“Shiki……… san?”

“Asagami Fujino… I see, you must have connection with the Asagami God.”

With a light footstep, Shiki takes a step forward. Shiki narrows her eyes at the smell of blood. Not from detest, but from happiness.

“Since when….”

Fujino stops her question. The answer is obvious.

“All this time. I followed you since you brought that piece of meat out here.”

Fujino feels a chill at her cold voice. Shiki has seen it all. She saw it, but she still came out. She saw it, but did not stop it. She knew this was going to happen, but just watched…

…… This person is abnormal……

“Please do not say piece of meat. This is a person. This is a human corpse.”

Fujino argues so in spite of what she is thinking about. It is because she feels Shiki is saying too much to call that man a piece of meat. Shiki nods.

“Yeah, a human is still a human even when it’s dead. It doesn’t become a piece of meat just by dying. But that’s not a human death, is it? Humans don’t die that way.”

Shiki takes another step forward.

“A human who did not end his life like a human is not human anymore. Even if the people you’ve killed still has their head remaining or have no wounds, you can’t treat it with common sense. Those removed from the boundary are deprived of all their meanings. That’s why that thing is just a piece of meat.”

Suddenly, Fujino feels a repulsion against this person. Shiki is saying that the corpse and I are out of the ordinary, just like Ryohgi Shiki, who is watching this tragedy right now without a change of expression.

“…… No. I am sane. I am not like you!’

Fujino screams out for no reason. Shiki laughs, like it is really funny.

“We are alike, Asagami.”

“Don’t be ridiculus.”

Fujino stares at Shiki. The vision in her eyes starts to distort. … The “power” she has as a child is used.

But the power suddenly fades away.

“………!?”

But the surprize is for both Shiki and Fujino. Asagami Fujino is surprized at her disappeared power. Ryohgi Shiki is surprized at the suddenly changed Asagami Fujino.

“Again…? What the hell is up with you?”

Shiki gets angry. She scratches her head like everything is ruined.

“I would have killed you if you stayed that way. You were like that too at the cafe. … Fine. You let me down. I don’t care about you now.”

Saying that, Shiki turns and walks away. The sound of her footsteps gets farther away.

“Go home. If you do so, we shouldn’t see each other again.”

Then her figure disappears. Fujino stands still in the pool of blood.

…… I’m back to my previous self. I feel nothing again.

Fujino looks down at the man once more. There is no feeling in her that was there before. Only the sense of guilt comes into her brain. What’s left are the words Shiki left. Those words saying that Fujino and Shiki are both alike, both killers.

“No……. I am not like you.”

Fujino murmurs as if crying. Truthfully, Fujino hates murder. She starts to tremble at the thought that she would have to continue such an act in order to find Minato Keita. Because killing people would be unforgivable. That is her true feeling.

… The pool of blood reflecting her face shows her mouth making a smile…

——————————————————-

Remaining Sense of Pain

3

In the early morning on July 23, I finally get to Minato Keita’s place. From the information from his friends, his limit on radius of action, and from his way of thinking, I was finally able to narrow down his hiding place after a whole day. In one of the mansions located far from the residential district… he is trespassing and staying in a room on the sixth floor. I ring the doorbell and call out in a semi-loud voice.

“Keita-kun. I came to help you on request from your Senpai. I’m coming in.”

The door is not locked so I enter quietly. There is no light on inside the room and it’s dark in here even though it is morning. I walk through the wooden hallway and reach the living room. From the empty living room, you can see the kitchen and the bedroom.

“You’re in the back, right? I’m coming in.”

There is another room beside the bedroom. I open the door to that room and find its pitch black inside. It is because all the curtains are down. A small scream comes out when I open the door. … Like I thought, there’s nothing in the room. A room without furniture is just like a box, there is no sign of life. In this room is a boy who looks to be about 16, trash from food, and a cell phone.

“You are Minato Keita-kun, right? It’s unhealthy for you to stay in here. And it’s bad to use a room even when nobody is using it. This can be treated as burglary, you know?”

When I enter the room, Keita backs up to the wall. … His face is terribly thin and worn-out. It’s only been three days since that incident but his cheeks are hollow and his eyes are red. It’s obvious he has not slept. I heard that he was doing drugs, but that’s wrong. He is going insane without the help of drugs. … Because of seeing a scene so tragic that he does not want to believe it. He is barely maintaining his sanity by staying in this dark room. It’s a really dangerous way to defend himself, but it might be useful at least for a few days. I let out a sigh of relief n my head as I have made it in time.

“…… Who are you?”

There is still a bit of intellegence left in his voice. I stop. He is still confused facing such a tragedy. He might be scared of the killer, so who knows what he would do if I get close. Doubt will make him think I am his enemy. But… it should be different if we can talk. If we talk, his intellegence should return. I decide to stand and talk instead of trying to calm him down near him.

“Who are you?”

I raise both my hands at his question.

“I’m a friend of Gakuto. I am a Senpai too. I’m Kokutoh Mikiya, do you remember me?”

“Kokutoh…… Senpai?”

I must have been an unexpected visitor for him. He stands dumbfolded for a second and then starts to cry.

“Senpai. Why would you come for me?”

“I came to protect you since Gakuto came and asked me. We’re worried that you’re in some kind of trouble.”

I ask him if I could get near him and Keita shakes his head violently.

“I won’t get out of here. I’ll be killed if I do.”

“You’ll be killed if you stay in here too.”

Keita widens his eyes. He glares at me with enemity. I take a cigarette out and light it. … I don’t smoke but it’s an useful gesture to make you seem relaxed and helps calm down the other person.

“I heard about it. You know the killer, right Keita-kun?”

I ask him while blowing out the smoke, but he only stays quiet.

“Then I’ll just talk to myself for a while. On the night of the 20th, you guys were at your hangout place, Bar Shinkirou. It was raining that night. I happened to be out drinking too at that time, but I guess that doesn’t matter. I heard a lot of stories since Gakuto asked me to look for you. I think I know what you guys were doing on the night of the incident. I think the cops don’t know about it yet. Those people prefer not to help the cops.”

I shrug saying its troublesome. Keita is showing a different kind of fear now. It’s not fear of what is going to happen, but fear of being found out what he’s done.

“On the night of the incident, there was one other person beside you guys. The high school girl you guys were threatening. I don’t know her name but someone saw her going down to the bar. That girl has not showed up at the police station or anywhere for that matter since that incident. But it’s not like her corpse is found like the other four. Do you know what happened to her?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know such a person.”

“Then that would make you the killer. I’ll go call the police.”

“Wait, I didn’t do that…! There’s no way I could do such a thing…”

“Yeah, I feel the same way. So the girl was really there?”

After a brief silence, Keita nods.

“But that brings another question. That incident is not something a girl can accomplish by herself. Were you guys drugged?”

The boy shakes his head. Not to the question that the girl is the killer, but to the question of if they were insane or not.

“It’s impossible for five guys to be taken by just one girl.”

“But that’s the truth…! I thought she was weird from the start, but she was mad! Monster… she was a monster!”

I guess he is recalling the incident as he starts to tremble and covers his face with his hands.

“She was just standing there and everyone started to twist off. I heard their bones breaking and I didn’t know what the hell was going on. … I knew it when she killed two of us, I knew Fujino isn’t normal, that I’ll be killed if I stay there!”

Keita’s words are certainly abnormal. He is saying the girl… the one called Fujino tore off everyone’s limbs just by standing there and staring at them. I don’t know why he thinks so, but I guess Keita felt it on the spot… the difference of the one doing the killing and the ones getting killed. But… she bends stuff just by looking? I couldn’t quite believe it but I take the fact in. What can I deny after knowing Shiki, the one with killer eyes, and Tohko-san, the magus? Well, leaving that aside, there’s one word that caught my attention.

“All right. I’ll believe that this Fujino girl did it.”

“……… Huh?”

Keita raises his head in surprize.

“But… that’s a lie. No one would believe such a story! Please, tell me you’re telling a lie!”

“Then let’s just assume it’s a trick. Or should I say hypnosis or something? Either way, don’t think too hard about it. Don’t try to accept what you really don’t understand. But… what do you mean she was weird from the start?”

It seems Keita is losing his madness. The tension in him starts to fade away.

“It’s just she’s… weird. It seems like she’s acting out everything, like her reactions are always late. She won’t change her expression even when Leader threatens her. She won’t change even when she’s drugged and she doesn’t even show pain when being punched.”

“…… I see.”

I knew they were violating Fujino but when he comes out and says that, I’m speechless. That girl called Fujino was violated for half a year by them and killed them as revenge. Is there justice in that or does justice and law not get along? Well, I don’t want to think about it right now.

“So she looked great but it wasn’t fun doing her. It felt like doing a doll. Oh yeah, but that time was different. It’s recent but there was this messed up guy in our group. He found her fun because she wouldn’t change her expression no matter how much he punched her, so he finally brought out a bat and smacked her across her back. She was like WHACK! and smacked away. She did make a painful face. I felt a bit relieved cause I knew she was feeling pain too. I remember cause she was human-like that night.”

“You, shut up for a while.”

Keita shuts his mouth. I don’t know if I can keep my composure if I hear any more of this.

“I get the situation. I know someone in the police so we can go there. That’s about the second safest place I know.”

I near him to make him stand up, but Keita jumps back.

“No, I won’t go to the cops. Besides… I’ll be killed if go out. I’d rather stay here if I’m going to get torn to pieces!”

“Killed if you go out…?”

It’s worded a bit strangely. It seems there’s still one big misunderstanding between us. … I can understand him saying that he’ll be found if he goes out. But it’s strange for him to skip that and say he’s going to get killed. That’s like he’s being… watched. Then I finally realize what the cell phone by his feet means.

“…… You’re getting calls from Asagami Fujino.”

Keita starts to tremble once again at those words.

“Does she know of this place yet?”

The boy answers that he doesn’t know.

“I had Leader’s cell phone when I ran away. She called me after everyone was killed. She said she’s going to look for me no matter what! So I have to hide!”

“Why do you still have that cell phone?”

I know the answer but I still ask.

“Because she says she’s going to kill me if I get rid of it! She says I should hang on to it if I don’t wanna die! She says she’s gonna let me go as long as I have this!”

…… What a thing… Her curse is so strong.

“But she still calls me every night. … She’s insane. She saw Shono two days ago, Kouhei yesterday… she said she killed them because they didn’t know where I was. And she said kindly that it was good for me! She tells me I should go see her if I want my friends not killed, no way I can do that!!”

… What kind of fear would that be? The phone call he receives every night is a message from the one trying to kill him.
… I could not find you today.
One of your friends died in your place.
Come see me if you don’t want them killed.
You don’t have to come, but this murder will continue…
… and I will eventually find you…

“What should I do? I don’t wanna die. I don’t want to die like that! They were crying in pain! They were coughing up blood and their necks were twisted like nothing!”

“Let’s get rid of that phone. Or there will be more victims.”

“Don’t you get it!? I’m saying I’ll get killed if I do that!”

Two innocent people were killed because of that.
Asagami Fujino had to commit two meaningless murders because of that.

“You’ll be killed anyway if you stay like this.”

I push my cigarette on the ground and start to walk towards him. I forcefully pull on his arm.

“Senpai, please don’t do this. I can’t do anything now. Please leave me alone… leave me alone…… no, really, I’m scared. I don’t wanna be by myself anymore. Please help me…!”

I nod.

“I’ll help you. I won’t go to the cops. I’ll take you to the safest place I know.”

The only place that will be able to take him in would be Tohko-san’s place. Believing that is the best option, I leave the mansion with Keita.