Chapter 3 – Zero
Main Story 1, Chapter 1, Part 2
Novel Title: 獣はかくして交わる (The Beasts Intertwine This Way)
Author：沙野 風結子 (Fuyuko Sano)
Illustrator：小山田 あみ (Oyamada Ami)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 鹿倉 陣也 (Kagura Jinya -MC) & ゼロ (Zero -ML)
*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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He took a fresh look at the man.
If he claimed to be an ‘outlaw-type freelance writer’, he did exude that sort of vibe.
“I’m pretty relentless, so I’m used to rough spots.”
The man clicked his tongue and continued.
“I figured I’d save a detective from Organized Crime and earn some favours to get information. What a waste of effort―――lugged you around and everything.”
Kagura found himself involuntarily captivated by the sight of this brazen man bantering so casually.
There was something about him, something intensely compelling.
It was a raw, masculine charm that undoubtedly translated into sexual attraction for the opposite sex.
The man suddenly narrowed his eyes.
Their gazes locked deeply, and Kagura felt a shiver run down his neck.
Before the sensation could spread, he firmly pushed the man’s chest with his fist. This time, the man easily withdrew and stood up.
“Well, fine. For now, let’s call it even,” he said, turning his back to leave.
Kagura called out impulsively to the man as he was about to walk away.
“At least tell me your name.”
“You’re awfully demanding, aren’t you?” The man stopped and looked up at the sky over the riverbank.
A faint crescent moon scraped across the cloudy night sky.
“Zero.”
“Zero?”
“Zero, like in one-two-three-zero.”
With a casual tone, he said it as if it didn’t matter, then kicked up the bank and walked away.
―――Zero, huh.
From that odd pause, Kagura figured it wasn’t even a pen name he used as a writer but just something he made up.
Still, Kagura held on to that number ‘Zero’ as a symbol for the man.
***
Ever since the Organized Crime Exclusion Ordinance―――commonly known as the ‘Anti-Gang Ordinance’ (Bōhaku Ordinance)―――started being enforced across prefectures, yakuza groups found themselves stripped of power.
Their structure as an organisation allowed the police to keep tabs on their members, monitoring their activities closely and arresting them at the slightest provocation.
Because of this, yakuza began to limit their movements, seeking new ways to survive.
Though semi-gangs have a loose organisation, they aren’t officially classified as yakuza. So neither the Organized Crime Countermeasures Act nor the Anti-Gang Ordinance applies to them, leaving their crimes to be handled individually.
In short, it’s hard to make a public example out of a semi-gang by delivering a fatal blow, as the police could with a yakuza group.
It’s like trying to punch fog.
To give that fog form and catch it, Kagura had chosen to act as bait.
If his blood could give colour to the fog and show it clearly, and if an Organized Crime detective were attacked, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police would be forced to take decisive action instead of dragging their feet.
―――Someone got in the way this time. But next time, I’ll mark them for sure.
With renewed determination, Kagura headed into the office, glaring up at the still-cloudy sky from the previous night.
As he stood by the window of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Kasumigaseki, drinking black coffee, Sanae Suguru, who had been assigned to the team this past April, rushed over.
Sanae’s face and physique reminded him of an otter. It was like seeing an otter in glasses and a suit.
He had a gentle appearance that would have never fit among the tough faces that once dominated the Organized Crime Division.
However, with a surge in foreign-related cases, people like Sanae, who had language skills, were being assigned to the Organized Crime Division.
Even so, as a rookie detective at twenty-eight, the pressure of being placed in the Organized Crime Division seemed heavy. Even after six months, he hadn’t quite adapted to the atmosphere in the division.
“There was an inquiry from Section Five about Enwu.”
Kagura glanced down at the documents Sanae handed him.
For the past five or six years, rumours about a crime organisation called ‘Enwu’ had circulated among the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Organized Crime Division and Section Four in other prefectures, but they hadn’t managed to catch even a single clue.
The name occasionally came up in connection to human trafficking and firearms, but not a single member had been apprehended.
Since their influence extended from Hokkaido to Okinawa, it was likely a large organisation, assuming it existed.
As he was skimming through the documents from Section Five, Sanae suddenly raised his voice.
“Wh-What happened to your neck!?”
“Don’t yell.”
Kagura shot him a glare. Although Sanae flinched, he nervously pointed at his own neck, eyebrows furrowed.
“Excuse me. But this area of yours is red and bruised,” Sanae said.
It was where Kagura had been hit twice with a modified stun gun the previous night.
“It’s just a bump,” he tried to brush it off. But Sanae leaned in close, his face pale, and whispered.
“Did somebody from the Eastern Alliance attack you?”
Only Sanae knew that Kagura had been using himself as bait, roaming around Eastern Alliance territory.
Kagura found it tedious to lie, so he tried to stay silent. But Sanae’s face grew genuinely angry―――a rare sight.
“Why didn’t you tell me during last night’s check-in?”
Whenever Kagura ventured into areas frequented by the Eastern Alliance after work, he informed Sanae in advance, instructing him to use the GPS tracker and start searching if he didn’t check in by eleven p.m.
Last night, after Zero had taken him to the riverbank, Kagura caught a taxi and returned to his apartment in Kamiyacho. Just before eleven, he’d sent a ‘nothing to report’ message to Sanae’s phone.
“You might not realise it, Kagura-san, but I’m always really worried about you. Last night, I kept checking the clock, hoping it’ll reach eleven soon.”
It was Kagura who had been training Sanae in the work of the Organized Crime Division’s Section Two. As a result, Sanae had grown quite attached to him.
Though Kagura generally disliked getting close to people, he found it somehow tolerable when he thought of Sanae as a little animal rather than a person.
―――Well, he’s certainly been useful to me, at least.
For once, he decided to reward the useful little creature.
“I’ll treat you to dinner. Will that do?”
“That’s not the point,” Sanae replied.
“Then I won’t treat you,” Kagura countered, causing Sanae to blurt out, “Tonight would be great!”
***
“Kagura-san is so scary,” Sanae slurred, his face flushed.
Kagura watched him with a sigh. After offering to treat him to dinner, they had ended up at Sanae’s apartment, dining on convenience store food and alcohol.
Sanae had claimed he’d stopped drinking ‘just in case Kagura-san needed him’, but he was now evidently in no state to be of any use.
Just two 350 ml cans of chuuhai, and Sanae was completely tipsy.
At work gatherings, Sanae had always declined alcohol, which had earned him side glances from the more seasoned Section Two detectives. But it turned out to be a wise decision on his part.
“It’s mainly… your eyes that are so scary,” he mumbled.
Sanae, who had been sitting across the low table, crawled over and peered directly into Kagura’s eyes, exaggerating a shiver.
“They’re… snake eyes!”
“Shut up, otter.”
At that muttered response, Sanae narrowed his round eyes.
“That’s harassment! Giving your subordinate a mean nickname is harassment!”
He aggressively popped open his next can of chuuhai and took a swig.
Though he had poor drinking habits, he didn’t seem to have a low tolerance, which was inconvenient in its own way.
―――If he’d just fall asleep, I could head back upstairs.
Kagura’s apartment was directly above.
About three months ago, this unit below him had become available, and Sanae had quickly moved in. Kagura wondered if Sanae might have a slight stalker tendency.
“I… respect you, Kagura-san,” Sanae mumbled.
“Well, thanks,” Kagura replied.
“It’s just… you’re different from the other Section Two people… like there’s this sense of urgency,” Sanae said, slurring his words.
“·······”
“I’m helping Kagura-san because of that!” Sanae exclaimed.
His words were slurred, and he didn’t seem entirely coherent. But it was probably his true feelings coming through.
Basically, he was trying to say that he didn’t blindly follow orders just because Kagura was his superior.
“It’s appreciated.”
When Kagura responded honestly, Sanae’s face lit up with a bright smile.
Then, suddenly, Sanae took off his glasses and held them out to Kagura.
“Here, try these on.”
“Why?”
“Just do it!”
Reluctantly, Kagura put on the half-rim glasses, only for Sanae to point at him and burst into laughter.
“See, you totally look like a yakuza! An intellectual yakuza!”
Kagura glared at him, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and gave him a good shake.
“Uhh… wah… aaah…” Sanae groaned as the alcohol thoroughly hit him, leaving him completely limp. When Kagura let go, he slumped over the table and began snoring softly.
Kagura gave a wry smile, removed the glasses, and climbed the stairs up one floor to his own unit on the sixth floor.
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*Translator’s Note: Yup. Another ML named Zero. Don’t ask me why but Japanese novels, animes, series… they all love to use the name Zero when it comes to a mysterious character. Heh. -K
*GLOSSARY:
- Chūhai is a popular Japanese alcoholic beverage, a type of highball, that is a mixture of shōchū (a distilled spirit), soda water, and a flavor, typically fruit-flavored. It originated in Japan after World War II as a more affordable alternative to whiskey highballs, and is now widely available in Japan and other parts of the world, often in premixed, canned versions with a variety of flavors and alcohol content.
Next update: 2025.09.06
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