Chapter 6 - Oni Mo Tsuno Oru

1

When trying to avoid being spotted by a predator, it’s best to breathe as little as possible. That was a nugget of knowledge Hiroshi had gained from observing so many insects. Bugs and humans weren’t all that different when it came to instincts and what it meant to be living beings on Planet Earth. So, when Hiroshi jumped into the bedroom wardrobe, he instantly closed the door and held his breath.

The bedroom door slammed open. Hiroshi could clearly tell that something huge had entered the room. Every move it made and every breath it took shook the air around it. Moreover, there was a palpable, unique odor to its exhaling. Expelling carbon dioxide gave away its location, and that was exactly what Hiroshi was trying to avoid.

He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and did his best to calm his heartbeat. He tried to act like a pebble on the side of the road: perfectly still and unnoticed. And it seemed to work. The monster milled about the room for a while. Then, as if it had determined that it was empty, let out a low growl and left.

After hearing the sound of the door closing, Hiroshi slowly sucked in some oxygen. There was a bit of moisture in the wardrobe air, and it smelled slightly moldy. His nose began to itch, and he almost sneezed, but somehow managed to cover his mouth and hold it in. The monster could still be at the door. It would be terrible if it had only pretended to leave and was really just listening for him outside.

Carefully pushing open the wardrobe, Hiroshi stepped out. He cut across the room, explicitly sure not to make a sound, and stopped at the door. The keyhole was a classic bell shape, the likes of which he’d only seen in old movies. He kneeled down and peered through it into the hall.

He couldn’t see or otherwise sense anything particularly suspicious. Even the stench of rotting meat that the monster exuded was no longer present. Hiroshi even pressed his ear to the door, but he heard no sign of heavy breathing in the hallway. Arriving at the conclusion that the monster wasn’t out there, Hiroshi opened the door. He checked his surroundings, then began cautiously descending the stairs.

Hiroshi had no idea what in the world the monster was. It was still unclear how Mika had reappeared unharmed after being eaten. And now, even more baffling than that was the fact that she’d turned into a monster and attacked him. He considered the possibility that he’d simply been seeing things; it seemed the most likely answer, but he just couldn’t accept it. There was nothing that couldn’t be explained by science. That was what Hiroshi had always believed. And that belief hadn’t changed now, but he began to realize that there were some crazy things in this world that were beyond his imagination.

In the past, Hiroshi’s first and immediate reaction would have been to deny the monster’s existence. It was impossible for a human to morph into such a thing. He would have refused to admit what he’d seen. But now he was different. Now he accepted that there were plenty of phenomena that couldn’t be explained by science yet. People had once believed that a total solar eclipse signified the end of the world because they lacked the proper knowledge and perspective of the event. Perhaps this was no different. Hiroshi had come to understand that his duty as a man of reason wasn’t to deny the impossible, but rather to search for an explanation as to what made it possible.

But not even Hiroshi himself understood how this paradigm shift, this change of heart, had come about. He vaguely remembered something happening in the Jailhouse after meeting Shun, but it was as if there was a veil over his memories. He still couldn’t recall the details. Calming himself with the cool touch of the stair railing as he pondered all this, Hiroshi warily made his way to the first floor.

What has happened to us?

Hiroshi set to analyzing his past experiences, turning the dial on his brain to maximum power in order to try and generate some sort of hypothesis. One thing in particular jumped out at him as he wandered the mansion: all of this was almost identical to Shun’s PC game. The four trapped characters, the monster attacking them, the mansion itself. It was so similar, he was inclined to think he’d been sucked into the game world.

Shun may know something.

Hiroshi finally remembered the tablet PC he’d dropped in the front hall.

I have to contact Shun immediately.

He quickened his pace.

2

Hiroshi arrived at the front door, picked the tablet up from the floor, and carefully wiped away the dust and dirt clinging to the screen. The device had taken quite a tumble, but seemed to have survived largely unscathed. Hiroshi heard something behind him when he touched the power button. He quickly turned to see Takuro standing over by the squashed stuffed bear.

“Oh. You showed up at a good time. Gimme a hand here,” Takuro said, raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

Hiroshi looked over at what Takuro was doing and could see a small wooden door through a torn section of wallpaper. He remembered it from Shun’s escape game. And if it held the same purpose—if reality did follow the game—then beyond it was an underground path that led to the annex.

“The hinge must be rusted or something. I can’t get the door to open,” Takuro said as he yanked on the knob.

“And what about that knob?” Hiroshi asked.

“I nabbed it from the door in the attic. I put it on this one after I ripped off the wallpaper with a piece of broken plate from the kitchen.”

“It seems you, too, have played the game then.”

“Game? Oh, Shun’s computer game? Yeah, I have.”

“This mansion appears to be a copy the virtual one. I wonder what’s going on here...”

“Yeah, me, too, but we don’t exactly have time to sit here and think about it. If we don’t get out quick, the monster will catch us. So c’mon, you pull, too.”

“Oh... Sorry.”

Hiroshi nodded in agreement, laid his hands on top of Takuro’s, and gripped the doorknob.

“Ready? On three.”

“Right.”

On Takuro’s signal, both boys pulled. And with a loud creak, the door swung outward. Hiroshi peered inside from behind Takuro. In front of him was another wall, splitting the path in two to the left and right with no hint as to which was the correct way. Both were unlit, and it was impossible to tell what lay ahead. They could progress by feeling their way along the walls, but escaping from the monster would be difficult if they ran into it along the way.

“That’s odd...” With one eyebrow raised, Takuro took out his smartphone and shined its light down the hall to either side. “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t like this before.”

“Shall we proceed?”

“No, we have to find Mika and Takeshi first. Do you know where they went?”

Hiroshi was unsure how to answer that. Would Takuro believe him if he told the truth? That Mika had transformed into a monster? He puzzled over it.

“Oh, you two are safe,” said a voice from behind the two boys.

The speaker was leaning against the wall, barely able to stand. His right hand gripped an iron pipe, clinging to it like it was his sanity.

“Where have you been, Takeshi?”

“I... I was looking all over for the monster. Thought I’d give it a piece of my mind,” he answered, eyes shifting left to right.

“Oh, yeah? Got ourselves a big bad hero over here,” Takuro whistled.

It didn’t take long for Hiroshi to catch on that Takeshi was lying, either. He’d probably been hiding the whole time.

“I heard you guys talking, so I thought maybe we could finally escape...” His voice was terribly hoarse, as if from crying for too long. “Takuro, what in the world is that monster?”

“I don’t know. Don’t ask me,” Takuro answered with brutal honesty, swatting Takeshi away as he approached.

“But this is your place, isn’t it?”

“It’s not like I live here. It’s just some old property my father bought. How could I possibly know what that monster is?” Retrieving a crumpled-up envelope from the back pocket of his chino pants, he continued, “This is the deed to this place. I found it in the attic. Maybe the fine print has something about the monster. Why don’t you read it if you’re so curious?”

“There’s no way anything like that would be in a deed!”

“No shit. So, I’m in the dark, same as you. Freaking idiot. That’s enough of your stupid questions.”

“You saw the monster, as well, Takuro?” Hiroshi asked.

“Not this time. Not yet,” Takuro responded irritably.

“‘This time’?”

“How many times do I gotta say it? You’ve all mysteriously forgotten for some reason, but we’ve been here before.”

Yes, Hiroshi had heard this before. Takuro claimed that he’d died protecting him from the monster. Normally such a story would be outright unbelievable, yet Hiroshi didn’t doubt him. In some corner of his hippocampus, such memories lingered.

“If we’d had Shun guiding us, we could have all survived.”

That was what Takuro had told him at the end, and those words came back to Hiroshi now. The important part was Shun. Hiroshi took out the tablet from under his arm and turned it on. The communication app started up and began calling Shun’s computer.

“Hey, what are you doing? I told you we didn’t have time to hang out here. We gotta find Mika—”

“Hiroshi?”

Shun appeared on the screen. Behind him, the neon lights of the city flashed. Apparently he was still in the taxi.

“Hey, what is that? It has a connection when our phones don’t?” Takuro looked surprised.

“Oh, good. You’re safe,” Shun said.

“Yes, somehow,” Hiroshi responded.

“Did you find the keycard?”

“I checked the first and second floors, but unfortunately, the vast majority of the doors are locked.”

His investigation of the third floor had been cut short upon discovering Mika the monster, but he decided to keep quiet on that point for the moment. It would cause a great deal of trouble if Takuro become unstable.

“Keycard? You mean this?” Takuro interjected, pulling out a blue plastic card from his breast pocket.

“Yes! That’s it!” Apparently Shun could see him. His gloomy expression disappeared as he shouted out in excitement. “Takuro, where did you find that?”

“The attic. I thought if I jumped from there everything would reset like last time, but I found my father’s body up there, and...”

Takuro trailed off like he was just rambling to himself. His fists were balled up tight and trembling slightly. It was clear he was holding back the sadness.

Hiroshi could only watch on in silence. If he’d known a little more about the workings of the human heart, he might have been able to offer a few words of comfort, but that subject was always Hiroshi’s one failing grade on an otherwise perfect report card.

“Takuro!” Shun exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence. “If you use that key, you can open the front door! Hurry and get everyone out!”

“Huh? What’re you talking about?”

“There should be a cylinder with a card slot next to the door. Go use it. And hurry!”

“Indeed. Let us make haste.”

There was no telling when the monster would attack again. Hiroshi pulled on Takuro’s arm to urge him along, but Takuro remained rooted to the spot.

“...Takuro?”

“Not yet. I have to find Mika,” he said, shrugging off Hiroshi.

“Are you crazy?” Takeshi shouted angrily, standing stock still. “What if the monster shows up again while you’re off looking for her? If we all die, it’ll be all for nothing. We should get to safety first.”

It was a levelheaded suggestion, even coming from Takeshi. If they had a way out, they should take it and call the adults for help. However, Takuro stubbornly refused.

“No. I can’t repeat the same mistake I made last time.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Takeshi stamped his feet as he hounded Takuro. “This ain’t like you. You don’t actually care about her, do you? It’ll be fine. She’s fast. She can take care of herself. Now, let’s go—”

Takuro punched Takeshi in the jaw as he tried to take the keycard.

“Ow...”

The iron pipe he was holding rolled into a corner of the hall. Takeshi, laid out on the ground, looked around in disbelief.

“What was that for? My teeth are loose now,” he said, rubbing his chin and spitting out some blood-tinged saliva.

“I’ll pay your stupid medical bills. Don’t worry. You should be grateful you’re getting off with a few messed-up teeth. Who the hell do you think you are, trying to tell me what to do?”

Takuro bristled threateningly as he rubbed his fist, but there was no weight behind his words. He seemed to be in his own head.

“Now, let’s split up and search for Mika,” he finally said, walking toward the staircase.

“Don’t, Takuro!” Shun shouted.

“Please wait,” Hiroshi called, quickly following after him. He had to tell him the truth now, even if it meant taking a punch. “The truth is, Mika’s already...”

“Huh? What?”

Takuro spun around, his eyes narrowed angrily. He looked like an evil ogre. Hiroshi, who hardly ever balked, found himself flinching a little.

“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

A black shadow moved above Takuro’s head.

...What?

Every hair on Hiroshi’s body suddenly stood on end. What he saw at the top of the stairs flabbergasted him.

The worst-case scenario...

For there stood a blue-skinned monster staring down at them.

3

The monster leaped with surprising swiftness and accuracy for its unbalanced body, aiming for Takuro.

“Look out!”

Hiroshi pushed him out of the way, tumbling across the ground as they both hit the floor.

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Takeshi’s half-crazed scream and mad pounding at the front door echoed through the hall.

Takuro lay unmoving. It seemed he’d hit his head in the fall. And it was him that the monster’s eyes fell upon. It was standing just a few meters away.

Not good. He’s going to be eaten unless I do something.

Hiroshi tried to stand up. Pain ran through his left ankle. He must have twisted it. The monster’s arms stretched out toward Takuro.

“Takuro! Please run!” Hiroshi shouted, but to no avail.

“What is it?! What happened?!” Shun’s voice called through the tablet speakers.

“Someone! Somebody! Anybody, heeeeeeeelp!” Takeshi’s screaming continued.

Hiroshi gulped, thinking this would be the end, when the monster’s gaze shifted from Takuro.

“...Huh?”

Hiroshi unwittingly let out a foolish-sounding gasp of surprise. He was shocked by the monster’s actions. Instead of attacking the unconscious Takuro, it hunched over, picked up the keycard that had fallen from his hand, and cocked its head quizzically.

“Hey, wait!” Takuro, who had now come to, grabbed the monster’s slimy arm. “No way you’re taking that card!”

He reached out with his other hand to take back the card, but the monster was two steps ahead. Playfully, the blue giant looked up, raised the card high above its head, and then proceeded to drop it into its mouth. The right half of its face scrunched up, and then it spat the blue plastic back out. It sailed through the air, landing at Hiroshi’s feet. He quickly picked it up, but their precious way out was now broken in two, with a third large piece missing from it.

The monster bared its fangs and let out a low growl. The missing fragment of the card sat atop its long tongue. Without it, they would have no hope of escaping. But before Hiroshi could begin to formulate a plan to get his hands on it, the monster turned around and began walking away.

Am I its target now?

Hiroshi readied himself, but the creature didn’t even give him a passing glance as it headed for the front door. Takeshi, who had been standing in front of the door, screamed pathetically and scurried away. Ignoring him, the blue giant reached out for keyhole.

What is it going to do? Let us see what happens. Perhaps it will open the door.

Hiroshi was too optimistic. The monster simply grabbed the brass key in the door and popped it into its mouth, too, chewing and swallowing it in one swift motion. Hiroshi could only stare in awe. He couldn’t even begin to predict its actions.

The blue giant burped, then turned around again, this time headed for the secret door Takuro had uncovered. Shoving aside the stuffed bear lying on the floor, it stood before the small door.

“Don’t tell me it’s going to go in there...” Takuro said, holding the back of his head as he walked over to Hiroshi.

The hidden door in the wall was quite small compared to the others in the house. Even Takuro and Hiroshi would have to duck to use it. It was unthinkable that the bulky, three-meter-tall monster would be able to get through it at all.

What is it going to do?

Hiroshi held his breath in anticipation. The monster raised its arms, nearly touching the ceiling, and then brought them down against the wall with terrible speed. The whole mansion shook, and the metal panels over the windows rattled loudly. A radial indentation appeared in the wall, which quickly crumbled away.

“What the hell? It’s powered up compared to before.”

Hiroshi heard Takuro click his tongue. The monster then turned toward the two of them. Hiroshi tensed, but it didn’t seem to be coming their way. Instead, the blue-skinned enigma picked up the piece of the keycard from its tongue, curled its lips in a taunting sneer, and then walked through the destroyed wall. The monster disappeared into the darkness, gone from sight in no time at all.

“Is everyone okay?” Shun asked nervously from the tablet.

Hiroshi informed him that the monster had left, and told him briefly what had happened. Thinking over it...

“I see... So, that’s how it is,” he muttered.

“Hey, what did you just realize?” Takuro asked, his voice rough.

“All three of us, its prey, were gathered in one place, yet it did not attack. Instead, it disappeared through that door. Why do you think that is?”

“Because... it wasn’t hungry?”

“Precisely. It’s the only explanation.”

Out in the wild, animals wouldn’t hunt more than they needed to survive. Only humans killed wastefully.

“But it did attack me.”

“Indeed it did. I was puzzled on that matter, but the expression on its face as it left gives us the answer, I believe. Its goal was to steal the keycard from you.”

That taunting smile undoubtedly meant, “If you want to escape from here, you’ll have to find me and the key fragment.” But Takuro quickly shot down his hypothesis.

“I know full well that no one’s smarter than you are, but you’re wrong this time. I know you’ve forgotten about our previous venture here, but I haven’t—and that monster definitely doesn’t have the brains for that.”

“What if it is evolving at a speed that we cannot comprehend?”

“Huh? Are you serious?”

“You said it earlier yourself. That it was ‘powered up’ compared to last time.”

“H-Huh... Yeah, that’s right.’

“It will be quite problematic if it has grown smarter. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“But what are we supposed to do with the key like that?” Takuro pointed to the broken card in Hiroshi’s right hand with a raised eyebrow.

“Give it to me.”

Takeshi, who had been clinging to the door like a lizard not five minutes ago, deftly snatched the key from Hiroshi.

“I’m fed up. I don’t want to stay here a second longer. We... We gotta run.”

With shaking hands, he pieced the two bits together and inserted them into the cylindrical locking mechanism.

“Open. Come on, man, open. Open up!”

The key was still missing a piece. No amount of violently shaking the knob would open the door.

“Open up! Open up! Open up! Open up! Open up!” Takeshi’s shouting echoed emptily in the entrance hall.

Hiroshi cocked his head to the side, attempting to conjure all of his brainpower to think up a way out of this. Their predicament, however, was nothing like a straightforward math problem.