"Nezumi!" Inukashi yelled, stomping on the blanket. "This isn't what you promised. What the hell were you doing?"
"Hush, stop barking." Nezumi rummaged through the coat of the man he had just tied up, and extracted a leather pouch out of one of its pockets. "Take a cue from your dogs, Inukashi. Lie down and shut up."
"Stop shitting me," Inukashi snarled. "Why didn't you come out sooner?"
"I forgot my line, so I was re-reading my script," Nezumi replied mildly. "Sorry about that."
Howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones!
Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so
That heaven's vault should crack! She's gone fore ever.
- King Lear Act V Scene III [1]
Beyond the gate was a world of darkness.
It was freezing. The man shivered, and flipped the collar of his jacket up. His coat was woven of the finest cashmere, and it was lightweight and warm. It was also equipped with an automatic sensor that registered the temperature of the body and outside air to adjust the temperature inside the coat accordingly. The sensor itself was smaller, lighter, and slimmer than a postage stamp.
"You want me to co-operate with you?" Rikiga made a clearly distasteful expression.
"Yeah," Nezumi answered. "I want you to glean information from your customers." Nezumi seated himself snugly into the chair, and put his feet up on the table.
"Information? You mean about the Holy City?"
"Yeah."
"What's in it for me?"
"Enormous riches."
In days of old, the Buddha
was but a mortal;
in the end, we ourselves
will be buddhas too.
How grievous that distinctions
must separate those
who are alike in sharing
the Buddha-nature!
- Tales of Heike: Giou [1]
Shion slowly raised himself off the floor.
Only a few dying embers remained in the heater, and the room was freezing cold. Cravat, who had been curled up against Shion's body, raised his head and chirruped softly.