The Red Lantern Accusation
The street was thick with the mingled scents of liquor and cosmetics. Women adorned in lavish ornaments flirted openly with every passerby, beckoning them with coy gestures. The light spilling from red lanterns flushed the cheeks of both the crowd and the swaying decorations. Even through the curtains of a window overlooking the raucous street, decadent crimson light leaked in, staining the fedora that hung on the wall. That same red glow touched a certain figure against the originally white plaster, but it roused no feeling in the young man already steeped in scarlet.
He was wild with excitement, shouting into the telephone receiver.
“What do you mean, don’t get involved with him! Both Haruko and Yaoba have been taken by the special police, yet that bastard is still walking around completely untouched! He’s obviously a spy!”
“In that case, of course—crackle—it would be him. But the Oba family has been under especially close watch from the center lately—crackle. It might be coincidence, but now is the time to lie low—crackle—so stay hidden for the time being.”
Click.
“Executive! Hey! Damn it! I won’t accept this!”
Click— “Yozo…!”
In a shabby alley, a young man stood motionless before the door of the bookstore, his face tight with tension. After a brief hesitation he knocked in a measured rhythm.
Knock— Knock knock knock—
The door creaked open. A boy with a youthful face greeted him warmly.
“Mr. Oba? You’re safe! I was sure the special police had taken you too.”
“Takanashi-kun… I’m glad to see you as well. But what do you mean by special police…?”
“Ah, please come with me first. The leader told me to bring you to the bar…”
“The leader? You mean Sister Haruko?”
“Ah… Miss Nakayama was arrested by them as well. I’m sorry—you two were close. Sato is the leader now.”
Exchanging these gloomy words, the boy jingling a small key and the young man with heavy steps made their way toward the pleasure district.
Beside the gaudy building lit by red lanterns rose a staircase to the second floor. As the boy searched for the key, the door suddenly opened and a man in a fedora stepped out.
“I’ve been waiting. Takanashi, stay inside. Follow me, Oba.”
The man in the fedora spoke curtly and descended the stairs ahead of him. The fedora leading the way and the young man trailing behind left the red-glowing pleasure quarter, passed through the run-down streets slated for redevelopment, and continued into the ever-darkening outskirts of the city.
They walked in awkward silence, using the moonlight as a guide through the gloom. Then the man in the fedora suddenly slipped a hand into his inner pocket and stopped.
“Yozo Oba. Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Mr. Sato… I heard the news. But I intend to withdraw from political activity.”
“Yes. You should withdraw.”
“That’s why I answered your summons. Honestly, I never had much interest in Marxism from the beginning.”
“Hah…”
“…I’m sorry to say this at such a difficult time. I’ll be going.”
As the young man turned to leave, the man in the fedora whirled around. His eyes were bloodshot, a chaotic storm of grief and searing rage.
“I was surprised you followed so obediently.”
“Pardon?”
“Hey, Yozo. How much did they pay you? Had to be more than a thousand yen, right? Enough to throw a party with thousand-yen bills right in the middle of the street.”
“What are you—”
“How much did you get paid to become a spy overnight and report the reading club! After you clung to Haruko like that!!”
Click—
“I even respected you! That’s why I stepped aside from Haruko… I gave her up!! And now you’ve betrayed us! All of us!!”
Bang! Bang!
“Aaaagh—!!”