Chapter 12 - Kitan: Tale of Mystery

1

If God appeared before him one day and offered to grant any one wish, Takuro knew that he’d ask for the power to predict the future. He could already buy anything he wanted with money, and was able to dominate sports and academics on his own merits. And he was popular. People were always willing to help him with his problems. The one thing he couldn’t do anything about was his luck.

His father was successful in business thanks to his talents, but there was no denying that luck also had something to do with it. No matter how skilled you are or how hard you work, if you’re unlucky, that’s all it takes to ruin you.

Takuro had learned that much through soccer. His team had several good players, and their teamwork wasn’t bad. They should have been competing to be the best in Japan, but they always lost at the district preliminaries. Sometimes the opponent just happened to be where the ball flew. Other times a strong wind would blow, changing the course of the ball just enough to make a difference. Sometimes things would be going perfectly, but then he would just so happen to slip on the grass. The god of competition was a fickle being. Winning took some incomprehensible combination of skill and luck.

And that was exactly why Takuro wanted to be able to predict the future. If he knew what was going to happen, he’d never lose again. He’d give anything for a power like that. And now he finally had it. Things had been going exactly according to the game since the moment they stepped into the mansion.

So when the floor before them gave out and their path forward was gone, he didn’t hesitate. He pried a plank from the wall and used it to make a bridge across the fallen floor, just like he’d done the night before. Armed with such knowledge, there was no need to fear the monster attacking. If memory served, it never appeared in the annex.

Takuro and Hiroshi cleared puzzle after puzzle together until they finally arrived at the last stage. Entering the new room, they could tell it was strange. The floor, walls, ceiling—everything was red. The atmosphere was quite creepy. In the center of the room was a round, white table with a pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces on it. There were more than 500 of them, each either colored black or white.

Further in was a pole stand. From the top of it hung a single coat hanger. On the other side of the stand was another door. It was red too, just like the walls and ceiling, but it was ornately engraved. It was clearly special. If they were to trust the rough map they’d found in another room of the annex, this door led to a cavern that connected to the outside world.

Takuro tried the knob, but it was unsurprisingly locked. Next to the door was a booth made of glass on all sides. Just like the one before the entrance to the annex, the only thing inside was a camera hanging from the ceiling.

“I see. I understand most of what’s going on here.” Hiroshi was so intuitive that he didn’t need Takuro to explain. He instantly knew what he would have to do. “This jigsaw puzzle contains the password to unlock the door, doesn’t it?”

“Sorry. I only remember that it was a four-digit code. I’ve completely forgotten everything else. You think you can do it?”

“The pieces are simply colored black and white. There’s no illustration printed on them, so it will be quite a task. That being said, I somewhat enjoy puzzles of this nature. I’ll get started.”

And so Hiroshi immediately began sorting the pieces. Takuro knew there had to be some sort of logic to what he was doing, but he couldn’t see it.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but could you keep watch outside in case the monster attacks?” Hiroshi asked, his hands never stopping.

“Don’t worry. I removed the board we used to cross the gap. The monster shouldn’t be able to make it here.”

“Is that so? What a relief.”

Hiroshi refocused on the puzzle, seemingly trusting him. Watching him, a terrible sense of dread began to fill Takuro. Hiroshi would undoubtedly solve the puzzle within a few minutes. Then he’d jump into the box in order to input the password. The problem, however, came after that.

Knowing the future would be an enticing power to anyone. That is, assuming the power to know what happens in the future also meant the power to change it. But what if the future were set in stone? Knowing what happens would then be a great burden. You’d be forced to play out matches you knew you were going to lose, further driving home just how powerless you really were. Takuro recalled last night’s gaming session. This was where he’d gotten a game over.

The moment he’d entered the box, a section of the floor came loose, releasing a flood of those cockroaches. The box wouldn’t open back up until a few seconds later. The avatar he was playing in the game—Hiroshi—had successfully activated the panel and opened the last door, but had died in agony as the cockroaches swarmed him.

And standing here knowing that now probably wouldn’t change anything. Hiroshi would be attacked by the cockroaches and die again, just like he had the night before. That would give Takuro a chance to escape safely on his own.

But is that really okay?

Takuro had to wonder. Hiroshi had saved him more than once today. Could he honestly trick him into doing this now without feeling guilty? It was just like with soccer. It wasn’t fun to win by cheating. It would probably leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth for the rest of his life.

Think. There must be a way for us both to escape.

“You seem to be thinking about something.”

Takuro stiffened. Hiroshi’s eyes were still locked on the table, yet still he’d keenly picked up on the subtleties of Takuro’s heart.

“...This is where I got a game over.”

He was too smart. Takuro decided to reveal what he knew was going to happen next.

“I see. So this isn’t as straightforward as it seems.”

By the time Hiroshi said that, numbers were already starting to take shape on the table in front of him. It hadn’t even been a minute since he’d started putting the puzzle together. Takuro seriously wished he could take a glimpse inside Hiroshi’s head.

“Now then, shall we use a dummy to test this?” Hiroshi asked next.

“A dummy?”

“That box activates when it detects a human face. If we use a fake, perhaps we can get it to malfunction.” He continued, not bothering to wipe the sweat dripping down his brow. “I have to observe what will actually happen inside that box before I can develop a proper plan. If you recall, there was a rather realistic mannequin in the main building of the mansion.”

Takuro thought back to the one in the entrance hall.

“I see. If we shove that thing inside the box...”

“I don’t know if it will actually work, but it’s worth a try.”

It was like a lone ray of light shining through the darkness. Takuro nodded vigorously and drew nearer to Hiroshi.

“All right. You stay here and finish the puzzle. I’ll go back to the mansion and get the mannequin.”

If my actions can change the future...

“What about your leg?” Hiroshi asked.

He was probably asking about the puncture wound from the screwdriver. Takuro looked down at himself. The dark stain had spread across the leg of his pants, but it wasn’t especially bothering him.

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

He beat his chest and dashed from the room.

2

Takuro flew back down the path they’d taken to get to the annex without stopping. Ever since he’d left Hiroshi’s side, an intense fear weighed on him. The game he’d played last night was from Hiroshi’s point of view, so as long as Takuro stayed near him now, he could predict what was going to happen next. But now that they’d split up, he was at a loss. The monster could attack at any moment. He turned right at the end of the dark hall and was about to descend the stairs, but stopped short.

Takuro gulped.

He nearly fainted at the nightmarish sight in front of him. Shards of broken glass covered the dance hall floor as rain blew in sideways through the broken windows. And over top of the glass, a swarm of blue cockroaches roiled on the floor.

“You gotta be kidding me...” he barely managed to squeak out, he was so afraid.

The eyes on their backs all focused in on him. Takuro froze like he’d come face-to-face with his own Medusa. His legs trembled and his teeth chattered like castanets.

No... No more.

A few beads of liquid hit the floor in front of his sneaker. He was shocked to realize it wasn’t sweat, but his own tears. How many years had it been since he’d last cried? He was astonished that he even still had emotions like these.

Get it together, Takuro.

He wiped away the tears on his cheeks and clenched his fists. He couldn’t let anyone see him being so pathetic. He was no different from snot-nosed Takeshi like this, quivering like a vibrating cellphone.

I’m not just some average loser. I’m gonna do something big one day and be a hero! I don’t even wanna think about what Dad would call me if he saw me get so scared over something like this.

He rallied his thoughts, but it didn’t stop the shaking in his legs. His teeth refused to stop chattering, too. He couldn’t manage to summon any real strength.

Damn it!

Takuro burned with irritation at his own worthlessness. What would Hiroshi do?

“Pain is the best radar an organism has for danger.”

He suddenly recalled Hiroshi’s words from earlier, and he had his answer. His eyes dropped to his thigh. In the center of the dark stain on his pants was the wound from the screwdriver. With shaking fingers, he pinched the fabric and pulled. It ripped vertically along the seam, revealing the wound underneath. The screwdriver had pierced much deeper than he’d thought. Dark red muscle peeked out from within the hole.

Does he not know how to hold back?

Takuro gritted his teeth, then jabbed his right index finger into the wound.

“Guh!” he groaned.

Pain like he’d never known before shot through him from his brain to his toes. He took a deep breath, then plunged his finger even deeper into his own flesh with a sickening gushing sound. Every movement of his finger caused a new wave of pain to assault his nerves.

“Rahhhhhhh!”

Unable to bear it, Takuro fell to the floor writhing. He could feel his limbs spasming with every beat of his heart. His breath was heavy and labored. His mind went white, and he wasn’t sure for how long.

Takuro then slowly stood up and looked down the stairs again. Harsh pain still stung his thigh, but he could handle it. The pain was what had brought him back to his senses, after all. He’d even stopped shaking. Dragging his wounded right leg, he descended the stairs. The cockroaches, which had been scuttling about, all froze at the sound of his footsteps.

They’re just bugs. Compared to that monster, they’re not scary at all.

Takuro encouraged himself internally as he eyed the path with the fewest cockroaches to cut across the dance hall. Fortunately, as long as he didn’t disturb them, they wouldn’t attack.

After descending the second set of stairs on the other side of the dance hall, Takuro finally found himself back at the door leading to the main part of the mansion. It appeared the monster hadn’t broken through it, which meant it wasn’t in the annex for now. In that case, Hiroshi should be safe for the moment.

Opening the door, Takuro left the annex. The chill air of the underground passage heightened his nerves. The monster wasn’t in the annex. In other words, it had to be where Takuro was heading. He slipped through the dark tunnel quickly and arrived at the front entrance hall. What had been a door before was now completely destroyed. It was just a gaping hole in the wall that the monster could easily fit through. He stepped out and looked around for the mannequin, but he didn’t see it anywhere.

“Damn. Where’d it go?”

He cursed to himself over and over as he looked around the entrance hall. The longer he took, the higher his chances were of running into the monster. Panic raced through him. And then...

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

Takuro could hear Takeshi screaming from somewhere nearby. His heart was instantly set racing, and the pain in his thigh increased accordingly.

“Takeshi! Where are you?”

Takuro dashed toward the sound.

What’s wrong with me?

He couldn’t help wondering as he ran.

Am I trying to save Takeshi?

He could understand risking everything to save Hiroshi. He needed his brilliance to get out of the mansion alive. There were no two ways about that. But what about Takeshi? All he did was scream and cry. He was hardly useful. Saving him would just make getting out harder for the rest of them.

I don’t care what happens to him.

Yet Takuro was speeding toward him even now.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

Reaching the front door, Takuro spotted Takeshi to the left down the front hall. He was hysterically crying, spit and snot flying everywhere. The monster was nowhere to be seen. It was just Takeshi and the mannequin. He was holding it by the legs and swinging it over and over, smashing the head against one of the front windows.

“Let me out of here! Let me out! Let me out right nooooow!”

Half-crazed, he relentlessly attacked the window, but the plastic mannequin was no match for the plating over it. Pieces of flesh-colored plastic flew everywhere as it shattered a little with each blow.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Takuro jumped at Takeshi from the front, punching him as hard as he could in the cheek. Takeshi hit the wall behind him and fell quiet. Tears began to drip from his eyes.

“I can’t... I just can’t take it. Get me out of here. Get me out. Get me out of here. Get me out...”

He mumbled the same phrases over and over. His eyes were wide open and unfocused. It was impossible to tell where he was looking.

“Get it together, man.”

Takuro grabbed his shoulders and shook him, but it produced no change.

“Get me out... Get me out... Get me out... Get me out... Get me out...”

Takeshi had totally lost it. He probably didn’t even realize it was Takuro standing in front of him. Takuro stepped away from him and looked at the destroyed mannequin. The head was in pieces. It didn’t even look human anymore. It would never trick a facial scan.

“All you ever do is make things difficult for me...” he turned back to Takeshi and muttered.

Yet strangely, he wasn’t mad. He knew getting pissed off now wouldn’t help anything. It would just be a waste of energy.

“Let’s go. Hiroshi’s waiting in the annex.”

He extended a hand to Takeshi, feeling surprisingly calm. Takeshi turned to him, looking as though his sanity had finally returned.

“Takuro...”

That would be the last thing he ever said.

Suddenly the wall crumbled behind him, revealing the monster. It grabbed Takeshi with both hands and crushed him instantly. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Pop!

The sound of a balloon popping echoed through the long hall. Bits of Takeshi’s body flew in all directions like he’d exploded. Blood and bodily fluids rained down on Takuro in a viscous brown mixture. The force he’d been crushed with was so great that it had ejected Takeshi’s head off of his body. It shot up toward the ceiling and then landed at Takuro’s feet. Perhaps it was just his muscles going slack, or perhaps it was because his brain hadn’t registered his death yet, but Takeshi looked sadly up at Takuro and frowned.

No... I don’t want to die!

Takuro shook his head violently at the sight of Takeshi’s remains. His brain was a cocktail of emotions, nearly overflowing into a panic. But if he lost his cool for even a second, it could prove deadly.

I have to live.

That singular thought brought him back to reality. He bent down and scooped up Takeshi’s head. Thick, still-warm liquid ran down his arms and dripped onto the floor, but this was no time to be grossed out. The mannequin may have been broken, but he now had a replacement. With Takeshi’s head, they would surely be able to activate the facial scanner.

Takuro took a great breath and then shouted, “Takeshi, I’m counting on you!”

The monster’s head slowly rotated toward him. With Takeshi’s head in his arms, Takuro took off.

Running into the underground path, he headed as fast as he could for the annex. He tripped and almost fell multiple times, but pressed on without stopping. In his hands rested the head of a former classmate. He must have looked insane.

Punching, kicking, anything—Takuro had always loved to watch people break down as he inflicted pain on them. Watching Naoki and Shun scream and cry made his body tremble with pleasure. But this was different. He now understood just how foolish those actions had been. Reality wasn’t like a horror movie. There was no joy to be had in seeing innards hanging from a torso or brain matter spilling from a skull. That was all movie smoke and mirrors—cheating. Real death was quicker, crueler, and sadder.

Just win.

That was what he’d thought for so long. But surely there were things even losers were good for. It had taken coming to this mansion and being broken down himself to realize that.

3

Escaping the monster’s grasping clutches, Takuro raced toward Hiroshi. He’d already finished the jigsaw puzzle and had his ear pressed to the red door for signs of life from the world outside.

“I can hear the wind,” Hiroshi whispered as if sensing Takuro’s approach, his back still turned to the entrance. “When I put my hand against the crack in the door, I can feel a draft. The exit must be near.”

“Sorry, Hiroshi. The mannequin was broken. I couldn’t bring it.”

Takuro set Takeshi’s head down next to the completed puzzle. Hiroshi turned around with one eyebrow slightly raised. Takuro had expected him to be a little more shocked than that, but it was all the emotion that showed on his face.

“So Takeshi was killed as well, I see...” he solemnly whispered.

“Can we use him for the face scanner?”

“Let’s give it a try.”

Hiroshi pulled the stand with the hanger over from the door. He then took Takeshi’s head and rammed the end of the pole stand into the base of the skull without even flinching. The hanger fell to the ground, and an orb dripping in reddish-brown liquid fell on top of it. Neither boy lingered on what it might be.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Takuro said, holding his nose due to the stench.

He wasn’t being sarcastic in the slightest. Takuro knew all too well that in this mansion, a second’s hesitation could lead to death. Being scared or sheepish wasn’t going to keep anyone alive. Sometimes you needed guts to do what was necessary.

The stand Takeshi’s head was piked upon was surprisingly heavy and unbalanced. It nearly toppled over, but working together, the two boys carried it into the box. Takeshi had always been short, but now he looked down on them both. His usual stupid smile was gone; his lips were a thin, straight line. His half-closed eyes stared vacantly at the two boys in a glare. In a strange way, it was almost like he was enjoying this reversal of positions.

Please, Takeshi. This’ll be the last thing I ask you to do, and the most important.

Once the stand was in position, the boys shut the door. The camera activated, and the facial recognition program began running. A holographic panel appeared on the glass, just like it had at the door to the annex. Simultaneously, a section of the floor slid aside, and cockroaches overflowed from underground. Their numbers were staggering. “Hundreds” didn’t even begin to cover it. Where had they all been hiding? The creepy creatures with eyeball patterns on their backs emerged one after the other and quickly filled the box. There were so many of the mutant insects that they tightly packed the inside of the glass case, each and every one of them squirming. It was Takuro’s idea of a nightmare.

The supports creaked as even more packed into it, despite it already being at capacity. Small cracks began to form in the glass. At this rate, the box was going to break. Takuro moved his right foot back, ready to run, when something changed in the cockroaches’ movements.

They began to disappear, sucked away into the hole in the floor. The nearly unrecognizable stand was now mostly melted from their acid. The floor was burned black and dotted with small holes. Takuro and Hiroshi peered inside the box, but there was no trace left of Takeshi’s head. It had either been completely dissolved or completely consumed.

“Okay, it should be safe now. Let’s hurry.”

Takuro grabbed the handle of the door to the booth and opened it. The panel was still illuminated on the glass inside. They still had time.

“No, hold on,” Hiroshi said, grabbing Takuro’s shoulder before he could step inside.

“What? We already know the password. All we have to do is input it now, right?”

“Look closer. There are still a few cockroaches on the floor. It’s too dangerous to enter.”

“But we gotta hurry with the password.”

“These creatures secrete strong acid. There’s no telling when they might attack again.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Takuro growled in frustration.

“I’ll go,” Hiroshi replied calmly.

“...Huh?”

“Someone has to do it, or the door will never open. There’s no other way.”

“But why you?”

“It’s an issue of probability. I’m almost certain the next door is the last.” He patted Takuro’s shoulder repeatedly, as if to reassure him. “Which means brawn, not brains, will be required ahead. Between the two of us, your chances of survival are much higher. Don’t you agree?”

“But...”

“Arguing with me is futile.” The corners of Hiroshi’s mouth curled up into the closest thing to a smile Takuro had ever seen on his face. “I’ll be honest. I really just can’t resist the urge to study these giant cockroaches up close.”

And with that, he stepped into the box, still smiling.

“I’m not gonna let you steal all the glory!” Takuro jumped into the box after him. “I’ll kill the cockroaches. There ain’t that many of them left. While I’m doing that, you input the password.”

He picked up the hanger from the ground and swiftly smashed one that was approaching Hiroshi’s foot.

“How am I supposed to explain all this if I’m the only one to survive? I’m not gonna just sit by and let you become a martyr. I’m the hero here. So you better tell everyone just how cool I was when I died. Don’t leave out any of the details.”

“I will do nothing of the sort,” Hiroshi said as he approached the panel. “Because I’m not letting you die.”

Takuro used the excellent reflexes he’d honed by playing soccer to kill every cockroach that attacked. Acid spurted from each one as he crushed them, visibly eating away at the floor. The smell of burning plastic filled the air. White smoke rose from Takuro’s sneakers. Some of the acid must have gotten on his shoes. Intense pain seared the sole of his right foot, but he couldn’t let that stop him.

“Aren’t you done yet, Hiroshi?”

“I just finished inputting it. Now, let’s hurry!”

Hiroshi grabbed Takuro and dragged him out of the box. The sole of his right shoe was completely gone now, and the bottom of his foot was seriously burned. But the click of a disengaging lock echoed through the room. Hiroshi went immediately to the red door and turned the knob. It slowly opened outward, and what felt like their first breath of fresh air in forever flowed in from the other side. Hiroshi was right. Their goal couldn’t be far now.

“We did it...”

Takuro pumped his fist and stood up. The pain in his right foot grew worse, but this was no time to rest. Hiroshi, who should have died horribly in that glass box, was still alive. They’d escaped fate. It was possible to change the future after all.

“All right. Now just straight to—”

Takuro stopped there. His eyes went wide as he stared ahead.

A giant blue figure appeared on the other side of the open door. Baring its sharp fangs, it leaped at Hiroshi. He must have seen Takuro’s expression and registered the danger, because he barely managed to dodge to the attack. In one smooth motion, he dove head-first out of the door and to the side. The monster’s giant, mismatched, twisting eyeballs then fixed on Takuro, still inside the room.

Crap. I’m gonna die.

Takuro turned away from the monster and tried to run, but his right foot kept him from moving quickly. The skin melted by the acid had adhered to the floor, and it came ripping off with a sickening sound when he forced it up. Pain struck Takuro like lightning. He nearly passed out on the spot. The monster’s horrible visage drew closer. He didn’t even have the strength to run anymore.

I hate to admit it, but this is the end...

Takuro steeled himself for certain death.

“Takuro, run!”

Out of nowhere, Hiroshi jumped between him and the monster. He planted both hands on Takuro’s chest and shoved, sending him flying into a corner of the room.

“The rest is up to you,” he said, smiling over his shoulder.

The next instant, the monster’s fangs pierced his temples.

Takuro could hear the crack of a splitting skull. Blood gushed everywhere. And Hiroshi’s body disappeared inside the monster’s mouth.

“No... way...”

Takuro could only stare in disbelief.