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V13 Story II – Part 05

The spirit world shifts based on what it consumes. This was likely a replication of someone’s body part. I frowned. Handling the leg didn’t bother me much, but the situation itself was repulsive. It didn’t seem to affect my mental state as much as Asato suggested.

The original owner’s left leg must have been gruesomely severed.

“Hey, Asato. Why did you come here? Did you already know about this building? Do you know who this left leg belongs to?”

Asato didn’t answer. Instead, he reached into the open basket, took out a leg, and glanced around. He found my bag, picked it up, and much to my surprise, began unzipping it to put the leg inside. I quickly grabbed the bag.

I couldn’t let the contents get stained with blood. Asato frowned. I found his reaction surprising. He had been openly displaying his displeasure without trying to hide it. It was as if his fox mask had cracked.

Wearing a scowl, he said, “I don’t see the problem, Odagiri. Are you seriously telling me to carry this? To walk around with a severed leg? A human leg is quite heavy, you know. Have you considered the effort it takes to carry that with your bare hands and how ridiculous it would look?”

“Of course not! And why should I carry it? First, explain why we need to transport this. We’re supposed to be partnering up. Stop being so secretive and pretentious. You think you’re Mayu-san or something?”

“I see you hated how my sister disliked explaining things.”

“Of course I did! I’ve lost count how many times I almost died. Now, Asato, why is this necessary? Please be concise. I repeat, concise.”

I pointed to the leg in the basket. After a moment’s thought, Asato let out a heavy sigh.

Still holding the leg, he hopped off the veranda and onto the ground. Splash. The scene outside had subtly changed. Red water had collected at the bottom of the basin, and petals fluttered down onto the flat, red ground that resembled lacquered boards. They seemed to have fallen from the giant flower and the surrounding smaller ones. Since the space had been partially transformed into the spirit world, the petals had taken on substance. Each time one fell onto the red, shallow puddle, golden ripples appeared.

Red petals whirled around like a blizzard of falling cherry blossoms.

Asato, with his back to me, said, “Sadashita asked you to break the new curse of the Mayuzumi clan, right?”

“He did. Sadashita wanted me to resolve this new, dreadful curse. He said that if I succeeded, they’d provide a place connected to the spirit world, but that didn’t really matter. This place is constantly connected to the spirit world. There’s more than just a crack here. Maybe telling me about this place and guiding us here is a form of payment. I hate it, honestly.”

“What exactly is this curse, I wonder? These red flowers? I could handle the flowers if he asked, but Sadashita didn’t want me to. The flowers no longer have food. Though they’re thriving now, they’ll eventually wither. He decided to wait for their natural demise rather than asking the fox for help. Using supernatural abilities here would set a bad example for the main family. But even when the flowers wither, there are those who are likely to remain in this place. That’s the identity of the new curse.”

Asato raised his left arm, the one not holding the leg. He extended it horizontally and bent his thin wrist mid-air, moving it from side to side as if held by invisible strings. A single red petal brushed against the bone of his wrist.

“The door here has been left open. After the main family was devoured by the flowers, those tied to the Mayuzumi clan—or perhaps its members—crawled out from it. You’ve wandered the spirit world for a while, but even though you were in there not too long ago, there were people inside you hadn’t met, weren’t there? That’s the curse. Unless exorcised, those who haunt this place will remain, turning their grudges into food. This is what the Mayuzumi clan fears most. They fear their dark side coming back to haunt them, sinking its teeth. Even if they manage to prevent it, the lingering shame is terrifying enough. Be careful, Odagiri. This place already belongs to them. We could be consumed as well.”

Asato moved his hand smoothly, forming a fox with his fingers. The finger puppet fox darted its eyes left and right. Then, it opened its mouth as if eating something from the air. Asato unraveled his fingers and lowered his arm, sighing wearily.

“We already have the place. We could ignore Sadashita’s request and head straight to the spirit world, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Being chased wouldn’t be fun. If we want to use this place, it’s better to finish the job as requested. But I have no idea if you and I can actually pull it off. My sister isn’t here. Spinning a parasol won’t solve the problem. Whether we can succeed with mere imitation, I’m not sure. But there’s nothing else to do but try.”

Asato sighed again, his shoulders rising and falling under his white shirt.

A sudden sense of loneliness washed over me. I looked around for no particular reason. The entire area was bathed in red, but not the tone of red I was familiar with. There was no sign of the red parasol.

Despite the anomaly here, Mayuzumi Azaka was nowhere to be seen. Beside me was Asato, but the person who usually stood at my side was absent.

How many times had I nearly died because of her capriciousness? Because of Mayuzumi, I constantly faced gruesome cases. But despite everything, her presence next to me gave me relief. No matter what happened, Mayuzumi Azaka would never change. In the cauldron of ugly human emotions, she was like a pillar that would never be swept away. She mocked the fates of others but was never once swayed by anyone’s emotions.

Amid the thick scent of iron, I realized something else was missing. The familiar smell wasn’t here either. The sweet scent of chocolate had been left behind in the now-empty office.

And soon, even that would fade away.

Snap.

A familiar sound snapped me back to my senses. A vibrant deep-blue had bloomed on Asato’s back. My eyes widened. I’d seen it before. That blue parasol was the same one he had carried when he claimed to be a fox. But why was it here? Before I could ask, he turned around.

Tilting his head, Asato said in an unexpectedly gentle voice, “No need to be so surprised. Here, take a look at this.”

He raised the parasol to show me the handle. I looked and was left speechless.

The bamboo handle had partially turned to flesh. The fusion of inorganic and organic material defied the laws of nature. Seeing the tension in my face, Asato shrugged, then pointed towards the sky.

“The wind carried it here just now. You were pretty out of it, though. How could you not notice? Let me give you some advice: stop getting lost in pointless thoughts. If you let the dead drag you down, you’ll end up just like them. We’re in enemy territory, and I’m not about to die a meaningless death. I don’t mind dying, but I’d rather choose where and when.”

“Sorry. But, Asato, Mayu-san isn’t one of the dead.”

“That’s irrelevant. Whether my sister is alive or dead, you won’t rest until you find her, right? There’s no point in repeating things. Whether she’s alive or dead doesn’t matter. What matters right now is that I came here, so this was brought here. It’s the same with this building—it’s all a result of the curse. Various things have been recreated on the Mayuzumi estate because of it. You should be glad, Odagiri. Annoyingly enough, we’re being welcomed.”

Asato twisted his lips into a self-mocking smile. He twirled the navy-colored parasol in his hand, and with each turn, red petals slid off its surface. He closed and reopened the parasol, sending the petals fluttering into the air.

“I’m not trying to imitate my sister, but this works out. Those petals have been bothering me for a while. I think I’ll put them to use. Now then, Odagiri, there are two curses. Be careful of the white shadow.”

Asato continued speaking in his usual roundabout way as he started walking. I grabbed my bag and followed him. As we climbed out of the basin, I felt something behind us again. I glanced back, but there was nothing there. Still, I could sense a presence lurking among the rubble. It wasn’t human. The emotion directed at us was too raw, too savage for that.

Something—an animal—with murderous intent was watching us. Its gaze occasionally shifted away from me, likely focusing on Asato as well, sharp but lacking reason. I couldn’t tell if he noticed or not. He didn’t turn around and kept spinning the parasol. The red petals swirled around the navy fabric. The sight filled me with nostalgia, reminding me of Mayuzumi Azaka. I found myself thinking of her as if she were already gone. I quickly shook my head to clear the ominous thought.

Just then, Asato turned around, his expression somewhat dark. He twisted his lips and said, “You’re good. I, on the other hand, have something else I need to keep an eye on.”

Without further explanation, he kept walking.

I followed, watching his back as he twirled the navy parasol.