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NO.6 | Asano Atsuko
Volume 3
No. 6
A novel by Asano Atsuko
VOLUME 3
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NO.6 | Asano Atsuko
Volume 3
Whatliesbeyondthewall…
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NO.6 | Asano Atsuko
Volume 3
Chapter 1 - The Beautiful Ones...
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
-
Macbeth
Act I Scene VII
The sky was blue and bright. The sun's rays, approaching noon, were gentle and warm. It
was a temperate afternoon that made the frigidness of a few days ago seem like a dream.
Shion lifted his face, and narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the azure sky.
He thought it was beautiful.
The sky was beautiful. The blinding whiteness of the crumbled ruin as it reflected the
sunlight was beautiful. The odd bubble that floated up as if by magic from the soapsuds was
beautiful. The sheen on the fur of a freshly-washed dog was beautiful.
All the little things that surrounded him were beautiful. A lone bubble floated up again
and drifted on the gentle breeze.
"Hey, stop slacking off," Inukashi's voice called over to him. "There are still tons of dogs
left. Space out every other minute like that, and the sun's gonna set before you're even halfway
through."
As if in agreement with Inukashi's reprimand, a large white dog covered in suds gave a
low growl.
"Oops, sorry."
Shion stuck his hands back into the suds and washed the dog thoroughly with his
fingertips. The dog evidently found it very pleasing, for its eyes were closed and its mouth lolled
half-open. Today was only Shion's second time at his dog-washing job, but already he had
learned that dogs had many different facial expressions. They also varied in personality and
tendency: some were lazy, others diligent; some high-strung, others laid-back; they could be
mild, impatient, rambunctiousall of this was new to him.
The white dog that he was washing now was a female that was quite old. It was gentle and
intelligent, and reminded him of the wise old woman that often appeared in tales.
"Shion, you're spending way too much time on each dog. How long is it taking you to
wash just one?" Inukashi, with his long hair tied at the back and soapsuds on his nose, pulled a
face at him.
"You lend these dogs out to serve as blankets, don't you?" Shion answered. "They need to
be cleaned properly, then."
"A quick wash is good enough. The customers are all like dirty strays anyway, the
bastards."
In a building mostly reduced to rubble, there was a part that still somewhat retained a
semblance of the hotel that it used to be. Inukashi lent space there as overnight accommodation
for those who had nowhere to stay. He lent out dogs in preparation for the coming winter.
Boarders spent the night buried amongst several dogs, and by doing so were able to avoid
freezing to death. Shion had been hired to wash these dogs.
"Inukashi, I don't think that's a nice thing to say about your customers."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"It's not good to call your customers bastards, or call them dirty."
Inukashi rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, and gave a small sneeze.
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NO.6 | Asano Atsuko
Volume 3
"Are you my Mum or what, Shion?"
"No. I've been hired by you to wash your dogs."
"Then that makes me the employer and you the employee. And your job is to shut up and
do what you're told."
Inukashi yanked the white dog out of Shion's hands, and began vigorously rinsing the dog
by dumping water over it, which he had drawn from the stream.
At the back of the ruins, there ran a small, clear river. Not long after Shion had escaped
from No. 6 to this West Block, he had nearly died from a parasite wasp that had planted itself in
his body. Although he was unconscious most of the time from severe pain and high fever, he
still remembered clearly the taste of the cold, delicious water that had slid down his throat
numerous times.
When he had thanked Nezumi for giving him water and treating him, he had gotten a
gruff answer that there was a decent spring nearby. Perhaps this stream originated from that
spring.
"Inukashi, don't do that. All the soap is getting into the river." Shion hastily restrained
Inukashi's hands. Soapsuds bobbed on the stream as they drifted away from them.
"So what?"
"Everyone drinks from this stream, don't they?"
"Well, yeah, of course. We don't have any fancy facilities that give you sanitized and
temperature-controlled water at the push of a button. Everyone draws water directly from the
river or spring."
"Then you can't get it dirty. It's bad for the people downstream."
Inukashi stared into Shion's face for a brief moment.
"And why should I care about the people downstream?"
"Well, I mean..." Shion faltered. "If you know that the people downstream are going to be
drinking from here, you wouldn't want to make it dirty for them. That's normal, right?"
"Normal? By whose standards are we talking about, Shion? This is the West Block. You
wouldn't be able to survive here if you went around putting everyone else first."
"Yeah, but there's no need to go out of the way to make it dirty," Shion protested. "We can
do what we did yesterday, and put water in steel drums and wash the dogs there."
"Yesterday we only had small dogs. FYI, Shion, we were supposed to get through all the
dogs yesterday. You taking your sweet time is costing us. You understand that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Not only are you horribly slow, the dogs we're washing today are all big. And that's not
itwait for it
there are shitloads of them
. Are you getting the picture? If we drew a bath each
and every single time, it would take forever."
Then Inukashi stopped, and shrugged slightly.
"But if you wanna draw water from the river on your own, I'm not gonna get in your
way."
"Fine. I'll do it."
"It's heavy labour, man."
"I know."
"By the way, I'm only paying you to wash the dogs. Carrying the water is something
you're doing entirely on your own."
"I don't mind."
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NO.6 | Asano Atsuko
Volume 3
"Well then, get cracking. I'm gonna have lunch."
The white dog shook itself vigorously, and water droplets flew in all directions. Shion
grabbed the pail that Inukashi had tossed at him, and drew a pailful of water from the river.
"Shion," Inukashi said abruptly.
"Hm?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why shouldn't I badmouth my customers? Why do I have to bother about the people
downstream?"
Shion looked up into Inukashi's tan face as he sat perched atop a pile of rubble.
"Because we're the same."
"Same?"
"They're the same humans as us. So”
Inukashi suddenly threw his head back and laughed. His voice rang out and was sucked
into the bright blue sky. Several dogs began barking in agitation.
"Same humans, huh? Ha ha, you nearly bowled me over. I've never heard those words
before in my life. Shion, is that honestly what you think?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?" Shion said stoutly.
Inukashi leapt down from the rubble and drew up to him. He had a small frame, and only
reached up to around Shion's shoulders in height. His thin arms and legs protruded from his
black clothes, and his skin was the shade of tanned leather.
"So my filthy customers, and the brats that come here to draw water are the same humans
as us?"
"Yeah."
"Are you and I the same humans?"
"Yeah."
Inukashi lifted his arm and extended it upwards to the noon sun above.
"Are the people of No. 6 the same humans as us?"
Shion nodded slowly, and answered.
"Yeah."
Inukashi's smooth, tan skin glowed in the sunlight, and his long bangs cast a shadow over
his forehead and eyes. Under its veil, the same tan-brown eyes blinked a few times at him.
"Shion, you're gonna die."
"Huh?"
"Is your head up in the clouds or something? If you keep believing in that fantasy of yours,
you'll never survive here."
"Nezumi tells me the same thing," Shion said. "That I've got my head up in the clouds."
"The clouds wouldn't be high enough, actually. Your head must be in space, or something.
I don't know what space is supposed to be like, but it's really high up, right? And sometimes
you burn up, just like that, before you even get there."
"I've never been to space, but yeah, I guess it is really high up."
Inukashi climbed nimbly up the ruins, and sat down with the blue sky at his back. He
dangled his legs over the edge, and spoke quietly as if to himself.
"I wonder why Nezumi even puts up with you. He hates people that are all talk, and
unrealistic."
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