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V13 Story IV – Part 01

“Odagiri-kun.”

“Do you need something, Mayu-san?”

That’s how he answers when I call him.

“Mayu-san.”

“Do you need something, Odagiri-kun?”

That’s how I answer when he calls me.

“You really are heartless,” he hisses.

“And you’re truly an idiot,” I tell him.

I call him Odagiri-kun, and he calls me Mayu-san.

Come to think of it, he’s the only one in the world who calls me that.

What does that matter, you ask? It doesn’t.

It’s absolutely nothing, really.

Ah, but those worthless days I spent… people call them “life,” as if they’re something significant and profound.

What, it doesn’t sound like me? Laugh if you want, then.

But the fact is, Mayuzumi Azaka spent her days with Odagiri Tsutomu. That’s an unshakable, immutable truth.

I loved brutality. I laughed at cruelty.

But I never spent my time alone.

They were utterly, truly, profoundly meaningless days.

But it was a good life.

Hmm. If I had to say something about Odagiri Tsutomu at this point, I’ve never once regretted taking him in. I’ve never thought that spending my time with him was a mistake.

I mocked him endlessly, from the bottom of my heart, but I never hated him. Not really.

What is this I’m sharing exactly?

Just a funny anecdote.

So go ahead and laugh.

In the sky, a giant scarlet flower bloomed in full glory, its petals falling like a rain of cherry blossoms.

The grounds of the Mayuzumi estate were still stained red, though the color had begun to fade. The deep-seated grudge that once saturated the land had recalled its original form and then vanished. With the curse that had sustained the flower gone, and the lack of fresh nourishment, the flower would eventually wither, and the estate would return to an empty lot. After that, Sadashita would quietly gather the bones. Only then would things be settled.

I thought back on the last few days, the incidents, and the important people I’d spoken with.

One person came to mind—an arrogant girl in a black dress.

I probably should’ve listened to her. If I’d forgotten her, I could have gone back to my normal life without any trouble. If I had abandoned her, I’d still be living in peace.

I could have stayed with Nanami, Yusuke, and, most of all, Shirayuki. But instead, I chased after Mayuzumi Azaka. I chose to go after her, and I followed through. No one would laugh at my stupidity more than Mayuzumi herself. I felt the same. Still, I ran around aimlessly.

And now, I couldn’t go back.

“Do you regret it, Odagiri?” Asato asked, as if reading my thoughts. He stopped in front of me.

“What?”

We were heading deeper into the abyss, slipping effortlessly through the cracks of space under Asato’s guidance. The deeper we went, the redder the world around us became. At some point, the petals stopped falling, and the surroundings turned into walls of flesh.

We left the land of falling petals behind and descended into the spirit world, surrounded by pulsing masses. Each tear in the fabric of space we passed through pulled us further away from the mortal world.

Without looking back, Asato spoke again. “Do you regret it? Making such an obvious mistake?”

Despite the words, there was no mockery in his tone. I stood there, lost in thought. If I hadn’t decided to bring Mayuzumi back, I could have gone on with my life. Even when carrying deep regret, dancing with death every time my belly opened, I would’ve found and held onto slivers of happiness. I might’ve even been able to stay with Shirayuki. Yet, here I was, having abandoned everything. Though regret gnawed at me, I couldn’t deny it.

“I don’t regret it. Mayuzumi Azaka was my fate.”

Even though I left behind those I loved, gave up my life and came all the way here, I believed that the hand that pulled me from the pits of despair back then was worth saving.

Just as she had changed my fate, I would change hers.

“I’ll never regret it. Not for a second,” I said firmly.

Asato shook his head. Just then, my stomach churned violently. There was no pain—there were no nerves left in that part of me to feel it. I heard a faint tearing sound, like a cocoon splitting open. I touched the tear. Warm blood and unfamiliar fluids coated my hand.

“Still… I did something terrible to Shirayuki and this child.”

Papa?

Uka spilled out from my belly. A gaping hole had opened, but in the spirit world, I wouldn’t die. She bounced on the floor, growing larger. Her amniotic-fluid-covered face looked up at me. She had taken on the form of a girl again, though her figure flickered in and out, like a double exposure. Drool dripped down her chin.

Papa, papa.

“Hang in there, Uka. Just a little longer. Also, I’ve got something for you.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the contents I’d been carrying. Asato watched with cold eyes. This must’ve looked like a joke to him. Knowing that, I still unfolded the contents—a sky-blue dress with delicate lace. The soft-colored fabric was an unusual choice, even for Mayuzumi. She must have bought it after growing tired of dealing with a store clerk and then stashed it away. I dressed Uka in the outfit.

I tied the ribbon on her apron dress into a neat bow. Uka gazed at me curiously.

This felt right. It had always bothered me to see her without clothes. Maybe it was selfish, but I wanted her to look more like a girl.

Uka seemed confused, unsure how to react. I reached out and gently touched her cheek to reassure her. After fixing her messy black hair, I softly patted her head.

“It looks great on you, Uka. You look cute.”

“Cute? Really, papa? I’m cute? What does ‘cute’ mean?”

“Hmm, I guess it means I love you even more.”

“Really? You love me?”

“Yeah, I love you.”

“I love you too!”

Maybe it was because we were in the spirit world, but Uka was speaking more clearly than ever. Beaming, she clung to my arm. I felt my bones creak under the pressure, pain shooting through me, but I didn’t care anymore. Asato shook his head and resumed walking. Linking arms with Uka, I followed him. But then her arm began to change. Her nails lengthened, digging into my flesh, and her muscles swelled. Her hand grew large, wrapping tightly around my elbow. She nuzzled me affectionately, but drool kept flowing from her mouth, soaking into my clothes and drenching my arm.

“Hey, Odagiri.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“You know, don’t you? When I took her hand and she turned back into her human form, it was because she wanted to. She wanted to stay human. She didn’t want to become a demon or devour her father. She just wanted to stay by his side. But my power comes from the scarlet woman. I can’t hold back something on her level. You’ve noticed, haven’t you?”

“Noticed what?”

Asato fell silent. We both knew what he meant, yet neither of us said it. Uka continued clinging to my arm, her drool still flowing, her nails sinking deeper into my skin. Suddenly, Asato stopped. I peeked around him to see what lay ahead.

A gaping abyss stretched before us.

A massive fissure split the scarlet earth, like a deep incision into the planet’s innards. Something inside me knew right away. The spirit world reshapes itself in response to what it consumes.

This was the crack I couldn’t see before, now made manifest. It stretched down to the depths I had longed to fall into. The entrance to the abyss. A doorway to hell, wide open.

Asato turned to face me. The man who had once been a fox said matter-of-factly, “You know you’re going to die, don’t you?”

After all the mistakes I’d made, that was the only ending left for me.