Volume 4 - CH 5.7

When I woke up, the sunlight stung my eyes.

Bright cherry trees stood under azure skies. Cicada’s chirped loudly.

I could feel dry sand on my back. The intense rays of the sun seared my skin; it felt like a magnifying glass was hovering above me. Trees rustled. It was the same sight I had just seen while in the spirit world.

I was in the Mayuzumi clan’s garden.

Suddenly, something blocked out the sun. I smelled the sweet aroma of chocolate.

A familiar face studied me. Feline eyes flickered.

I looked to the side and saw a large number of red parasols lying on the white sand, the crimson like afterimages of the spirit world. There seemed to be just as many parasols as I saw in the spirit world. It probably had something to do with the opening of the rift earlier. I raised my hand and tried to say something, when something dripped from my fingers to my face.

I could smell iron. I looked down and saw blood pouring from my belly.

I groaned in pain. Mayuzumi’s pale hand brushed my cheek gently.

“Don’t move,” she said. “Or you will actually die this time. I’m going to close your belly, so just stay still.”

If I lost focus for one second, I would definitely faint. Mayuzumi told me to close my eyes.

But I had to ask her something.

I forced myself to speak. “Where’s Shirayuki-san? Yusuke?”

“Don’t worry. They’re both safe. Yusuke was a bit rowdy, though, but they’re both alive.”

After hearing her answer, my muscles went slack, and I just closed my eyes. The summer heat enveloped my whole body. The cicadas’ cries rushed toward me.

I actually felt that I was back. The real world was completely different from the warm, bloody, womb-like space. I took a deep breath of clean air.

The person I left behind in the spirit world flashed in my mind.

I mustn’t think about it. I mustn’t remember.

But I couldn’t stop myself.

The fox was left alone in there.

What did he feel?

“Odagiri-kun… Wait, Odagiri-kun?”

Mayuzumi was saying something, but her voice gradually faded.

“Are you crying?” she asked curiously.

There was nothing for me to cry about.

So she must’ve been mistaken.

Once upon a time, there was a fox.

The fox chose to live near humans.

Pretending to be human, it made two friends.

But foxes are beasts. There is no way they can get along with humans.

The fox drove on to a wall, impregnated the other, and then disappeared.

But the story did not end there.

The fox still lives to this day, feeding off others.

It happened a long, long time ago.

And the story still continues.

“But that story has now reached its end,” a child in a fox-mask said.

Our gazes were fixed on each other.

I couldn’t see the eyes behind the mask.

“And they lived happily ever after,” he muttered boredly.

And that’s the end of the story.

What do you think, dear reader?

Anyone would’ve found the story to be a heartbreaking tragedy.

I slowly opened my eyes. I smelled chocolate. I looked up to see Mayuzumi sitting cross-legged on the couch, sipping hot chocolate. A rose-shaped chocolate was sitting on a plate.

I realized I was back at her apartment. Still treating people like objects, it seemed. My belly’s wound was closed at least, and my broken left hand had been bandaged.

The apartment was still the same, except for the furniture, which had all been changed. Curtains were replaced with new ones, and the table I threw had been put back. The bloody floor had been cleaned too.

There was no smell of iron anywhere.

The body must have been transported somewhere together with the refrigerator.

“I see you’re awake,” Mayuzumi said with a smile.

I remembered my mental state when I picked up the body parts, and I felt angry. I should have the right to punch her in the face. But I couldn’t move my body properly. Mayuzumi nonchalantly offered a piece of chocolate with teeth marks.

She wanted me to eat.

I shook my head. Letting out a sigh, I looked around.

I was back in a place I thought I would never, ever return to.

I just stared at it blankly.

“Before you get mad again, allow me to apologize,” Mayuzumi said. “Sorry.”

Snap.

Mayuzumi bit into her chocolate

I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. “I want to punch you, so could you please come closer?”

“Sorry, but I’d prefer not to apologize physically,” she replied without any hint of shame.

She munched on her chocolate. I let out another sigh.

There was no point in getting angry at Mayuzumi Azaka. Yelling at her would only be a waste of time.

I should be happy that everything was over.

Because what I thought was lost had returned.

I suppressed my rage, and asked about something that was bothering me the most.

“Where’s Shirayuki-san?”

“She’s gone back to the Minase clan. She should be recuperating right now. I don’t know if you’ll be able to see her, but you should try contacting Yukihito-kun.”

I nodded, and Mayuzumi told me more.

When the clan chief returned injured, the whole clan panicked, though took good care of her. It might not be possible to see her for a while.

Still I must thank her in person. Without her, I’d be dead.

There were many other people I needed to see. Yusuke and Nanami. Without their help, I couldn’t have made it to the fox. Then, I remembered one more person.

“What about… What about Shiraki Aya?”

Mayuzumi cast her gaze at an empty space and shrugged. “You can ask Nanami about her later. It’ll be quicker that way.”

What happened to Aya?

Pondering over the question made my stomach stir.

Uka moved her hand; she must be dreaming.

I stroke my sealed belly gently. This child would not go away, but the man who brought her into existence would never appear again. My heart ached. I thought back to when I saw him last.

Both his mask and blue parasol were lying on the ground.

Wasn’t he just a plain young boy back then?

“I lied.”

What did he really feel?

“A word of advice, Odagiri-kun,” Mayuzumi said coldly and gave me a serious look. “Do not feel responsible.”

She did not specify what she meant.

I didn’t ask either.

I just watched the blue sky outside in silence.

I doubt he would see that color ever again.

The sky in my memories, always gray, was now calm and clear.

As though it had never rained before.

Click, click, click, click.

The sound of a mouse clicking echoed in the dark room. A girl was sitting in front of a monitor that glowed a bluish-white. Her long black hair hung over her back. She was staring hard at the screen like she was possessed.

Moments later, she moved away, looking bored. There was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She let out a sigh and prepared to leave.

Beep.

Then suddenly, without warning, the screen turned black. The girl turned around, frowning.

She stared at the darkened screen.

Noise ran across the screen for a moment, followed by a bizarre image.

A crimson color, reminiscent of internal organs, filled the screen, and in the center of it, a faint white silhouette emerged. Suddenly the screen wobbled, then returned to its original black. The girl stared at the screen silently, looked closer, waiting for it to turn red again. But the screen remained black. The girl shook her head in resignation.

A while later, however, she started typing.

──────You?

White letters appeared on the black screen. There was no change. Letting out another sigh, the girl reached for the power button.

Then the next moment, a response came.

──────You can see now?

The girl’s face lit up.

Her smile was tinged with ecstasy.

As if she had met God himself.

She typed on the keyboard again.

A reply appeared on screen.

──────Yes, I can see now.

Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack.

A while later, the power went out.

There was no more sound.

And nothing could be seen.