This is a story from the past

A twisted story from the past.

"Why a gas mask?"

Each time Kazane Kinomiya looked at that man she wondered about that every single time. The person she was watching was a mysterious, distant man connected to her by fate.

Put it simply, to Kazane he was her mother"s ex-husband, and an existence with not one ounce of blood connecting them. The man was someone who would appear frequently each time Kazane watched her older brother Shinra Kis.h.i.tani, whom she had an interest in as she was related to by blood albeit from a different father.

She thought of wanting to ask her mother, "why does that man wear a gas mask?" But it was a secret that she observed her brother Shinra Kis.h.i.tani. Thinking she would lose everything if that got discovered, Kazane also decided to watch Shinra Kis.h.i.tani"s father, Shingen Kis.h.i.tani, as an object of observation as well.

He seemed to have been away from j.a.pan for some time, but a few years later he abruptly returned to Ikebukuro when the Headless Rider became more active.

"I really wonder why a gas mask……."

Kazane had happened to see him for a few years now and held that never-changing question from the past as she observed him for a while.

"Even so, what is the Headless Rider"s connection with onii-chan……"

The reason why she did not make up her mind and approach Shinra was that there was an unsettling shadow that was always following her brother: the mysterious existence known as the Headless Rider, who was present in this area of Ikebukuro for some ten-odd years. At first she was not particularly interested in it, but the more she pursued her brother the shadow of the Headless Rider would flicker at his side.

Just what is the connection between that urban legend and my brother?

To ascertain it, the best option may be to ask Shinra"s father, Shingen Kis.h.i.tani, himself.

– But, how do I make contact…..?

– I just got the t.i.tle as a freelance writer at my part-time job……I probably can"t contact him saying, "I"m doing interviews for the eccentric fashions in the city" can I?

– No, what is better is to give my name…….

While thinking over that, Kazane kept observing the man in the gas mask in hiding. However –

"I am borrow your person for a while. It will being an abduction."

The moment Kazane thought she heard peculiar j.a.panese something p.r.i.c.ked into her back, and without any time to check her back she fell deep into the darkness.

"Ok, I do hoping you are waking now."

When she awoke from dreams she was in a white s.p.a.ce like one of that of an examination room in a hospital. Looking around the area in confusion there was a white woman wearing white garbs standing there, examining her face with a grin on her face.

"Eh? Ummm……Um, this place is……?"

"Yes, this be a Nebula research facility."

"……Nebula?"

– Umm, what was it again? I feel like I"ve heard of it before.

– ……Eh? Could it be that big American corporation Nebula?

The name Nebula was familiar to even Kazane, a university student. They were a conglomerate involved in various affairs and were well known of even in j.a.pan.

But why is she in such a place?

The woman spoke odd j.a.panese and smiled yet again to Kazane who was only getting more confused and continued.

"I am confirmed your ident.i.ty. You were child of the previous wife of my darling."

"Eh? Eh?"

"Your full name is Kazane-chan of Kinomiya-san. Am I being mistaken?"

"Eh……Ah, yes."

After she sorted out her strange j.a.panese in her head and answered her, the woman in white instantly came up to her face and said.

"I has negated the suspicion of you be a spy of an industry. And so from this point on I will do personal talk. I am making question."

"Ha-haa."

"Why is you, a child of the woman Shingen-san left, have done tailing and observatory stalking Shingen-san? By chance is previous wife targeting reconciliation with Shingen-san?"

– Eh? Ah, eeh!?

– Could it be……this person is Shingen-san"s current wife!?

– Ah! When I look closely, this person also is wearing a gas mask on her head!?

After that, as a result of Kazane deliberately listening to what she had to say, it was understood that there was a simple misunderstanding. Apparently after hearing that there was a journalist following after Shingen Kis.h.i.tani, headquarters thought that perhaps there was a spy from some industry looking into them and gave the order to arrest her. And now that that suspicion had been completely cleared up, contrarily this woman in white Emilia had seemed to have made the false impression based on personal information of her background check.

"Ohh, I is really sorry…. I thinking you were industry spy trying kidnapping Shingen-san, so I has shot you with tranquilizer."

"Ah, so is my consciousness….?"

"Since it is a Nebula special tranquilizer with zero after-effects, it be relief."

"Is that it? So nothing to worry about!"

After smiling in relief, Kazane suddenly frowned.

"Um, but, that…..a kidnapping is usually a crime……"

"It be a no problem! Our company is a world global. Our face works with even the j.a.panese police, so this much can being erased easily!"

"What the heck is that sort of world development!?"

"It alright. I to apologize to you properly as well. You is having own choice of bright gold suit from real money or even shoulder-ma.s.sage coupon. I am recommend bright gold suit. It be one year"s worth of the best sweet potatoes?"

"Ah, so it really is a treat…."

Now that she no longer had the will to be mad, and additionally with the fact sweet potatoes were her favorite food, for now Kazane decided to let go of the fact she was kidnapped. Since she was also guilty about appearing like an actual stalker to a non-blood related person, she thought to just call it quits there.

"Well then, so I can go home safely right?"

"It is of course!"

-What sort of influence did she learn her j.a.panese form, this person.

Thinking that as she stood up, Emilia apologetically bowed her head.

"Shingen-san is not knowing of this case. I be amazingly happy if you do not get mad at him."

It was rough j.a.panese as expected, but she could feel she was saying it seriously.

"Please relax. I won"t do that! ……Um, in exchange……about me….can you keep it a secret from Shingen-san and….my brother, Shinra?"

"Understood and done! All okay! I am very tight-lips!"

Perhaps since she also talked about her own circ.u.mstances honestly, Kazane was relieved from the bottom of her heart at Emilia smiling in agreement. It was because she could settle with the information that "a daughter of a different father stalked his own father for some reason"=" would not be given out before she directly met with her brother.

"Do you have anything else you want to ask?"

At Emilia"s words, Kazane asked after pondering over it for a few moments.

"Um….the one I often see around my brother….the Headless Rider. Do you know something about him?"

"Ohh, sorry….That is treated as secret even within Nebula. It is information of that existence I unable to talking about freely……"

"Ah, i-is that so…."

– It can"t be a connection to a big corporation!?

– It can"t be that that Headless Rider is humanoid robot Nebula developed and is monitoring my brother or something right……?

– This may be too absurd though……

In any case Kazane felt she could poke into that matter more and decided to ask another matter deceivingly.

"Um……You"re married to Shingen-san right?"

"Yes! We applied to government office, and it still being a compact season!"

"……Why does Shingen always wear a gas mask?"

For now she attempted to ask about the one attribute that interested her the most about the man Shingen. She thought of asking about Shinra directly, but she felt it would be a little embarra.s.sing to ask for everything here.

– Although when I think about it, when I was in middle school I asked quite a bit to Heiwajima-san and Kadota-san directly.

– No, it"s embarra.s.sing just thinking about it….

While turning red thinking about such things, Emilia pointed to the pure white gas mask on her head and spoke in pride.

"Yes, this mask is special supplying to researchers at Nebula! Having this mask it is extraordinary product protecting from vampire hypnotism and poison spores of strange plants when wear!"

"……vampire?"

Despite Kazane tilting her head, intrigued by the odd spoken term Emilia moved on.

"Yes, the first time I held any good feelings towards him be when I was researching vampires."

A certain trivial episode with Shingen Kis.h.i.tani, nothing more than an stranger to Kazane.

A few years ago, Chicago, USA

At a headquarters building of the large corporation Nebula towering among the skysc.r.a.pers unique from ones in New York. There at one of the main divisions of the pharmaceutical branch among the several facilities lined up have a layout of it as a "material storehouse" on the general public pamphlet, especially for those with high confidentiality – in other words, it was an underground research facility dealing in especially particular matters even within the pharmaceutical and science divisions there was a voice with perfectly clear English echoing throughout the room in the secretive facility.

"Give it up, Mr. Kis.h.i.tani. I believe you don"t have the authority to stop my research."

"OK. Certainly authority I have, nothing. So, this, please. That, dangerous. Stop, alright, OK?"

Emilia answered while sighing in shock at the man in white saying this in rough English – Shingen Kis.h.i.tani.

"The specimen brought in this time has already ceased activity. Even if it started activity again temporarily, the counter-measure is flawless."

"Inadequate. Hire professionals, fine. At worst, a werewolf, necessary for that specimen and kind."

"I don"t want to be told that by you who let that Dullahan go as is."

"Object, I cannot. But that and this, different."

Shingen continued to cite off warnings in a few, broken English words, and Emilia let out another large sigh and turned away to discard the matter.

"……Please try again once you"ve become able to speak proper English first."

A few weeks later. In the research room destroyed by the sudden re-activity of the "specimen," the creature stood on the autopsy table and laughed in a high pitched voice as Emilia groaned on the floor with the other researchers.

"Really now, for you all to even try to perform research on me, just how arrogant can you humans get!"

Then taking the employee ID from a fallen researcher within his reach he smirked, seeing the address of the Nebula headquarters written on there.

"Hmph……This place is next to the base of the Gold Yaksha, Rude Gardastance….that"s perfect; I have all the humans in this building under my control and with that force I can take that guy"s head."

"U-ugh….."

Emilia continued to curse her foolishness for not adhering to what Shingen told her, and unable to even groan tears formed in her eyes apologetically towards him at the same time. However, there would not be a chance to apologize to him alive. So she had thought, but in the next moment-

"Fwahahaha! No further! Foolish vampire!"

The lock of the research room door unlatched and one man strolled in along with a high pitch laugh.

"Who the h.e.l.l are you?"

Ignoring the words of doubtful "specimen," the man looked over towards the fallen Emilia, and while shaking his head apologetically he spoke fluent English.

"My apologies, Emilia! I meant to get back to you sooner, but it took longer than I thought for practicing English! But it"s alright now!"

And then the ignored "specimen" made an apparent annoyed expression and glared at Shingen.

"Alright? What are you saying is alright? What can the likes of another human do? What are you saying you can do with that fluent English? Huh?"

At that Shingen answered with full confidence.

"That is of course, negotiation."

"Ha! You stupid?! As if I would negotiate with you lesser humans……"

"Using the English I learned and negotiating skills, I have succeeded in hiring up to thirty vampires the same rank as you, werewolves, and free-lance hunters!"

"……Wha?"

The same time the "specimen" raised his voice in question the thirty professionals rushed into the research room, and the scene changed into a h.e.l.l of pandemonium (to the specimen), but that was again another story.

"Umm, that, where can I even take this……"

After Emilia recited the tales in an utter fondness of when they ventured in various regions together once Shingen accepted her apology from that event, of when they narrowly escaped from death being pursued by werewolves and big foot, and of when they met with vampires on a certain island in a certain northern part of Germany, Kazane asked the crucial matter, tilting her head to the side.

"In the end, why a gas mask?"

"Ah, right! Um, from what I heard it is he seems popular."

"Eh?"

"It can"t help to be popular just by walking around town, so he is hiding his face……It be embarra.s.sing, so he is tell Shinra, "the air in Tokyo is dirty," yes?"

– What to do.

– More than that story with vampires or whatever just now, I feel that"s hard to believe…..

"……Emilia-san, did you really believe that?"

"Yes, I do believing. Shingen-san is cool!"

Kazane was told that and with a clear smile she awkwardly changed the subject.

"Actually, if the contents of what you said just now were true……wouldn"t that be secret information above the Headless Rider? Vampires and werewolves and the like….."

A brief period of silence.

After tilting her head deceivingly, Emilia said with cold sweat pouring over her skin.

"……Umm, you are not hear anything. Everything is an illusion. It is the bell sound of all worldly things, okay?"

"You"re really partial on how you remember j.a.panese, huh!?"

After that, she was given a box of "Nebula confectionery" sweet potatoes in large quant.i.ty, and once she left the research facility Kazane had her head tilted to the side, pondering to herself while walking down the street. From being abducted to even what she heard from Emilia, none of it felt real. However, that would be the same for the Headless Rider.

"Supernatural phenomenon……to even vampires, immortals, and werewolves…….It"s absurd, but it was weird for it to be a made-up story……Though there"s no way I could believe that……"

Either way whether that Headless Rider was disguised as a human or was some kind of supernatural being, she would have to step into the territory of the other side to face her brother.

If so, then should she add a bit of resistance?

"This time, maybe I should propose a plan to the editor-in-chief……A corner to ask about the gangs, supernatural phenomenon, and other places beyond common sense……."

While thinking over such ideas, she began to polish up the proposal in her head. All while she was unaware that she was influenced by the man that was her brother"s father (Shingen Kis.h.i.tani). Without knowing as a result that that immensely changed her fate.