Chapter 8 – Renjou’s Background
Chapter 4, Part 1
Novel Title: 獣はかくしてまぐわう (The Beasts Copulate This Way)
Author：風結子 沙野 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)
*Please read at novels.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
֍֍֍
On a Saturday afternoon, after getting off at Nakameguro Station, he bought the weekly magazine in question at a convenience store.
Carrying the shopping bag, Kagura walked along the Meguro River. The cherry trees were entering their winter dormancy, with exposed dark branches stretching against the blue sky.
When he arrived at the rendezvous apartment, Zero was already there, lounging on the sofa on his back, looking relaxed. He held a copy of the weekly magazine in his hand.
“So, you’ve already checked it out,” Kagura said, showing him a magazine with the same cover he pulled from the bag.
“This must be a tip-off from the police, right?” Zero said, sitting up.
“Why do you think that?” Kagura asked as he sat down beside him.
“About seventy percent of the stories involve cases that went to the police, twenty percent is spiced-up footage of gang conflicts that was uploaded online, and the remaining ten percent is probably original reporting.”
“…You sure know a lot,” Kagura said, to which Zero grinned.
“Also, the fact that information about the Eastern Alliance is being spread online is likely under the command of someone on the police side, right?”
It seemed there was someone who could read Aizawa’s moves completely.
“You’ve got a pretty skilled analysis team, don’t you?” Kagura remarked.
“That’s a report from Kataware,” Zero replied.
Kataware was a man who looked like an ordinary office worker and often served as their driver.
Zero seemed to take pride in himself as he spoke.
“That guy’s been selling his own software since he was a kid. He makes hundreds of millions a year through programming and hacking.”
“And you’re letting such a genius drive?”
“Driving is a hobby for him, and he likes that he can work during the waiting time,” Zero replied with a smile.
Riki was a top-ranked fighter in the underground arena, while Kataware was an extraordinary hacker. Kagura was amazed once again by the talent surrounding Zero.
“If people like that could be put to good use, this country would probably change too…” he muttered, but Zero’s face turned expressionless.
“It’s precisely because they aren’t protected citizens that they’ve trained themselves without limits outside the rules,” Zero replied.
“…So, it’s because they’re ‘non-citizens’?” Kagura asked.
Even sitting so close together, an invisible wall stood between them. Kagura felt a frustrating irritation when reminded of it.
A defiant smile spread across Zero’s face.
“We’re not restricted like the ‘citizens’,” he said.
“…”
Kagura felt as if he had become a doll placed in a glass case. Zero likely saw him that way as well.
That’s why Zero tried to restrict his movements, to blindfold him so he wouldn’t see what he shouldn’t.
“…Don’t mess with me.”
Feeling an intense urge to rebel, he muttered as he reached toward Zero. Grabbing the front of Zero’s black sweater, he pulled him close.
He bit Zero’s lips, and Zero’s throat vibrated with laughter.
“At thirty-one, you still can’t give a better kiss than that?”
Pulling back, Kagura retorted.
“That wasn’t a kiss. I was picking a fight.”
“Was it really that kind of exchange?”
“You’re hiding too much from me.”
When Zero’s face turned emotionless, Kagura realised he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it came to Zero. The same applied to Enwu, and the dark underside spreading beneath Japan as a whole.
“I want to see the truth with my own eyes. I’m prepared for it.”
Kagura declared, staring directly at Zero, who brushed him off lightly with, “Don’t get so worked up.”
“I…—”
As he tried to continue, Kagura bit his lip, ruffling his hair roughly.
“No, that’s not why I came here.”
Even though they were supposed to be working toward the same goal of taking down Toono and the Eastern Alliance, Kagura’s focus seemed to shift unconsciously towards Zero.
Forcing himself to cut off that line of thought, Kagura picked up the weekly magazine on the coffee table.
“I want to know the details of the Eastern Alliance’s internal conflicts.”
Zero stared at him intently. Though Kagura didn’t understand what that expression meant, Zero blinked once, seeming to change gears, and began to speak.
“The divide between Toono’s faction and the anti-Toono faction has always existed, but since Toono held absolute power, it’s been kept to minor skirmishes. Now that Toono has fled the country, it’s all fallen apart. The top executives in Toono’s faction are all fanatics of his.”
Kagura muttered bitterly.
“A cult worshipping a piece of trash.”
“And the one overseeing them all is Renjou,” Zero replied.
The memory of Renjou’s berserk behaviour in the underground arena resurfaced, making Kagura shiver.
“That guy isn’t just strong; he’s got an unusually sharp mind and instincts too.”
“Figures. He’s been involved in countless things but still manages to avoid the police’s net.”
Even among criminals, those with higher intelligence are harder to catch. It’s likely a matter of reasoning skills and learning ability.
“Right now, it seems Renjou is the only one who can contact Toono directly.”
“So, in other words, by keeping tabs on Renjou, we can track Toono’s movements,” Kagura suggested.
Zero frowned.
“It’s not easy to keep Renjou under surveillance. We’ve tried several times but not only failed—nearly got ambushed ourselves. His instincts are as sharp as a wild animal’s.”
An image of a bloodied otter flashed in Kagura’s mind.
“…Still, something doesn’t sit right with me.”
“What do you mean?”
Kagura put his unease into words.
“I don’t understand why someone like Renjou would be so devoted to Toono. If anyone’s the mad cult leader type, Renjou fits that role better than Toono. There must be some backstory.”
Zero’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“As expected of my partner.”
“What’s with that all of a sudden?”
“I was actually planning to re-investigate Renjou’s background.”
As he spoke, Zero took out his phone and started navigating through it.
He showed Kagura an image on the screen.
“A family register?”
Kagura took the phone and zoomed in on the image.
“Toshimi Hasumi. Registered in Niigata Prefecture. Based on his birth date, he’s twenty-one years old. Only child. And both parents died nine years ago on the same day.”
“Is this Renjou’s?”
“Yeah.”
“Do we know how his parents died?”
“It was a double suicide.”
“…A double suicide?”
“A charcoal-burning suicide in a car. There was a note, and the police ruled out any foul play.”
Kagura closed his eyes, trying to imagine the scene, and murmured.
“…It’s all been blacked out.”
He could only picture Renjou’s childhood and his parents as if they were scribbled over with a marker.
Even though he had seen countless people and their families as a police officer, he couldn’t patternize this.
He remembered a similar feeling from before.
Kagura opened his eyes and looked at Zero.
―――It was the same feeling as when I’d tried to picture Zero’s own childhood and family.
“I can’t quite put it into words, but something just doesn’t add up. We need to investigate Renjou further.”
“Then let’s go to Niigata and confirm it ourselves,” Zero said, standing up.
“Go and confirm it? Right now?”
“We’ll finish it in two days, one night. Let’s go.”
Zero cast an amused glance at Kagura, who was stunned by the sudden turn of events.
“You’re ready to see the truth with your own eyes, aren’t you?”
֍֍֍
*Translator’s Note: He just wants a date with you, Kagura. -K
Next update: 2025.10.17
֍֍֍
Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!…