Bungo Stray Dogs - Volume 8 - Chapter 1.4

Meaningless images flooded his vision.

There was the first time he met with Piano Man and the others at that pool hall. They played pool until the next morning to see who could win the most rounds, fighting over the most trivial of things while throwing champagne bottles at each other.

Chuuya himself had forgotten this memory. It was hard to even know if their laughter was real.

The memories faintly overlapped with the young man carrying him on his back until the young man eventually dumped him on the ground and walked away.

It was Dazai’s dark figure. Chuuya tried calling out to him, straining his voice, until he finally regained consciousness.

He was lying in front of that pool hall: Old World. He was no longer focused on Dazai but the inside of the hall. The undeniable stench of blood filled the air.

Chuuya staggered to his feet. He tried to walk, but his legs wouldn’t listen, and he clumsily fell to the ground. He crawled forward into the building.

Piano Man, Iceman, Albatross, Doc.

They were all dead.

The inside of the pool hall was in ruins as if a tornado had swept by. The windows were shattered, a pool table was stuck in the wall, and broken bottles of alcohol colorfully littered the floor. It was the result of a gravity-manipulating skill ravaging the inside of the building.

Four bodies were lying in the center. A quick glance was enough to know there was no saving them. Broken was a more fitting description than killed. It would have been more difficult to find a part of them that wasn’t in pieces.

“Chuuya…”

A voice as thin as a string startled Chuuya, and he rushed over in its direction.

“Are you okay?!” he yelled.

The voice was coming from Albatross. Blood trickled out of his mouth.

“I’m gonna save you! Hold on!”

It was evident that there was no saving him, even without getting closer for a better look. His abdomen was torn open, exposing his ribcage.

“I’m sorry, Chuuya… He got me. I can’t see… I can’t even feel my legs anymore,” Albatross gurgled in a whisper. His eyes were no longer seeing the world of the living. His legs were crushed from the knees down as well.

“But I saved Doc. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out of the attack’s way,” said Albatross. “Everyone else is dead. And I’m gonna die, too. But Doc… He needs your help…”

Albatross’s right hand was clutching onto Doc’s collar like a treasure he held dear. Doc’s eyes were closed as if he were sleeping, and he didn’t have a scratch on his body—his upper body, that is. There was nothing left of Doc from the waist down.

“…”

Chuuya groaned and clenched his jaw tight. He had to consciously fight the urge to scream.

“All right,” Chuuya replied evenly, keeping his emotions at bay. “I’ll take care of Doc. He’s gonna be okay thanks to you. You always were amazing like that. You should be proud.”

“Thank goodness.” Albatross let out a deep sigh of relief, and the stress vanished from his face. “Chuuya… There’s a motorcycle in the garage. I used it for work. It’s my prized possession… Feel free…to use it…”

Albatross’s tensed hand went limp and dropped to the floor. Albatross, Doc, Piano Man, Iceman, and Lippmann were all dead.

Chuuya lowered his gaze and didn’t say a word for a few moments. After standing back up, he walked around his comrades’ bodies as if to take in each of their faces. There was no telling how much time went by when he suddenly heard footsteps at the entrance.

“Chuuya.”

It was Adam, scorched from head to toe. He was missing an eye, and functional fluid leaked from his body. But he was still walking on his own two feet.

“Tell me, tin man,” Chuuya suddenly stated, his voice devoid of all emotion. “Why did they die?”

“That is because…Verlaine killed them.”

“Then why did he kill them?” Chuuya’s tone gradually sharpened like a gemstone on the verge of cracking.

“I believe verbalizing the reason would be meaningless.”

“Answer me!” shouted Chuuya, still staring at the floor. “You’re a machine, aren’t you?! Then give me a perfect, objective answer!”

Adam remained silent for a few seconds with a blank look on his face, much like how a human being would hesitate. However, he eventually replied:

“Because of you, Chuuya.”

His voice was monotonous.

“This happened because you decided to stay with the Mafia. Verlaine believed these five men were the reason why you wished to stay, so he killed them, and he will mostly likely continue to kill for the same reason.”

Silence.

“Yeah, it is my fault,” Chuuya suddenly said before turning around and looking at Adam.

Chuuya’s eyes were vacant, hollow.

“All right, tin man. I’ll help you with your job.”

He began walking, one step at a time. His feet struck the floor slowly.

“I’m gonna find him, but I won’t let you arrest him. I’m gonna kill the man myself.”

He then spoke in a different, unusual voice. It wasn’t even of this world. It was a pitch-black mantra that burst out from the depths of hell, a foreboding declaration that could never be taken back.

“You murder someone’s family, the Mafia’s gonna make you pay.”