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V12 Story IV – Part 05

Ting.

Unfortunately, the first narrator has gone on a long leave, leaving behind his fox mask. From now on, a second narrator will step in to tell the tale.

Ladies and gentlemen, gather around.

Come one, come all. Young and old, men and women, everyone step forward. You there, who missed the last performance. And you, who ignored it. Here unfolds a grand, tragic tale. Tears and laughter await in this cruel yet beautiful final act.

I wonder though: whose finale is this?

Ting, ting, ting.

When I opened my eyes, a cherry blossom petal fell from my eyelids. As I exhaled, another petal fluttered away from my lips.

I found myself buried in cherry blossoms, countless soft petals covering my body.

Feeling a weight, I looked to the side and saw Uka nestled against me, wrapping her bare feet around me, purring contentedly. I stroked her back and looked up again.

A clear blue sky stretched above, white clouds drifting lazily across my view. Breathing in the warm, floral-scented air, I sat up.

Rustle.

The petals that covered me fluttered to the ground. I looked around. Magnificent cherry trees surrounded a vast Japanese garden. There were no traces of the spirit world.

Every time the wind blew, cherry blossoms swirled around me. I recognized this place.

This was the garden of the Mayuzumi estate. The splendid spring of Mayuzumi.

Ting.

A bell tinkled. Two girls appeared under the cherry trees.

One girl held a red parasol and wore an old-fashioned black dress. The other wore a red kimono and held a black umbrella. Facing each other, they looked like inverted reflections.

Moreover, the girl in the kimono wore a disturbing mask. A woman’s mask with a vague expression covered her face.

Ting.

“Fate is indeed difficult to resist,” the girl said from behind the mask. Her appearance, eerily similar to Mayuzumi, blended into the backdrop like a painted scene. The cherry petals floating in the air seemed to stick to the blue sky.

In front of the colorful paper collage, the masked woman spoke softly.

“Did you know? There were others who tried to resist, just like you. For example, the First. In any era, people fear death. She, too, tried to defy her fate. But, you see…”

The masked woman closed her mouth and exhaled softly. The breath that escaped from behind the mask turned into a swirling gust of wind.

Paper peeled and scattered high into the sky. The cherry blossoms, the blue sky, the red kimono—all turned into the shape of petals. The multitude of colors overlapped, painting everything before me black.

In the total darkness, I blinked repeatedly. Uka, feeling uneasy, squeezed my hand. Her grip was so tight it felt like my bones might crack, my flesh crushed. Enduring the pain, I squeezed her hand back firmly.

I was her father. I couldn’t do much else, but I wanted to at least reassure her.

Suddenly, a flicker of light caught my eye, like a moth dancing around a flame.

In the dim room, the lantern’s glow wavered. Shadows stretched across the tatami mat.

Part of the shadow was smeared and uneven. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was soaked with black blood. The pool of blood rippled gently. Near the light, a man stood trembling, holding a kitchen knife.

In his line of sight, a young man in a student’s uniform cradled a girl in a black dress. She must have been the first Mayuzumi Azaka. Her face was pale, and her dress was soaked and heavy.

The young man glared fiercely at the trembling man, tears streaming down his face. He held onto the lifeless girl, refusing to let go. Despite the hopeless situation, he persisted stubbornly. He reminded me of myself.

As I watched them, a thought crossed my mind. Long ago, just like now, there were those who resisted. But the first Azaka died. I had heard she was killed by her own servant.

And so, the curse of the Mayuzumi clan continued on.

Ting.

“The First realized her fate and tried to fight it with her closest attendant. But in the end, she was killed by a caretaker, lured by a dream. The First never made it to the progenitor.”

Abruptly, the masked woman reached out and grabbed the first Azaka by the waist with one hand, lifting her into the air. All of a sudden, we were looking at a diorama of the room. In a corner of the miniature scene, a trapped firefly glowed in place of the lantern.

Holding the bleeding puppet of the first Azaka, the masked woman continued, “Despite her untimely demise, she was quite promising and capable. There were other girls before her with extraordinary powers. But it was from her that the name Mayuzumi Azaka and the use of the red parasol as a medium to switch consciousness originated. This, in turn, influenced the spirit world. You could say that the mutual influence helped shape the current progenitor.”

Ting.

The masked woman let go of the puppet. It fell into the pool of water on the floor, sinking without a sound. Bubbles rose, popped, and splashed droplets.

The water turned a bright red. It smelled thickly of iron.

“The spirit world is a single entity. The mortal world is made of individual entities. In the spirit world, everything with form is an illusion. In the mortal world, everything has form. The spirit world and the mortal world are fundamentally opposite. When there is a connection between the residents of both worlds, they influence each other in reversed forms.”

The predator from the spirit world and the prey from the mortal world. They were similar, and thus became polar opposites.

“Because the woman wore a red kimono, the girl chose a black dress. Because the girl chose a red parasol, the woman held a black umbrella. The First and the progenitor are both the chicken and the egg to each other. They influenced each other. But the current generation is different. The preferences of the current Mayuzumi Azaka don’t prove her identity. Instead, everything about her is influenced by the spirit world. Even her liking for chocolate,” she said melodiously.

The masked woman walked away. Her figure gradually shrank. Golden circles appeared at her feet like stepping stones. Ahead, circles of light floated like markers.

They slowly began to expand. The circles overlapped, and a bright light filled the surroundings.

My retinas burned, and I closed my eyes tightly. Shielding my face with my hand, I cautiously opened my eyes.

Uka and I stood in the midst of summer.

In front of and behind us, the road shimmered with a heat haze. Cicadas buzzed on a nearby utility pole, but their sound didn’t reach us. White cumulonimbus clouds loomed in the distance. The sky was so clearly blue and full of light that it was almost blinding. But I felt no heat at all.

The scenery around us looked like an image seen through glass. And amid this vibrant scene stood a young girl.

She wore a gothic lolita outfit with an apron dress and held a red parasol. There was not even a drop of sweat on her exquisitely shaped profile. But I knew. Her body simply was not capable of producing sweat, and she actually couldn’t stand the summer season. This girl was the current Mayuzumi Azaka in her childhood.

The girl who had not yet become Mayuzumi Azaka was standing before us.

Eventually, a woman with plain features, who seemed to be her mother, came running from the other side of the road. She wiped her sweat and spoke to the girl, who nodded disinterestedly. After commending her for waiting, the woman took something out of her bag, but then frowned.

In her hand was crumpled, cute floral-patterned wrapper. Her hand hovered around. She seemed to hesitate, unsure whether to put it away or take it out. Suddenly, the paper tore against a metal clasp.

Melted chocolate oozed out. The girl’s eyes instantly widened.

The summer heat blasted my entire body. It was as if the glass barrier had shattered, allowing the humid air to wrap around me. The intense sunlight burned my skin. The cicadas’ chorus exploded.

Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt, bzzt.

A drop fell from the chocolate. It looked almost like blood. The droplet sizzled as it hit the scorching road.

Watching it, I thought, Yup, melted chocolate does resemble placenta.

“Yes, melted chocolate is like flesh and blood,” a voice narrated. “This event cemented her peculiar dietary preference.”

Ting.

A bell tinkled, accompanying the narrator’s voice.