Just as Teiichi was about to close the coffin lid, his hands suddenly froze as though he had been electrocuted. His gaze locked onto the glaring scratches at the bottom of the coffin as if drawn by a magnet.
An inexplicable chill rose in Teiichi's heart. Had the coffin seller scratched it out of boredom? Or...?
An absurd thought surfaced in Teiichi's mind.
Could Rena have made these scratches?
"This ghost! This ghost only makes people so sick that they enter a state of suspended animation! Only when he comes to eat them after they've been buried does he bring them back!"
"This ghost deserves to die!!!"
"Huff-huff-"
Teiichi's voice echoed through the silent cemetery, filled with boundless fury and hatred.
Teiichi's body began trembling uncontrollably, not merely from fear, but even more from anger and grief. He seemed able to imagine Rena's despair and helplessness before her death, and the horrors she might have experienced.
After a long while, Teiichi took a deep breath, slowly slid the coffin lid back into place, and filled the grave back in.
He stood, a resolute light flashing in his eyes, then turned and headed down the mountain.
Aomori City's harbor.
A somewhat vicious-looking young man crouched on a wooden crate, his gaze wandering around the harbor as though searching for something.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, and a hand landed on Nakamura Koji's shoulder. Startled, he jumped off the crate and turned to look. Once he saw who it was, Koji put on a practiced smile, rubbed his hands together, and went to greet him.
"Oh, it's you, Brother Ken. I'm just looking for a good target, aren't I?" he replied with a smile.
Kobayashi Ken frowned at that and scolded him. "Haven't I told you there's no future in petty theft? Won't you embarrass us if you join the Billowing Waves Society acting like this?"
Nakamura Koji gave an awkward laugh and explained:
"What choice do I have? Our society hasn't been recruiting lately, and I still have to get by, don't I? I can't exactly make a living hauling stuff."
The corners of Kobayashi Ken's mouth lifted slightly at Nakamura Koji's words.
"There's an opportunity for you to join the society now. It all depends on whether you can seize it!"
Hearing that he could join, Nakamura Koji's eyes lit up, and he immediately said excitedly:
"Just say the word, Brother Ken! As long as I can join, I'll climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire!"
"The owner of a sushi shop at the night market hasn't been very obedient. We need you to teach him a lesson. Get this done, and you'll be a member of our Billowing Waves Society!"
The smile immediately froze on Nakamura Koji's lips when he heard the task.
"Brother Ken, doesn't our society only handle the harbor?"
"Our society already has pretty much all the business around the harbor covered. We need to expand, don't we? Otherwise, how are we supposed to recruit and support more members?"
"Oh, right, I see... Ah, I think I hear my mom calling me home for dinner. I'll be going!"
"Hey, get back here!"
Ignoring the man behind him, Nakamura Koji walked briskly away.
"Tch, does he think I'm an idiot? The night market is Genyosha territory. If I dared go teach someone a lesson there, wouldn't Genyosha have me buried the next day...?"
After putting some distance between himself and Kobayashi Ken, Nakamura Koji walked along, muttering curses. Suddenly, not watching where he was going, Koji collided with someone. The head-on impact sent Nakamura Koji staggering back several steps.
Looking up at the coughing figure before him, Nakamura Koji began trying to extort him:
"Hey! Kid, don't you watch where you're going? You just injured me! I'm telling you, you're not leaving here today unless you pay me ten thousand!"
Seeing that the person before him did not respond, Nakamura Koji raised his voice.
"Hey, you! Think you can get out of paying by pretending to be deaf? Why don't you ask around about who I am? Who on this street would dare not show me some respect?"
When the person before him still did not answer, Nakamura Koji grew annoyed and swung a fist at him, intending to teach him a little lesson.
Teiichi reached out and grabbed Nakamura Koji's wrist, stopping the fist just before it reached him, then tightened his right hand slightly.
"Aah..."
The pain in his wrist made Nakamura Koji realize that he had kicked an iron plate this time.
"Big brother! You're the real big brother! Forget ten thousand, just pay five thousand!"
"Aah! No, no, no, you don't have to pay! You don't have to pay!"
"No, I was the one who bumped into you! I'll pay! I'll pay! Please stop squeezing!"
Teiichi glanced around out of the corner of his eye. Their actions had already drawn the attention of the people nearby, so he slowly released Nakamura Koji's hand.
Nakamura Koji quickly pulled his right hand back, wrapping his left hand around the spot that had just been gripped and rubbing it to ease the pain.
Nakamura Koji looked up at the person before him, then lowered his head and thought for a while. Abandoning the idea of running, he reached into his pocket with his right hand, took out several banknotes, and offered them with a tremulous voice.
"B-big brother, this is all the money I have on me!"
Teiichi glanced down but did not take the money. Instead, he lowered his voice and said:
"I need you to do me a favor. Once it's done, I can give you ten thousand."
Nakamura Koji raised his eyebrows, looking suspicious. He felt that his day had been rather full of ups and downs.
At first, he had thought he would come away empty-handed today; then, unexpectedly, someone with a cold had bumped into him, and he had thought his luck had turned and he could make some money today; unexpectedly, he had run into an iron plate and would have to pay to avert disaster; just when he had thought he would have to pay to avert disaster, this man unexpectedly had work for him that could earn him money.
Normally, Nakamura Koji would have readily agreed first when faced with something like this. But after what had just happened with Kobayashi Ken, and since the man before him was not someone to mess with either, Nakamura Koji hesitated for a while before asking quietly:
"What favor?"
Teiichi took a deep breath and said slowly:
"I want you to collect my corpse at a specific time and place."
The following afternoon, sunlight filtered through the clouds and fell over every corner of Aomori City.
Nakamura Koji brought several underlings to the hotel at the agreed time, ready to collect Teiichi's corpse.
Teiichi had already brought Nakamura Koji to the hotel yesterday so the staff would recognize him, so they encountered no problems this time.
The men wheeled Teiichi's remains all the way to the burial site selected the day before. It was a secluded corner, with only a few scattered trees and some weeds around it, but it met Teiichi's requirements perfectly.
Standing at the edge of the pit, Nakamura Koji looked at Teiichi lying at the bottom. After hesitating for a while, he asked:
"Big brother, are we really doing this?"
"Just bury me. Don't worry."
Hearing those words, Nakamura Koji's doubts eased a little.
He walked over to the coffin and slowly slid the lid over, covering Teiichi's remains. Then he turned and directed the others to begin filling in the grave.
"All right, fill it in. Remember, the pipe connected to the coffin lid needs to point toward the back. Make sure you bury it properly, with dirt all around it. The pipe can't stick out, but remember, whatever you do, don't block it!"
"Got it!"