The Gate of Sorrows (29 page)

Yet even allowing for their fears, Kotaro was disturbed by how diminished Shigenori had been even after Galla departed.
Do not pursue me.
Okay, sure. We made a promise, so you better not go after her either, Mishima. Was that really how a hardboiled detective would behave after experiencing something that astonishing?

Kotaro was beginning to suspect that Galla had “purified” Shigenori of his nerve and backbone. She had stolen his mettle and broken his spirit.

Galla said Shigenori had gathered too many sins. That was a baroque way of putting it, but it meant his life had been devoted to fighting crime. Could Galla extract that sort of information with her scan, with its strange resonance? Judging from her attitude toward Shigenori before and after the scan, that seemed the only conclusion.

If so, she must’ve figured out Kotaro too. Just a run-of-the-mill student with no fighting ability whatsoever. He couldn’t even pick up the crowbar and use it as a weapon. Shigenori had tried to protect him.

He’s just a kid. Please don’t hurt him.

Galla had known Shigenori was the one in command, the one who might pose more of a problem. That was why she’d forced him to promise not to go after her. It would be enough to take care of them both; Kotaro, the weak child, wasn’t worth her attention.
Do not pursue me.
Okay, we won’t. Simple.

If she thought that, she was wrong. “I’m coming after you,” Kotaro said aloud. Working on his PC in the middle of the night, pedaling his bike to the station against the winter wind, spending a few minutes in the kitchen to eat with the family—the thought drummed in his head every waking moment. Sometimes he said it out loud; maybe she could hear him.

“I’m coming after you. I’m going to find out what happened to Kenji, and what you’re trying to do. I’ll never give up.”

I will know when you speak. I will read the flow of your words and seek you out, no matter where you are.

Pretty cool.
Then do it. Find me. We’ve got business to transact, Galla. No way—
no way—
am I going to blow all this off just because you say so.

If what Kotaro was feeling was anger, it was reckless anger. He knew it wasn’t courage. It was righteous anger, a thirst for justice.

He had to avoid getting anyone else involved. He couldn’t speak a word of what he was doing. It had to remain his secret and his alone. No matter how hotheaded he became, he kept his head concerning this one point. At least here, Shigenori’s judgment was correct. Who would believe it if he told them?

Two more days passed with little to show. That evening his phone buzzed. It was Kaname Ashiya.

“Kotaro, where have you been?”

He was in his room, still working at his PC. Her voice brought him back to the real world; he realized suddenly how tired he was.

“I sent you like a million messages. Didn’t you see them?”

He’d been checking his mail every day in case Shigenori had responded, but he hadn’t been reading his other messages. He knew his inbox was practically overflowing.

“Kaname, I’m sorry.”

“Well thanks a lot. You practically disappeared. I feel completely abandoned.”

That was a little over-the-top. He’d only been out a few days. Still, her words made him happy. He felt like a part of his heart he hadn’t used for too long was working again.

“You’ve got mail from Seigo too, I’m pretty sure. And the police want to talk to you about Kenji.”

“Did they start looking for him?”

Kaname paused slightly before answering. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“What do they want to talk to me for?”

“Kenji told you something, didn’t he? They even asked
me
to let them know when you come to work.”

So that was it. They hadn’t even tried to contact him at home. They were just waiting for him to show up at the office.

“What do the cops think about his vanishing like that?”

“I’m not sure. I think they think he got mixed up in some kind of trouble. You better ask Seigo. Kotaro, you’re not going to quit or anything like that, are you?”

“I’ll be in tomorrow morning early.”

It was pointless to hope the police would be able to do anything. But it wouldn’t be right to ignore them either.

“Seigo’s mad at you. He wants to know why you picked a time like this to take a vacation. You need to contact him and apologize.”

“Okay, sure. Sorry for the hassle.” He ended the call and sighed.

So Kenji had gotten mixed up in some kind of trouble? Well, they were right about that. Kenji had gotten involved in some frighteningly bizarre trouble, the kind the police couldn’t even touch.

I am not of this region.

How could they track down a being from another world?

Kotaro arrived at Kumar the next morning at eight. Seigo was already at his desk.

“Over here, Mishima.”

Kotaro was braced for a reprimand but got a briefing instead. Kumar had submitted a missing person’s report to the police division responsible for Seigo’s neighborhood. The Metro Police didn’t think it very likely that a crime had been committed, and they weren’t devoting much attention to the case. Kenji’s smashed phone bothered them a bit, but that was all.

“It’s almost too bad he’s not a woman. Things would be a lot different.” Seigo couldn’t conceal his dissatisfaction. “Narita told them Kenji was investigating something. That’s why they want to talk to you.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“His father was anxious to meet you while he was here.”

“Oh. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“Why did you take time off, anyway?”

Kotaro was ready with a cover story. “It was a family thing. It’s kind of private. I’m really sorry if I messed anything up.” He bowed his head deeply.

When he looked up again, Seigo was eying him with deep suspicion. “Something’s wrong with this picture.” Kotaro looked away.

“You’re too calm. Aren’t you worried about Kenji?”

“Of course I am.”

“You don’t look like it.”

Kotaro didn’t answer, and Seigo didn’t press the point.

“Work out a new schedule with The Lady. She had to work pretty hard to cover for you while you were gone.”

“Okay, will do.”

The conversation lapsed into uncomfortable silence. Kotaro was turning to go when Seigo said, “I put together a new Toe-Cutter Bill team.”

Kotaro blinked impassively.

“He’s getting a lot of attention now. It’s not about toes anymore. The next one may be even worse.”

“Okay.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to join?” Seigo was beyond suspicion. Now he was plainly upset. “You’ve lost your mojo. What happened, Ko-Prime?”

Kotaro fought to suppress the emotion that boiled up suddenly. “Nothing happened.”

He wanted to tell Seigo. He wanted to tell him everything.
I can’t think about work, Seigo. I had an experience I can’t explain. It was totally out of this world. You might think I’m crazy, but it’s true. Something unbelievable happened to Kenji. I think I know where he is
—

No, no,
no
. He mustn’t involve anyone. Shigenori said it himself. He’d gotten Mrs. Chigusa involved. Now he wished he never had.

That was what it meant to be trapped with a secret. It wasn’t just his heavy heart. It wasn’t just the pain. It was the way he felt cut off from everyone around him.

He went back to work and did his job. It was routine for him now. A policeman came and interviewed him. The middle-aged detective was polite, but didn’t seem all that interested in the case.

Kaname came in the afternoon. At first she joked about Kotaro taking her to a
very
expensive restaurant to make up for his absence. But gradually she started to get truly worried.

“Kotaro, what happened? You can tell me.”

“I told you. Nothing happened.”

“You’re different.”

“Take some time off. I owe you.”

“That’s not the point.”

Just then Ayuko Yamashina poked her head in the office door. She looked like she’d just stepped off the bullet train. She was wearing a long coat and carrying a small suitcase. She waved at Seigo. “Sei-chan!” Seigo nodded and stood up.

Ayuko held the heavy glass door open with her shoulder and smiled at Kaname and Kotaro. “Hey, you’re back.”

“Finally, right?” Kaname said.

“I’m sure you’re worried about Kenji, but don’t let it get you down.”

“We won’t.” Kaname gave her a big nod and elbowed Kotaro in the ribs. He wasn’t responding at all. Ayuko peered at him.

“Kenji’s disappearance was quite a shock, wasn’t it?” She smiled at Kaname. “Men can be quite fragile when things like this happen. Take care of him.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got his back.”

“Who’re you calling fragile?” Seigo said as he walked up to her.

“Look who’s talking,” Ayuko said. “You’re so worried about Kenji you can hardly sleep at night.”

“You talk too much.” Seigo put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out the door. It closed behind them.

The way Seigo touched her was natural and intimate. Kotaro felt a stab of jealousy that was no less painful for being immature.

“Come on, Kotaro. Cheer up.”

Kaname patted him lightly on the head, as though he were a child. The spontaneous kindness of her touch drew him back to the present moment.

These people are so important to me. They’re depending on me too.

I’ve got to bring Kenji back to them.

After turning things over in his mind for days, Kotaro came to a conclusion.

Galla had said she could find her prey by sensing their words. If that was true, then all he had to do was send out as many words as possible—words that would anger her enough to come and “harvest” him.

The Internet was a vast, tossing ocean of words with countless rivers flowing into it.
Circle. Region. Galla. The souls of words. Does anyone know what these words mean? Does anyone remember seeing or hearing these words used together?
Kotaro posted his questions on every likely forum he could find.

And what else did she mention? Something about a tower? The third Pillar of the tower of something or other?

Kotaro’s questions drew many responses, some serious, some not. Some were kind and others mocked him. It didn’t matter. The point was to keep at it.

Galla, you made a mistake by underestimating me. I
am
pursuing you.

He would’ve been lying if he’d pretended he was being brave. He was still as frightened of Galla as he’d been on that rooftop. Who knew when she might appear? As he input more bait and hit
ENTER
, thinking this might be what finally did it, he’d suddenly have the feeling that if he turned he would see her standing there, bringing down that huge curved blade.

As he pondered his dilemma, he realized something else important about Galla: she could be persuaded with words. He was sure there would be a way to make her understand.

Of course he could never best her in a fight, but if he could make her understand that he was genuinely worried about Kenji and wanted to understand her mission, he felt sure he could get through to her.

Maybe he was just fooling himself. But he was surprised it had taken him so long to realize how many times Galla had said it.

I am sorry.

There was something about the focus and the sincerity of those words. She was not an evil being.

I am gathering power in this region. I have my mission.

Galla had a goal. She had come to this world on a mission. Perhaps she was like a knight in the service of someone, or something.

Another day of posting to the web, and still Galla did not appear. Maybe it was time to go back to the tea caddy building.

There was still no response from Shigenori, but even if Kotaro couldn’t consult a pro, he could always do what he saw on police dramas: when you hit a dead end, revisit the crime scene.

Ten days after that fateful night, Kotaro stood once again, alone, on the roof of the tea caddy building. The darkness inside was no longer frightening. He stood there in the freezing air, surrounded by the fragments of the smashed statue, staring patiently at the night sky, waiting.