The Fable (ザ・ファブル)

The Fable

I Love You, Nii-san!

Octopus

Good morning.

- Morning, Sato. -

Is that a TV?

It's useful if we can watch in here, right?

Now for more news.

It works! You're amazing, Kai.

Good morning.

- Morning. -

Morning.

Misaki, is your cold all better?

Uh. Yes. I'm fine now.

Sorry.

That's good to know.

That's a great picture.

- As well as revising... - Oh.

...where playground equipment is placed, inspections...

Things are awkward between you and Misaki?

Yeah. It's like she's avoiding me.

Don't tell me she figured out it was you at the factory.

Mm... Misaki was in panic mode then,

and I wasn't even with her for a minute.

Well, yeah...

She'd probably freak out even more if she knew it was you.

Even though I saved her?

Of course she'd freak out and be in shock if she found out

her friend was a hitman.

Seriously?

Are you worried she found out?

Come on, be honest with me.

Hmm...

If she figured it out, I would be a failure as a pro.

- I'm supposed to be invisible... - Boring! Enough!

That's not what I mean.

You risked your life to save her, so wouldn't it bum you out

if she hated you for being a hitman?

Risked my life, huh?

What I did was like a walk in the park to me.

So, you wouldn't care if Misaki hated you?

You'd lose her as a friend.

I don't care.

Sheesh! You're like a robot.

Like a cold-hearted killing machine.

I'm not that good.

That wasn't a compliment!

It's been a while, Suna.

Now that Koji's out of the joint, the group must be reinvigorated.

Kojima's dead.

What?

You're quite the actor too.

You're all the same.

Anyway, whatever. I've got a question for you.

What is it?

I can only tell you what I know.

I want info on that hitman called Fable.

I heard he does work for the Maguro Group.

But I've never once heard anything about him.

What? A hitman? Fable?

Nope, never heard of him.

You used to be one of them, right?

Until around 15 years ago, you were called a cleaner, weren't you?

Here's two million.

Tell me what you know.

- Now, Suna... - I don't care how trivial it is.

Even if it's whether you know of the name Fable.

Is he just a legend like Bigfoot and Nessie?

Or was the guy I saw the hitman known as Fable?

He showed up out of nowhere like a ghost,

and trounced everyone there in front of my very eyes

with a toy gun.

Well, I will tell you some good news.

You've been in the underworld a long time,

but even you don't know who this Fable guy is.

Do you know what that means?

It means they're an organization that's perfected the business of killing.

So I shouldn't make enemies of them?

Don't be ridiculous. I mean keep your nose out of it.

They've got connections with the Maguro Group, right?

Then you don't need to dig around.

Eventually, when you become the boss or captain of the Maguro Group,

they'll come to you anyway, right?

So, that's what it comes down to, huh?

Brother's not here.

I'm bored. So bored.

- -

Yes?

Hello.

Welcome.

What kind of knife are you looking for?

Uh...

Oh, the Blackhawk.

Shall I get it out so you can hold it?

Yeah.

Please wear a glove.

This brings back memories.

Huh? Do you know this knife?

Yeah. I liked it a lot, but a bear went off with it.

Well, well! That sounds like a narrow escape.

That bear was pretty dangerous.

I had no choice but to stab it in the eye with this knife.

That darn bear ran off with my knife still stuck in it.

You're kidding, right?

Yeah, I'm just kidding.

I'll take this knife.

Sorry for suddenly dropping in.

It's okay.

So, what brings you here today?

Well, you could say that I'm one of the people who knows what's up.

"What's up"?

Yes. With what happened the other day at the factory,

and Fable's... your brother's job.

Uh, just so you know, I'm on your side.

I even asked your brother if I could be his apprentice.

"His apprentice"?

Of course, he turned me down.

So, what do you want from me?

I was hoping you could tell me how I could approach your brother

to get him to make me his apprentice.

How the heck should I know?

How about your organization?

Do you do any kind of recruiting?

I know even less about that.

And don't bring up things like some "organization" so casually.

To be honest, I have hardly any idea who my brother is.

Really?

For a young guy in Maguro, you're pretty high up, right?

You'd throw away that rank?

I couldn't care less about rank or status.

I'd abandon everything in my life now if he made me his apprentice.

Mm...

My brother,

he's going into the mountains for a couple nights this weekend.

Into the mountains? Camping?

I don't know.

He said something about how he's losing his edge and stuff.

Why not ask him to take you with him?

That is, if you can walk with your leg like that.

I guess you'll give up after spending two whole days together.

How should I ask him?

Beg him to take you.

He's actually a sucker for that kind of thing.

Beg him, huh?

All right. Thank you!

Keep coming. Keep coming.

Okay, that's good.

Good evening.

I see you got your cast off.

Isn't it a little soon?

No. I'm just fine, Sensei.

I mean, Nii-san.

"Nii-san"?

Ah!

I have a present for you.

It's nothing much.

I overheard from Yoko

that you were looking to get this.

From Yoko?

This is...

Shozo Hamanoya.

You like Jackal and you often watch this drama, right?

I like Jackal too, so I can relate.

I haven't watched the drama, but I know about Shozo Hamanoya.

Can I keep this?

Of course!

That's why I bought it.

Go ahead.

I kind of overheard that this weekend,

you're going up to the mountains to camp or something.

You sure do overhear a lot.

Nii-san, can I come with you?

Just so you know, it's not camping.

If it's not camping, then what is it?

I'm just spending two nights and three days in the mountains.

Ideally, I'd spend a week there.

Just going to the mountains?

Then I'll do things on my own, but can we go there together?

I won't get in your way.

I mean it. I'll be near you, but we'll do our own thing.

You can just ignore me.

We'll keep within sight, but do our own thing.

We'll be within talking distance, but do our own thing.

I get it. We'll do our own thing.

- Then... - Listen carefully.

Don't litter in the mountains, not even a single tissue.

If you litter even once, I'll bury you right then and there.

Nii-san!

So, you agreed to it?

Yeah, because you filled his head with stupid ideas.

What's wrong with going on a little hike with him?

He'll never keep up anyway.

Once he sees how much more capable and stronger you are, he'll give up.

You want some veggie stir fry too?

Just a little.

Also, a package arrived for you from Boss.

Boss?

It's over there, on top of the microwave.

Oh, that.