Chapter 10 - Obiki: Lure

1

Naoki sat on the desk swinging his legs and looking at Anna with crazed eyes.

“Torture can be so deep, you know?” he said, smiling. “I studied its history and use throughout the world before I died. Who knew that would come in handy now? It could be interesting to try out each and every method.”

“...What are you saying?”

“It might be fun to peel off all his skin. Scoop out his eyeballs, rip off his nose... Take him apart, bit by bit. Just imagining it makes me shiver with anticipation. I’m so excited.”

He’s... crazy.

Goosebumps covered Anna’s arms. Naoki was so fixated on vengeance that he’d lost his mind. She could only stare in disbelief as he continued to babble.

“The monsters are quite tough. It’ll take more than a little torture to kill one, and that’s very convenient for me. What about cutting off his arm and forcing him to eat it? No, what am I thinking? Where’s my hospitality? Our guests require much more delicious fare. Oh, I know! Why don’t I crack open his skull and give him a taste of his own brain?”

Naoki closed his eyes, a look of ecstasy on his face. It was like he was drunk on his own sick ideas. Just listening to him was making Anna feel ill. She put a hand to her chest and sunk to the ground. Even monsters could get lightheaded, it seemed.

“You okay? You’re awfully pale,” Naoki remarked, crouching down and peering at her face.

Whose fault do you think that is?

She wanted to scream, but the urge to vomit was even greater. She had to take a few deep breaths before she felt better.

“I hate Takuro...” she managed to gasp. “So much that I want to kill him. But... wanting to kill someone and actually doing it are two different things. Especially with the horrible things you’re suggesting. Do you really expect me to be able to do all that?”

It took all Anna had to utter that much.

“No, not at all,” said Naoki, drawing even closer. “Girls aren’t good with blood and guts, right? I understand. That’s why all you have to do is carry the sleeping Takuro and Mika to bed and secure their restraints. You can leave the rest of the fun to us.”

“Us?” Anna cocked her head to the side. “Who else is here besides you?”

“Why, have you forgotten? There’s someone else who hates Takuro just as much as we do.”

Shun’s face immediately popped up in Anna’s mind.

“You can’t mean...”

“You’re so smart, Anna. No wonder you’re class president,” Naoki laughed with a satisfied chuckle. “When I stole the tablet from his house, I gave him a dream of you taking it. I knew when he woke up and discovered the tablet was actually missing, he’d come running out of concern for you. Him bringing Hiroshi along was a surprise, but everything else is going just according to plan. Swimmingly, you could say. So don’t worry. I’m sure the rest will work out, too.”

“Is Shun still inside the Jailhouse?”

“Settle down. I won’t do anything to hurt your precious friends. I’m just having him relax in the guest room,” Naoki said, stroking the dangling innards protruding from his gut. “If the three of us work together, I know we can plunge Takuro into the depths of a living hell.”

“I don’t believe it. Shun would never agree to this.”

“See, that’s where you come in. Unfortunately, I can’t talk to him myself.” Naoki pointed a finger in Anna’s face. “So you have to convince him for me.”

Anna shook her head.

“Are you insane? I could never do that.”

“If you don’t, I’ll kill him,” Naoki said with a grin. “And you know that’s not an empty threat, don’t you? It’d be easy for me.”

Anna went pale.

“You... really are crazy.”

“Of course I am. I went through hell and worse, yet no one lifted a single finger to help me. Who do you think could make it through that in their right mind?”

“...”

“Look, I’m not asking for much, am I? It’s not like I’m telling you to kill someone. We’re just cleaning up a few monsters. They aren’t human. You said yourself it’s no sin. Or would you really rather get yourself killed than do society a favor?”

A person ruled by madness had nothing left to fear. Anna had no way to fight back against him.

2

Anna followed Naoki to the guest room on the second floor. The doorknob had been removed so as to prevent anyone from getting in or out, presumably Naoki’s doing. He took a pair of pliers from his breast pocket, inserted them where the knob should be, and skillfully opened the door. Immediately, someone came bursting out from inside.

“Oh!” Anna exclaimed.

It was Shun. He must have heard the jiggling and hid by the door, waiting for his chance to escape. But he stopped cold when he saw Anna.

“Anna...”

“Run, Shun! Hurry!” she shouted.

But Naoki was much faster than she was. A single blow was all it took. Shun folded like a lawn chair and collapsed to the ground. How could he have dodged an invisible enemy?

Naoki then grabbed Shun’s arm and dragged him back through the doorway. Anna followed. Naoki tossed him into the room and violently slammed the door behind them. It was missing the knob on the inside, as well, meaning there would be no escape without some kind of tool.

“Now, Anna, would you kindly convince our friend?” Naoki asked, pointing at Shun huddled up on the carpet.

She walked over to him and saw his cheeks were covered in tiny scratches.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t hurt my precious friends?” Anna glared at Naoki.

“I didn’t mean to, but they do have to listen when I tell them what to do.”

“Do you hear yourself? You sound just like Takuro right now.”

“Just like... Takuro?”

The smile disappeared from Naoki’s lips for a moment. Anna tensed, worried she’d stepped on a land mine.

“Would you mind speeding this up? Now that I’m a ghost, I’m surprisingly short-tempered,” Naoki said calmly, not sounding angry in the least.

What do I do?

Anna contemplated her options as she crouched down next to Shun, now splayed out on the floor. She was certainly strong enough to break through the door. She could even grab Shun and run. But what after that? She hadn’t seen it for herself, but the front door was likely locked up just as tightly as it had been in all their previous encounters. Was she really strong enough to break down that, too?

Besides, even if she did manage to get Shun out of the Jailhouse, Naoki would never relent. He would just lure them back here again somehow. So what about attacking Naoki, the source of the problem? No, he was a ghost. She couldn’t hurt him even if she wanted to. In the end, her only choice was to obey him and get Shun on their side.

“Shun, are you okay?”

She reached out and gently touched his shoulder. That alone was enough to send stakes through her heart.

“Anna...” Shun’s eyes turned toward her. “Is... Naoki next to you?”

Anna nodded and replied, “He says he has a favor to ask of you.”

“What?”

Shun tried to stand, but winced in pain and grabbed his stomach as he wavered.

“Are you okay?”

Anna caught him before he fell over. She could feel him flinch and hear him gasp.

“...Shun?”

When she looked at him, she realized why. Shun was afraid. And his fearful eyes were trained directly on her.

“Shun... Why are you looking at me like that?” Her voice was hoarse. “Please don’t. I’m not a monster.”

Shun was the one person she didn’t want thinking of her like that.

“The school rabbits went missing this morning,” Shun said, looking up at her from the floor. “There was blood all over their hutch. The whole school was in an uproar. Only their heads were left behind the schoolhouse.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“They found your name tag in the hutch. Can you explain how it got there?”

“I don’t know,” Anna said, shaking her head. “I haven’t been to school for the past two days. I thought my name tag was still on my uniform.”

She withered in despair under his cold stare.

“What? Do you think... I attacked those rabbits?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all that blue monster’s fault.”

“But... I didn’t do it.”

Those words left her lips, but could she really be so certain? She had to wonder. Maybe she did it and she just didn’t remember. It was entirely possible she’d been wandering the town in a crazed frenzy of hunger when she stumbled upon the innocent creatures.

“You were also the one who vandalized the graves, right? You might not be aware of it, but your body craves human flesh.”

“...Stop it...”

It was all she could do just to eke out those words. For she didn’t see herself reflected in Shun’s eyes. She saw a grotesque, man-eating monster.

It’s... all over.

Anna closed her eyes. A blanket of darkness fell over her world.

If only everything would just fall dark like this... What was I hoping for from Shun, anyway? If Takuro can be Mika’s support, maybe I was hoping he’d saved me from this pain... I was a fool to even consider the possibility.

There was a major difference between Takuro and Shun now. Shun was human. He wasn’t a monster. He could try to be considerate of her, to compromise, but they would ultimately never understand each other.

Slowly, Anna’s consciousness began to fade. Apparently it wasn’t only when she was feeling angry that the monster could rear its ugly head. Her body was hot. Her vision went red. Her muscles bulged, tearing her blouse. When she opened her eyes again, Shun was staring up at her in shock.

Farewell, Shun...

She sprang at him, her mouth open wide.