Murderer in the Flower of Death (10 page)

Come to think of it, Eiri invited Maina to lunch yesterday, didn’t she?
She had probably been thinking that since they were both girls, and since their seats were right next to each other, she ought to make some effort to be sociable.

Eiri looked disgusted at Maina’s obvious fear. “…Well? Are you coming or aren’t you? Which is it?”

“Whaa…? U-umm…I’m, uh…”

“Hey, Maina… Do you have any feelings of guilt about your crime? If so, why not consider this part of your punishment and come with us.” Eiri’s voice was smooth and distant, as usual.

Her forceful words had an effect and delivered a decisive blow. “Punishment…th-that’s right. Okay…since you put it that way, I’ll come with you.” Maina nodded assent, though she still seemed a bit confused. “…Yes, I understand.”

Seeing this, Eiri’s cheeks slackened a little. Her rust-red eyes even seemed a little happy. But when she realized Kyousuke was looking at her, she immediately returned to her usual sour look. “Hmph…well, let’s get going, then. People are waiting on you.” She turned away in irritation, rising quickly from her seat.

The cafeteria, which was only about the size of two classrooms, was crowded with students. There was a thuggish older boy with tattoos on his arms and an honest-looking youth in black-rimmed glasses. There was a girl with richly colored streaks in her hair and another who was as wide as she was tall, wearing a bob haircut, looking like Bob
pp— “Wha—?!” He hid, fearing for his life.

“…Just a second. What do you think you’re doing all of a sudden?” Eiri demanded.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry…there’s someone I would really rather not meet face-to-face.”

“…Is that so? You’ve made that many enemies since entering school here?” she remarked. “It’s tough being the famous guy at the top of the class, huh?”

While Kyousuke was hiding behind Eiri, Bob leisurely left the cafeteria. Having escaped from any immediate danger, he pulled himself together and took a look around.

“Okay, then, wellll… Doesn’t look like she’s here—hey, ow, stop hitting me!”

They easily found the person they were looking for. Holding their trays, they headed straight for her. Loitering near a four-person table next to the window was a girl in a black gas mask. Even among the crowd of lunatics and murderers, she still managed to stand out.

“Hey, Renko!” Kyousuke called. “Sorry we’re running late.”

“……”

There was no response.

Fixing his eyes on Renko’s unmoving profile, Kyousuke cocked his head in confusion. If he strained his ears, he could hear from the gas mask—no, from the black headphones to the sides of it—some kind of
shkshkshkshk
noise leaking out. Perhaps she was listening to music or something. He put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention.

“Hmm? Oh, if it isn’t Kyousuke,” she responded. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t hear you over my music blasting.” Aware now of Kyousuke and the others, Renko felt around for the headphone controls. The
shkshkshk
faded, growing gradually quieter until before long it was inaudible.

“No, that’s fine, but…by the way, what kind of music are you listening to?”

“The music I’m listening to?” Renko replied. “It’s basically hardcore. GMK48 and stuff like that. It’s a forty-eight-person band whose members all wear gas masks. Their sound is impressively heavy.”

“Must be…it’s a band, right? What instruments do they use?”

“Guitars and bass and drums and percussion and a sampler. And they have one vocalist.”

“One?! Only one vocalist among that many members?! They must get drowned out by all the noise, for sure!”

“
Kksshh…
Don’t underrate me, Kyousuke. Surely I don’t have such a weak voice that I would be drowned out by a musical performance of, at most, forty-seven people? How rude, really!”

“O-oh, is that how it is…? Sorry…wait, what? Hold on a second. From the way you said that, it sounded like you were the vocalist for that band, but…? Hey—!”

—
shkshkshkshk

“Don’t go back to blasting it! C’mon, cut it off.”

“No way!” Renko shook her head. “If I’m not constantly listening to
music, I can’t compose myself. While I’m chatting, while I’m eating, during class…it’s ‘no music, no life.’
Kksshh.
”

“Huh. Well, could you maybe turn it down a little? What a music lover you are…”

“…On the other hand, you’re ‘no gas mask, no life,’ aren’t you?” Eiri cut in, speaking nonchalantly and coldly in place of Kyousuke, who knitted his eyebrows.

Receiving this sharp, cutting jab, Renko raised her voice. “…Oh, Eiri! That reminds me, you’re here today, too! Whoa, it’s been so long since I ate a meal with somebody, I’m really in high spirits! Oh…by the way, who may I ask is that girl?” Pointing to Kyousuke’s side, Renko cocked her gas mask curiously.

“Eeek?!” Maina shrieked and clung to Kyousuke’s arm. The two arms holding him tightly had a soft, gentle feel to them but, despite their small size, also seemed quite solid.

Squeezing him tight, Maina’s teeth chattered loudly. “Her f-ffff-fface is mechanical looking! Is she a robot?!”

“Correct. You have found me out. That is exactly the case. I am a robot. Originally I was a beautiful young girl, but my body was used as a plaything for an evil secret society that did this and that, and finally in the end, I was demonically remodeled and turned into a slaughter machine, a tragic heroine! I can also shoot a charged particle beam from my boobs.”

The hell they do! Who would believe a story like that?

“Whaaaaaat?! Is that true?! A-amazing…”

She believed it like it was totally normal
.

Eyeing Renko enviously, Maina continued, “Your mask certainly seems to be packed with all kinds of features, doesn’t it? Like energy generators and stuff. It’s so big…and even though your head is hard from being turned into a machine, the rest of your body looks so soft…huh?” She blinked in surprise and wonder, as if she was looking at something marvelous.

“Geez, it’s not her face, it’s a gas mask…,” Kyousuke huffed. “She’s wearing it, silly.”

Indifferent to the whole situation, Eiri also gave a monotone “that’s right” and promptly sat down. …It was easy to guess what was on her mind.

Looking sidelong at Eiri’s flat-as-an-iron-cooktop chest, Kyousuke
took his seat as well, in front of Renko. Maina hesitated, then took the last remaining seat—she slowly sat down on Kyousuke’s right side.

And then as soon as everyone was seated, Renko began talking to Maina, who was diagonally across from her. “We haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? Nice to meet you, I’m Renko Hikawa! I’m a student in the first-year Class B. My most attractive features are my big eyes and long eyelashes, my nice nose, and my sexy lips.”

“Ah, right! Um…I’m Maina Igarashi. N-nice to meetchu…” Maina’s gaze only lifted briefly to nervously flit around the table.

Watching Maina for a little while, Renko wordlessly fixed her eyes on Kyousuke.

“—”

Her facial expression was hidden by the gas mask, so he had no idea at all what she was trying to convey.

“…Uh, what is it, Renko? It’s kinda scary when you stare at me without saying anything, you know.”

“My most attractive features are my big eyes and long eyelashes, my nice nose, and my sexy lips…that’s the truth.”

“Right, I heard you. I was just gonna let it go, but I’m kind of at a loss since you repeated yourself. Do you need attention?”

“Don’t hold back! If it’s you, Kyousuke, I won’t mind even if you really dig into me…”

“Don’t say ‘dig into me’ when you’re squirming like that. If you tempt me too much, you might really get what you’re asking for.”

“Okay, sure…come on! Only I don’t want it to hurt too much. Be gentle—”

“I told you to
stop talking like that
!” Standing, he shouted back at her.

Sitting diagonally across from him, Eiri let out a “…hmm?” deliberately loud enough for him to hear. “…Is this a couples’ comedy act? How intimate. Looks like we’re in the way here.” After spitting this out, she picked up her chopsticks and lifted what looked like vegetable stir-fry to her mouth. She frowned. “…Gross.” Obviously annoyed, she took a sip of what looked like miso soup. “…This is gross, too.” Her sculpted eyebrows rose higher and higher in building anger.

She was already pissed thanks to the “daily special garbage meal set” she had ordered off the signboard menu in the cafeteria, so before Eiri’s temper could get any worse, Kyousuke waved his hands in a panic.

“There’s no way you could be in the way, Eiri! Whenever you’re around, how do I say it, um…the mood tenses up, I mean, the feelings of tension, sense of urgency, feelings of oppression, and so on, relentlessly, um…”

“Right. You’re really not doing yourself any favors there,” Renko remarked.

“Shut up, Gas Mask. You’re not helping me out here, either. Don’t attack your own side, fool.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m not the straight man, I’m the fool—in other words, I’m pretty sure I’m the one who’s supposed to take it all.”

“Why did you have to go and rephrase it like that?! You just wanted to say you’re the one who gets fucked, you perverted gas mask!” Kyousuke cried.

“…Well. As I thought, it’s time to head back.”

“Wha—?! Wait, wait, Eiri!” Renko pleaded. “We’ve just barely begun to get to know each other! I want to become friends with you. Don’t go…please! That’s what I want, really!” She squeezed her breasts together as she begged Eiri, who was half-standing with her tray in her hand to stay. Using both hands to push the heavy right and left bulges together in the center, Renko bowed her head.

What the hell is this?! I thought you’re supposed to clap your
hands
together when you make a request!

“……Uh.”

However, Renko’s approach appeared to be extremely effective. Looking down at her, Eiri’s cheek twitched. She was at a loss for words, mentally comparing her own completely flat chest with Renko’s boosted boobs.

“O-okay I get it… They’re great if you have them, but only if…hmm.”

She sat down with a thump, as if crumbling.

Renko embraced Eiri, who was staring at her own chest, retracting from the attention.

“Yay, thank you, Eiri! I won’t part from you again.
Kksshh.
”

“…Wha—? You’re heavy, don’t hang on me. They’re touching me, those useless fat bags!” Pushing aside the gas mask with her elbow, Eiri scowled with annoyance at Renko’s chest.

Renko theatrically took her head in her hands, feigning shock at the rejection. With a
kksshh
, she dropped her shoulders slowly and
mumbled like she was really disappointed. “And here I thought the two of us could develop beautiful breasts— I mean, a beautiful love together…but alas, I am scorned. My chest heaves with sadness…
sniffle
…”

Eiri was looking more and more bloodthirsty.

Without even giving Eiri time to make a comeback, Renko quickly looked up and continued, “However, I am not discouraged! Because when I make a sad face, the people around me also start to feel gloomy…I smile even in bitter times. If I’ve got a brightly smiling face, everyone else smiles, too, every time. That’s what I believe…” Pressing her hands together as if in prayer, Renko delivered her speech with passion.

No one can see your face thanks to the gas mask, though. Without facial expressions, your words are meaningless.
Kyousuke really wanted to quip back at her with something like that, but restrained himself, partly because it seemed like he might once again get caught up in Renko’s weird way of doing things.
Plus, I don’t want to provoke Eiri any further.

Kyousuke stayed quiet and slurped at his own “daily special garbage udon” meal.

“…Hmm. Is this neglect? Are you neglecting me? Fine, then, but I’m going to stress eat!” There was no stopping her now. “And then, I’ll get fatter and fatter. Only my boobs will get fatter and fatter, you’ll see!
Kksshh!
”

Sulking, she rummaged around in her backpack for something under Eiri’s wrathful glare. Eventually, she pulled up some sort of device shaped like a thin black tube and placed it on the table.

“…Hmm? What’s that?”