Kotori was being deceived. Her wish was something imprinted on her. It would never come true. The cat was twisting facts to her benefit.
She probably counted flowers growing on top of a corpse as “becoming a flower.”
“Takanashi Shizuki confessed her crimes to you and wanted you to die. You were afraid of being killed yourself, and your fear was directed to the symbolic red flower. You believed that the flowers would kill you, which led to your desire to escape from reality. Saori’s body was recovered and your sin was brought to light. Even if you survived, you could not escape from that fact. So you wished to stop being human… But there’s no point.”
I grabbed her arm. Kotori shrank, shaking her head as she tried to escape my grip. But I held her down.
I fixed her with a hard stare. “You’re in a safe place now. Takanashi Shizuki has had her revenge. She will not dirty her hands in a way that could be traced back to her easily. You should accept reality. You covered up Saori’s death and buried her body. As a result, two people died. That fact cannot be undone. What’s the point of running away?!”
Kotori shook her head wildly. Her large eyes darted around. Words spilled from her trembling lips.
“I don’t know anything,” she denied. “I… I know nothing… Saori…”
“How long do you plan to keep on running?! You deny, avert your gaze, wish to become a flower. In the end, you’re still scared!”
Kotori’s breath seized in her throat. Tears fell from her large eyes.
I prayed fervently that my words would reach her. That was all I could do.
She needed someone to be angry with her. She needed someone to assure her safety. But no one did it. I knew I wasn’t enough to fill that role. I didn’t even know if this was the right thing to do. Still, it was better than staying silent.
If she didn’t wish to leave, the sea of flowers would not disappear.
She would always be alone.
“The field of flowers is gone. Burned up. Do you want to stay in them forever?!”
I lifted her body up. Kotori screamed. Water dripped from my clothes. I dashed through the pathway, stepping on the dirt. Rushing past the vegetation, I carried her all the way to the glass wall.
With one arm holding her up, I slammed my hand on the wall. Fortunately, the sun hadn’t set yet. I could see a small Western-style house beyond the glass, the pale blue sky, and the green grass.
“Look, Kotori-san. There are no flowers.”
“…”
There were flowers at our feet, but I forced her eyes away from them. My hand left a blood in the shape of my palm on the glass.
“There are only two of us here, you and me.” I continued lying like it was nothing. “You don’t need to become a flower anymore. Running away from reality won’t change anything. You’re safe now.”
Warm rays were pouring down from the sky. Kotori was hanging onto my neck, looking outside. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
She opened her mouth, and petals fell from her lips.
“It’s all over now.”
The whole tragedy ended that night.
That was a fact and the truth. The tragic story of the five girls was over and would never change.
There was no need for her to become a flower in the first place.
Kotori threw herself at me. Tears wet my hair. Her whole body was trembling.
Keeping her face down, she forced the words out. “I’m done.”
The last piece of petal fell from her mouth.
Resembling a lump of meat, it dropped onto the water.
“I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Deeply relieved, I fell on my knees.
Kotori probably realized the abnormal state she was in and became scared. Her fear of the current situation prevailed over her fear of being killed by the flowers. That was all; my words were meaningless. Still, I was glad.
I was grateful to hear those words from her.
I lowered her to the ground. She should have given up her bizarre desire to become a flower. I patted her head with my uninjured hand. Kotori shrank back. Sensing that I didn’t mean any harm, she relaxed.
Suddenly her face tensed.
“Ah, but the White Rabbit’s bell has already rung,” came a lively voice. “How truly unfortunate.”
I had completely forgotten about her.
Kotori’s eyes snapped open. Her whole body convulsed, and she collapsed into my arms. Her pale lips were trembling. As I peered inside, my breath caught.
Roots were forming on her wet tongue.
A small bud sprouted.
“You’ve seen someone turn into bubbles before. This shouldn’t be that surprising to you, cutie. ‘Eat a flower to become a flower.’ It’s certainly a metaphor, with the flower being likened to flesh, but at the same time it’s a contract. I don’t lie. When the intake of flowers exceeds a certain level, her whole body will germinate. It’s that kind of oddity. I applaud your noble efforts, cutie, but ‘tis a pity.”
The cat sauntered toward us, her black cloak faring. The gentle curve of her belly caught my eye. Her abdomen seemed to be bulging.
It brought to mind a mother cat with an enlarged belly.
She bowed theatrically.
“Time is up,” she pronounced.
“After all that talk of being honest with the players, you lie,” said a grumpy voice.
I smiled.
When it came to theatrics, she was far superior.
“This is why you’re nothing but a clown.”
Snap.
A red parasol blossomed. Crimson stood stark against a green backdrop.
A figure in black was standing in the greenhouse. Her eyes narrowed in displeasure.
Mayuzumi slowly twirled the parasol. The buds in Kotori’s tongue withered away instantly. Suddenly, her neck swelled, plant roots crawling under her thin skin. Her shoulder ripped open. Blood trickled down through a small hole, and a seed leaf grew.
“No, no, noooooo!” Kotori shrieked.
Shaken, she waved her arms around to get away from the roots. But it was growing under her skin. No amount of flailing would remove it. The roots stretched over her shoulder.
Mayuzumi squinted. She closed the parasol.
She spun it in her hand, and it flew straight up in the air. Just before it hit the glass ceiling, the parasol bloomed and fell on her shoulder.
Mayuzumi twirled it again.
The next moment, the roots on Kotori’s skin withered away. The red flowers at her feet drooped one after another. Kotori was left with a weal on her skin.
Everything returned to nothing.
Mayuzumi closed the parasol, and the last of the red disappeared.
“So…?” Mayuzumi groaned.
The cat clapped her hands loud. On her face was an innocent, childlike smile. There was no malice in it.
She gave a broad smile. “Ah, wonderful move, young lady. You are worthy of the highest of praises. Incidentally, I was a little bit off with the time. It wasn’t on purpose. You’re free to think that it was, of course. Anyway, I’m so happy you’re back.” The cat giggled.
Mayuzumi shrugged. “I thought Odagiri-kun would have finished by now, so I came over, only to hear your stupid voice. I need him to drive me home. Waiting alone was a backbreaker, but I had to do actual work in the end. This is not my kind of game. Copying the fox? Revolting.”
Mayuzumi shook her head and let out a weary sigh. “I know you’ll never stop pestering me, so I showed up. I don’t really care whether Kotori-kun lives or dies. Participating in a child’s game once is more than enough. So what’s your plan now? How do we treat the loser of the game?” she asked languidly.
Her gaze was fixed on the cat’s belly. Holding the trembling Kotori tight, I observed the cat. She had no more hostages.
The cat raised her hands flippantly. “Well, Ms. Kotori is safe now. Rest assured.”
“So now I just have to hit you, and it’s case closed,” I growled.
The cat’s eyes flickered. Smiling, she held her own belly with a grim look.
“No violence please. I don’t want this body hurt for various reasons.”
I had no intention of obliging her request. And there were a lot of questions I needed to ask her.
Holding Kotori in my arms, I headed for the entrance to prevent the cat’s escape.
All of a sudden, a phone started ringing. Seconds later, Mayuzumi pulled her cell phone out of her purse.
She pressed it against her ear. “It’s me. Oh, I see. So that’s what happened. No, just talking to myself.”
After exchanging some words back and forth, Mayuzumi hung up. She shot the cat a cold stare.
Mayuzumi answered my unvoiced question. “Shizuki-kun disappeared from her home after she was discharged from the hospital. She’s currently missing.”
The cat smiled. Holding my gaze, she spread her arms wide.
“It would be uncouth to talk about it in more detail. Let us relocate, my friends. Why don’t we just let Ms. Kotori sleep in the car? No ambulances. Explaining what happened is too much trouble. It would be better for her too if we just sent her straight home afterwards. Now, then.”
She clapped her hands once.
“How about one last game?”
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