Norie was still alive.
That was the only thing he should believe. If the Biter’s goal was to kill Norie, he could have killed her here rather than take the risk of kidnapping her.
But what about the hidden cameras? The Biter had had twenty minutes at the most to attack Norie before Minoru came home. Would he have had time to set up the cameras and connect them to the Internet in those minutes?
Still seated, he swept his eyes all over the living and dining room. It was clean and neat, but since it was far larger than Minoru’s room, there were tons of places where cameras could be hidden. And it wasn’t certain that the man was using a purpose-built hidden camera. If he had a smartphone running a surveillance camera app, all he would have to do is set it down somewhere.
It was no good. Since the Biter was using Norie’s life as leverage, Minoru couldn’t leave this room or report this to the police using the landline next to the wall. He had no choice but to follow instructions under the assumption that he really was being watched.
He at least needed to determine if there was a possibility that the Biter was hiding on the second floor while pretending to have moved to a far-off location. Focusing all his neurons on his sense of smell, he inhaled.
It was faint… It was weak, but he had a feeling he was picking up on that smell. Was it a so-called lingering aroma from when he had kidnapped Norie? If that man was lurking on the other side of the ceiling just a few meters away, Minoru should be getting a clear signal even if the man wasn’t using his ability. The Third Eye in his chest was completely silent now as well.
The Biter really was far away already.
The initial shock lessened little by little as he became aware of the situation, and in its place a black, cold despair filled his chest.
It’s my fault. I’m the one who drew the Biter to this house.
And Yumiko and DD had warned him, too. He had tried to look tough by saying he could protect himself, but he’d only been paying attention to his own surroundings and hadn’t even considered the possibility that Norie might be targeted.
If he’d taken their warning more seriously, he could have thought things all the way through. Then he definitely would’ve realized that the Biter would have ways of locating Minoru’s house.
Where had the shark man set his sights on Tomomi Minowa? The most likely possibility was during her morning training or on her runs to and from school. If he had followed her, he would have easily located her house and her school.
And it was natural to conclude that the high school guy who had barged in right before the man was going to devour Tomomi at Akigase Park—that is to say, Minoru—was an acquaintance of Tomomi’s, not someone passing by. In that case, if he watched Yoshiki High School’s gate, he could’ve found Minoru.
Third Eyes not only bestowed unique abilities but also vastly increased the physical and perceptual abilities—meaning hearing and sight—of their hosts. He hadn’t precisely measured it, but Minoru thought that if he had an eye exam now, his vision would be better than twenty-ten.
Naturally, the Biter probably also had sharp vision. It shouldn’t have been hard for him to pick out Minoru from somewhere a sufficient distance away from the school gate, like the roof of an apartment building, and follow him.
Minoru was sure it had happened when he came home from school on Saturday. He hadn’t noticed the Ruby Eye smell, but he hadn’t known—no, he had forgotten—the important fact that the scent couldn’t be perceived when a Ruby Eye wasn’t using their ability. So Minoru had carelessly led the Biter right to his home.
It’s…my fault.
Once again, Minoru agonized over that realization. He couldn’t make any strange movements because the Biter could be watching him on camera, so he desperately suppressed the impulse to scream at the top of his lungs.
It had happened again. He had put his precious family in danger.
No, there was no guarantee that the Biter was letting Norie live like his message on the tablet had said. Right now, he could already be biting her with those shark teeth as her life slipped away.
Just like eight years ago. Just like his father, his mother, and his sister Wakaba.
Was everything happening all over again? Despite living these eight years thinking only of pushing people away and keeping himself from taking on bad memories, had he made the same mistake again?
A faint wail he had failed to suppress slipped from the back of his throat.
Me…me.
Me. If you’re going to kill someone, make it me.
Minoru raised his face. He looked around the living and dining room. He didn’t know the locations of the cameras, and he wasn’t sure if they even existed in the first place. But…
If he got down on his knees and begged…
If I plead as hard as I can, if I say that I’ll end my life myself right here, right now, as long as he returns Norie safely…
Then maybe the Biter will listen to my request, since I should be the one he has a grudge with.
There were plenty of knives in the kitchen right next to him. If he drove the one that seemed the biggest and the toughest—the butcher knife—into his chest, he could just die, no matter how many Third Eyes were inside him.
Minoru once again scanned the living and dining room looking for cameras. Fixing his gaze on the area around the TV stand, which seemed like it would have the most hiding places, he took a deep breath. And he clenched his back teeth hard.
This was the turning point.
Was he going to turn his back on his duties and his responsibilities and walk away like he had always done? Or was he going to make the choice to battle fate himself this time?
It wasn’t as if Minoru’s life was the only thing the Biter wanted. He wanted to bite people to death with those sharklike teeth.
That’s why, if Minoru killed himself here, the Biter might take his rage out on Norie.
If there was even the slightest possibility…
If there was still a possibility that he could fight the Biter wherever the next message summoned him to and take Norie back…
Yumiko’s voice was in his ear again.
You have a duty to go on fighting.
I don’t think I can fight as a Jet Eye against some indefinite number of Ruby Eyes to protect people. But to protect Norie Yoshimizu… To protect my second sister who’s more precious to me than anyone else, I know I can fight the Biter as Minoru Utsugi. I have to fight.
After clenching his hands into fists one last time, Minoru slowly released the tension from his entire body and let himself fall back into the chair.
All he could do and should do now was calm himself and wait for the next communication. He would keep down the consumption of his physical and mental energy to raise his chances of winning the fight, even just a little.
Shutting his eyes, he called out to his two sisters inside his heart.
Norie, hang in there. Because I’m definitely going to save you.
Waka, please. Give me your strength.
The time passed as long and heavy as that night had eight years ago.
There was no way he could have an appetite, but he nibbled at a few of the biscuits in the kitchen cupboard and cleaned up the gyoza that had scattered on the floor. It would be a problem if he had to go to the bathroom later, so he had just a mouthful of water.
He sat on the sofa, closed his eyes, and focused on waiting.
When the phone rang at last, it was a little past one o’clock in the morning.
Minoru sprang to his feet, and he had a realization when he reached his hand out to the landline. What was ringing was Minoru’s cell phone, which he had left inside his bag in the hallway.
He had to leave the living and dining room to answer. For a moment he wondered what would happen if it was not the Biter but someone else… But he immediately dispelled this thought. The ringtone was from Norie’s cell phone. The one calling was probably the Biter, who had stolen the phone.
&n
bsp; Running out into the hallway and grabbing up the bag, Minoru took out the phone as he turned right back to the living and dining room. He slid his finger across the screen and put the phone to his ear.
“…Yes?” he answered briefly.
From the other end of the phone line, that man’s voice whispered, “Well, what a long time it’s been, boy. I apologize for the wait.”
“…Is she safe?”
“Don’t be in such a rush, ragazzo. I had her take some medicine that put her to sleep, so I can’t let you hear her voice, but I haven’t left a single bite mark on her. Of course, you know…that only lasts as long as you follow my instructions, boy.”
There was no strange distortion or huskiness in his smooth tenor’s voice as there had been three days ago, maybe because his mouth wasn’t transformed at the moment. But Minoru could sense that it dripped with malice and appetite deep within. The Third Eye gave a sharp throb under his sternum.
“I’ll follow your instructions. What should I do?”
“Why, it’s easy. I want you to come to a certain location now. But it’ll be a bit troublesome if you get in touch with the police or that dangerous signorina along the way. You’ll come out now without hanging up the phone. If we get cut off because of problems with the signal, I’ll call you back immediately and you’ll answer right away. Are we clear?”
“I understand. Where should I go?”
Although he did ask, Minoru could predict what the man would say. That storage shed deep in the forest of Akigase Park—
But the words that came from the speaker were unexpected.
“First, you’ll head toward Keyaki Plaza near Saitama New City Center Station. You’ve got fifteen minutes. Hurry, ragazzo.”
He was surprised by the unexpected instruction but had no choice but to follow it.
“I’m leaving right now,” he answered.
Minoru slid the phone into his pocket without hanging up and ran back out of the living and dining room. Coming out into the entryway, he shoved his feet into the running shoes that he wore on his morning jogs instead of the sneakers he wore for school. He slipped on a Windbreaker over his coat, left through the unlocked door, and climbed on his bike, completely oblivious to the deep winter cold.
It was about five kilometers to New City Center Station. To get there within fifteen minutes, he would have to ride at an average speed of twenty kilometers per hour. Those numbers were really pushing it for a non-racing bike, especially when riding through an urban area. But the Biter had specified this barely possible amount of time knowing that Minoru possessed the Third Eye.
…Norie. Just hang on; I’m coming right now.
Since the call was still going, Minoru called out to her inside his head as he pushed down on the pedals as hard as he could.
8
The reason Minoru had put on a Windbreaker over his uniform was more to avoid the police than to keep out the cold. Most police officers doing rounds at one o’clock in the morning would try to stop a high school guy if they saw him flying past them in a school uniform.
In reality, he only passed a police officer on a bike once, but no one called out to him, possibly because of the deep hood he had on. Although naturally, even if someone had tried to stop him, he would have sped up and shaken them off.
Speeding through the hushed residential streets, he crossed the bypass. When he came out onto slightly wider roads, he got up from the seat and started pedaling standing up. Although he was on the highest gear of his three-speed bike, the resistance was too light for Minoru as he was now.
The towering skyscrapers of the new urban center appeared ahead of him, piercing the night sky. As Minoru gazed up at them, pressing his right foot down on the pedal with significantly more force, it happened.
Clang! After this impact, the resistance on the pedals completely disappeared. The bike seemed like it would tip over to the right, but Minoru just barely regained his balance and braked. When he peered down at his feet, the broken chain was drooping down to the surface of the road.
He had neither the time nor the tools to fix it, so his only choice was to leave the bike there. When he glanced at his watch after leaning the bike against the side of the guardrail, there were three minutes and thirty seconds left in the fifteen-minute time limit. He would have to run the last kilometer and a half on foot.
“…Norie…!” Minoru called to his adoptive sister in a hoarse voice, tearing off down the path in the dead of night.
In the heart of Saitama’s new city center, there was a large sky deck called Keyaki Plaza. On winter nights it should’ve been illuminated with blue LED lights, but the time period when they were switched on had ended and only the weak light from a smattering of streetlamps shone.
Minoru dashed up the stairs from the ground to the deck. He breathed heavily as he leaned up against one of the countless keyaki trees that were planted there. He looked down at his watch once again. There were twenty seconds left.
This was the first time he had pushed his running skills to the limit since the Third Eye had come to live in him. Thinking in the corner of his mind that the world record for the 1,500-meter run was somewhere around three minutes and twenty-five seconds…he pulled the phone from his breast pocket and spoke in a small voice to the man still on the other end of the line.
“I’m here.”
After a pause, that voice answered.
“Yes, I’m keeping a close eye on you, boy. What happened to your bike?”
“…!”
It wasn’t a bluff; the man really was watching. He quickly ran his eyes over the surrounding area, but it was long past the time when the last train of the night departed, so there wasn’t a soul in the plaza.
“…It broke along the way, so I ran here.”
At this answer, a low chuckle came from the phone.
“That’s quite a disaster. But I’m impressed that you made it in time without having to come crying to me. She must be quite important to you.”
“What did you expect?!”
He felt like he was close to raising his voice against his better judgment but barely held himself in check. There was no one around, but there were probably police posted on the opposite end of the plaza. Taking his voice back down to a whisper, he continued.
“I followed the instructions, so let my sister go.”
“Hey, hey, boy. I told you this was the first thing you had to do, didn’t I? Naturally, I have your next instruction prepared. Look to the north side of the plaza.”
“…”
Suppressing his irritation, he looked in the direction he was told to. A wide footbridge extended to the north, crossing over a road and connecting to a sky deck of the same height. Right at the end of it, the shadow of a huge structure rose up like a hill. It was Saitama Super Arena, the largest multipurpose hall in Japan.
At the same time as Minoru looked up at the arena’s roof, a voice came from the cell phone.
“Head to the side of the Super Arena on your right. Don’t let any police or guards see you.”
“…The right side…”
The Biter’s intentions weren’t clear, but all Minoru could do was obey. After looking around the area once more and confirming that no one was around, he ran off, keeping his body low.
When he had crossed the bridge and come onto the sky deck next to the arena, he moved eastward in the darkness alongside the wall. He reached the corner after a few dozen seconds, went around it, and looked to the north. There, wide stairs continued up along the side of the building.
Putting the cell phone to his left ear, he said, “From here…”
Minoru had started to ask what he should do, but the Biter interrupted him with the third instruction.
“Go a little farther and there’ll be a door to the emergency stairs on the left. Open it and go up.”
When Minoru went forward as he’d been instructed, he did see a metal door. Naturally, the door would have been locked most of the time, but t
he doorknob had been completely cut out. Just like at Minoru’s house, the Biter had eaten through it.
Shuddering at the power it would take to get through that thick steel like it was nothing, he pulled open the door. The emergency stairs were right there in front of him, so he muffled the sound of his footsteps and went up.
He came upon another door with a broken lock after going up seven floors, and when he passed through, it came out onto the top-floor terrace.
He looked quickly to the left and the right, but there was no one here, either. Even when he looked up, there were only huge protruding beams that supported the roof high above him.
“…Where are you?” he said into the cell phone in a subdued voice.
Then, after a few seconds of silence that seemed meant to keep Minoru in suspense, a low voice answered.
“Here’s your next instruction. If you come around to the back of the terrace there’s a ladder that will take you up to the roof. Climb it and come up.”
“To…to the roof?!”
“That’s right. It’s spacious and it feels great. Hurry up, ragazzo.”
“…”
Minoru looked up one more time, the cell phone still clutched in his hand. The roof of Saitama Super Arena sloped down from the front of the building toward the back of the building. In areas near the front, it was about twenty meters above even from the terrace where Minoru was, and probably more than sixty meters from the ground.
Was the Biter really in that sort of place? Wasn’t this some kind of trap? He considered these things, but his only option was to keep obeying the instructions until he had taken Norie back.
He ran to the southern side of the top-floor terrace. The end of the roof that stuck out above his head sloped down farther and farther. When he reached the back of the building, the roof was about five meters away from him.
And when he turned the corner, there was an aluminum ladder there just as the Biter had said. He grabbed the ice-cold metal and started climbing at once.