Volume 5 - CH 1.4

A girl in uniform was sitting inside, holding her knees. Her hands were so tightly clasped so as to emphasize her bones. Her all-black uniform was stuck to her body. Pale legs peeked out from the bottom of her floating skirt. Her veiny skin twitched repeatedly.

The girl looked around with teary eyes.

Bloodshot eyeballs darted from side to side. A twisted smile appeared on her chapped lips, revealing bloody teeth. Tears streamed down her wide-open eyes, and she pressed her fist against her chest.

She closed her eyes and opened her palms in prayer.

Red spread over the water.

Numerous petals fell from her chest and palms. They looked like blood pouring out of her heart.

The girl exhaled sharply and reached into her breast pocket. Brushing aside the gray scarf, she pulled something out of the bulging fabric, wrapping her trembling hands tight around it.

A different kind of red appeared in the water, quickly spreading like unraveling threads.

The girl was holding the blade of a knife. Her pale fingers glided to the handle, cutting into flesh.

Haha.

I heard a real voice. The child in my belly laughed. I took a deep breath and exhaled. My eyelids twitched. My mind was telling me to look away from the scene before me.

A scene from the past. There was no point in watching it.

But the memory of looking away would remain.

Why did I come here? Wasn’t it to check anything suspicious about the girl’s suicide?

Run away, and then what?

The knife dug into porcelain skin. Flesh was cut, and water turned red. Blood poured out of the skin where the blade was. The knife cut her arm halfway through, then stopped. The girl’s hand moved away from the grip. She studied her arm, with the knife still in it, tears streaming down her face.

Confusion and fear flashed through her eyes.

Froth spilled from her lips.

She let out a crazed laugh, slapping the tub like there was something hilarious. Viscous tears slid down her cheeks. Suddenly, the girl stopped laughing. Her shaking hand touched the knife fearfully.

And she pulled it out, eyes wide open.

She shouldn’t have done that.

Flesh was torn, and water splashed. Blood gushed out of flesh. The bathtub began turning red. The flowers blended in with the water, rendering them invisible.

The girl looked up at the ceiling, her whole body convulsing. Her laughter gradually faded and stopped. Her arms turned flaccid and fell into the water. Red water concealed the girl’s body from the chest below.

There was no more laughter. A painful silence descended.

Splash.

A drop fell from the tip of her hair, creating red ripples.

There was no other sound.

Snap.

The sound of the parasol closing disrupted the silence.

The red water disappeared from the bathtub, leaving only a dry bathroom. There was no trace of blood on the tiles. An odd sight.

It seemed as if the drainage had swallowed the girl’s corpse.

“Apparently they brought in a contractor to clean up the blood,” Mayuzumi said. “They’re planning to reopen this room in the future. I guess they wanted to deal with it as soon as possible. It was quite a spectacular death. I can understand why they want to pretend like it never happened.” Her lips twisted in amusement.

Looking into the blue and cold tub, she continued, “Interesting. I quite liked the vivid red.”

She turned on her heel. Sighing, I followed after her. She had nothing else to say.

Mayuzumi did not mourn the death of others.

We should be able to figure out the reason for her death.

“What you just said was inappropriate, but I’ll let it slide,” I said. “Did you learn anything from what you saw?”

“A lot of things. We still lack information, but one thing’s for sure.”

Mayuzumi took a piece of chocolate out of her pouch. The sight of flowers and blood did not change her behavior. Smiling, she bit into the round candy.

“Something drove Tsubaki-kun to a corner. The way she cut off her arm while laughing, I don’t think it was a simple suicide. She looked terrified. To run away from her fear, she chose death. Perhaps out of nowhere. You could say she was mad. That’s why she looked confused after cutting her arm.”

Licking the reddish-black liquid with her tongue, Mayuzumi crossed the room.

Her gaze rested on the windowsill for a moment. Outside the glass was a gray sky. She pulled her eyes away and smiled.

“What drove her to suicide, I wonder.”

Pale fingers gripped the doorknob. The door creaked open. The teacher waiting in the corridor looked up, his face grim. He was holding the white flowers from earlier in his arms.

The air was filled with a sweet aroma mixed with the smell of iron.

Was it the fragrance of the flowers?

It smelled like blood.

“One died, and three lived,” Mayuzumi said as if she were reciting a Mother Goose poem.

She drank her hot chocolate and gracefully returned the cup, with its raspberry and golden leaf design, to the plate. I sipped my coffee. A pleasant bitterness burned my throat. I put the cup back on the plate and looked around.

We were in a room on the first floor of the high school building. The interior design was more like a guest room rather than a parlor. The floor was covered with a red carpet, and thick curtains of the same color concealed the windows. Plaster flowers adorned the ceiling.

The décor was so elaborate as to seem absurd.

We were waiting for a friend of Kousaka Tsubaki’s. She had three friends, all residents of the fifth floor, and they frequently spent their time together.

“Tsubaki-kun committed suicide. She cut her own arm. Do the girls know why she did that? Probably not. They will say they don’t know.”

Mayuzumi shrugged. It was the headmaster who arranged this meeting. The teacher who was supposed to be present was asked to leave at Mayuzumi’s request, leaving only the two of us waiting for the students.

Like Mayuzumi said, this interview was almost a farce. I doubt they would share with us what they didn’t tell the teachers. But we might be able to learn something from their behavior.

What exactly was Kousaka Tsubaki afraid of?

Why did she take her own life?

“Excuse me,” said a dignified voice.

Without waiting for a reply, the door was pulled open.

Sharp eyes glared at us. Gorgeous features sat beneath wavy hair. The almond-eyed girl bowed gracefully as she entered the room.

She picked up the skirt of her black uniform and gave a curtsy. The theatrical movement took my breath away. She glared at us once more. Her red lips parted, and sharp words poured out.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Ichinose Ruiko. The headmaster has asked me to speak with you. However, I have nothing new to say. Tsubaki committed suicide because of family problems, the details of which I have already shared with the teachers. I deeply regret that I could not prevent my friend from killing herself. I’m heartbroken, so please don’t upset us any more. We don’t appreciate it. If you’ll excuse me.”

She did not even pause. Ruiko gracefully curtsied again and turned to leave. The doorknob turned.

“Quite a gruesome way to kill yourself for mere family problems,” Mayuzumi said as the door opened. “Slitting your wrists while laughing is not something you can do unless you’re on the verge of insanity.”

Silence.

Ruiko whirled back around, her black hair tossing.

“I thought I heard some distasteful words. What did you say again?”

“I don’t appreciate your lying, Ichinose Ruiko-kun. You should have just said that you don’t know anything. We know nothing about her suicide. There’s no way for us to even know if you have any information. But lying to us will inevitably trigger a response. That wasn’t just a simple suicide.”

Mayuzumi flashed an abominable smile. She regarded Ruiko with an animalistic grin and crossed her legs.

The roses wrapped around her ankles swayed.

“So, what was Tsubaki-kun afraid of?” Mayuzumi asked.

She laughed as she cut her wrist, scattering flowers around her.

Ruiko kept her mouth shut. She crossed her arms roughly and took a deep breath. Her chest heaved.

“If anything, you’re the one who’s lying,” she snapped back. “How did you know about Tsubaki’s suicide? Please don’t talk as if you were actually there to witness it. What absolute nonsense! I don’t know who you are or where you’re from exactly, but how about learning shame first before you point out other people’s lies?”

“It doesn’t matter if I witnessed it or not. Because that’s what actually happened. Your lying means you have an idea what happened to Tsubaki-kun.”

I observed Ruiko. Her fierce reaction was unexpected.

Tsubaki was afraid of something. There was a chance of an oddity being involved.

As for Tsubaki’s death, that should be the end of it. The academy only asked us to investigate the cause of her suicide. But Ruiko’s whole body was tense, like a frightened beast.

Something was wrong. I just didn’t know what it was currently.