"I don't believe you put a criminal inside our truck willingly," Hiro, who was driving the noisy vehicle, said. His voice showed just how pissed off he was.
"What the hell, Hiro? Stop being a senile idiot once in your life, will you? The boy only needs a ride to the nearest city, which is the one we are going to. What's the problem?"
"I am not senile, Gen", he sighed and glared at his brother.
"Your soul or mind or whatever you think rules your body is senile, then. You act like an old geezer at times. It's bothersome."
"Who are you calling an old geezer!? I am not bothering anyone here. I am stating facts! Do you want to know what is the problem of having him", he pointed at Hayato, who was in the middle of them, "inside our truck!? Well, it's just that this little criminal already invaded it before. He can do worse, you dickhead!"
"Dickhead? What do you mean by saying dickhead?"
"Exactly what you think. I am saying that you should start thinking with your upper head, instead of hearing what's inside your pants. I have nothing against your gay thing, but-"
"Goddammit, Hiro! If you were not driving I would rip off your tongue with my own hands right now! That's what I am talking about when I say you are bothersome."
"Did I say something wrong, Gen?"
"Yes, you did, you goddamn old geezer! Now the boy will think I want to lay him! Are you stupid!? I already said I am not a pedophile!"
"Your fucking records say otherwise, though!"
"That guy was twenty-something, for the love of the ancient gods! I already said it many times! The guard who charged me hated me. That's why he came up with the pedo thing. You know very well that the guards hate me automatically when they find out who I really am. Besides, that person didn't even have a young face. I like only bearded guys."
"I am not interested in your sexual preferences, Gen."
"I am just justifying myself, you imbecile! What do you think this kid will think of me when hearing all this bullshit, you goddamn rat!? Besides, you shouldn't even have spilled the beans about my sexuality!"
"Hey, hey..." Hayato drew their attention with a timid voice and a yellow smile on his face.
"I am okay with the gay thing. It's not that abnormal to me..."
'After all, it was quite normal to see these things back in my previous world. Not that they need to know this.'
"Besides, I know how the guards can be assholes. Don't worry."
"Don't swear in my truck, kid", Hiro glared at him.
"You were fucking yelling swearing words just now, old geezer."
"I said to stop calling me an old geezer."
"Then, stop acting like one, old geezer."
They were about to start an argument, but Hayato interrupted them before they could.
"So, are you brothers?"
"It doesn't seem like that, right?" Gen had a much more soft voice when talking to Hayato. The boy couldn't see malice in him even if he wanted to.
"Yeah, certainly doesn't. But we are. That's why we argue so much", Hiro's tone was brusque and uninterested.
Hayato was still shrinking in their presence. It was hard for him to get relaxed around new people. Even so, he tried to conduct the conversation on a more peaceful subject. If they kept talking to each other like that, heads would fly, and Hayato would get involved in this carnage.
"For how long do you guys sell rice? Is it profitable enough to make a living?"
Gen was about to answer, but Hiro only stared at him with suspicious eyes. He pointed at Hayato while driving with one hand.
"Look, he is already asking about money."
"Well, Hay-" Gen glared at his brother. "Shut the hell up, old geezer. It was an innocent question. Do you want to die?"
"That's my line. Do you want to die by hunger when all your money and rice get stolen from you by some brat?"
When Hayato saw the murderous aura of the two brothers arise, he cleaned his throat and rephrased his question.
"Well, let's stick with the first part of the question, ok? Forget about profits. Forget."
Gen snorted at Hiro and answered Hayato.
"It's been, what? Ten years since we started selling rice. I think we were twenty years old at the time. Hiro's soul should be fifty-two-"
"Damn you."
"...and we were broken. I think our parents stopped helping us when we were sixteen. From then on, they said we should start to make some money and get out of their house. Well, they didn't wait for us to find a way to get money before making us leave. We worked together in many places, but we would get fired one month or so afterward because we always felt dislocated and didn't make things right."
"YOU didn't do things right, Gen. I always did my work just right, by the way."
"Your incompetent ass wouldn't do a single thing right during the entire day or work, what are you talking about? Besides, if that was true, you wouldn't get fired together with me."
"They fired me not by incompetence, unlike you. It was for behavioral issues. I can't stand being ordered around."
"Well, anyway, we both didn't feel like any of those places suited us. But there was this time I won a bet, you know? And the guy didn't have the money to give me the prize, because he didn't feel like I would win. He was too confident."
"Nobody thinks anybody will win such a bet, anyway. Who would have thought you would take a guard down with bare hands? I bet they thought you were soft just because you are gay" Hiro made an aloof face as if remembering the scene. He even had a smile on his lips.
"By the way, that was the same guard who accused you of pedophilia, right? I guess I am starting to understand the situation..."
"A-Anyhow, Hayato doesn't need to know the details of my PAST violent self, okay? Continuing, that guy didn't have the money for the bet, but he was a merchant and he had a huge quantity of rice that cost the amount of the bet. I was drunk, so I accepted it.
"The next day, I woke up with a strong headache, a missing tooth, a broken hand, posters of wanted around the city stating that I was a dangerous brawler-"
"And a pedophile."
"...and the keys to a deposit somewhere in the city that was filled to the brim with rice. We spent three weeks trying to find the deposit, by the way. By the time we found it, we already had in mind what we were going to do with all that rice, which was to sell it somehow."
"But before that, Gen needed to turn himself into the police and spend a week or so in jail before I could sell enough rice to pay his bail."
"You guys can pay bail for crimes like pedophilia?" Hayato asked, disgusted.
"I DIDN'T commit this crime. They did not have enough proof and Hiro paid my bail before the guard could find a way to subornate the judge to charge me with it."
"I ran against time to help this idiot."
"But things ended well and now we are, sometimes, nearly rich. Depends on the season."
"And if this guy here feels like working", Hiro rolled his eyes.
"It is a rare occasion when I don't actually work, ok?"
"Well, let's not fight, ok? It's fine like this. Hahaha... haha..."
Hayato was yet to learn how to deal with that type of person. Being as timid as he was, he felt cornered every time he found himself engaging in such intense conversations. He barely could keep up with their speed.
'I just want this truck to go faster and faster... please...'
****
Hayato left their truck with a pale face and a dead-like expression. It looked like he was a soulless body walking around.
"Well, this trip wasn't as bad as I thought it would be", Hiro said while stretching. "At least, the trouble you guys caused made it a little bit interesting."
"I bet that you were dying to arrive here. Don't lie."
"No, no. I really enjoyed it. Truly. Even though there were times when I wanted to throw myself out of the moving truck."
"You could have done it. I would help you by pushing, if you wanted to."
Gen was up to start a new fight, but preferred to ignore his brother for the time being and look at Hayato.
"Well, boy... Here we are. Kigayo. It's a good place, although people are very cold and barely will look at your face. But, well, you wouldn't expect less from a city of this province. The Sekitan are known for treating basically anything objectively like they are always making business. It's the consequence of having a lineage that is only dedicated to building an empire of industries."
'Sekitan, huh? I wonder if I will be able to find the person that Mr. Satoshi told me to find. What kind of guy is he?'