The Boy Who Could See (5)

"Inuyama! Why hasn't the food for table six come out yet?"

"Coming right up!"

"Hey, Inuyama, go check on the kitchen. The guests at table twenty-one have been waiting ages."

"Yes!"

At the bustling, popular Chinese restaurant Shanwai Lou, Inuyama Heita was so busy he could barely catch his breath. Even so, he never complained or slacked off. The pay was only average, but he was paid daily, and everyone at the restaurant was nice. After they learned about his situation, the kitchen staff started using leftover ingredients to make simple, delicious home-cooked meals and rice for him to take home after each shift. All he had to do was heat them up in the microwave. After living on cheap boxed lunches and bread for so long, Inuyama Heita was moved to tears by this long-forgotten feeling called "happiness."

A few days after visiting Qian Xiaoyi that day, Inuyama Heita went to the Lingkong Exorcism Office again. He bought some Japanese sweets with his wages as a gift and brought them along. Qian Xiaoyi seemed terribly put out by his small talk, and after accepting the gift, rudely turned him away at the door. Even so, Inuyama Heita was very grateful to him.

With Qian Xiaoyi's guidance, Inuyama Heita had also gotten pretty good at telling the dirty things apart from ordinary people, and could now ignore them as he normally would. Life seemed to be back on track, heading in a better direction.

Then, several days later, a minor incident interrupted the peace.

One evening, Inuyama Heita had just finished work and was hurrying to the station with the still-warm food the kitchen had packed up for him, hoping to catch the last train home. As he took a shortcut through a residential alley, he suddenly heard an argument. He turned to look and saw three people struggling at the entrance to a house. The ones arguing seemed to be a mother and daughter, with the daughter doing her best to stop her mother.

"Mom, you can't give money to this strange man! You've already donated so many things from the house."

"Let go. Grown-up business is none of your concern."

In this city, the deeply ingrained social custom of "not causing trouble for others" had another meaning: "not wanting others to cause trouble for you." Here, neither the neighbors next door nor those across the street would get involved in domestic disputes like this. At most, they'd gossip about it in secret the next day, then cold-shoulder and snub the people involved, making snide remarks—much like the social bullying that went on at school. As a passerby, Inuyama Heita certainly had no intention of getting involved. But when he heard one of the voices, he stopped in his tracks. He knew it. It belonged to a classmate of his.

Trying not to draw attention to himself, Inuyama Heita peered around the corner at the people arguing. The unremarkable girl in glasses was indeed someone he knew. Her name was Suzuki. The two of them barely interacted in class: one of them bolted as soon as school let out to go to work, and the other was a nobody. Aside from doing well in one or two subjects, there was nothing particularly notable about the girl.

Having unexpectedly spotted someone he knew, Inuyama Heita found himself watching from around the corner. The middle-aged woman with curly hair by the door was probably Suzuki's mother. The third person there was a man in a black suit with slicked-back hair and a false smile. In an equally false, polite tone, he said, "It seems your daughter has some prejudice against our Lucky Mutual Aid Society, ma'am. You should know that our society isn't some shoddy religious group that forces its members to make donations. So it's perfectly fine if you don't donate to us..."

"No, Mr. Matsui, please take this money," the woman said nervously. "Don't listen to my daughter's nonsense. Now that I've become a member of the society, I should do what I can to contribute. Please take it. I understand now how great the society is. Please don't abandon me." She pleaded desperately as she tried to push a thick envelope into the man's hands. Suzuki, however, clung tightly to her mother.

As the mother and daughter struggled, Matsui sighed. "I understand, Miss Suzuki. I'll keep sharing good fortune with you. But before that, I'll let your daughter experience our power, too. I'd like to check her fortune. You don't mind, do you?"

The woman's eyes lit up. She turned to Suzuki and said, "Did you hear that? Mr. Matsui is going to check your fortune. It's a rare privilege, something only a few people in the society get to enjoy."

Suzuki looked at the woman before her as if she didn't recognize her. "Mom, what are you talking about?" she asked fearfully.

"Don't be nervous. It's just a little checkup." Matsui reached out toward Suzuki, making her take a step back in fear. This time, her mother grabbed hold of her instead, and their positions had been reversed. But the man named Matsui didn't touch Suzuki. He stopped with his hand just an inch from her, holding it there in front of her.

"W-what are you doing?" Suzuki asked, eyes wide with confusion.

"Don't speak," Matsui said. "It'll be over soon."

Although Suzuki had no idea what the man was doing, she could clearly feel a strange premonition that "something was coming." The air around her seemed to grow much colder, raising goosebumps on her skin.

"That's...!" Inuyama Heita, hiding around the corner, stared wide-eyed. Unlike the mother and daughter, who couldn't see a thing, he clearly saw a ghastly pale baby crawling along the suited man's outstretched arm, inching toward Suzuki. Its tiny fingers were about to touch her cheek as she stared blankly ahead.

Pretend I didn't see anything? Turn around and leave?

That was Inuyama Heita's instinctive reaction. After spending so long in Tokyo, he'd gradually absorbed the city's indifference. When something like this happened, the sensible thing was to think of his own safety first. Besides, ordinary people couldn't see this sort of thing. If he rushed in, they'd definitely think he was crazy. He still had to catch the train, after all. It'd be a disaster if he missed it.

Torn, Inuyama Heita tried every excuse he could think of to convince himself not to get involved. He was about to take a detour and leave, but just as he turned away, a long-buried memory flashed through his mind. The warmth of the food in his hands seemed to thaw his cold blood. Inuyama Heita didn't know why he was doing this, but he gritted his teeth, grabbed the plastic bag, and charged over.

Just as the baby was about to touch Suzuki, the suited man, Matsui, suddenly felt something crash into him. The ghastly pale baby seemed startled and crawled back onto Matsui, glaring venomously at the culprit.

"Sorry, sorry!" Inuyama Heita said, acting as though he hadn't seen a thing. "I'm in a hurry to catch the train and wasn't watching where I was going. Anyway... Huh? Isn't that Suzuki? What are you doing here?" he asked with a look of surprise.

"I... I live here..." Suzuki didn't realize she'd just escaped a disaster. "Why are you here, Inuyama-kun?"

"I work nearby." Inuyama looked at the suited man and frowned. "Who's he? He doesn't look like a good guy. Do you need me to call the police?"

The woman snapped, "And who are you? This is none of your business!"

Just then, Matsui took two steps back. He was still smiling, but his eyes were icy cold. "It seems our luck isn't so good right now. Then I'll see you at the next meeting, Miss Suzuki—and you too, Miss Suzuki." With that, he turned and left.

"Wait, Mr. Matsui!" The woman tried to run after him, but her daughter held her back. Suzuki turned to Inuyama Heita, looking as if she'd finally let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Inuyama-kun... But there's no need to call the police. If you're catching the train, you'd better hurry, or you'll miss it."

"I understand. I'll be going, then. Excuse me." Inuyama Heita bowed slightly, then quickly fled the scene. His legs had been shaking with fear just moments before.

After Inuyama Heita had left, Matsui emerged from a corner of the alley and murmured to himself, "Hmm, looks like he can see you. Seems I really was lucky to come out today..."