3 bar menu

V11 Story III – Part 04

Exhausted from crying, Aya drifted off to sleep. Watching her peaceful form curled up on the bed, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a comfort knowing she could rest safely. As I moved away from the bed, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over me.

My limbs felt heavy, and turning my head produced a disorienting ringing in my ears. I hadn’t been getting much sleep lately.

Who knew what would happen next? I needed to rest soon. Glancing around the room, I noticed there was only one bed. While I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor, the cold made it less than ideal. I rummaged through our luggage and pulled out some fresh clothes.

Suddenly, a knock came at the door. I turned my head with a start. Silently, I approached the door, listening intently for any sign of movement. But there was nothing. I turned the knob cautiously and peered into the corridor. It was empty.

The darkness was strangely thick. An eerie feeling crept over me, and I quickly shut the door.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock.

The knocking grew louder. I opened the door again, but the corridor remained empty. Closing the door once more, I took a step back and waited.

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!

The sound was getting worse. Swallowing hard, I glanced back. Aya was still sleeping soundly on the bed. I had to do something, or she could be in danger. Steeling myself, I opened the door and stepped into the corridor. An icy chill enveloped me, accompanied by a metallic-sweet scent that burned my lungs.

I had to inform Mayuzumi about this. Trembling, I pressed onward. If this was Kotori’s and the scarlet woman’s doing, dealing with it alone was too risky. Unfortunately, I didn’t even know which room Mayuzumi had chosen. I glanced at the door to the adjacent room, and my breath caught.

In the thick darkness, I saw a bright color—a lone petal fluttering softly to the floor. The door brimmed with red flowers, defying gravity as they bloomed abundantly on its surface. They resembled countless women’s lips.

The grotesque sight filled me with revulsion, and goosebumps prickled my skin. The thick petals seemed to mock me as they wriggled and bloomed, spreading across the walls. A sharp pain shot through my left hand. Red expanded further. I drew back a few steps and dashed away.

Trying to rip apart the black bandages, my flesh squirmed. The hand beneath the glove burned with pain. I clenched my teeth. The baby inside me laughed delightfully. Despite the pain in my abdomen and palm, I ran. Crimson flowers raced alongside, licking the walls. If they swallowed me, I might never make it back.

Finally, I spotted an iron door through my hazy vision. I grabbed and pulled, and as it screeched open, a cold sea breeze whipped against my body. Then, I realized I made a mistake—a fatal blunder.

The backyard was like a flower garden, awash with red, petals swirling in the wind. Wearing a smirk, a girl stood against the backdrop of the surreal scene. She curtsied gracefully.

Lifting her head, Kotori said softly, “Hello there. It’s a lovely night, don’t you think? I’m glad you’re fine, cutie.”

Her friendly smile sent a shiver down my spine. Red petals swirled around her like flickering flames.

It looked like something out of a nightmare. Everywhere I looked, the world was ablaze with red. Yet, despite the dreadful scene, I found myself strangely composed. Faced with such surrealism, everything seemed absurd.

It reminded me of the stages that the fox set. Disgust towards the excessive theatrics overshadowed any fear.

As I took in the bizarre sight, a sense of unease crept over me. This felt like a copy of a copy.

Influenced by the cat’s arson at the academy, Kotori had set fire to the facility. Memories of the previous incident flooded my mind. A figure in a cat mask and black cloak stood amid the crimson inferno.

But there was something missing in this recreation. Opening my mouth, I pointed out the discrepancy.

“What about the cat mask?”

Kotori wasn’t wearing one.

Her face tightened. She folded her arms, her expression turning sour. “Does that bother you? So stupid. I had no other choice, cutie. I couldn’t leave the facility without setting it ablaze. I managed to get my hands on a cloak, but acquiring a cat mask proved to be quite challenging. However, what matters is not appearance but essence. Please ignore the minor discrepancies.”

Crushing flowers underfoot, Kotori drew closer. She reached out, her hand hovering near my face. At first, it felt soft against my skin, but then came a sharp sting. Kotori maintained a gentle smile.

While her nails dug into my skin, she continued, “You’re been weighing heavy on my mind, cutie. You’re an eyesore, you see. You helped me, but you were utterly useless. You called me out about Shizuki. Back then, were you telling me to smile and forget? How spineless of you. She ruined our lives. Besides, while I was broken beyond repair, you conveniently forgot about me. So could you not undermine my efforts and label me as a fraud?”

Kotori’s voice was sharp. Her gaze pierced into me.

It was true. I had carried on with my life, forgetting about her until now. I hadn’t spared a thought for Kotori’s well-being or looked into her fate. She had every right to call me heartless. She could blame me all she wanted.

But that wasn’t the issue at hand. I clenched my fists, eyeing the flowers that consumed humans.

“So… you’re siding with the scarlet woman? Willing to become a puppet of the monster? What do you hope to achieve by discarding your humanity like that?”

“Ugh. Nag, nag, nag. I couldn’t care less about my master. I just want to become a cat. I’m still scared of cats. Unless I identify with my fear, this terror won’t go away. I’m scared. Terrified. That is all. I’d sell out even humans to quell my childish fears. Now, let me ask you again, cutie. I brought you here to see your answer. That’s the only reason I guided you here.”

“You weren’t there. What do you think? What will you do when you see me?”

She uttered the same words she had said in the nightmare. She bared her throat provocatively. I couldn’t fathom her true intentions. What did she want from me? What was she asking me to do?

I stared at her, frustration bubbling inside me. Ignoring her provocation, I spoke firmly.

“You’re not the cat. You’ll never become one.”

The cat that sought to birth a monster had long perished. It had craved to spawn offspring, identifying itself as a monster. She and Kotori were worlds apart, driven by entirely different purposes. Even if she mimicked her appearance and behavior, they could never be alike.

Kotori didn’t grasp the essence of the cat at all. How could she?

We mustn’t strive to understand the obsession that drove someone to madness, to birth monsters, and to end their own lives. I was sure that even the cat who eventually vanished in the spirit world would not wish to be understood either.

“Stop the sickening imitation. There’s only sorrow when humans turn into animals. The cat did not want to be a cat either. You’re neither a cat nor a bird. You can’t even become something in between. You’re just a human being. Nothing more, never anything else.”

Not truly a bird, nor a genuine human. You will be a betwixt-and-between.

I recalled a passage from James Barrie’s Peter Pan. Kotori was painfully human. She couldn’t become anything else, nor should she. Why couldn’t she see that?

Kotori tilted her head slightly. She stepped away from me and clasped her hands in front of her chest as if in prayer. Her feet tensed up.

I remembered the nightmare vividly. In the dream, she touched my belly. And then, her hand was devoured by the baby.

“Shut the fuck up, you hypocrite,” she muttered softly before darting away.

I stepped back instinctively. She tried to touch my belly, but I reached out to block her. Suddenly, she hurled something from her palm.

The knife sliced my belly, but it was only a shallow cut. Though the blade fell instantly, my stomach squirmed with pain.

“Damn it… Uka!” I shouted.

Startled by my outburst, Uka stopped herself from jumping out. But she continued to writhe and struggle. As my belly split open, Kotori’s fingers brushed against the blood.

I quickly grabbed her arm, pulled it away, and lifted her slender wrist upwards.

“…Huh?”

A violent spray of fresh blood splattered across my face.

I stared at the arm I grabbed. Blood gushed out from the torn wrist like a geyser, drenching my face and filling my nostrils with the scent of iron. The baby giggled, clapping her hands with excitement.

Kotori stared at me, her smile radiant and cheerful. In an instant, her gaze turned disdainful.

“I knew you would do this,” she spat.

Then, her head drooped, and all that remained were me, covered in blood, and a corpse spewing blood.