A person in Tokyo becomes a demon god

Chapter 31: Because Reality Is Too Desperate

Nakano District,
"Boss, a bowl of ramen, please!"

Lifting the curtain of a roadside stall, a figure with a tracksuit hood pulled up sat down.

"Alright, please wait a moment, sir—?!"

The owner, with his gray hair and wearing a chef's hat, looked up and was stunned when he saw the face under the hood of the newcomer.

"Young man, why don't you go to the hospital first?"

"Need not,"

The person pulled down the hood of their tracksuit, revealing their entire face wrapped in bandages.

To the untrained eye, it might look like he was cosplaying some kind of 'bandaged monster'; but the pungent smell of alcohol and the faint smell of blood proved that the young man was indeed covered in injuries.

The area below the collar of the tracksuit is covered in bandages!

"I just got out of the hospital."

As he spoke, the bandaged young man pulled out a 'Fukuzawa Yukichi' coin.

"Big bowl, add more toppings!"

"Okay~"

Since he had money, the gray-haired boss didn't say much and turned to make ramen.

This so-called "judai" is actually a mobile stall, mainly selling snacks such as ramen, oden, and three-color dumplings. Originally a specialty of Fukuoka, it later became popular in Osaka and gradually spread throughout the island nation: similar to "XX snacks" or "XX lamb rice noodles".

"Guest, your large bowl of extra-topping ramen."

"Here's your change."

The steaming hot ramen placed before him made Eguchi's Adam's apple bob as he emerged from the underground hospital.

"I'm gonna start now!"

Pick up the chopsticks and clap your hands together.
Despite being covered in bandages, Eguchi couldn't wait to devour the food.

After being beaten half to death by his master, when he woke up, all that was left beside him was a note and a stack of old banknotes: the note had the address of an 'underground hospital' on it, and the money was naturally left for his medical expenses: all of them were 10,000 yen 'Fukuzawa Yukichi' notes, which is why Eguchi was able to sit here.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even have a problem eating, let alone get treatment.

To put it bluntly, if it weren't for family reasons, how many people would envy 'bōshōzoku' (motorcycle gangs)?

After all, the goal of the former biker gangs was nothing more than to become newspaper 'deliverymen' and have a 'cool' job to support their families.

Slurp~~
Looking at Jiang Gu, who was engrossed in 'inhaling the ramen,' the ramen shop owner sighed inwardly.

"Hey buddy, is that motorcycle outside yours?"

"Mmm, sniffling~~"

Jiang didn't even look up, just kept eating his noodles.

"Actually, when I was young, I was also a 'bōzōzō' (motorcycle gang) member;"

The ramen shop owner couldn't help but offer some advice.
"When you're young, you're fearless; only when you get older do you realize..."

"It's best to avoid things like arranging fights; your health is the most important thing."

?

"Boss, this isn't an injury from a fight."

Jiang Kou slurped up most of the large bowl of ramen in one go, then looked up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"This is an injury from practicing karate."

You're just being stubborn.
kid!

The ramen shop owner couldn't help but roll his eyes.

What kind of karate dojo would beat its students into this state?
"Boss, have another bowl!"

Just as the boss was internally complaining, the 'bandaged young man' handed over the money again.

???

"OK, wait."

Young people are great; they can fight, eat well, and are full of energy.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Nakano Hospital

The place where I ate noodles with Jiangkou was only two streets away.

Has there been any change in patient number 317?

"No, it remains in a persistent vegetative state."

Two nurses pushed open the door to a ward and chatted as they worked.

"We need to turn him over—I wonder when he'll wake up?"

"It would be better if he didn't wake up,"

Another nurse took off the patient's pants, skillfully changed the catheter and urine bag, and sighed as she performed her nursing duties.

"What's the point of living if there's only one person left in the family?"

As he spoke, he inserted the suction device into the patient's mouth.

"How did things get to this point?"

"What can be done? That's just how education is in this country—"

Two nurses skillfully completed skin care and excretion management, hung up the IV drip, and left the ward, leaving only the middle-aged man on the bed who seemed to be asleep.

open eyes!
Suddenly opened my eyes,

The middle-aged man sat up in bed.

This is a wooden 'Japanese-style' room from the last century, with tatami flooring, overhead pull-cord chandeliers, and wooden sliding doors.

Such buildings still exist, partly due to the island nation's 'nostalgia' custom, and partly to save money.

"What am I?"

He shook his head, and the middle-aged man's memory gradually became clearer.

His name is Takumi Oshima, a thirty-something office worker with a gentle wife and an obedient son. As these memories surface, the man gets up and opens the door.

splash,

"Hui?"

A young man stood in the living room outside the door, bearing a striking resemblance to the middle-aged man.

His son, Teru Oshima.

"dad,"

The boy lowered his head and threw himself into the man's arms.

"What's wrong, are you having a nightmare?"

The boy shook his head.

"Dad, can I take the day off today? I don't want to go to school."

?

Upon receiving this request, the middle-aged man, Takumi Oshima, immediately thought:
"Are you feeling unwell?"

The boy shook his head again.

"It's not that he's sick," the middle-aged man patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Then go to school and study hard. The exams are coming up soon, and your parents are looking forward to seeing how you do."

Faced with his father's answer, the boy looked up, the hope in his eyes disappeared, and finally lowered his eyes and nodded vigorously.

"Ah."

Darkness suddenly descended—

open eyes!
Suddenly opened my eyes,

The middle-aged man sat up in bed.

"Huh? Wasn't I just comforting Hui?"

Still half asleep, the office worker named Takumi Oshima got out of bed, walked to the door of his room, and opened it.

Snapped,

A loud slap rang out from in front of them.
In the living room, a young housewife slapped the teenager across the face.

"Hui?"

The boy is the middle-aged man's son, and the housewife is naturally his wife: Oshima Mako.

"what happened?"

The wife answered the middle-aged man's question with trembling hands.

"Hui didn't go to school!"

"I asked the private tutoring schools, but they weren't there." Many people see that school ends early in island countries and there are various club activities, and mistakenly believe that youth is all about playing around; however, private tutoring schools are everywhere in island countries, and those who are truly determined to go to university must be studying at private tutoring schools every day until late at night.

Not rolled?

Then I can only do 'labor dispatch' work.

"Did you go out to play?!"

Do you know how much hope your parents have for you?

Faced with his wife's angry rebuke, the middle-aged man also stepped forward and earnestly joined in to persuade her:

"Hui, Mom is angry because it's for your own good. You need to get into university to work for a large trading company; don't make us worry, okay?"

"it is good,"

As his son answered with his head down, the middle-aged man stepped forward and patted his wife and son on the shoulder.

"Alright, even though we had some disagreements, we're still family."

"Don't worry about it, have breakfast."

As he walked into the restaurant with his wife and children in his arms, the middle-aged man continued with a smile;
"By the way, I actually had a nightmare just now. Seeing that you were all safe and sound, I almost thought I was dreaming."

dream!

Dream,

In a flash,

A chill ran from the middle-aged man's feet straight up to his head.

"What's wrong, honey?"

Amidst his wife's puzzled expression, the man shakily raised his head and pinched his cheek hard.

numbness,

Numbness, only numbness!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

open eyes!
Suddenly opened my eyes,

The middle-aged man sat up in bed.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh,"

The terrified middle-aged man covered his pale face; he seemed to have just had a nightmare.
—The man in the hospital bed began to breathe rapidly. Because he had little or no instinctive coughing ability, residue in the respiratory tract of a vegetative patient would block his throat.

"Calm down, calm down, it's just a dream."

After repeatedly reassuring himself, the middle-aged man, Takumi Oshima, got out of bed, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

The living room was empty.
Yes,

At this time, Hui and Zhencheng should both be at the restaurant.

He instinctively started walking towards the restaurant, but his steps grew slower and slower, as if some invisible force was stopping him. Ahead, ahead—

This is hell!!
？ ！！

Standing at the restaurant entrance,

The man's eyes trembled violently.

A housewife and a teenager lay in pools of blood.

The wounds were all on his chest, and he was completely still; there were no signs of fighting or struggling!

Looking down, the middle-aged man suddenly realized that his chest was also covered in blood: the murder weapon was the kitchen knife on the ground next to him.

His eyes rolled back, and he fell backward.

thump—

—The man on the hospital bed trembled and actually opened his eyes, but all he could see was white! People in a vegetative state don't just sleep; there are even cases where people open their eyes completely but show no reaction to the outside world.

open eyes!
Suddenly opened my eyes,

The middle-aged man sat up in bed.

"Huff, huff, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

"What was that just now? What was that just now?"

Dream?
Or is it true?

The middle-aged man, clutching his chest tightly, gasped for breath, but still felt like he couldn't catch his breath.

—Hohoho~~ The phlegm remaining in the throat was not completely absorbed by the machine, and it made a series of dull sounds with the patient's breathing.

Is my body really that weak?

Putting the thought out of his mind, the middle-aged man struggled to get up and stood in front of the door, but he no longer had the strength to open it.

"Huihui! Zhencheng!"

Through the door, the man shouted in a hoarse, trembling voice, as if calling for his parents.

"Hui! Zhencheng, you guys..."

Are you alright? Still—

Are you there?

"Honey, what are you shouting?"

"Dad, breakfast is ready!"

After a while, the voices of his wife and children came from outside the door, which made the middle-aged man, who was trembling all over and sweating profusely, feel a sense of relief.

splash,

Open the door,

The middle-aged man walked slowly and deliberately toward the living room.

It felt like a few seconds had passed, yet also like several years.

Until he reached the restaurant:

"Honey, you don't look well?"

"Dad, are you sick?"

In the restaurant, the young housewife and the teenager sitting at the table all turned to look, their faces filled with doubt and worry.

call---

The phlegm was swallowed.

He let out a long sigh, and an ugly smile appeared on the middle-aged man's pale face.

"No, there isn't."

I just had a nightmare.

As he spoke, the middle-aged man walked to the dining table and sat down. A news program was playing on the television next to him.

The way children are educated has always been a major social problem.

"This can't be a dream, right?"

Holding his son's shoulder, the middle-aged man's eyes welled up with tears.

"Dad, stop talking nonsense."

On the television, the blurry-looking presenter continues broadcasting:

'Just like the stabbing incident that happened in Ueno Ward; a son stabbed his mother to death and then committed suicide due to academic pressure.'

? !
For a moment, the middle-aged man was stunned.

The housewife and the teenager at the dining table suddenly became motionless and lifeless.

'My father is currently in a coma after emergency treatment.'

The middle-aged man raised his hand tremblingly.

The next second, the hand that was trying to pinch his face stopped, clenched into a fist, and the veins bulged!
"What's wrong, honey?"

Under the attentive care of the young housewife who seemed to have come alive, the middle-aged man finally sat down and shakily picked up the remote control.

嘀、

I turned off the TV.

"It's nothing, I just feel happy like this!"

"Dad, are you crying?"

"No, how could that be?"

Sitting at the dining table, middle-aged office worker Takumi Oshima revealed a tearful smile and announced:

"We are a loving family, forever and ever!!"

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock,
That was the sound of nutrient solution dripping, and:
"Yes, it's you."

? !
Next second,
The middle-aged man on the hospital bed suddenly opened his eyes.

(End of this chapter)