Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 201: Boy in the Thorns (4)

Dragon Raja 3

“Anjou would see us all as demons,” Fūma Kōtarō muttered.

“Yes, in the eyes of the Secret Party, there is no difference between Yamata no Orochi and the Oni Clan. There is no distinction between demons and demon slayers. To them, we are all the same. Our war with the Oni Clan is nothing but demons slaughtering demons,” Masamune said, patting Fūma Kōtarō on the shoulder. “Now, let’s vote.”

“Masamune-dono has already laid out the pros and cons clearly. Is there really a need to vote?” Fūma Kōtarō turned to Inuyama. “What do you think, Inuyama-dono?”

Inuyama was silent for a long moment before standing again and bowing deeply to Chisei. “Understood! The Inuyama clan is ready to fight and die for you and our family!”

Tachibana clapped his hands softly. “Good. Then let Inuyama, Ryoma, and Miyamoto receive Anjou. You’ve all been his students. It’s a student’s duty to greet their teacher, isn’t it? Let him know that Japan… has never been his, and never will be!”

The family heads had all left, and the vast meeting room was empty save for Chisei and Tachibana. Chisei poured himself a glass of whiskey and walked to the window to gaze at the city. Neon signs glowed brightly, casting their colorful reflections. Traffic flowed in glowing streams on elevated highways. In the midst of this bustling metropolis, a lone white bird fluttered across the sky, landing anxiously on the rooftop of a high-rise building, its chest heaving as it looked around nervously.

It was a seagull, likely blown in from the harbor district. Tokyo, being a coastal city, often saw seabirds mistakenly fly into its heart.

Chisei thought about how, if he were that seagull, lost in this dazzling maze of a city, surrounded by the noise of people and engines, he would probably feel just as frightened and uneasy.

“Father, you know I have no interest in the position of head of the family. Why insist on passing it to me? There are many others in the organization who covet this position. You could find a capable leader among them,” Chisei asked absentmindedly, his gaze fixed on the seagull, as if asking about something trivial.

“Because you have royal blood in your veins. You are destiny’s gift to the family. Only you can restore the family’s honor. I held this position not because I was more suitable, but because you were still young and needed someone to manage the organization on your behalf. Now I’m old, and you’ve grown up. The family is at a crucial point, and we need you to step up,” Tachibana replied, his voice heavy with meaning.

“I have to leave here,” Chisei said calmly. “I want to go to France.”

“France is indeed a wonderful place, but here you are the emperor of the underworld. In France, you would just be a normal person.”

“That’s precisely why I want to go to France—because there, I can be a normal person. If I were the emperor of the underworld in France, I wouldn’t go. I could go to Switzerland, Norway, Denmark—anywhere, even Namibia or Honduras—anywhere I can sleep soundly without being known. We had an agreement, didn’t we, Father? I support you in taking down the Oni Clan and restoring the family’s dignity, and then I get to go to France.”

“Yes, I promised. Once this is over, you will have no more ties to Yamata no Orochi… I remember it clearly,” Tachibana sighed deeply.

“But now, I’m getting pulled deeper and deeper into all of this.”

Tachibana dimmed all the lights with a remote, leaving only the glow from outside. He poured himself a glass of shochu and leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the city lights that flickered and shifted in the window’s reflection.

“I still remember when you first came down from the mountains. I took you to dine at Ryugin, one of the best restaurants in Tokyo. The lights inside were dim, but the city outside was bright. You pressed your face against the window, staring out so intently. You said to me, ‘So, this is the big city! It’s so beautiful! One day, I, Chisei, will become famous here and come to Ryugin to eat every day.’ Now, you’ve made a name for yourself in this city. You can go to Ryugin any time you want, and you even control the pulse of this city. But gradually, you’ve stopped liking the big city and now want to leave. Why, Chisei?”

“I’m afraid of it,” Chisei replied softly. “The more I understand this city, the more I fear it, and I feel that one day, it will devour me.”

“The head of Yamata no Orochi need not fear anyone. In this city, your word is law. What you do is justice.”

“If you had said that to the 17-year-old me, I would have been fired up, but now, I’m 24,” Chisei said, swirling his glass as the ice cubes clinked against the sides. “If the 17-year-old me stood before me now, I would despise him… That fool, who thought he was justice itself, later became the director of the Execution Bureau and killed many people in the name of justice.”

“You killed demons! They had lost their right to exist as humans! You slayed them to save others. Someone must have the heart to do that. You did nothing wrong, Chisei.”

“Yes, someone has to be ruthless, but it shouldn’t have been me,” Chisei whispered.

There was a long silence. Tachibana finally spoke. “After all these years, you still can’t let go of what happened to Chime, can you?”

“How could I forget? I’m a demon slayer, and the first demon I ever killed was my own brother,” Chisei said quietly. “I threw his body into an abandoned well. His dead eyes stared up at the sky. I knew he didn’t believe it—not even at the moment of death did he believe I would really stab his heart. But I did. He was a demon, and I am a demon slayer. That’s fate.” He shook his head. “Fate.”

“If you were the demon and Chime the demon slayer, he would have driven the blade into your heart too. You’re right—it’s fate. A fate we all must obey.”

“I’ve been following orders for many years now, and I’m truly exhausted. Father, let me go, find someone else to replace me, so I can go to France,” Chisei said.

Tachibana smiled and sighed. “Honestly, I’d like to go to France too, maybe to that Montaillé Beach you mentioned.”

Chisei was caught off guard. “That’s a nude beach. You’re too old to still be interested in young women’s bodies, aren’t you?”

“I’m not planning to settle there. I just thought about visiting you. I imagined what my life would be like after you went to France. I thought maybe every summer I’d take a vacation at Montaillé Beach, watching you from afar as you walked along the shore, flirting with those pretty girls, rubbing sunscreen on their bare backs… but I wouldn’t meet you. I wouldn’t bring anyone or tell anyone. I’d land at Charles de Gaulle Airport, rent a car, and drive to Montaillé Beach, pretending to be an old pervert just there to watch the nudists. I’ve stained my hands with too much blood in this life, and I’ll never be free. I’m destined to turn into an evil spirit in hell. If I met with you, I’d only bring you trouble. Your future family wouldn’t like an evil ghost visiting you. One day, when I’m dead, you’ll finally be truly free. No one will know that you’re Chisei anymore, and no one will disturb your peace.” He paused. “You don’t have any tattoos; you’re clean.”