Man with No Name: A Nanashi Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

two cigarettes and walked over and handed one to Nanashi. “My head is swollen from too many drinks. I hardly remember anything from last night. Good thing you gave up drinking, huh? You could be suffering like me.”
    Nanashi smiled. He wondered if Koma or the maniac twins had noticed him downing liquor. Koma would be quite alarmed if he learned that his subordinate had fallen off the wagon. Koma might decide to cut his losses if Nanashi became so reckless as he’d been when they first rehabilitated him in the bad old days. Koma was looking for the slightest excuse. Nanashi didn’t really give a damn one way or the other. That bothered him a little.
    Haru’s face was doughy with exhaustion. He rubbed his eye. “I feel like shit, Nanashi. I didn’t sleep a wink. What about you?”
    “I slept like a baby.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    “Damn. I want to grow up and be just like you. You’re a cool customer. Nothing bothers you. Hey, Amida. How’d you sleep last night?”
    “Like shit,” Amida said. He looked as bad as Haru.
    “Me too! But our friend here, he slept the night through. Fresh as a daisy!”
    “He doesn’t drink. If I didn’t drink, I’d be fresh as a daisy too.”
    “Maybe I should give up liquor. What are you drinking?” Haru gestured at Nanashi’s cup.
    “Coffee.”
    “Yeah? Maybe that’s what I should do -- drink coffee, like you.”
    “Maybe you should.”
    “What?”
    Koma yelled from inside, “Get Nanashi in here!”
    “Koma’s asking for you,” Haru said. “Could I try that?” He took Nanashi’s coffee and sipped. He made a face. “How can you drink this stuff?”
    “Where’s Muzaki?”
    “Jiki and Mizo took him for a walk. Muzaki walks two miles every morning. Wouldn’t know it from his looks.”
    Nanashi took Muzaki’s yellow paper from his pocket, careful not to unfold it this time. He stared at it a moment before lighting a corner with the tip of his cigarette. He held the paper at arm’s length and watched it burn to a crisp, its ashes scattered by the breeze.
    Haru said, “Did Muzaki show you the trick?”
    “Which one?”
    “The one where you stare at some spots and then close your eyes. I saw Buddha!”
    Koma shouted an epithet.
    “Koma wants you,” Amida said. He leaned against the rail so that his hair hung over the gulf. His voice was weak. “Please don’t piss him off this early in the morning. My head feels like a kettle drum.”
    “Your ass looks like two bongos! You need to exercise.” Haru slapped his own buttock for emphasis. “My girlfriend makes me work out with her to Bunz of Iron . She owns the whole series. It’s a miracle.”
    “You watch workout videos with your girlfriend?”
    “Why not? My ass looks great, doesn’t it?”
    “Yeah, it does.”
    Nanashi stubbed his cigarette in the saucer and walked inside. He sat across from Koma who was clutching a fistful of the betting slips. More lay on the table, while others had fallen to the floor.
    Koma’s bloodshot eyes bulged dangerously and the blister on his lip was ripe as a grape. His dirty breakfast dishes hadn’t been cleared away and the ashtray was already half full. He slammed the phone and wiped his sweaty face with a handkerchief. “When Jiki and Mizo get back, we’re all going for a drive to the quarry.” He said this without glancing up, as if his gruffness disguised shame.
    “When did Uncle Yutaka call?”
    “I don’t know. An hour ago.”
    Nanashi stared at the top of Koma’s skull where the hair was relentlessly thinning. “Are we sure about this?”
    “Yeah, yeah. Uncle was clear. We take him to the quarry.”
    “Okay.”
    “Okay with you? Our orders meet with your approval?” Koma stuffed the slips into his coat pocket. “Go on. Get the fuck away from me. You’re giving me a headache. Hold on. Get those for me.” He pointed at the slips scattered around his feet and glowered while Nanashi crouched, leaning under the table, and scooped them into his