Scarlet Snow, Pale Water

Chapter 3: The Impotence of Words and the Mud of the Swamp

Freedom was slowly stripped away from Koji and Yukino's daily lives.

As the two walked through the narrow alleys of the tenement houses, handing out leaflets to impoverished workers, plainclothes Tokko officers shadowed them closely, their footsteps echoing behind. Immediately after they handed over a leaflet and walked away, the Tokko would pointedly visit the resident's home, opening their notebooks. "You know what happens to those who associate with them, don't you?"

The intimidation was remarkably effective. A few days later, when Koji visited the same tenement houses again, the residents who had always been kind to him opened their doors only a crack, their eyes filled with fear. "...Don't come to our place anymore. If we get involved with you, I'll be fired from the factory. Please, just leave us alone..."

Click. The wooden door was shut tight.

At the dead end of the tenement alley, Koji collapsed, pressing his forehead against the wall. "Words... are completely useless, aren't they?!"

Koji violently shook off Yukino's hand as she ran up to him. "Look, Yukino! Look, Yukino! These leaflets we folded while swallowing mud are only terrifying our neighbors and ruining their lives! To them, our words are nothing but poison! Believing in the power of words is a naive fantasy! We have to beat down the Tokko and crush them with our own hands!"

"Koji, calm down!" Yukino gripped his shoulders with all her strength. "If you beat them down, what then? If you end up in prison, will that save the people of the tenements? They don't want an endless cycle of violence—they just want a peaceful tomorrow!"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Just stand here and take their blows in silence?!" Koji's eyes were bloodshot with rage and despair.

"We endure!" Yukino shrieked. Tears poured from her eyes, staining Koji's work jacket. "A justice that rules by force is no justice at all—it's just violence! If we resort to violence, we become the very same monsters as the Tokko who oppress us! It's because we swallow this mud, because we endure this misery and keep weaving our words, that our justice remains pure. Koji, please... don't leave me behind in this dark!"

Yukino's tearful shriek arrested Koji's spiraling mind. Covering his face with trembling hands, Koji crouched down and sobbed. He was utterly broken by the sheer steepness and blood-stained cruelty of the path of believing in words.

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"Thank you so much for reading to the very end!"💗