Chapter 28: Transform Villain - Vestige ①

My apartment is near the university, since I moved to Tokyo to attend college. I used to live in the dorms, but when I became a grad student, I left. I was always breaking curfew anyway, a bit of a problem child. Costs more, but freedom is better. Not to mention, it let me sneak Jin in.

"Well, that’s rare. A rat."

Walking along the sidewalk, a rat dashed past my feet. They exist, sure, but seeing one boldly scurry right down the middle of the pavement is unusual. And this one actually stopped at my feet.

I froze so I wouldn’t step on it, but the rat just stayed there. It raised its forepaws and looked up at me. Whoa, cute.

"What’s up? You’re pretty friendly. Not wild, but someone’s pet rat? Oh—there it goes."

When I crouched down and held out my hand, it bolted. Then, surprisingly, it came right back. It turned its rump toward me, chirped chichi-chi, scurried forward a bit, and then looked back at me.

"Got it. You want me to follow."

Sorry, I’m terrible at charades.
And to think, I even know someone with rat connections. Totally slipped my mind. Even though we once shared donuts together.

I jogged after it, and it led me into an alleyway.
The smell of iron hit me. Unfortunately, it was a smell I knew all too well.

Blood.

The farther I went, the more stains showed on the ground. Smudged, dragged streaks of red—someone had hauled a battered body deeper and deeper inside, desperate to escape.

As I expected, Ratlord, the Rat Baron, was there.

"You alive?"

No response. Couldn’t respond. A knife was buried in his chest. Must’ve screwed up somewhere. He had a reputation for being quick on the getaway, but…

Chichi-chi, the same rat chirped again.

"Alright. I’ll do what I can."

I pulled a syringe from my bag. The same drug I had administered to Ironclad. Still working on ways to improve it, but so far, no real success. At the very least, it had an effect on Ironclad.

"If you die, you can hate me for it."

He was already unconscious, so I couldn’t ask for consent to participate in the trial. I took his arm and injected him. Then I yanked the knife from his chest. The bleeding stopped almost instantly. Looks like the drug was working.

I wrapped the knife in a handkerchief and stowed it in my bag. Couldn’t exactly leave a murder weapon with my fingerprints behind.

"Mio, can you carry him?"

"I’ll take him home, keep it low-profile."

The manhole cover shifted, and Mio—still in Flux form—emerged. I had spoken up assuming he was around anyway, so his sudden appearance didn’t surprise me.

Mio engulfed Ratlord’s body up to the head, then dragged him down into the sewers with a slimy pull. Looked straight out of a horror flick. Like something Spielberg would’ve dreamed up. The manhole cover said “Sewage,” but considering Ratlord was already a filthy rat man, it probably didn’t matter. Surprised Mio didn’t mind. Guess he’s learned to take the good with the bad.

I could’ve just gone on to campus, but leaving this alone would gnaw at me. I didn’t have lectures, only planned to lock myself in the lab for research. Same thing either way—the location just changed. Still, I had to monitor Ratlord’s condition.

When I opened my apartment door, Ratlord was sprawled at the entrance. Mio hadn’t carried him all the way inside. Fair enough. He was filthy.

Sudama poked her head out, apron on.

"What is it, did you forget something… GYAAAH! Inori’s dragged home another man!!"

"No need to scream."

"You like useless men or something!?"

Despite her age, Sudama always tried to stay current with trends. Mio had said the same thing, and it was true. She actively used youth slang. Still, useless men—or damenzu—was a bit of an old one. “Damenzu” from “dame” (no good) and “menzu” (men). Maybe madao—totally useless guy—would land better these days.

"Don’t just look at him and brand him a damenzu. That’s harsh."

"Anyone wearing clothes that torn up without being an actor… wait, those wounds, did someone do that to him? Then forgive me, you were persecuted, weren’t you. As a fellow creature with beast’s blood, I sympathize."

"He’s just normally filthy, ragged, and never bathes."

"So gross!!"

Talk about flipping sides fast.

Muttering "Always making me clean up after you," Sudama dragged Ratlord toward the bath. Guess he needed scrubbing before I could monitor his progress. Fair point.

Sudama didn’t seem to care about him being a mutant, only whether he was decent. Probably because she herself was a fox.

Ratlord came back somewhat cleaner. He was wearing my loungewear. Sudama had gone into my closet without asking, but I didn’t mind. She already managed most of the house—laundry included—so she could do whatever.

Since I liked oversized men’s clothes, they actually fit Ratlord’s smaller frame pretty well.

"So, what will you do with him? Take him in?"

"Still deciding. Depends on what he wants, too. And honestly, the house is already way over capacity. Sudama, transform into a tea kettle or something so we can save space."

"No way!"

Sudama said she was going to the supermarket sale, so I saw her off.

People in the house just keep increasing. Why do I keep picking up so many villains?

Am I picking up heroes too? Judging from how Hina cuddles up, maybe so.

My childhood friend the fox-eared little loli also came out from the countryside, so I should’ve rented a bigger place.

While I was spacing out, Ratlord let out a low zzzt-zzzt.

"Oh—you're awake. How’re you doing, Experiment Subject No. 2?"

"Where is this… the other world?"

"Don’t be stupid. Who here looks like an angelic beauty?"

"Haha. No wonder Delta was after you. Even that Delta must’ve thought, 'I don’t want to die for this,' right?"

My joke was ignored.

Ratlord inspected his body as it continued to regenerate and seemed impressed.

Also, he’d completely forgotten his yansu-speech.

Does he feel like he needs to wear those filthy ragged clothes to get into character?

"If Delta’s after my healing ability, isn’t it weird that he keeps ordering attempts on my life? If they want medicine, capturing me alive would be the only point, right?"

"They might be following the policy of cutting off that possibility before the hero side receives healing support and gets strengthened. If you can be saved even from mortal wounds, it’s like a miracle. In any case, many want that power. Or some might want to erase it before it falls into someone else’s hands."

"Is that so, yansu?"

"…It is so, yansu!"

I reminded Rat Lord about his yansu.

Man, this guy’s clever. Scheming, really.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Ratlord straightened his posture. Still hunched, though.

"But how on earth can I ever repay this favor…"

"Don’t worry about it—kindness to others isn’t wasted. Rat Lord, because you told me about Delta, I started carrying a cure around. You saved your own life."

"You don’t need medicine, milady. You have your own."

It seems he already knows, at least, that I have regenerative abilities.

"I got involved because someone was killed for the purpose of killing me. Ratlord, I pray that you aren’t one of those people."

Rat Lord’s face grew grim and he made a chittering sound.

I don’t know mouse-speech well enough to tell whether that was yes or no.

"By the way, did you thank the mouse that took me to your place? Be grateful—if you were saved, it was thanks to that one as well."

"Of course I’m grateful, yansu. If it weren’t for them, I’d have died much earlier, yansu."

He calls himself the Mouse Baron, so he must have some power to command mice.

Whether he can actually speak mouse or has a deeper way to communicate is unclear, but if he can hear what the mice say, he’s perfect for gathering intel. Being an information broker might be his calling.

The sound of the front door opening: someone had come home. Not Sudama.

"…Hey, more people?"

Jin was immediately in a bad mood as soon as he returned.

He’s been living here since I picked him up, but that doesn’t mean he’s in the house all day.

Apparently he goes out to do strength training and running.

Sometimes they fight, Sudama says—but I think when Sudama says "fight" she means battles with villains.

Maybe Ironclad does dark-hero stuff when I’m not looking.

He’s hiding his yakuza-scarred face under a hood, but that’s something else entirely.

He might even look more suspicious without the hood.

With the hood on, Jin looks a bit like a suspicious person, but he’s wearing sportswear, so he can pass as a regular runner.

Being ripped actually helps sell it.

When you’re that muscular, everyone assumes you run every day. They might even think you’re a pro boxer—there are a lot of guys in the city who take weight training as a hobby.

"Jin, what’ll you do—kill Ratlord?"

"House’ll get dirty."

Jin glanced at Rat Lord and spat that out, then went further inside. Probably to take a shower.

Ironclad manipulates metal.

His attack method is simple: basically using metal, or hands as hard as metal, to punch or kick.

If he hit Ratlord, he’d crush him, so he doesn’t want to do that here.

It’s a convincing reason for Jin—who tries to kill anyone by default—to hold back his murderous intent.

"Good for you, Rat Lord, you’ve got blood flowing through you."

"That one seems to have no blood nor tears, though, yansu."