Side Forty-Two – Kondou Kazuo

Side Forty-Two – Kondou Kazuo

Kazuo screamed in agony as the unlicenced underground doctor wiped his face, fragments of burned and shredded skin moulting off, exposing blackened muscle beneath. “Careful you... ahh... fool! I thought... ugh... you were going to... give me something... argh... for the pain!”

The nervous-looking doctor frowned uneasily. “I have, you’ve already had a greater than the usual dose. Any more and you risk fatal side-effects. I don’t...”

“Gah!” Kazuo whipped out with his free hand, backhanding the doctor across the face. The doctor staggered, dropping the cloth he was holding, getting gore on the floor. “I don’t care about... agh... the fucking... ugh... risks.” He half-sobbed, impossible torment wracking him. “I just ... need to... ugh... rest.”

The doctor was helped to his feet by a couple of rough-looking men in unbuttoned shirts and patterned suits, dripping in golden bling. One of them turned to the thrashing Kazuo and muttered an apology. “Sorry bro, but the doc is only thinking of you. Maybe you should go to a real hospital? Our yakuza doctor isn’t the best. He was struck off for malpractice after all.”

Rubbing at his bleeding cheek and nose the doctor forced a smile. “My skills are fine. I was disbarred for theft and... well, substance abuse. No-one has ever called me unskilled. But...” he conceded. “I don’t have the medicines or the equipment a proper hospital does. I’m doing what I can, Kondou-sama, but...”

You think I can go to a normal hospital with these unexplainable injuries? Don’t make me laugh... Gritting his teeth, which pulled at the raw ruin of his face, causing fresh pain to spark, he gasped out an order to give him more sedatives, and damn the consequences. My body is strong, stronger than ever. I probably need more painkillers to achieve an effect.

“It’s all right. the boss’ll take responsibility.” The second yakuza, who had been silent up until now said. “And those wounds are real bad. Some sort of gunshot to the back and an explosion to the face I’d say... you must have made some real bad enemies, bro.”

As the doctor injected him again, Kazuo held down a curse. No fucking kidding. Those shits, they are ruining everything... he remembered the sneer on the face of that girl as she had taken his eye, the burst of flame from her mouth blasting half his face away. Even back here, outside that strange realm, he was still seared to the bone, and one eyes was a blind, milky ruin. And as for that man...

He let out another pained groan as his body shifted. The doctor looked concerned, but even so, he finished delivering the illegal painkillers into his veins. “Once... once the pain subsides, I need to work on your other injury.” The doctor said softly. “I think you have internal bleeding. We brought blood packs, but even so...” he gestured to the medical scanner and array of items that the yakuza had brought.

“Fine.” Kazuo groaned. “Whatever you have... to do, do it. I... ugh... can’t die here... not yet, not... until I have had... argh... my revenge!”

********

When he awoke, Kondou Kazuo found his pain had diminished significantly, though it was still enough to make him clench his teeth, breath coming in hot gasps. Opening his eyes... no, my eye now.. curse her! He saw he was hooked up to medical equipment, which was beeping quietly along with his heartbeat. One of the yakuza he had called was asleep against one wall, while the other was on his mobile phone, talking quietly to someone.

“Oh, you woke up. Thank the gods.” The doctor said, pale and sweating, one side of his face spectacularly bruised. “The surgery went well, but even so, you need rest, and there is the danger of secondary infection.”

Kazuo tried to sit up, but alarmed, the doctor stopped him pushing him down. Damn, I feel so weak, like I am who I was before...

“You can’t get up yet. It will take weeks to fully recover.” The doctor cautioned. “Until then, I shall be at your disposal, of course.”

“Fully recover?” he asked.

At that the doctor looked downhearted. After a moment he confessed. “Well, your eye... that was beyond saving. As for your face... I believe plastic surgery should be able to restore you to what you once were. It won’t be cheap, but...”

“A woman, really?” Akira-san was surprised that a girl could do such a thing to him. “Still...” his grin was amused. “You always did enjoy the ladies. I know what you’ve got planned for her. Is she much of a looker?”

Thinking back to her, her licked his cracked and charred lips. A looker? She was gorgeous. But she won’t be when I’m finished with her, she’ll be uglier than I am now.

“She’s a foreign beauty, long golden hair and eyes, quite small and...” as he described her, he considered what else he knew. Their base of operations in that world seemed to be centred around a local shrine. Shirohebizumi, I think it was? Shrines seemed to be the common place to find people able to enter that world, after all, it was where he had picked up that useless buffoon who was now his slave. Or is he? We lost Hisuikomushi shrine there, so he’s probably dead... a shame, as he was contributing nicely to my expansion.

No, that shrine was the logical place to find them, and he knew what they looked like, so capturing them would be easy with such numbers. Using any abilities was far harder here than over there, Kazuo knew that himself from experience, and so while they would be dangerous... they won’t be able to face a mob of trained yakuza.

“Okay, we’ve got the description of them bro. We’ll break into the shrine tonight and rough ‘em up. But don’t worry, we’ll leave the girl untouched for you to have your fun. Bit of a shame if she’s as pretty as you said though...” as more guttural, obscene laughter filled the room, Kazuo asked the important question.

“Don’t underestimate them, Akira-san. They are quite skilled. I hope you managed to bring some... adequate... firepower.”

He pounded his chest once more. “Sure thing bro, but it wasn’t easy. We’ll owe the alliance a favour, but we have four pieces. One of them’s a real beauty. We have all the usual gear too.” He gestured to several holdall-style bags that were lying against the wall, and Kazuo could see the handles of bats and hilts of swords sticking out.

Yeah, no matter how good they are, against a mob of well-armed yakuza, they stand no chance. His face and insides were burning again, the anaesthetics wearing off rapidly. Once they were dealt with, he could call that useless trash Kiku back from whatever hole she was hiding in and enslave their souls too. They would have forever to regret crossing him.

“Hey, you all right bro?” Akira-san was saying, concerned.

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about revenge.”

“That’s my bro.” Akira-san laughed. “In that case, we’ll be getting ready. Expect good news soon.”

As he led the gang out of the conference room, Kazuo let out a pained sigh. The yakuza doctor came to his side hurriedly, concerned. “Are you well, sir? Your mind may be a bit foggy from the drugs...”

“I’m as clearheaded as I need to be.” Kazuo snapped back. “The thought of justice is all I need to keep going. Now make yourself useful and get me something to eat. I’m starving.”

The doctor paused. “You shouldn’t eat with those injuries, and on the anaesthetics you might...”

“I don’t want to hear your damn excuses. I’m ravenous.”

With that the doctor scurried away, leaving him alone. Clenching his fist, Kazuo imagined it slamming into the faces of the girl and the man, shattering their smug expressions, reducing them to hideous husks. My eye... no surgery can replace it, but perhaps all isn’t lost... that world has many strange powers, perhaps one can fix my eye. But to return there, first I have to deal with those two...

The doctor brought him over some rice balls and tea, and Kazuo tore into it savagely, chewing and swallowing as if he was tearing on the flesh of the girl that had blinded him. “This isn’t bad. I’m starting to feel a bit better.” Yes, thoughts of revenge would do that...