Chapter 88

Chapter 88 is the eighty-eighth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
Following the thread leads other players to a certain Polka Shinoyama. As interest in the seemingly innocuous boy grows, the Corpse God receives an unexpected proposition.

Synopsis
In the back of a bus, after the mediators' meeting, Yumeji Agakura dreams of his past: of a good morning when his parents handled breakfast and his siblings good-naturedly teased him; of a bad time when the house was trashed and his family prayed together; of a door tacked with "phony psychic scam artist" and "get out, crook!" signs; of a room filled with people kneeling in prayer before a robed figure; of smiling adults calling him a "child of God", and of boys who mockingly do the same while attempting to force-feed him a cicada. All I want is to be a good boy, thinks Yumeji's dream-self, who crushes the spoon and the hand holding it, so why is everyone trying to stop me? He beats the bullies till they cannot stand, then sits on a nearby bench to rest. Polka Shinoyama, seeing him, asks about his well-being; Yumeji says he ought to ask the prone bullies, but Polka replies he couldn't help it: after all, Yumeji is crying.

Momoya Agakura rouses Yumeji from his doze before sitting beside him, though the bus is empty besides the two and their sisters Dahlia and Kana. He remarks that he did not know Yumeji and Polka were childhood friends. Yumeji finds this natural, since the friendship formed before Yumeji "became an Agakura"; that Majiri did somehow know about it was, comparably, unnatural. It was also probably why she told him to become the new Shibuya mediator, he guesses. He passes Momoya his phone with the bounty email and says that while Polka seems to have changed little appearance-wise, it remains to be seen if the same can be said personality-wise.

In the Abandoned Building, Polka contentedly relaxes on the head of his half niece as she makes Takumi Kuruya, Civil A. Sabaramond, Soara Habaki, and Lulu watch the trailer for My dress-up Sharkling, an upcoming film from the director behind Jaws in Saitama—which is, of course, widely considered to be the rival work to Sharkborg From Hell. Lulu is the only one of the four who seems genuinely 'into' the trailer, although Civil is polite enough to ask a question about the movie once Sayo tells them the premise. Takumi, ever practical, advises Sayo to be discreet when she takes Polka to see the film in theaters.

It occurs to Sayo that it is odd for Polka to stay behind instead of accompanying the Corpse God home, The explanation that Corpse God had given Takumi was that he would be having a "difficult conversation" with Rozan Shinoyama about "what happens next" among other business—one that, Takumi admits, one would think Polka would want to hear nonetheless. Civil is more interested in just what Polka can see in the (shark)flesh. Spirits? he wonders. Even in that state? He wonders how the Sabaramondian elders would react if they were told.

Tsubaki Iwanome brings up the matter of investigating the Sabaramond organization with members of Comps-3, who seem to collectively understand that the investigation is an unofficial one compared to their official investigation into Phantom Solitaire and all troublemakers. This is despite the potential connections between the two:


 * Kuon Higuro, who spoke with Habaki and appeared on Solitaire's deepfake video, is likely involved with Sabaramond.
 * The officer who killed himself when Habaki escaped had previously participated in a police raid of Polka's building.
 * Solitaire famously pulled a stunt on said building's roof.
 * The teenager involved with the troublemaker-class Human Knots incident is one of Polka's associates.

When Iwanome is asked if he is insinuating the Shinoyama Clan is involved, he says that "it's true" that the clan is connected to Comps-3's precinct's old guard; he would be unsurprised to discover skeletons in the clan's closet. His next sentence goes unfinished; a young man shouts from the doorway that Solitaire is making a "big stand" against gangsters who had been chasing him. Everyone hurries out of the room without bothering to grab their devices or documents; among the latter, a sheaf of papers titled "Analysis Results of the Explosion Around Yotsuya" is given prominent focus.

In the privacy of the emptied meeting room, Rushia Andou contemplates her wine and Lisa Kuraki's strong reaction to her sniper's shot at Polka. She compliments both attending snipers for the efficacy of their threat: the reaction it elicited was enough to confirm that Lisa is utterly serious about protecting the boy. The female sniper informs her that the bullet, which was meant to only graze Polka in the first place, seemed to have halted a meter away from him. This is so inexplicable that the girl supposes she could have hallucinated it. A question, much like the bullet, hangs in the air: in the absence of bulletproof glass or a reinforced acrylic sheet, neither of which were there, just what could have stopped the bullet like that?

However, it is a different question to which Andou gives voice: could it be that Lisa is interested not in Polka's value...but Polka himself?

Corpse God returns to the Abandoned Building with Majiri—or, Riddhe Malacougar—still weighing on his mind. He ascends the stairs to find Takumi standing in the patch of light spilling out of the computer room; Takumi stiffly welcomes him and says that he has guests. When Corpse God peers into the room, Majiri and Lemmings peer back. Behind them stand a grim-faced Civil, Sayo, and Xiaoyu Lei, with Soara crouched preemptively by Takumi's disarrayed desk.

Referbacks

 * The officer who shot himself did so in Chapter 53, eleven chapters after the police raid took place in Chapters 40, 41, and 42.
 * The Human Knots incident took place in Chapter 4.
 * Misaki left a first and literal impression on Arase in Chapter 7.
 * Solitaire graced the Building's rooftop in Chapter 30.
 * Ranmaru Yatsu told Iwanome about Yotsuya-based gunfire in Chapter 84.
 * The Atelier snipers fired on Polka in Chapter 82.