UNDER CONSTRUCTION - WORK NOT FINAL

I'm going to die in three days.

I cried in front of that mirror until dawn. It felt like the tears just kept coming. I don’t know how much it was, but every time I saw your face, I started to cry. It’s like Samayoru’s creepy grin was reaching out to me all the way through the mirror. Laughing, but sobbing. Unable to laugh, but still laughing. I could just cry.

Even if it has to be me, it seemed like this guy needed someone to talk to. The retired life must be boring.

Samayoru: Mr. Birkin, you look well.

Birkin: Agree to disagree.

Samayoru: You’ve got a nice, smiling face.

Birkin: Yeah, a spitting image. You’ve got one creepy face.

Samayoru: Good at impersonation.

Birkin: I’ll send you flying.

Samayoru: An oversized home run? I look forward to it.

Birkin: It’s strange.

Samayoru: Of what do we speak?

Birkin: When I run into you, it’s like I’m free from any fear of death.

Samayoru: I’m honored to be of service.

Birkin: But still, I’m filled with tears. I cry and I cry and they just won’t dry.

Samayoru: Why is it that you cry?

Birkin: It can’t be sadness. But it’s not happiness either, or pain.
>Maybe it just means I’m ready.

Samayoru: That feeling, I can understand well.

Birkin: Don’t coddle me.

Samayoru: We are of the same body. Your tears are my tears. The tremor of your heart, a part of me. The true intentions you have resigned yourself to, they too are a part of me.

Birkin: How noble. Deciding to gradually acknowledge your existence, even I’m surprised. Why do you haunt me?

Samayoru: Mr. Birkin, it’s not just you. Many neighbors are waiting for me. They are in the same situation.

Birkin: And those guys, will they for sure meet you? Will they have the same experience I did?

Samayoru: This form is visible to the neighbors. I don’t know why. However, my role is simple. I am merely a lancet that relieves their pain.

Birkin: Just a prick, huh? You think you’re really something, don’t you?

Samayoru: A smiling face is caused by incredible pain that produces tumors. To fight that pain, you need to laugh. So, I’m the prick that will make you laugh.

Birkin: I don’t get it at all.

Samayoru: You’ll understand one of these days. Before long, you’ll begin to fear being controlled by the pain of your humiliating body.

Birkin: You’re kidding me.

Samayoru: I can’t tell you a joke with this face.

Birkin; Aren’t you laughing, though?

Samayoru: Yes, I was born this way.

Birkin: Bullshit.

Samayoru: Mr. Birkin, you’re a funny guy.

Birkin: Mind if I run an idea by you?

Samayoru: Go ahead, do as you like.

Birkin: Me, I really hate this town. I’ve had enough.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: Everyone here is in a slump. Mold is starting to grown on their hearts. Really. If you were to open up my corpse, there would be moss lightly growing.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: This life is like a death sentence. There’s no cash flow. And I don’t mean the humidity - there’s just reasons you can’t get rich, no matter where you are. And not just because of organized crime. Once you’ve fallen off the train, you can’t just climb back on.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: That’s why I’m clinging to this town, clinging to various organizations, and desperately searching for some unlikely stroke of luck that I’ll snatch up some self-worth in the form of a large sum of money somewhere.

Samayoru: I’ll see.

Birkin: I get it already, though. Every crew has its limits. Still, I’m watching, waiting for a chance to sneak in if there’s an opening.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: It’s a bunch of dumb nonsense, but … someday, I’m also going to get a big job. From the East Coast, or the Windy City. Somewhere. I have faith, even now. I’m still waiting for that day. My Paradise is within sight, but in a world I can’t touch.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: And because I know that, I can’t get out of this town. I get it.

Samayoru: I see.

Birkin: You’re a good listener …

Samayoru: There’s a trick to it.

Birkin: To what?

Samayoru: Don’t let your eyes wander.

Birkin: ??

Samayoru: The best way to keep your emotions stable is to keep your eyes steady. People find peace in fixing their eyes on an unmoving object.

Birkin: Some pitch you’ve got there.

Samayoru: It’s a rule of thumb. The tens of thousands of people I’ve seen with death written on their faces are proof of that.

Birkin: A wealth of experience, huh? Big deal.

Samayoru: If I am able to answer it for you, please ask me anything.

Birkin: Well, there’s something that’s always been on my mind. Why Curtis Blackburn? Why am I being targeted by that guy?

Samayoru: ...

Birkin: Hm? He wouldn’t have a connection to you, by chance?

Samayoru: ...

Birkin: Oi, spit it out.

Samayoru: ... Hahaha.

Birkin: Huh?

Samayoru: I wonder what ...

Birkin: Are you listening?

Samayoru: Yes.

Birkin: Tell me what Curtis’s goal is. The reason he has to kill me. The reason he’s sunk so low as to grace a home-run hitter like me with his acquaintance.

Samayoru: Curtis Blackburn … Who might that be?

Birkin: My life is being targeted by Curtis Blackburn. I can’t see any reason why. What’s more, you show up in front of me all of a sudden. Even a ferocious devil has gotten himself involved. It’s all linked together. Am I wrong?

Samayoru: Just a silly coincidence. You’ve got the right recipe for flirting with disaster, Mr. Birkin.

Birkin: So give me a straight answer. Who am I, then?

Samayoru: Zen dialogue is not my specialty.

Birkin: Then, who exactly are you?

Samayoru: Hahaha. What do you think?

Birkin: It feels like I shouldn’t say. My thoughts keep changing too quickly.

Samayoru: You are, haha. Looking for punctuation in life.

Birkin: Not again. You’re in control, right?

Samayoru: I can offer you an answer for what you seek.

Birkin: Show me, then. The inner workings of this guy …

Samayoru: It’s my turn at bat. Are you able to return the pitch Curtis Blackburn throws?

Birkin: Yeah, that’s Wright. Or left - which kneecap will it be? I think I’ve more or less got it. So here?

Samayoru: Ahahahah. Please stop. Pftpftpft. I’ll laugh my head off. Don’t make me split my sidesHA HA HA HA HA

Birkin: It’s because your left knee is a bloody mess. It’s called stimulation therapy. Try to hang in there for a bit.

Samayoru: Bwaha! Stop, stop, I’m going to explode with laughter. Ahahahahaha. Will I go crazy from the pain? Pftpftpftpft. Really hurts. Really hurts. Really hurts. Puahhahahahahaha!

Finally, it broke. I swung, over and over, at the swollen red kneecap. Hit the ball squarely - a zinger for sure. Then a series of satisfying blows just like it. Samayoru erupts with laughter. He’s convulsing like he’s going to die of laughter.

His smile was filled with madness, though. Little by little, his eyes stopped smiling. It’s a lot to take in. That terror was no laughing matter. A face with a good amount of impact. He sits deeply into the sofa, looks me straight in the face, and smiles piercingly.

Samayoru: Well then, let’s get down to business.

Birkin: What?

Samayoru: I shall tell you my true identity. I am the prototype for the “smiling faces”. A ‘thing’ that resembles a recomposed human being. All of the information has been extracted. Because of that, I am able to keep smiling.

Birkin: I don’t get your meaning.

Samayoru: Before long, all of Mr. Birkin will be extracted.

Birkin: I’d rather not.

Samayoru: Don’t the joints of your body ache?

Birkin: Nope, not at all, I’m fine. Picture of health.

Samayoru: Oh, come now. Look.

Birkin: Urk!

A sharp pain ran through my neck. I was overwhelmed by pain so bad I couldn’t stand … my consciousness … fl … ew … out the window …

July 5th, 4:44 AM
At Shigeki Birkin’s Apartment

I don’t want to believe the scene playing out in front of me right now.

Dan Smith is squaring up in front of where Curtis Blackburn is sitting in his special VIP spot, with Mario Castiglione’s fresh head as a souvenir. Words can’t begin to describe the high tension of the situation. The spark of so-called criminal power started to give me a headache. It was almost as if intense electromagnetic waves were being emitted from these two.

Dan placed the miserable head onto a fruit platter that was sitting on the table. A proper Castiglione Sunday has been served up. Curtis doesn’t flinch or change expressions one bit, which irritates the hell out of Dan. And I … me? Well, I … my bat-holding hand is drenched in sweat.

Curtis: Kid, just tell me what you want. Don’t scare the girls.

Dan: How about it? It’s an adequate gift, this head. Put me to work for the top brass. Not a bad deal, is it?

Curtis: Don’t get ahead of yourself, like you do with just about everything. You wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of generosity, so I’m doing you a favor by maintaining order.

Dan: You intend to keep me in check?

Curtis: Are you dissatisfied?

Dan: If you really can, then do it by force.

Curtis: Putting down a prideful brat like you is easy, but … it’ll destroy your self-respect.

Dan: You’re saying I’m as weak as to break from something like that?!

Curtis: It would appear so.

Dan: I’ll make you disappear, then.

It’s the most explosive situation of the century.

July 5th, 8:06pm
‘Rolling Thunder’ Nightclub

JPN Scan - This entry was scanned and transliterated from the 2018 SUDA51 OFFICIAL COMPLETE BOOK.