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V5 Story I – Part 10

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Translator: Kell

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The bodies of Ruiko and Saori were recovered, and the mentally broken Kotori was admitted to the hospital.

Shizuki also had to be temporarily hospitalized due to extreme fatigue.

“This is the reason why the academy asked for me,” Mayuzumi said, holding white flowers with both arms. “When they realized that Tsubaki-kun’s suicide and Saori’s disappearance were related, they avoided the police and turned to me to solve the case. They wanted me to solve the problem before any unrelated students were harmed and prevent a scandal from leaking to the outside. The Mayuzumi clan is very tight-lipped. There’s no better people for a secret job.”

Wearing a cynical smile, Mayuzumi inhaled the fragrance of the flowers. It smelled sweet.

Mayuzumi walked down the dreary corridor. “If the teachers got involved, they could’ve put themselves in danger. That’s why they left everything to us. The academy didn’t care about Tsubaki-kun’s friends. They were residents of the fifth floor. No one would probably care if they died.”

It was incredibly cruel. The school decided not to report the incident to the police. The child stirred in my stomach. I clenched my aching fists.

My hand couldn’t reach Ruiko. But who goaded them?

If they had not been in that twisted place, they wouldn’t have died.

“Are you going to leak this to the police or the press? I wouldn’t pick a fight with the academy if I were you. You have no money, no connections. There is nothing you can do. You’ll just throw your life away, which is pointless.”

Mayuzumi gave a thin smile. I held my tongue.

I had no intention to fight forever for these girls. I would only feel worried and angry. Absolutely meaningless.

I would only be consuming other people’s tragedies for my own sake.

I shook my head and looked around the corridor, which reeked of antiseptic. Mayuzumi was walking beside me, wearing what seemed like a mourning dress. Her face was covered by the black lace on her hat. She looked like she was attending a funeral.

We were at the hospital where Kotori and Shizuki were admitted.

“The academy and the girls’ families had agreed to keep the incident under wraps,” Mayuzumi went on. “Saori’s family was told that her death was an accident, though. Kotori will stay at a hospital operated by the academy, and Shizuki will return to school at a proper time. All’s well that ends well. Nothing has changed.”

Even when people died, the result stayed the same.

I touched my aching palm again. The wound where the blade had penetrated had been stitched and bandaged. It hurt. I recalled the moment that I failed to grab Ruiko’s shoulder.

If only I could reach her then, I could’ve saved her.

But I couldn’t. That was the hard truth.

“I couldn’t do anything.”

“It’s nothing new, is it? If you want to mourn her death, go ahead.”

Mayuzumi snickered. There was no point in grieving. But I couldn’t help myself. I tried to clear my head of the dilemma.

I silently followed Mayuzumi as she proceeded down the corridor and stopped in front of a room.

She put her hand on the door. Her attire was clearly inappropriate for a visit.

“I’m coming in.”

She opened the door without waiting for a reply.

A girl was sitting on the bed, flipping through a book. She welcomed us gladly despite our sudden visit. She smiled, puzzled.

“Oh, you came to visit me,” she said. “Thank you.”

Mayuzumi threw a bouquet of flowers toward her.

White lilies fluttered in the air.

A single red flower was hidden inside.

The girl caught the bouquet and embraced the white flowers tight.

She smiled, like she was holding a bride’s bouquet.

“Are you happy?” Mayuzumi asked.

“About what?” she asked in a gentle tone.

Mayuzumi’s lips twisted into a smile. A red flower magically bloomed on her hand wrapped in black lace.

Pressing her lips against the flower, she said, “Everything went according to your plan, didn’t it?”

Shizuki smiled softly.

I was at a loss for words.

She reached out a pale hand and dug her slim fingers into the bouquet. She picked up the red flower, pulling its wet stem out.

The red flower stirred in her hand.

She kissed it lovingly.

She took a deep breath, and said, “Of course. I’m very happy.”

Her smile was radiant and beautiful.

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“What’s going on here?” I asked.

None answered my question. The two girls held each other’s gaze and smiled gently.

It looked like they were drinking a cup of tea under the afternoon sun.

They looked only at each other.

“There was one red flower among the white ones,” Mayuzumi said. “That flower was yours, wasn’t it? One of you girls offered a red flower to mourn Tsubaki-kun. It signifies malice toward the dead. Also, a flower cannot bloom without a seed. One of you planted seeds in the pots.”

“I see. Anything else?” Shizuki asked as she stared at the flower.

There was not an ounce of agitation in her face. Her fingers moved to the red flower. She touched the petals and pulled them hard, tearing them apart.

“You made that red path the same way, didn’t you? Relying on your hazy memory, you went back to the dead and returned, dropping seeds on the way back. The flower must have then multiplied by itself, turning into that sea of flowers. You started it all. Am I right?”

Shizuki lifted her gaze. “Why do you think it was me?”

Mayuzumi heaved a deep sigh. “It’s too much effort, but I’ll continue anyway.” She spoke rapidly. “First of all, the academy had footage of your second excursion. I looked into it this morning. Just to substantiate my theory, though. I have other reasons to believe that you were behind it all.” She shrugged.

Shizuki silently waited for her next words.

“You said that you came to the room to check on Kotori-kun. That was a lie. Ruiko-kun also disappeared that same day. You would’ve checked on them both. You had anticipated that we would enter one of the rooms to check on the flower. That’s why you came to us, right? And then you led us to that place.”

Shizuki did not respond.

“You were the one who induced Ruiko-kun and Kotori-kun to go there, weren’t you?” Mayuzumi continued tediously. “Ruiko-kun said that you were right. You told them about the phenomenon. Terrified, they went to the place to see for themselves. It was you who gave Ruiko the knife, wasn’t it? Odagiri-kun could have stopped her. You approached Ruiko-kun and handed her the knife, didn’t you?”

“I see. So, what is it you’re trying to say?”

The flower split apart, red petals scattering.

Red debris lay on the white sheets. Mayuzumi gave a small shrug. Before she could say anything, I spoke.

“Why… Why did you do it?”

She just confessed to a murder. One died, and another was left broken.

So the person behind it all was the girl in front of us?

Why did she do it?

“Why? Have you ever lost someone you cared about, Odagiri-san?” Shizuki asked calmly.

Tilting her head slightly, she scooped up the remains of the red flower. She brought her lips closer to the petals, and suddenly clenched her hands into tight fists.

A red petal slipped between her fingers.

“I didn’t tell you about it before, but I loved Saori. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the other three. To me, they were nothing more than dumb pigs. Ruiko, Kotori, Tsubaki. They were all good-for-nothing. A bunch of boorish chatterboxes. Saori’s presence overshadowed them all.” Her eyes were euphoric.

She pressed her hands to her chest.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Eyes that were frozen cold.

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