The Nippon Professional Bounty hunter Organization – alias NPB – was an organization administered by the American bounty hunting company, Westwood Company. They had offices in twelve places throughout the whole country of Japan, and they offered professional qualifications for their bounty hunters and managed their jobs; being able to capture villains informally was a main job for them.
In the case someone wanted to put up a bounty, if they contact the NPB they would make a wanted poster for them. After that, the NPB side arranged it as a bounty and offered the job to their bounty hunters. That was their structure. The NPB provided a 10 to 20 percent ratio for commissions of the bounty price.
In recent years with the proceedings of globalization crime had surged, and there were many cases the police could not manage. Being tied up, they had used the NPB inevitably. The bounty hunters in the NPB were all skilled people who had passed the organization's strict examinations. As such they had a deep trust from the police. Wyatt Westwood was the younger brother of the president of the Westwood company. He was an NPB personnel and the owner of the western bar in a certain part of Shinjuku, 'Dodge City.' He was American born, but he had been living in Japan for ten-odd years. He was also proficient in Japanese.
There was a swing door set up at the entrance of Dodge City and further inside was a setting of a Texas bar from the western pioneering age. At the four round tables brawny men were each passing the time doing as they pleased. There were also people arm wrestling, doing drinking contests, or indulging in poker. There were many who looked genuinely aggressive and rough around the edges. However, the guys were all good natured.
Beer caskets line the walls and above are the bounties of scoundrels posted in a row. The BGM inside the facility was of course a western soundtrack.
In the center of the bar there was a counter with no stools. And there Wyatt in his western style getup, with a vest over his shirt and a ten-gallon hat on his head, was working restlessly. After taking a whiskey from the inside of the bottle lined in front of a large mirror and pouring it into a glass in the clutter, he handed it over to his guest in exchange for coin.
" – Hey, sheriff."
At the center table a man playing a drinking game with his friends called out to Wyatt.
"How about having a drink yourself? Won't you come over here and have one?"
"I would like to about now," Wyatt gave back a wry smile. "But I still have work. I'll restrain myself."
The guest called Wyatt "sheriff." The shining star on his breast and the jail at the center of the his counter space was the reason why.
Here at Dodge City it was a place for bounty hunters to relax at as well as an office of the NPB. Wyatt's job at this bar reeked of men was to receive the person with the bounty as the head of the Shinjuku office of the NPB, pay the bounty hunters their reward, and serve alcohol to them as the owner of the bar when they have finished their job.
Wyatt got out from behind the counter. He put up the new wanted poster – "Company Employee Hit Man Shinta Kasaoka – ¥300,000" – that came in from the company onto an open space on the bulletin board wall.
On the right side of it is the "Corrupted Bounty Hunter Masayuki Murai – ¥120,000."
On the left side was "luggage thief Minoru Morita – ¥30,000."
– On the large bulletin space most of the bounty posters were overflowing.
Wyatt peeled off the caught bounty from there, rolled it up and threw it into the garbage bin. The professional bounty hunters the NPB had were all skilled. It was thanks to them that many of the scoundrels were tied in rope today as well.
That was right; there was certainly no one but skilled guys here – but there were two newcomers among them that bother Wyatt.
One was the "Double-Hand Gun Tiger," Torakichi Nishino.
The other was the "Minister with the Right Hand of the Devil," Rabito Westwood. Wyatt remembered the two novice bounty hunters were probably chasing wanted men somewhere in Tokyo right now and felt a headache coming on.
Torakichi Nishino strode down the back alleyway while humming a tune.
The song he was humming to was the theme song of a certain western film. It was a macaroni western about the skilled gunmen half-brothers, the self-proud man with superhuman strength Bambino and the slothful Trinity, and it was a novelty comedy production with a large brawl in the end regardless of it being a western film. To Tora, who loved the dual scenes with gunfights, considered it a heretic film, but he took a liking to this theme song.
After briefly fixing his black-streaked blond hair, Tora straightened his beige hat and hurried ahead. Each time he walked the spurs attached to the heels of his boots would click. On his off-white western shirt he had brown suspenders. He had a gun belt wrapped around his waist and two guns often used in western films, a revolver and the Colt SAA, hung from the holster. – All of this were his part-time work uniform.
When he proceeded further; the building he was targeting came into view. It was a ragged apartment building at a corner in west Shinjuku. It was in a easy to get in area, and the rent was reasonable. It was a suitable place for refuge for shady people.
And one room among them – room 103.
His target was living here.
Tora leaned down in front of the door and while humming the tune picked the lock. The skill he learned during his wild adolescent life was coming in handy right now. Opening the lock to a cheap apartment was no trouble for him at all. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
" – Wh-who are you!?"
As he stepped foot into the entrance a short man jumped out of the bed.
He stopped humming and asked him,
"You're Masayuki Murai, right?"
He checked his face. It was the same as the photo on the wanted poster. There was no doubt about it. This guy was the twelve hundred thousand bounty – the "Corrupted Bounty Hunter" Murai.
"Who knew there was a bounty hunter who conspired with the wanted man and deceivingly took the reward money out there." Tora said cynically while keeping his focus on him. "Though the hunter has become the hunted in this case."
This man was a professional bounty hunter employed under the NPB Nagoya office. However, after catching and handing over the wanted man and taking his reward, he had done the misdeed of helping the wanted man escape a few times and had become a wanted man himself for it.
As such Murai having disappeared from Nagoya had run all the way to Tokyo, but he could not escape from the NPB's network.
"Damn, a bounty hunter!"
Murai looked at Tora and tutted. He then immediately reached for underneath his pillow. He probably intended to take out a hidden handgun from there.
" – Stop right there."
When he addresses that with a stern voice the man's movements came to a halt.
"It won't even take 0.5 seconds for me to take a gun out from this holster and shoot you through the head. I can quick-draw better than Alan Ladd. You don't have a chance."
If he was the type of person to take such a warning he would not be a bounty hunter though. Murai hollered "shut the hell up" as though to rouse himself and took out his handgun from underneath the pillow. However, at that time the match had already been decided.
In just a moment Tora took out his handgun, cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet he fired hit the other's gun. The gun snapped out of his hand from the impact and dropped to the floor.
" – Didn't I say it?" Facing the unarmed man Tora smiled. "I have confidence in my firing arm."
It was settled.
The man completely lost his fighting spirit and took the pose of surrender, raising both his hands. Tora walked up to him, took out one of his trade hand cuffs and bound the man's arms behind his back.
"…..You can't be," The caught man glimpsed at the gun belt wrapped around Tora's waist and made a sudden realization. "Are you the Two-Hand Gun Tiger?"
"Hey, hey, you serious?" Being called by his popular name Tora slipped out a wry smile. "So rumors about me have reached all the way to Nagoya, huh?"
"Your name is written as 'soul of a fierce tiger' and read as Torakichi – with a strange name like that there's no way I would forget that after hearing it once."
The moment he heard those words Tora's smiling face turned harsh cold.
"………What did you say?"
Tora asked once more.
With a intimidating, tone of voice with a trace of malice like a low pitched growl.
" – Who's name is strange now?"
Unknowingly Tora clenched his fists. Torakichi Nishino – speaking ill of this precious name he was given by his now deceased mother (she was a fan of Hanshin and was the ladies president) was something he could not forgive more than anything.
Since he sent kids of the same grade as him to the hospital for laughing at his name Tora (tiger) when he was an elementary schooler, he would not let anyone off for having a problem with his name. No matter how much shorter the man was, carrying the unconscious man required far more effort. I shouldn't have beat him up to unconsciousness, huh, Tora while reflecting on that carried Murai to his part time job.
Dodge City – it was a western bar quietly set up in a certain part of Shinjuku. Tora worked daily as an employee and as a bounty hunter here for part-time.
He passed through the swinging doors and stepped in while half dragging Murai inside. There were no guests in and it was completely deserted. Everyone must be out.
" – Ohh, Tora. Welcome back."
The owner Wyatt took notice of him and addressed him.
He seemed to have just had a smoke, asking him while blowing out white smoke from his mouth. "Where did you go?"
"I came back from catching this guy." Tora dropped Murai's body to the floor and pointed to him with his chin. "Put this guy in the jail."
"Who is this guy?"
"Look, that one." This time he pointed to the wall. At a corner on the bulletin board hung the man's wanted poster. "The corrupted bounty hunter one."
"Ahh, Murai, huh."
Wyatt confirmed the bounty's looks and frowned, "He's hurt pretty badly." Murai's eyes were swelled up, his nose crooked, and his whole face was soiled in blood.
"He struggled, so I gave him a few punches." Tora lied at once. He could not say that he completely lost it having been told his name was weird and beat him up one-sided.
"Next time avoid the face. Or else we can't compare him with the wanted poster."
"I'll contemplate it."
Tora nodded honestly while taking his reward money.
" – Hey, Tora."
Wyatt suddenly realized.
"Where's your bandana?"
Tora always wore a yellow bandana around his neck, but he did not wear it today.
"Ahh, that." He nodded and answered. "I threw it away."
"That sucks; you looked cool with it." Wyatt frowned in disappoint. "You looked like Steve McQueen of The Magnificent Seven."
"Well yesterday I was mistaken from someone of the Yellow Scarves or whatever and was cornered by an odd group."
Tora recalled the events of yesterday. When he was walking around the city of Ikebukuro on his way back to work he was suddenly cornered by a group of youngsters. 'Are you part of the Yellow Scarves?' One of them who drew close to him with a brazen attitude was apparently someone from a kind of color gang, the Blue Squares.
"I told them, 'I'm not part of the Yellow Scarves. I'm Torakichi Nishino,' but one of the kids made fun of my name – "
"That's enough." Wyatt interrupted Wyatt. "I can imagine the rest."
Just as he sent the one who had an issue with his name flying with a punch the rest of the group having felt their lives in danger scattered off in all directions. They seemed to become apparent that Tora was not part of the Yellow Scarves, but it was not certain that it would not happen again.
"It's bothersome to be picked on for a fight just for wearing a bandana, so I stopped wearing it."
Having explained the details while shrugging his shoulders, Wyatt nodded with "well it can't be helped if that's the case."
Tora did odd jobs in this bar in between bounty hunting. "What should I help you with?" When he asked, Wyatt put the cigarette back into his mouth and shook his head left to right.
"There isn't many guests, so you can go home already."
It was still the afternoon. Even if he went home now he would not do anything in particular. If so then I guess I should do another bounty then, Tora stared at the shop's bulletin board. "Who should I go for next?"
"Tora," Wyatt addressed him. "It's fine to try so hard for your family, but don't push yourself."
Wyatt was a worrywart. Tora slumped his shoulders and answered, "I know." He did not plan to push himself and overdo it. However, his younger brother's examinations were this year. When he could save up money it was better that he did.
Tora turned his gaze back to the board and carefully looked at the catalog of scoundrels. The first to catch his eye was the wanted poster of a mysterious person called the Black Rider. The bounty is ¥10, 000, 000. It was a tremendous amount.
"Ten hundred…." After counting the zeros Tora whispered under his breathe. "…..Ten million? Aren't the digits wrong?"
"No, it's right. Some big entertainment company put out the bounty on that guy." Wyatt had answered. "On top of not having a clue who the guy even is, the price is too huge, so no one here would even look at it."
"Naturally so."
Anyone should have suspicions if there was something behind that ten million bounty or not. For bounty hunting there were too many risks. And so moderate prices for a job are more in favor.
"Because of novices having started acting like bounty hunters it's a huge ruckus in Ikebukuro right now. It seems the guy riding the black motorbike is being attacked indiscriminately."
"Seems troublesome."
The photo of the Black Rider on the wanted poster was a full-face helmet. Since there was no face there was no help in finding him. He decided to pass on this one.
He moved his gaze to another wanted poster. This time was the 'Philosophical Murder Machine.' "That's quite the name." Tora murmured.
Wyatt made a comment. "That's a Russian hit-man. It seems he has come to Japan, but buddies of the guys he killed in the past put that bounty on him."
How do you find a killer without a face or a name? This is also a pass. Definitely a pass.
The wanted poster next to that one was the 'Killer Hollywood.' The price of the bounty was not that bad, but looking over the details Tora gave a sigh. "Characteristics: Monkey, half-fish man, a dinosaur-like face……So just what kind of face does he have?"
There's no decent wanted men, huh, as he was looking at the bulletin with an irritated attitude he found a brand new one up there.
"Company Employee Hit Man Shinta Kasaoka – Bounty ¥300,000."
"That one just came in." Wyatt said while lighting a new cigarette. "It seems that Kasaoka guy was a former company employee of Murder Inc."
"Murder Inc. That killer contracting company?" He had heard the rumors before.
"That's right. This man quit the company half a year ago and moved to another organization, but." He took out his cigarette and continued. "There's talk that they were involved in that case with one of the Awakusu Group's executive trainees' disappearance."
"The Awakusu Group?"
If I recall right, weren't they the Medei's group's subordinate organization? He guessed the details.
"So the Awakakusu Group went through the NPB and put a bounty on this man?"
In order to catch this man and have him tell him of the truth of the killing.
"That's right." Wyatt nodded.
Three hundred thousand was an appropriate amount. It was not something he could not reach. "I guess I'll go for him next." Tora whispered.
" – Wait, Tora."
However, Wyatt gave his disapproval.
"The opponent is a killer. Don't go after him alone."
"I'll be fine. I have this." Tora pointed to the Colt hanging on his waist.
"I'll acknowledge your skill. But your opponent may have comrades. These guys are nothing like the small fry you've been after up 'till now. If you plan to catch them, they will try to kill you mercilessly. If something were to happen to you, what will happen to the family you have left?"
For a moment the faces of his younger brothers came to his mind. "I won't do anything to make them sad."
"Making an opponent with a killer alone is an act of suicide. You should pair up with someone."
Just as Wyatt said there were plenty of times bounty hunters form combos and teams. It was because this industry was a job to catch the wanted men and hand them over to the organization. And they had to detain the outlaw until then. Taking in the labor into consideration for that, having more would be efficient and with less risks than alone.
But Tora did not feel up to pairing with someone.
"If I did that, then the portion of the pay will be cut in half." Tora slumped his shoulders. "Besides, who do you suggest I should pair up with at a time like this?"
"How about him?"
"Him?"
"My nephew -"
"Don't kid around." Tora cut off Wyatt's words.
Just recalling that man's face made him irritated.
"I'd rather die than team up with that gorilla guy."
And just around this time, the gorilla guy Rabito Westwood was having a cold sweat in front of the bride and groom. The hymnal 312 ended, and it was about time for the middle of the wedding ceremony.
"In sickness, and in health."
Having cited that, for a moment the movement of his lips stopped.
– Huh? What was the next line?
The next lines completely escaped him. He could not remember.
– ……..Well, whatever.
It was not like the people here were modest Christians. There were just western influenced Japanese people who were having a church wedding, so who cared for the Christian manners and sermons. There should be no one who would notice if he made a little mistake. Rabito continued the ceremony while telling himself that.
– Anything is fine. Ad-lib. Ad-lib it.
"And do you swear to love, respect, and cherish your husband even when he cheats on you, or when you get bored of him and call off talks off marriage?"
The faces of the bride and groom looked like they twitched a bit, but Rabito could care less.
Rabito started this job when he was walking around Shibuya thanks to a scout. It seemed playing the role of minister at a wedding for foreigners was popular these days.
Rabito's father was American, and his appearance showed the prominence of his lineage. He had a large build with a muscular body with distinct facial features. He had a long nose and blue eyes. His nationality was Japanese and he was also fluent in the language, but from anyone who looked at Rabito he was seen as American. And so his daily wages was thirty thousand yen by pretending to be a foreigner and holding wedding ceremonies in broken Japanese with a bible in one hand.
The point was not for the wages. It was because it seemed fun. And just for that reason Rabito took this role. Rabito's father was the president of a big American company, so his family was wealthy. He had no trouble concerning himself over money. His job as a fake minister was just a way to kill time.
Rabito's real job was as a bounty hunter. Though he was still an apprentice.
Today he had a job at a ceremony site in Ikebukuro. They had planned to have a real minister there, but on the appointed day he got food poisoning and Rabito was called up for it in an emergency and ended up taking his place.
It seems it was the wedding ceremony of a famous musician's daughter, so there were also famous people watching on the televisions among the invitees. If I'm right – isn't he that the minister of justice, Matsuda, or something like that? He had suffrage, but he was not too well informed on politics. He also did not have interest in politicians.
With the wedding ceremony safely (?) finished Rabito immediately went out into the city when he took his share for today's work from the staff. The large, 193 centimeter giant wearing a minister outfit stood out. But it was not so much for him to feel out of place in the city of Ikebukuro. There were plenty of people who wear gaudy outfits like bartender clothes, biker bang jackets, or weird cosplays, and it was not rare for a westerner like Rabito to be in this city with many foreigners. He often caught a glimpse of a black man pulling in guests for a sushi restaurant for one.
Just as he was passing in front of the gaming center Rabito suddenly stopped. He caught sight of a suspicious looking man looking around cautiously. The man's gaze was towards a young man and a young woman playing a crane game near the entrance of the facility. They were flirting – or more accurately the woman was clinging to the man.
The suspicious man sneaked up to the couple.
Rabito tilted his head wondering what he was planning to do. The next moment – the man's hand reached for the couple's bag left on the ground. He grabbed the handle of the two's belongings and stealthily dragged it over to himself. He stuffed it in his large bag, and then the man took off. The couple was engrossed in the game and did not take notice at all.
– It was luggage lifting.
"Ah!" Rabito pointed to the man and yelled.
He felt like he saw the man before.
– That face, it's the same as that guy's on the wanted poster!
"You there! Ikebukuro's luggage thief!"
There was no doubt. It was the bounty repeatedly stealing luggage in this neighborhood.
Having been pointed at by Rabito in a loud voice, the man was startled. In haste he dashed off, holding the belongings close.
"Ah, hey!" Rabito raised his voice. "Stop right there!"
Rabito immediately took out the bible he had put away in his garments. He took a large swing and threw it at him. The sharp edge of the thick book hit the man's head.
The luggage thief gave a pathetic whelp, "ow," at Rabito's cursed throw and fell on the spot.
"Don't you think you can run away from me!"
Rabito quickly got on top of the thief. Being pressed down on by a large body more than 190 centimeters tall had the man twisting his body in pain.
After struggling fiercely,
"Give up, fiend!"
The man readily lost consciousness when he gave a punch into his stomach.
In that period of time, he dug through the large bag the thief had. After looking through the contents of the wallets, he found an ID.
Reading the name written there aloud,
"…..Zenji, Banba?"
Who's that? Rabito racked his brain.
The ID photo was a different man. – So this bag is also stolen then?
So coincidentally on top of having been able to catch a bounty, he also helped someone out. When he handed the stolen bag back to the couple, the woman thanked him gratefully, "Thank you for giving back Seiji-san's bag!" Even though her belongings were stolen too for her to consider her boyfriend first must make her a pretty admirable woman. Rabito admired that to himself.
They had said they were students of Raira academy, but they were truly an interesting couple. Even though a dispute happened right in front of them they were unfazed by it. The recent high schoolers are pretty tough, huh, while surprised at that Rabito left Ikebukuro behind.
When he arrived at the western bar Dodge City in Shinjuku and carried the luggage thief inside,
"Welcome back, Rabi."
The owner of the bar greeted him while wiping down the glasses. His name was Wyatt. His father's younger brother – in other words Rabito's uncle.
"Uncle," Rabito handed over the wanted man he held under his arm to Wyatt. "I caught him. Ikebukuro's Luggage Thief."
"Ohh, nice. Good work."
"This here are the belongings he stole." He placed the traveling bag on top of the counter. "Return this to its owner."
"Alright. I'll have it sent to a police officer I know later."
After tossing the man into the jail in the center of the counter space, he received his payment from Wyatt. It was just thirty thousand yen. It wasloose change. Guess I'll have a drink with this, he decided and snatched a bottle lined up on the shelf.
"Hey, I'm going to take this."
He received a reproachful comment from Wyatt.
"It's fine. Here, I'll pay with this." Rabito put the money he just received onto the counter. He pitched his voice even lower and acted cool. "I don't need change."
"……Seriously." Wyatt sighed. "You're a damn cheeky kid. Which parent did you get that from?"
"I got this lovely trait of mine from either one."
"I know."
Giving a laugh, Rabito took a seat at the center table. After looking around the shop, "where's that guy?" he asked.
Usually the part-time man was always helping out Wyatt here, but today he did not see him. The man was a jerk of a bounty hunter who was two years older than him and acted like his superior. He would usually lunge at him for something, so he was glad for his absence.
"If you mean Tora he's out on a job."
"That's great. I can have my drink in quiet."
Rabito leaned back into his chair. He rested both his feet on top of the table. He skillfully removed the cork of the bottle with his teeth and chugged the whiskey down his throat.
Rabito watched the busy Wyatt while enjoying his drink after finishing a job. He was just about to remove one of the posters from the bulletin. It was the two hundred thousand bounty, the wanted poster of the 'Corrupted Bounty Hunter,' Masayuki Murai.
And that he was removing it meant –
" – Wait a second, uncle."
Rabito's eyes widened, and he sat up.
"It can't be; he was caught?"
"Yeah," Wyatt nodded. "Tora caught him today."
"…..You're kidding."
Rabito slammed the bottle on the table and grasped his head.
"Don't kid with me! I was going to do it!"
And to do that he had payed that informant in Shinjuku. And he was just about to find out his location.
At that moment, at a timing as though he planned it, he got a call from the informant. He pressed the accept call button and placed the device to his ear.
"Yeah, it's you, huh. You got back to me at a good time. About that request, can you cancel it? I no longer need that information, so repay me back. ………Eh? What? 'You already looked it up?' 'The price of cancellation is 100%?' Hey, wait a second; don't kid me. Give me back my-"
– And there the call dropped.
"Damn him, that informant……Hospitality won't do? And this is a business?"
He placed his cell phone back into his pocket while cursing to himself.
The wages for the information would not come back. However, he really did not care for the money. He could care less for that amount. However, the truth that the man he despised – Torakichi Nishino – had caused him to wastefully use money did not sit well with him. His anger was simmering deep inside him.
"…..That bastard, snatching away my prey." The odious man's face appeared in his mind, and Rabito bore his teeth. "I won't forgive this!"
While looking at his nephew like that,
"Really now…..Why is it you guys are always at each other's throats?"
Wyatt gave a shrug with an exasperated expression.
"Well, having a rival isn't that bad though."
"Haa? Rival? I'm rivals with him, you say?" It was inexcusable. Rabito immediately rejected it. "That's not it. He's just an enemy to me. A great, natural enemy."
He did not get along with Torakichi Nishino since the first time he met him. And there would never be a time he would get along with him. That was what Rabito believed. Besides, he did not feel like ever getting along with him. Everything about him was the complete opposite of him. That man was a hard-core Hanshin Tigers fan, and being a Yomiuri Giants fan he made an enemy of him. The typical anti-Giants Torakichi (crazed Tiger). They had a cats and dogs relationship – no, they had a rabbit and tiger relationship.
– Damn it, that guy pisses me off to no end.
As he was gulping down the whiskey while fuming, Rabito suddenly remembered.
Just previous Wyatt had said, 'If you mean Tora, he's out on a job.'
A job meaning a bounty hunting one then. In other words that man was chasing down one of the wanted men.
Rabito stood up from his chair and stared hard at the bulletin.
"…..Hey, uncle." He called out to Wyatt. "Which one is he looking for right now?"
"What do you plan to do after asking that?"
"I know without me saying it, right?" Rabito gave a viscous smile. "I'm going to catch him first."
Illustration provided by Soutenkyuu on Tumblr.
The Nippon Professional Bounty hunter Organization – alias NPB – was an organization administered by the American bounty hunting company, Westwood Company. They had offices in twelve places throughout the whole country of Japan, and they offered professional qualifications for their bounty hunters and managed their jobs; being able to capture villains informally was a main job for them.
In the case someone wanted to put up a bounty, if they contact the NPB they would make a wanted poster for them. After that, the NPB side arranged it as a bounty and offered the job to their bounty hunters. That was their structure. The NPB provided a 10 to 20 percent ratio for commissions of the bounty price.
In recent years with the proceedings of globalization crime had surged, and there were many cases the police could not manage. Being tied up, they had used the NPB inevitably. The bounty hunters in the NPB were all skilled people who had passed the organization's strict examinations. As such they had a deep trust from the police. Wyatt Westwood was the younger brother of the president of the Westwood company. He was an NPB personnel and the owner of the western bar in a certain part of Shinjuku, 'Dodge City.' He was American born, but he had been living in Japan for ten-odd years. He was also proficient in Japanese.
There was a swing door set up at the entrance of Dodge City and further inside was a setting of a Texas bar from the western pioneering age. At the four round tables brawny men were each passing the time doing as they pleased. There were also people arm wrestling, doing drinking contests, or indulging in poker. There were many who looked genuinely aggressive and rough around the edges. However, the guys were all good natured.
Beer caskets line the walls and above are the bounties of scoundrels posted in a row. The BGM inside the facility was of course a western soundtrack.
In the center of the bar there was a counter with no stools. And there Wyatt in his western style getup, with a vest over his shirt and a ten-gallon hat on his head, was working restlessly. After taking a whiskey from the inside of the bottle lined in front of a large mirror and pouring it into a glass in the clutter, he handed it over to his guest in exchange for coin.
" – Hey, sheriff."
At the center table a man playing a drinking game with his friends called out to Wyatt.
"How about having a drink yourself? Won't you come over here and have one?"
"I would like to about now," Wyatt gave back a wry smile. "But I still have work. I'll restrain myself."
The guest called Wyatt "sheriff." The shining star on his breast and the jail at the center of the his counter space was the reason why.
Here at Dodge City it was a place for bounty hunters to relax at as well as an office of the NPB. Wyatt's job at this bar reeked of men was to receive the person with the bounty as the head of the Shinjuku office of the NPB, pay the bounty hunters their reward, and serve alcohol to them as the owner of the bar when they have finished their job.
Wyatt got out from behind the counter. He put up the new wanted poster – "Company Employee Hit Man Shinta Kasaoka – ¥300,000" – that came in from the company onto an open space on the bulletin board wall.
On the right side of it is the "Corrupted Bounty Hunter Masayuki Murai – ¥120,000."
On the left side was "luggage thief Minoru Morita – ¥30,000."
– On the large bulletin space most of the bounty posters were overflowing.
Wyatt peeled off the caught bounty from there, rolled it up and threw it into the garbage bin. The professional bounty hunters the NPB had were all skilled. It was thanks to them that many of the scoundrels were tied in rope today as well.
That was right; there was certainly no one but skilled guys here – but there were two newcomers among them that bother Wyatt.
One was the "Double-Hand Gun Tiger," Torakichi Nishino.
The other was the "Minister with the Right Hand of the Devil," Rabito Westwood. Wyatt remembered the two novice bounty hunters were probably chasing wanted men somewhere in Tokyo right now and felt a headache coming on.
Torakichi Nishino strode down the back alleyway while humming a tune.
The song he was humming to was the theme song of a certain western film. It was a macaroni western about the skilled gunmen half-brothers, the self-proud man with superhuman strength Bambino and the slothful Trinity, and it was a novelty comedy production with a large brawl in the end regardless of it being a western film. To Tora, who loved the dual scenes with gunfights, considered it a heretic film, but he took a liking to this theme song.
After briefly fixing his black-streaked blond hair, Tora straightened his beige hat and hurried ahead. Each time he walked the spurs attached to the heels of his boots would click. On his off-white western shirt he had brown suspenders. He had a gun belt wrapped around his waist and two guns often used in western films, a revolver and the Colt SAA, hung from the holster. – All of this were his part-time work uniform.
When he proceeded further; the building he was targeting came into view. It was a ragged apartment building at a corner in west Shinjuku. It was in a easy to get in area, and the rent was reasonable. It was a suitable place for refuge for shady people.
And one room among them – room 103.
His target was living here.
Tora leaned down in front of the door and while humming the tune picked the lock. The skill he learned during his wild adolescent life was coming in handy right now. Opening the lock to a cheap apartment was no trouble for him at all. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
" – Wh-who are you!?"
As he stepped foot into the entrance a short man jumped out of the bed.
He stopped humming and asked him,
"You're Masayuki Murai, right?"
He checked his face. It was the same as the photo on the wanted poster. There was no doubt about it. This guy was the twelve hundred thousand bounty – the "Corrupted Bounty Hunter" Murai.
"Who knew there was a bounty hunter who conspired with the wanted man and deceivingly took the reward money out there." Tora said cynically while keeping his focus on him. "Though the hunter has become the hunted in this case."
This man was a professional bounty hunter employed under the NPB Nagoya office. However, after catching and handing over the wanted man and taking his reward, he had done the misdeed of helping the wanted man escape a few times and had become a wanted man himself for it.
As such Murai having disappeared from Nagoya had run all the way to Tokyo, but he could not escape from the NPB's network.
"Damn, a bounty hunter!"
Murai looked at Tora and tutted. He then immediately reached for underneath his pillow. He probably intended to take out a hidden handgun from there.
" – Stop right there."
When he addresses that with a stern voice the man's movements came to a halt.
"It won't even take 0.5 seconds for me to take a gun out from this holster and shoot you through the head. I can quick-draw better than Alan Ladd. You don't have a chance."
If he was the type of person to take such a warning he would not be a bounty hunter though. Murai hollered "shut the hell up" as though to rouse himself and took out his handgun from underneath the pillow. However, at that time the match had already been decided.
In just a moment Tora took out his handgun, cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. The bullet he fired hit the other's gun. The gun snapped out of his hand from the impact and dropped to the floor.
" – Didn't I say it?" Facing the unarmed man Tora smiled. "I have confidence in my firing arm."
It was settled.
The man completely lost his fighting spirit and took the pose of surrender, raising both his hands. Tora walked up to him, took out one of his trade hand cuffs and bound the man's arms behind his back.
"…..You can't be," The caught man glimpsed at the gun belt wrapped around Tora's waist and made a sudden realization. "Are you the Two-Hand Gun Tiger?"
"Hey, hey, you serious?" Being called by his popular name Tora slipped out a wry smile. "So rumors about me have reached all the way to Nagoya, huh?"
"Your name is written as 'soul of a fierce tiger' and read as Torakichi – with a strange name like that there's no way I would forget that after hearing it once."
The moment he heard those words Tora's smiling face turned harsh cold.
"………What did you say?"
Tora asked once more.
With a intimidating, tone of voice with a trace of malice like a low pitched growl.
" – Who's name is strange now?"
Unknowingly Tora clenched his fists. Torakichi Nishino – speaking ill of this precious name he was given by his now deceased mother (she was a fan of Hanshin and was the ladies president) was something he could not forgive more than anything.
Since he sent kids of the same grade as him to the hospital for laughing at his name Tora (tiger) when he was an elementary schooler, he would not let anyone off for having a problem with his name. No matter how much shorter the man was, carrying the unconscious man required far more effort. I shouldn't have beat him up to unconsciousness, huh, Tora while reflecting on that carried Murai to his part time job.
Dodge City – it was a western bar quietly set up in a certain part of Shinjuku. Tora worked daily as an employee and as a bounty hunter here for part-time.
He passed through the swinging doors and stepped in while half dragging Murai inside. There were no guests in and it was completely deserted. Everyone must be out.
" – Ohh, Tora. Welcome back."
The owner Wyatt took notice of him and addressed him.
He seemed to have just had a smoke, asking him while blowing out white smoke from his mouth. "Where did you go?"
"I came back from catching this guy." Tora dropped Murai's body to the floor and pointed to him with his chin. "Put this guy in the jail."
"Who is this guy?"
"Look, that one." This time he pointed to the wall. At a corner on the bulletin board hung the man's wanted poster. "The corrupted bounty hunter one."
"Ahh, Murai, huh."
Wyatt confirmed the bounty's looks and frowned, "He's hurt pretty badly." Murai's eyes were swelled up, his nose crooked, and his whole face was soiled in blood.
"He struggled, so I gave him a few punches." Tora lied at once. He could not say that he completely lost it having been told his name was weird and beat him up one-sided.
"Next time avoid the face. Or else we can't compare him with the wanted poster."
"I'll contemplate it."
Tora nodded honestly while taking his reward money.
" – Hey, Tora."
Wyatt suddenly realized.
"Where's your bandana?"
Tora always wore a yellow bandana around his neck, but he did not wear it today.
"Ahh, that." He nodded and answered. "I threw it away."
"That sucks; you looked cool with it." Wyatt frowned in disappoint. "You looked like Steve McQueen of The Magnificent Seven."
"Well yesterday I was mistaken from someone of the Yellow Scarves or whatever and was cornered by an odd group."
Tora recalled the events of yesterday. When he was walking around the city of Ikebukuro on his way back to work he was suddenly cornered by a group of youngsters. 'Are you part of the Yellow Scarves?' One of them who drew close to him with a brazen attitude was apparently someone from a kind of color gang, the Blue Squares.
"I told them, 'I'm not part of the Yellow Scarves. I'm Torakichi Nishino,' but one of the kids made fun of my name – "
"That's enough." Wyatt interrupted Wyatt. "I can imagine the rest."
Just as he sent the one who had an issue with his name flying with a punch the rest of the group having felt their lives in danger scattered off in all directions. They seemed to become apparent that Tora was not part of the Yellow Scarves, but it was not certain that it would not happen again.
"It's bothersome to be picked on for a fight just for wearing a bandana, so I stopped wearing it."
Having explained the details while shrugging his shoulders, Wyatt nodded with "well it can't be helped if that's the case."
Tora did odd jobs in this bar in between bounty hunting. "What should I help you with?" When he asked, Wyatt put the cigarette back into his mouth and shook his head left to right.
"There isn't many guests, so you can go home already."
It was still the afternoon. Even if he went home now he would not do anything in particular. If so then I guess I should do another bounty then, Tora stared at the shop's bulletin board. "Who should I go for next?"
"Tora," Wyatt addressed him. "It's fine to try so hard for your family, but don't push yourself."
Wyatt was a worrywart. Tora slumped his shoulders and answered, "I know." He did not plan to push himself and overdo it. However, his younger brother's examinations were this year. When he could save up money it was better that he did.
Tora turned his gaze back to the board and carefully looked at the catalog of scoundrels. The first to catch his eye was the wanted poster of a mysterious person called the Black Rider. The bounty is ¥10, 000, 000. It was a tremendous amount.
"Ten hundred…." After counting the zeros Tora whispered under his breathe. "…..Ten million? Aren't the digits wrong?"
"No, it's right. Some big entertainment company put out the bounty on that guy." Wyatt had answered. "On top of not having a clue who the guy even is, the price is too huge, so no one here would even look at it."
"Naturally so."
Anyone should have suspicions if there was something behind that ten million bounty or not. For bounty hunting there were too many risks. And so moderate prices for a job are more in favor.
"Because of novices having started acting like bounty hunters it's a huge ruckus in Ikebukuro right now. It seems the guy riding the black motorbike is being attacked indiscriminately."
"Seems troublesome."
The photo of the Black Rider on the wanted poster was a full-face helmet. Since there was no face there was no help in finding him. He decided to pass on this one.
He moved his gaze to another wanted poster. This time was the 'Philosophical Murder Machine.' "That's quite the name." Tora murmured.
Wyatt made a comment. "That's a Russian hit-man. It seems he has come to Japan, but buddies of the guys he killed in the past put that bounty on him."
How do you find a killer without a face or a name? This is also a pass. Definitely a pass.
The wanted poster next to that one was the 'Killer Hollywood.' The price of the bounty was not that bad, but looking over the details Tora gave a sigh. "Characteristics: Monkey, half-fish man, a dinosaur-like face……So just what kind of face does he have?"
There's no decent wanted men, huh, as he was looking at the bulletin with an irritated attitude he found a brand new one up there.
"Company Employee Hit Man Shinta Kasaoka – Bounty ¥300,000."
"That one just came in." Wyatt said while lighting a new cigarette. "It seems that Kasaoka guy was a former company employee of Murder Inc."
"Murder Inc. That killer contracting company?" He had heard the rumors before.
"That's right. This man quit the company half a year ago and moved to another organization, but." He took out his cigarette and continued. "There's talk that they were involved in that case with one of the Awakusu Group's executive trainees' disappearance."
"The Awakusu Group?"
If I recall right, weren't they the Medei's group's subordinate organization? He guessed the details.
"So the Awakakusu Group went through the NPB and put a bounty on this man?"
In order to catch this man and have him tell him of the truth of the killing.
"That's right." Wyatt nodded.
Three hundred thousand was an appropriate amount. It was not something he could not reach. "I guess I'll go for him next." Tora whispered.
" – Wait, Tora."
However, Wyatt gave his disapproval.
"The opponent is a killer. Don't go after him alone."
"I'll be fine. I have this." Tora pointed to the Colt hanging on his waist.
"I'll acknowledge your skill. But your opponent may have comrades. These guys are nothing like the small fry you've been after up 'till now. If you plan to catch them, they will try to kill you mercilessly. If something were to happen to you, what will happen to the family you have left?"
For a moment the faces of his younger brothers came to his mind. "I won't do anything to make them sad."
"Making an opponent with a killer alone is an act of suicide. You should pair up with someone."
Just as Wyatt said there were plenty of times bounty hunters form combos and teams. It was because this industry was a job to catch the wanted men and hand them over to the organization. And they had to detain the outlaw until then. Taking in the labor into consideration for that, having more would be efficient and with less risks than alone.
But Tora did not feel up to pairing with someone.
"If I did that, then the portion of the pay will be cut in half." Tora slumped his shoulders. "Besides, who do you suggest I should pair up with at a time like this?"
"How about him?"
"Him?"
"My nephew -"
"Don't kid around." Tora cut off Wyatt's words.
Just recalling that man's face made him irritated.
"I'd rather die than team up with that gorilla guy."
And just around this time, the gorilla guy Rabito Westwood was having a cold sweat in front of the bride and groom. The hymnal 312 ended, and it was about time for the middle of the wedding ceremony.
"In sickness, and in health."
Having cited that, for a moment the movement of his lips stopped.
– Huh? What was the next line?
The next lines completely escaped him. He could not remember.
– ……..Well, whatever.
It was not like the people here were modest Christians. There were just western influenced Japanese people who were having a church wedding, so who cared for the Christian manners and sermons. There should be no one who would notice if he made a little mistake. Rabito continued the ceremony while telling himself that.
– Anything is fine. Ad-lib. Ad-lib it.
"And do you swear to love, respect, and cherish your husband even when he cheats on you, or when you get bored of him and call off talks off marriage?"
The faces of the bride and groom looked like they twitched a bit, but Rabito could care less.
Rabito started this job when he was walking around Shibuya thanks to a scout. It seemed playing the role of minister at a wedding for foreigners was popular these days.
Rabito's father was American, and his appearance showed the prominence of his lineage. He had a large build with a muscular body with distinct facial features. He had a long nose and blue eyes. His nationality was Japanese and he was also fluent in the language, but from anyone who looked at Rabito he was seen as American. And so his daily wages was thirty thousand yen by pretending to be a foreigner and holding wedding ceremonies in broken Japanese with a bible in one hand.
The point was not for the wages. It was because it seemed fun. And just for that reason Rabito took this role. Rabito's father was the president of a big American company, so his family was wealthy. He had no trouble concerning himself over money. His job as a fake minister was just a way to kill time.
Rabito's real job was as a bounty hunter. Though he was still an apprentice.
Today he had a job at a ceremony site in Ikebukuro. They had planned to have a real minister there, but on the appointed day he got food poisoning and Rabito was called up for it in an emergency and ended up taking his place.
It seems it was the wedding ceremony of a famous musician's daughter, so there were also famous people watching on the televisions among the invitees. If I'm right – isn't he that the minister of justice, Matsuda, or something like that? He had suffrage, but he was not too well informed on politics. He also did not have interest in politicians.
With the wedding ceremony safely (?) finished Rabito immediately went out into the city when he took his share for today's work from the staff. The large, 193 centimeter giant wearing a minister outfit stood out. But it was not so much for him to feel out of place in the city of Ikebukuro. There were plenty of people who wear gaudy outfits like bartender clothes, biker bang jackets, or weird cosplays, and it was not rare for a westerner like Rabito to be in this city with many foreigners. He often caught a glimpse of a black man pulling in guests for a sushi restaurant for one.
Just as he was passing in front of the gaming center Rabito suddenly stopped. He caught sight of a suspicious looking man looking around cautiously. The man's gaze was towards a young man and a young woman playing a crane game near the entrance of the facility. They were flirting – or more accurately the woman was clinging to the man.
The suspicious man sneaked up to the couple.
Rabito tilted his head wondering what he was planning to do. The next moment – the man's hand reached for the couple's bag left on the ground. He grabbed the handle of the two's belongings and stealthily dragged it over to himself. He stuffed it in his large bag, and then the man took off. The couple was engrossed in the game and did not take notice at all.
– It was luggage lifting.
"Ah!" Rabito pointed to the man and yelled.
He felt like he saw the man before.
– That face, it's the same as that guy's on the wanted poster!
"You there! Ikebukuro's luggage thief!"
There was no doubt. It was the bounty repeatedly stealing luggage in this neighborhood.
Having been pointed at by Rabito in a loud voice, the man was startled. In haste he dashed off, holding the belongings close.
"Ah, hey!" Rabito raised his voice. "Stop right there!"
Rabito immediately took out the bible he had put away in his garments. He took a large swing and threw it at him. The sharp edge of the thick book hit the man's head.
The luggage thief gave a pathetic whelp, "ow," at Rabito's cursed throw and fell on the spot.
"Don't you think you can run away from me!"
Rabito quickly got on top of the thief. Being pressed down on by a large body more than 190 centimeters tall had the man twisting his body in pain.
After struggling fiercely,
"Give up, fiend!"
The man readily lost consciousness when he gave a punch into his stomach.
In that period of time, he dug through the large bag the thief had. After looking through the contents of the wallets, he found an ID.
Reading the name written there aloud,
"…..Zenji, Banba?"
Who's that? Rabito racked his brain.
The ID photo was a different man. – So this bag is also stolen then?
So coincidentally on top of having been able to catch a bounty, he also helped someone out. When he handed the stolen bag back to the couple, the woman thanked him gratefully, "Thank you for giving back Seiji-san's bag!" Even though her belongings were stolen too for her to consider her boyfriend first must make her a pretty admirable woman. Rabito admired that to himself.
They had said they were students of Raira academy, but they were truly an interesting couple. Even though a dispute happened right in front of them they were unfazed by it. The recent high schoolers are pretty tough, huh, while surprised at that Rabito left Ikebukuro behind.
When he arrived at the western bar Dodge City in Shinjuku and carried the luggage thief inside,
"Welcome back, Rabi."
The owner of the bar greeted him while wiping down the glasses. His name was Wyatt. His father's younger brother – in other words Rabito's uncle.
"Uncle," Rabito handed over the wanted man he held under his arm to Wyatt. "I caught him. Ikebukuro's Luggage Thief."
"Ohh, nice. Good work."
"This here are the belongings he stole." He placed the traveling bag on top of the counter. "Return this to its owner."
"Alright. I'll have it sent to a police officer I know later."
After tossing the man into the jail in the center of the counter space, he received his payment from Wyatt. It was just thirty thousand yen. It wasloose change. Guess I'll have a drink with this, he decided and snatched a bottle lined up on the shelf.
"Hey, I'm going to take this."
He received a reproachful comment from Wyatt.
"It's fine. Here, I'll pay with this." Rabito put the money he just received onto the counter. He pitched his voice even lower and acted cool. "I don't need change."
"……Seriously." Wyatt sighed. "You're a damn cheeky kid. Which parent did you get that from?"
"I got this lovely trait of mine from either one."
"I know."
Giving a laugh, Rabito took a seat at the center table. After looking around the shop, "where's that guy?" he asked.
Usually the part-time man was always helping out Wyatt here, but today he did not see him. The man was a jerk of a bounty hunter who was two years older than him and acted like his superior. He would usually lunge at him for something, so he was glad for his absence.
"If you mean Tora he's out on a job."
"That's great. I can have my drink in quiet."
Rabito leaned back into his chair. He rested both his feet on top of the table. He skillfully removed the cork of the bottle with his teeth and chugged the whiskey down his throat.
Rabito watched the busy Wyatt while enjoying his drink after finishing a job. He was just about to remove one of the posters from the bulletin. It was the two hundred thousand bounty, the wanted poster of the 'Corrupted Bounty Hunter,' Masayuki Murai.
And that he was removing it meant –
" – Wait a second, uncle."
Rabito's eyes widened, and he sat up.
"It can't be; he was caught?"
"Yeah," Wyatt nodded. "Tora caught him today."
"…..You're kidding."
Rabito slammed the bottle on the table and grasped his head.
"Don't kid with me! I was going to do it!"
And to do that he had payed that informant in Shinjuku. And he was just about to find out his location.
At that moment, at a timing as though he planned it, he got a call from the informant. He pressed the accept call button and placed the device to his ear.
"Yeah, it's you, huh. You got back to me at a good time. About that request, can you cancel it? I no longer need that information, so repay me back. ………Eh? What? 'You already looked it up?' 'The price of cancellation is 100%?' Hey, wait a second; don't kid me. Give me back my-"
– And there the call dropped.
"Damn him, that informant……Hospitality won't do? And this is a business?"
He placed his cell phone back into his pocket while cursing to himself.
The wages for the information would not come back. However, he really did not care for the money. He could care less for that amount. However, the truth that the man he despised – Torakichi Nishino – had caused him to wastefully use money did not sit well with him. His anger was simmering deep inside him.
"…..That bastard, snatching away my prey." The odious man's face appeared in his mind, and Rabito bore his teeth. "I won't forgive this!"
While looking at his nephew like that,
"Really now…..Why is it you guys are always at each other's throats?"
Wyatt gave a shrug with an exasperated expression.
"Well, having a rival isn't that bad though."
"Haa? Rival? I'm rivals with him, you say?" It was inexcusable. Rabito immediately rejected it. "That's not it. He's just an enemy to me. A great, natural enemy."
He did not get along with Torakichi Nishino since the first time he met him. And there would never be a time he would get along with him. That was what Rabito believed. Besides, he did not feel like ever getting along with him. Everything about him was the complete opposite of him. That man was a hard-core Hanshin Tigers fan, and being a Yomiuri Giants fan he made an enemy of him. The typical anti-Giants Torakichi (crazed Tiger). They had a cats and dogs relationship – no, they had a rabbit and tiger relationship.
– Damn it, that guy pisses me off to no end.
As he was gulping down the whiskey while fuming, Rabito suddenly remembered.
Just previous Wyatt had said, 'If you mean Tora, he's out on a job.'
A job meaning a bounty hunting one then. In other words that man was chasing down one of the wanted men.
Rabito stood up from his chair and stared hard at the bulletin.
"…..Hey, uncle." He called out to Wyatt. "Which one is he looking for right now?"
"What do you plan to do after asking that?"
"I know without me saying it, right?" Rabito gave a viscous smile. "I'm going to catch him first."
Illustration provided by Soutenkyuu on Tumblr.
