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Story V – Part 15

I killed someone for Azaka-sama.

I killed just for Azaka-sama.

I had never regretted it. Not even once. But sweet moments are always followed by a fitting punishment. The clan was after me, so I hid in the attic. It was Azaka-sama who instructed me to hide there. I survived by eating the water and food that Azaka-sama brought me. Of course, I had no intention of staying there forever. After I watch Azaka-sama inherit the title of Azaka, I would take my own life. I couldn’t die until my long-cherished wish was fulfilled.

Some of the ceiling panels came off, providing me a wide view of the hall. Azaka-sama would inherit the title there. After burning the image into my eyes, I would die.

And the day finally came.

The day when Azaka-sama would inherit the name from the dead sow.

It was a very beautiful day. The cherry blossoms, as if to congratulate Azaka-sama, were in full bloom. The clan members were all lined up, casting glances of both respect and awe at Azaka-sama. Eventually, the head of the clan took his seat. Everyone had been waiting for that moment. The birth of a new Azaka. The birth of the one and only Azaka.

Called using her assumed name, Azaka-sama stood up. As always, she had her magnificent parasol on her shoulder. I shed tears of joy, streaming endlessly and seeping into the ceiling panels.

Azaka walked slowly, staring at the group of people.

It was a beautiful sight.

A very, very beautiful sight.

Even if my eyes were destroyed, I would never forget it.

Never.

---

I was absently watching the screen in front of me. A grayscale screen and a colored screen. My own past and the memories of an unfamiliar man. Both of them were playing at a dizzying speed. For some reason, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom in both. In the monochromic footage, a girl with a parasol was sitting surrounded by clan members. An old man read something out loud. His words suggested that the girl was inheriting something. But my brain couldn’t process what he said. When I saw the girl’s figure, disappointment sprang forth in me, and a heavy fog fell over my mind.

But I couldn’t erase the image of the red parasol from my consciousness.

In the real world, the cherry blossoms should be in full bloom by now.

At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears.

“The day you die is the day the cherry blossoms bloom out of season. The day you inherited that name.”

“If you don’t wake up, I’ll die.”

“I don’t really mind either way.”

I wondered how she was doing in that room, surrounded by dead bodies.

Were the cherry blossoms in full bloom in the concrete room?

My chest was burning. Hanging on to the heat, I closed my eyes.

I wanted to see her smile again.

---

The girl was sitting on a chair, her arms and legs sprawled out like a puppet. Her eyes remained closed, seemingly asleep. I gulped at the sight of her. She looked to be dead. Then something landed on her face. It seemed to have entered through a hole in the ceiling. A white petal slid down her eyelid. Slowly, the girl opened her eyes.

She moved her head and looked at the bodies lined up on the wall. Their flesh was rotting, their bones exposed. There was no one in the room now. Silently, she regarded the room with clear, calm eyes, studying the walls lined with corpses, the floor soaked in blood, the nightmarish scene.

She looked up at the sky once more.

White cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

“Can you hear me, Odagiri-kun?” she muttered.

I nodded. She probably couldn’t see me. There was no point in me responding. Yet, she still continued.

“The sight of beautiful cherry blossoms fills me with delight.”

Petals danced in the wind. The girl squinted, seemingly glad.

“It’s a good day to keep living, and a good day to die.”

The iron door opened with a bang, disturbing the silence. Someone appeared.

“It’s time,” the boy said, holding a bloody bat.

The girl slowly looked up. A man with a brand-new knife emerged from behind the boy, wearing a big smile on his face. Behind him was a figure with a dark blue parasol.

“Brother.” The girl flashed a cat-like grin.

Her face wavered. Cherry blossom petals danced wildly in front of me. Not wanting to lose her, I extended my hand. But I couldn’t reach her. Her smile faded. I screamed. I was almost there. I was so close to remembering her name.

But my hand couldn’t reach her. I was sucked back into the past.

It was spring outside.

Flowers were in full bloom.

---

I opened my eyes. I wondered where I was. Warm light shone on my eyelids, blinding me. I was lying on a bed. I felt a soft sensation on my back. Exhaling deeply, I closed my eyes again.

Was it all a dream?

Was the nightmare over?

A distorted image flashed behind my eyelids. Shizuka jumping to her death. Asato laughing like a fox. Something digging into the stomach.

A bloody, steamy uterus.

My stomach wriggled.

The strange pain made me sit up. Something was kicking my stomach from the inside. Unable to bear the immense pain, I rolled off the bed. I curled up and threw up everything in my stomach. But the pain remained. My stomach wriggled, and blood slowly seeped from between my fingers.

I let out a pained groan.

I turned around to see the bed also covered in blood. The blood flowing from my stomach had dyed the sheets red. Viscous, it looked like menstrual blood. Something was raging in my belly. Something inside was trying to tear my stomach open. Suddenly, I remembered Asato’s words.

“I can’t wait to see your child.”

He would be here soon to get this thing inside me. I was certain of it. He would come, as though harvesting ripe apples. Waking up when Asato was not around was probably a miraculous coincidence.

I would not let things go as he wanted.

Forcing myself up, I started walking. An unbearable pain ran through my entire body, but I managed to open the door. Leaving a trail of blood, I spurred my body onward.

Help.

Someone, please.

Help me.

The moment I tried to press the elevator button, my fingers trembled. If Asato was on the other side of the door, it was over. End of the line. Wobbling, I headed for the stairs and looked up at the floor above me.

Maybe I should just jump off the building.

Just like Shizuka.

Just like the girl I couldn’t save.

But the crimson splattered all over made me nauseous.

I didn’t want to die.

I left her for dead, but I wanted to survive.

I staggered onward. Every time I stumbled, the thing inside me went wild, and I screamed in pain. I wondered if maybe Asato was watching me right now. Was he observing me, laughing, savoring a last taste of amusement from me? Even with these things running through my mind, I couldn’t stop my feet. Stopping was terrifying. I just wanted to get the hell away from here. But who or what should I run away from?

What terrified me was the thing in my stomach, so what was the point in running away?

Tears trickled down my cheeks. I missed my footing and fell hard, crashing onto the landing. I hurried ahead, dragging my feet.

“…Shizuka,” I mumbled.

More words came out. I crossed the deserted corridor and headed out. As I threw myself out the automatic door, I shouted, “Shizuka! Asato! Asato! Shizukaaaaa!”

Why did this happen?

How did this happen?

We had a lot of fun.

“Why…”

I tumbled outside. Tears blurred my vision. In front of the apartment building was a slope lined with cherry trees. The cherry trees were in full bloom. White petals danced like snow.

She was standing there.

---

I opened my eyes.

I saw cherry blossoms in full bloom and confetti as white as snow. A strong gust blew, muddling my tear-stained vision. A person with a parasol was standing in the middle of the road. I almost shouted, thinking it was Asato, but I soon realized it was not him. The me in the footage and the real me overlapped. My vision fused, and I saw the past as if it were the present. A gothic lolita outfit, black like a mourning dress. A crimson, red, parasol.

On the screen, she turned around.

She looked beautiful with the cherry trees behind her.

And I finally remembered the name.

“…Mayu-san.”

Snap.

All the screens lit up with color.

I looked up. On the screen beside me, a girl with a parasol was about to inherit something.

And then I saw it.

---

The girl with the parasol rose from the tatami seat and eyed her surroundings. Her whole body was brimming with sublime beauty and confidence. Everyone nodded, all agreeing that she was the perfect person to take on the Azaka name.

But the next moment, the scene was shattered.

Bam!

The sliding door opened. Everyone stirred, stunned at the rude interruption.

“The insolence!” one yelled.

A girl appeared, her imperious gaze taking in everyone present. “Did you just call me insolent?”

Her parasol spun.

Two parasols, one belonging to the girl, and the other to the intruder.

Their colors were…

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m glad I made it in time.”

Dark-blue, and red.

“I’m the real Mayuzumi Azaka,” the intruder, dressed in a gothic lolita fashion and holding a red parasol, said to the girl inheriting the Azaka name.

Confused, everyone’s gaze darted between the two girls. The girl with the dark blue parasol was smiling.

Smiling like a fox.