2840 words
[CLIP CLOP! CLIP CLOP!]
The sounds of heels against the cobblestone roads echoed in the sepulchral night.
A figure clad in a full suit walked with an air of consummate insouciance while swinging his pitch black cane around. His pale blue eyes reflected the faint crimson of the moon as smoke wafted from the cigarette between his fingers.
Suddenly, the figure stopped in front of a house and a looked at its front door. Without waiting, he took two steps up the stairs and clasped the knocker hanging at the midpoint of the door and began ramming it repeatedly against the door. The knocks cut through the stillness of the night like a fusillade.
"Which brain-dead bastard's pounding on my bloody door at this hour?" The man on the other end of the door roared and heavy sounds of someone stomping soon reached Kiyotaka's ears.
However, soon after, the footsteps stopped. For several long seconds, nothing happened, but the eerie silence was cut by the unmistakable click of a revolver being cocked as the bolt slid back and the man on the other side rounded the chamber.
A chain rattled into place before the door opened only a narrow crack, revealing a large revolver's muzzle.
Only then did the owner reveal himself.
Oswald squinted through the gap, his bloodshot brown eyes clouded with sleep and irritation. He was an unpleasant-looking man in every conceivable way of human definition.
His head was round that was too large for his squat body as loose folds of pale skin sagged beneath his cheeks and chin despite him being nowhere nearly as old as it made him look, while an oily sheen coated his broad forehead.
His flattened nose looked as though it had been broken more than once, and several yellow, uneven teeth became visible as his lips curled into a scowl.
His revolver remained pointed at Kiyotaka. "...Who the hell are—"
Before he could finish his sentence, recognition flashed across his face and his expressions twisted. "You... You!"
Kiyotaka removed elegantly before exhaling a slow plume of smoke into the cold night. "Good evening, Mr. Oswald."
"It's fucking midnight! And what the fuck do you want?" Oswald spat and his finger settled a little more firmly against the trigger. "If you're here about making me take the case back, you can piss off. If you're here to rob me..." He sneered. "You'll leave with more than two holes."
Kiyotaka glanced briefly at the revolver aimed between his eyes and then calmly raised both hands. "I come in peace."
Oswald barked out a harsh, humorless laugh. "That's exactly what every bastard says before trying something stupid."
Kiyotaka moved his coat, causing his coat to sway unnaturally. As Oswald looked down, he saw an expensive looking bottle in his coat pocket.
"Do you think I am a fool? That you can get me drunk and then kill me? Never!"
"You can drink it once I have left, or tomorrow night. I really come in peace."
Oswald, who was still skeptical, kept his revolver pointed at Kiyotaka and then moved to the side. "Get inside, but no funny business!"
Kiyotaka kept his hands in the air and walked inside as Oswald closed the door behind them. As soon as the door clicked shut, Oswald grabbed Kiyotaka's ass and began squeezing it.
Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the man grinning and continuing with his acts.
"I don't have a weapon on me, if that is what you're searching."
Suddenly Oswald let go of him and pointed the revolver's muzzle towards his back. "Yeah alright, you scum! Don't talk back to me! Keep walking!"
Without a word, Kiyotaka followed the man's words and was eventually led into the master bedroom that was located deep into the house, with the only source of illumination being the brass holder in which the candle was lit and the fireplace in the main hall.
"So?" Oswald sneered. "Did you dress up like a pretty boy to beg me?"
Kiyotaka calmly uncrossed and crossed his legs again. "I came to ask you to withdraw the lawsuit."
Oswald burst into laughter. "Withdraw it?" He slapped his knee. "You think I'm that stupid?"
"I haven't reached a conclusion on that matter, unfortunately."
"..." Oswald was suddenly dumbfounded and began to redden at his comment.
"I merely came to confirm it."
"You little—"
"I suggest you hear me out." Kiyotaka raised his hand and cleared his throat.
Oswald's jaw worked in circles before settling. "What is it?" He pulled over a chair and dropped into it while pointing the revolver towards Kiyotaka's forehead. "You've got five minutes before I throw you out."
"I doubt you'll require that many." Kiyotaka folded his hands neatly on his knee. "Your first allegation is that I deliberately concealed myself after the incident."
"I did. What about it?"
"Why?"
Oswald frowned. "What d'you mean why?"
"What leads you to believe I concealed myself?"
"You vanished!"
"I simply moved."
"The same bloody thing!"
"No." Kiyotaka's reply came immediately. "It is only the same if movement itself constitutes concealment."
Oswald blinked. "Well it fucking does!"
"Then every traveller in Loen would be guilty of hiding."
"..."
A sudden silence settled as Oswald realized that Kiyotaka was not as naive and uneducated as he first assumed him to be. Kiyotaka continued talking. "Concealment is not determined by absence but rather by the intent of it. If I had assumed another identity or forged documents or bribed officials to erase my records or had begun to live under a false name then one might reasonably infer deliberate intention for concealment."
He leaned forward ever so slightly. "Did I do any of those things?"
"...No."
"I registered companies under my own name, signed legal documents, paid taxes, employed staff and rented property. I was always here." His pale blue eyes never left Oswald's. "Explain how a man conducting business openly under his own identity is hiding."
Oswald opened his mouth and then closed it before grunting out loud. "You knew I couldn't find you."
"I did not know whether you had looked."
"You—"
"Did you?"
"..."
"Did you inquire with the city registry?"
"No."
"The Chamber of Commerce?"
"No."
"The tax office?"
"No."
"Then perhaps..." Kiyotaka's tone became almost conversational. "...you failed to search before accusing me of hiding. That is a false accusation and grounds for defamation."
Oswald slammed his fist against the armrest. "You think you're clever."
"Cleverness has nothing to do with knowledge publicly available." Kiyotaka continued as cold sweat began to appear on Oswald's temples. "You also claim damages amounting to four hundred and sixty pounds."
"So?"
"How did you reach that figure?"
"My bloody house burned down!"
"That answers what happened but does not answer the amount."
"It cost that much!"
"According to whom?"
"..."
Kiyotaka craned his neck and a series of pops popped out. "You inspected the ruins yourself?"
"I didn't bloody need to!"
"I see." Kiyotaka nodded faintly. "So the amount exists solely because you decided it sounded expensive."
Oswald's face reddened. "The whole bloody house collapsed!"
"Did it?"
"It did!"
"Interesting."
Kiyotaka reached into his coat before withdrawing several folded papers. "I happened to pass by yesterday." He placed a charcoal sketch on the table and pointed towards it. "The eastern wall, foundations, rear chimney and cellars appear to be undamaged."
Oswald stared at it with fury. "You... You visited?"
"I was curious. I knew something would come up when you didn't reach out to me after such a long time." He tapped the papers lightly. "Demolition and reconstruction are not synonymous. You have requested compensation equivalent to building an entirely new residence." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Your residence still exists."
"You've got nerve..." Oswald's teeth began to grind. "You... You smug little bastard..."
Kiyotaka ignored his words and continued talking like a teacher. "Third, the tenancy agreement, where does it say I am liable for damages caused by natural occurrences."
"I gave it to you! It said in there!"
"Yes, you did and where is it now?"
"..."
"If you don't have any duplicate then the only person claiming such a clause existed is yourself."
Oswald suddenly stood. "I know what I wrote!"
"I'm sure you do. But the court has an unfortunate habit of preferring documents over memory." He watched Oswald carefully whose breathing had begun to grow even more uneven. "You also alleged unjust enrichment."
Oswald frowned. "I what?"
"You included it in your filing."
"I don't remember all the fancy words."
"I can tell." Kiyotaka reached for the lawsuit that was crumpled in his pocket. "'The defendant unjustly benefited from the destruction of the premises.'" He looked up. "How?"
"What?"
"How did I benefit?"
"You—"
"I received no insurance damages, ownership, land or anything as of the matter. What I did get was countless nights at various acquaintances places." He placed the papers back on the table. "Just between you and me, can you explain the enrichment."
Oswald remained silent and Kiyotaka avoided pressing him as Oswald began to shout at him, spit flying everywhere. "You think any of this matters?"
"It would depend."
"On what exatly?"
"Whether your objective is justice."
Oswald barked a laugh. "Justice?" "You've got a real nobleman's brain. You know why I sued you? Because you've got money. I heard about your businesses. I heard you're rolling in pounds now."
"What is the last objective? Sullying my reputation?"
Oswald grinned. "You'll hire solicitors, collect witnesses, pay court fees and waste months. In the end, won't it be easy to hand me a few hundred pounds? I mean, even after all of this legal bullshit you just spewed out of that pretty mouth of yours, it'll still take months, even years, for it to be taken seriously. I will make your life living hell."
"True." Kiyotaka admitted.
The lawsuit had never been about recovering damages but rather about weaponizing its procedure. It was a frivolous claim, yes, with inflated damages and weak evidence.
None of it mattered if the cost of defending oneself exceeded the cost of surrendering.
It was a form of legal extortion.
Kiyotaka looked at the ceiling as Oswald laughed maniacally. "Do you get it now? Do you get how futile it is?! HAHA! I have you cornered!"
'Without law, disputes devolve into violence and when the law became a weapon, what distinguishes it from violence? Only physical appearances.'
As the thought settled in, the lingering spirituality of the Barbarian potion began to stir. He had finally arrived at the core crux of it, removing the tiny discrepancy he had beforehand.
The idea of a Barbarian was to not reject law and praise brute force. Instead, it was far, far simpler. The digestion of Barbarian potion responded to a "challenge."
A challenge to an order that had ceased fulfilling its own purpose.
Kiyotaka slowly rose from his chair and Oswald instinctively lifted the revolver. "What?"
"I understand now."
"You understand what?"
Kiyotaka sighed. "Negotiations are done with humans, not parasites."
Oswald's face twisted into pure anger. "The fuck did you call me?"
"A parasite. You produce nothing of value, repair nothing and seek neither restitution nor fairness. You merely attach yourself to legal procedure and feed upon those with more to lose than yourself."
Despite the words being heroic and just, there was no intention behind them. Kiyotaka was speaking in the same detached tone as ever, looking down at the fat heap of a man with nothing in his eyes.
Which somehow made the words wound the fat man even more. "You arrogant little—"
"I wonder." Kiyotaka interrupted. "How many others accepted settlement simply because defending themselves cost too much? In all fairness to you, it is quite a neat method of extorting people."
"Do you know what characteristics a lot of schools, government, markets and organizations share? It is that when a system rewards undesirable behavior, then that undesirable behavior inevitably becomes rational.
So long as extortion remains profitable someone will always choose it, hence one day evolving into a system."
"You think you can just walk in here, call me a parasite, and lecture me on systems?" Oswald hissed, his voice dropping into a repressed roar. "I have the law on my side, pretty boy. I know people higher up! You're the one who ruined my property. You're the one who broke the contract!"
"The contract you cannot produce," Kiyotaka corrected softly. He took a single, deliberate step forward.
To an ordinary man, stepping toward a loaded, cocked revolver was suicide, however, Kiyotaka was not an ordinary man.
"Stay back!" Oswald shrieked, his bloodshot eyes widening. "I'll blow your bloody brains out!"
"No, you won't," Kiyotaka's pale blue eyes reflected the flickering candlelight. "Because a parasite only bites when it feels it can get away with it. You lack the stomach for violence, Mr. Oswald. You hid behind solicitors in the first place because you are, fundamentally, a coward."
Hearing the insult, Oswald suddenly aimed at Kiyotaka and pulled the trigger. The heavy lead bullet tore through the fabric of Kiyotaka's expensive suit as it carved a deep, ragged trench across the flesh of his left shoulder.
Blood immediately erupted and splashed across the floorboards, staining the front of his pristine white shirt.
Oswald froze as a manic, terrified grin spread across his face. "I told you... I told you I'd do it! Self-defense! You broke into my house! You attacked me!"
"An excellent story," Kiyotaka whispered and stood up, clutching his deep wound. "But the puncture wound will show I was standing over five feet away and completely unarmed, when you fired."
"Then..." Oswald's face twisted into pure malice as he raised the gun again, aiming directly at Kiyotaka's head. "I'll just have to make sure you don't talk, and put a knife in your hand."
However, this time, Kiyotaka did not just stand there. He suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front of him.
He was not fast enough to move like that, however, to an ordinary human, Kiyotaka was someone who had crossed the thresholds of humanity. Before Oswald could squeeze the trigger a second time, he intentionally drove his injured left shoulder straight into Oswald's chest, letting the blunt force smear his own blood onto Oswald's nightshirt.
"Gah!" Oswald gasped as the air was blasted from his lungs.
Kiyotaka's right hand clamped onto Oswald's wrist as he broke his radius before forcing the man's fingers to spasm and lock around the revolver.
"Let's make the scene a bit more believable," Kiyotaka whispered in Oswald's ear.
With monstrous strength, Kiyotaka forced Oswald's broken hand backward, aiming the revolver directly under Oswald's own chin, making his eyes wide with pure, unmitigated horror as he realized what was happening.
He tried to scream and to pull away, but against a Barbarian, his fat, sedentary body was nothing more than putty.
Kiyotaka placed his own hand over Oswald's mangled fingers, ensuring Oswald's index finger was the one making contact with the trigger.
"You panicked," Kiyotaka said flatly, staring into the dying light of the man's eyes. "We wrestled for the weapon and it somehow went off."
BANG!
The second shot echoed through the house and a bullet traveled upward through the roof of Oswald's mouth, piercing the brain stem and exiting the top of his skull.
Oswald's body went entirely limp as Kiyotaka staggered, pressing a hand to his bleeding shoulder. The pain was severe, but his Barbarian constitution kept his mind perfectly clear.
Walking over to the fireplace in the main hall. He took a clean handkerchief, wiped his boots of any anomalous tracks, and then deliberately smeared a small amount of Oswald's blood onto his own face and clothes to emphasize the brutality of the "attack."
He reached the front door but did not open it. Instead, he carefully slid his back down against the solid wood, ensuring he collapsed in a position that looked natural for someone trying to escape but failing due to their injuries.
He unclamped his hand from his shoulder, letting his arm drop limply to his side. A strange and bizarre coldness was spreading from his fingertips upward.
'Everything is set.'
As his eyelids grew too heavy to hold open, Kiyotaka allowed his gaze to drift toward the faint crimson moonlight filtering through the high windows. The darkness rushed in to greet him, and without a single sound, he surrendered to the unconsciousness.
At the same time, the door flew open, throwing his unconscious body to the side as multiple members of Sivellaus Yard and 2 Nighthawks barged inside. Behind them was a young woman with dark makeup who was looking down at Kiyotaka with a strange expression.
She sighed and was about to say something when her eyes fell on Kiyotaka's limp body.
"Goddess... this man..." The woman sighed and looked at the constables. "Gather evidence. I will tend to this man."
The constable in the forefront nodded and the others followed him inside, leaving the woman all alone with him, standing over his body.