Volume 5 - CH 3.1

Story III

This happened some time ago.

The cat spoke to four girls.

The cat realized what had happened to the one girl who disappeared.

Cats are intelligent animals, and it thought that the girl was no longer alive.

The cat talked and played with the girls and determined them to be immensely hideous.

The cat was not human, but it has never killed anyone.

The cat knew that killing humans was a horrifying thing.

The cat scorned the girls who buried the missing girl.

The cat wondered if she could play with the girls someday.

Cats are cats. They are cruel creatures.

The cat was willing to play with them.

Finally, the time came.

The cat rejoiced in anticipation of the joyous occasion.

So, with great enthusiasm, the cat decided to go and catch Kotori.

Who could blame it for that?

After all, cats are cats.

“You’re right, Odagiri-kun. I am lazy. Not doing what I don’t want to do is my creed. I won’t deny that. But that’s no reason to chastise me.”

Mayuzumi turned her back to me crossly. A black figure moved on the couch. Her dress was disheveled, the hem of her skirt spread wide like a crow’s wings. I sat down on the couch across from her and let out a sigh.

“I’m not chastising you. Just please at least do what you said you would do.”

“I already did, so what are you complaining about?”

“Only because I reminded you about it.”

Mayuzumi did not respond. She just lay there and gave a small shrug.

This was the result of my complaining to Mayuzumi about the doghouse. She had been grumpy since yesterday after contacting an acquaintance. Watching her, I let out a sigh.

No matter what happened, Mayuzumi would never change. She lived her life however she wanted.

But my frustration only grew. I had no time to be dealing with her fickleness.

“Is it possible that the fox is back?” I asked.

Mayuzumi still did not reply.

But seconds later, she looked over. “Hmm? Did you say something?”

“Is it possible that the fox is back from the spirit world?” I said firmly.

Mayuzumi was silent. She grabbed her cup, and she picked up a piece of chocolate. Red rose-shaped candy adorned her slender fingers.

She dunked the chocolate into the cup, and stirred it with a golden spoon.

“No,” she declared flatly, sipping her drink.

I frowned. It didn’t make any sense.

Everything that happened so far pointed to the return of the fox.

Mayuzumi shook her head. “Only Mayuzumi Azaka can walk in the depths of the spirit world. Only me. I’m an extraordinary esper, and in the words of the cat, a monster. The spirit world is my playground. For others, it’s just hell.”

Mayuzumi sipped her cup again. She crossed her legs and put her chin in her hand. The rose anklet fastened around her ankle swayed, glinting red against the light.

“There is no way for him to return from there. And there is no esper who can bring him back. The fox is likely involved in the previous case, but only indirectly. I believe Aya-kun’s body restored itself because her psyche returned. However, it’s possible that the fox’s ability leaked into this world, which in turn, had an effect on her.”

Mayuzumi sighed and shook her head again. She seemed very irritated.

She was neither frightened nor panicking, just irritated.

“Imitations are always hideous, especially if the original is hideous too.”

“…An imitation?” I asked.

Mayuzumi suddenly went quiet. Her large eyes narrowed for a moment.

She turned fully to face me, and said, “Yes, an imitation. I have a question for you.” Her voice took on a serious note. “Suppose the fox had returned. What would you do to him?” she asked matter-of-factly.

Her words chilled my bones.

I balled my hands into fists. I understood what she meant by that question. I’d been asking myself the same thing over and over for the past several days after parting ways with Aya. My chest began to ache again. I could no longer keep his existence in the depths of my memory.

Back then, I made a decision to kill the fox. But I failed. I couldn’t do it.

What does the current me want to do to him?

“Back then, I wanted to kill the fox,” I answered.

I tried to recall the rage I felt then, but it was gone and never came back. My hatred and fear of him, however, remained.

I could not accept his return. But every time I thought of him being in the spirit world, I felt suffocated. Imagining how he must feel trapped in there made me want to scream out loud. The emotions that filled my heart couldn’t be described. They were contradictory.

I hated the fox. I feared the fox. Killing him wouldn’t be enough.

But I…

What was I trying to figure out?

I shook my head and stopped my thoughts from running. I unwrapped the bandage on my palm and rewrapped it for no reason. Mayuzumi didn’t say anything. She just lay back down, not even pressing me for an answer.

Right as she closed her eyes, there was a ring.

It was the phone. Opening her eyes, she lifted her body up and leapt gracefully. She picked up the receiver and pressed it to her ear.

“Yes, Mayuzumi Psychic Detective Agency. Oh, it’s you. What’s wrong? Isn’t the case over?” Mayuzumi asked softly.

A flustered voice came back from the other end of the phone.

“Sounds like some serious trouble. But I don’t know where she went or why she disappeared. So far, there’s no sign of her around me.”

The caller’s voice intensified, then gradually softened until trailing off. Mayuzumi, who had pulled her face away from the phone, pressed it to her once more.

“I know you guys don’t care if she goes crazy or disappears. It’s stupid to start making a fuss now just because it could become a liability issue for the hospital. You’ll probably treat her similarly as Saori-kun anyway: missing. Am I wrong? So calm down—they hung up.”

Mayuzumi put the phone down and turned around. The corner of her mouth lifted.

“A call from Reisen Girls’ Academy,” she said. “Kotori-kun has disappeared from the hospital.”

“She did?” I couldn’t believe it.

I pictured her frightened.

Mayuzumi nodded gravely. “She was admitted to a university-affiliated hospital after suffering a mental breakdown. But that hospital does not specialize in psychiatric care. She was staying in a general ward, and she snuck out a few days ago behind the nurses’ back, without any help. The cameras showed her leaving.”

She put on a white negligee and a cardigan and left.

Since she was to stay in the hospital for the long term, she was allowed to wear plain clothes, which backfired. She apparently blended in with the regular visitors. Her whereabouts were still unknown.

“I don’t think she could have just disappeared like that. Someone’s hiding her.”

A girl appeared in my mind.

An outlandish figure in a cat mask regarded us and gave a deep curtsy.

“See you soon.”

Thunk.

My ears caught a peculiar sound. Seconds later, I realized that it was mail dropped into the letterbox.

I got up and went to check. There was an envelope in front of the door. I flung open the door without bothering to pick it up, and as soon as I lifted my head, I saw the delivery man. His eyes widened in surprise, and he gave a nod. Mayuzumi found direct mails annoying, so she had the mailbox on the ground floor removed. The deliveryman looked perplexed. He seemed to know nothing. I thanked him and watched him go, then turned back and picked up the envelope.

The plain white envelope was marked with the apartment number and the name of the recipient. The name of the sender was written on the back in red crayon.

From: the fox.

My womb stirred. But something other than fear filled my chest. I grabbed my trembling hands. I carried the envelope carefully so as not to crush it and showed it to Mayuzumi.

“Mayu-san. I found this at the door.”

“Thanks. Hmm…”

Mayuzumi cast me a sidelong glance. She took the envelope and opened it. A letter slipped out, together with something else. It looked like a cookie. It hit Mayuzumi’s knee and rolled on the floor. As she opened the letter, a sweet scent wafted through the air. Red fluttered down from inside.

Red petals.

The paper was filled with words written in crayon.

Mayuzumi read the first sentence.

“The story resumes.”

Her red lips twisted softly. She tapped the letter and gave a small laugh.

“I see. How stupid.”

I took the letter and read the words written crookedly on purpose. The child in my belly laughed again. A chill crawled up my spine. But it was a different feeling from fear. Something was rushing up my throat.

“Hahahaha.” The urge to scream turned into laughter. “I get it now.”

It was indeed stupid.

“The story resumes.

Once upon a time, there was a pitiful princess.

She was trapped by flowers, waiting for help for a long time.

Like Sleeping Beauty, who spent a hundred years asleep.

Like Rapunzel, held captive by a witch.

She has been waiting alone for a long, long time.

Would anyone help her?”

What do you think, dear reader?

I crushed the letter in my hand and tossed it away. Mayuzumi was holding another sheet of paper. It bore simple, typewritten words. A map was also attached.

A white card came to mind. This one looked very similar to the one that the fox sent.

I now understood what Mayuzumi meant by imitation.

“It’s the place where Kotori-kun is being held,” Mayuzumi said. “Coming all the way to Nago City, huh? How very thoughtful of her. The letter is very roundabout, but basically if we call the police, she’s dead. This fox sure is a worrywart.”

Mayuzumi’s lips twisted in a sneer. I saw nothing wrong with her reaction.

This was similar to the fox, but there was a crucial difference.

There were flaws in the production. A letter sent conventionally, talking too much about the premise. The fox would have clearly specified every single detail that he wanted us to discern on our own.