Pulp Life

A Million Dollars in Yen


24. The Road Home


Hirakoba stretched his long limbs out on his bed. He had claimed one of the single bedrooms for the night. Chinen and Tanishi were downstairs, and Yukimura and Kite were in one of the other singles. Kai and and Kirihara were supposed to be sharing a room, but right now Kirihara was in Yukimura's room with him.

Hirakoba had to laugh at that. The little brat must be putting quite the damper on Kite's love life. Hirakoba had been thinking, waiting for his opportunity. He wanted that money. And no way in hell he was going to be sharing it with a know-it-all pretty boy and his broken down kouhei.

Well, speak of the devil. Kite was walking past his doorway right now, and Hirakoba got up and leaned against the doorway.

"Buchou," he all but purred, eyes deliberately dark and half-lidded. He could see the shiver run up Kite's back. Kite loved power trips, loved being in a positions of authority, and really got off whenever someone reminded him of it. He was turning, eyes running the length of Hirakoba's body. "Are you busy?"

Kite didn't even hesitate before walking into the room and closing the door. After all, they had a history together.

"What are we going to do?" Hirakoba asked, taking a step back, knowing Kite would take a step forward to follow. Like a predator stalking its prey, only it was the prey calling all the shots.

Kite shrugged. "Take Rokkaku's bus down south. Ditch the others. Take a flight out of the country."

"All four of us?"

"Four?"

"You don't think that Yukimura would leave without his precious Akaya, do you?"

The look in Kite's face seemed to read, inexplicably, that, yes, that's exactly what he thought. But now Hirakoba was pressed up against the wall, and he reached out, pulling Kite so that they were pressed together, bodies intertwining.

"You don't even know him," Hirakoba whispered, their lips almost touching. "Aren't you bored of that boy by now?"

And then their mouths were smashing together, tongues intertwining.

Meanwhile, downstairs Tanishi tried to avoid looking at his roommate while Chinen fidgeted. Tanishi had always thought Chinen was pretty spooky looking, but that nervous twitch he was exhibiting made him look beyond ghoulish.

"Tanishi," Chinen finally whispered, his voice harsh, "what are we going to do?"

Tanishi shrugged. Whatever was going on with the others, he figured he wasn't involved. "Go back to Okinawa."

"Are you really that stupid? What are you going to do once you get back there? Do you think the police aren't going to question why all these people are dead? Our coach, Shiranui, all these other tennis players."

Tanishi did have to admit that it was pretty suspicious. "Do you think we'll be in trouble?"

"Yes!" Chinen said. "Look, we have to go. We have to go find the police, and tell them everything."

Tanishi nodded, seeing now that was the only option they had. After all, he and Chinen hadn't actually killed any one, and if they stayed with Kite they could end up in real trouble. Tanishi really only wanted to go home.

Chinen headed out of the room then, and when he came back he held the keys to Fuji's car.

"Let's go," he said, and Tanishi got up to follow him.

The house was still, so Chinen knew that no one was paying attention to what they were doing right now. That would change as soon as they heard the car starting, and by then it would be too late, and they'd already be off and on their way home.

Tanishi followed Chinen to the car and got into the passenger's side, his corpulent body barely able to fit in the seat. Tanishi started the car. It gunned. . . and then stalled. Fear started to build up inside of Chinen's stomach. He tried again. He swore he could hear running, but he wasn't sure if it was real or imagined. He tried again, and the car lurched forward. His fingers loosened their grip on the wheel minutely, and Chinen eased the car forward. But then he was blinded, bright lights filling his vision. He realized it was the headlights of the bus.

"Shit," he said, eyes huge and foot slamming down on the accelerator. But the bus was pulling out now, too. It was accelerating, and Chinen was all too aware which vehicle would lose if they crashed into each other. And then there it was.

The huge bus collided into their car, and Chinen could hear the tons of metal crunch together and smell the rubber from the tires burning. He was thrown forward, glass breaking as he landed on the hood of his car.

Chinen opened his eyes. The wreckage was in flames, but it wasn't reaching him. He looked to the side. Tanishi's head, expression open in surprise. He looked down. Tanishi's body, still strapped into the passenger's seat, a hole in the window shield where his head had flown through. Then, Chinen realized that his lower body was missing, cleanly severed off.

"My bad," came a voice, and Chinen recognized it as Kai's. "Man, I'm always making a mess out of things, aren't I? I only wanted to kill you, not cut you into pieces."

Chinen was only vaguely aware as Kai walked away, his consciousness slipping away with each moment.

"Ah, well, I guess in the end it doesn't really make a difference."


25. The Space Between Dream and Reality


He could feel himself dying. He could hear the flames from the wreckage, but Chinen couldn't feel the heat coming off of them. He could feel, however, the tears streaming down his face.

Why had this happened, he asked himself. Why to him. He had only wanted to go home. Just a few hours ago, he was on his way home. . . a cry spilled from his lips, blood and spit and despair.

They had lost at Nationals, but it was okay. They had been the first team from Okinawa to even get so far in such a long time. And Chinen had been, not happy, but content. He had seen Tokyo. He had played. And, soon, he would be at the airport going home.

He swore could feel the sand beneath him. The water lapping at him. Not like the beach here, infinitely better, water emerald green and sand white. Chinen swore he could see his mother right now.

"Welcome home, Hiroshi," she said, and he could smell some kind of delicious soup simmering on the stovetop."

"Okaasan," he said, and then he was in the dojo, practicing his kicks. Then the plastic mats of the dojo gave away beneath him, and he was at school, bored out of his mind in math class. And then his mother was there again, her hand on his cheek.

"Hiroshi," she said. "You look tired. Why don't you go to sleep now?"

Chinen nodded, sad enough to cry, though he couldn't remember why. He closed his eyes, and put his head down on his desk.



26. Excessive Chain


Kai made his way back into the house, knowing that it was his turn to make a move. He wasn't stupid, after all. He had seen how Kite and Hirakoba had acted when they got back from taking care of the yakuza, the too careful ways in which they handled themselves. Plus there was the way they had killed Shiranui. . . what was that about? Something was up, and Kai just watched. And, while watching, he noticed how Kite never had his bag out of his sight. Something was in that thing. Kai didn't know what, but he had a guess, and he knew that he wanted it.

Rin, Kite, and Yukimura he wasn't too worried about. He was pretty sure they'd implode soon enough, killing each other off, or mostly. He could take care of whoever was left, he guessed. But he also didn't see any reason why he shouldn't help to speed up the process.

He headed towards Yukimura's room, peeking his head in.

"Hey, have you seen Kite?" Of course he hadn't. Kai had heard the noises coming out of Rin's room when he had walked past.

Yukimura shook his head no. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Kai said, "Chinen and Tanishi just tried to run off. I tried to stop them, but they're dead now. Messy stuff. Thought I'd let the buchou know."

"I haven't seen him in awhile," Yukimura said.

"Do you want to come with me to look for him? We should all talk about what we're going to do in the morning, anyway."

Yukimura nodded as he got up, following Kai to his room.

"Oi, Kirihara," Kai said, opening the door. "Get up."

But Yukimura, alert as always, was already pushing him aside at the utter wrongness that could be felt in the room. Akaya was lying in the bed, a screwdriver embedded in his head. The screwdriver that was last seen in the possession of one Kite Eishirou.

Kai smiled as he saw Yukimura's eyes darken with anger.

"Kite," Yukimura finally said, "that's going too far."



27. Good Night


Hirakoba felt Kite tense up right before he came, liquid heat pooling inside of him. And then Kite was moving, pulling out, and Hirakoba took his hands from where they had been holding onto the headboard and turned around to face the other boy.

"That was nice," he purred, but Kite was already pulling on his clothes.

"Amazing, as usual," Kite replied. "But you know, Rin, I'm not tired of Yukimura just yet. Besides, if I run off with you, how long will it be before you try to kill me?"

Hirakoba frowned, even as he scrambled for the knife he had been keeping by the side of the bed. But he was too late, too slow, and Kite was already making a grab for him. Kite dragged his body off the bed, slamming his head through the window, and Hirakoba could hear the glass shatter and feel it along his skin. He was being let go and he quickly turned around, but Kite always had been the better martial artist of the two. Before he could even get into a defensive position he saw it, glinting in Kite's hand. And then Kite was bringing it down, that large piece of jagged glass, and Hirakoba soon found it embedded in his stomach.



28. If Only I Could Make You Mine


Kite silently made an apology to Hirakoba, body prone and laying on the floor, attached to it as he was by that piece of glass. Kite had always liked him, after all. The problem was he couldn't trust him. . . and when it came to money, Hirakoba was surprisingly stingy.

"Better you than me," Kite said, making his way out of the room. He made his way to the room he shared with Yukimura, intending to wash up in the bathroom there. It was oddly quiet, he thought, wondering if every one had gone to sleep.

Kite came out of the bathroom, freezing one step into the bedroom. Yukimura was standing by the bedroom door, the gun in his hand pointed directly at him.

"Why?" Yukimura asked, voice and face completely devoid of any emotion Kite could read. "Just to satisfy my own morbid curiosity, why did you kill Akaya?"

"I didn't," Kite said, calm, wondering how close he could get before Yukimura fired. How close he could get before he could make a move.

"Don't lie. It's not very becoming."

"Yukimura," Kite responding, taking one more step forward. "I didn't do it. But I can't say I'm sad he's gone. Now it's just the two of us. . . wasn't that the plan to began with?"

"Plans change," Yukimura replied, and he pulled the trigger.

He had expected Kite to put up more of a fight, but he supposed there wasn't much he could have done against a bullet. His body crumpled, landing in a dull thud on the floor.



29. Unrivaled


Kai whistled, then smiled down at the bag he had grabbed while every one else was distracted. It had to be at least five million yen. He knew those bastards were hiding something good. He zipped up the bag and slung it over his shoulder, making his way out of the house. He was thinking maybe he'd head to Hawaii. He had his passport, the police weren't looking for him yet. . . plus, he had always wanted to go.

"Kai."

Kai turned around, not surprised to see Yukimura standing there.

"Was it really Kite who killed Akaya," Yukimura asked, gun pointed at him, "or was it you?"

"It was me," Kai admitted, "but you don't have any more bullets in that gun."

"And how do you know that?"

"You think I didn't check? You only had one bullet left, and you just used it to waste Kite."

"And you don't think I have any other bullets?"

Kai frowned, but he tried not to let it shake his confidence. Yukimura was moving towards him, one step at a time, but he didn't mind. If it was a hand-to-hand fight, Kai had no doubt that he would win. "You're bluffing."

"I guess we'll see."

Kai darted forward, knocking the gun out of Yukimura's hand. It clattered into the corner. Kai landed a punch to the side of Yukimura's face, sending Yukimura's head snapping to the side, blood filling his mouth. Then there was a well-placed kick to his stomach, and Yukimura could feel himself doubling over.

But Yukimura hadn't been depending on the gun from the beginning. In the second that he sensed an opening, he drew the knife from his back pocket, sending it in an upwards arch to large in the side of Kai's throat.

Kai gasped, shock written on his features, and Yukimura pushed him backwards. He ran for the gun and pointed it back at Kai.

"You should have known you wouldn't be able to beat me," Yukimura said, before firing his chamber into Kai's back.



30. Superstar


Dawn was breaking. Yukimura cradled Akaya's head in his lip, tears streaming down his face. He wasn't sure if they were tears for Akaya, or just tears, wrought from everything he had just been through. But dawn was breaking, and he was alive. The last one standing.

But then there was the sound of police sirens, and Yukimura looked up to see several police cars coming towards him. So this was it. It was over. . . he guessed the jig was up.

The police officers came running towards him, and then they were running past him. Confused, Yukimura just blinked at them, but then some one gently pulled him away from Akaya, wrapped him in a blanket, and was leading him back to the cars. He was even more surprised to see his parents there. His mother, crying, came to wrap her arms around her only son.

"Seichi!" she cried, shaking, and Yukimura brought an arm up to wrap around her. "When I heard those awful boys from Higa Chu were here, I knew I'd find you! I'm so happy. We were so worried."

"What?" was all Yukimura could say, and he became aware of a medical technician hovering over him.

"He must be in shock," the technician said, shaking his head. "All this violence. . . unbelievable."

"We found out Sanada and Niou were killed by that Kite Eishirou boy," his mother said, crying, "and then. . . when you were kidnapped, I thought. . . I thought I'd never see you again."

His mother was shaking even more, and Yukimura tightened his grip on her. Kidnapped. But then a police officer was coming up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yukimura," he said, "you've been through a lot. If you're not hurt, why don't you and your parents go home? We can always get your version of the events later."

Yukimura nodded as his mother pulled him towards the waiting car. Home, with no one the wiser. He almost laughed, it was so ridiculous. So. . . that was it.

* * *

Big brown eyes are blinking up at you again, but now the boy's stirring something in a large pot.

"It's almost unbelievable, isn't it?" he says, leaning forwards as though he's telling you some great secret. "It seems that I just can't do wrong, no matter how hard I try."

He adds some milk, some salt, and then something from a peculiar orange box.

"Do you remember what I told you at the beginning of this story?" he asks. "I'm the innocent boy in the choir. I'm the degenerate druggee you ignore on the street. I'm the class valedictorian. . ."

And then, with more stress on the words. . . "I'm the disillusioned boyfriend, flavoring his lover's dinner with rat poison."

He places that peculiar little box down and pours the concoction into a bowl. He winks at you, once last time, before turning and heading through a small, open door. His voice is now distant, directed at some one else, but you can hear it all the same.

"Renji, are you hungry? I made soup."

End.