Murderer in the Flower of Death (18 page)

“Eh? Hang on…why are you disciplining
us
?!” Kyousuke sputtered. “We’re just the victims here—!”

“Yes, that’s right. Now, I’m sure that’s all you have to say?”

Even as Kyousuke began to back away, Eiri took a big step forward, her expression calm. “…Is there a problem? No, of course there’s not,” she answered in her usual nonchalant voice. Kurumiya’s eyebrows twitched. “Kamiya is late because he was almost killed by other students, the fault for which lies in the failure of you teachers to provide proper supervision. If you’re going to discipline someone, you should start with those assholes who attacked Kamiya.”

“……Hmph.” Faced with Eiri’s fluid verbal attack, Kurumiya puffed out her cheeks and stayed silent.

Like this, the two of them looked just like a pouting child and her mother, who refused to buy a new toy.

A-amazing! …Eiri’s actually defying Kurumiya!
Just as one would expect from a professional assassin. Her nerve was extraordinary.

Eiri took another step forward and looked down at the shorter Kurumiya. “Clearly, Kamiya is injured. Isn’t it natural for him to attend class
after
receiving medical care? And I think he’s done enough just by showing up at all. Most students wouldn’t come to class if they were going to be beat all to hell and back every time!”

Shrugging, Eiri looked at the vacant seat in the front row. The barely recognizable remains of a desk and chair, still covered in patches of dried blood, belonged to Mohawk. Just today—first during morning correctional duty and again during third period—he had been disciplined
twice already and sent to the infirmary. When Kyousuke and Eiri had stopped there earlier, he had not yet regained consciousness and was hooked up to an artificial respirator, resting peacefully on a hospital bed.

“Mohawk, hmm?” Kurumiya mused, following Eiri’s gaze to the ruined desk. “…That’s right. I was thinking it’s about time to actually kill that asshole.” As she spoke Mohawk’s name, she made a hateful expression. The pressure radiating from her body abated slightly.

It must be because her rage is directed at Mohawk. Perhaps that’s just what Eiri planned.

“…Hmph. That’s enough. If you can, please overlook Kamiya’s lateness.”

Finally, Kurumiya broke the tension. Shouldering the iron pipe and taking a step back, she motioned for Kyousuke to pass. “Look, hurry up and take your seat. And as for the idiots who attacked Kamiya, I intend to smash you all later… But time is short! Back to your lessons!” she spat, eyes fixed on the gun lying on the podium.

Eiri watched Shinji and his lackeys pale at Kurumiya’s promise of punishment with satisfaction. Relaxing her severe expression, she casually moved to take her seat—

“Where are you going?
I don’t remember saying that I would overlook your tardiness, too, Akabane!
”

“……?!”

It was a fierce tone of voice. Eiri had stopped walking, and Kurumiya swung the iron pipe at her face. There were no preparatory movements. It was a supersonic blow, indescribable except as a blur.

“—Shit!!”

Eiri evaded the strike by a hair’s width. Tilting her head ever so slightly, she let the pipe sail past, and in the instant that Kurumiya’s arm extended toward her, she had closed the distance between them to nothing.

“…What are you doing, Ms. Kurumiya?”

Eiri asked in a quiet voice, the nails of her right hand pressed against Kurumiya’s throat. Her rust-red eyes bore into the smaller woman from above.

“…Oh?” Her eyes open wide, Kurumiya’s stiff cheeks slowly opened into a wide grin. Her childish laughter echoed through the otherwise silent classroom. “What am I doing, you ask…interesting. That’s an odd choice of words for someone threatening a teacher with fingernail blades. I should ask you, Akabane, what are
you
doing? I wonder if you’re prepared for what’s coming to you.”

Even with Eiri’s nails thrust into her throat—and apparently well aware that they were concealed weapons—Kurumiya was not perturbed. Rather, she looked up at Eiri with a predatory gaze.

“……”

Facing down her teacher, Eiri remained silent.

“Heh-heh-heh…well, then,” Kurumiya continued. “Since you tried so hard, I’ll give you some options. One… You obediently remove your hand and then face discipline. Two… You are forced to remove your hand and then face discipline. Three…
You kill me now and avoid discipline
. Those are all of your choices. You may choose your favorite.”

On hearing the third option, Eiri’s eyes widened. Biting her lip, she glared at Kurumiya. “…Kill a teacher? You must be joking. There’s no way I could get away with something like tha—”

“I don’t mind.”

“…Huh?”

“You could kill me here and now and there would be absolutely no punishment carried out on you. Because of my incompetent supervision, your conduct would be overlooked, don’t you think? …What is it? There’s nothing for you to worry about. It would be impossible for you to kill me without my compliance. If you explain the situation to the institution, I’m sure they will handle it appropriately. Everyone in here is a witness. Therefore, don’t hesitate—”

Kurumiya tossed aside the iron pipe and raised both of her hands. In a commanding tone that did not match her submissive posture, she ordered:

“Kill me.”

“……?!”

That instant, Eiri’s body jumped as though struck by an electric
shock. The fingers pressed against Kurumiya’s throat began to visibly tremble and shake.

“What is it? What are you scared of? If you’re going to do it, then get on with it. You just have to pull back your bladed fingertips all at once. That should be easy! If you are the Scarlet Slasher, that is. Heh-heh-heh…”

Grinning broadly, Kurumiya heaped on word after word as if to torment Eiri.

“I…I’m…”

Her rust-red eyes were wavering.

The sounds of shallow breathing came from her lips, and her face drained of blood.

“What? What happened, Akabane—Eiri Akabane. Should I help you along?” Speaking in a sweet, soft voice, Kurumiya started to take one step forward. Without the slightest hesitation, it looked like she was going to push Eiri’s nails into her own throat—

“Ah… Wha—?!”

With a frustrated scream, Eiri pulled her hand away and stumbled backward, shaking. As she gathered her senses, she looked at Kurumiya’s neck. The marks left by her fingernail blades were thin and shallow. Relief quickly passed over Eiri’s expression, followed by despair, and finally, resignation. She bit her lip and hung her head low.

“
”

“Oh, is that so…? I see. So that’s your choice, Akabane?” Kurumiya asked quietly. Her girlish smile long gone, she grabbed Eiri’s right wrist and pulled the taller girl toward her.

“That’s why you’re a still a virgin—Rusty Nail,”

Kurumiya whispered in Eiri’s ear as she struck her in the stomach with the blade of her hand.

“……?!”

A silent scream. Eiri’s slender body folded in half.

Without a moment’s delay, Kurumiya drove her left knee up into Eiri’s lower jaw.

“Eiri?!” “Eiriiiiii!!” Kyousuke and Maina shouted simultaneously.

Her head thrown back, Eiri collapsed backward.

Thud
.

She went down with a dull crash.

“Hey, you bastards. Shut up and watch… Don’t move. If you move, I’ll kill you.” Kurumiya’s low growling voice froze Kyousuke and Maina, who had immediately started to rush over, in their tracks. Her right hand once again held the iron pipe. As the two students watched through gritted teeth, she jabbed at Eiri’s cheek with one bloodstained end. Eiri, lying face up, groaned.

“It was right for an injured person like Kamiya to go to the infirmary. I’ll overlook that. …However, Akabane. What reason could you possibly have had to take it upon yourself to accompany him? He doesn’t appear to have such severe injuries that he’s unable to walk by himself… In the end, weren’t the two of you secretly having some
fun
together? Hmmm?”

“Huh?! Wh-what are you saying…ubgh?!” Eiri opened her mouth to give voice to her objections, and Kurumiya plugged it with the iron pipe. She tried her best to turn her face away, but guided by Kurumiya’s skilled hand, the tip stubbornly caught up with her and pressed against her lips. Along with Eiri’s labored breaths, the iron pipe quickly became wet with her spit. “He—hey…mgh?! S-stop it…gnh!!”

“Oh-ho, what is it? You’re blushing! Don’t tell me you’re a virgin
down there
, too? Heh-heh-heh… Weeell, okay, then. If you are, I’ll confirm it now. If you turn out to be ‘pure,’ I’ll overlook everything. That’ll stand as evidence that you weren’t skipping class with Kamiya, yeah?” With a wicked smile, Kurumiya pulled the iron pipe out of Eiri’s mouth. She moved to insert the end of the glistening weapon up under Eiri’s skirt.

“Wha—?! S-stop…ahh—”

“Stop that, you perverted Lolita teacher.”

Unable to stay quiet and watch any longer, Kyousuke grabbed Kurumiya’s arm.

Her fun interrupted by the sudden grapple, Kurumiya repeated, “…Lolita?” as her thirst for blood rose before his eyes.

“Kyou—Kyousuke…”

“Quiet.”

Eiri raised her body up as if she was going to say something, but Kyousuke did not take his eyes off of Kurumiya. Even faced with the horrible, fiendish, man-eating expression written across her charming childlike face, he spoke in a powerful voice.

“It was me. I’m the one who asked her. I asked her to accompany me to the infirmary. Before that, she saved my life. She didn’t do one single thing to justify receiving punishment… I was the one. I was the one who was wrong! If you’re going to discipline someone, it should be me, you stupid bitch brat!”

Kyousuke had barely finished shouting when Kurumiya’s iron pipe struck him right on one gauze-covered cheek. “Gah!!” Knocked back, he collapsed on the floor. It was just short of a miracle that all of his teeth weren’t broken. It was the first time that Kyousuke had tasted Kurumiya’s pipe, and it was a complete shock.
Where did this physical strength come from in those slender arms?

“Looks like you want to die after all…fine with me. Just as you want, I’ll smash you to bits!” The next blow caught him in the stomach. It was a good thing he hadn’t eaten today. Faster than he could vomit the gastric juices that came surging up past his throat, yet another swing caught Kyousuke in the side. As he realized that his ribs were probably broken—again a blow, this time on the thigh.

With Kurumiya’s rage raining down nonstop pain on him, the world was painted red…

“Kyousuke?! Wa-wait, Kyousuke—!”

Don’t come over.
His consciousness quickly fading, Kyousuke tried to use his last bit of strength to hold Eiri back with a pleading look. Then his vision blurred, and he did not get the chance to see whether Eiri had heeded his warning.
Was I hit by a sideswipe just now? I don’t know.
His body flew up, the side of his head slamming into the wall, his sense of pain long ago overwhelmed.

Over and over and over and over—from above, below, left, and right it was one attack after another. Kyousuke’s world tumbled violently as he was thrown about by the beating. With each blow, his consciousness faded further. A deep crimson abyss rushed up to engulf him.

“Hmm…it’s over now, Kamiya. Go ahead and die now!”

Wham!
A final, massive strike smashed into the side of his head, and the world began to dim and dissolve.

“Kyousukeeeeeeeeeeee?!” Echoing through the darkness, someone screamed—

Kyousuke lost consciousness.

A gentle light filtered through the iron bars that covered the window. The infirmary in which Kyousuke found himself regaining consciousness was quiet and still. Staring at the blotchy ceiling, he blinked several times, then slowly and tentatively pushed himself upright.

“…Kyousuke?” a thin voice spoke from somewhere next to him. Sitting in a folding chair, Eiri was looking at Kyousuke with an expression of surprise. Tears wavered in her rust-red eyes. “…Should you be trying to sit up? …I mean, are you all right?”

“Mm, yeah,” he answered. “I’m better than expected, actually. I’m used to this. My body has always been sturdy, so, you know.” Between his head, chest, and four limbs, he hurt in so many places; however, Kyousuke was a fighter and was more than used to constant injury. If it was just the pain—if there was no permanent damage—it was tolerable.

Luckily, it seemed that he’d escaped without much more than cuts and bruises and a few fractured bones.
She must have been taking it easy on me.
Though imperfect, Kurumiya was still a teacher. No matter how many times she said, “I’ll kill you,” there was no way that she would actually murder a student. “Anyway, Eiri…are
you
okay? Things must have been difficult for you after that.”

“…Not really,” Eiri mumbled and averted her eyes. “…Everything’s been normal since you were carried off to the infirmary. Just like after Mohawk was disciplined, nothing really changed. And nothing else has happened to me since that incident… Thanks to some idiot who protected me, that is. So…well…you see…” Eiri stumbled over her next words as though they were difficult even to say, then looked at him with upturned eyes.

“Tha…thank you, Kyousuke.”

Her voice was soft, gentle even, and the pink flush to her cheeks made Kyousuke’s pulse leap. “…D-don’t mention it!!” he stammered, also scrambling to turn his face away.

Precisely because she was usually so aloof, he didn’t see how it could be a good thing that she had suddenly started acting this way. Eiri seemed to be thinking the same thing, placing both hands on her knees and shutting her mouth up tight.

It was a situation that couldn’t help but be awkward.

Kyousuke finally decided to change the subject.

“B-by the way…are classes over?”

“…Yeah.” Eiri nodded, grateful to end the previous conversation.

“Uh, umm…what about Maina and Renko? They’re not with you?”

“…No. I asked them, and they let me step away for a while.”

“Oh, is that so…? Hey, when you say you asked…why did you come alone?”

“Because I had something I wanted to say to you…one on one.” Eiri lifted her gaze to meet his, and in her rust-red eyes, Kyousuke could see a determined resolve.

“…Huh? Something you wanted to tell me? What is it? You went so far as to clear everyone else out…” Kyousuke’s heart was beating fast with the possibilities that crossed his mind. Flustered, he surveyed his surroundings. Here in the infirmary, with its shelves of medicine, beds, and medical instruments, he felt no human presence besides the two of them. It looked like even the school nurse was absent.

Illuminated by the spring sunlight streaming in through barred windows, Eiri put her hands on the edge of the bed. “The truth is, Kyousuke, I…”

“Just a…w-wait! Wait just a minute, Eiri! I’m not sure if I’m ready for—”

Ignoring his blushing protests, she leaned her body forward.

“I’ve never killed anyone.”

“…Huh…?” Kyousuke drew a complete blank; it had definitely not been the confession he was expecting.
She’s never killed anyone? Eiri? No way. There’s no way that can be true. I must have misheard her or something.
Eiri was a professional “assassin,” after all.

“…The story that I’ve killed six people is bullshit. I’ve never even killed one person. I’ve really tried to, but I couldn’t kill a single one of them… Six isn’t the number of people I’ve killed. It’s the number of people I
failed to kill
. I failed at the job of ‘assassin’…see?” Eiri’s lips twisted around the words into a smiling grimace of masochistic self-loathing.

Kyousuke took a deep breath as Eiri pressed her weaponized nails against his throat.

“…For generations, the Akabane family has been a noted family of assassins, loyally serving our masters. From the time I was very young, I was trained in the art of killing, but… It makes you laugh, doesn’t it? I’m missing the most important thing—the nerve to kill. However, I did turn out to have a bit of talent, so I was given many chances… Each time I failed, I worked hard to see that it wouldn’t happen again. Even so, in the end I couldn’t go through with a kill. Then, on my most recent attempt—on what was supposed to be my sixth kill—I screwed up in a big way. Someone saw me, and I was arrested. Under the pretext of expelling me from the Akabane clan, they were happy to toss me in here.”

Removing her nails from Kyousuke’s throat, Eiri bit her lip.

Rubbing her bright red nails with the fingers of the opposite hand, she continued, “…The nickname they gave me was Rusty Nail. It’s not because of rusty bloodstains, but because my nails are rusty from disuse. Rust leaving a body—to an Akabane, rust red leaving a body is the whole point! To think that defective goods like me were born into such a distinguished line…”

“Eiri, you…”

Kyousuke couldn’t hide his confusion at Eiri’s frail voice and expression.
It must be a lie? Could she really have not killed anyone, this girl?
Certainly, when Kurumiya had ordered her to “kill me,” Eiri’s reaction had not been what one would expect of a seasoned murderer. She hadn’t been shaken by Kurumiya’s threats or anything like that… If she was simply afraid of the act of killing, that he could understand, but—

“Hey, Kyousuke…tell me. How do you kill? Just before you kill someone, the things that you think of… About that person, and the people who care for that person, and the people that that person cares for… I mean, you think of them, too, don’t you? Even if you’re only
killing one person, once that person dies, so many more people might feel so heartbroken that death would be less painful… You’re probably causing them pain, causing them sadness, causing them to feel bitter and hurt— Those are the kinds of things that I think of. Even in the tiniest moment, I think and I think and I think and I think and I think and I think and I think…and in the end, I can never take their life. …I can’t finish the kill.”

Eiri’s head was bowed deeply, and she gripped the sheets of the bed with both hands. The pointed tips of her nails—six blades in total—tore at the thin fabric, cutting it to shreds. A drop of transparent liquid landed near her hand. A hint of a sob was barely audible.

“…Even so, on my last job, I managed to strike a vital area. I’d resolved myself to slit his throat from behind. A ridiculous amount of hot blood flowed out, and his face went pure white… I’d killed him, I thought. The moment I thought that, I blacked out. The rest is as I told you over lunch. I was arrested, and my target escaped death. I was abandoned by the Akabane family… Every day and every night became like living a nightmare. The fear I felt trying to kill him, the self-loathing… It’s humiliating, but even now I can’t sleep.”

Eiri wiped her eyes, her voice full of derision.
So her eyes are always half closed because she was sleepy.
The rust-red orbs shimmered behind curtains of tears. Again she looked at him entreatingly.

“Hey, Kyousuke…tell me! You’ve killed twelve people, haven’t you?! Even a gentle guy like you was able to kill, right?! What do I do to become able to kill? Tell me…please. You’re the only one I can ask. Maina never intends to kill in the first place and Renko is too mysterious…so I’m asking you, Kyousuke. Teach me? If you won’t, I’ll… As someone who was raised to kill, I…I won’t have any reason to go on living. Don’t you see?”

“……”

Kyousuke stared back at her in silence. Eiri had flung off the mask of the Scarlet Slasher and dropped the disguise of professional assassin; her real face was that of an ordinary, weak girl. Her aggressive, dismissive attitude was likely also a facade, a reflection of the fear and unease she felt in a world full of murderers. If that was the case…

Trusting in Eiri’s clear, tear-soaked eyes, he prepared himself for the
worst. Kyousuke resolved to expose his own true face as well, tossing aside his mask and showing himself just as he was.

“…I’m sorry. That’s impossible, Eiri. I can’t teach you something like that.”

“What?! Why not?! Why won’t you teach m—”

“Because I’ve never killed a single person.”

“…Wha—?” Eiri put her hands on Kyousuke’s shoulders and moved closer, stopping abruptly at his confession. Her mouth hung open in disbelief. It was probably the same face that Kyousuke had made earlier.

With a bitter smile, he continued. “The story about me killing twelve people…the truth is, that was a false charge. I’m a normal guy who’s never even shoplifted, much less killed anyone. I’m just a little more resilient against injury than most people is all. I’ve kept it a secret this whole time, but…with you, I think it must be okay to talk about it.”

“…False charge? …Normal guy? …Just a little more resilient?” Her expression moved from astonishment through confusion and then on to disappointment—or possibly, relief—and then bewilderment. “…You must be lying? At least, the last thing you said was definitely a lie…”

“I’m not lying. It’s all true. I have absolutely no idea how to answer questions about killing people. But—” He took Eiri’s hands that were resting on his shoulders and, glancing at the nails that crowned her fingertips, gently removed them. “I completely understand what it’s like to hate the thought of killing. I find it unpleasant, but I also understand your determination in feeling like you have to kill. You’re thinking all kinds of things, so you can’t kill your target? Of course you are! People who can kill without thinking are insane. Murderers and hit men…am I wrong?”

“You’re wrong.” Eiri cut him down immediately. With eyes as sharp as swords, she glared at Kyousuke. “…That kind of reasoning belongs in
polite society
, doesn’t it? Here in the
underworld
where we’re living, being unable to kill is insane. It’s the exact opposite of the ordinary world in logic, morals, and truth. The worlds that you and
I inhabit are too different. And if our worlds are different, our value systems…”

“Value systems? We’re the same there, too, though. You stand out in criminal society, but you’re normal in decent society. You’re no different from me… I mean, what were you going to do if you were actually rehabilitated here? If you stuck it out for three years and were let out back into the ordinary world—”

“That’s impossible…absolutely impossible.”

“Why would it be?! Your family turned their backs on you, didn’t they? Even so, they’re… They wouldn’t just throw someone like you away, would they? When you already know so much? It seems like washing your hands of them would be tough.”