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V12 Story II – Part 06

“Let’s go somewhere else, Odagiri. The show’s over. My sister would have found this boring. It was a vile spectacle, I suppose.”

The fox left the classroom, and I hurried after him.

Just before stepping into the hallway, I glanced back. Flesh clung to the ceiling and floor. By tomorrow, it would cause an uproar, but I had no desire to find a stepladder and clean it up.

I apologized pointlessly in my mind and left the classroom. The fox didn’t look back. He returned to the covered walkway and headed toward the school building. I followed. It was cold.

“Asato, stop! What were you trying to achieve?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? The séance wasn’t my goal. I just thought using her would increase the chances of you showing up. I took advantage of an opportunity and returned the favor. Now I’m not plotting anything in particular, but I do have a goal.”

The fox turned around and scrutinized me. His unsettling gaze made me shiver. Frowning, I turned my face away slightly.

The fox inclined his head. “Odagiri, would you believe me if I said I just wanted to talk to you?”

“Of course not. What would we have to talk about now?”

He wasn’t making any sense. There was nothing for us to discuss. So I answered without a second thought.

The fox nodded. “I thought so.”

But he didn’t stop walking. He went on in silence. I followed him into the school building, confused. Ever since the news of Mayuzumi’s impending death, everything had been spiraling out of control.

Aya died, Uka grew, Mayuzumi spoke unusually quietly, and the fox claimed he wanted to talk.

My mind was in chaos. I shook my head to dispel the ominous thoughts that briefly surfaced.

They said Mayuzumi Azaka was destined to die. My life was on the verge of total collapse. Were the days I took for granted now coming to an end?

In reality, I had killed someone, and I lost Aya. Biting my lip, I forced my thoughts to stop. I focused on the rabbit from earlier. What kind of flesh was stuffed inside it? Depending on the answer, I had to do something.

“Asato, about that lump of flesh earlier, was it human?”

“Such a trivial concern, Odagiri. No need to worry. The pieces were too small to be human. It looked like small amounts of meat scraped off bones. It was probably gathered from small animals. Pity them if you want. If you report it, it could count as a misdemeanor. But even if we don’t report it, one of the students will probably tell the teacher everything tomorrow.”

He was right. The evidence was still in the classroom. By the next day, the girl would be reprimanded by a teacher. But I doubted that would make her reflect. I recalled her dark eyes. Could adults handle that girl?

The fox sneered, as if reading my thoughts. “Good question, Odagiri. She’s the real deal. It will be interesting to see how she turns out. And the other students’ reactions were amusingly reasonable. They played a game desecrating the dead, yet made a huge fuss over mere blood and flesh. The dead are inherently decaying flesh. The girl’s anger was, in a way, justified. They lacked the guts and made light of things. If they thought they could have fun toying with someone because it could no longer move, they were gravely mistaken. Yet they so righteously lambasted her. People are always self-centered. Everyone, to some extent, lives thinking they’re good people.”

His words brought to mind what I saw earlier. The students castigated the girl as if it were their right. It was an ugly sight. But what did that have to do with the fox? I had no idea what he wanted to say or do.

“So what exactly are you trying to say?”

“It’s simple, Odagiri. This world is full of lies and deception. I once believed that animals were far better than humans, so I became a fox. I completely forgot that, though.”

Suddenly, the fox stopped and turned toward a door on the right. I followed his gaze. My breath caught. What kind of day was this? It felt like I was moving from one memory to another.

We stood in front of the library door. Inside was the stack room where we used to spend so much time. The sound of heavy rain pounded in my ears, but it was just an illusion. The hallway was bathed in moonlight.

I stood frozen in the pale light, struggling to breathe. I felt like a fish in a murky tank. A strange sensation ran through my body. Past memories resurfaced.

Soft warmth brushed my lips. A heavy body leaned against me. Moist eyes staring into mine. Milky hands intertwining with my own. But that was all in the past.

I told myself that Shizuka was gone. That she had jumped from a rooftop, leaving Uka behind. But it didn’t work. No matter how hard I tried to push the memories away, they replayed forcibly.

The fox opened the door and entered the library, leaving me in the corridor. Why go in there? What did he want now? But I couldn’t even manage to ask. I struggled to breathe.

In the past, whenever I was confused, things always took the worst turn. Would it happen again?

A scream escaped my mouth, but no one was there to respond. Pain stabbed my gut, and I fell on my knees. Cold sweat dripped onto the floor. My vision narrowed and darkened.

Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring.

Then, my cellphone rang. I peeled my fingers off my left arm. With a trembling right hand, I pulled the phone out of my pocket and pressed the answer button without looking at the name.

“H-Hello? This is Odagiri.”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

A voice erupted in my ear. I quickly pulled the phone away. Even at a distance, the loud voice reached me. Unsure of who it was, I hesitated to respond. But then, suddenly, I realized who it was.

Saga Yusuke was yelling at me.

“Sure, I said I’d be back before dinner, but I didn’t mean, ‘make some food for me’. I meant, ‘don’t go anywhere until I get back!’ Can you imagine how I felt finding hamburg steak covered in plastic wrap on the table when I got back? Are you out of your mind?! Is your brain made of steak?!”

Before leaving Mayuzumi’s office, I prepared Yusuke a meal. I thought it necessary since he planned to return by dinner, but apparently, that was a mistake. Yusuke was genuinely angry.

As I listened to his yelling, my breathing gradually returned to normal. I looked around again.

The library door was open. But that was it. Nothing was coming out. I steadied my breath and studied myself. I was no longer a student. Inside my bleeding belly was Uka. Whether the past or present was worse, I couldn’t tell. But there was no reason to lose composure at this point.

No matter what, the past tragedy would never come back. It couldn’t be undone, but it wouldn’t strike again either.

“I see. Thank you, Yusuke.”

“What? What are you saying? Anyway, Mayuzumi-san told me where you were going and why. I’m coming now, so stay right—”

Click.

The call ended abruptly. A finger had pressed the power button.

The fox was standing in front of me. Holding the cellphone, he was looking at me with strangely hollow eyes. But his lips were curled up in a smirk. As I stared at his smile, I searched my memories.

The fox smiling. An animal smiling. A familiar and deeply abominable expression.

I fixed him with a sharp glare, then slapped his hand away.

“What do you want, Asato?”

“A very good question, Odagiri.”

His response was cryptic, as usual. He was definitely acting strange today. He entered the library again. Clenching my fist tightly, I followed after him.

The fox had once fled from the Mayuzumi estate and caused casualties. I believed, despite having no basis, that if I let him go now, history would repeat itself. I had to stay with him.