V11 Story II – Part 02
“But it’s not like I came here randomly. I thought maybe you were planning to kill me, so I came to check. Yet I received an unexpected warm welcome. It’s been a while since I’ve been stepped on by someone, so it doesn’t even bother me. It’s almost amusing, in a way, to have had such a unique experience.”
Asato shrugged lightly. Nanami finished her sesame rice cracker. Grabbing a chili rice cracker next, she shook it towards Asato, and smiled.
“So when is the algae leaving?” she said.
“Algae… If I’m asked to leave, I’ll go immediately. I don’t really have any business here.”
I checked my chest for my phone, which I had replaced after Yusuke broke it. I had to contact Mayuzumi before Asato went anywhere. But I was faced with an unexpected dilemma.
The Mayuzumi clan put the fox in a cage, intending to breed or sell him.
Considering its actions, it was still a remarkably generous treatment. But such treatment was not for humans. As a result, the fox in the cage didn’t even bother to reflect on its own actions.
It was unacceptable. But there was no other option. He claimed to feel no regret. A man who remained an animal couldn’t be released.
Aya raised her hand. “But, um, it’s getting dark and cold outside. Are you sure you’ll be okay? I mean, if you go to another station, you might find somewhere to stay, but um… where are you going?”
My eyes widened. The idea of Asato being questioned like this caught me off guard.
Asato glared at Aya irritably, and she jumped.
“I-I had nowhere else to go!” she went on. “After leaving that abandoned building and melting away, Nanami-san picked me up, so… But, um, you… Master…”
Aya glanced at Nanami, then shifted her gaze to me and Yusuke. She squeezed the hem of the apron she got from Nanami, her lips tightening as she spoke hesitantly.
“Do you have somewhere you want to return to? If you still don’t have anywhere you want to go after all that, um… Isn’t that, um, lonely? Even… Even back in the abandoned building, you didn’t have fun. Your true intentions remained a mystery to me. I don’t know what you wanted to do or your plans.”
She directed her question to the man who once had a legion of followers. Asato silently sipped his green tea.
Clank.
He placed the empty cup on the low table. Suddenly, he lifted his gaze, and the look on his face made my breath stop in my throat. He wore his usual emotionless mask.
“You’ve changed, Aya,” he said dispassionately. “The lump of flesh has become quite human-like, hasn’t she?”
Aya’s face froze in an instant. The fox fixed his former servant with an emotionless gaze.
He tilted his head slightly, and without addressing Aya’s question, said, “The definition of human is rather arbitrary. Even if your original form is just a lump of flesh, as long as you take on a human form, you can indeed be called human. But the change in your behavior is eerie. Are you perhaps misunderstanding something?”
“…What?”
Aya’s lips trembled. Sensing trouble, I gripped the fox’s shoulder.
But he didn’t stop. “Why did you dream of remaining human forever?”
Aya’s mouth hung open. I exerted force on the hand gripping the fox’s shoulder and shook him. The expressionless fox didn’t react.
Suppressing the urge to punch him, I said, “Stop it, Asato. Just shut up!”
“I’m just stating facts. You should think about it.”
“That’s enough! Shut up! Right now!”
“She’s not human. It’s possible to intentionally age her appearance, but she doesn’t actually age. Her cells don’t deteriorate. Even if the people around her grow old. She’s a creature that occupies the boundary between life and death. If her body crumbles, her mind will collapse. Still, her body will not die. Her ‘individuality’ itself is vague. Let me ask you something, Aya.”
Under my palm, the fox’s shoulder creaked violently. But he kept speaking. Without mockery or sneering, he calmly confronted Aya with the truth.
“How do you plan to die?”
It was a question that had never crossed our minds.
Aya wasn’t human. We hadn’t even considered whether she had a lifespan. She could alter her appearance at will. She was originally formless. In other words…
When could we say she died?
“I… I…”
“Aya, don’t listen to him. So what if you live longer than humans? You can think about the future when the time comes. It won’t necessarily be something to despair over.”
“But… But Odagiri… I don’t… I don’t want to be alone…”
Aya looked at me with teary eyes. Seeing her distress, I couldn’t help but recall the image of another girl who had once cried, pleading not to be left alone. Aya was originally created as her friend.
Like her dead friend, Aya pleaded, “I don’t want to live forever alone.”
Yusuke hung his head. “Yeah… I can relate to that,” he said wearily.
Silence enveloped the room. The fox’s lips curled into a faint smirk.
Sporting a disdainful smile, he continued, “Ah, I see. So she’s come to have the same senses as humans. That’s rather sad. A non-human to possess human-like feelings is nothing but unfortunate. Non-humans can never truly become human. Understanding that stark divide is a tragedy.”
With eyes that seemed to scorn everything, the fox cast his gaze upward. So that’s how it was.
I took a deep breath. My eyes flickered in violent rage. “You don’t get to decide what’s tragic for someone,” I spat. “I know a man who, despite accepting his fate as a dog, still found a way to express his feelings to a woman he loved as a human. You’re just giving up. And don’t you drag others into your mess. Your misfortune is yours alone!” I shouted.
The fox inclined his head curiously. He regarded me with eyes that held a hint of disdain. “I never spoke about myself, Odagiri. Spare me your disgusting assumptions. But let me ask you this: do you believe Aya can become human? Is it not tragic for a being with a different lifespan to possess the same emotions? Has she never questioned her own existence and almost crumbled? If so, then she should have stopped trying to become human right then and there. Imitations of humans can never truly be human. You can’t turn her human. Persistently ignoring that fact is sheer hypocrisy, don’t you agree?”
I didn’t know what to say to all that. I couldn’t determine what happiness was to her. I would meet my end much sooner than she ever would. As I struggled to find the words to say…
Clack!
The sound of Nanami crunching crackers rang out. Swallowing the spicy snack, she rose silently.
“Nanami-san?”
She didn’t respond. Nanami headed to the kitchen, her pigtails swinging behind her. She threw the door of the fridge open, tore a plastic packaging, and returned without a word.
And then, without a hint of hesitation, she tossed something.
Thunk, squelch.
“…What?”
“Um… it’s cold.”
I was shocked at what I was seeing. Gelatin quivered on Asato’s face. After a few seconds, it plopped onto the low table. Nanami took a quiet breath.
With an amused grin, Yusuke covered his ears with his hands.
“Were you not taught to not say things that upset people whether it’s true or not?!”
It was an outrageous argument, but in a sense, a valid one. In short, very irrational.
Nanami strode forward briskly, stopped in front of Asato, and seized the gelatin once again. There was a resounding thud. Asato, we, all of us, were left stunned, speechless.
With the gelatin in hand, Nanami slapped Asato across the cheek. And then, with the same hand, she continued the assault.
“And besides, whatever Aya truly is, whether she’s real or not, whether she’s human or not, I don’t know, or frankly, I don’t care!”
Back and forth, Nanami slammed the gelatin. Asato offered no resistance. No one moved. Everyone held their breath, watching her outrage against the fox.
“Nothing you say now matters! When Aya was grappling with her identity, were you by her side? She chose to live in the moment, and she’s been giving it her all every day. So what right do you have to pass judgment? You know nothing, and even if you do, you don’t have the right to declare the future as tragic when no one knows what’s gonna happen!”
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap!
The sound of the gelatin intensified. Nanami’s small hand moved at an overwhelming speed.
“You don’t have it! Nobody does! Do you know what lies ahead?! It’s something people figure out as they go, through their own efforts! It’s not up to you to judge! It’s bound to be challenging! No one can call that pitiful, not even God!”
Her heartfelt cry sounded to me like she was challenging God herself.
Clack!
Nanami brought the gelatin down onto Asato’s forehead. A few moments later, it plopped onto the table.
The sudden assault came to an end. Nanami breathed heavily. Aya, snapping back to her senses, quickly shielded Nanami behind her. I also knelt down, watching Asato’s reaction. For some inexplicable reason, he was still gazing up at the ceiling. Eventually, his lips curled cynically.
“I see. Living like that must be easy,” he said in a hollow voice.
Asato reached for the tissue box lying on the tatami and wiped his face. Then he rose, and ignoring Aya, walked away.
“Sorry to bother you,” he said without glancing back. “Could you contact my sister? It’ll be easier if she decides on a new arrangement. As for the child, you can go on living while looking only at a portion of the truth. You seem perfectly sure of yourself. You can die without even knowing Aya’s fate,” Asato said firmly.
Nanami shook off Aya’s hand and attempted to step forward. The tension in the air reached its peak once again.
Just as Nanami was about to say something, the door flung wide open with a loud cry. We all turned to look at the entrance.
A cold breeze swept into the room. Someone stood in the doorway. As I studied them, my breath caught. A black cloak fluttered against the gray sky, the hem, resembling crow feathers, dancing in the wind.
“…Kotori!” I blurted out.
A moment later, the intruder tilted their head. Silence hung heavy between us.
“What? You’re not Kotori?”
The intruder shook their head. Upon closer inspection, the cloak seemed somewhat worn. The cheap fabric gleamed in the light. Indeed, I did not recognize them.
Who was it, then?
The figure in the black cloak quickly scanned the area. Everyone’s bewildered stares were fixed on them. Suddenly, the figure burst into deep laughter.
“You all seem astonished, fools.”
What was going on? It felt incredibly unsettling.
“Wait, Yukihito?” Yusuke muttered.
Now that he mentioned it, it did feel like Yukihito.
Comment (0)