Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume5 Chapter 1 (section)

=== Part 3 ===


"...........ma.........zuma............."

What dragged him out from his pleasant slumber was an even more pleasant soprano call and the feeling of warm hands that tenderly shook his body.

He was instantly woken up but he pretended to be asleep, curling up underneath the blanket.

It was for the warmth of the bed he yearned for but much more so for the childish thought ''I want her to look after me more''. 

"Geez......wake up.......already!....wake........up..........!"

By the strength of her tone and the energy with which she shook his body she demanded him to get out of the bed. But, he covered himself in the blanket like a bag-worm and continued refusing to get up.

" - Uuuu, five more minutes........."

"Quit it already!"

Getting tired of those sloven words, she finaly took a firm step. She forcefully tore off the blanket and exposed his body, indulging in indolence to the cold morning air.

Now, he made his body even smaller. It was so pitiful it gave the impression of some kind of bug. 

"Wake up, Kazuma! I won't feed you!"

Finally accepting it, he - Kannagi Kazuma stretched his curled up body. But, not waking up just yet, he buried his face in the pillow and groaned.

"I'm still sleepy........"

"I don't care. Oversleeping is no excuse for staying up late.", she declared point-blank.

"Change your clothes and get down in five minutes. If you don't make it in tine, you don't get to eat."

".....please forgive me."

With a backward glance at Kazuma, getting up sluggishly, she moved energetically and left through the door.

But, opening the door immediately after closing it, she peeked inside the room.

"Aah, I forgot."

" - what?"

Looking at Kazuma who turned around puzzled, she said:

"Good morning, Kazuma."

A full bloom smiling face first thing in the morning. Looking fondly at that radiance, Kazuma responded with a smile.

"Good morning, Tsoi Rin."

This is how Kazuma's mornings always started.

"Well then."

Standing up, he stretched once profoundly.

He didn't have time to waste. Tsoi Rin didn't lie. If he won't rush, he will really miss breakfast.

In addition to that, today he has a hard job to do. The contents of his stomach are a matter of life and death. 

He must eat the breakfast made by Tsoi Rin and restore his energy in both mind and body -

"Uuryaa!"

Raising an exaggerated yell, he took off his pajamas. And then pulled out from the wardrobe the clothes for today.

"Hyo, cold -"

With a meaningless expression, at the time he put on his shirt, Kazuma looked at that thing placed above the dresser.

Adorned like an ornament, the cash card bent in two.

"........."

Contrasting with such a lively facial expression, etching a cynical smile on his lips, Kazuma bowed to a broken card.

"Good morning to you, mother. Thank you, today I am healthy also."

Looking at the card, his eyes cast a gloomy light. What they saw was the smiling face of the mother who threw him away -

"Waah, achoo!"

Kazuma let out a miserable shriek when the draft brushed his bare back. Of course, the gloomy, rough atmosphere collapsed immediately.

"Shit, you really don't have time for the serious stuff now. Just eat your breakfast and do your manual labor."

Changing clothes as fast as possible, Kazuma rushed out of the room. For the sake of filling himself with the home cooking of the girl he loved, much more valuable than his worthless past.





It's evening - just like Kazuma declared this morning, he was seriously working hard.

Inside a gloomy warehouse, resounding with gunshots.

"Why!? For Christ's sake!"

With a stupid appearance embracing with one hand a cat that seemed important, Kazuma abused his unreasonable fate that had something against him.

Of course, the situation won't get better just by doing that. Trying to find a chance to somehow run away he peeked from behind the container concealing his body. But -

Just then, continuous shots aimed at him. 

"Wahh!"

Drawing back his face in a rush, he left that container like a cockroach. Soothing his violent heart, he took a deep breath, two, three -

"Shit, why is this happening to me!?"

But even so, unable to accept the present situation, he started complaining uselessly.

"When I'm finally free from that abnormal world with Majutsushi, with Youma, with evil spirits, this time is a gun battle!? What the fuck have I done?"

While complaining, Kazuma took out a knife from his breast pocket. Running up to the container soundlessly he jumped more than ten meters. 

Faster than the man who noticed him and pointed his gun this way, he threw his knife.

"Guah!?"

Without changing its aim, the knife ran through the back of the man's right hand. The gun fell down from the hand that lost its power. 

"Urya!"

With nothing more but the force of the jump, Kazuma landed on his feet on top of the man. Conspicuously, from under his feet the feel of the broken ribs was transmitted. 

"Finally, it's settled."

Deciding on a pose on top of the man spitting out blood, Kazuma observed the man's face once more. Holding down with all his strength the cat fretting inside his arm, he said:

"So - who the heck is this guy?"




"Thank you for your efforts!"

Entering the shop, a man with an evil smile and a voice full of ridicule greeted Kazuma.

Kazuma grimaced, replying with a bitter voice.

"..........As expected, you have sharp ears."

Ahead his line of sigh - inside the shop, one old man was sitting down. 

The owner of the Tianshui Temple, an antique store standing side by side with the Kowloon's shopping district, Huang Ying Long.

But very few people knew that this person who apparently seemed like a good natured old man was as a matter of fact known for the most prominent information shop in Hong Kong.

But Kazuma was - unwillingly - one of those people.

To make matters worse, because he needed a job but couldn't show his face here and there his debt was one-sided piling up and he was already unable to act on an equal basis with him. 

He explained his lack of honorific language as not knowing the language well enough but for Kazuma it was a minimal and childish opposition.

On the other side, ignoring Kazuma's infantile opposition, Huang continued grinning broadly.

"At any rate, you're very fond of conflict, huh? Why is it that just by trying to catch a run-away pet it results in a shoot-out? Do you yearn for to become a hard-boiled detective like in the novels?"

".........shut up.", spat out Kazuma unpleasantly.

"This time it wasn't my fault. I don't know who they confused me with but the other side started shooting all of a sudden. Besides, this is just the third time it turned into a fight. That's not enough to call me a trouble maker -"

"Hey, this is just the second week you work."

At the calm, precise retort Kazuma became silent.

By the way, Kazuma's current occupation is what's commonly referred to as a Jack of all trades. It also resembled pretty well a Japanese private detective.

Of course, he was only learning now but still bragging about the job itself.

- But now, that conceit was smashed into very small pieces.

"I'm leaving."

"Just wait."

Enjoyed from the bottom of his heart, Huang called after Kazuma who had simply turned around and started walking.

"We're past the time for jokes. I'll get straight to the point."

"Keep it short."

"Humph, then I'll finish with one sentence - Don't lose your head, brat."

In that instant, the atmosphere around Huang completely changed. 

That cynical face that aged well turned to that of a long military service soldier living through Honk Kong's underground society.

"Wha.......what is going on, suddenly?"

"Is it fun tormenting small-time hoodlums?", asked Huang coldly of Kazuma who pretended to be tough although he was overpowered.

" Wha -"

"It must be fun. If your opponent is only a human being even you can display your might. But, do you think you can live a long life in this manner? You are not one of those ''<<chosen people>>'' after all."

Huang's words were hinting at knowing Kazuma's lineage and his past. 

Exposed to the scars of the past he was averting his eyes from as much as possible, Kazuma was enraged.

"I know that!"

" - Really?"

Not hesitating in front of that gaze even mixed with killing intent, Huang asked again, matter-of-fact.

"You think this way, right? ''"Apart from being a Jutsushi, I am a superior person. If it's a battle without Majutsu, I am the strongest"'' or something."

"......tch!"

Accurately having been seen through the thought he entertained again and again, Kazuma sharply caught his breath. As for Huang, reading that response, he made a small snort not showing surprise.

".......what, are you trying to say?"

"I alredy did. It was ''Don't lose your head, brat''. You're not a Jutsushi, you're not a soldier, you are nothing but a brat whose strong point is being good at fighting. Don't you ever try to look cool in front of someone holding a gun. For me it doesn't matter but if you die Tsoi Rin will be sad."

Kazuma was caving in so much abuse but the moment he heard the last few words, he stood up straight.

His face pouting like a child turned to that of an adult - a man who becomes an adult.

"I know. I will at least protect Tsoi Rin."

"Ha, protect, you say? Fine words when you're the one who is one-sided protected."

But Huang lightly laughed even at those words full of determination.

"If not for that girl, you would be getting dead-drunk in self pity even now. No, you would have drunk away the money you received from your parents and turned into a beggar, huh?"

"Guuh -"

Having the time when he fell to the very bottom discussed, Kazuma got red in the face.

Even more, Huang thrust his finger at him with a snap.

"Listen brat, I don't have too much expectation from you. You are an ordinary person. No matter how you struggle, you won't become a hero. Throw away the hopes beyond your means, think only how to make Tsoi Rin happy and live with your feet on the ground."

"..........I understand."

Although he was pouting with dissatisfaction, Kazuma agreed.

It wasn't a very lenient evaluation but it was the truth.

Because he didn't have the attributes of a hero, because he wasn't chosen, for this reason, he was here right now. 

"If you understand that's fine. You can go now."

".........yeah."

As if driven away by Huang's cruel wave of hand, drudgingly Kazuma took the road home.

Opening the door, Kazuma was wrapped up in the warm atmosphere and miscellaneous clatter.

Inside the store all seats were already occupied and the festive uproar made by the lively people cured a day's worth of fatigue.

His sweetheart was in the center of it. Both her hands fully loaded with trays of alcohol and cookery, she quickly made her way through the crowd of people as if swimming, waiting on tables.

Presuming the cold wind the arrival of a customer, she turned around.

"Ji wei hu......."

Those words of warm reception were interrupted in the middle. The face that continued smiling changed to something even more cute and shining.

"Welcome home, Kazuma."

"I'm home, Tsoi Rin."

Kazuma also responded with a full face smile to his beloved lover. When he stepped up to her words of banter and whistles down-poured from the surroundings.

But all of them were warm, without any ill will. Everyone was blessing from the bottom of their heart the young pair of lovers. 

"You were late, huh?"

"Hmm - Aah, just a little."

Frankly - Because he got caught up in the moment and jumped about too much, he ended up getting sermons so Kazuma was vaguely evasive. 

And since he was already deceiving her and her hands were fully occupied Kazuma took the opportunity and embraced Tsoi Rin's body closely.

[[File:Kaze no Stigma vol 05 055.jpg|thumb|]]

But, she was suddenly snatched from the side.

"Kyaah!?" 

Embraced by a drunken person, Tsoi Rin let out a small shriek. 

But then, this was an everyday occurrence, one she wouldn't even spill a drop of alcohol over from the glasses placed on the tray.

"Tsoi Rin ～ dump that guy already, I will -"

His declaration not allowed until the end, Kazuma kicked the man's face. Less than a kick he just pushed him with the bottom of his shoe but even so the man fall flat, spouting a nose bleed.

"Hey, don't put your hands on someone's woman!"

Looking down on the senseless man, Kazuma raised his middle finger. But, immediately after, he receive a crushing blow to the back of his head and also feel to the ground.

"Geez, Kazuma! What are you doing to the customer!?"

Skillfully finishing serving the table, Tsoi Rin shouted with the empty trays raised overhead. From the way she held it, the blow wasn't with the back of the tray but with its edge.

"......but it's fine to be violent towards me?"

"It's fine, because it's Kazuma."

A reply without hesitation. At a loss for words, Kazuma and the man he just kicked and fell down looked at each other and exchanged a wry smile.

"Hey, stand up already. It's very busy so help me." 

"Well, I just came home from work."

"So what? I'm working all day long. Don't tell me, you plan to drink without a care while looking at me working?"

"I am sorry. I'll help you immediately."

Having no confidence of winning the verbal war, Kazuma surrendered on the spot.

Hecklers flew out from everywhere at that appearance without a shred of dignity sadly facing the kitchen.

"Show her who's the man, Kazuma!"

"How noisy! You don't even have a woman to order you around!"

Both the jeering man and the retorting Kazuma laughed together from the bottom of their hearts.

For Kazuma this place was his second home but the first one who made his heart feel at ease.

That joy he received, he wouldn't exchange it for anything else.

''"Throw away the hopes beyond your means and live with your feet on the ground."''

He remembered Huang's cool-headed words.

He understood now. Huang too, was concerned about him. If not, why would he cordially come in contact with a Japanese wanderer?

Turning her head over her shoulder, while bending her head slightly to the side marveling, Tsoi Rin smiled at him tenderly.

Even the customers a bit flinty but good people overall, were watching over them with warmth.

''It's fine.''

Surrounded by genuine smiles, Kazuma was convinced from the bottom of his heart.

I don't need any kind of special power.

It doesn't matter that I wasn't chosen.

Ordinary. Commonplace. But very happy, with his feet on the ground.

''"I can live here."''



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