Mushi:Vol1 Ch2

Night 2: The 15th November Incident

PLEASE read Translator's Notes in this chapter. There are layers of hidden meanings that we have been unable to present accurately into English - Brynhilde

She had nothing important to her.

Or, maybe she did, in the past. But she doesn't remember them anymore.

A millennium – it seemed too long to live for, yet too short to go mad. Happy memories, joy, hopes, miracles; all these warm and gentle feelings were gradually taken away with the ebb of time, until the only thing left in the end was a cold and empty void. Empty - she could only store the Apples of her friends within the void that was her flesh. There was no reason for her to continue living. She did not know why she was alive. For her, who only lived for the sake of living, it was like an ageless monster - did she cease to be a human since a long time ago?

Because she couldn’t smile.

Because there wasn’t a single happy, blissful, or treasured memory.

Something that did not smile, that did not have something important in life – could such a thing be regarded as "human?"

“Who are you? What are you planning to do?”

-- As usual, whenever such a question was asked, she would find her words stuck in her throat.

Her shoelaces weren’t tied well. That was to be expected – after all, it was a long time since she engaged in such a delicate activity. Therefore, Gankyuu Eguriko sat on the wooden floor before the dim shoe closet at Kannonsakazaki Private High School, and tried to tie in a butterfly knot that she couldn't manage no matter what. After trying for ten minutes, though, she still couldn’t get it right. She could vaguely remember being good at it once, but she had forgotten how to do so long ago.

The only memories she had from her past were ones filled with intolerable anguish, and a feeling of helplessness that seemed to pin her down. That was why Guriko always tried her best to forget her past.

There was still quite some time before school began, as evident by the empty stairways. Guriko made it a point to come to school earlier in order to practice tying knots. No matter how hard she tried, though, her shoelaces never resembled anything other than a pile of upset noodles, which left Guriko deeply disheartened.

She never even realized when “he” stood before her.

Focusing on tying her shoelaces with her head bended low, it wasn’t until she was covered by his shadow did she realize someone was standing before her. Guriko slowly raised her head.

It was a tall man, with a handsome face. Guriko had never seen such a comely human. However, Guriko felt nothing even though he was staring right at her. Being an immortal, she didn’t need something like attraction of the opposite sex or love. Those feelings had been eroded to a point of no return.

However, she found herself shuddering involuntarily.

She didn’t know why.

“…… Are you waiting for me?”

Guriko said quietly. It was such an un-cute reaction.

She had left behind all her cute, innocent, Usagawa-Rinne-like reactions behind her a long, long time ago.

“I never thought you would be here this early. Having problems with your shoelaces?”

The man – Sakaki Guryuu - shifted his gaze down toward Guriko’s messed up shoelaces. He then approached her nonchalantly, knelt down, swiftly untied her shoelaces and gracefully whipped by a butterfly knot from the opposite direction.

He then looked up at Guriko, who had sat up straight by now, and coldly said, “Don’t you even know such basic things?”

“S-shut up! Why are you here?”

Damn it, Guriko thought. She never would have imagined being saved by this guy, and, for a second there, she was actually slightly happy. Even though she knew that being nice with this guy wouldn’t bring her any good.

Even though she knew that it was impossible to be friends with him.

Even though she knew that, no matter how much, how often she wished for it, it was impossible for feelings to surface.

This was something Guriko was very clear with.

Guriko shifted her gaze from Sakaki’s face, which was inches from her own, and lowered her head. Sakaki immediately stood up, puffed up his chest, bent his back backwards in an arrogant stance, and looked at Guriko from above.

“Like I said earlier, I want to know who you really are, what the reasons of your actions are, and the goal behind your moves.”

It was a calm, clear, yet loud voice. It was the voice of a dominator, a person who was clearly a class above others.

Guriko didn’t feel the slightest bit intimidated, though.

“There’s no need for you to know.”

“Even so, you still have to talk… Don’t make me use brute force.”

“You think you can actually beat me?”

Oh boy, what a bother.

Why did I say something like that?

Guriko slowly hoisted her sailor-uniform-clad body up and glared at Sakaki’s face, which was above the level of her sight. Sakaki returned her glare with an intense, fiery, emerald stare.

People with beautiful eyes would always end up being beautiful.

Guriko averted her gaze and picked up her bag from the floor.

“…… Why do you want to know? Are you curious? Or intrigued?”

“Neither. I’m doing this out of love and commitment.”

“…… You’re worried about Usagawa Rinne?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

What a show of resolve. How could he afford to answer so willingly?

Did he really love her that much?

Guriko gave him a small smile.

“…… How admirable. Both you and Usagawa.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I’m talking to myself.”

With that said, Guriko looked at Sakaki, and said in her pure voice, “Instead of being cautious towards me, why not you be on the lookout for ‘Mushi’ instead? I didn’t manage to kill Usagawa, and won’t ever attempt to again. Those ‘Mushi’, on the other hand, won’t give up on the Apple so easily.”

“Mushi…”

“Yes.”

Mushi – the name of the enemy.

Guriko put on a stern face and stared at Sakaki, as if trying to bore a hole in him with her gaze.

“Those guys are ‘Mushi’ – not only are they everywhere, they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.”

Don’t let your guard down – That was what Guriko silently thought.

Out of all the teachers in charge of class 1-B there was one named Sakaki Guryuu. His mannerisms were dignified and elegant, his features were handsome enough to rival Ganymede, and he was an unique teacher, arguably the best in the world. The oddest thing about him was that though he is classified as a history teacher, he also taught all the other subjects. “Are we back in elementary school or something?” Sakaki’s students didn't approve of this matter at all. The reason why he did this lies with Usagawa Rinne, as he wished to spend as much time with her as possible. Thus, no matter if it was Biology, Gym, or Music, he indiscriminately taught all subjects. Not only that, none of his teaching had even the slightest imperfection. Class 1-B’s steady rise in grades was obvious to anyone who would bother to check. In addition to his handsome features and artistic talent, which were mostly wasted in his teaching profession, he had earned the students' approval as he was mostly a kind soul despite a somewhat cold personality. Therefore, he was a unique existence. Envious teachers who liked to gossip took to calling him Neptune King, lord of the perfect ones, out of jealousy; although, the students who grew up in a later generation usually had no idea what that meant.

Yet, this superhuman called Sakaki Guryuu had a problem one wouldn’t expect of a person like him. That problem was his “religion” of “worship-Usagawa-Rinne-above-all-else”; in other words, his ideology concerning “the-world-revolves-around-Usarin-kakka”. His love for this one student in Class 1-B was extraordinary, and in fact, it was for the sake of staying near this love - Usagawa Rinne - that the man named Sakaki Guryuu bothered to obtain a teaching license. This love was already common knowledge at Kannonsakazaki High School, and since he was the type to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, his teaching license was naturally obtained through force, influence and authority.

And naturally, he would appear in 1-B’s classroom during lunch break because he wanted to eat bento with Usagawa Rinne. Honestly, the man lacked shame. What part of Usagawa Rinne could have engrossed such a perfect man to a state of such obsession? Does she have some sort of relation to Helen of Troy in ancient Greece!? Many rumors on the matter spread throughout the school’s student population. For all these reasons, Sakaki remained a main topic in gossip.

In one ordinary lunchtime, in the class taught by such a man—

A unique event occurred, which was remembered as “The November 15th Incident” from here onwards.

Hurry up.

Why won’t Sensei come already? Usagawa Rinne thought to herself.

Monday, November 15th. Thankfully, the classroom that day was quite warm; Rinne smiled calmly, and put two lunchboxes on her desk as she waited for Sakaki Guryuu.

During lunch, Sakaki always disregarded the school lunches and came to the classroom to eat and chat with Rinne. Rinne loved to cook, and never found it troublesome to cook for two. Yet, once in a while, she still felt that, compared to the standard student-teacher relationship, what she did was a bit odd. Sakaki grew up sheltered in an incredibly wealthy household, and the resulting lack of common sense caused people to occasionally react to his odd actions.

Secretly, though, Rinne found this cute. She shouldn’t have felt this way, but seeing that the perfect Sakaki can sometimes act strange made her feel a bit relieved. Sakaki Guryuu was still a human, just like her. Since it allowed her to think such thoughts, Rinne liked that awkward side of Sakaki.

“Like” — Rinne liked Sakaki. Sakaki was a teacher, and Rinne was his student. Despite this difference in status, or rather, this wall between them, the two loved each other. That was their trust, and their mutual understanding. It was thanks to those characteristics that they would be able to find happiness.

Usagawa Rinne was happy.

She gets worried sometimes.

But she was undoubtedly happy.

It was noisy. Even though Kannonsakazaki High School had gathered the most obedient and intelligent students into its classroom, lunchtime still appears rowdy. This wasn’t exactly the most modern high school building, so the floor and walls were a bit unclean and many scribbles made by which past students dotted the walls. Though tidy people would surely be disgusted by such a classroom, Rinne actually liked it. She felt it allowed anyone to understand the heaviness of the room’s history, and know more about the people who used to live within its walls.

A cold wind blew in, causing the curtains to flutter inward. Rinne realized that, though it looked warm, it had long since begun to transition to winter.

At this point, Sakaki Guryuu showed up.

Sakaki’s hair was not as neat as it usually was, probably since he’d rushed here.

As soon as he opened the door, even before walking in, Sakaki shouted, “Sorry I’m late—”

“It’s not a problem. I don’t mind.”

Rinne smiled while gently responding. Though she actually worried a great deal over Sakaki’s tardiness, she did not show it. Sakaki, still with an apologetic expression, passed through the students who quieted down after seeing their teacher appear, and walked toward Rinne’s desk. He grabbed a chair before Rinne and sat down.

“I’m truly sorry, Usarin-kakka. Someone came to see me at a horrible time. Some person from the education committee or something, it was some old guy who looked like he’d fall dead at any moment. He kept going on and on without getting anywhere; he probably had bad hearing and the Director of Education dumped him onto me.”

Sakaki thought nothing of saying these harsh words, and he gave a sigh.

“Ugh! But if you think about it, why did they have to send someone to me? And during my precious lunch break at that. The office is probably trying to punish me.”

Rinne held back a laugh, cover her mouth with her hands.

Sakaki’s confused expression was just too cute.

“Sensei, it’s best if you don’t think someone wants to punish you or is badmouthing you, since that’ll lead to paranoia and just thinking about it will make you uncomfortable!”

“True, what you say makes sense. Haha, I can’t tell who’s the teacher here, Usarin-kakka.”

Rinne doesn’t know for what unclear reason Sakaki decided to call her “Usarin-kakka.” At least, “Usarin” was an abbreviation of her name “Usagawa Rinne,” but why do the Japanese love to shorten all proper nouns? Like pocket bells, personal computers, sexual harassment, or convenience stores. Even the name “Guriko” was an example.

Rinne thought of the mysterious transfer student called Guriko who killed her, though Rinne barely remembered the events of that night. She was watching TV, and her door was suddenly opened. As she turned around, something was forced into her eye, and she lost consciousness. When she woke up, Sakaki was by her side, her room was filled with blood and… everything else had been forgotten.

What had she gotten into? Who exactly was that Guriko girl? Rinne did not understand what happened at all, though she didn’t particularly want to delve more deeply into the matter. Only when her life with Sakaki was threatened did she feel at all dissatisfied. If Guriko had actually wanted to kill her, that would be truly scary, since Rinne understood far too well the pain of death.

Yet, it would be too foolish to feel terrified just because something was scary, and Guriko didn’t show any signs of acting again, so Rinne wasn’t particularly on guard despite the fact that only two days and a weekend had passed since she transferred here.

Besides, no matter what happened, Sakaki would protect her. That was their agreement.

With blissful emotions dominant, Rinne opened a lunchbox and chatted with Sakaki about trivial topics. Rinne’s poverty prevented her from making anything luxurious, but Sakaki still seemed satisfied. He seemed like a young child with clasped hands saying “itadakimasu!” while starting on the food, and Rinne couldn’t suppress her smile.

In this way, the two calmly passed their time.

While stuffing his face with green beans, Sakaki merrily said, “By the way, how’s that wall that got blood splattered all over it? Has it been cleaned up yet?”

Rinne poured some barley tea, drank it in one gulp, and answered, “Well, since the blood also had fat in it, washing it with only water wouldn’t work. Even wiping it with a rag probably wouldn’t work, so I put new wallpaper over it.”

“Wasn’t that expensive?”

“Yup, I used up all my saving. Since the tatami was also dyed red, I had to swap that out too. That was expensive too. For a poor student, spending that much is fatal.”

“I can never forgive that Guriko. But back to the main point, why don’t you get her to pay for you?”

In front of Sakaki who honestly seemed angry, Rinne merely shrugged her shoulders.

“It was Sensei who fired the gun! Besides — Guriko’s probably more poor than I am. She seems homeless, and besides, she even said that she can’t afford stationery.”

“…Do you two talk often?”

“We sit next to each other. She never seems busy after class, so I talk to her.”

Rinne’s naivety nearly caused Sakaki to faint.

“Your lack of concern for your personal safety always shocks me, Usarin-kakka! Don’t I always tell you not to talk to her? And that talking to her will get your eyes gouged out?”

‘‘I will gouge out your eyes!‘‘

That was a veritable death threat.

But still, Rinne was not afraid.

“Saying something like that’s obviously a joke. I know for sure she’s just scared of being alone. She avoids other people since she doesn’t want to hurt them; I’d know since I used to be like that. I think Guriko actually wants to interact with other people more.”

Rinne truly thought this, but Sakaki’s reaction was subtle.

He sighed while looking up at the ceiling.

“I knew you were way too naïve in judging others… You should know the reason why I don’t think she’s kidding is because she’s already gouged out your eyes once!”

“Well, that's not wrong.”

Rinne, defeated, smiled and set her cup down with a “clank.” Sakaki seemed to hold extreme hostility towards Guriko even though she didn’t seem so bad to Rinne. She decided Guriko must have had some overwhelming reason for removing her eyes.

“Actually, aren’t you going to eat, Usarin-kakka? You’ve only been drinking tea so far.”

Sakaki couldn’t understand. Not only was Rinne’s food untouched, her lunchbox hadn’t even been opened. One couldn’t blame Sakaki for his surprise.

Rinne stayed silent for a while.

“…I-I don’t know why, but I haven’t felt hungry or thirsty ever since Guriko almost killed me. To be honest, I haven’t eaten anything in about four days.”

“What...?—”

Sakaki felt his voice was particularly weak in saying this.

“Even so, I’m still not hungry. Hmm… is that abnormal?”

Rinne looked at Sakaki. Sakaki’s face was completely pale.

Sakaki already told Rinne about her immediate resurrection after her eyes were gouged out. But with this loss of appetite, this — wasn’t this extraordinary!? It showed that she wasn’t human anymore.

After noticing the disappearance of her sense of hunger, Rinne’s fear led her to run repeatedly into her bathroom to check in her mirror that she still had human form hadn’t turned into a monster.

If she had turned into one, Sakaki would definitely shun her, which to her was far worse than death or anything else, and so Rinne kept her lack of appetite hidden until then.

“Sensei…”

Rinne looked at Sakaki, who had yet to respond.

Rinne understood that there were some things even Sakaki had trouble understanding, but even if he understood nothing, she still wanted him to say, “That’s okay,” or “Don’t worry,” or something alone those lines. If only that would happen, she could continue to live on.

But—

The door was slid open.

Guriko stood there. She had a mess that passed for wolf-like hair that must have been created by a typhoon, a bored and impatient expression, and a pair of eyes that seemed like gun barrels. This was the transfer student—Gankyuu Eguriko.

Her gaze focused on the couple that's sitting across from each other in the center of the classroom — Sakaki Guryuu and Usagawa Rinne. At that moment, her face showed her astonishment as if she just saw something incredible. For Guriko, whose face was usually completely expressionless, showing a genuine emotion - shock - like this was quite a rare occurrence.

Upon noticing the school’s best-known lovers, this transfer student who recently dominated the school’s discussion strode over and glared at Sakaki like a police officer would a vital witness, and indignantly asked, “Have you eaten?”

“…Huh?”

“I asked you a question. Did you eat this bento?”

Guriko’s expression was extremely focused. And thanks to her loud voice, the entire class turned to look. All of them thought, “What… What? What’s that transfer student doing now?” The classroom suddenly became quiet, and though Sakaki found it strange, he still decided to answer Guriko’s question.

“Yes, I ate it.”

“Really?”

She murmured to herself.

Guriko suddenly lowered her head and pressed her lips against those of Sakaki Guryuu.

“Eh…” “Whoa…”

Sakaki’s eyes opened wide. Rinne’s face showed astonishment. The class fell into uproar.

“Ugh…”

“Um… Ugh…”

Guriko held Sakaki’s head, and pressed her lips against his. Put plainly, she kissed him forcefully, in the middle of lunch, in front of the entire class. What exactly was she thinking? This mysterious transfer known as Gankyuu Eguriko stole a kiss from the teacher the second day after she transferred in, and she even did in front of the teacher’s lover, Usagawa Rinne. No matter her real motivations, in the eyes of the students, this was a war declaration against Rinne. They would inevitably interpret the situation that way. But, Guriko’s next action provided even less hope for peace.

“Clang—”

Of all the things to happen!

Guriko flipped over the lunchbox Sakaki was eating from, which was filled with food lovingly made by Rinne, causing all the food to spill out. Then, she took Rinne’s lunchbox and knocked that on the ground as well before stomping the food inside to mush. She ended by dropping the words, “Don’t eat this woman’s food!”

And because of this—

What else is to say now, coming up with an explanation would truly be difficult! Leaving things as such, Guriko walked off with pride, leaving the stunned Sakaki and the pale Rinne. Every high school student in class equipped with a cell phone, the most powerful communication device, immediately passed their message along through calls or texts: Usagawa Rinne’s rival in love appears! On her second day after transferring, Gankyu Eguriko kissed Sakaki Guryuu, knocked down the lunch Rinne made for him, and ordered, “Don’t eat that woman’s food!” This will definitely be very interesting!

This was the “November 15th Incident” that has been passed down through the school ever since.

For those living an ordinary high-school life, this was an unprecedented disturbance.

“What a joyful entertainment!”

The voice was like the falsetto of a man and also the alto of a woman. It was a voice that eluded a peculiar enchantment.

“What do you plan to do—‘Mushi’?”

The pure, innocent voice seemed clear enough to to trample through the previous one.

They were in front of classroom 1-B on Kannonsakazaki High School. No matter how isolated it was from the chaos inside the classroom, or any other sort of noise, the hallway still echoed with some of the annoying sound of students. There stood two people, both with human appearances, yet neither of them were human. One was a “Mushi” taking on the form of a human, and the other was once human, but had become some creature that was only similar to a human ever since — Gankyuu Eguriko. The two non-humans stood facing one another expressionlessly in the hallway filled with noise. “Mushi” wore a sailor uniform, had short hair, and carried a friendly expression. She appeared just like a normal girl, save for her red eyes.

“Mushi”, with a face emotionless like that of an insect, made an intriguing noise.

“This is only for confirmation! After all, ‘we’ will not allow ourselves to be defeated. We simply believed in a need to check whether or not Usagawa Rinne’s Apple has taken root in her soul. You already know that we would do anything to achieve our objectives.”

“…After death, the soul separates itself from the physical body. Apples reside in the soul, so — death is the only requirement for taking the soul, correct? Unfortunately for you, Usagawa Rinne’s Apple has long since taken root in her soul. I have already confirmed this.”

“But ‘we’ have not! We do not trust anyone besides ourselves; in other words, there’s no way we’d believe what you say!”

“Mushi” dully said this in a horrible voice. They had no individuality, and thus could not have emotions.

The exterminating machine that moved in hordes — that was “Mushi”.

“Even if you’re willing to do anything, there should still be some limits — did you plan to kill Sakaki Guryuu?”

“Since we did not know which lunchbox Usagawa Rinne would eat from, we poisoned both of them. Mmm, this was a necessary sacrifice! We ‘Mushi’ will do anything for our goals; we lack those romantic ideals that you have. As long as we can obtain the Apple, it doesn’t matter who ends up shedding tears or dying.”

Guriko grit her teeth and said, “This is why I despise you.”

“True, but we don’t particularly want you to hold feelings of affection toward us.”

The aura emitted between the two non-humans grew unbearably intense. That aura caused the hallway windows to rattle.

Guriko crossed her arms and glared at “Mushi”.

“But you have already lost. Usagawa Rinne already lost her appetite, and the poison wouldn’t have worked on her anyway, which would result in only Sakaki dying. Even if it’s just him, as long as I’m here, I won’t let him die. I can’t let you have your way.”

“Haha!” “Mushi” laughed.

For the emotionless “Mushi”, laughter had only one purpose — to provoke.

“It was really astonishing when you removed the poison directly from Sakaki’s mouth. You seem to be turning into a master entertainer; where did you learn that?”

“You talk too much! You made me create an unnecessary uproar among my classmates. Even though I didn’t have another choice — why do I always get bad reputations?!”

“Because you’re too cruel on a normal basis.”

“Probably!”

Guriko closed her eyes, then murmured as if in a trance, “Because God hates me.”

Then, she pulled a spoon from her skirt pocket, and in a movement too fast for the naked eye to see, threw it at “Mushi”. The spoon pierced the eye of the “Mushi” with a schoolgirl’s appearance. But, that was not enough to stop the spoon’s force, and the terrifying destruction went through the eye, through the brain, and even out through the back of the head. This was something impossible for a human. “Mushi” gave a small final smile before the ruined body collapsed. As she was about to hit the floor, her body broke down and disappeared.

The blood-stained spoon fell to the ground with a tinkle.

“…I know it doesn’t bring me any good, and I’m used to being hated.”

And so, Guriko headed toward the roof to skip class for an afternoon nap.

School ended that day. Usagawa Rinne staggered home with an air of frustration and defeat while thinking of the events that day at lunch — Guriko kissed Sakaki Guryuu and told him to stop eating Rinne’s food. Somehow, Rinne’s heart was beating so fast. What was this uneasy feeling? Why did she feel nauseous?

“Why…”

Why did Guriko kiss Sakaki? Was there some sort of reason? What kind of reason would propel her into such actions? Rinne smiled. Why did she feel so unhappy about this? Sakaki kissed someone else, but why did seeing that annoy her so much?

“So annoying…”

Rinne noticed her jealousy of Guriko, and felt a bit of disgust at herself. Was this what it felt like for a person’s most precious thing to be violated? This was the first time Rinne felt something like this, and thus she had trouble describing it, but she felt that “jealousy” was the most accurate word. Rinne loved Sakaki, and seeing him kiss another girl was incredibly painful, so much that for the time being she didn’t want to talk to Sakaki.

Even though Sakaki’s feelings didn’t change and he didn’t hate Rinne, she still felt dejected. Noticing her unreasonable anger, Rinne worried herself into a depressed mood. Rinne decided it was sort of like the type of feeling one would get after saving up a cookie to enjoy later, only for someone else to eat it. She and Sakaki had only kissed once, on Sakaki’s birthday. Rinne thought that would become a bond between them, a fact that meant she was the only and most exclusive person to have kissed Sakaki.

However, that bond had been duplicated. Right in front of Rinne, Guriko had kissed Sakaki.

“I’m so useless…”

She wanted to cry, she’s almost crying. Rinne realized how weak she was to worry so much over something like this. She was still a weak human who trembled over such a trivial fact. Even if her body lost the ability to die, her heart remained so weak, so fragile, so powerless. So pathetic!

If she kept agonizing over this, Rinne might crumble, so she decided to stop thinking about it. That’s it! Even if today, she wanted to avoid Sakaki, she would greet him with a smile the next day! After having resolved so, her mood improved a little.

Passing the clamorous market, she walked onto a rugged path. There were never any people here as far as one could see; there were only weeds, without any fields or parking lots to be seen. Rinne blankly gazed at the unchanging scenery where she used to frequently get lost, messily thinking both of events past and events to come.

“Hey, the young lady over there.”

A voice. Rinne turned to look, and in the space that had just been empty, a small, mysterious stand was set up. Or rather, should it be called a small shop? At least, it was covered with a plastic tarp that looks like a tent. In the violet tent was a crystal ball, and sitting behind it, a robe-wearing man who gave off a strange vibe. In front of it was a sign saying, “Fortune telling, 100 yen”.

“Hey, the young lady over there.”

Rinne couldn’t help but stop and turn to look at the horrifying little shop.

That morning on her way to school, Rinne saw no such thing.

The mysterious fortune teller spread out his hands and said in a voice that did not reveal gender, “That’s right, this is fortune telling. Good luck, ill fortune, fated events, and romantic matches are all covered. A young lady of your age should at least know about horoscopes or blood type fortunes! Besides those, there is fortune telling with Tarot cards, normal cards, flowers, or perhaps, less commonly, with water flow. Face, hands, clothes, and the layout of a house are also taken into consideration. Just tell me your name, and I can read your fortune for you!”

Should she give it a go? — this fortune teller kept going on and on by himself. How much leisure time did he have?

Rinne thought 100 yen wasn’t much and it would be too pitiful for the fortune teller to just get ignored, so she carelessly walked into the tent. The inside was flooded with an odd, hazy light. The fortune teller gazed intently at Rinne, then looked at his crystal ball, saying, “Oh, ah… this is bad!”

“What…”

Rinne thought in surprise, ‘‘I haven’t even said anything yet‘‘. The fortune teller seemed happy as he continued to cry out, “Bad! Bad!”—as he lifted up the crystal ball.

“This is ominous! Usagawa Rinne-san, your fortune is hopeless. It’s a hellishly evil luck. The movements of the stars are terrible!”

“My name—”

‘‘Did I tell him my name? No, I didn’t.‘‘

The fortune teller seemed to not notice Rinne’s wavering heart as he continued to say dully, “Life is like a star. Sometimes it grows dimmer, while at other times it shines brighter. But unfortunately, smaller stars are attracted to larger stars, and when they collide the smaller stars will break, leaving only fragments.”

He looked at Rinne with his eyes that had until then been covered by a hood. It was a pair of incredible red eyes.

“Some great existences cannot be approached, since a star that’s too small will simply end up being crushed. A star’s path is quite messy, but it should be fine as long as it knows its limits and avoids those too great for it. The gravity of a giant star is great, and thus many small stars end up being crushed. One must live normally until death of old age — and then they will be able to die with a blinding brilliance.”

“That—”

Rinne stood up, staring at the cross-legged fortune teller. “That’s—”

“Make no mistake, I’m not making a metaphor, I’m talking about you!”

The fortune teller wearing a violet robe used an androgynous voice to say in a gloomy manner, “If you stay away and avoid reaching out to touch with your hand, then you will be able to die even more beautifully.”

Rinne realized that this fortune teller in front of her was a dangerous person, but she still had questions she wanted to ask to this person who seemed omniscient.

“Is the large star you talked about sensei? And the small star is me? I… can’t be with sensei?”

After hearing Rinne’s soft, almost-crying voice, the fortune teller lips curled up in a smile.

“You seem to misunderstand.”

The so-called large star—

“Is, of course, the Apple of Eden.”

The voice came from behind.

Rinne slowly turned her head, and saw about ten people behind her, all with red eyes.

It was a bizarre scene. When she wasn’t paying attention, about ten emotionless and insect-like people had gathered behind her. Their appearances had very little in common; there were children, adults, there was an old lady with a crooked back, a lady who seemed to have been returning home after shopping, and a high school student in uniform. They seemed to lack a sense of self; though they all had red eyes, it was hard to imagine that they had the same genes.

Rinne screamed softly while stepping back. This was scary; what did these people want? Rinne had not heard from Sakaki about his encounter with a fortune teller called “Mushi”, and this was her first experience with these abnormal events. She knew that she was no longer living her ordinary life in her peaceful world; some incomprehensible logic had thrust her into a world that no human could understand. What could she do in such a world?

Rinne shuddered as the fortune teller behind her said in a bored tone, “I do believe resistance is useless. Though we ‘Mushi’ do not have superhuman strength, we are definitely not inferior to humans. You are no match for us!”

“What are you planning to do to me?”

“We would like you to die.”

The “Mushi” in front of her, with the appearance of an office worker, responded in an identical voice. That cruel response shocked Rinne. ‘‘I’m going to be killed! I’m going to be killed!‘‘ Her dread suddenly rose.

“In other words, from now on, we will use every method we can think of in order to kill you, Usagawa Rinne. Strangulation, beating, poisoning, assassination, or shooting you to cause mass hamorrage, or perhaps drowning or burning you. If you still will not die… we’ll just think of something else! First we’ll start testing those.”

Usagawa Rinne’s first thought was to ask Sakaki for help. His phone number had long since been stored onto her cell phone, and she could contact him within 30 seconds.

But, Rinne didn’t think the people in front of her would give her those 30 seconds.

The fortune teller “Mushi” seemed to read her mind, and harshly said, “I will not let you seek help. Besides — the bodyguards Sakaki Guryuu secretly sent to protect you should have already been taken care of by other ‘Mushi’. From every sense of it, looking for help is pointless. How sad—”

An overwhelming terror and despair were looming above her like a mountain and a giant wave washing over her made Rinne emit a hoarse scream.

The “Mushi” with the appearance of an office worker placed his hand around Rinne’s slim neck. It was scary, so scary that she couldn’t move. Dry, flat fingers grabbed onto Rinne’s fair skin, squeezing and squeezing so painfully.

“First we’ll strangle you. Ah, it seems like you can still feel pain. How unfortunate...”

A “Mushi” continued, “This will hurt quite a bit!”

The incredible strength of the choking caused what Rinne felt to evolve past mere “pain”; it felt as though her neck was about to be split from the strangulation.

Rinne lacked the strength to resist and could only blindly feel the pain without even the ability to think. Ngh, unh; she released ear-piercing groans.

“…We’re far from done. Carry the guilt of your crime to your teath!”

Crime?

I committed… a crime?

That’s why I must suffer like this and die such a brutal death?

Since that’s the case — what is that crime?

Her vision blurred, she felt dizzy, and she wasn’t sure if she was conscious. Her neck made a creaking sound. It hurt, it hurt so much.

Usagawa Rinne naturally thought of Sakaki Guryuu, and now she could only think of transmitting her remaining feelings to him — then, she could die. She resolved so.

Then—

A flash.

A dazzling flash shot at the back of the head of the “Mushi” strangling Rinne. It seemed as if the flash intended to end the “Mushi’s” life needed to gather sufficient force. The inside of the violet tent was filled with blood. In an instant, the “Mushi” disappeared as if it scattered apart. Since Rinne was suddenly released from its grip, she fell to ground coughing violently. Rinne had a hard time believing the deep cough sounds came from her own throat. She wiped off her saliva, and before she finished wiping off her tears she looked at her surroundings to try and figure out what had happened. The thing in front of her—

Was rolling.

A blood-stained spoon fell to the ground.

The flash that killed the “Mushi” and saved Rinne was—

—A spoon.

“…How many times do you pieces of trash need me to say it? Killing Usagawa Rinne is pointless.”

The “Mushi” all turned to look at the source of the voice, and so did Rinne. The voice came from the entrance to the space where they stood.

Standing there was Gankyuu Eguriko.

Her stiffened face clearly expressed her unhappiness. From the look on her wolf-like hair that was messier than usual and her slightly dirty sailor uniform, one could infer that she had just woken up from a nap. With eyes that felt like looking into the barrel of a gun, and holding several spoons, Gankyuu Eguriko in class 1-B’s eleventh seat majestically shouted with her pure voice, “I really can’t be careless. Even an afternoon nap is out of the question, though I had been sleeping so well… Well, have you said your prayers yet?”

At this moment—

Whoosh.

As she thought that Gankyuu Eguriko’s right hand had moved, all three spoons she was just holding flew at the eyeballs of the blankly standing “Mushi”. The “Mushi” died just like the one before, instantly bursting before disappearing. Rinne absent-mindedly thought that looked like popping a balloon with a needle.

As she thought this, the bruises and pain on her neck disappeared as if time had rewinded. “Mushi” clicked his tongue and silently confirmed this.

“Really — you won’t die. How troublesome!”

“I’m out of spoons.”

Guriko ignored “Mushi’s” words, and with a grim expression said in a low voice, “…so from now on it’s going to be hand-to-hand combat. Fists are different from spoons, since unlike with spoons, fists can’t kill a person with one hit. It will be very painful. If you ‘Mushi’ don’t want to be pummelled, then you’d better grab your tails and run away!”

Those words contained malice and formidable threat. It was a voice filled with total confidence backed by powerful murderous intent that caused Rinne to be stiffen in fear.

“Unfortunately —“

But the “Mushi” were not intimidated at all.

“—Pain and suffering are not an obstacle to our goals!”

“I know. Then — I’ll wipe you all out.”

And so Guriko charged forward.

Rinne shut her eyes in fear.

Leaving the public baths, Usagawa Rinne returned home feeling warm and tossed her towel and old clothes in the washing machine in front of her apartment. The washing machine was left there by the previous resident in the apartment, and though it malfunctioned often, it was still rather durable. Rinne picked up the key hidden under it, and opened the creaking door. The inside was pitch-black, and obviously no one was there. After turning on the light Rinne sighed in relief, since she had been worried about what she could’ve done if someone ambushed her on her way home from the bath house. She unconsciously touched her neck that had long since stopped hurting.

“Ah…”

Rinne stood for a while feeling helpless, then shook her head and moved her warm table to a corner of the room. She pulled out a quilt from the closet as well as a pillow, then picked up the cell phone on it to check the time. 10:02 PM. Incidentally, Sakaki bought the phone, and Rinne didn’t pay the bills for it, so she tried to avoid using it. Yet today, she felt hollow, and wanted to call Sakaki. Rinne stared at the phone, hesitating... Should she call, or not? Calling this late at night still felt a bit embarrassing.

As she hesitated, the doorbell rang. Rinne, in astonishment, stared at the door. On that note, the doorbell was installed by the previous resident; the other apartments didn’t have one. Or rather, doorbells were unnecessary, since knocking on the door would’ve worked just fine.

Who could it be?

Rinne trembled thinking of the day’s events. The horrifying fortune teller, the man who strangled her, Gankyuu Eguriko who expressionlessly killed them, those people called “Mushi” who exploded before they died. Rinne couldn’t figure out what happened, and didn’t particularly want to know. The fortune teller’s words cryptically rang in her mind, that some things couldn’t be touched or even approached.

A knocking sound came from the door. Rinne slowly got up while thinking, “Who is it?” She couldn’t figure out if it was the self-proclaimed musician who lived next door to her, running over once again to borrow rice.

The door was opened. That’s right, it wasn’t even locked.

The one silently standing at the open door was—

“Guriko… chan.”

“The ‘chan’ was unnecessary.”

Gankyuu Eguriko spoke in a sharp tone, and wore an extremely dissatisfied expression.

Though Rinne was confused from having someone unexpected turning up, she remembered that Guriko saved her that day. Thinking that she shouldn’t need to be on guard against her, relaxed her expression.

“What is it now at this time…”

“It’s cold outside.”

“Eh?”

“Let me live here.”

“…eh, huh?”

Rinne couldn’t think of a response to this utterly selfish and unreasonable request. Guriko seemed to be in a rush as she, without a trace of manners, stepped into the room, took off her filthy shoes, closed the door, and sat on the tatami.

“…Um… Then, Guriko, what’s going on here?”

“Ugh…”

For a while, Guriko seemed to be thinking, then sighed, expressionlessly pinched her cheeks, and said in a pure voice, “Agh, I’m horrible at lying, so I’ll just tell the truth. I came here to protect you, Usagawa Rinne. The ‘Mushi’ seem to have made your Apple their goal, and they also seem to have other objectives, but I don’t know anything about those. There are too many of them, and since things are so dangerous I can’t help but worry. In order to observe the situation and protect you, though, I think living here is ideal, so I want to live here. If you think I’m in the way, just pretend I don’t exist. And so, I’ll be making this place home.”

How selfish.

Rinne was shocked by Guriko, who was staring at her, then smiled shyly. She still wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed saying more would be useless.

“What did you mean when you said ‘It’s cold outside’ at the beginning?”

“I planned to use that as an excuse to live here, but I just can’t tell lies for all my life. It’s actually not cold at all; I haven’t felt temperature for a long time. Even if I slept at the south pole, I wouldn’t die, and I can’t feel cold. Telling the truth… is a bit embarrassing.”

“For the sake of protecting you” definitely wasn’t Guriko’s style. That was what Rinne thought. As she kept thinking about it, she started to smile.

Guriko blankly looked at Rinne who tried to hide her smile.

“What are you smiling for… Whatever, I’m sure you’re confused, but please be patient. Once I figure out what the ‘Mushi’ want and exterminate them, I’ll leave… eh?”

Guriko said this in a single breath, but suddenly, she looked toward the corner of the room. There was an giant egg wrapped with soft cloth. It was covered with a geometric design, and seemed like a man-made egg.

Rinne fearfully glanced at the suddenly-silent Guriko and asked, “Um, what is it, Guriko?”

“…nothing.”

Guriko grabbed at her wolf-like air.

“The egg of a Dream World Beast, how weird. However, it shouldn’t be dangerous since it’s not an evil beast.”

After saying these cryptic words, got up and walked back and forth across the room.

“In short, those ‘Mushi’ are going to be hard to deal with, and solving their problem will take a while. Until I’m done, I’ll stay in this closet here.”

Guriko opened the closet and lay down. She’s not Doraemon! That place isn’t for a girl to sleep in.

Rinne thought of ways to convince or drag Guriko out of the closet and for both of them to sleep on the futon. There was only one futon in the room; Rinne would give the pillow to Guriko and use a cushion instead. Guriko resisted at first, but soon gave up in the face of Rinne’s stubbornness. She curled up and quickly fell asleep.

Rinne still wasn’t sure what was going on. Guriko had killed her once, and that morning had forcefully kissed the person most important to Rinne. Despite this, for some reason, Rinne never felt she was a bad person. Gently patting the hair of Guriko who was sleeping sweetly, Rinne felt strangely at ease.

Then Rinne thought of something, and picked up the cell phone by the pillow to send a text message to Sakaki. Then, she closed her eyes, feeling Guriko’s body heat to her side as she fell asleep.

From ★ Usarin   
To ★ Sensei   
Subject ★ Edict   
Body ★ Sorry for bothering you so late. This is Usarin. Sensei, something extremely scary happened today. I was attacked by a group of “Mushi” with red eyes, though I didn’t know what they were. I was strangled and almost killed, making it the third time I almost died. Is that good luck? Or bad? I’m still alive after coming close to death so many times. Since I lived, it’s only right for me to keep living on. Sensei, I’ll do my best to stay alive.

About that incident at lunch, I think Guriko must have had some reason for doing that. I don’t know what the class thinks, but I think Guriko isn’t the type of person who would commit horrible crimes, so tomorrow I’ll ask her about the details. I know you told me to avoid talking to Guriko, but I still want to keep talking to her.

Sensei, I don’t know what’s going on around us. It feels like there’s always some sort of terrible conspiracy, but I won’t despair because I have Sensei. As long as Sensei is here, I’ll keep on hoping for the best. That was our promise. I love you, Sensei.

P.S. I got a new family member. A person, not a cat. Sensei, who do you think it is? I’ll tell you tomorrow, I think you’ll be stunned though!

And that’s it.

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