If time in Gokushima worked on a comparable sequence continuum to that of the real world, then Yaki could imagine Mari going to school right about now. Would she notice him absent? Would worry and a speck of guilt form throughout the day as she wondered why he hadn't come to school? Or would the harsh words of a guy like Tobio get to her and she'd just reach the conclusion that his absence was indicative of his sensitivity and obsession.
These thoughts rambled on in his mind as he sat in the back seat of the taxi, on what was turning out to be a rather pleasant ride, all things considered. Especially since the driver was the same old man who'd tried to kill him the day before.
He turned his thoughts over to what the Stationmaster told him about this Freeter, who happened to be his next target. But not before confirming no funny business was about to happen inside the taxi. No condensation hindered his vision of the beautiful day outside. There were cars and people and shops and an ocean. Nothing dreamlike or fantastical; just a vibrant tourist town. The driver himself fit his role as the elder gentleman in his beat up cab.
With a last concentrated look at the driver, two hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, Yaki reviewed the information provided by the Stationmaster.
'You're to keep a report of Mr. Freeter's words and actions,' said the Stationmaster, pulling him aside.
'That's it?'
'That's it,' said the Stationmaster. 'You're not to engage the man. He's above your level and you wouldn't stand a chance.'
'He's just a freeter, how powerful can he be?'
'Listen to me,' said the Stationmaster, forehead crinkled. 'You mustn't give away that you are following him. Once he gets a whiff of you, it'll be very difficult to track him again.'
'But you suspect he's now at the manga cafe he always frequents?' Yaki scratched behind his ear. 'I don't get how he's so elusive if he's where you think he is.'
The Stationmaster sighed and pulled Yaki along. They walked a distance till they stopped under the cover of a pine tree.
'Mr. Freeter was just like you, in that he evaded his fare and was taken under my employ,' said the Stationmaster, glancing around as if he was scouting for eavesdroppers. 'He neglected his duties in favour of his lifestyle and has yet to pay back his penalty.'
'Okay,' said Yaki, continuing to scratch behind his ear. Was it a tic or something itching him there? 'You're making him out to be some dangerous criminal but all it really sounds like is that he's just a petty one.'
'Mr. Freeter represents the worst of this generation,' the Stationmaster said, leaning in, one hand on the trunk of the tree with Yaki back to it. It was as if the Stationmaster was utilising the move pretty boys do in shojo manga where they back up the girl protagonist to the wall and lean in all sexy. 'This is not the first time I've come after him. Each time he's managed to snuff out my employees.'
'Wait, what do you mean by that?'
The Stationmaster ignored him, continuing. 'If he has visited the vendor, then it's inevitable he's gotten stronger. He'll work hard at maintaining his life of never working hard.'
'If he's done something wrong, why don't you go to the police?'
The Stationmaster conveyed a comparable look to the one the hotel worker gave when he mentioned the police.
'We have one police officer here that I'm aware of, and I don't see why he'd get involved.'
Something didn't add up but Yaki doubted he'd get the answer to this complex equation right now.
'So, monitor the Freeter is what you want from me? Is there something suspicious I should be looking out for? What happens if he spots me and I'm in danger? I mean, how long am I supposed to keep tabs on the guy?'
'You keep at it until I tell you enough,' said the Stationmaster. 'The rest you can figure out for yourself. Now I have other work to get to so you'll be on your own for a while, but I'm sure if you're competent you can handle it.'
'How am I even supposed to contact you?' Yaki remembered that his phone didn't even function here.
'I'll get in contact with you,' said the Stationmaster, pushing off the tree. 'I'll hail you a cab.'
'No, no, I can handle that.'
And that led to him sitting in this very taxi, victim to fate's sure fire arrow.
As he finished his recollection of thought, he noticed the eyes of the driver focused on him through the rear view mirror. He experienced a chill freeze his extremities that had nothing to do with cold air coming through the broken windshield.
The man opened his mouth and Yaki prepared for the worst.
The car pulled to a halt and the back door flung open.
The cab driver didn't say a word, returning to his paper.
The inside of the manga cafe was like any other he'd frequented before. Dimly lit in areas, quiet and conscientious throughout. He even allowed a tingle of elation to cascade to his extremities. Back in a place so comfortable and familiar, he wanted a moment to detach from the job at hand. And so he did.
All purpose and delusion escaped from his mind as he scoured the bookshelves. He pulled the latest volume of Bonesaw Man off the shelf and tucked it under his arm. His eyes fell upon the many volumes of Defend on Giant. He wanted to take every volume off the shelf with him. He ended up hauling back to his booth a couple volumes of Kamaboko, the popular ninja manga, Blanch, a series about mystical sword wielders and Karepanman, a nostalgic series about an anthropomorphic curry pan, which he loved as a child. He filled up his cup of cocoa and settled into the cosy space. If only all jobs were like this, then he couldn't wait to get to work.
Out of the blue he stopped concentrating on the panels of the manga in his hand and became contemplative. He started picturing his life after high school and being forced into the workforce at a job he didn't like. He never harboured any grand dreams or aspirations for himself. He always just figured it would work itself out. But now he wasn't so sure and he wasn't sure why. Even as he sipped from his hot drink, he felt numb. Fear kept him from moving, as if the very act of what he was doing was returning to a life he had no control over. Better to be frozen in fear than running around in ignorance. That's what he'd been doing. Ignorant to his own life. Joy in a book after a long day of nothing. Engrossed in an anime for a few hours, forgetting the hours of hell you spent to get there.
What felt like hours but was more like a few minutes passed before he came to and recalled why he was here. He emerged from his burrow to monitor any sign of life around him. Aside from the masked, slovenly worker at the front, he seemed to be the only occupant in sight. Of course a lot of the rooms had their sliding partition doors closed so he had no way of really knowing.
Yaki went over to the drink stand to help himself to some oolong tea. He felt the worker spare him his regards but didn't betray the ill feeling it left him with. As he made his way back to his hovel, he caught the bored worker slouched over the counter, face propped up in his hand. He passed him with his head down.
'Ain't ever seen you around here,' the worker said to the back of Yaki.
Yaki turned. 'My first time.'
'You ain't got nothing better to do?'
The way the man talked was as lazy as he looked. It didn't escape Yaki that this might just be who he was suppose to report on. Was it that easy?
'A quiet enclosed space with all the reading material I want,' said Yaki. 'What's better?'
'Point,' said the worker, too lazy to even add 'good' to the start of his sentence.
Yaki considered what next to say. He didn't want to be like the reckless protagonists of the novels he liked to read that disregarded the danger of their situation and did something that seemed totally irrational to any normal functioning person. And then again was he that normal anyway?
'You know of any other places worth checking out?' said Yaki, confident that the question was safe enough.
'You telling me you ain't from round here?'
Yaki swallowed. 'I've been here a short while, I guess.'
The eyes. Yaki noticed how they appeared both tired looking and piercing. The man coughed into his surgical mask. This had to be the guy in Yaki's estimation. He had nothing else to go on but a feeling. A feeling that he was in the presence of someone sick in the head.
'Umm, how long have you been working here?' Yaki said, unable or unwilling to meet the eyes of the worker.
'Oh, don't work here,' said the young man, adjusting the mask strap around his ear. 'I just be where I feel. Right now I feel like here.'
'Okay,' said Yaki, returning to his room. He just sat for a while, unable to get his brain to really work and unable to distract himself with anything else.
How did the Stationmaster know Freeter was here? This was the first thought that came to him as he got his brain back working. Why didn't he just go himself to deal with it? Freeter wasn't being inconspicuous or anything. Or did he know he'd just find me like all trouble had so far? Course he did. The man knows everything and tells me nothing. But what does this Freeter know? Does he suspect I'm here for him. He opted against peeking his head past the door and listened keenly for any movement.
He detected nothing but some soft grunts and what sounded like some skin on skin friction he didn't want to know more about from an adjacent room. Putting the image out of his mind, he moved to slide the door to his space open, but even as he put all his force behind it the door didn't budge.
Immediate panic set in replaced all too quickly by the shock of his life as a voice spoke behind him.
'The Stationmaster is not to be trusted,' the Freeter said.
Yaki spun around to see the Freeter propped lazily against the wall and scratching his cheek.
'How did you—?'
'Let me guess,' the Freeter said bending over to drink from Yaki's cup after lowering his mask. 'You were to report on me, nothing more. Well, let me hear it, what's your report?'
'I don't, I don't even know…'
How was it this scrawny, unkempt mess of a man scared the hell out of him? Yaki could hear his heart popping in his chest and was pretty sure the Freeter could hear it too.
The Freeter laughed. 'Come on, I ain't want you failing your mission. I know firsthand how intimidating the Stationmaster can be. Tell me, does he still look like he could be both twenty and forty years old?'
All of a sudden Yaki was feeling claustrophobic. Air came thick into his lungs as if he was trying to suck it in through a straw. An overwhelming pressure kept him immovable and without speech.
'Well, if you don't feel like talking,' Freeter said, mask lowered below his chin. He relinquished his smile and finished the drink, dropping it to the seat and shaking his head. 'I'm disappointed and bored with this.'
He imparted one last sneering smile that knocked Yaki back so hard that the back of his head met the door with immense force. His eyes closed, braced for sudden impact, and when he opened them again there was no sign of the Freeter. Blood escaped from the back of Yaki's head but not so much to be concerning.
Yaki collapsed into his seat, rubbing the back of his head. After trying the door again and nothing doing, he focused on breathing and restoring a level head. In a fading moment he was ready to accept an end to all of this and yell out to be killed so he could wake up back on that train. The next instant he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
The Freeter's words echoed in his head as the image of the man burned with the heat of a Charizard fire blast to the face. His words were but a waning shadow on a hot day. Something about the man, so free and easy, so in control, scared him more than he'd ever been scared before. Perhaps he was the only true model of freedom Yaki had ever witnessed. Throughout his life he'd seen people act as silent slaves to their job, to their relationship, to society—everyone was who they needed or were supposed to be to everyone else. At times the notion was suffocating to Yaki. But here and now, distant from that reality, he felt the effect even deeper. He wanted so much to experience that feeling and yet the implication terrified him even more.
No matter how much he derided the scaffolds he struggled in, he knew all too well that without them he'd be even more lost. He'd often wished things could be like in science fiction where some program dictated your life's purpose and you'd just accept that that was what was meant for you.
All this tangential thinking was just a distraction to calm the panic that bubbled deep within him.
Soon, a lethargy spread throughout him and as his mind went blank so did his surroundings as he shut his eyes.
'That it?' the Freeter's voice sounded behind the door, 'no fight or nothing?'
Yaki, startled, turned toward the direction of the voice.
'How very boring,' said the Freeter, appearing up against the door in a blink that forced Yaki to rub his eyes. 'You're no fun, just like the rest of them.'
'Let me out,' said Yaki, getting to his feet.
'Have you ever worked in an office before?' The Freeter laughed. 'Course not, you can't be older than sixteen seventeen. Well, I tell you now, it's very much like being enclosed as you are right now. No room to manoeuvre, subject to the will of whoever's in charge. You see I live mine full of leisure, free will, no one to assign me a coffin in which to die. But you got to take it for yourself. Put up a fight. I choose to be free but it don't mean it ain't hard work sometimes.'
He was gone again between blinks but his voice still pervaded. It sounded from everywhere and all around as if it were sourced by some omnipotent being.
'Bet you have no clue what you're even doing here,' said the Freeter, a clear lilt in his voice. 'Why subject yourself to such gruelling, unappreciated work and just submit to existing as the world is now. Free yourself from the walls that box you in.'
Yaki remained silent tracing the voice above, below and all around. What was this some sort of test or something?
'Hate to see someone so young be taken advantage of. Hell, I was just like you. But I did the smart thing and got out before it was too late. Doing jobs for them—that ain't no life.'
It was as if the voice was racing around him now, pacing in torment.
'Free me,' said Yaki. 'I have no desire to be like them.'
'Freedom ain't free. There's a cost to be paid.' Venom dripped from his next words. 'They're all too stupid to respect it was my choice. Too brainwashed to pay me mind. They wanna fucking look down on me.' His voice registered with the booming echo of a God. 'I'm way the fuck up here I don't even see their tiny ant bodies.'
Silence reverberated throughout.
After a few moments he spoke again. 'You tell the Stationmaster to come find me he want me so bad back into the shit. Ain't ever going back to their world. You'd be smart not to go back too. But you're too young to know you don't know what the fuck you want, so bet you'll just be like them. A nobody. Are you scared?'
Yaki considered before saying anything. 'Yeah.' He fell back down into the seat. The truth was he really was afraid. Scared to be stuck in this hell forever. Afraid to make a choice if he got out; a choice he knew he wouldn't make correctly. Fear spread over him as he pictured a future alone. Halfheartedly working himself into his grave. Exiled to a barren apartment without purpose. No matter the future picture the tragedy was guaranteed to play out.