Murderer in the Flower of Death (7 page)

“…Well, then. It is now four o’clock. Class time will be over before you know it. Change your clothes and assemble on the sports field by six o’clock. From there, you’ll do physical labor until nightfall. Healthy minds dwell in healthy bodies…so instead of extracurricular activities, you’ll work correctional duty twice a day, morning and night. Be sure to attend! Strict punctuality is expected. Got it?”

In response to Kurumiya’s words, the class collectively responded in an energetic voice, “Yes, ma’am!” The hellish torture show had planted a sense of terrified loyalty in every one of them.

“Heh-heh-heh…good answer. Well, then, see you later.” Nodding in satisfaction, she took her pile of handouts under one arm. “…Hmm? I feel like I’m forgetting something important, but…oh well. Right now,
I feel like going straight back to the staff room and having a drink. I think I’ll go for a milk shake and egg shortbread cookies.”

Did she say milk shake and egg shortbread cookies? That’s strangely cute.

“…No, wait a second. I can’t discount the chocolate chip cookies…hmm, hmm…” Thinking with her chin in her hand, Kurumiya left the classroom.

“I-I’m s-saaaaaaved!” Kyousuke shouted as soon as she was gone, throwing himself down over his desk. His whole body felt weak. “That’s what they call a narrow escape… I thought I was done for.”

The “something important” that Kurumiya had forgotten was, of course, Kyousuke’s “discipline.” After watching her demonstrate so many cruel methods of torment, one after the other, with no other thought than that he was next, Kyousuke finally took a moment to relax.

“…Isn’t that great, Kyousuke? You were saved by that birdbrain.”

“Yeah, you’re right…I’m still alive now thanks to him.” Kyousuke almost felt like he should have some words of gratitude toward Mohawk, who had unknowingly helped him out of his predicament.
Farewell, Mohawk, thank you, Mohawk. At least, rest in peace…

“…Well? What are you planning to do now, Kyousuke?” asked Eiri.

Kyousuke leaned forward and thought about it. “Now? Well, come to think of it, it’s after school right? I wonder…” After the end of fifth period, they had a full two hours before manual labor began. Each student was free to spend this rest time as they liked. As long as they assembled on time and in their work jerseys, no one cared where they went or what they did. Kyousuke had a hard time imagining what to do with his free time.

“…Say, isn’t that the guy? The butcher who killed twelve people?”

An unfamiliar male voice spoke from the hallway.

Kyousuke felt the blood drain from his face as the corridor erupted into noise.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
He turned to face the door.

“Huh?! Look at his eyes…so intense! I thought my heart was gonna stop just now!”

“Hey, I told you not to do that! You’ll be killed! Come here and kneel down with a mind to die!!”

“You mean,
he
’s responsible for that pool of blood? And the door’s busted in, too…”

“Aah, how cool…I want to kill him. And then eat him…I’ll make a stew.”

“No! The one who’s going to take him down and eat him is me! ME! My left arm, Azrael, is throbbing, Kyousuke Kamiya… It’s saying, ‘I want to kill you, I want to eat you.’”

“……Seriously?” Kyousuke was stunned.

Students who had heard the rumors about Kyousuke were gathered in the hallway, peering into the classroom through the open door and gaps in the iron lattice. The narrow hallway looked like a packed train, with bustling people clamoring for space.

The whole of their collective gaze was fixated on Kyousuke alone, like a great weight bearing down on him.

“…Isn’t that great, Kyousuke? You’re famous,” Eiri nonchalantly remarked. There was little call for congratulations.

At her desk behind Eiri, holding her head with her eyes shut tight, Maina repeated a handful of words in her infantile voice, fumbling over the syllables again and again. “I pray that the world would become a peaceful place, I pray that the world wud becomba beashful blaesh, I bway dat—” It was because of the earlier incident with her in the hallway that so many other students were now gathered.

Kyousuke wanted to clear up the misunderstanding with her as quickly as possible, but he couldn’t afford to make a clumsy move.
Oh, man, what should I do? …This is a no-win situation, isn’t it?

The students in the hallway remained outside, watching. Not even one of them had made a move to enter the classroom or start up a conversation. Were they afraid of Kyousuke? Or were they holding one another back…?

He wanted to make a break for it, but with the hallway so crowded, he wouldn’t make it ten feet. Kyousuke had stiffened, his skin clammy with nerves.

“Ummmm, is Kyousuke in here? Kyousuke, Kyousuke, oh, there you are.”

From out of the crowd, a black gas mask suddenly appeared. Pushing the other students aside with a polite “excuse me, please” or a “could I just get by,” Renko made her way into the classroom. Paying no mind to the stares that surrounded her, she strode boldly up to Kyousuke.

“Well, I haven’t seen you since lunchtime! Say, did you manage to make it to class on time?
Kksshh.
”

“Um, uh…I just barely made it…but…” In response to Renko’s cheerful greeting, Kyousuke lowered his voice in a hush.

The loudly clamoring students all shut up at once and strained their ears to hear Kyousuke and Renko’s conversation. The sudden silence was intensely uncomfortable.

However, Renko didn’t seem to think so and continued the conversation unbothered by the audience.

“Hmm. That’s nice isn’t it, you made it. ‘…But’? What did you mean by ‘but’?”

“Ah, nothing…just that in your case, you…”

“Oh, right… Unfortunately, I was about ten seconds late, so—” Renko sighed with a “
kksshh
.” Kyousuke gasped and swallowed hard. In his head, the girl’s voice that he had heard during class was endlessly repeating. “The teacher showed up about twenty seconds late. So I was saved!”

“Oh, that’s really too bad. …Wait, what? You were safe?”

Strange—that screaming voice…was I hearing things?

“Yeah. But there was a girl who showed up about a minute late. Poor thing…she fell victim to
that
. You know that girl, the one who’s almost as wide as she is tall.”

“What…did you say?”

An auditory hallucination would have been a hundred times better. While he had imagined Renko(’s breasts) taking the punishment for being late, it turned out that what had been going on on the other side of the wall was anything but arousing.

I wish I could just disappear; I wish someone would bury me.

“It looked like she was caught up in searching for someone. Seems like she was late because of that. She must be in the infirmary now, but…the person she was searching for, wasn’t that you?”

“…It was completely unwanted, but you’re probably right. I really
had no idea.” Kyousuke groaned, head in hands. “This is the worst, shit…Bob hasn’t given up on me yet.”

“…Isn’t is great, Kyousuke? You’re so popular,” Eiri nonchalantly added.

Before Kyousuke could turn to meet her scornful gaze, Renko tilted her head with a “hmm?” and looked at Eiri who had again begun fiddling with her nails.

“A friend of Kyousuke’s? How do you do? I’m Renko Hikawa from the first-year Class B. I’m actually sixteen, though…”

“…What does that mean, ‘actually,’ when we can’t even see your face?” Eiri replied, refusing to play the straight man to Renko’s comedian and ignoring the hand extended in friendship. “…Anyway, I’m Eiri.” Painting on a topcoat to put the finishing touches on her nails, she returned a short introduction.

After staring for a second, Renko nodded and meekly retracted her hand. “Ah, sorry, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. What was I thinking, going for a handshake with you when you’re working on those things…
kksshh
. My field of vision is a bit narrow because of the mask.”

“
…‘Those things’
? What do you mean by that?” Lifting her face, Eiri looked at Renko’s gas mask with suspicious eyes.

“Hmm? No, it’s just that I think your nails are really cool. They’re hard not to notice, though.”

“……Oh, right. Being effortlessly fashionable is the foundation of womanhood and all that.” Eiri shrugged her shoulders at Renko’s carefree words and returned to her nail art. Her nails were beautiful, with rhinestone and Swarovski crystal ornamentation on top of a base of red manicure, and the pointed tips were bordered in black. Looking at them, it was obvious that they’d been done with some skill.

“
Kksshh.
Right, right, fashion is girls’ specialty, isn’t it! By the way, Kyousuke—”

“Hmm? What are you saying? For your information, your gas mask is not even close to fashionable,” Eiri tried to respond.

“Right. About lunch tomorrow,” Renko continued.
She just let the fashion thing go so smoothly.
“Why don’t we eat together? I’d like to have a chance to actually talk with you. I wanted to talk to you after school, but…this commotion in the hallway started, you know. What do you say?”

“Lunch tomorrow? Ah…sorry, Renko. I eat by mysel—”

“If you want, I’ll let you touch as much as you please,” Renko interrupted.

“As much as I please?! When you say ‘as much as you please,’ do you really mean that?!”

“Sure. You can satisfy yourself to your heart’s content touching the smooth material of the mask.”

“…Oh, is that what you meant?! It’s pretty confusing, you know, the way you said it…” Having stood up with a clatter, Kyousuke sorrowfully returned to his seat.

Eiri turned her tepid gaze toward him. “…Huh? What did you think she meant, pervert? Gross.”

Looking at Eiri as she glared at him and called him names, Kyousuke realized—
I see. Her chest is completely flat
—compared to Renko’s huge, protruding breasts, Eiri was utterly, perfectly flat.

“…Where are you looking? Do you want me to lop it off for you?”

“What about you, where are
you
looking?! And don’t say scary things like ‘lop it off’!”

“…Whatever. Anyway, it’s just a little cocktail wiener, so who cares?”

“No way! Maybe you couldn’t call it a bratwurst, but at least a sausage—”

Their voices got louder and louder, but then Kyousuke quickly bit his tongue.

He could hear the voices of the students in the hallway and classroom whispering, “…Sausage?” “He said sausage!” Kyousuke had the sudden urge to repeatedly smash his head into the wall.

Renko took a long breath with a
kksshh
.

“What made you two start such a delicious talk all of a sudden? I think it’s great, though…looks like you’re getting along! I’d like to be part of it, too—oh, I know!”

Clapping both hands together, Renko made her voice and her huge breasts bounce.

“How about if Eiri joins us for lunch tomorrow, too? Meeting like this was an opportunity of some sort! …Right? Don’t you think that’s a good idea?
Kksshh.
”

Eiri faltered, faced with Renko’s massive swaying breasts in addition to her innocent demeanor, which did not at all match her outward
appearance. She turned away as if looking for some escape and, not finding any, said with resigned acceptance: “W-well…why not? I don’t really mind, not really…”

“Hey, Kyousuke. Isn’t that great?!” Renko cheered. “Wooow, I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s lunch so much!”

“Yeah, it’s great…,” Kyousuke began to reply before catching himself. “Ah, hold on a minute there! I don’t remember saying that I was gonna go yet?”

“What? You’re not going to come? …Why not? Boohoo.”

“Who actually says the word
boohoo
? And as for why not, well—” Put on the spot for an acceptable excuse, Kyousuke found himself at a loss. Of course, his actual reason was that he was not a murderer, but an ordinary teenager, and though it might have been the truth, there was no way he could tell them that.

On the other hand, it’s not like I can expect to be left alone to leisurely eat my lunch…
Looking at the students swarming at the front of the room, Kyousuke found himself in a difficult position.

The gleaming gazes of high school murderers. It would have been better if they were only looks of fear and admiration, but mixed in among those were expressions of jealousy and hostility and, even more upsetting, faces beaming with homicidal intent.

By all means, he had to avoid being drawn into any kind of situation with those freaks. Surely, his life was in danger. If he was alone, he could end up being killed carelessly. And given that, then it would be better to—

“…Fine. I’ll go. I’ll go, too.” Kyousuke nodded, his heart and mind set on self-preservation.

The real top killer of Class A, who had cut the throats of six people, and Gas Mask Girl, who was maybe the strangest person he ever could have imagined. It was hard to envision a more troublesome lot than these two; though if he could somehow manage to befriend them, it could be beneficial…or so Kyousuke thought.

“Ah, really?! Yaaay! I’m so happy. Tomorrow’s gonna be a party!
Kksshh.
”

“…So after all that, you end up coming after all. Indecisive asshole.”

Renko bubbled with joy at Kyousuke’s response, while Eiri’s expression remained relaxed and cold.