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much in truth as in things they wish were the truth. Their
eyes may be wide open, but
they don’t see a thing. Tricking them is as easy as twisting a baby’s arm.”
“Sakigake.” Aomame tried out the word. What did it mean, anyway? Forerunner?
Precursor? Pioneer? It sounded more like the kind of name that would be attached to a
Japanese super-express train than to a religion.
Tsubasa lowered her eyes momentarily when she heard the word “Sakigake,” as
though reacting to a special sound concealed within it. When she raised her eyes
again, her face was as expressionless as before, as if a small eddy had suddenly begun
to swirl inside her and had immediately quieted down.
“Sakigake’s guru is the one who raped Tsubasa,” the dowager said. “He took her
by force on the pretext of granting her a spiritual awakening. The parents were
informed that the ritual had to be completed before the girl experienced her first
period. Only such an undefiled girl could be granted a pure spiritual awakening. The
excruciating pain caused by the ritual would be an ordeal she would have to undergo
in order to ascend to a higher spiritual level. The parents took him at his word with
complete faith. It is truly astounding how stupid people can be. Nor is Tsubasa’s the
only such case.
According to our intelligence, the same thing has been done to other
girls in the cult. The guru is a degenerate with perverted sexual tastes. There can be
no doubt. The organization and the doctrines are nothing but a convenient guise for
masking his individual desires.”
“Does this ‘guru’ have a name?”
“Unfortunately, we haven’t learned that yet. He’s just called ‘Leader.’ We don’t
know what sort of person he is, what he looks like, or anything about his background.
No matter how much we dig, the information is not forthcoming. It has been totally
blocked. He stays shut up in cult headquarters in the mountains of Yamanashi, and
almost never appears in public. Even inside the cult,
the number of individuals
allowed to see him is highly restricted. He is said to be always in the dark,
meditating.”
“And we can’t allow him to continue unchecked.”
The dowager glanced at Tsubasa and nodded slowly. “We can’t let there be any
more victims, don’t you agree?”
“In other words, we have to take steps.”
The dowager reached over and laid her hand atop Tsubasa’s, steeping herself in a
moment of silence. Then she said, “Exactly”
“It is quite certain, then, that he repeatedly engages in these perverted acts?”
Aomame asked.
The dowager nodded. “We have proof that he is systematically raping girls.”
“If it’s true, it’s unforgivable,” Aomame said softly. “You are right: we can’t let
there be any more victims.”
Several different thoughts seemed to be intertwined and competing for space in the
dowager’s mind. Then she said, “We must learn a great deal more about this ‘Leader’
person. We must leave no ambiguities. After all, a human life hangs in the balance.”
“This person almost never comes out in public, you say?”
“Correct. And he probably has extremely tight security”
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Aomame narrowed her eyes and pictured to herself the
specially made ice pick in
the back of her dresser drawer, the sharp point of its needle. “This sounds like a very
tough job.”
“Yes, unusually difficult,” the dowager said. She drew her hand back from
Tsubasa’s and pressed the tip of her middle finger against her eyebrow. This was a
sign—not one she displayed very often—that the dowager had run out of ideas.
Aomame said, “Realistically speaking, it would be next to impossible for me to go
out to the Yamanashi hills on my own, sneak into this heavily guarded cult,
dispatch
their Leader, and come out unscathed. It might work in a ninja movie, but …”
“I am not expecting you to do any such thing, of course,” the dowager said
earnestly before realizing that Aomame’s last remark had been a joke. “It is out of the
question,” she added with a wan smile.
“One other thing concerns me,” Aomame said, looking into the dowager’s eyes.
“The Little People. Who—or what—are they? What did they do to Tsubasa? We need
more information about them.”
Finger still pressed against her brow, the dowager said, “Yes, they concern me,
too. Tsubasa
here hardly speaks at all, but the words ‘Little People’ have come out of
her mouth a number of times, as you heard earlier. They probably mean a lot to her,
but she won’t tell us a thing about them. She clams up as soon as the topic arises.
Give me a little more time. I’ll look into this matter, too.”
“Do you have some idea how we can learn more about Sakigake?”
The dowager gave her a gentle smile. “There is nothing tangible in this world you
can’t buy if you pay enough, and I am prepared to pay a lot—especially where this
matter is concerned. It may take a little while, but I will obtain the necessary
information without fail.”
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