshield.'
More work done and the costs just keep going up. All Yaki responded with was what could hardly be labelled as a nod of recognition. Perhaps it was more one of resignation. Life—his life at least—was not to be wasted on work for others who wouldn't appreciate it. It wasn't laziness—sure, he was lazy when he needed to be—that kept him from meeting the expectations of society. It was a steadfast application of his principles.
He permitted a smile at his justification. A small one.
The hotel worker directed her focus to the large white sheet that covered the bodies of the gyarus.
'I'll have cleaning service come through,' she said.
Yaki dropped his smile at once and responded with a small nod again. Images flashed before him of the two girls deaths. Images that even experienced in a dream would stay with him forever. In his short period on this earth, he'd only realised death in entertainment and when his grandparents passed. They had been much too sick for half his life anyway, so their deaths were not so much a cause for sadness for him. In truth, he had never even really comprehended the meaning and impact of having someone erased from your life forever. In games, you just respawned. In books, you just started the book over when the character was still alive.
It honestly hurt him how much these two minor bit characters of his story weighted on him. What a waste of beauty.
'Will the police come?' Yaki said, speaking up before an onset of tears.
The hotel worker blinked a look of confusion. 'There is one police officer I know of, but I don't see why he'd come here.'
'Two girls died,' Yaki said, 'wouldn't they want to know how?'
'Far too much death happening to be worried over two girls.'
'What?' Yaki couldn't contain his disbelief. That anger that had boiled so quickly with his engagement with the Ladykiller surfaced again, but he lidded it, gazing at her genuinely puzzled face. 'Someone needs to feel sad that they're gone. It was my fault. You can tell the Stationmaster.'
'What are you saying, Mr. Free Rider?'
'Stop calling me that!' Yaki winced at the pain radiating from his rib.
'You saying you murdered these gyarus?'
'Well…' Murder provoked such an extreme manifestation in the mind. It was more like manslaughter. But that term too sounded so ugly, he couldn't admit to it.
'They died as a result of my presence here,' said Yaki eventually. 'I mean if I just left things alone as I usually do then none of this happens.'
He knew he was justified in leading a monochromatic existence. The cost of effort was too high a price to pay. Such as a funeral for these two.
'We need an ambulance,' said Yaki, getting to his feet and feeling the pain shoot out from his chest. 'Well, I don't know if an ambulance is right for someone who's already dead. But something like that needs to come and get these girls.'
'You speak in such a foreign tongue,' the hotel worker said, sounding a chirpy laugh.
'What do you mean? Ambulance, you must know.'
The oblivious look on her face reminded him that this was no ordinary world he was in. Or dream. He needed to stop expecting normal conventions to apply to unusual circumstances.
'You said there is a lot of death happening,' said Yaki. 'What do you mean?'
'I mean a lot of people are dying,' she said.
'Yeah, but how?'
'They're getting killed.'
'Yes, I know, but how? By who?'
She again gave him a questioning look. He was reminded of that time in science class when he deigned to ask a question that prompted even the teacher's ridicule. After that he committed to reside in ignorance for the rest of his life. Well, until he was forced into this dream world where death lurked in taxi cabs and hotel rooms.
'Have you never wanted something so bad you'd do anything to get it?'
'Well, yes.'
'And have you ever had a dream where the world seemed limitless but you were limited?' said the hotel worker.
'Yes,' said Yaki.
The hotel worker drew her rather expressive robot face plain. 'Here is a place for you to surpass your limits. Because things here are limitless.'
She left the room. Yaki looked after her. The way she talked just now was far from robot like. He didn't have time to think more about it as the Stationmaster entered the room, one arm hugging a package under his pit.
He surveyed the surroundings with an enthusiast's level of interest. Like a museum goer. The patch of light that Yaki stood in shrank.
'Got a good night sleep, I hope,' said the Stationmaster, still walking around the room, interested in everything else but him. 'It sure is a beautiful day.'
Yaki wetted his dry lips. A million words fought to be said but he couldn't organise them. A flurry of fear kept him in place. A flicker or fury solidified his feet. Just as he clenched his fist in a strong resolve, the Stationmaster turned to him.
'Where is Mr. Ladykiller?'
He had the look of a no nonsense boss. Antithesis to the breezy nature of his entrance.
'He should be on the ground outside, I should imagine,' said Yaki. He silently berated his sudden subservience. It was a fault of his he'd experienced before when working at the family restaurant with his first manager. His co workers too engaged in gossip through LINE about the manager's character, or lack there of, but when they came to work it was all la di da, yes sir, no sir, let's be friends sir. Even Yaki wasn't immune, engaging himself in such behaviour as he reflectively chided others for it.
'I saw no body outside,' said the Stationmaster.
Yaki leaned over the balcony, and sure enough amongst the fragments of glass and splatter of dark red there was no body. No way he could have walked off falling four floors.
'Maybe someone moved him,' said Yaki, unable to quell the rise of panic in his voice. 'Maybe the hotel worker picked him up. He can't be alive. If he is, he will surely come to kill me.'
The Stationmaster leaned on the rail of the balcony too but peered straight at the horizon. It panicked Yaki more to see him unfazed.
'Well, that's good then,' he finally said, returning inside the room. 'Saves us having to go look for him.'
Yaki chasing the Stationmaster back in the room said, 'I think it's time for you to fill me in on who you are and what you want from me.'
The Stationmaster righted the overturned table and sat down on the zabuton, placing the package next to him. He didn't gesture for Yaki to follow suit but Yaki scooped up the other zabuton and sat across from him just the same.
'I believe I've already filled you in on those matters,' said the Stationmaster, the light reflecting off his face. 'Do you wish to negotiate some other arrangement?'
Yaki lost a nerve and released a breath that unwound his tight frame. 'I just…why did…I mean…you knew the Ladykiller would be here…so why…what did you expect—'
'I'm going to stop you right there, Mr. Free Rider,' said the Stationmaster. 'I'm not all knowing; I'm not some omniscient devil that leads you by the collar into danger just for the sake of—'
'Why did you want me to kill the Ladykiller?'
Yaki's lip quivered at his own abrasive questioning. Authority made him feel small until he was in the ground, but perhaps the acquired taste of unknown strength kept him above ground. The man's suave appearance did unbalance him however.
'I don't remember asking you to kill anyone, if I recall,' said the Stationmaster. 'But your question isn't unfounded and I'll provide an answer nonetheless. Would you mind making some tea?'
Yaki nodded like the dog he was and retrieved the kettle that somehow survived the fracas. He went into the bathroom and filled it and came back to let the water boil.
'I have a responsibility that I take seriously,' said the Stationmaster as Yaki returned. 'I don't serve a higher purpose; I do the duties that my job necessitates. That includes dealing with those like yourself who try to take advantage of the system. In regards to Mr. Ladykiller, he is a fellow piece of trash that needs to be disposed of. I'm sure you reached the same conclusion in your meeting with him.'
Yaki swallowed. 'Is that how you see me?'
'One person's rubbish is another person's treasure,' the Stationmaster said.
Not convinced but preferring not to corroborate any further on his tarnished character, Yaki pivoted.
'Is he dangerous? Ladykiller?'
'Relative to what?'
'Is he dangerous to here, whatever the hell this dreamworld is? I mean it's clear this isn't real life, or I'd be dead right now.'
'I don't know anything of this dreamworld you speak.'
'Fine, fine, whatever. Is he dangerous? Will he hurt people or more people? Is he wanted by the law for the things—' Better not confuse the situation again. 'Is he dangerous in your eyes?'
'The tea,' said the Stationmaster, jerking his head in the direction of the kettle. Steam released as soon as the Stationmaster spoke. Maybe he was some omniscient devil.
As the water finished boiling, Yaki got up to serve it into cups, also somehow in tact from last night, and poured in green tea powder. He helped himself to a cup too.
'His continued existence is dangerous,' the Stationmaster said. 'You've seen he isn't particularly strong, so I don't think he's a danger in and of himself, but like many here, it is dangerous to allow people to live the way they choose to live. It is a dangerous place if people are free to act as they like, wouldn't you agree?'
Yaki blew on his tea in lieu of an answer. He was starting to feel the tiredness creep back into his bones.
'Anyone who can come and go from Gokushima is dangerous,' said the Stationmaster, ignoring the steam rising from his cup and drinking the tea in one go.
'Where is this place? Will I ever be able to get out of here?' Yaki looked out over the ocean and wondered where he'd end up if he swam for it. Probably at the bottom.
'I can't answer that,' said the Stationmaster. 'I'm not being coy, but I just can't provide you an answer I'm not confident in myself.'
'Where are you from?'
'I can't answer that, either,' said the Stationmaster. 'And this time I am being coy. I can't entirely trust you yet, though you have earned a part of my trust so far.'
'How?'
'Your complete lack of knowledge makes you reliable,' said the Stationmaster with a smile. It didn't suit him but he didn't look any less suave with a smile.
Yaki sipped from his cup. 'Am I working today? Is this the reason you are here?'
'You debt is not cheap, so you will work everyday until it is paid off,' said the Stationmaster, touching the brim of his cap. 'But first I'd like you to come with me shopping.'
'Shopping? I don't have much money to buy things.' Yaki didn't want to add to his debt as well by having the Stationmaster pay for something he didn't need.
'Don't worry, you can afford it.'
'I don't need anything,' Yaki said, draining the rest of his tea. 'I mean I am hungry though.'
'Good, you'll eat at the shop we are going.'
The Stationmaster stood, picking up the package, rays of sunlight flush in his face but he resistant to its brightness.
'One thing, I…why me?' said Yaki, looking up at the Stationmaster. 'You are doing your job, fine. But why recruit me for all this?'
The Stationmaster blessed him with another smile. His face was framed perfectly in the light.
'You think too much of yourself, don't you?'
'No, I don't, I really don't.'
'Don't worry,' said the Stationmaster, walking out from the sun. 'You're not special. Circumstances have placed you here, but you were not exactly my ideal choice, if that makes you feel any better. Remember, you violated the law and it caught you. I caught you because it's my job and now I'm helping you repay what you owe to society.'
Yaki got to his feet. 'So that's my job is it, going after others who spat in the face of the rules? Am I your reclamation project?'
The Stationmaster laughed on his way to door. As Yaki caught up, he turned around.
'I don't know what you want me to tell you. Believe in what you want. People in your shoes often do. But you are given a job to fulfil, and any deeper meaning you extract from your work is your business. Oh, here.' He handed Yaki the package he'd been holding. 'You aren't going out dressed like that.'
Yaki ripped open the package to find a freshly folded school uniform. He put it on, not bothering to inquire how the Stationmaster even got his hands on it.
They met the hotel worker just as they reached the elevator.
'I hope you enjoyed your stay with us, Mr. Free Rider,' she said, smiling way brighter than the morning's sun. 'Cleaning service are coming to take care of the damage to your room and I'll be sure to advance you a charge for the costs.'
'How very kind of you,' said Yaki.
She gave a little nod to the Stationmaster, who returned it, and continued on down the corridor.
'Wait,' Yaki said.
She turned around smiling.
'Did you or anyone see a body outside?'
'No, I don't believe so,' said the hotel worker. 'Have a good day.'
With that she proceeded on down the corridor.
Yaki's face took on a ghostly white pallor.
'I wouldn't concern yourself with things out of your control,' said the Stationmaster as they entered the elevator. 'A person can go crazy worrying over things that have no explanation.'
The moment they exited the front doors of the hotel, Yaki retreated a few steps back.
'No way, no,' he said, seeing the taxi driver from yesterday standing by his taxi with the back door open. 'There is no way in this world that I'm getting back in that cab.'
'Mr. Free Rider,' said the Stationmaster, coming toward him. 'You're very much acting like an aerophobe right now. It's a taxi.'
'That cab is scarier than any airplane ever,' said Yaki, shooting the driver a glare.
The driver was already disinterested in the matter and was deep into his racing form.
After some light coercion, and Yaki settling on the theory that the cab driver probably wouldn't try anything with the Stationmaster present as a passenger also, the two of them got in the back seat. The windshield had yet to be repaired and they were all assaulted by a briny ocean breeze. Only Yaki seemed to be effected by its force.
Yaki kept a hand on the door handle at all times, even though he doubted he'd have the capacity to open it if anything did go down. He kept an eye on the driver the whole journey, which wasn't long, and followed quite a straightforward, scenic route.
When the Stationmaster directed the driver to pull up, the taxi hit the curb and the back door flung open.
'That's it?' said Yaki, incredulous.
Both the taxi driver and the Stationmaster looked at him.
'Yesterday you said you'd drive me straight to hell next time. That I'd have to pay twice over.'
'Mr. Free Rider,' said the Stationmaster in a stern teacher's voice. 'Have you no manners? Thank the man for the lift.'
'And you,' said Yaki, remembering he harboured suspicions on the Stationmaster too. 'Were you in on it too then, from the start? Well, showed you, didn't I? I survived two trips in this cab.'
The Stationmaster apologised on Yaki's behalf and herded him out of the taxi. The charge was 666 yen, which didn't escape Yaki's notice.
'You know he tried to kill me yesterday, don't you?' said Yaki as the taxi drove off.
'Why would I know that?' said the Stationmaster.
'You wanted him to kill me, you asked him to,' said Yaki.
'I cannot get my money's worth from you if you are dead,' said the Stationmaster calmly.
'Well, I haven't forgotten about this,' said Yaki. 'He may not have tried to kill me this time, but when he does then—'
He was well aware he resembled an immature brat caught in an argument he couldn't win, damned to only talk himself around in circles.
The Stationmaster relayed an eerie calmness. 'I would remind you that from now you are under my employ and must act accordingly. I will not have my reputation besmirched by your indolent and disrespectful manner.'
They walked a few more metres down the promenade. Yaki fell into a sullen mood. Still, he took note of his surroundings. It must still be early cause there weren't any people about and a lot of the shopfronts were shut up. Just the regular eateries and souvenir shops.
The salivating smell of grilled, if not slightly burned, ocean creatures hit him like the breeze generated by the broken windshield in the taxi. Not too far ahead he spotted the source: an open shopfront with a grill cooking all manner of squid and octopus and scallops. He even detected a sweet aroma, which he learned was cotton candy as they approached. Behind the grill hunched an old lady tending skewers of squid.
'Irasshaimase,' the lady barked, even though they stood right before her. 'We have fresh cotton candy today. You must try.'
Yaki couldn't argue the hunger he felt but his attention was on the Stationmaster. Why bring him here? His attention shifted. And why would a seafood stall specialise in cotton candy?
'Sounds good,' said the Stationmaster. 'Two cotton candies, please.'
'I don't want cotton candy from a seafood stall,' said Yaki.
'Mr. Free Rider, what did I say about manners.' The Stationmaster smiled placatingly at the old woman gathering cotton candy on a stick.
'Good cotton candy today,' the woman said, showing the absence of teeth in her mouth. 'Help you grow big and strong.'
'There you go,' said the Stationmaster. 'You want to get stronger, don't you?'
Must be stuck in some kids dream if he was to believe eating cotton candy would help him grow up healthy in any way. Yaki though kept silent accepting the cotton candy from the lady.
As he saw the Stationmaster accept his and take a bite, he could no longer remain silent.
'How much is it?'
'Don't worry, you've already paid.'
Huh?
'Eat up,' the Stationmaster said, more an order than an invitation.
Yaki tore a chunk off the stick and forgot all his misgivings in a second. Its taste lingered on his tastebuds and communicated quickly to the brain that he wanted more. No, needed more. It was crazy to consider but he actually felt a surge of power in his body. His aches disappeared and a rush of adrenaline made him wish the Ladykiller would walk on by right this instant.
As he finished, he noticed the vendor watching him. The skin on her weathered face stretched and formed a million lines that crisscrossed like a train line map.
'What special ability do you choose, Mr. Free Rider?' she said, gums again on display.
Yaki turned to find no sign of the Stationmaster anywhere. In fact, he was no longer standing on the street. The world around the small shop and him was one big cloud of white.
'Where am I?'
'You've come to purchase something from my shop,' the lady said. 'You're not yet very strong but I sense your potential. Please choose the special ability you'd like.'
'What ability? I don't understand—'
'You're a free rider whose base power is your free use of another's attacks directed at you,' the vendor said. 'Am I speaking the truth?'
'How do you know that?' Yaki said bitingly. 'What do you know about this world? You make it sound like I'm in some sort of game.'
'At this moment I know only of you,' said the lady.
'Who are you?'
'I'm the vendor and you are the customer,' said the lady.
Yaki couldn't quite comprehend the reality of the situation but just as he had adapted to this crazy dream world, he ventured in deeper.
'What special ability would you recommend?'
The vendor, still with a hunch in her back, craned her neck to look into his eyes. Hers were blue opals that looked like worlds of their own.
'The power best for you is one which you can call on to attain your goals,' the vendor said, her focus still powered by the connection made with their eyes. Yaki held it strong, too afraid to even blink. 'Your goal is to find love, no?'
'What? No, I just want to get out of here.'
'It is my business to know what a customer wants,' said the vendor. 'How else would I have stayed in business for so long?'
Yaki tried to suppress the image of Mari in his mind but failed. Was he really that shallow a person to have such a basic goal as to want to be loved? Even as he devalued too much of himself, he still held a thread of hope that he was different. He didn't succumb to the base desires or practices of others but forged his own lonesome path, cause he knew something they didn't.
But there was Mari on the forefront of his brain.
In the end he was still looking over and wanting to get over to that other side with Mari and everyone else. It was such a lonely thing to know you're no different from others as you walk away from them. What good was lying to himself every day and continuing on a path that ended with him alone and unhappy?
Mari on the brain only made him lovesick. So if he had a power to win over her love—
'What power would make me loved?' he said, sounding almost defeated.
'No, no, no,' said the vendor, leaning in a little. 'You misunderstand me. You are looking to love yourself first. Only when you love yourself can you accept the love of others.'
'That's not what I need,' said Yaki all too quickly. 'That ability won't help me here in wherever we are.'
The vendor offered no reaction, even as he drew his focus away to break the spell of her earthly eyes bearing into his soul.
'What I want is something to make things easier,' said Yaki, wiping at the sweat that accumulated on his forehead, even as he shuddered from a chill that radiated from the back of his neck. 'Just something to get me out of here; something to make it easy to escape a situation like the one I had with the Ladykiller.'
'Okay,' the vendor said after a beat. 'If that is what you're asking for, then that's what I'll provide.'
Yaki experienced no discernible change even as the vendor notified him of being done.
'Done what? I don't feel any more different.'
'The transaction is done—'
'Wait a minute, what did the Stationmaster mean when he said I already paid. How? What did I give you?'
The world around him filled back in with the closed shopfronts and the ocean view. The warmth of the day did little to dispel the cold feeling still affecting his body. Beside him he noticed the Stationmaster finishing his stick of cotton candy.
'Come,' he said, all business. 'Our shopping here is done. We must get to work. I've got your next target.'