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V11 Story IV – Part 02

As I stepped outside, my breath caught. Petals fluttered in the air before me. It seemed I might swallow them if I dared to even breathe. But these petals weren’t real.

The light red townscape bore a resemblance to the spirit world. I remembered the day when everything shifted.

But what I saw then and what lay before me now were markedly different. It was as though objects from the spirit world had interwoven with our own reality. Petals twirled endlessly in the sky, refusing to touch the ground.

A wave of nausea surged within me. This scene, reminiscent of a blizzard of cherry blossoms, defied all logic. In what should have been a picturesque sight, all I felt was an instinctive revulsion.

It was like countless human organs hung suspended in midair.

“Mr. Odagiri, are you alright? How are you feeling?” Shirayuki asked with concern.

I nodded hastily, not wanting to cause her worry. I forced a smile, but her expression remained clouded. Her gaze flicked between me and someone standing beside her. Following her eyes, I squinted.

Aya stood there, clutching Shirayuki’s arm. Her large eyes were directed downward.

Aya had reverted to her human form once more. Since returning from the island, she’d been waiting in the office’s private room with Asato. With the dungeon destroyed and the turmoil within the branch family, Asato decided to stay in Mayuzumi’s office for some reason, spending the days sleeping, unbothered by my vigilance.

Asato, who had decided to live passively, didn’t seem inclined to do anything, and he showed no reaction to the escalating likelihood of Mayuzumi’s death. Aya held hands with him regularly.

She had expressed a desire to join the search for the flower. I studied her pallid face.

“Aya, you don’t look well. It’s best if you stay here. Mayu-san and Asato are at the office. If something happens… though I can hardly trust those two, they’ll handle it. We’ll be back soon.”

“No, I’m coming too. I don’t know how long I can stay like this.”

Aya shook her head vigorously, her ponytail swaying with the motion. But I couldn’t bring Aya, whose condition was unstable, especially with danger looming.

She stared at me with tear-filled eyes, refusing to relent. “No, absolutely not. By the time you come back, I might not be able to return to normal anymore. And then I’ll be alone. I don’t want that. I want to help too.”

“Aya…”

“I’m going, no matter what. Please, take me with you.”

I met Aya’s gaze. Her degeneration was worsening by the minute, but she still hadn’t been able to return to Nanami. Aya didn’t want Nanami to witness her transformation into a lump of flesh and back again. Before she suffered a serious disintegration, before she lost the ability to communicate, I wanted to take her back to Nanami. That was the only thing I could do. I couldn’t stop her from crumbling. Aya bit her lip, hard.

“All right,” I acquiesced. “But it’s incredibly dangerous. We don’t know what might happen.”

“Normally, I would not allow you to come. I’m concerned about you too.”

“I know! That’s why… that’s why I want to go with you.”

Aya stared at us fixedly. No amount of argument would dissuade her from following us.

It was better than her disintegrating where we couldn’t see her. Nodding, I directed my attention to the road. Recalling Mayuzumi’s instructions, I studied the red petals streaming like a river.

Upon closer examination, it appeared to move in one direction, cascading downhill like a river of blood.

Mayuzumi had told me to follow the course of the flowers. Mulling over her words, I quickened my pace.

“Listen. I might’ve made it sound a bit menacing earlier, but finding it won’t be that hard. There are only a few places where Kotori’s real body, the flower, can thrive. It can’t just root itself anywhere on regular ground for long. It needs a spot already linked to the spirit world or a place filled with blood and specially sealed.”

Reclining on the leather couch, Mayuzumi casually nibbled on chocolate. Could we track down Kotori’s flower? I laced my fingers together, deep in thought.

“Don’t stress too much. We’ll likely make it in time. She’s been keeping us away, but if she truly wanted to proceed with her plans secretly, she’d have found other ways. Kotori-kun’s got a soft spot for you. Her real body’s probably stashed somewhere really disturbing.”

She closed her eyes, gracefully crossing her legs. She didn’t give me any specifics. Opening her eyes again, she regarded me with a clear gaze. Her milky fingers brushed against my cheek.

“We won’t need a big team to search. Finding the flower won’t be too hard. But there’s only one way to pluck it in its entirety. She’ll be cautious against me and my parasol. With Shirayuki-kun’s dragon, it will be preserved in its belly. But you can do it. When the time comes, Odagiri-kun, what will you do? The decision’s yours, naturally. Just don’t hesitate. I will respect your decision. Make your choice when the moment arrives.”

Mayuzumi’s enigmatic words made my gut stir. Uka kicked. She was still restless. I gently rubbed my belly to calm her down.

Blood started to stain my shirt. To hide it from Shirayuki, I took the lead.

“Over here. The flowers are thickening… Damn, it’s hard to see ahead.”

Grumbling, I descended the slope facing the apartment building. The stream of flowers veered right, away from the main street with the high school and department store. As we followed it, the metallic sweet scent grew stronger.

Petals brushed against my face. But it was all an illusion. I felt like a ghost passing through. Wading through the sea of flowers, I felt like I didn’t need to breathe. The red hue deepened gradually. I pushed my way through even though there was no point in doing so. Countless petals seemed to mock me. I couldn’t tell if I was going straight or turning.

Suddenly, Shirayuki tugged at my arm, and a passing car honked.

After walking for a while, I felt my hand being held again. There was a utility pole ahead. Shirayuki was walking beside me. She held my hand in her right, and Aya’s hand in her left, as we walked.

Putting my trust in her, I followed along. Eventually, the fragrance of flowers filled my lungs. It was so thick, sweet, and metallic that I struggled to breathe. I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.

A strong gust of wind blew. Real wind shouldn’t affect these petals, but they soared into the sky all at once. Red filled my field of vision.

They froze mid-air, then fell gently like snow. I gazed ahead. The ground before me was carpeted in red.

Petals that shouldn’t fall were falling. The fenced space was filled with flowers like it was a coffin. In the center, something was buried in place of a body.

I spotted a rounded roof, blending into the petals. My eyes widened.

A car lay buried in the flowers. Its unusual metallic red color was unmistakable. It was the discreetly parked car next to the apartment. Releasing Shirayuki’s hand, I dashed forward.

I waded through waist-high petals. This space was likely a parking lot. I could see a half-buried sign and another parked car. Submerged in petals, I peered into the car. The driver’s seat was fully reclined, and someone was inside.

A slender figure lay among the flowers. For a moment, I thought it was a corpse, but a closer look revealed the rising and falling of their chest.

Their face was hidden by their arms, but I recognized the slim figure in men’s clothing. She swiped her arm as if shooing something away.

Her long bangs swayed, revealing her black eye patch. Sweat dotted her forehead as she groaned softly.

It was indeed her. Vertigo struck.

Why was she here when we weren’t supposed to see each other again?

Mikage Tsubura was lying in the car buried in flowers.

Her moist, golden eyes slowly opened.