Kekeke no Toshiro Part 1 (19)
Toshiro, who had abandoned his training with Kidaro and the others because he wanted nothing to do with exorcising evil spirits, had been spending his time pretending not to see the dark clouds gathering over the sky of Fukibashi. When he received a call from Kazu begging for help after being summoned by Sato of the anti-social organization "Gondo-kai," Toshiro hung up, claiming it had nothing to do with him, but a sense of justice like a flickering light drove Toshiro to run outside.
Battle of Fukibashi 2
(2728 characters in body)
"Kazu-kun, where are you now? Please call me back right away."
I made the call while jogging toward the station, but the ringing continued and it switched to voicemail. After leaving a message, I realized I had no way to suppress my growing anxiety. Ah, if I was going to feel like this, why didn't I at least make a promise to meet him during that last call? The essence of my regret boils down to that. Kazu-kun, where are you?
My feet were naturally heading toward the shrine. I was going to ask Kidaro for help. I knew that even for a pathetic guy like me, it was too much to ask of Kidaro. But I didn't have the power to solve this problem as much as I felt it in my heart. I'll bow my head. At least Kidaro could solve it with a swing of his cape.
I passed through the shrine's torii gate and opened the door to the office. The door opened easily. That meant I hadn't been abandoned yet. I breathed a small sigh of relief, but the sight that met me afterward made my knees shake for the first time in a long while. All the many long chests that should have been filled with Kidaro's belongings were gone, and tools whose uses I didn't know or worn-out clothes were scattered about, as if they were unnecessary. It looked as if he had hurriedly packed only what he needed and taken it with him.
Eh, don't tell me that Kidaro skipped town? That can't be right. There's no way in a million years he'd run away from the likes of some yakuza, unlike me... Ah, I'm being pathetic again. No, that's not the point. Where did Kidaro go? While I was muttering things like that and picking up one or two things scattered in the room, my eyes landed on an old-fashioned coat rack in the corner of the room. Hanging there was a piece of fabric long enough to be called a bolt of cloth. The color was dark blue with a turtle-shell pattern dyed in a continuous design. This was, if I had to say, yukata fabric. Why would he hang something like this on a coat rack? Even though I'm in the middle of an emergency, for some reason, it bothers me. But isn't there something more useful than this, like his cape? I looked for his cape, but naturally, it wasn't there. The cape I was given wasn't there either. Maybe Kidaro, having lost patience with me, let Fuki-san or Setouchi-sensei use it.
Ah, what should I do? Anyway, at this rate, Kidaro has no intention of coming back here for a while. But I have to get him to help me.
I decided to go to Fukibashi. Even though it's a suspicious-looking bridge, once you cross it, you're right at Fuki-san's clock shop and the shrine. She has always been the guardian there. She must be there. I'll tell her the situation and ask for her cooperation. I turned on my heel to leave, but something got tangled in my feet, my body floated into the air, and I was slammed onto the floor after doing a full rotation.
Ouch, damn it. Something got caught. But, for a spectacular rotation, it doesn't hurt that much. When I put my hands down to stand up from the floor, the yukata fabric from earlier was spread out under my hands, as if protecting me under my body.
"What, did my feet get caught in that cloth from earlier?"
I tried to kick the cloth away, but it tangled and wrapped around my legs.
"Ah, it's annoying when I'm this busy, seriously, damn it."
Saying that, I struggled to shake the cloth off my feet, but the more I did, the more it tangled, and it finally settled into a state that felt like I was wearing monpe trousers.
"What is this, it's like I'm wearing monpe over my pants. Ah, it's frustrating, where should I untangle it from? Damn, it's like plastic wrap where you can't find the end. Ah, it's frustrating. Ah, whatever! I can move like this, so I'm going to Fuki-san's anyway!"
I rushed out of the office and started running toward Fukibashi in that outfit, the way I came.
Alright! I can run. Hmm? Eh? Something is different. The scenery in front of me is flying backward. When I look down, my shaky, glucosamine-deficient legs are rotating at high speed, kicking the asphalt. In old gag manga, there were often drawings of the lower body spinning around to show running fast, and it felt exactly like that. I reached the foot of Fukibashi, which usually takes over 10 minutes to walk to, in just a few dozen seconds.
"What's going on with my lower body? Is it thanks to this thing wrapped around me like monpe? Oh, this is useful!"
I slammed on the brakes with a screech and stood tall in front of Fukibashi. I can do it. Maybe I can. Me.
I walk across Fukibashi. Feeling my spirits lift at the strength of my stride, I glared at the gloomy, poor-visibility, and eerie townscape on the other side of the bridge.
I don't have a sixth sense, but I can tell that the atmosphere of something absolutely terrible is thick. I can see a few people, but I don't feel any life in them. A town of zombies where the dead wander. That description would be perfect. But I have this monpe-like thing now. My escape speed is fast. Faster than usual. Hehehe.
I arrive in front of the entrance to Fuki Clock Shop. I tried to bow to the Jizo shrine, but the shrine had disappeared, leaving only the base stone. Eh, why... Is this a bad sign...?
The entrance door of Fuki-san's clock shop was crushed, and it was pitch black inside. Eh, is this really a bad sign? Using the skills from my days as a salaryman in sales, I put as much of a smile into my voice as possible and spoke a little quietly.
"Fuki-san, hello. Sorry to bother you while you're busy. It's Otsuka. You know, Toshiro, who visited with Kidaro-san the other day."
However, there was no reply from inside.
"Um, are you busy? If so, I think I'll come back later."
No, I can't come back later. I have to ask Kidaro for help.
"Um, you're out, right?"
"Co-me i-n." A thick voice was heard. At that voice, I felt a sense of discomfort in my lower body.
"No, um, Fuki-san... Your voice, it's, well, a little different..."
I backed away with a moonwalk that lacked glucosamine.
As I thought, this is definitely a bad turn of events. Thinking that, I turned around to get into a dash position.
There, dozens of townspeople with pale faces, no life, and unfocused eyes had gathered to cut off my retreat. They were approaching me, making eerie, low groaning sounds. It's a situation straight out of a zombie movie. Something warm was dripping from my crotch down my legs. I completely wet myself. No, I'm done for... "Kidaro... Kidaro..." With a trembling voice, I grabbed the thigh area of the monpe with both hands. I could feel the dampness even from above. No, this isn't the time for that... No, this is bad, this is really bad.
To be continued
Note: This work is purely fictional.
Kekeke no Toshiro 1 Kekeke no Toshiro 11
Kekeke no Toshiro 2 Kekeke no Toshiro 12
Kekeke no Toshiro 3 Kekeke no Toshiro 13
Kekeke no Toshiro 4 Kekeke no Toshiro 14
Kekeke no Toshiro 5 Kekeke no Toshiro 15
Kekeke no Toshiro 6 Kekeke no Toshiro 16
Kekeke no Toshiro 7 Kekeke no Toshiro 17
Kekeke no Toshiro 8 Kekeke no Toshiro 18
Kekeke no Toshiro 9 Kekeke no Toshiro 19
Kekeke no Toshiro 10 Kekeke no Toshiro 20
Kekeke no Toshiro 21 Kekeke no Toshiro 31
Kekeke no Toshiro 22 Kekeke no Toshiro 32
Kekeke no Toshiro 23
Kekeke no Toshiro 24
Kekeke no Toshiro 25
Kekeke no Toshiro 26
Kekeke no Toshiro 27
Kekeke no Toshiro 28
Kekeke no Toshiro 29
Kekeke no Toshiro 30