Murderer in the Flower of Death (21 page)

“…Huh? Wh-what are you…? You’re not making any sense!” Though she was clearly unsettled by Renko’s strange demeanor, Eiri did not give ground. Her severe eyes shining coldly, she moved to protect Maina, who was weeping in fear beside the door. “Some crap about murderous impulses and melodies…what are you going on about…?!”

Eiri abruptly grew quiet. Reflected in her wide-open eyes was what lay behind Renko—the twisted and broken iron fence. Following the trail of blood from the contorted wreckage to Renko’s dripping right hand, Eiri’s sullen face, for the first time, showed shades of fear. “You…that arm…no way…it can’t be? That means, the iron fence…my god…” Her voice shaking, she stepped back.

Holding her advance, Renko crouched ever so slightly. “You think it can’t be true, Eiri? Well, in that case…” That instant, Renko pushed off the ground, already running and closed the space between them
in a burst of speed. “Why don’t you test that theory with your own fleeeeeeeshhh?!”

“……?!”

She threw out a quick strike with her left arm. However, the blow, aimed to remove Eiri’s head, cut through empty air. With lightning reflexes, Eiri had ducked under the attack.

“Oh-ho-ho-ho! What’s this? You avoided it? Oh
my
!” Pitching forward enthusiastically, Renko whirled round and round like a spinning top before regaining her balance. Bringing her index finger to her lower lip, she blinked in surprise.

“…Don’t move.”

From behind, scarlet fingernails pressed into the base of Renko’s throat. The Suzaku fingernails—Eiri’s chosen weapon as an assassin.

“…If you move, I’ll slit your throat. It doesn’t matter what kind of a monster you are, you can still bleed out, right? …Hmph. You were careless. How sad for you.”

Renko smiled broadly, her ice-blue eyes open wide. “…Hee-hee. Yeah, you’re right…it’s just too bad. Oh, of course, I mean
too bad for you
!” She grabbed Eiri’s wrist, tearing the deadly hand away in one fluid motion.

“…Wha—?!” Eiri had no time to react to Renko’s unanticipated maneuver.

“Gaah!!” Renko drove her elbow into Eiri’s solar plexus with a sharp
whump
.

Eiri’s slender body jumped with a twitch, and then she collapsed on the spot.

“Eiri!” “Eiri, noooooo!!” Kyousuke and Maina’s dual shrieks rang out at the same time.

Her breath had been knocked out by the attack. It was too painful to look at, seeing Eiri, who usually behaved so nonchalantly, in anguish, her face tear streaked and twitching. Holding her gut, down on all fours, she gasped for oxygen.

Renko stood over her, puffing out her cheeks as if scandalized by the intrusion. She spoke as though she were scolding a small child. “Don’t you see it’s useless? To threaten even though you’re not ready to kill. You placed your blades a centimeter to the side of the carotid artery! I think it’s sweet that you don’t want to hurt me, but…oh, what’s this? The melody has changed! My feelings of friendship for Eiri seem to have overcome my rage. Heh-heh…! Eiri really is great, isn’t she? She’s so kind and pretty! I love her in a different way from how I feel about Kyousuke. That’s why—” Joy spread across Renko’s face, as she lifted one stocking-clad leg. “
I want to liven things up on this stage!
Eh-heh-heh…okay now,
sing!
”

She kicked upward, smashing the point of her foot into Eiri’s stomach.

“Gugh!!”

Eiri let out a hoarse gasp and rolled over, convulsing on the concrete. Lying on her back, she gasped for breath like a fish washed ashore, as a white indoor slipper pressed down on her gut.

“Oh yes, that’s good…so good! You’ve got a lovely scream, Eiri…,” Renko murmured ecstatically. Placing a hand atop her knee, she pinned Eiri’s body to the ground, enjoying the pain and fear that racked the other girl’s face.

“But isn’t it still a little bit too pretty? …Okay, let’s see if we can get you to sing with a bit more grit next! Give us a growl, now really
scream
! It’s also called a grunt in some circles, but…what’s that? You haven’t heard of it? Well, then, let me teach you now! Okay, cry for me!”

Smiling ferociously, her canine teeth shining, she placed her foot over Eiri’s solar plexus and, without pause, set her full body weight on it.

Crack! Crunch! Pop!
The sound of breaking bone was audible.

“Gah…AAAAAAHHHHHHGGGHHH!!”

Eiri’s song made them want to plug up their ears.

With tears in her wide eyes and bloody vomit leaking from her mouth, all of Eiri’s familiar strength and composure had vanished. This was the true Eiri, the one that Kyousuke had seen in the infirmary—her delicate face exposed, destroyed by a storm of pain and fear and disgrace, utterly beaten.

Vestiges of Ayaka merged with Eiri in Kyousuke’s mind.

“……Fuck you.”

Ayaka who had been viciously bullied by her classmates. When he’d discovered his usually bright and cheerful sister sobbing alone in her room at night, Kyousuke had resolved to become stronger than anyone else.

To protect Ayaka’s smiling face, and to keep the people who were
important to him from being made to ever feel that way again, he had resolved to become strong. But despite all that…

“Fuck you, you piece of shit…what the hell are you trembling for, Kyousuke Kamiya?”
Didn’t you train and forge your fists for just this kind of situation?!
In that moment, the feelings that had bound him like an iron chain fell away, evaporating in a burst of angry flame. Fear, horror, confusion, hesitation—the furious passion that burned through all of them at once was directed both at Renko and at himself. His rage and vexation blazed like hellfire, and he could move again.

“…Aah, it’s no good. Worked up like this, there’s no way I can go easy,” Kyousuke muttered, standing. He clenched his fists tight enough to break them and moved forward without hesitation.

“Eeeeeek!! Eiri’s—Eiri is—aaahh!! Waaahhh!” Maina continued to scream and shake, running left and right, back and forth, near the doorway in a panic.

Noticing Kyousuke’s approach, Renko tilted her head quizzically. “What is it, Kyousuke? I’m sorry, but right now I’m playing Eiri’s song… I’ll spend plenty of time with you after this, so don’t get impatient. I’d be happy if you could please just wait a little while longer, while we listen to Eiri’s death agonies, okay? If you can do that for me, I’ll play you passionately! Eh-heh-heh.”

“……Renko.”

He placed his hands on her bare shoulders and called her name. Her clear, ice-blue eyes blinked rapidly in confusion.

“What is it, Kyousuke? You look so serious, but…oh! Could it be, you want a threeso—”

“—Shut the hell up.”

He drove his right fist directly into the center of her grinning face.

“Bwuh?!”

The unforgiving blow sent Renko flying through the air in a tailspin, impacting the concrete with a thunderous crash. She rolled along the ground—only to smash into the iron fence on the other side of the rooftop—and stopped moving.

“Waaahhh…uh?” Maina’s wail abruptly halted, and silence fell over the group.

Reclining on the remains of the iron fence, her head drooping, Renko’s facial expression was hidden.

“…Did I do it? I did…at least, it looks that way.” Uncurling his numb fist, Kyousuke exhaled. His hand felt like he had punched a steel girder. She may have looked like just a girl, but his opponent had something monstrous about her. He hadn’t been able to go easy.

He hoped that the fact that she hadn’t gotten up yet meant that his punch had been effective. Muttering a single word of apology to Renko under his breath, Kyousuke crouched down next to Eiri.

“Hey. Are you okay, Eiri? …Shit, she went too far, and now it looks like Eiri’s passing on to the other side…”

“Huh?! I’m not…not going anywhere! What are you saying, all of a sudde— Oof!!”

“Idiot, don’t push yourself! You’ve probably got a few broken ribs, at least… Can you stand?”

“Ugh… D-don’t talk like that! …Why don’t you go on to the other side yourself?”

Turning her face away from Kyousuke, Eiri cursed at him, but even so, she obediently leaned on his shoulder, seeming absolutely exhausted.

“Eiriiiiiiiii!! A-are you o-o-o-okaaaaaayyy?!” A little late, Maina came running over. Watching Eiri stand with Kyousuke’s help, she toned her crying down a bit.

“…I’m fine. It’s nothing major,” Eiri reassured the flustered girl in her usual nonchalant tone. “An injury like this is of no concern at all, okay?”

“What?! But, but! Eiri, you’re still cryi—”

“Huh?! I’m n-not crying!!”

…You’re not? Somehow, she’s trying to stay composed in the face of pain from her injuries.

“You are crying after all…don’t put on such a brave face!” Maina scolded. Eiri flushed deep red all the way out to her ears.

“…Um, sorry to ask you, Maina,” Kyousuke interrupted. “But right now, would you please help Eiri to the infirmary?”

“Hmm…? I don’t mind, but…um, what about you, Kyousuke…?” Maina inquired as she cautiously took support of Eiri’s body weight.

“Me?” Kyousuke began to answer, “I’m—”

“…Heh… Heh-heh… Heh-ha… Ha… Haaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Strange laughter filled the air.

Maina was startled. “Eee?!”

Eiri flinched. “…Ugh.”

When they looked, Renko was still lying facedown against the iron fence, and her shoulders were shaking.

“Aww, really…give me a break, Kyousukeee! What are you doing, punching a young lady like that? …He-heh. It’s terrible, truly terrible! If something happens to my face, my murderous impulse just grows that much louder…! This is the first time it has produced this kind of explosive sound, you know. It’s shocking! I’m totally stupefied! With happiness! What joy! Hmm? Is it strange to be happy because you’ve been punched? It is strange! It’s masochistic! Extremely masochistic! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Renko, who seemed to have completely recovered, laughed loudly into the sky. Her nightmarishly beautiful white face didn’t have a single scratch on it. Even a direct hit, at close range and with Kyousuke’s full strength, had failed to leave a mark.

“Wait a second…no way. Is her body made of some kind of superalloy?”

“Kyou—kyoukyoukyoukyou— Kyousuke! Sh-should w-we wun…run away?!” Maina pulled on his shirttail with one hand, her teeth chattering audibly.

Eiri’s voice was also shaky. “Kyousuke…,” she said, turning pale.

“…I’m leaving Eiri to you, Maina!” Kyousuke said. “I’m her opponent now.” He pulled Maina’s fingers away from him, smoothed Eiri’s hair, and turned to face Renko, moving as if to protect the two of them.

“Huh?!” Eiri glared. “Don’t be an idiot…do you want to die?! What can you possibly do alone?”

“Sh-she’s wight!” Maina added. “Even you, Kyousuke, against Renko…like this…”

“…It’s fine. It might not be possible to take her down, but I won’t give up that easily. I have confidence in my persistence. That’s why I’m entrusting Eiri to you now, Maina… I’m counting on you! Go and call
for help as soon as you can. I’ll stall for time, so go…I’ll be fine.” He smiled brashly.

“Kyousuke…” Maina’s eyes were wet with fresh tears.

If no one holds Renko back, everyone will die.
It could be five or ten minutes before help came or maybe even longer. Either way, he had no choice but to hold out; right here, right now, there was no one else who could.

“Hey now, just a minute, Kyousukeee!” Renko whined, springing to her feet. “You’re paying all your attention to those two… Why don’t you talk to me a little more? Talk to me, and play with me, and flirt with me…let me hear all of your different voices! I’ll let you hear all of mine, too. Let’s come together to play music! Let’s play some sweet, violent screamo…! Heh-heh-heh!” Her ice-blue eyes flashed with cruel ecstasy as she jumped up.

“Okay, fine…,” Kyousuke answered. “Since I have no choice, I’ll accompany you, Renko.”

Amid the heightening tension, Maina had finally managed to support Eiri, and the two of them shambled toward the door.
Seems like she got the picture.
In his heart, Kyousuke silently thanked Maina.

“Kyousuke,” Eiri called out in a gentle voice as they were leaving. He did not turn to look. “…If you die, I’m gonna kill you, okay?”

He smiled broadly at Eiri’s harsh and affectionate words. “…Idiot. You can’t kill a dead man, and you couldn’t even kill living people, anyway…,” he answered, but the two of them had already disappeared from the rooftop. “Well, then… Sorry to keep you waiting, Renko.”

Kyousuke stiffened, his expression grim. The fear circuits in his mind had long since burned out, and survival instinct heightened every one of his senses to the utmost limit.

“…Hmm. I finally have your attention again, eh? Really, you’re so popular…I’m getting jealous! —Ah-ha, I understand a little bit of what those other girls must have been feeling. I see…so this is the melody of jealousy. Wow…it’s greeaat! So great! The murderous impulse that you pull out of me is a complex melody, transforming the tones with infinite variety…I never get even a little bit tired of listening to it! I want to listen to it even more and play it even more! Playing, and
playing, and playing, and playing the best I can… I want to savor the grandest finale! That’s why, Kyousukeee…”

Beneath the blazing sky, her silvery-white hair fluttering, Renko gave herself over to the melody that only she could hear and began to dance. “The two of us…let’s kill each other, as true lovers, shall weeeeeeeeeeee?!”

Renko bellowed from the pit of her stomach and kicked at the ground. Her cobalt eyes shone with murderous desire as she ran straight at him.

Starting to well up from deep inside his head—from somewhere, Kyousuke thought he could hear some unfamiliar music.

“I like you like you like you love you, Kyousuke! Ah-hah!” Renko babbled cheerfully as—
boom!
—a powerful left-hand blow crashed over Kyousuke, who immediately countered with a left-handed uppercut to his attacker’s lower jaw.

“Oh, reeeaally?!” Renko taunted, effortlessly twisting out of the way. “Thanks…for that!!”

Without a moment’s delay, Kyousuke followed up his first attack, throwing his right fist, which he had held in reserve, toward the bridge of Renko’s nose, only to watch her again twist into a dodge, contorting her body until she was nearly horizontal with the ground.

“Wha…?!” Surprised by her unexpected movements, Kyousuke’s punch caught only silver hair.

“Gotcha!” Renko cried. Quickly grabbing Kyousuke’s outstretched arm with both hands, she used the captured arm like a gymnastics bar, kicking off the ground into a back hip circle trick. She landed straddling Kyousuke’s shoulders, her soft thighs fixing his head in place on both sides.

“Hang on!! Wh-what’s with that move—?”

“—Should I snap your neck? Of course! You’re dead now, Kyousuke! Heh-heh-heh.” Holding his head in both arms, Renko wrenched her hips in the opposite direction. In reality, she only pretended to twist, but if she had done it for real, his neck likely would have snapped.
Renko bent to whisper in Kyousuke’s trembling ear. “If I just wanted to kill you, it would be so easy… But that would be boring! And I really do like you, after all. I want to feel it more and more… I want you to feel it more and more, my love for you! Eh-heh-heh!”

Laughing, Renko took Kyousuke’s head in a
stranglehold embrace
. Wrapping both arms around him, she squeezed his head between her knees, one over and one under. He could feel her abundant breasts on the back of his head. His skull, enveloped by Renko’s softness and sweet scent, made a terrible creaking sound as she squeezed, gradually adding strength to her hold.

“Is this what you call love, you…urg-aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!” Any lecherous thoughts that may have crossed his mind were blown away by literally head-splitting pain. Then, it occurred to him that his skull was being smashed like a watermelon by Renko’s watermelon-sized breasts.

“…Uh-oh, better watch out. I loved you too much and nearly crushed you just now.” Recovering her senses for a moment, Renko loosened her powerful grip. The tension in his body relaxed, and Kyousuke crumpled on the spot. Having alighted from his shoulders to stand behind him, Renko wrapped her arms under his armpits, holding him up. “That was, however, an awfully nice voice…,” she murmured, nibbling at his ear. “I do want you to let me hear more of it, hmm?”

She stuck her warm, slim fingers up under the hem of Kyousuke’s shirt and ran them gently across his bare skin. He felt goose bumps rise at the exquisite way she moved her hands using just the right amount of pressure.