Chapter 37: Debt-Free and Carefree
The morning sun was warm, prickling the skin.
The "bed" underneath him wasn't very comfortable—though it was probably quite expensive.
Kure Fusu's luxury sedan. Its roof had been smashed by Shiraki Kei and Maruko, the frame caved in. The car was totaled.
"Boss~!"
Fusu stood by the car, grinning, changing how she addressed him again. "Can I expense the damage to my vehicle?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
He felt like he'd fallen into a pit.
But looking at Maruko beside him, Kei felt a lot better.
The ink-wash phantom of Zangief appeared, standing by the car, holding out a massive hand.
Shiraki Kei forced himself up and high-fived Zangief.
SMACK!
From that high-five, Kei could feel a warm sense of gratification from Zangief—he was happy for Kei's victory, and happy that Maruko had overcome Rodem.
Top-tier fighters can often feel each other's will through their fists.
Zangief was an invincible wrestler who believed in muscles of steel, but he was also a scholar who read three hundred books a year. His emotions were quite refined.
He had likely sensed Maruko's sadness and grievances hidden beneath Rodem's brutality.
That was why Zangief wanted to try and save Maruko.
Shiraki Kei had felt the same. Their wills merged, and he unleashed Zangief's fighting style.
"..."
After the high-five, Zangief's phantom raised a hand to the sky, as if acknowledging the surrounding audience.
But the only response was Ryu, sitting silently in meditation nearby.
Not lively enough!
—Kei could feel Zangief wanting to say that.
Keep training! Good things will happen if you train! But don't forget to rest your muscles first, or your body will break down!
Zangief's thoughts came through in a steady stream of advice, while Ryu just shook his head helplessly.
"Zzz... zzz..."
Beside him, Maruko had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Shiraki Kei was drowsy too, about to close his eyes, when they snapped open.
He remembered something!
Swish!
Kei rolled off the car and, under Fusu's bewildered gaze, limped toward the building entrance.
...
...
Inside the building, upstairs.
After confirming Kei and Maruko were safe, the atmosphere relaxed considerably.
Yako smiled. "With this, you can attempt to master Rodem's force, correct, Master Baku?"
"You misunderstand, Yako-san."
Madarame Baku chewed on his umeboshi, waving a hand. "I don't need a killer..."
As he spoke, Baku froze, then seemed to realize something. He facepalmed and gave a bitter laugh, then urged Kaji Takaomi, "Let's run, Kaji-kun! Downstairs! The gamble isn't over!"
"...Huh?" Kaji was confused, then it clicked.
The gamble really wasn't over!
The winner was determined by which party "walked out" of the abandoned building first. Falling out didn't count.
However, it was too late to run now.
Leaving aside the traps downstairs that hadn't been cleared, all Shiraki Kei had to do was walk into the lobby and walk back out to fulfill the victory condition.
Even Kaji could see that Baku had lost. Why struggle in vain?
"Because it's fun, Kaji-kun."
Baku saw through Kaji's thoughts, smiling and patting his shoulder. "A gamble purely for the sake of victory—like Kei-kun and Maruko's fight—is a rare thing."
"Oh... oh!"
Kaji nodded. He was still a little confused, but he had a feeling this was the happiest Baku had been all night.
...
...
They cleared the remaining traps and reached the building's entrance.
Sure enough, Shiraki Kei had been waiting for them. Only after Baku sprinted for the door did Kei finally take that last step, walking out of the building.
"Haha..."
Baku, with his terrible stamina, was panting heavily, but he couldn't hide his satisfaction.
Yako walked over slowly, fulfilling his duty as referee. "The gamble is concluded. A winner has been decided."
"Winners: Akagi Shigeru, Shiraki Kei."
"Spoils: Kakerou Membership, thirty million yen in cash, the Kokonoe Building real estate, etc..."
"..."
After announcing the results, Yako glanced to the side and saw two more people approaching.
It was Kure Fusu and a sleepy-eyed Maruko, whom she had forcibly woken up.
The Kure Clan's black-and-white eyes were easy to recognize, so Yako nodded slightly to Fusu.
"A pleasure, guest from the Kure Clan."
"Mornin'~!"
Fusu waved back, then dragged Maruko over to Shiraki Kei. "Shiraki-chin, the job's done. I'm gonna go find someone to fix my car! What about this guy?"
"Haa—!"
Before Kei could answer, Maruko yawned and fell asleep on Kei's shoulder again.
Everyone looked at each other in silence.
Yako quietly reminded Akagi, "Akagi-san, according to the wager, ownership of 'Maruko' also falls to you."
"Mm. A bit troublesome..."
Akagi Shigeru didn't mind having a follower, but Maruko clearly had the mind of a child. He needed taking care of.
"I'm interested in the Kakerou membership. Let me be selfish and play around with it for a while."
Akagi looked at Shiraki Kei. "The thirty million in cash—I don't need it. You can have it all, Kei-kun. And Maruko..."
"..."
Hearing this, Shiraki Kei thought for a moment.
He couldn't make use of the Kakerou membership; leaving it to Akagi was the best choice.
And thirty million cash was enough to pay off the Teiai debt with ten million left over. He could do a lot with that.
But taking care of Maruko... Kei really didn't have the capacity. They still had a sister in school to think about.
Kaji suggested, "Since the building belongs to Shiraki-san now, why not let Maruko live here?"
Kei shook his head. "This building seems to have a debt dispute with the Nogi Group—Q-Taro mortgaged it to them. It'll probably be seized later. Anyway, he can't live here long-term."
"..."
Maruko had woken up at some point. Hearing them, he secretly wiped away tears. "Does Maruko... have nowhere to live?"
Fusu suddenly raised her hand. "How about I take him to the Kure Clan?"
Kei shook his head again. "Probably not a good idea..."
"What's wrong with it?" Fusu waved her hand, saying casually, "I'm not interested, but there are people in the Kure Clan who like this sort of thing. Little babies are cute!"
"..."
The air froze for a few seconds. Everyone had the same thought—
Absolutely DO NOT let Maruko go to the Kure Clan!
They fell into thought again, until Kei spoke up. "Actually, we're overthinking it."
"Hm?" The others were confused.
Kei ruffled Maruko's hair. "Maruko is a 'person' who has lost a lot. Why not let him choose for himself?"
"We just leave him our contact info so he can find us when he's in trouble—that's enough."
Kei held out a fist to Maruko.
"At the very least, none of us will make him 'kill'."
"..."
The discussion ended. Maruko would stay temporarily in the Kokonoe Building while looking for a place to rent. Everyone gave him their contact info, leaving the rest for later.
Before parting, Kei asked Yako for a business card.
Yako gave him one, of course, but offered a friendly reminder, "Shiraki-sama, if you are not a Kakerou member, you cannot commission a referee for a gamble."
"It's fine." Kei pulled out a stack of cards and slipped Yako's in. "I just think collecting them is fun."
Yako: "...?"
Yako: "Very well. If you ever want a good cup of coffee, you are welcome to visit my shop—I run a coffee shop in my spare time."
...
...
After leaving the building, Shiraki Kei went to the hospital, then went home and slept for a full day.
Before he knew it, four or five days had passed.
In the afternoon, Shiraki Kei was sunbathing in the yard.
The people from the Teiai Group arrived on time, led by the man he'd met before—Tonegawa Yukio, the Number 2.
Kei handed over the twenty million yen debt payment. Tonegawa didn't look surprised.
"I knew you could pay it back—but faster than I expected."
Tonegawa put the money away and smiled. "Shiraki-san, you have my card. If you ever want to invest in something, feel free to contact me. I am always available."
Clearly, the Teiai No. 2 no longer saw Kei as a deadbeat. He was even trying to build a relationship.
Since it was tea time, Tonegawa suggested, "To celebrate, my treat. How about teppanyaki?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
Based on his memories, "teppanyaki" (grilling on an iron plate) and "Tonegawa" were not a good combination.
Kei politely declined. Tonegawa didn't insist and took his leave.
...
...
Shiraki Kei continued to sunbath on the lounge chair, feeling his body recover bit by bit. It was lazy and comfortable.
Just as Zangief said, training had to be balanced with rest, or the body would break down. So these past few days had been rest days.
"..."
Rolling over, Kei opened his eyes and saw Kure Fusu arriving—her motorcycle was parked on the road.
"Yo, Shiraki-chin!"
Fusu bounded over, grinning. "You look good! Good news?"
Kei stretched lazily, sighing with feeling. "Debt-free and carefree!"
"Huh?" Fusu looked confused. "I didn't receive a transfer?"
Shiraki Kei: "..."
He swallowed, snapping back to reality. "How much... did hiring you that night cost in total?"
"Let me see. The billable bullets, plus the life-saving sedan—that car is totaled, so... the total is..."
Fusu pulled out a calculator and tapped away. "Rounding down... thirty million yen!"
Shiraki Kei: "...Haha!"
Seeing Kei laugh dryly, Fusu quickly comforted him with a grin, "Don't worry about paying it back right away! I love coming to your house to collect debts!"
Shiraki Kei: "...Hahahaha!"
The yard was filled with cheerful laughter.