Night 4: Loneliness ← Kodoku → Insect Poison
As the season had long changed into winter, the air that remained in the school corridors seemed to be particularly cold late at night. Even the hazy scene that seemed to float in the darkness gave off a feeling of a piercing chill. When people talk about an ordinary school rarely praised or criticized, they meant exactly a place like Kannonsakazaki Private High School. However, this ordinary scene was currently showing something incongruously strange. The moonlight that shone in through the window made the corridor glisten with light as if it were a mirror, and a few human figures were wobbling along the bright corridor.
There were about ten teenagers. Since they were all wearing the uniforms of Kannonsakazaki High School, they should be the school’s students! There were boys and girls with similar unfocused expressions on their faces, stumbling along as if they were the risen dead. Their faces were full of gloom, apparently having lost their human conscious.
Among these students in uniform, their leader was the only person who was dressed oddly. He was dressed with a long purple robe, holding a large crystal ball in his hands, and his red eyes still sparkled with residue light in the darkness.
He was indeed the mysterious fortune teller who gave the Dream World Beast to Sakaki Guryū, tried to kill Usagawa Rinne, and survived Guriko’s attack. He did not wear his hood. The expressionless youth’s face was exposed in the school at the dead of night.
This macabre team, led by the fortune teller, marched forward. Soon they arrived at the third floor and stopped in front of a sealed cla.s.sroom that no one usually approached. Although so many people were gathered together, there was not a single word of conversation. The surroundings were enveloped in a frightening stillness. The fortune teller broke the silence and said: “… I see, it was indeed something very vicious!”
No one answered his words. The fortune teller gave a look, urging a boy with a particularly thick build to step forward. A rough and large axe was held in the boy’s hands. In order to forbid people from entering, the door of the sealed cla.s.sroom had wooden panels nailed onto it. The boy lifted the axe and chopped downwards chaotically, destroying the door. The sound of him hacking away, as if intending to break the others’ eardrums, echoed in the silent school for a long time.
‘Clack’, the wooden panel made a mighty noise, and the door was completely smashed. Age-old thick dust filled up the air, but the fortune teller did not mind it at all. He spoke to the students behind him: “hurry, the door’s open, get inside –”
Without a word the students, their faces filled with lifeless and blank expressions, obeyed the fortune teller’s words and walked into the empty abandoned cla.s.sroom.
There was a strange rumor concerning this sealed cla.s.sroom. Reputedly, all the students who broke into this abandoned cla.s.sroom for fun had strangely disappeared. This rumor appeared to be confirmed by the fortune teller. "Something evil’ was indeed within this cla.s.sroom. It was an existence that should never have been born in this world, something called a monster. This was an existence similar to that of the fortune teller.
“… Come, I’m here to bring offerings. This is prepared particularly for you. Please enjoy yourself. As for having their souls already sucked away – please forgive me, as the best way to successfully control humans is to suck away the soul and make them into zombies! You’re not the type to eat souls anyway, Legion Bandanna, demonic beast of blood and flesh –”
The fortune teller spoke to the darkness that formed whirlpools in the cla.s.sroom. Upon closer inspection, the students standing dazedly in the cla.s.sroom were devored by the darkness one by one, and their figures thus disappeared. It looked to be truly hungry. Human were cruel indeed, locking it up here and not even giving it food. In the pitch dark cla.s.sroom, Legion Bandanna’s hunger and hatred were raised to the ultimate level.
With a satisfied expression on his face, the fortune teller looked almost as if he was appreciating the demonic beast that was savoring the students as it devored them.
Unknown to him, someone was standing behind him.
“… What are you doing?”
“Oh dear.”
The fortune teller turned his head. A red-haired woman, about twenty years old, was standing there.
It was a Mushi. It probably discovered that something odd was happening in the school and came to ascertain the situation.
The fortune teller waved a hand and spoke to the Mushi with the female appearance: “What’s wrong? Do you need to come to this school for something?”
“Don’t play dumb, I’m asking what you are doing.”
The Mushi was unmoved, and nor did the expression on its face change.
“What’s your intention in feeding the carnivorous beast? You should know the danger in this, right? If it’s just a pointless game, then you must be disciplined as a Mushi –”
Just then, the expression on the Mushi’s face froze.
“You –”
Have they discovered me yet?
“Who? Who are you? You"re not a Mushi – not one of us.”
‘Shuuu’ – the fortune teller moved with a lightning quick speed that human eyes wouldn’t be able to see. It was a speed that the Mushi, whose physical abilities are not any higher than humans, can never have. The crystal ball immediately dropped on the ground, making a large sound.
The Mushi opened its red eyes wide in shock.
“Wha –”
“I won"t be stopped here!”
The sound came from behind the Mushi.
“– This is for my purpose.”
Then, with his vicious teeth, the fortune teller bit deeply into the slender neck of the Mushi. The Mushi gave out dying shrieks, waved its hands chaotically, but it was useless no matter how it struggled –
The Mushi soon disintegrated into thin air.
“… Ah, don’t worry about it!”
The fortune teller spoke into the pitch dark cla.s.sroom with a gloomy voice.
“Keep on enjoying your food till you’re full.”
Then, ‘psst’, he laughed. It was a very evil, purely evil laugh.
The scene was changing. She always felt that before – before she met Sakaki Guryū, the town had always felt so old and without charisma just like now. Was it going back to the way it was before? Usagawa Rinne sighed, then wiped away the tears that trickled down without her noticing.
The time was seven fifty, almost eight o’clock. Having just finished her work at the fastfood outlet, Rinne was currently riding her bicycle she hasn’t used it for many years, creaking with weird sounds. Every method of keeping herself warm was useless in the winter city after sunset. Rinne curved up her body, enduring the chilling air that seemed to almost erode her body. Apparently she still had residue feelings of ‘pain’ concerning temperature. According to Guriko, it looks like it’ll take a long time for those feelings to disappear.
However, it was said the heartache won’t disappear.
“What… should I do?”
She muttered as if she were speaking about someone else. What should I do? She had always regarded herself as some different existence before she met Guryū. This "difference" wasn’t in a good way, but in a bad way, as if she was a blemished work, a failure, a malfunctioning object, a piece of c.r.a.p. Only after meeting Guryū did she realize she was definitely not some different existence. There was no such thing as a different existence, good or bad. Everyone breathes, eats, sleeps, and lives in the same way. It was humanity itself that used poverty, personality, social states, and thoughts to cla.s.sify itself. When she was fifteen, she followed the whimsical distinctions that humans made , thinking that she was a different existence, thinking that she was not worthy, useless even alive, and thus desired death. Only when she met Guryū did she understand how to enjoy an ordinary life, and feel that she wasn’t different, just an ordinary human.
However – she was no longer an ordinary human. How can someone who has eternal life be ordinary? She hadn’t eaten anything, but can still move and speak. Does such a creature count as human? How can it, how can it be!
“Sensei…”
She was thinking of Sakaki, thinking of the existence of her beloved.
Humans will definitely one day part once they meet. Even if they do nothing, one day separation will arrive in the form of ‘death’. Although Rinne could understand such things, she never thought about it before. They won’t be in a teacher-and-student relationship once she graduates from high school. They would become a ordinary couple, and will one day marry… and be together forever. They would just have some uncertain sweet dreams, not thinking about the separation that will arrive one day at last, just living on that way. However… now she had to think of these things. She had to think how she, who won’t even be granted death, will part with Sakaki. One day Sakaki will die, but she cannot die. Therefore, she must decide on when to say farewell to him. Rinne’s tears fell splattering to the ground.
“No…”
No, no, no, Rinne murmured. The bicycle crossed the shopping street, galloping on the uneven ground. The moonlight shone down silently, the gra.s.s waved with a rustle, but Rinne was not in the mood to enjoy them.
“How can this be, how can this be…”
It was rare for Rinne to speak such pessimistic words.
She suddenly wanted to see Sakaki very much.
I used to want a teddy bear very much, Rinne said. What’s a teddy bear? Guriko asked without looking at Rinne. Her sight was focused on the television in front of her, where the little Kirby plushie was jumping cutely. After yesterday’s ‘Obake no Q-Tarō’, Guriko was challenging action games again today. She was probably getting used to it, and the way her hand used the controller were far more dexterous.
Rinne still couldn’t decide her future after listening to Guriko talking about the truth yesterday. There were many choices. She could stay beside Sakaki until he dies and travel with Guriko afterwards; she could also chose not go with Guriko after Sakaki"s death and pa.s.s her soul to the Mushi; or, as their relationship wasn’t very intimate yet and the separation won’t hurt too deeply, she many even leave Sakaki’s side tomorrow. However, although she can easily think up these choices, she couldn’t make a choice as she loves Sakaki very much in reality.
He saved Rinne’s life. He was her object of admiration, her most important person in the world.
“This thing, this teddy bear…”
Rinne was speaking of the past. She felt she wanted to talk about it. Although Guriko didn’t reply, it seemed she was listening attentively and would ask as soon as she has questions.
“It’s a toy, a bear toy! Because it’s made in a very abstract way, it doesn’t really look like a bear anymore – I used to want it very much. As to why I wanted it, I can’t remember the reason anymore.”
“That’s how everyone was like when they were young!”
Guriko, clad in pajamas, controlled Kirby as she said words that made others feel the weight of her years.
“A child’s world is actually very small. Even if it’s something that is boring and infinitesimal for adults, children would feel it’s an important existence that can’t be ignored, right?”
“That’s right!”
Rinne smiled and laid across the prepared bed. The heated kotatsu table had long ago been pushed to the corner of the room, and the preparations before sleep were already complete.
“It’s probably just like that. But my dad – I didn’t have a mom - he didn’t understand my thoughts, and told me off very harshly: ‘don’t ask for such things’. Since I couldn’t understand it, I kept throwing fits. That was probably… the beginning.”
The time was half past eight at night. Guriko had been playing video games from when she came back from school till now. If she was told: “you’re gonna hurt your eyes!’, she’d reply: ‘They’ll recovery on its own.” That was indeed true for her!
“After that, it just went all downhill. As I grew up, my personality also became very distorted. I became a person without interests, always feeling that the entire world refuses to acknowledge me, and no one’s listening to me. I became entangled in this paranoia and began to be afraid, and began to distance myself from others…”
Based to what Rinne"s current personality, it was very hard to imagine this. However, Rinne really did have such a time. Back then she hated others, hated herself, and hated the world.
Even hating life.
“There was no place for me in school, and I couldn’t get any solace at home, Plus, there was nothing I liked or was interested in; I just kept acc.u.mulating stress. Stress is very scary, Guriko; it’s definitely a monster. The monster named stress continued to erode my heart, gnaw away at that beautiful heart, and then I became someone hateful."
"Since I didn’t have the courage to be rebellious, I could only lock myself in my room and resist pa.s.sively. Although it’s boring to stay in the room, it wasn’t painful either, so I kept staying locked in the room. Dad couldn’t understand me. Whenever he was angry he swore ‘you piece of c.r.a.p’ while beating me, or said ‘get to school!’ while kicking me.”
And Rinne completely snapped.
She knew there was nothing good left even if she keeps living.
Then finish it, she thought.
“Had I not met Sakaki-sensei, I should probably be dead already. It was at the seaside, the seaside during winter when there was absolutely no one around. I was walking on the empty wave cutters, thinking of where I would kill myself. I wanted to die, I wanted to commit suicide. Now that I think about it, it’s really scary, but back then I really did snap!”
Or it could be said that she was mad. Rinne gave a small smile. On the television screen, Kirby fell into a hole and died. Play again! But there are no such chances in life.
“… I jumped in, trying to drown myself. I walked to the cliffside and jumped, aiming for the deep waters. I didn’t hope to be saved, and didn’t think anyone would save me. The sea water was so cold, cold enough to kill someone. I remember it very vividly. But all I felt then was that it was so cold.”
“Death is not a warm thing!” Rinne said.
“That’s obvious!” Guriko said coldly.
“But some people feel that it’s a warm and happy thing. Those crazy ones who think death is even happier than living.”
“I know.”
Guriko said evenly. Confusion emerged on Rinne’s face.
“I tried to die a few times too; I still want to die now. There’s nothing important for me, and I don’t know what I’m living for. I long for the concept of death very much.”
The reborn Kirby was walking forward in high spirits.
Guriko smiled unconsciously.
“So I’m a bit jealous of you. You have something important. You"re using that important existence – Sakaki Guryū - as your stable pillar, and lived on with happiness. I’m jealous, and I miss it. It is the beautiful feeling that I left behind a long long time ago. That’s reasonable, because for the person that I am right now –”
Guriko suddenly had a lost expression.
“– there isn’t anything or anyone important.”
Even so, why did Guriko stay alive? Rinne tried to think. The reason Guriko was alive was probably due to the fact that she ‘can’t die’, not that she ‘wanted to live’, right? This thought was just too pessimistic. This girl, in order to protect those who received the Apple from the threats of Mushi and also to avenge her family, lived on based on the feelings of duty, destiny, and hatred. But I feel that she is very tough, and very gentle. Guriko didn’t escape death, and she had fought alone to prevent her own misfortunes from occurring again.
“Guriko.”
“What?”
“Guriko, I –”
Rinne spoke from the depths of her heart: “– can’t I be the ‘most important’ person in Guriko’s heart?”
“Hmm…”
Guriko gave Rinne a look. It was the look of a stray kitten picked up from the street, wanting to be coquettish but weary at the same time. It was an expression that wanted to rely on someone but fearful at the same time, mixed in with some clumsiness.
“I don’t know…”
Guriko’s gaze returned to the television.
“I like you. I haven’t met anyone I like for a long time, but I have been separated from these kinds of feelings for a long while, therefore… I don’t know if I’m able to feel that you’re ‘important’. I can no longer distinguish whether this is the normal feeling that I had a thousand years ago.”
The girl who had died a long, looong time ago stared into nothingness and said: “I’ll tell you when I’ve come to a conclusion, Rinne. Thanks for your kind words.”
Tilting her head, Guriko still smiled clumsily.
For just a brief moment, an expression showed on Rinne’s face as if she wanted to cry, but she quickly got back to the original topic.
“Back to our previous topic, hmm… where were we?”
“Where you jumped into the sea.”
Guriko replied as she fought the boss at the same time.
Rinne nodded.
“Yes, I jumped into the sea to seek death. As to why I chose the sea, it’s because it was close… also, it would trouble a lot of people if I committed suicide on the railway.”
“You thought of others even back then! That’s really like you right now… hohoho.”
Rarely, Guriko smiled. Rinne’s eyes were looking at somewhere far away.
“Sensei saved me there.”
“Why would Sakaki be there?”
“Uh?”
Rinne’s eyes widened.
Then Rinne tilted her head as if thinking about something.
“– Hmm, huh, speaking of it, why indeed? No one swims in the sea during winter, so why would sensei be there? Although I don’t know, I think sensei must be beside the sea due to some sort of business. Then he saw me jumping, and saved me.”
“Sakaki was probably there to kill himself too.”
“That’s impossible!”
Rinne burst out laughing due to Guriko’s words. It would be impossible even if it was a joke.
“Anyways, sensei saved me at the risk of his own life. He then resuscitated me, who was hovering near death – Ahh, Guriko, why are you allowing me to say this!”
”Bam", Rinne suddenly knocked on Guriko’s head.
Shocked, Guriko looked at Rinne.
Rinne looked very embarra.s.sed.
“… And then, sensei told me off, saying I shouldn’t kill myself, then – Ahaha, what do you think sensei, drenched from head to toe, said to me? He said: ‘I fell in love with you at first sight. Please marry me.’ My brain froze, because I suddenly felt like Cinderella, with someone as handsome as sensei suddenly… to me…”
Rinne became red to the ears all of a sudden, while Guriko opened her eyes wide in shock. She probably didn’t know why Rinne was blushing; perhaps. Even Rinne herself didn’t know the reason!
“It was – at about this time last year, or a bit later. At the end, I found the hope to keep living because I met Sakaki-sensei, and so I gave up trying to kill myself and decide to study at Kannonsakazaki High School. I didn’t know sensei would chase after me as a teacher…”
“That guy’s activity is pretty messy itself.”
“But I was really happy! I liked sensei even back then. Even now, I still feel that meeting sensei in the sea was like a dream…”
With a dreamy, euphoric expression, Rinne said softly with a hand on her chest.
It was truly – miraculous. Perhaps it could be called destiny!
Meeting Sakaki Guryū, who changed Usagawa Rinne’s life.
At the same time it was also the beginning of the terrible situation that Usagawa Rinne was now facing.
As she easily went past level by level, Guriko said to Rinne with an innocent voice: “… Rinne, could it be that you ate it at that time?”
“Mm, I ate the Apple.”
Rinne answered quietly. Of course, this wasn’t the apple that you’d buy from the shops.
That was the forbidden fruit that would give a human immortality, the Apple growing on the tree at entrance to the next world, where only the chosen people could arrive at. No one knows what conditions were used to choose the humans who can arrive at the tree. The only thing that was certain was that those who ate the Apple would never be able to die, and would forever be targeted by the Mushi as long as they are alive.
“I think Usagawa Rinne died in that stretch of sea. I was resurrected due to having eaten the Apple, and then receiving hope from Sakaki-sensei. All of these things gave me a true rebirth, and that is why I am still alive today.”
“Mmm…”
Guriko listened to Rinne with a gentle expression.
Guriko had lived with her for almost a month already, Rinne thought. In this short time, this girl had become more human-like. She didn’t appear to notice it herself, but she smiled more often, and her expressions were much more softened.
Would I be able to more or less heal Guriko’s heart like Sakaki did to mine? Rinne smiled inwardly. Rinne wanted to save Guriko for no particular reason. She perhaps projected her old self, that didn’t have anything important in the world and wanted to die, onto Guriko! However, it could be said that it had nothing to do with it, and Rinne simply liked Guriko’s personality. She knew that although Guriko was rude and found it hard to understand others’ emotions, she wasn’t a bad person. If that was the case, then it would be too pitiful for such a person to endure pain. Therefore, Rinne sincerely wanted to help her.
“... Sakaki… Guryū…?”
Guriko’s hands didn’t stop, and she said while she kept playing the video game: “Is that guy really so charismatic?”
“Mmm, very.”
Rinne replied immediately. Guriko still said with a serious face: “I’d think so, since he’s the person whom you like.”
Such delightful words.
“I’m beginning to want to think about getting along well with that guy too, and it seems you don’t like me to argue with that guy, so I’ll back down. But that guy still seems to be guarded towards me even now – probably we can’t be good friends!”
“Mm, that’s good, Guriko.”
Rinne was honestly glad. It would be great if Guriko and Sakaki can get along peacefully. That’d just be amazing! Therefore, Rinne suggested with a smiling face: “Should the three of us go somewhere together sometime next week? It’d make us know each other better. I don’t know if sensei would have the time, but the end-of-semester exams finish next week, and I won’t be working either.”
“I don’t mind… but it’d only make things boring if you bring me along!”
“No it won’t!”
Rinne laughed, and Guriko also smiled as she turned her face around –
“Huh –”
Suddenly, Guriko’s face became full of loathing.
”… This…”
All of Guriko’s movements have ceased. She only stared at the ceiling of the room.
”What’s wrong, Guriko?” Rinne asked, surprised. On the screen, Kirby was already dead.
”… What is this, what is this scent. Not – a beast. What is this?”
”Guriko…”
”Could it be Mushi? No – it’s such a strong power. Rinne!”
The sharp yell startled Rinne.
With a serious face, Guriko said: "I’ll go and check out the situation outside. You stay in this room, and don’t open the door no matter who comes. Turn off the lights and try not to make a sound until I come back.”
”Guriko…”
”Wait until I’m back. I’ve got a bad feeling –”
Guriko kicked open the door and sprang into the night town.
No matter what a well-to-do family he was born into, how favored he was by the G.o.ddess of fortune, and how beautiful his features were, Sakaki’s heart was still unable to be satisfied. Even though he showed his talent in all sorts of fields and was praised by society, his body was still eroded by feelings of emptiness. Sakaki thought that he would never be happy, since he can’t obtain satisfaction no matter how much glory he obtained.
Happiness is a Mobius" Ring that one can find no end no matter how close one looks at it. It is truly foolish to become enc.u.mbered by that and wastes one’s life on it. If one doesn’t have the standard of ‘such and such is happiness, to achieve such would be happiness’, then displeasure would undoubtedly follow no matter how accomplished he becomes. If so, then what is the point of setting a n.o.ble and lofty goal? Happiness can be found everywhere if only you would stop and think about it. Sakaki’s days of youth were wasted under a misconception.
It was a complete coincidence to meet Usagawa Rinne. He just wanted to see the ocean very much. Back then, Sakaki’s work was very busy. He was being pressured to publish more excellent academic research and to create more novel art pieces. He was already beginning to loathe such a life where he was squeezed dry. Therefore, had he not found Rinne that day, he may well have jumped into the sea himself. Sakaki believed he was already pushed into such a mental state back then.
One year ago, in the seaside at winter, Rinne jumped into the icy-cold sea without hesitation right in front of Sakaki’s eyes. Apart from Sakaki, no one was around. Even if Sakaki didn’t exist, someone would publish that research one day anyways, right? Even if Sakaki didn’t exist, someone else would partic.i.p.ate in the Olympics anyways, right? Even without Sakaki, art would still progress, right? However, apart from Sakaki, there was absolutely no one else who would be able to save Rinne. For the first time since Sakaki was born, he found something meaningful that only he could accomplish. That was the thing he found.
Without hesitation, Sakaki jumped into the sea after Rinne. If the rescuer wasn’t Sakaki, then he would have sunk into the sea too, frozen by the cold. However, with a perfect pose, Sakaki energetically saved Rinne and immediately dragged her back to the sh.o.r.e, waking her from unconsciousness.
He was simply, purely moved. At that time, Sakaki understood the meaning of happiness.
The answer was Usagawa Rinne.
What happened afterwards was as everyone knew.
Sakaki decided to live for Usagawa Rinne, because she was the only happiness for him. No matter what others said, that was the happiness he found by himself.
It was a year ago when Sakaki Guryū obtained the hope of life from Rinne.
“Argh…”
In the night shift room of the Kannonsakazaki Private High School, Sakaki Guryū slowly woke up from the dream that vividly reanimated his past memories. With a low moan, he lifted up his head and took in his surroundings. Under the bright – but rather fake – lighting, Sakaki was sitting in front of a table that was empty apart from a coffee pot. Looked like he accidentally fell asleep. He had been worrying over Rinne recently and was feeling rather down due to lack of sleep at night. It was little wonder that he fell asleep.
Sakaki rubbed his sleepy eyes with his fingers, smoothed his messy fringe, and got up wanting to wash his face. Although the night shift room was small, equipments such as beds and washing stands were all present. Having washed his face and scattered away his fatigue, Sakaki wiped his face with a towel and stretched luxuriously.
“… Mmm.”
Just how long did he sleep for? He couldn’t even figure out clearly when he fell asleep. It was Sakaki’s turn to take the night shift tonight – a teacher needed to stay behind at the school, patrol the buildings, turn off the lights, and lock all the doors – that was why he was still at the school at such a late hour. Although he felt the students of Kannonsakazaki were all very obedient and unlikely to sneak into the school at night, those who do sneak in weren’t going to be just students. That was why Sakaki took this duty and considered it as a part of the job.
Looking at his watch, it was already nine o’clock. He was very hungry since he didn’t have dinner. He will probably buy some food from some convenient store and then patrol the school. After having decided that, Sakaki grabbed the change lying casually around and walked out of the night shift room. The soft moonlight outside the window was scattered on the quiet corridor.
Suddenly, Sakaki p.r.i.c.ked his ears and listened carefully.
“Huh?”
Sakaki felt a nervous presence, and a serious expression surfaced on his face. There were sounds of breathing; a rapid breathing like a beast’s. He didn’t know where it came from. Was I thinking too much? But –
Closing the door of the night shift room, Sakaki walked towards the direction of the suspicious sound. It may be that a madman had slipped in, or a stray dog – this town is, after all, a rural place, and such things happen once in a while. If that was the case, then he would have to chase it away. That was his job as the person taking the shift.
Sakaki, with his strong sense of duty, made up his mind and casually turned around a bend in the corridor.
“--- Rrrrrrrr.”
“--- Rrrrraaaaarrrrr---“
He heard that sound.
That ominous scream and moan was truly unlike anything made by creatures of this world. The angry roar smacked its way here as if it was an impact wave that shook the air, and robbed away Sakaki’s ability to think in the blink of an eye. He froze immediately, standing dead still. ‘That thing’ obviously thought Sakaki, standing still, was a wonderful target to attack.
Claws.
“Um – uh?”
Sakaki suddenly reacted, lowering his body to dodge that blow. Instead of Sakaki, the air was cleaved apart. Claws - those were claws of animals. The claws swept past the top of Sakaki’s head, and knocked into the wall unhindered and vigorously. The terrifying destructive power crushed the concrete wall into smithereens.
“Wha – “
– What?
Sakaki couldn’t even ascertain the appearance of the perpetrator, and could only rely on his instincts to dodge swiftly from the danger and move away. With all the strength in his legs, Sakaki jumped backwards and landed safely on the ground. However, cold sweat seeped out from his skin and his heartbeat increased rapidly. The air around him seethed with a thick smell of blood.
That scent should have been there beforehand, but he didn’t notice it. Now that he paid attention to it, he could tell it was a very heavy odor. It was blood, and a large amount of it too. Why would such a smell be in the school during such a quiet night? Sakaki kept on thinking, trying to comprehend the situation.
The words emerging from his brain were ‘Guriko’, and ‘Mushi’.
It’s got to do with those guys, right? But Sakaki didn’t have the extra energy to keep thinking, because he knew he was in the middle of a dangerous, changing whirlpool.
“Raaaaaaaaar!”
That "thing" screamed. It was a scream of a beast that had lost its reason a long time ago. Sakaki took out the pistol that he carried with him from his pocket. He had thought that both Guriko and Mushi were very quiet recently and there would be no need to use this, but he never would have thought such a terrifying monster existed in the school.
It was a terrifying monster that Sakaki had never seen before.
Its tall figure almost touched the ceiling. The reason that such a vast body didn’t appear to be slow was the strange shape of this monster. Its midsection was a part that looked to be the torso. Like a spider, numerous long and thin legs stretched out from the body, and one long protruding part was on top of the body. A single giant, ferocious eyeball grew on that promontory. The monster’s shape really wasn’t pretty at all! It was hairless, had a wet and slimy body, and it stank a lot. This creature was evidently not a normal being of this earth. However, for no apparent reason, it didn’t feel incongruous in the school at night.
The monster’s angry, large eyeball was facing Sakaki. It had many legs, with a sharp claw on the end of each one. The monster seemed to want to use those claws to tear apart and devour Sakaki.
“… d.a.m.n, it hurts, what this is thing?”
Sakaki muttered: “Just how much do you want to destroy our daily life? Mushi, Guriko…”
So Sakaki decided to strike first. He fired with his pistol, ‘bam bam bam’ shooting three times in succession. Gunshots rang through the silence. A monster had appeared in the school. Reality had collapsed.
The empty cartridges fell on the corridor floor with a small sound.
Suddenly.
“ --- Roaaaaaaar!”
The monster’s figure suddenly disappeared.
“Whoa –”
Sakaki widened his eyes and stopped firing. With the disappearance of the target, the bullets went embedded into the wall and the floor.
Then, the monster that had originally disappeared as if it had melted immediately reformed as if it had just solidified.
“— Roaaaaaaar!”
As if nothing had happened, it roared loudly and galloped towards Sakaki.
Looking at the monster that loomed towards him, Sakaki even forgot to aim with his gun and just stood there dazedly.
Claws. Two claws lashed out. Sakaki skidded on the floor and dodged the ferocious attack that intended to kill him. The monster seemed to be unskilled with delicate movements. Furious, it smashed face-forward into the wall, and only stopped when it broke all the window panes. With a pale face, Sakaki brushed off the scattering fragments of gla.s.s around him.
“… Please, can you not do actions that defy the laws of physics…”
It disappeared. The monster had indeed disappeared. It dodged bullets, and charged straight towards Sakaki with a destructive power that was more than enough to flatten a human body. It was almost like a ridiculous existence that lived to fight. In the end, Sakaki couldn’t even understand why he was attacked; a small voice in his head whispered that there might be no reasons to start with.
However –
He couldn’t give up, he couldn’t be killed.
As long as Usagawa Rinne was alive.
Sakaki – wouldn’t allow himself to die.
“That’s trust and a promise. Seriously – I fell in love with a problematic girl. Mushi, Guriko, monsters - they appear one after the other and try to deter the path of our love. However, no matter what the obstacles may be, nothing can stop me. Oi, monster, who do you think I am –”
Sakaki said to the slow-moving monster that was looking towards him: “– I am the most powerful daddy-long-legs in the world!”
Sakaki hurried to open fire, not even giving the monster the time to disappear, and sprinted off at the same time that he fired. In the split second that the monster was shot by the bullet and screamed with shock, Sakaki had already escaped from the corridor like a rabbit. How could he fight such a monster? This was a question of priorities. It wasn"t like a video game. Defeating that monster wouldn"t increase experience nor would it give him any loot. If so, then there was no reason to fight. It’d be better to run away and get the police or the army to fight!
The pragmatist Sakaki Guryū was twenty years old this year - no longer an age to dream of fighting monsters to maintain world peace. Although there was the possibility that others might be attacked while he ran away, the result would be the same since he wouldn’t win even if he faced down the beast in battle. Therefore, he had to get those who could defeat the monster more quickly. It should work with just one infantry division, right? No matter how strong he was, Sakaki was still human at the end. He wasn"t Superman. He had no duty to fight the monster.
But the monster was not kind enough to let Sakaki go.
“– Raaaaaaaar!”
The monster arrived behind Sakaki, and only one of its feet disappeared. And in the next moment –
“– Whoosh.”
“Uoah?”
The monster’s feet pierced through s.p.a.ce and ‘grew’ out of the darkness. Sakaki hurried to twist his body. Although he dodged the monster’s frontal attack, he couldn’t completely avoid it. His clothing and skin were both sliced up by the claw. It hurt. This feeling probably meant the wound went all the way to the bone. Sakaki moaned with pain and fell on the ground.
With a clank, his pistol dropped on the corridor floor.
“– Roaaaaar!”
The monster roared with a strange sound. A closer look showed that one of the monster’s feet was sucked into the darkness in thin air. Although he didn’t know its mechanism, it appeared that the feet pa.s.sed through s.p.a.ce and grew out again in front of Sakaki. Though the feet immediately retreated, the monster’s body loomed closer to Sakaki.
“Tch… that’s cheating!”
As Sakaki complained, he endured the pain and reached out a hand to pick up the gun. However, the monster’s foot appeared out of thin air and kicked away the gun. That foot also gave Sakaki’s jaw a heavy blow. Sakaki’s body flew and smacked into the wall. His spare cartridge dropped from his pocket, making a crisp clattering sound.
– It was all over!
“Uuu…”
But he had to hold on until the end. Ever since the day that Rinne was killed by Guriko, Sakaki had decided that he could only die after he’d ensured Rinne’s safety. That was Sakaki’s reason to keep living. So how could he be killed here – under such unreasonable conditions?
Drawing on will alone, Sakaki stood up and stared down the monster.
“… Stop trying to push yourself. You’ll die!”
In the middle of his field of sight...
“– Whoosh.”
...a silvery, shining object pierced the monster deeply. The monster, which didn’t even recoil from a gunshot, staggered with the force of this blow and wailed in rage as purple body fluids gushed forth. The cruel weapon that stabbed into the monster’s tough body and inflicted such pain was a spoon. A girl dressed in black stood there as if protecting Sakaki.
Whoosh. The wind blew in from the broken window and blew at her very unique wolf-like haircut. Dry leaves fell on the corridor, and the girl’s white fingertips held a brand new spoon.
“Rinne would be very sad if you died. That’s not what I want to see.”
Guriko!
This girl, who has a name as cruel and savage as Gankyū Eguriko, turned her head and looked at Sakaki over her shoulder.
“So I’m going to save you. After all –”
The spoon reflected moonlight, letting out an alluring shine.
“– I bought a lot of spoons with Rinne’s money too.”
“Buy them with your own money! Milady Usarin is very poor.”
Sakaki couldn’t help but start to scold. Guriko, surprised, narrowed her eyes.
“So noisy. You"re almost dead. Just be good and stay there. A useless guy needs to behave like a useless guy and stay at a corner with some self-preservation. That thing’s opponent is me.”
Frankly, he didn’t think that this person’s appearance would make him so rea.s.sured. Sakaki didn’t trust Guriko. He felt restless whenever he thought she may show her true colors one day and attack Rinne. That was because Sakaki did not consider Guriko human, just like that monster twisting and roaring in pain.
But she didn’t kill Rinne, and recently she was smiling more too. Although she didn’t open her heart completely to Sakaki, she was already appearing to be more like a human. Moreover, she came to save him.
”Guriko…”
Sakaki muttered. He couldn’t endure the pain of the wound any longer and collapsed to one knee.
“I told you to stop trying to be tough. Listen to what others say! Students are supposed to not listen to the teacher, but when the teacher doesn’t listen to the students it’s a social problem. Your job is to stay alive, and just leave the business of battle to me!”
Then, Guriko launched spoons into the air with the speed of rapid-fire bullets. Spoons pierced the monster’s entire body, thudding into its flesh one after the other, as purple body fluids hemorrhaged from the wounds.
Guriko rapidly drew forth new spoons.
“… Mmm. Since it’s so big, long-range attacks would take too long.”
”Guriko… that thing... What is that thing?”
Sakaki felt that Guriko should know the truth of that monster.
“It’s a monster.”
“I can tell that it.”
“Then why did you ask?!”
Looks like Guriko didn’t want to explain one single bit.
Sakaki felt anger rising up in him. Guriko noticed that he was angry, and reluctantly explained.
“It’s a dark monster that people wouldn’t sense in their daily lives. That’s the kind of creature it is. There are actually many dangers that humans don’t know about. Although I haven’t seen a monster like this – it was probably originally sealed in this school and awoke due to some sort of opportunity!”
“What opportunity?”
After thinking for a while, Guriko answered matter-of-factly: “It was probably Mushi, but it’s just too unfortunate if it happens to be a coincidence. Abnormal existences like Mushi and me can easily find such monsters. Although I don’t know the goal of Mushi, but awakening such a monster – after all, it’s too dangerous to let it roam free. It should have the battle strength to easily kill off a human.”
“I felt that first-hand.”
“Hmm. Your life is rather tough – Sakaki.”
He felt that Guriko smiled. But since she wasn’t facing Sakaki, Sakaki didn’t know what her real expression was. The monster was already staring at her angrily with an eye that has changed its color.
“Guriko. That thing does strange tricks, be careful!”
Before he knew it, Sakaki was already giving Guriko advice.
“Don’t worry, you just stay low now.”
Guriko wasn’t listening at all.
Why won"t she be cute!? But she was reliable.
Sakaki realized that he’s reduced his caution towards her. I’ll also believe in this girl that Rinne believes in, Sakaki Guryū thought at this instant. Guriko had undoubtedly saved Sakaki, and Usagawa Rinne also trusted both of them very much. The three of them, who started off as perpetrator and victims, had somehow already developed some kind of a bond.
… Little did they know that this was going according to the plot-like development the ‘enemy’ had written.
In pajamas, Guriko rapidly dodged the attacks speeding towards her, and approached the monster by running in the corridor with spoons in one hand. The situation had been completely reversed. The monster was no longer the perpetrator but the victim. The giant and grotesque monster had been overwhelmed by the delicate girl.
With all her strength, Guriko lunged towards the protrusion on the violently resisting monster.
“You mad monster that"s screaming nonsense, just watch me gouge out your eyeb.a.l.l.s!”
“Pluck.”
“Pzzt, pzzt.”
Following strange sounds, the spoon sank into the monster’s eye socket and eye liquid spurted out. The enormous lament the monster made at the moment of its death echoed in the nightly school. The expression on Guriko’s face didn’t change. The monster ended its duty as the pitiful sacrifice and returned to the darkness. Like the Mushi, the monster dissipated into air without leaving a bone behind as soon as it died.
All that was left in the corridor was purple body liquid. The monster was completely destroyed.
Pulling his hood low, the young fortune teller looked at this scene at a distance with a smile on his face. His red eyes sparkled with an ominous light. In his hand, he held the gun that Sakaki dropped on the ground and the spare cartridge. He had ordered the monster to transport those across s.p.a.ce. As long as he obtained this weapon, his plan would have reached its final stage. He only needed to endure this a little longer before he can stop pretending to be those disgusting Mushi.
“… Thank you, my dear Legion Bandanna. You really did act as I thought… had I been lucky, I was hoping that Sakaki Guryū would be almost dead by now. What a surprise. As a human, he counts as a very strong master athlete. What a pity that he got away.”
Smiling, ‘he’ muttered to himself with ‘his’ original tone: “’Pleasures should be savored till the last moment’, that should count as G.o.d’s command. G.o.d, hehehe, what a convenient existence. He even created a fate that suits me so well.”
Outside of Guriko and Sakaki’s sight, ‘he’ looked at the sky nonchalantly.
“Or was it that – such a person doesn’t even exist?”
That wasn’t an impossible thought.
Because if G.o.d truly exists, then an existence such as himself would definitely have long ago been punished!
“If He doesn’t exist – then I offer you my condolences, Mushi.”
With a brisk swish of his robes, ‘he’ leisurely left the nightly school.
“The Dream World Beast should have hatched by now…”
Then, all that was left would be the finale.
“The day that my wish is fulfilled won’t be far away, either…”
At the end – ‘he’ lifted his head to look at the pair.
“Before that, you can just have as many happy and sweet dreams as possible –”
In the distant past, there was an existence that goaded the primeval humans into stealing the forbidden fruit.
The name of that creature, the most cunning and ugly among all creatures, was –