Case Three: curse of the hakutaku

  Chapter Nine:

  Two weeks have passed since Orion solved the case at the Maruyama household. Kana still sent flirtatious text messages and daily messages asking what he was doing or what he planned on doing to Orion regularly despite what happened to her mother. She was strong and in love, which made the combination more lethal.

  At Yamato High, where Orion was enrolled, Orion was seated in homeroom, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Amane sat behind him and nudged him slightly with her mechanical pencil. Orion turned around to see Amane with a new appearance: she tied two ribbons at the sides of her hair instead of the back.

  “You look nice, Amane,” Orion complimented his friend.

  “T-Thank you, Orion,” Amane said, flustered at the sudden compliment.

  Mari was seated beside Orion and looked at the two. “Um, what’s going on?” Mari asked. ‘They’re doing it again. Orion definitely likes Amane. I know it,’ she said internally.

  “Nothing,” Orion said dryly. “I just noticed Amane changed her hairstyle, so I gave her a compliment.”

  “Oh…” Mari said. ‘Why did it happen so quickly? When did this all happen?’ Mari felt like she was going insane.

  That was when Kana entered the classroom and went straight to Orion. Kana was wearing a white beret over her brown hair that went down to her waist, with her uniform of a black blazer, a navy-blue tie and a dark red pleated skirt; she matched it with black thigh high leggings and black loafers.

  “Orion! How are you?” Kana asked cheerfully, as though the murder case with her family hadn’t taken place. But that was just Kana’s coping skill. Her family had settled the inheritance with Hiyono before he was arrested and jailed for being an accessory to murder. However, Kana was just happy that her father didn’t have to push too hard for money, especially with her mom being in prison.

  “I’m alright,” Orion answered casually, leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. “What about you? Is your family okay now?”

  “I’m good! We’re all good now! Hiyono decided to return the inheritance to the family before he was arrested. Thank you so much, Orion!” Kana bowed deeply to Orion; her hands folded in front of her dress. “Oh, I better get to my seat!”

  Orion waved to Kana as she walked to the other side of the classroom where her seat was.

  That was when the Composition teacher Ms Itsuki arrived at the classroom and ordered silence. She was looking around the homeroom when everyone was already settled down. Then she had the class representative, which was Amane, stand up. “Stand, bow” Amane said, before sitting back down. Ms Itsuki went through the daily reminders for the class and then started on the day’s first lesson.

  The day went by peacefully and the students were dismissed from school. Departing their classroom together, Orion, Amane and Mari walked toward the stairwell when Satoru showed up exiting his classroom.

  Amane stopped at once. “Oh no, I have archery practice!” She slammed her fist on her other hand. “Ahhh. I’ll text you when I can, Orion. Bye guys!” Amane waved to the group before running off to the field area.

  “Well, let’s get going then,” Orion said to Mari and Satoru. It was once again the childhood group walking home together. As the three left the school vicinity, something dark was occurring elsewhere in Tokyo.

  It was a small apartment where Mako Yamamoto lived. She was twenty-nine years old and worked as a salesperson. At the moment, Mako was cleaning her kitchen with a duster when she stopped. The doorbell could be heard ringing throughout the apartment.

  Mako dropped the duster on the counter and went to the door. Opening the door revealed a young middle school girl in a dark red school uniform and black loafers. She had long black hair that went halfway down her back.

  “Hello, I’m from Nagasaki Middle School newspaper club,” the young girl stated. “I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

  “Oh, sure thing, um, what’s your name?” Mako said endearingly. She stepped aside to allow Tomoyo to enter and then closed the door behind the small girl.

  “Tomoyo Mizutani,” Tomoyo answered as she walked deeper into the apartment. Moving to the living room, she set her school bag on the table. Unzipping the bag, she reached inside for two things: a syringe and a mask with a with a man-like face. It consisted of nine eyes and six horns. She held the syringe behind her back as she walked toward the woman.

  Mako noticed Tomoyo walking toward her as Mako walked toward the middle schooler. As she got closer, she noticed the mask and shuddered at the sight of it. She wondered what this middle schooler wanted from her. “So, uh, what did you want to ask? That mask is rather creepy.”

  Tomoyo rushed to Mako and pulled out the syringe from behind her as she injected the needle into Mako’s neck in a swift movement. Before the older woman could respond, she fell in a heap on the floor.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Satisfied, Tomoyo grabbed the mask and tossed it on Mako’s face before returning the syringe into her schoolbag. Closing her bag, she went to the door and checked that there was no person around to spot her leaving the apartment; she had done the same upon arrival. She avoided the elevator and took the stairs, whistling an old tune from her parents’ old village. She was in a good mood now, having downed one enemy, but there was one more target before her mission was done for the day.

  ‘They’ll pay… They’ll pay with their lives,’ Tomoyo thought as she went down the stairs. Upon reaching the first floor, she looked around and then exited the building. She was cleared the entire way, causing a smile to show on Tomoyo’s face.

  Back at Orion’s place, Mari and Satoru were seated on the settee with Satoru’s laptop on his lap. Kiyo was flying around the living room to perch on various spots. Orion was sitting on his computer chair facing his two childhood friends.

  “So, what’s with you and Amane?” Mari asked suspiciously. She had been feeling uneasy over Orion and Amane’s bonding, not aware she was being irrational and jumping to conclusions. With both hands gripped on her uniform skirt, she stared at Orion, expecting a good explanation.

  Satoru noticed the uneasiness emanated from Mari and placed a hand on her shoulder. He understood how she felt; he, too, was jealous how Mari feels so strongly for Orion even though he has never showed any sign of affection for her.

  “What do you mean?” Orion asked plainly, not understanding what Mari was getting at. He scratched his head, confused. “There’s nothing between Amane and I. Honestly.”

  “You two are so close…” Mari said softly. She looked down on her fists, which loosened their grip on the skirt. “Especially the past month or so!”

  “Well, I guess we’re just good friends,” Orion shrugged. “She helped out with a case two weeks ago.” Orion yawned and stretched his arms.

  “That can’t be all!” Mari demanded aggressively. “You two must be dating!”

  “We’re not,” Orion said calmly. “Chill, Mari. You’re going to burst a blood vessel.”

  “I’m fine!” Mari yelled.

  Orion looked at Satoru, but his eyes read Hurt Mari and I will never forgive you. Sighing, Orion felt exasperated with what Mari was doing. “I swear I am not thinking of doing anything.”

  “…It’s nothing,” Mari muttered, feeling dejected. She wrung her hands together in frustration. “I just…thought you two were acting rather close. But it’s fine. Of course, you two can be close friends.” She looked up with a forced smile on her face. “It’s totally fine.”

  “Of course it is,” Orion said exasperatedly. “I don’t know what you two are getting at by trying to grill me for answers.” With his head hung low, Orion rubbed his temples gently to try to soothe his headache. He looked up to see Mari looking disappointed and guilty while Satoru had a hand on Mari’s shoulder for consolation.

  “Look, you’re worrying too much,” Orion said awkwardly. “There’s really nothing going on between Amane and me…” Orion stared at Mari and Satoru and wished they would understand. Emotions were a hindrance to him and that motto hadn’t changed. “I’m still the same as ever.”

  “I’m sorry, Orion…” Mari muttered an apology. “There are also rumors that you’re going out with Amane.” She wrung her hands again, her face twisted with agony for what she was saying. Mari hadn’t wanted to feel jealous, but she couldn’t help it. She felt like Orion was being taken away from her.

  “Rumors are rumors,” Orion said stoically. He didn’t understand what the big deal Mari is making. Orion didn’t care for rumors, and he doubted Amane did either, yet an outsider cared. Sighing, Orion got out of his chair and walked over to Mari who was still looking pained. “Don’t worry about the rumors.”

  In another apartment complex was Takeshi Sato, a forty-one-year-old salesman who was finishing his dinner. He downed a cup of sake and poured more. It was a good day for Takeshi. He managed to sell a failing building to this elderly couple in Chiba and now he will get the commission and sale.

  That was when the doorbell started ringing. He put down his sake bottle and glanced backwards at the door. “Who the fuck is that now?” Takeshi said drunkenly as he got to his feet unsteadily. He walked toward the door and peeked into the peephole.

  It was a young middle school girl with long red hair and sporting a dark red school sailor uniform.

  “Why the fuck is there a middle schooler here? Ah whatever,” he mumbled as he unlocked the door and opened it for the kid to walk in.

  “Hello, I’m Tomoyo Mizutani,” Tomoyo greeted as she bowed. “I’m here from Nagasaki Middle School newspaper club. I’m here to ask a few questions if you don’t mind.”

  “I-I don’t mind,” Takeshi hiccupped.

  Tomoyo walked into the living room and set down her school bag on the table where Takeshi was having dinner. She reached into the bag and pulled out a syringe and another mask from Mako’s place. She hid the needle from behind her and walked over to the older man.

  “What did you feel…when you killed them?” Tomoyo asked sinisterly.

  In a moment of shock, Takeshi stared at the little girl. Before he could speak, Tomoyo pulled out the syringe and injected it into his arm.

  Wordlessly, Takeshi fell on the ground in a heap. Tomoyo knelt and felt for a pulse. Satisfied there was none, she grabbed the mask and put it on his face. She took the syringe and stuffed it into her school bag before leaving the apartment. She looked around for any passerbys and satisfied there were none, she exited the building.

  Tomoyo walked to the train station and returned home. Her mom was cooking dinner, and her dad was still at his job, where he was a mail clerk at a publishing company. Her family wasn’t wealthy, but they lived comfortably off.

  “I’m home, mom,” Tomoyo announced as she kicked off her shoes. Her mother didn’t respond, just continued to cook. In fact, her mother hasn’t spoken to anyone in approximately two years since her own parents killed themselves in Mizushima Village. She just did her duties in silence. Tomoyo was exacting revenge for her mother by killing those involved with her grandparents’ deaths. She will never forgive those salespeople who went to the village and wreaked havoc.

  After changing, Tomoyo went out to the living room where dinner was set on the table. Her father returned home, looking rough as usual after work. It was a simple dinner of eggs and sausage with rice and asparagus. The family ate dinner in silence, which was usual considering Tomoyo’s mother muted herself.

  The dinner took about half an hour and Tomoyo went for a shower. She returned to her room in her pink pajamas, flopping on her bed. Sitting up, Tomoyo played around her phone when she remembered she had a test and she hadn’t studied for it. She quickly scrambled out of her bed and pulled out her textbooks and notebook.

  Mari and Satoru had left Orion’s place, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Orion lay on his bed in the dark, lost in his thoughts. Lying in bed, he thought about Mari’s outburst and couldn’t understand it at all. ‘Why would Mari suddenly get so aggressive about Amane and I being friends? That’s all we are, right? I don’t understand at all.’ He turned over and took out his phone. Amane hadn’t texted him at all since she said she would.

  Hey what’s up?

  Orion sent the message and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, his phone vibrated, opening his eyes to check the phone.

  I’m so sorry, Orion! A group of family friends came over right when I got home, and I only got free time now.

  Orion started typing a response: It’s fine, Amane.

  Amane was typing. How are you doing? :) Oh, can I call you instead?

  Orion thought for a moment before deciding. Sure thing.

  Within a minute, Orion felt his phone vibrating. He picked up the call, seeing it was Amane. “What’s up, Amane?”

  “Um… I just figured it’d be easier to talk on the phone,” Amane said in a lowered voice.

  “That’s fine,” Orion replied. “So, what’s up? How was practice?”

  “It was fine!” Amane answered cheerfully. “How was everything with Mari and Satoru?”

  Orion thought for a bit. He didn’t feel it’d be right to tell Amane about Mari’s worries. “It was… something, you could say. Was something happening at your place?”

  “Ah, a-ah…” Amane stuttered over the phone. “Um… well, you see… S-Some incident happened back in my family’s hometown. They wanted to discuss something that happened not long ago…” Amane sounded distant and wary.

  “Hey, you okay there?” Orion’s voice came through to the other girl in her room.

  “O-Oh, sorry, yeah, I’m…fine,” Amane answered. “Um… Orion? If the day comes when I must tell you…” She trailed off.

  “Yes?” Orion asked eagerly.

  “…I’ll tell you when that time comes,” Amane said softly, almost inaudibly to Orion.

  “That’s alright,” Orion said reassuringly.

  “Orion…” Amane said almost inaudibly. “I…”

  “Yes?”

  “Um… It’s nothing! I think it’s time to sleep, so good night, Orion,” Amane quickly said. “Sweet dreams.”

  “You too, Amane,” Orion said. “I’m here for you for whatever you need.”