Volume 6 - CH 2.2

Mayuzumi pulled me out of the taxi.

There was still only darkness before me.

I glanced around helplessly. What I felt under my feet wasn’t a paved road. We traveled for a while, and I was uncertain of our current whereabouts.

A cool breeze brushed my cheek. The expansive surroundings made me uneasy.

I heard the car speeding away. Mayuzumi took my hand once more.

I clung tightly to her pale, slender fingers, surprised as always at how warm they were.

“Would you relax? Rest assured, I will not abandon you. This is less trouble than you getting lost.”

Mayuzumi was holding a parasol in her left hand and pulled me along with her right. Cautiously, I let the small girl lead the way.

After a while, I stepped on something solid. I strained my eyes and saw a greenish color bleeding through the darkness. Trees rustled. We appeared to have set foot on a cobblestone path in a garden. The fragrance of sweet olive drifted from somewhere. I took a deep breath.

Something was off. There was an unpleasant odor mixing in the air. The smell of smoke.

“Mayu-san, is something burning?” I asked.

Mayuzumi didn’t answer. She continued on, pulling my hand.

I saw orange specks on either side of the path, numerous dots adorning the foliage.

They were on the ground too, like stars dotting the night sky.

It must be sweet olives. Between them was a hidden entrance.

A white door stood before us. I could see it too. A curious door, exuding an unwelcoming aura.

Creak.

Undaunted, Mayuzumi pushed the door open.

“We’re here,” she called out into the darkness beyond. “Come.”

There was no response. Ahead of us lay a dim hallway, submerged in shadows.

A peculiar stench filled the house. The air was stagnant, as though the place had been inhabited for a long time. Suddenly, my keen ears caught an odd sound.

The floor creaked rhythmically. It didn’t sound like human footsteps.

My eyes widened as I peered into the darkness. Something was approaching from the far end of the hallway.

A pasty wrist appeared from around the corner, with beautiful fingers and long nails.

The hand belonged to a woman, with plump flesh on her palm.

The wrist touched the floor softly.

The floor creaked once more. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The wrist stood out amidst the murky surroundings, clearly visible down to the individual fingers. In the next instant, a woman appeared. Her long black hair, like strands of silk, trailed along the floor. Strangely, it didn’t merge with the darkness that surrounded her. Her plump figure, ample with flesh, was oddly captivating.

Her pale bosom swayed heavily. Her eyes shone with an intense glimmer, and her lips, disproportionately large on her face, curled into a wicked smile.

She was stunningly beautiful.

The woman crawled along the floor on all fours, inching toward us.

Creak.

The woman approached us at an abnormal speed, moving on all fours and altering her direction. Spreading her arms and legs wide, she scuttled while rubbing her stomach and breasts against the floor.

I remained fixed in my place, staring at the strange spectacle in amazement. Mayuzumi let go of my hand, probably taking off her boots. There was a rustling of clothes, and she took my hand again.

“Watch your step, Odagiri-kun,” she warned. “There’s an elevation. Don’t trip and drag me down with you.”

But I couldn’t move. My brows furrowed as I tried to make sense of what I just witnessed.

The sight of the crawling woman was exceedingly weird. What did I just see?

“Mayu-san, who was that woman?” I asked.

“…Woman?” She sounded baffled.

Mayuzumi’s face was nothing but a white shape in my eyes. Yet I could see every wrinkle in the woman’s flesh and each strand of hair clearly. Who was she?

After a brief pause, Mayuzumi smiled “Ah, I see. You need not concern yourself with her,” she finally said. “The world is full of things that are best left unknown, Odagiri-kun. Curiosity kills the cat. Ignore it for now and keep walking,” she coaxed.

Mayuzumi pulled me along, her grip tight and forceful, nearly causing me to stumble. Bewildered, I removed my own shoes before following her down the hallway. A sweet aroma mingled with the odd smell in the air. The smell of candy drifted from Mayuzumi.

Her pale, delicate hands looked like lumps of sugar that might crumble at any moment. I clutched them tightly. Mayuzumi smiled faintly, but said nothing.

Finally, we came to a halt before a shoji screen, barely visible amidst the darkness. We seemed to have made it far into the heart of the house.

“Are you there, Mukai?” Mayuzumi called. “You have guests.”

“I know. Come in.”

A youthful voice sounded. The taut bass was not one would expect from an old man.

Mayuzumi flung the shoji open, revealing a room with a dull green hue, probably tatami mats. In the center sat a figure in a light blue attire. The owner of the voice appeared to be draped in a yukata or something similar. I could see his thin legs and arms protruding out the loose garment, yellowish hands blending into the dimness.

My breath caught at the sight of him.

The woman from before was crawling atop the man’s knees, pressing her body against him, squishing her pale breasts. The man’s hands stroked her back over and over, caressing her smooth skin indifferently.

Although I couldn’t make out the man’s face, I sensed a cutting glint in his eyes.

The man named Mukai fixed me with a glare. “Who’s that? I don’t recall you having a hobby of keeping men.”

“Of course not. Keeping Odagiri-kun wouldn’t be any fun. He’s just my assistant. He carries something interesting in his belly, you see. He’s useful in a lot of ways.”

Mayuzumi spoke with an easy tone, her voice devoid of malice. Yet her words cut deep into my chest. I dug my nails into her palm. She said nothing, instead stepped on my foot hard.

I let go of her hand and pulled my foot back.

Mukai gave no comment about my behavior. He removed something from his mouth, and soft white smoke rose in the darkness. He seemed to be smoking a pipe or something. I couldn’t see it well because of its darkish color. The only thing I could distinguish was the mouthpiece.

“So, why did you call for me?” Mayuzumi asked. “I thought you disliked idle chatter, just like me. Can you just tell me already?”

“And yet you seem to talk too much. Didn’t you read the letter?”

Clank.

The man tapped the pipe. “I’m dying soon,” he said indifferently.

“So you say.” Mayuzumi’s voice was just as nonchalant.

They faced each other, their figures blurry in my vision.

I turned my gaze to the woman. She narrowed her eyes, snuggling to Mukai’s knee. Her figure was the only clear thing in my hazy vision.

What in the world was she?

“Well, that doesn’t matter,” Mukai said. “The problem is this thing. She recently gave birth, and every day she’s hungry. The screening ended the other day, and they’re being raised inside. All that considered, I thought it would be a shame to die.”

“It’s too late for regrets. If you’re at the end of your life, then just die already.”

“Harsh as always, I see. I have a favor to ask you.”

“If you’re asking me to take care of that thing, the answer is no,” Mayuzumi replied flatly. “It’s too steep a price for the debt I owe you.”

Mukai clicked his tongue loud. Responding to his vexation, the woman lifted her head, her fierce eyes spinning in their sockets.

“Why would I leave her with an immature brat like you?! You seem to have gotten the wrong idea. When I pass away, she too will die. It’s inevitable. Her fate is to starve slowly after I perish. So I want to tie up some loose ends before then. That’s all.”

Mukai exhaled more smoke, its acrid aroma filling the air. The woman pressed herself tightly against Mukai, refusing to let go. I peered into her eyes, but found no trace of rationality in those feral orbs.

Mukai was raising this woman. An unusual situation from a logical standpoint.