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V12 Story I – Part 05

We entered a nearby coffee shop with her in tow.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the register counter and a display of their original blend coffee beans and baked goods. The seating area, hidden from the outside, played soothing music.

There were simple stools and tables, but the seat against the back wall had a red sofa. Mayuzumi sat there, crossing her legs regally.

It was a self-service setup. Suppressing a sigh, I placed a hot chocolate and two coffees on the table. Tomoka, still standing, just stared at the coffee.

Suddenly, she grabbed the steaming cup and lifted it. She showed no sign of feeling the heat. Her hands froze mid-air. Before I could process the situation, I moved instinctively. I grabbed her wrist and pushed it aside. The cup tilted, and the coffee spilled, just missing Mayuzumi’s nose.

Splash!

Every drop of coffee splattered across the table. A drop hit Mayuzumi’s cheek, but she didn’t react.

I grabbed a bundle of paper napkins and pressed them against the edge of the table to stop the overflow. I could feel the heat through my leather gloves. A trickle of coffee dripped onto Mayuzumi’s lap, but she didn’t move. She simply tilted her head slightly.

“Are you satisfied? If you hate it so much, why did you come? You seem rather conscientious.”

“You brought up my brother’s name and expect me not to come? Are you the psychic detective who saw my brother before he died? What do you want? Unpaid fees or something? I’ve moved too many times, so I’m broke. And don’t call my workplace. What are you gonna do if I get fired?” Tomoka rattled off angrily.

Seeing her haggard face left me speechless. Sugita’s real name and photo had been released to the public. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the harassment his family must have faced.

Tomoka put the empty cup down on the table. Before the staff could come over, she pulled all the napkins from the neighboring table and began to clean up. After tossing the crumpled napkins aside, she plopped herself down.

“So, what do you want?”

“I only have one question for you. Relax. I won’t take much of your time,” Mayuzumi replied coolly. Then, she posed an unexpected question to Tomoka. “Is your brother still alive?”

Tomoka let out a deep sigh. A groan escaped her thin throat. She lowered her head and clutched her neatly dyed bangs.

“Look it up online,” she spat bitterly.

“Unfortunately, my internet connection is unreliable. Besides, I prefer analog information.”

“He hung himself in prison with a towel. It was actually on the news. There, we’re done.”

Tomoka banged the table and stood up. Her words hit me like a blow to the head. I hadn’t heard about Sugita’s death. I didn’t remember seeing it in the news either. It must have happened while I was in a coma. Not much time had passed.

How could she ask questions to the recently bereaved?

Ignoring my sharp gaze, Mayuzumi said, “Did they find organs inside his body?”

Tomoka froze. With a tense expression, she looked at Mayuzumi. Her face showed a particular emotion. Fear of the unknown. The mention of something known only to those involved must have disturbed her.

Confused, she asked Mayuzumi, “Who are you?”

Mayuzumi picked up the cup of hot chocolate. Her lips twisted into an unsettling smile.

“So, I was right. That’ll do. Checking with the police might ruffle some feathers in the branch family, you see. You just helped me avoid having another snarky remark thrown my way. Thanks.”

“That’s info known only to the cops. They’re still investigating it as a possible homicide. Don’t tell me…”

“Oh, please don’t accuse me of being the murderer. I get called a demon, but I’m not a magician. No one, including me, can remove all of a person’s organs in prison without being noticed. That’s why the police couldn’t declare it a suicide or a homicide, right?”

Mayuzumi smiled. Tomoka stepped back, her face tight. Her high-heeled feet trembled. Her demeanor was a breath of fresh air.

It had been a while since I’d seen such a reaction. For an ordinary person, it was understandable. Mayuzumi’s smile was exceedingly sinister.

“Thanks for your cooperation. Forget about us. Your brother’s organs might not be returned, but no one really needs them, right?”

Tomoka’s face twisted at Mayuzumi’s cruel remark. Before I could say anything, Tomoka’s expression shifted. She seemed to understand something.

“Oh, right.”

“Exactly.”

Nodding to each other, Tomoka abruptly grabbed her business bag, turned on her heel, and started walking. It took a few seconds for me to realize she was leaving. I stared blankly at Mayuzumi. She lifted her cup to her lips, took a sip, and smiled that odd smile again.

“She was quite strong-willed, or maybe just too exhausted. Anyway, she doesn’t matter. The owner of the missing organs is more important. His organs, like his deceased lover, fell from the sky. But unlike Yamashita Yukiko, who wanted to jump, his purpose is different.”

Click.

Mayuzumi placed her empty cup back on the saucer. She looked up at me. Her gaze was unsettling, and the sense of foreboding grew within me. Uka stirred in response to my unease.

“He hanged himself. He didn’t have an obsession with jumping to his death. He didn’t want to jump, yet his organs keep falling from the sky. Why do you think that is?”

Despite the tender tone in her voice, I had no idea what the answer could be.

Mayuzumi and I left the coffee shop. The cold wind brushed against my face as the setting sun blinded me. I looked up at the clear sky and sighed. There were no petals falling in the city center. How I missed the normal skies, but Mayuzumi didn’t indulge my sentimentality.

She crossed the plaza and headed for the station. We took the train back to the station near our office. Emerging from the subway, we were greeted by the fading sunlight. The sky was a deep orange.

Perhaps due to the decreased petals, the perpetually reddish sky showed clear changes at dusk and night. The petals against the sunset were like countless goldfish swimming in saké.

It was a disturbing yet lovely sight. I thought back to the scarlet woman. Supernatural beings and phenomena sometimes seem irresistibly beautiful. Mayuzumi, one of them, opened her parasol and started up the hill.

Her profile was flawless, as always. As I walked beside her, I noticed her coffee-soaked foot. She might have been burned, but she showed no sign of discomfort.

“Mayu-san, is your foot okay?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“It hurts, but it’s nothing serious,” she replied curtly. “It’s not something you need to worry about.”

I thought we were heading back to the office, but Mayuzumi passed by the building and hurried ahead. Where was she going with that injury? Judging by her demeanor, she wouldn’t answer even if I asked. I followed her silently.

As it grew darker, we crested the slope and reentered the cluster of gray buildings. We walked down a deserted street and returned to the front of the twin buildings where the organs had fallen. My eyes widened.

The area was too quiet. The organs should have been found, but no one was around.

I hurriedly ran to the space between the buildings. In the center of the red petals was a white circle.

The organs were gone. The two testicles had disappeared like a mirage. Only faint traces of blood remained as evidence of their existence.

“What is this? Why did they suddenly disappear?”

“There’s no need to be so surprised, Odagiri-kun. The organs’ disappearance is of no consequence to us. That’s not what you should be focusing on. It’s about to start.”

The sun fully dipped below the horizon, casting the surroundings in even deeper darkness. A light flickered in the windows of the abandoned building. The intense heat from the light seared my eyes.

In response, the windows of the adjacent building also began to glow. The facing windows turned into mirrors. The gap between them turned crimson.

The bright red instantly transformed the area into a space resembling the spirit world. I watched the sudden timed phenomenon intently. The twin windows’ flames were eerie but hard to look away from.

Suddenly, a dark shadow rose within the flames, moving in a disturbing, pagan-like dance. It was both terrifying and revolting.

The silhouette twisted and writhed. Uka stirred delightfully in my gut. The moment I realized what it was, I felt nauseous. The dark figure, on closer look, was a human being scorched by the flames. I couldn’t hear any voice of agony, but the intense movements clearly conveyed profound suffering.

A different silhouette appeared by the window, striking the glass with both hands. Dark red, melting, burnt flesh pressed against the glass. As the hands peeled away, another swollen chunk of flesh slammed against the window. An exposed eyeball burst, oozing viscous fluid.

Scorched faces struck the window one after another, then fell away in resignation. It was a ghastly scene, like peering into the depths of hell. The opposite window reflected it all indifferently.

I didn’t want to see this. Overcome by visceral disgust and fear, I averted my gaze.

Mayuzumi kept her gaze fixed on the window, watching the tormented figures with a detached expression. “The fire in the abandoned building happened at around this time. It’s strangely quiet around here. The neighboring building only has offices on the second floor. No one looks into the alley, and this scene has likely been left undisturbed for a long time. There was one report suspecting a fire, but that was it. By some miraculous chance, this blatant anomaly had gone unnoticed by people.”

I looked around. The building’s owner had always struggled to find tenants.

This was likely due to people’s subconscious instincts to avoid danger. Surrounded by indifference, various abnormalities from past incidents had been left unattended. Somehow, people didn’t notice.

There are things that must never be seen. If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

The same applied to this phenomenon. People had instinctively looked away from it.

If you carelessly approached the window and were noticed, who knew what might happen.