Chapter 165 - Name and Reality 88 {116 Alone} (275-276 The Hidden Episode of Kuroda and Motohashi)
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"Still, what a hell of a man to come all the way from the north to the streets of Naniwa... Even so, to summon a man like that before us five years after he died, as expected of Aniki..."
Inside the Benz that had begun to drive slowly, Kuboyama was speaking to Kuroda.
"Yeah... Though, if Yukio were alive now, I wonder what kind of exchange those two would have had. ...Well, if the situation were such that Yukio was still alive, they probably wouldn't have met in the first place..."
Kuroda spoke deeply, realizing the irony of fate, as he gazed at the scenery through the car window for a while. The city of Osaka through the glass, just like when he returned from Kobe, had neon lights blurring in the rain. And during the silence between the two, the rain continued to beat strongly against the car roof as always, but the sound, while muffled, somehow resonated.
However, as if to interrupt that barrage of sound,
"Kuroda-han. Why do you think that guy quit being a Deka? Even after quitting, his passion for investigation doesn't seem to have cooled, and he's still considerably trusted by his former boss, which is certain considering he came all the way to Osaka (T/N: 'kocchi' - here) because he was asked. He's a bit of a stickler for rules, so I can't imagine he caused some kind of scandal... I have no idea what the reason is."
Kuboyama spoke up, sounding puzzled.
"Since we haven't heard anything from the man himself, anything we say is just speculation. However, even if the police say grand things, in the end, they're just a collection of raw human beings, right? In that sense, there was probably a lot going on...? A man like him. If he were a blade, he's the type that looks like he'd slice you clean with just a touch, right? A sharp blade doesn't need extra force, so as long as it's used correctly, the one handling it won't get hurt. But if the person handling it treats it roughly, they'll easily cut their own hand, right? When that happens, from the perspective of the one who got hurt, there are those who set aside their own lack of skill and treat the blade like a nuisance... Once that happens, isn't it self-evident that the more capable someone is, the more they'll want to leave? Well, this is coming from an old man who runs a small bread workshop, and even when it comes to big organizations, I only know the long-established Kobe bakery from my apprentice days, so what I'm saying lacks persuasion."
Kuroda laid out his analysis, mixed with his own brand of self-deprecation.
"I see... But if you're talking about a problem on the side of the one handling things, the relationship between Takigawa and Aniki is much the same..."
At Kuboyama's words, Kuroda simply nodded in silence.
The conversation cut off again for a while, but perhaps unable to bear it, Kuboyama resumed the talk.
"Come to think of it, earlier, right after I said Takeshita was 'like the Itako Aniki denied,' you, Kuroda-han, said that the very idea of Aniki's that 'there are no Itako' was denied by the existence of that guy (T/N: 'aitsu' - Takeshita), right? Interrupting him just as he was about to say something..."
He confirmed out of the blue.
"Ah, yeah. I just wanted to say that Yukio's idea itself was wrong because a real Itako actually appeared before our eyes..."
In contrast to Kuroda's casual tone as he gave that reply,
"At that time, Kuroda-han, while you were saying that, you lightly tapped the back of your right hand with your left hand a few times. If my memory is correct, I have a faint memory of Aniki saying, 'When this guy tries to deceive someone with a lie, he always does that.' By any chance, were you telling some kind of lie then?"
Because he asked probingly, Kuroda flinched for a moment but feigned composure.
"Now that you mention it, he did often say I had such a habit... This time, I just happened to make that movement at a time like that. In fact, in this case, there's no reason for me to tell a lie, is there?"
With his gaze still directed outside, and secretly being careful not to let that habit come out again, Kuroda offered a rebuttal.
"Well, that's fine then... Well, certainly, there's no reason for Kuroda-han to lie. You just added to and agreed with what I said..."
Kuboyama acted as if he were convinced for a moment, but without much pause,
"Well, I suppose Aniki is satisfied too... Not that I think anything of it," he muttered meaningfully.
At this time, Kuroda thought that Kuboyama had probably realized the purpose of his words and actions back then. Originally, it was an interruption with the purpose of a meaningless lie in response to Takeshita's statement, because he didn't want to show Kuboyama Motohashi's "pathetic" side, but that purpose had not functioned.
Just as Takeshita had deduced, Kuroda was certain that the Motohashi of that time had visited Osorezan and wanted an Itako to summon Hinako's spirit. However, due to Motohashi's personality, even if it were in the form of a private diary, he would stop himself from writing down his unseemliness and instead record a show of strength. Kuroda had deliberately interrupted the conversation to somehow avoid Takeshita conveying that deduction to Kuboyama.
Of course, the story Kuroda told in order to interrupt was not an obvious lie in terms of content, but he had no intention of conveying that to Takeshita, so in the end, it was completely a lie in terms of purpose.
However, since that lie was strictly to protect the dead Motohashi's face in front of his junior, Kuroda thought at the time that it was a permissible lie. In any case, if his true intentions were transparent to Kuboyama, then perhaps it was Kuroda himself who was the pathetic one.
And the reason Kuroda had come to strongly believe that "a lie is permissible if the purpose is right" was also heavily influenced by an episode from his middle school days with Motohashi.
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During the summer vacation of their third year of middle school, Kuroda had gathered at the school grounds in the middle of the night with Motohashi and other friends, chatting in the dark. At that time, a stone Kuroda had thrown randomly without much meaning unfortunately hit a school building window and broke it, and they were all caught perfectly by the teacher on night duty.
At that time, thinking of Kuroda's internal school reports for a high school recommendation, Motohashi stepped forward and said, "I threw the stone." In terms of school reports, Motohashi, who was always on the borderline—no, to be more precise, would have already been out of line if not for the intervention of a mentor—should have been far more at risk, but Motohashi did not hesitate. Naturally, the words of Motohashi, who was known as a delinquent not just at school but throughout the region, were accepted as they were. Kuroda was released without any reprimand, but Motohashi was punched by the teacher and had a bruise on his face. Fortunately, there were no further disadvantages for Motohashi, but it naturally became a huge debt for Kuroda.
Needless to say, Kuroda apologized deeply to Motohashi, but Motohashi said,
"I've been greatly taken care of by Kimio and Kimio's old man and old lady, so something like this is nothing. More than that, it's a much bigger problem if your recommendation goes up in smoke. In the first place, there was no ill will, so a lie like this is permissible as a means to an end, right? When the purpose is right, if you stick to the lie, in a sense, doesn't it become the truth?"
He declared and laughed loudly.
In the end, Kuroda ended up accepting Motohashi's kindness, but to put it grandly, Motohashi's words at that time became a life lesson for Kuroda thereafter. And this time, it was for the sake of protecting Motohashi's face that he had gone out of his way to interrupt the conversation to silence Takeshita's statement.
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There was no further pursuit from Kuboyama, but whether it was Kuroda's self-consciousness or the truth that he felt Kuboyama had been watching his hands for a while...
However, as if nothing had happened, Kuboyama changed the subject.
"About the story of the shikishi earlier, when we go to bury it again, Kuroda-han, please accompany us."
"Of course I don't mind. Or rather, I have to go with you, right? Do you still have our contact information?"
"No, seeing that attitude last time, I thought I'd never be able to meet you again in my life..."
He had probably thrown away the address book or mobile information containing Kuroda's phone number, thinking they would never meet again. Setting aside Kuboyama who was mumbles awkwardly, Kuroda deliberately asked lightly,
"Is there something to write with?"
Kuboyama handed over the scrap of paper with "Kibanaka" written on it and a pen, and Kuroda wrote his mobile number in the blank space. Then,
"If possible, a regular holiday would be good!"
He once again stated his convenient days.
"I'm honestly free anytime, so I'll match you, Kuroda-han!"
Immediately after Kuboyama answered,
"Come to think of it, I wonder if the foster home where Hinako-san was is still there?"
The words slipped out of his mouth. Kuroda got the impression that Kuboyama didn't want to have a break in the conversation.
"It's still there. Even now, the children from the facility should be attending the elementary and middle schools we went to."
Kuroda answered, but,
"I'm thinking of donating the 3 million I was holding for Aniki while he was alive, plus 2 million from me, for a total of 5 million, to that facility?"
Kuboyama came out with an unexpected proposal.
"No, no! They'll naturally accept that! Certainly, that money of Yukio's probably came from Takigawa, so he'd probably be happy to have it used for something like that, wouldn't he? I think it's a great idea! I believe the name was something like 'Ken'ikuen,' so you should look it up in the phone book or online and inquire directly."
Kuroda praised him as well. However,
"The subject is changing completely, but Kuroda-han, have you been going to cheer for the BayStars' games lately?"
He suddenly changed the subject yet again. Kuroda was taken aback by the speed of the transition, thinking, "No matter how you look at it, this is too much..." but he realized Kuboyama's state of mind—that he probably didn't want to talk about "hypocritical" things for too long this time—and deliberately went along with it.
"This year, even that Manager Mori was fired mid-season, and for the first time in a while, they were in dead last by a long shot, so I didn't feel like going..."
"It certainly was terrible this year... For the sake of my mental health, I stopped even watching sports news after July... It was a slump so bad you could hardly believe they were the best in Japan four years ago..."
Kuboyama also lamented, and for a moment, it was as if he were speechless. However,
"I think it won't get any worse than this. Next year, let's go cheer at Koshien together for the first time in a while."
He suddenly invited him. At this point, Kuroda understood that the true intention of Kuboyama, who had been talking continuously for a while, was that he wanted to invite him to a baseball game after a long time, but couldn't find the timing to say it and was gauging the gap; a smile flickered in his heart at the delicate side of the stern man.
"I don't really feel like going there because those Torakichi (T/N: enthusiastic Hanshin Tigers fans) have been getting cocky lately, but well, it might not be bad to go for the first time in a while... Even so, I wonder who our BayStars' manager will be next year."
Kuroda said that, but the Yokohama BayStars from then on, contrary to the wishes of the two, would enter a long dark age until they slipped into 3rd place and returned to the A-Class in 2016.
Afterwards, while looking at the glittering neon streets of central Osaka wet with rain through the window he had turned his gaze to again,
"It might not be bad to come out to central Osaka (T/N: 'kocchi' - here) once in a while..."
Kuroda muttered to himself, unconsciously reacting to the change in his state of mind.