within himself, lost in his musings, and he hadn’t even felt the pain.

Takahashi had finished. Slowly, the old man had risen to his feet

and he was now standing behind Kanno, casting a critical eye over

his work. He grunted once in satisfaction.

“It is done, ” he said.

Kanno tensed with anticipation. He took a deep breath and got

up, walking over to the three mirrored panels set up opposite where

he was sitting. He stood before the mirrors, naked except for the

fundoshi, slim and muscular, his long black hair worn in the style of

a sorcerer, cascading to his shoulders. He gazed at the tattoo with

awe.

It was, indeed, a masterpiece. The dragon coiled across his back,

its varicolored, reptilian wings spreading out across his shoulders,

the paneled decorations and thaumaturgic characters surrounding

it, spelling out the complicated incantation in Japanese, covering

his upper arms and sides. Its serpent tail stretched across his

buttocks and coiled round and round his left leg, more characters,

highlighted by multicolored paneling, hummingbirds and flowers,

descended down his right leg. The scales of the dragon seemed

iridescent, almost metallic, highlighted in delicate shades of gold

and green and silver. Its head was huge and fearsome, its jaws

open, teeth gleaming. Roiling flames spouted from its gullet. It was

terrible and beautiful. It almost seemed alive.

“You are indeed the master of your art, Takahashi-san,”

Kanno said with admiration. “I have never seen such exquisite

workmanship.”

The old man flushed with pleasure and bowed. “Coming from a

master such as yourself, Kanno-san, that is truly a great

compliment. I have labored long and hard to render a design that

would be worthy of your stature. I thank you for your patience. It is

the crowning achievement of my entire career. I do not think that I

will ever be able to duplicate such an achievement.”

Kanno turned around and smiled. “Then it is only fitting that

your crowning moment be your last, ” he said.

He stretched out his arm, hand open, palm out, fingers extended.

And suddenly he clutched his hand into a fist and squeezed.