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V8 Story IV – Part 01

I find myself reflecting on things.

Sometimes I think about—fret about—what the world would be like without me.

Would reality change in any significant way?

I don’t think it would’ve made a difference for the person I killed.

With or without me, she would have met her demise in the near future.

Her happiness was flawed from the very beginning.

When I met her, she was already deep in the well of misfortune.

To say that I caused her misery was an act of arrogance.

Even if I wasn’t there, she would have taken her own life.

In other words, I was a meaningless existence.

I didn’t reach out to her. It was the same as if I didn’t exist. I gave up trying to help her and focused on protecting myself. I did nothing, so I didn’t need to exist.

I’m an irredeemable person for letting her die.

Yet, I began to find joy in spending time with others once more.

I decided to live alongside people this time.

And once again, I lost someone.

Why do the people around me continue to break? Why do they all disappear?

Everyone departs, leaving me alone.

I knew exactly what was wrong, who was to blame.

But still I continued to claw at life.

Fighting to survive was all I ever did.

---

In the room where the chains had vanished, a vintage black telephone remained, resting between the holes in the desk.

We called the Mayuzumi clan to pick us up, grateful not to have to walk down the mountain.

We stepped outside and waited for the car there. Kugutsu kept growling in fear of the worst. I examined the wounds on my palm. I tried to stop the bleeding with my tie, but to no avail. Red droplets fell like sand in an hourglass.

As I counted them, my mind replayed Maihime’s haunting words: “I, Karakuri Maihime, am going to meet my demise.”

Why was she in such a rush to die? Anger burned in my chest, and I clenched my teeth. She failed to grasp how her dignity would burden the aggressor with a crime.

Mayuzumi appeared irritated as Kugutsu dragged her out. She sat near the entrance, where it was relatively warm, nibbling on chocolate.

She glanced at us and shrugged wearily. “Panicking will not change a thing. You knew about Karakuri Maihime’s pride from the start. Why are you acting surprised now? Calm down and wait for the car.”

Mayuzumi seemed to have vaguely expected Maihime’s actions, but it had taken us by surprise.

Kugutsu’s head lifted abruptly, and he fixed Mayuzumi with a vicious glare. “You speak as if you knew all along. Why didn’t you warn the Princess? Please answer the question, Lady Mayuzumi Azaka.”

His low voice sent a shiver down my spine. The current Kugutsu could gnaw Mayuzumi to death. I stepped forward to stop him, but Mayuzumi showed no fear in responding.

“Color me surprised. Do you think she would have changed her mind if I warned her? Don’t you know your own master? Living or dying, it’s her choice. I have nothing to do with it.”

Mayuzumi glossed over Kugutsu’s animosity. After a momentary silence, he started growling softly again.

The tension eased. I wiped the sweat from my forehead. It was chilly, but the sweat wouldn’t stop. I had lost too much blood. I had to stay focused, or I’d faint. And I couldn’t afford to rest.

There were things I needed to consider before the car arrived.

There were two bodies in the human trafficker’s house. The body of the child lay at my feet. These bodies wouldn’t disappear on their own. We couldn’t leave them there.

“Mayu-san, can we bring this child’s body with us in the car?” I asked. “As for the trafficker… maybe we can contact his relatives.”

Contacting his relatives would probably cause an uproar. How would they deal with Yusuke? Still, we had to inform someone about his death.

Mayuzumi inclined her head. “I don’t know if he has any relatives. Besides, you can’t take it back with you, Odagiri-kun. Do you have a backyard at home? If you buried the body in some random place, there would be trouble.”

Mayuzumi was unwilling, but I couldn’t leave the child here. Children were buried in the backyard, and adding her there seemed too cruel.

“I can’t leave her behind. I promised to take her outside.”

“I would advise to leave her, but you wouldn’t listen anyway. I don’t want any trouble getting to me if you get arrested. Hirugao-kun’s body is in the Mayuzumi household. You can burn that child with her and take her bones with you. As for the trafficker’s body, we can just leave it.”

I was grateful for her offer, and at the same time perplexed. I couldn’t agree with her suggestion on the trafficker’s body.

Mayuzumi sneered and gazed at the black building. “Buying and selling people attracts grudges and vulnerabilities. Some people don’t want others to know about their visits here. If rumors about his death spread, people would come regardless of who the killer was, and the house would be demolished along with the body. All that will remain is new land. Like ants carrying a sugar cube. What gathers around fallen candy will gather around. Just let them handle the rest.”

She nibbled on a sugar-coated, square chocolate, splitting it apart. Her red tongue scooped up the soft, dark-brown contents into her mouth.

I let out a deep sigh. The fate of the bodies had been decided, and I felt relieved. However, my mood didn’t brighten.

Fatigue weighed heavily on me. I desperately racked my brain so I wouldn’t fall asleep.

Maihime took my cellphone and declared that she was going to be killed. She knew about Yusuke contacting me about the trafficker’s house. Mayuzumi’s phone had the call history.

Maihime must have tried to contact Yusuke. I could only hope that he rejected the call. That was the only thing I could do right now. I prayed fervently while waiting for the Mayuzumi clan to pick us up.

Knowing the futility of my actions, I waited for the car to arrive.

---

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, but in reality, it wasn’t as long as it felt.

Before dawn broke, the pickup from the Mayuzumi clan arrived. A sleek black car pulled up near the entrance.

A man in a black suit stepped out of the driver’s seat. He bowed before Mayuzumi and began talking.

He didn’t spare a glance at me or Kugutsu, but it didn’t bother me. Our priority was to load the bodies now. Carrying the child’s body, I headed for the rear passenger door.

I glanced sideways at Mayuzumi; she was frowning for some reason.

“Wait a minute,” she said wearily. “Did you ask about his wishes? When will you ever learn? This is utterly ridiculous.”

I wondered if something had happened. Puzzled, I opened the car door and placed the child’s body on the leather seat. But there wasn’t enough space to lay her down properly. The cloth bag stirred.

There was already someone sitting inside the car. As I politely asked them to make some room, I froze.

“Hey, Odagiri. I thought you were dead. Looks like you’re safe, fortunately.”

The fox gave a faint smile. His face was still swollen and bruised.

Though he looked better than when we parted, the left side of his face was covered in gauze. I was at a loss for words. Kugutsu opened the door on the other side and got into the car silently, showing no reaction to the fox.

At that moment, the spell broke. I came to my senses and slammed the door shut.

I turned my face to Mayuzumi, silently conveying my confusion.

She shook her head, telling me to give up.