necro12: Bones, Beasts, and Family (Part 1)

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The plates are made of bone. The knives, the forks, and the table, too. The milky-white morning sun is blocked by the window frames, casting a grid pattern over the breakfast served before Gijin. The menu never changes. A free-range attendant is crushed and seared thin. Diluted blood is squeezed out and spread over the plate, and the meat is soaked in it. The accompanying bread is a replica made using a special process mixing bone meal and muscle fibers. The meat quality of the attendants, who have been honed as livestock through the pinnacle of cadaver technology, is melt-in-your-mouth tender, crumbling delicately on the tongue. There is almost no sound of chewing. Even Yamane, who is usually talkative, does not speak during this time. Only the hard sounds of tableware fill the dining table. A sound containing a dampness not found in ceramics. The sound of bone touching bone.

Gijin watches his siblings while carrying a torn piece of bread to his mouth. Hugh moves his bone muzzle, which covers his upper and lower jaws, greedily, swallowing the meat ungracefully. Yamane skillfully manipulates the giant bone claws covering both her arms to lift her plate clumsily. Tennoji cannot sit in her chair because the bone tail fin attached to her lower body gets in the way. San stretches out his legs, which are covered in bird skeletons, in a sloppy manner, and Yumaku is staining his accordion-like bone whip with meat juices. All the siblings are trapped in cages of bone. Gijin is no exception.

He chews the bread. His skull creaks. Unlike his siblings, Gijin has no cage on the outside of his body. He is trapped from within by the bones replaced inside his body. Mother's bones. The Mashiro (Pure White) Cage. Gijin looks at his mother, who sits at the head of the table. Like the ripples of sand on the bottom of a gently carved lake, pure white wrinkles flow from her face to her neck, melting the boundary with her clothes. Past the midpoint of eternity, within the outline of a human dazed by white turbidity, only her eyes and hair remain vibrantly black. Nothing but that blackness interrupts the flow of Mother. Unlike her children, who are trapped in rugged cages and ungracefully chase after meat, only Mother eats with elegance.

"Kikurage-san has disappeared again."

Mother says this, timing it to when everyone finishes their meal. Kikurage is Father's name. The chair next to Mother has indeed been empty since last night. No one in the family, including Gijin, points it out. Because it is always like this. Unlike them, Father is allowed to come and go freely.

"Shall I go look for him again?"

"No, Hugh. I've hired a detective, so it's fine. That was just a complaint."

"A detective?"

"Eavesdropping."

"Ah, the one from the Zofu (Viscera) District."

"There is something else I want to ask of you all."

Mother picks up a teacup made of bone and sniffs the thin drops of black tea pooled inside. In the long time the undead spend, vertebrates other than humans have gone extinct, and plants and insects have also become scarce. Organic tea leaves are precious. Gijin has heard Mother reminisce several times about how she used to drink many cups of it, made by the hands of a close colleague.

"I have been asked for support by the Memegi Research Institute. They are not part of our group, but they are not the kind of people whose requests I can dismiss. That said, if I recruit supporters from our company, that would cause friction. That is why I want to ask you all."

"What is the task?"

"Bodyguarding a researcher. 'Gunji the Dissector.' Although I say bodyguarding, you don't need to stick to her. I want you to hunt the undead who are stalking her."

"Why? Can't we just leave them alone?"

Tennoji tilts her head while flapping her bone tail fin. Gijin agrees. There is no death or pain in this city anymore. He has heard the name 'Gunji the Dissector' before. A revenant. Even if she dies, she will likely possess a spare body and revive immediately.

"Usually, it wouldn't be a problem. There are two special circumstances. First, she's an eccentric and is terrified of death. Well, that's none of my business... but the other one, the culprit hunting her, is the problem."

"Who is it?"

When Gijin asked, Mother looked at me and smiled only with her eyes, mischievously. People outside this house often call Mother crude. A cheerful, rough old woman who curses and laughs with her mouth wide open. But Mother rarely shows that face to her family. Her expression is usually white and frozen, lacking any sense of soft flesh. When Mother smiles at her children, it is almost always rooted in a dark joy. That is why Gijin was able to predict the name beforehand.

"<Necro the Undying>"

[necro12: Bones, Beasts, and Families]

The rain that falls on this city smells of dead leaves. A rotted sea and an infinite wilderness. Even if you travel outside the city, the water only contains the stench of death. The gray rain creeps unpleasantly into the back alley where Gijin and the others are. The rain runs down the pipes that obsessively cover the exterior walls of the buildings, steaming and making their only set of school uniforms heavy. There is a corpse at their feet. It is not one of <Gunji the Dissector>'s, but it is immediately obvious that it is a soldier of the Memeki family. A torso long enough to coil around itself and arms growing in clusters. It is split open, and it is impossible to tell if the part spilling its internal organs is the chest or the abdomen. Employees of corpse-material companies often do not have human shapes.

"This is no good."

Yamane, who had crouched down and was sniffing the cross-section, said. She has a keen sense of smell. It is said that the bone fragments resembling mammalian ears embedded in her head stimulate part of her brain and enhance her sense of smell.

"The scent has been washed away. I give up, I give up."

"We were just notified a moment ago. Can't you track the blood splatter?"

"Gijin? Are you serious? Were you always this dim-witted?"

With the disproportionately large bone claws restraining her arms, Yamane pointed to the main street. In a crowd consisting of three types of immortals—the risen, the returned, and the monster-reverted—blood mist and death throes never cease. From the moment it was understood that murder and cannibalism would take nothing away, it became the daily routine of this city. The scattered carrion is trampled down by the feet of the citizens, paving every street. The concept of hygiene no longer exists.

"In the first place, I doubt it was really <Necro the Undying> who killed that long-torso guy over there. I thought the story was that if you get killed, your soul gets absorbed too."

"The only ones who get absorbed are the women who betray Necro."

"Huh... you're well-informed. As expected of someone with combat experience. Anyway, that's just a little ways from here, isn't it, Nikuhida Town?"

"Please don't remind me."

Gijin is tasked by his mother with interacting with the local residents. Taking them to tour the shopping district of Nikuhida Town was part of that. <Necro the Undying> was there. He had heard the rumors. A ruffian. An outlaw. A prison of flesh and soul that swallows those who betray him whole while they are still alive and traps them in his belly. Partly because his mother possesses the <Pure White Cage>, Gijin had been somewhat interested in that man.

That interest was crushed along with everything else. Sliced, ground, and trampled. The life of an immortal is long. He is used to defeat. But there was no other violence that resonated like that. It wasn't malice or hostility. It was like irritably kicking aside an obstacle blocking the path, raging and crushing it... Reflexively, he touches his collarbone. Mother's cage is indeed sturdy and unshakable. But sometimes, he checks it like this. Ever since that time, he feels as if a crack has formed.

Why does Necro lock up traitors, I wonder?

Seeing his sister's expression stiffen at his unintended mutter, Gijin came back to his senses. Yamane rubbed the bone claws covering her arms as if to suppress an itch, looked at the corpse, and then at her younger brother. The skirt of her school uniform, soaked with rain, clung to her thighs.

She probably just can't forgive them.

There's no death penalty in this city, after all, Yamane said.

Even if you kill them, they don't die. They don't even feel pain. That's why, to make someone you can't forgive suffer, you have no choice but to lock them in a cage. We have all the time in the world, you see. Locking them away is the one thing we can do as much as we want.

Mother's bones. A pure white cage. Mother calls us her children. She calls us by names she gave us on a whim. While keeping us dressed in school uniforms.

For now, let's rendezvous with the Yomeki employees who are coming later.

Sure, sure.

Yamane responded brightly, making an exaggerated grimace.

But I hate that. The Yomeki lot are skilled, sure, but most of them are idiots, aren't they? Their modification rate is so high that their brains are fried. It's definitely going to be a pain. Ugh.

That's rude, Gijin was about to admonish her when the rain stopped and a large shadow fell over the alleyway. The cause was a giant undead standing as if to block the exit to the street. Its abnormally enlarged muscles lacked the balance of a human, and atop them grew an eerily small head. That head, wearing an expression as if it were about to cry, spoke.

Hipati is indeed not very bright. But I won't cause any trouble. So, please forgive Hipati of the Thick Right Arm.

The giant trembled sadly. From above its head and between its legs, a trio of emaciated figures like hungry ghosts peeked out. The three faces were indistinguishable, all wearing the exact same expression of anger.

Don't belittle yourself. Have confidence. You can do it.

Thank you, Tri. Tri Who Talks to Himself. Let me introduce you. This is Tri. Three bodies sharing one soul. They are smart, strong, and very reliable. As expected of Tri. As expected of Hipati's companions.

I'm blushing. Don't praise me. It's embarrassing.

Yamane turned back and moved her lips without making a sound to say, See? Then, she put on a brilliant sales smile and turned back to the monsters. In contrast to her brooding nature, her outward appearance is bright. Gijin couldn't remember if that was from before she was alive or due to Mother's influence.

I am Yamane of the White Claws from the Shiragiku Residence, and behind me is Gijin of the White Wings. We were the closest to the scene after receiving the communication, but it seems we were too late. I have told the other two teams to stand by.

As expected of the Shiragiku Residence's private army. As expected of Yamane of the White Claws and Gijin of the White Wings. Your actions and judgment are swift. This is very helpful.

Ah, yes, thank you very much.

Yamane seemed slightly irritated by Hipati's fawning words. The bone fragments on his head shuddered, scattering rainwater.

“So, ‘Necro the Undying’ is no longer here, but do you have any means of tracking him? Or perhaps a hunch about his whereabouts?”

“He’s a ping-pong ball bouncing around in a small room.”“An unpredictable pinball.”“It’s hard to tell which way he’ll bounce next.”“That’s why we’re narrowing the walls, little by little.”“Mainy was defeated, but she fulfilled her role.”“She is a wall.”“The wall will drive the ping-pong ball into a corner.”“We’re aiming for that.”“You lot aim for that too.”

“Um... in other words? What does that mean?”

Seeing the blue veins bulging on Yamane's forehead, Gijin stepped in between them.

“You mean it’s a strategy to lure ‘Necro the Undying’ to a designated point where we can ambush him, right?”

Yes, that’s it, that’s exactly it, Tri’s three bodies nodded in turn.

“Specifically, where?”

“A place with plenty of cover would be best.”“The Niku-Hida Shopping District.”“We’ve already gotten permission from the shop owners.”“It will take a few days to drive him there.”“You lot just wait.”“Kill some time nearby.”

The shopping district. Of all places. I recall the smile my mother gave me at the dinner table. Had she foreseen this far? I reflexively touch my collarbone. I press it with the pads of my fingers through the school uniform soaked with damp rain, but as expected, there was no crack.

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Gijin sat on a bench in a park with a sundial. It was a space created to fill the gaps between mismatched pieces in the Zofu Ward, which was densely packed with people and buildings. There was no playground equipment, and immortals processed to resemble trees were planted sparsely. In Gijin's line of sight, an immortal who looked like a toddler and an immortal who looked like a mother were petting a stray cat.

They look like parent and child, but I don't know if they really are. Perhaps the immortal who looks like a toddler is actually the father. For immortals who live forever, age has almost no meaning. It is accepted that those who look like children are children, and those who look like old people are old people. Just like eating, it was merely a habit they continued out of a vague adherence to their recorded |souls| (records). Even when the lock is opened, many in this city choose not to leave the cage.

Everything has become too much of the past. Gijin tries to remember. Was Yamane always that personality? Wasn't San originally a woman? I feel like Hugh was my junior. I don't know who Yumaku is. Tennoji's original name should have been Tennoji. My skull creaks with a screeching sound. My joints ache, my wings flutter, and it interferes with my thoughts. School uniform. That is all I remember. That is all my mother left us. It wasn't out of kindness. It was so that I would never forget that one thing. So that I could never run away.

“Fugigi,” the cat meowed.

When I looked up, the parent and child were already gone. The stray cat they had been petting had climbed onto the bench where Gijin was sitting before he noticed, and was curled up softly beside him. There are no vertebrates other than humans in this city. Food and pets are all provided by the immortals themselves. Gijin stroked the hill of its smooth fur.

“Mother was worried about you.”

“Is that so? That is more terrifying than being angry.”

The cat replied in a pleasant baritone voice.

“Do you have some business with me?”

“No, it’s a coincidence. I’m surprised. It’s a good thing it was Gijin. If it had been Hue or San, they would have been dragged back by force.”

The cat—or rather, his father, Kikurage—stretched his back as if bending a bow. Unlike his siblings, who were fashioned from bone masks, his father’s soul and body were those of a real animal. Yamane often pointed to her own claws and ears, saying she was a cat, but seeing the real thing, it was clearly different. If anything, his sister was closer to a hyena or a dog.

“If you didn’t come looking for me, did something else happen?”

Gijin explained the situation. When he mentioned the name “Necro the Undying,” he noticed his father’s whiskers tremble slightly.

“Gijin. Let me give you one piece of advice. You shouldn’t deal with that man seriously.”

“Do you know him?”

“Indirectly. As we immortals spend an eternity, we inevitably become extremely biased. That thing is the worst-case scenario. It is not human. You don’t need to worry about comparing something like that to Shiragiku.”

A prison of flesh and soul. A pure white cage. The thing that traps them. Gijin couldn’t help but look away from his father, bowing his head.

“As expected of you, Father. I can’t hide anything from you.”

“I am not your father.”

His father jumped onto Gijin’s lap and met his eyes.

“I am not your father. The only one who insists that you are family is Shiragiku. No, even she doesn’t truly believe that, not even a little.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

There was no way they could actually think of themselves as family. That had been the case from the start. The parent-child and sibling relationships were nothing more than the appearance of a cage. Perhaps some of the siblings were truly siblings, but at the very least, none of them were blood-related to their mother. That much was certain. He remembered. Bones and school uniforms bound his memories.

“If you know that, you shouldn’t continue this.”

“Because I know that, I have no choice but to continue.”

That dining table where only the sound of bones touching bones echoed. His beastly siblings, restricted by bone apparatuses, eating flesh in an unsightly manner. How many hundreds of millions of times had he seen that scene? Even the time when he felt like he was going insane had become a distant past he had already forgotten. They took the form of a “family” because that was the best way to make Gijin and the others suffer. But there was no more suffering in this relationship. The punishment had already worn thin.

“Sister said that to make someone you can’t forgive suffer, you have no choice but to lock them in a cage. I don’t think that’s the case.”

Gijin said to his father,

“The reason we lock them in a cage is so that we can continue to do so even after the purpose of making them suffer is gone. Even if you die and become nothing but bones, the bones will remain in the cage. We lock them away to ensure there is no end.”

"What is the point of that? Even Shiragiku should really not care anymore."

"Yes. We continue to do this because we can keep doing it even when we no longer care."

It was not about ethics or morality. Even the topics of crime and punishment had already rotted away and vanished. From the moment it was understood that murder and cannibalism would take nothing away, they became a part of daily life in this city. Now, even if one were to bring up a death from the previous century, no one would be interested. However, we continued to do it. We created a family. Therefore, this was a habit, just like eating. It was the usual morning dining table. There are many in this city who choose not to leave their cages even when the locks are opened. If that is the case, there is no need to open the locks.

"I cannot remember, no matter how hard I try. The reason, the name, or even who it was."

It was a field trip. We were a group of seven. We were wearing school uniforms. The sensation of pushing the back of one of them. I could not even distinguish whether that was my own feeling or one felt by my other siblings. I could not remember why it happened, either. Only that act and its result were locked inside a cage. By a mother. By the mother of him, or her, whom we had pushed.

"It is strange, isn't it? Even though we killed them ourselves. No matter what, I cannot remember anything else."

That we had killed our mother's child; nothing but that.

【To be continued in Part 2】

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