Thunderclaps 3: Afterword

Welcome to the Offbeat Universe!

“My current fav is Fever-chan from DC Comics’s new Doom Patrol series. She’s a new hero and it’s cute how she can’t control her powers well and ends up boiling the people she’s trying to save. I want my next heroine to be like that.”

When I (Hazawa) showed up to the meeting about my next novel and said that, my editor Okada-san glared at me.

“You’ve gone soft lately. I need to knock some character back into you, so come with me.”

Before I could say a word more, Okada-san was driving me to the basement of a certain building in Ginza. A violent-looking young man standing in front of a black door with no sign spoke with the frightening voice of a checkpoint guard.

“Let’s see some membership ID.”

The look in his eyes would send a chill down most anyone’s spine, but Okada-san replied calmly.

“Don’t you recognize me, you bottom-rung trash? Shut your trap and let us through to the club’s VIP seats.”

The young man went red in the face and grabbed Okada-san by the collar of his suit.

“The fuck did you say to me!? Do you not know where you are!? This is the Yamashita Group’s- geh.”

A powerful punch struck the young man in the back of the head. He fell to his knees and a black leather shoe stomped on his back. The man who appeared from down the hallway was dressed all in black and looked like the grim reaper, but he bowed deeply.

“I am terribly sorry, Okada-sama. I clearly must teach my people better. I will cut off one of his fingers later, so please forgive him.”

“You don’t have to do that. I’ve been away from this business so long I can’t blame the younger ones for not recognizing me.”

While I tilted my head, wondering who Okada-san really was, the grim reaper opened the black door. A sexual aroma wafted out and I heard several women’s cries: “Eek, not my butt”, “No, please top teasing me”, and so on.

“I’m here to teach Hazawa-sensei here how the world works. Can you get him into Dominatrix Nijiko’s 3-Day Male Pig Training Hell?”

The grim reaper’s ghastly face gave me a look of deep pity when he heard that.

“H-hold on, Okada-san. What is going on here? Hey, let go of me!”

In lieu of an answer, I heard the heavy black door creaking and slamming shut behind me.

This book was written based on my experiences there. Please enjoy it.

 

October 2001. At a secret club named Last Laugh.

-Hazawa Kouichi