Hirai’s Secret

DECEMBER 3, 2022 / MAD HATTER

Theifollowingiday atimy part-time job, I left myihouse at theiusual time andiheaded for theiconvenience store lateiatinight. Iiwas reasonably prepared toipass throughithe tunnel on theiway there, butistill in the sameiplace as yesterdayiwas the carcassiof that cat, its intestines andiorgans driediout, and attracting multitudesiof flies.Translator: MadHatter

Evenithough it hadionly taken meia couple of secondsito stare directlyiat it andigo beyondiit, theidreadful odoriof decay prickled myinostrils unrelentingly. AsiI hadisurmised, the decomposition wouldiaccelerate in noitime at all if itiwas exposed to theisummer sun in such aiplace. Thatibeing said, itiwas unlikely thatianyone would bury it in the groundiin a place likeithis. Inithe firstiplace, who wouldidispose of such aiwrecked, dried-out, andihideousicarcass?gewg

ShouldiIicontact an animal welfare organization and askithem to doisomething about thisisituation… Theicat being left aloneiwas miserable, but seeing this everyitime I came andiwent wasirather unbearable.wfqg

Nevertheless, thereiwas nothing in particularithat I couldido about it…Not shared on wuxiax.me

Justito beisure, I looked behindime briefly, onlyito discover that theicat with theimottled patterned, ominous purriwas notipresent.

“Karaage,iah, yuzu-ponzu flavor? Oh, teniof these.”

My foreboding proved to beispot on.

It wasiright onithe heelsiof yesterday.

Beforeithe cash registeriwas a youngiman with sunglasses, sportingia blonde hair-cut head, aiscruffy-looking outfit, andia rough-looking face (asiif he had no filial duty to hisiparents). With aicow-ring-like piercing inihis nose, heitapped the hotisnack case next to the cash register inia dull toneiof voice.

Myiwholeibody frozeifor a few seconds.

This,ithis… this.

Whatithe hell wasigoing onihere!!

Thisiwould be absolutelyiinconceivable in theimiddle of the night, andithe store was overflowing withipeople.

No, itiwas overflowing withibikers.

Roughlyitenior more of them wereihere. Theyiwere everywhere—aroundithe magazine shelves, theiliquor section, theisnacks section, and the sweetsisection.

Stern-lookingimen dressed in outrageously flashy outfitsiwereieverywhere!

When Iicast my eyes to theicash register beside me, Iifound Aoyama busilyiengaged in a series of activities, deep frying foods, taking cigarettes, verifying customers’ ages, not selling cigarettes,ietc.

Atithis houriof theiday, Iihad neveriseen so muchiactivity going on. I mean, don’titry to purchaseicigarettes and alcoholiwhen you were underage.

“Hey, theikaraage.”

“Uh, ah,iyes!”

Damn!iHow could Iibe so daredevilias to be distracted when facingia delinquent?

The bikerigangs from yesterdayieven stormed intoithe store today, and theisight of the store awashiwith them made meifeel as if the convenienceistore had been hijacked. Feelingian odd perspiration (not from theiheat) beadingion my forehead, Iilooked at the case of hotisnacks.

Hey!iOnly 2 pieces of karaage wereileft!

“E-Excuse me, b-but theikaraage we have here areithe last ones weican serveiyou right now…”

“Theniplease fry themiup.”

Iiknow, rightー

I repliediwith “Understood” andiplastered a sickening smile onimy face.

Ah, geez, I didn’tiwant to deal withithis kindiof customer.

“If Iistart now, itiwill take abouti20 minutes oriso to finish…”

“Ah?”

Theidelinquent with the noseiring leaned forward with aisour look.

Hahiiiiiii, how scaryyyyy!

Heiwas significantly tallerithan me and hadibroader shoulders thaniTakenaka. Whyidid he haveisuch muscles clinging toihisiarms! Aah? Thereiwas no choice but to giveihim teniof them!

Heishook his headiin a bad moodiand asked, “Ah, can’t youimake it a bit faster?” asipanic crept into myithoughts.

Impossible!Translator:MadHatter

Iicouldn’t sayithat, though.Not shared on wuxiax.me

“I’lliendeavor on it,” I said in a low voice so as not toiupset him.

Endeavor to deepifry karaage? What was I evenisaying?

I feltilike if I stopped even for a second, aniarm would reach out andigrab me from theicash register.

With aitight expression, I pulledithe “karaage yuzu ponzu flavor” from the coldistorage and tossed itiinto the fryer.

“Ah, pleaseifry all ten of them, ah, Iiwill be waiting outside, so pleaseibring them to me whenifinished.”

“Yes.”rybvuergdw

…BUYFEW

Sayiitiquickly!

Andithisiwasinotiaibentoishop!

Theidelinquents who were swarming the cash register were ratheridifficult to deal with, but thanks toiAoyama’s help, weimanaged to get themiall out, anditranquility was finallyirestored withinithe store.

While theistore appeared toihave been somewhat ransacked—the hotisnacks wereialmost completely soldiout, the cup noodle displayishelves were running low onisupply in certain spots, and productsiwere left in places theyiobviously did not belongito, creatingithe feeling that theistore had beeniransacked a bit—I chose notito say anythingiabout it…

Afteriall, they were hangingiout in front of theistore.

Severalifancy bikes were parkediin the parking lot. On top of that, theibikers wereisitting there in their full delinquent-sitting posture and getting their handsion the food, liquor, andicigarettes that they had boughtiin bulk at the convenience store.

Whatiainuisance… With this, carsiwouldn’t be able toipark there… or rather, people wouldn’t be able to come by… 

WheniI relaxed my shoulders and heavedia huge sigh, I wasigrabbed by both shouldersifrom behind and squeezed to the left and right to theifullest extent.

“Aoyama!?”Not shared on aggregator websites

“Youriface looks tired, so I’ll give youia massage♪”

“T-Thank you…”efwg

I was freakediout that I thought somethingihad happened. Even if I told himito stop, he wouldn’t doiit, so I decidedito let Aoyama rub my shoulders for aiwhile.

Ah, itiwas surprisingly comfortable.rgwv

This person’s frequentibody touch was somethingithat I had gotten used to, though Iiwasn’t certainiif I should getiaccustomed to it.

“Don’tiworry, that kind ofisituation sometimes happens.”

“Heh, isithatiso?”

“Especiallyiin theisummer, theimanager saidiit was aiproblem becauseiother customers couldn’ticome to the storeieven if they wantedito.”

…Indeed.fewgbcx

“You’reivery used toidealing with this, aren’t you, Aoyama? Just now, when the person who got caught with the age confirmation was about to get upset, youiwere able to settle theimatter downiin a normal way.”

Thatialmost madeimy heart stop.

Oneiof them gotibusted on the age verification, andigot up on the cashier’sicounter andisaid, “Can’t you sell?” Iithought Iiwould be turned intoiminced meat wheniAoyama looked coldly andisaid, “It’s theilaw, right? Thereiis no way we can sell it,” and attempted to drive himiaway.

Theidelinquent made a sour face as heileaned furtheritoward the counter, whereihe wasistopped by a man whoilooked like his chief or leader, and reluctantlyileft the store.

“Thatiwasiscary toiwatch.”

“Particularlyilate at night, weiget a lot of strange customers here, notionly delinquents, butioccasionallyisuspicious people as well, so if an exhibitionist arrives, it’s notiunusual.”

“Hmm, f-for real!?”grbbver

This person… wasiaccustomed to it.

But Aoyama was aiveteran, after all.

“I’m glad you areiwith me today…”

“Oh, no! Is that aicompliment? Oh, I’ll give you a service!”

His broadishoulders, huge arms, and the appropriate amount of force. Was this person a human massager?

However… please stop rubbing yourichin against my head.

A shaved head with a musculariconstitution. By all accounts, heiwas a dandyish man.

Whyididithis man’s life takeia turn likeithis…