Murderer in the Flower of Death (5 page)

“Uggghhh…,” Maina groaned, showing some signs of life.

Kyousuke was momentarily relieved until the small girl burst into violent bawling.
C’mon, don’t cry now!
He rubbed the back of his head
roughly, somewhat at a loss. “Uh…can you tell me where it hurts? I mean, if you’re hurt, I can take you to the infirmary. That is, if you can stand up. I mean, if not, I guess I could carry you…” As he placed one hand on her narrow shoulder, Maina stiffened sharply.

“Eee?! …Huh? Ah…s-sowwy. I’b fide now,” she sniffled, doing her best to wipe away the tears. Sluggishly, she rose from the floor, apparently unharmed. Nevertheless, she seemed to be greatly troubled.

“You wanna tell me what the hell happened?” Kyousuke demanded. “Did those bastards from our class try to pull something?”

“Hmm? O-oh…,” Maina replied. “N-no, id’s jus’ that th-th-th-the girl who k-killed six people suddenly called out to me. She said, ‘Do you wanna eat lunch together?’ B-but…but her eyes were really sharp and scary…I reflexively said, ‘I’m sorry,’ and she just looked at me even more sharply…I thought she might kill me, so—”

“…So you ran away, right? I see.” Kyousuke nodded with a bitter smile. He knew just how she felt. The Scarlet Slasher—Eiri—really did have a sinister air about her. Of course, her criminal record didn’t help with that impression, and when you found yourself caught in the gaze of those rust-red eyes, it felt like she was pointing a bloody knife right at you. Who wouldn’t feel like running?

Maina took out a light pink handkerchief and, burying her tear-streaked face in it, continued, “Oh…I don’t know what I should do anymore… Everyone around me is such a scary person. I didn’t come here because I wanted to, but why… It’s cruel…it’s too much…” She sunk back into whimpers and muffled sobbing.

Kyousuke let a hand fall on her shoulder. “I’m the same as you, Igarashi… I didn’t come here of my own free will!” Lifting her face from the handkerchief, Maina looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “The people around me are all crazy murderers, and I don’t know what I should do… But you’re different! You’re the same as me, a normal person. In other words, we’re comrades. We’re friends!” Kyousuke took Maina’s hand and smiled.

“R-right! We’re friends!” She clasped both of his hands in hers. “Finally…finally I found a normal person! Great…this is great…waah…waaaah!” Overcome with emotion, happy tears filled her eyes.

Kyousuke felt a sense of relief wash over him.
Finally! At least I’ve got
one normal friend in this hellhole.
It was all he could do to keep from dancing on the spot. “Ha-ha. Well, wipe your tears, eh? Your eyes are probably so blurry that you can’t even see right.”

“…Eh? Oh yeah, I can’t.
Sniffle
…I’ll wipe them now! Yep, yep!” Maina let go of his hands and began dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief. The motion reminded Kyousuke of a small animal washing its face; he found it completely endearing. Maina was even more adorable up close. Kyousuke grew more and more ecstatic. Her cheeks looked luxuriantly soft.

“Okay! Once you’re ready, let’s go eat lunch! The cafeteria or the school store, which do you prefer, Maina? …Oh, excuse me. I called you by your first name! …Ah, but you can just call me Kyousuke, all right? By the way, I don’t have to tell you, but you’re really cute, Maina! How should I put it, this… Do you want me to protect you? It feels like you’ll never get out of here, right? If you’re on board, how about we be good frien—”

“Eeeeeeeeek?! K-kakaka…kami…
Kamiya Kyoushukey?!
Ee…ee?! Aiiiiiiiiiiii!!” Shrinking back quickly, Maina pointed a trembling finger at Kyousuke.

“What…?”

Her vision unclouded by tears, Maina had realized exactly with whom she was speaking. “Eeeeeeeeek?! D-d-don’t kill…don’t kill me, pleeeeeeeease! I’ll do whatever you say! Please! Pleeease! Just spare my life! My liiiiiife!!” She collapsed on the linoleum floor in a ball, sobbing and shaking in abject terror.

Rushing over, Kyousuke put on his softest voice. “Oh no, you’ve got it wrong. I wasn’t planning on killing you—I wasn’t planning anything really! So please calm down, okay? I thought I told you before, I’m at my wits’ end with all this, too, just like you. I’m stuck in here just the same, remember? You understand, right?”

“Um…yes,” Maina squeaked. “I und-d-derstand; you haven’t k-k-killed enough people to satisfy you yet, is that right?”

“Yeah, sure.” Kyousuke rolled his eyes. “I killed twelve people all in one go, but you know what I was thinking?” His tone was more acrid
than he’d intended. “I was wondering if I could kill even more next time! Yep, that’s definitely it. But then I got arrested, what a pain! I’m just not satisfied at all… You’ve got it all wrooong!”

“Eeeeeek!! The mask came ooooooff!!”

“There’s no mask, it was a joke! And anyway, in the first place—”

Killing twelve people was a false charge.

A split second away from letting his secret slip, Kyousuke snapped his mouth shut. A number of other students, drawn by the commotion, had gathered in groups and were looking on discreetly. He couldn’t let them hear what he had to say; if Kyousuke wanted to explain things to Maina, they would have to find somewhere more private.

“Look, it’s complicated.” He extended a hand toward her trembling shoulder. “Why don’t we get out of here, eh? We kinda seem to have drawn a crowd…”

“What?! P-pwease don’t touch me! There’s no way I would go with you!
You’re a terrible criminal who killed twelve peeeeeeople!
Waaaaaaaaah!”

Maina turned and dashed away, tripping several times in the process, until still screaming, she disappeared around a corner. Her pink handkerchief, forgotten in the rush, fluttered to the ground as the sound of her frantic footsteps and crying voice faded with distance. The hallway sunk into a nervous silence, until…

“…Twelve people? He killed twelve people, that guy? …I-is this a joke?”

The hush broken, the corridor instantly filled with commotion as the other students chattered to one another in excitement.

“Twelve people?! Eh, is that… Really?! I thought he had a fiendish face, but…”

“He’s in Class A, that guy. Twelve people is really bad, right? I’m glad I’m in Class B…”

“That many…amazing! I think he killed my heart, too. Oohh!”

“Wha—?! Calm down! Calm down, my left arm! …Ah, I know. We’ll bury him. But it’s not time yet. Be brave, be brave, Azrael!”

The clamor continued on and on, and Kyousuke found himself at his wits’ end.
This is the worst…now everybody’s heard the story! Not
what I wanted at all! On the other hand…they seem kinda scared…scared of me.

He snatched up the forgotten handkerchief and pressed a hand to his now-aching forehead. Maina’s misunderstanding had not been unreasonable, but it did make things more difficult for him. The Warehouse Butcher had become a celebrity on campus. At least it might keep some of the lesser scumbags from messing with him.

“Hey! Hey, hey, just a secooond!” A pair of meaty hands clapped him on the shoulders.

What the—?! Where the hell did they come from? But that voice…is that a girl…or a boy?

“Hellooo. I’m talking to you!
Tsk.
”

Kyousuke turned to face an enormous girl dressed in gaudy street fashion standing before him. She must have been six feet tall, with shoulders almost half as wide, and her uniform had been cut and slashed in various places, likely to accommodate her colossal frame. From beneath choppy blond bangs cut straight across, the hulking creature gazed down at Kyousuke, the red tinge to her rough cheeks indicating exactly where her interests lay. She reminded him of that professional wrestler, Bob
pp.

“…Eh?!” Kyousuke, completely at a loss for words, shrank away.

As he did, the Bob
pp–looking girl with the bob haircut—he decided to name her “Bob”—stepped forward on two legs like tree trunks, closing the short distance between them. “What did you say your name was? If you like, you can become my frie—”

“I’ll pass.”

“Wha—?” Before she could grab him in her beefy arms, Kyousuke turned tail and ran, followed by her hoarse, flirtatious voice.

“Wait for meee! I didn’t even get your naaame!”

“Hey, did you hear? Someone said that there’s a guy in our first-year class who killed twelve people!”

“Twelve?! No way, I don’t believe it… He must be the top student this year, right?”

“Must be. I heard he did it all at once, too. On numbers alone, he doesn’t come anywhere close to the ‘Killer Queen,’ but Her Highness was a serial killer, so… When it comes to brutality, he might measure up, you think?”

“D-definitely…but isn’t she kind of old news? I mean, if we’re talking current events, he’s gotta be the most heinous killer around.”

Shut up inside a graffiti-covered stall, Kyousuke huddled on top of the toilet, gripping his knees. Tens of minutes had passed since he’d run away in a blind panic, eventually finding refuge in one of the new school building’s boys’ bathrooms. Since he’d taken up the hiding spot, most of the conversations taking place on the other side of the stall door had been rumors concerning Kyousuke. It seemed that his fame had spread even to the upper classes. On top of that, he’d just learned that there was apparently an older student who’d killed far more than twelve people. Kyousuke’s mood was on a rapid decline.

…Man, I didn’t even get a chance to grab any food, either. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Gripping the pretty pink handkerchief,
Kyousuke held his hollow belly in an attempt to silence the grumbling. In the afternoon, he had the harsh correctional duty work to look forward to, on top of regular classes. How cruel with an empty stomach…

Suddenly he wondered—
What time is it right now, anyway?
Kurumiya’s ferocious smiling face appeared in Kyousuke’s mind.
If I’m not in my seat by the time class starts, I’ll be “disciplined”…
The color rapidly drained from his face.
This is bad.

Lunch break was only supposed to last one hour. He didn’t have a watch, so Kyousuke didn’t know the exact time, but his sense of panic began to spike with the fear that he might already be late. Around him, the restroom had fallen silent.

Craaaaaaaap!! If I don’t get back soon…
Throwing the stall door open, Kyousuke rushed into the deserted bathroom. Trying to keep low to the ground, he fell over midway toward the exit, then picked himself back up in a mad rush. Still pitched forward, he stumbled again, his momentum carrying him through the door and into—

“—Huh?”

Kyousuke’s face met a soft and yielding surface that completely enveloped his field of vision. He could hear a cute muffled shriek of surprise as the indescribable feeling and sweet, perfumed scent surrounded him, and he thought for a moment—
This is bad
.

Kyousuke dropped to the floor of the hallway, as if to push the person he had run into down.

—Silence.

Kyousuke’s face was still buried in a soft texture and a pleasant scent. It felt too nice, and Kyousuke, whose mind and body were completely exhausted, thought he might drift off to sleep right there. It was an escape from reality.
Ay-Ayaka. Big brother is too worn out already…

Through his rapid fade from consciousness, Kyousuke heard a quiet voice coming from somewhere above him. “…Excuse me. Could you please move off of my chest now?” It was a girl’s voice, a beautiful, soft soprano mumble.

At first, Kyousuke didn’t understand the girl’s words. A little too late, it hit him.
Chest…breasts? It’s no wonder they’re sof— Wait, craaap!!
Lifting his head and flying off of her, Kyousuke kneeled down on the ground and pressed his forehead to the ground in apology.

“Thank you for the meal! …Wait, that’s not it!! Thank you so much!
…Wait, that’s still wrong!! I’m sorry! I’m so sorryyy!” Shaking with too much stimulation, Kyousuke fired off the wrong words in rapid succession. His face was so hot he thought it might catch fire. For the first time since coming to the institution, he really did want to die. “!” Kyousuke squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself to be verbally abused as a “groper!” and “pervert.”

“Hmm. Well, I guess I should say, ‘You’re welcome?’” replied a gentle voice above him. “How about you pick up your head? And maybe stand? It’s bad manners to have a conversation while sitting in the hall, don’t you think?”

Bewildered by the unexpected reaction, Kyousuke slowly opened his eyes. “…Huh? W-well…I guess…” The first thing his gaze fell upon was a pair of white indoor slippers. Then, two beautiful legs in striped tights. Following these great legs, not too fat or too skinny, as they traced a beautiful upward line, Kyousuke came to a gray pleated skirt that had been cut short and straight on up to a narrow, nipped-in waist. A strange sound like “
Kksshh
” was coming from somewhere.

“My goodness! You came flying out of there so suddenly, you really startled me! You were in the bathroom for a long time, so I thought I’d come in and make sure everything was all right. But then you ran right into me… I’m just glad you weren’t hurt. I suppose these big things can be useful after all!” The girl leaned back a little and crossed her arms, emphasizing her large breasts.

Th-they’re h-huge…!
The girl he had met earlier—Bob—her whole body barely fit into her uniform, but this girl was stretching hers out only across the chest. They were so big he wondered if she might have watermelons jammed in there. Beneath her open blazer, she wore a thin blue sweatshirt and a black tank top, drawing attention to her ample contours.
That’s where my face was buried just a second ago? U-uh-oh…
Kyousuke found himself experiencing some localized tightness in his pants.

“Hey, did you hear me?” the girl was saying in a puzzled voice. “How long do you plan on sitting there?”

“Oh, eh…heh, that’s, ummm…my bad…,” Kyousuke stammered. “I seem to be a little excited for some reason. Eh-ha-ha…”

“‘For some reason’? I don’t get your meaning, but I’d be happy if it’s because of me.”

“Sorry. Could you wait just a little longer? I’ll settle down soon, so, you know…”

“…Let you sit? Aww, I want you to stand up, though. So you’re saying it’s something along these lines: If you’re ‘standing at attention’ for some reason, then that becomes a reason why the rest of you can’t stand up—is that right?”

“W-well, something like that, yeah…anyway, give me a minute.”

“Hmm…in that case, there’s nothing to be done, I suppose. You really persevere, even in this state!”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll try to make it settle down as quickly as possible!”

…What the hell is with this conversation? I feel so stupid I want to disappear.

Kyousuke glanced up nonchalantly, trying to hide how worked up he was with these unpleasant feelings. His gaze finally fell on the girl’s face to find—

It was covered with a jet-black gas mask.

“……Wha—? …I mean, aaaahhhh!!”

Kyousuke did a double take.
…It’s not a hallucination.

The girl’s face was completely covered in a gas mask–like mask. Where the mouth would be, there was a cylindrical exhaust port that stuck out a good distance, and the eyes were covered by translucent plastic viewports. Silky silver hair spilled out of the gap between the mask and a dark hood that covered the back of her head. Even her ears were invisible under the cover of black headphone-like equipment.

From the exhaust port at the mouth of the gas mask a sound leaked out:
“Kksshh.” Was that a sigh?
“My goodness. It’s pretty rude to scream when you look at a girl’s face, you know. Even if it is because you’re surprised at my beauty! Really!”

“…B-beauty? I can’t even see your face…!”
How am I supposed to tell how you look under that weird mask? And who wouldn’t be surprised to see something like that?
All day, Kyousuke had been dealing with almost every kind of freak, but on appearance alone, this girl was truly twisted.

Bob was beginning to look better and better. From the bottom of his heart, Kyousuke was sure, definitely sure this time, that he wanted
nothing to do with this gas mask girl. She didn’t seem to have the same idea.

“Oh, come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Renko Hikawa. I’m a student in the first-year Class B. I’ve heard rumors about you. They’re attributing twelve kills to you, is that right?”

Somehow this gas mask girl—Renko—had also picked up on the rumors about Kyousuke.

“Attributing twelve kills”? What the heck does that imply?
He was staring right at Renko’s face, but thanks to the gas mask, he couldn’t read her expression. It looked like the viewports were tinted like sunglasses, so that he couldn’t even see her eyes.

Kyousuke was lost in his confusion over how to react to her weirdness, when she said, “…Hmm? Come to think of it, lunchtime is over soon, isn’t it? The teacher of our Class B is really strict about the time. I’m reluctant to part ways, but I do have to go.” Though it was difficult to understand her muffled mumbling, Kyousuke could tell by her low tone that she really was regretful. “I do have one last request. If you don’t mind, I’d like to know your name.”

“My…name? You want my name? Well…” Kyousuke was in trouble yet again. After all, if Renko was a student here, there was no doubt that she was also a murderer. However kind she might seem, it would be dangerous to imprudently get entangled with her. But on the other hand…

“I don’t mind if you find telling me disagreeable. I won’t blame you—in fact I’ll silently, obediently leave. But after I do, there’s a chance I may have a big crying fit while still wearing my mask and willfully drown in my own tears… But there’s no need for you to worry about me. So please don’t exert yourself on my account. I mean, do whatever you like…it doesn’t matter whether I live or die…”

“…Hey. That wouldn’t be a threat, would it?”

“No way, not at all. It’s not a threat. It’s a joke, silly. Think about it sensibly, and you’ll realize you can’t drown in your own tears, see? Do you think that I usually cry when I get rejected by a boy like you? But I’m totally choked up at your naïveté, taking a joke so seriously.”

“…I see. Well, good-bye.”

Pitiful sobs rose up from behind the gas mask.

“You’re really crying?! H-hey!”

“
Sniff
… My allergies have been really bad lately.”

“No, no, you’re lying, Gas Mask. That mask is one of the most impenetrable things I’ve ever seen, but…”

“You’re right. I may have been too overbearing just now, as usual.
Kksshh.
”

I bet that “
Kksssh
” was her laughing.

Sighing, Kyousuke stood. By all rights, he wanted to run as fast as he could, but—
She could be a problem, this Gas Mask; she’s way too easy to trust.

Contrary to her sinister outer appearance, her demeanor was gentle and calm, and she somehow exuded an innocent, friendly aura that he found impossible to dislike. Kyousuke found himself torn.
Do I dare get involved with Renko?

Kyousuke, contemplating this dilemma with his hand on his chin, was startled when Renko spoke up. “Okay! I’ve got it. You seem to be having trouble deciding, so there’s no helping it…I’m taking it off.”

“Huh…taking it off? You’re going to take it off for me?!” Astonished at this inconceivable proposal, Kyousuke tried to look at Renko’s face, only to be met by an enormous black gas mask that nodded vigorously.

“Yeah, I’ll take it off. It’s called a show of good faith. Right?”

“Uh…r-right. I think that sounds about right.”
What a surprise. In spite of being a murderer, she’s surprisingly sincere.
Even as he wondered at the disparity between her appearance and her demeanor, Kyousuke felt his pulse quicken.

“Umm, well…I-I’m taking it off! This is embarrassing, but I’ll endure it with all my might!”

“O-okay!” His voice cracked with nervousness. He gulped.

In the quiet, Renko first removed her sweatshirt hood. Her long, silky, silver hair spilled out over her shoulders, filling the air with the sweet smell of her shampoo.

After that, she slowly pulled the front zipper down, opening the sweatshirt completely. Her chest, which strained the thin fabric of her shirt, swayed gently, looking soft. Next, she went ahead and grabbed the hem of her tank top with both hands, and when she started to lift it up, resolving herself—

“Hey, hey! Wait a second, will you? What do you think you’re doing?”

Renko tilted her head in confusion at Kyousuke’s interruption. Her skin was so pale it was almost transparent. Her tank top was rolled up as high as the bottom of her breasts, exposing her thin waist and small belly button. A thin border of black lace peeked out from beneath the hem of her shirt. Kyousuke stood still, stiff in every sense of the word. “What do you mean? I’m taking them off.
You know, my clothes.
The mask is really a pain to remove, so please forgive me if I just strip down… I-is that no good? Didn’t think so! Well, then, next is—”

“…Kyousuke Kamiya.”

“Hmm?
Kyousukekamiya?
What’s that? Some kind of new slang?”

“It’s Japanese! You said you wanted to know my name! First-year, Class A, Kyousuke Kamiya.”

“……Huh?”

Judging from Renko’s befuddled response, Kyousuke had thrown her off-balance.
I thought for sure she meant she would take off her gas mask… That was misleading.

“First of all, put your clothes back on. Like that, you’re, how do I say it…too tempting.”

“You want me to put my clothes back? Oh, really? I thought surely you must be interested in my breasts, but maybe I was wrong? And here I was thinking that even if you hadn’t told me you wanted to see them, I would let you touch them as much as you wanted…but it looks like there’s no need for that.”

“Wha—?”
In my fifteen years on this earth, I have never regretted a decision so much in my life.
“I mean…sorry. The truth is, that was a fake name just now.”

“What did you saaayyy?! Before telling that bald-faced lie, didn’t you want to do things with my body?! I see, so your interest is so low…” She saw straight through Kyousuke’s shameful lie.

Correction. In my fifteen years on this earth, now I have never regretted a decision so much in my life.