Murder Maiden and the Fatal Final

by Mizuki Mizushiro

  Just as Kyousuke asked, the chime signaling the end of the break period resounded. Ayaka removed her face from his chest and looked up at Kyosuke. “Hey, big brother. This place is stricter than a regular school, isn’t it…? I wonder what happens if you’re late to class.”

  “……Ah.”

  He went pale before her eyes.

  What would happen if they were late for the start of class?

  The answer, of course, was—

  “…Okay. I think that’s enough for today. Be sure to review carefully in preparation for the end-of-term exams! Well, then, take a recess.”

  Kurumiya closed her textbook, gathered her belongings, and left the classroom.

  Only two places on the blackboard were not completely covered with writing: a radial crack and, next to it, the fresh blood clinging stickily.

  Staring at the evidence of Kurumiya’s discipline, Ayaka trembled.

  “C-cool…”

  She trembled not with fear, but with excitement. “Miss Kurumiya is so cool! She’s a powerful and gentle person, isn’t she?”

  “Uh, sure…that’s right! Ha-ha-ha…”

  Despite outwardly laughing, Kyousuke was profoundly puzzled.

  After the previous break period had ended, Kyousuke and Ayaka had returned to the classroom in the middle of second period, but Kurumiya had readily pardoned them. “You must have had a lot to talk about; it can’t be helped,” she had said. That was the same Kurumiya who would shower students with blows for coming in just one second late.

  Moreover, at the end of class, a certain someone had returned from the infirmary. “Hya-haaa! I’m back from the dead, gya-ha-ha…ah, whaaaaaat?! Who is this little brat? Don’t sit in other people’s seats! I’ll smash—”

  “Your seat is in the netherworld!! Hurry up and die so you can sit down, motherfuckeeerrr!”

  “Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah?!”

  Fighting off Mohawk with her iron pipe, Kurumiya had protected the newbie. It wasn’t impossible to understand Ayaka’s feelings; her eyes were sparkling.

  “If she’s our homeroom teacher, it seems like we’ll have nothing to worry about.”

  “Well, maybe? I think she was just in an unusually good mood today.”

  “……Kyousuke.”

  Just then, one of their classmates spoke to him: the female student with rust-red hair sitting to Kyousuke’s left. With a look of great interest in her eyes, she glanced back and forth between Kyousuke and Ayaka, who was seated next to him on his right.

  “I’d like a bit of an explanation…if you don’t mind?” she asked, hesitantly.

  “”

  Ayaka’s smile disappeared, and she instantly glared. But Kyousuke, who had turned to the redhead, didn’t notice the change. “Huh… Oh, I didn’t introduce you yet. This is my little sister—”

  “I’m Ayaka Kamiya. Pleased to meet you!” Ayaka stood to introduce herself, making her way around the desk with a smile. “Are you an acquaintance of my big brother?”

  With half-lidded eyes, the female student looked up at Ayaka. “…Yes. I’m Eiri Akabane. Your big brother and I sit near each other, so we get along well…to a degree. Plus, we’re the same age.”

  “Oh, that’s right! Miss Eiri Akabane, is it? Hmmm…” Having heard the female student’s—Eiri’s—words, Ayaka gave her a long hard look of scrutiny.

  After twitching her nose several times, she mumbled, “…It’s this person,” and a furrow appeared across her brow.

  Eiri, however, seemed to perceive Ayaka’s attitude as cautiousness. Uncrossing her legs and straightening herself up, she tried to relieve the oppressive atmosphere. “…You don’t need to put yourself on guard like that; there’s nothing to worry about. I don’t intend to cause you any harm. Of course, that goes for your big brother, too.”

  “—You’ll keep your hands off, you say?”

  “Yes, so there’s no need to glare like that.”

  “That’s right, Ayaka. Eiri looks a little dangerous at first glance, but she’s really a naive and gentle person.”

  “Huh?!” Eiri blushed. “What do you mean by ‘at first glance’?! And I’m not naive!”

  “If you’re not naive,” Ayaka asked, “does that mean you’re a bitch?”

  “Wha…?” Eiri was speechless.

  Ayaka stuck her tongue out impishly. “I’m joking! I don’t think you’re a bitch just because you look like one.”

  “…Tch.”

  “Don’t click your tongue at my little sister!”

  “…Why are you getting mad at me? Go die already.”

  “Don’t tell my big brother to ‘die’!”

  “I said, why are you getting mad at me…?”

  “Ahem, excuse me!”

  From behind Eiri, who now sat sulking, another female student leaned forward.

  She had short, chestnut-colored hair and wide, flaxen eyes. This girl, who was just as small as Ayaka, stood up and bowed before nervously introducing herself. “H-how do you do! I’m Mai…Maina Igarashi, fourteen years old! Just like Eiri, I am always grateful for Kyousuke’s company, umm…always grateful for his company! Ah, I said the same thing twice, oh no. Ummm…”

  “……Cunning.”

  “Ehh?!”

  “Nothing. I don’t think you’re annoying or anything!”

  “Oh, goodness! That’s great if you don’t think so… I’m relieved!”

  “Yes, I’m relieved, too—that you’re an idiot.”

  Kyousuke knew that Ayaka’s way of speaking could sometimes be biting, but since she was smiling in a friendly fashion, there was probably no problem. And Eiri always looks sour, so…

  “Hey, big brother. Are these girls your close friends?”

  “I suppose so. They’re the ones I get along with best in class.”

  “Hmmm…”

  After looking at Eiri and Maina, Ayaka turned her face back to Kyousuke.

  “Are they trying to start a fight?”

  Everyone’s heads turned.

  “……Wha?”

  “…Huh?”

  “Ehh?”

  “After all…” Ayaka looked around the classroom at the confused crowd. “These two are in contention for the first and second most beautiful girls in the class, aren’t they? Having two girls like that all to yourself seems like it would start fights among the boys! If you add me into the mix, it’s just going to get worse and worse! You might be killed out of jealousy, don’t you think, big brother?”

  “…………”

  Kyousuke, who had actually almost been killed several times, was at a loss for words. On the one hand, the other students in the class—

  “Hey, yeah! That’s exactly right! He’s got no grounds to complain, even if he’s killed, I say!”

  “You can’t keep heaven all for yourself!! Fall into hell! Down with you!”

  “Hee-hee… Everyone surround him, gang up on him and stab him, then stab the girls…hee-hee-hee.”

  “Huh? I don’t get you. Like, no way. You can’t be serious. I’m the only winner in this beauty contest, for real!”

  And so on. Ayaka’s words sent the class into an uproar.

  Though everyone seemed immensely curious about Ayaka, nobody dared talk to her because of Kyousuke and the other girls, it seemed. The three of them, Kyousuke, Eiri, and Maina, were each for their own reasons difficult to approach, and they didn’t really mingle with their classmates; they were total outsiders. The atmosphere in the classroom made that much obvious.

  Ayaka whispered discreetly into Kyousuke’s ear. “…Big brother, aren’t you pretending to be the Warehouse Butcher here? You haven’t told these people that you’ve never actually killed anyone?”

  “……Ah.” In response to this quiet question, Kyousuke nodded slightly. They, and several others, shared a secret that the other students did not know.

  The true nature of Purgatorium Remedial Academy was not as a place for rehabilitating murderers. Rather, it was as an institut
ion designed to raise them to be professional killers; their real curriculum would begin in their second year. And even once they graduated, they would not be allowed to return to honest society but would be released into the criminal underworld.

  None of the first-year students were supposed to know, and that was one of the reasons that Kyousuke and the others actively avoided connecting with their peers. But most of all, this was an abnormal school where abnormal students were gathered. It was best to consider everyone, aside from the people they knew that they could trust, not as fellow students, but as enemies.

  “Hmm…you have that much faith in them?” Ayaka stared probingly at Eiri and Maina.

  “Yeah. They’re reliable and trustworthy. And there are places where I can’t accompany you, like the girls’ locker room and girls’ dorm. If anything happens, you can depend on them!”

  “Oh…so in other words, my big brother has been castrated and became my big sister…is that it?”

  “No! What are you saying?”

  Ayaka stood, straight-faced and seeming very pleased with herself.

  Kyousuke turned his gaze on Eiri and Maina, who looked rightly astonished. “I’m counting on you two,” he continued. “Please help my little sister.”

  When he put his hands together and made his request, Eiri snorted. “…Hmph…we get it without you having to say so, geez…”

  “Well, we might as well get along, then! If there’s anything you don’t understand, or you have any problems, pwease ask ush anytime, okay? I f-fumbled my words a bit, but…”

  Kyousuke smiled at Maina. “You’re fine.” He was grateful for his friends’ reassurances. “Thank you, both of you. And, Ayaka…”

  “”

  “…Ayaka?”

  Ayaka was staring fixedly at a certain point, eyes filled with hatred. Staring at Kyousuke’s hand, which was stroking Maina’s head—

  “Eh? Oh, sorry… What was that, big brother?”

  —However, the next moment Ayaka’s gentle expression had returned. She tilted her head to the side.

  Eiri’s and Maina’s expressions turned puzzled.

  …Was it my imagination?

  “Never mind, it wasn’t important…,” Kyousuke said. “The point is, you also try to get along well with these two, Ayaka! Not that I would expect any problems, even if I didn’t ask.”

  “Sure! I’ll make the best of it.” Smiling, Ayaka turned around to face Eiri and Maina. Her pigtails bounced and swung as she bowed. “Friends of my big brother, pleased to meet you! The two of you must have a great deal that you want to ask me, so let’s spend some time chatting later, okay? Tee-hee!”

  “Want to ask you? What do you mean?”

  “Having to do with my brother…or not. We’ll talk when he’s not around.”

  “Concerning me…or not? Which is it…?”

  Could it be a girls-only topic? I don’t understand. As long as they’re getting along well, I guess I don’t care what kind of conversation they’re having, though…

  “…Sure, it’s a pleasure.”

  “Pleased to meet you!”

  Watching the three of them exchange greetings, Kyousuke felt momentarily relieved.

  “Ah, there she is!” a cheerful soprano voice called out. “That girl must be the infamous transfer student, right? Kksshh.”

  At the characteristic sound of exhaust, Kyousuke’s breath stopped.

  …That’s right. I had completely forgotten.

  There was one person left for Ayaka to meet.

  “Oh, so you’re already friends, eh?! Unfair! Let me in the mix, too!”

  Gushing with jealousy, the owner of the voice marched straight toward them, crossing the classroom under a rain of inquisitive gazes. A small crowd had already gathered in the hallway, students from the classes next door hoping to catch a glimpse of the new transfer student.

  “Hey, everyone! It’s dear Renko Hikawa of Class B, full of energy today as always!”

  She stopped in front of Kyousuke and the others. Spinning in place, she pressed an index finger to her cheek, and with a saccharine “Ta-daa!”, struck a cutesy pose. Ayaka’s mouth hung open as she stared at the female student’s—at Renko’s face.

  “Oh my! You must be charmed by my good looks, right? My beautiful face, which can make even members of my own sex fall victim to its charms, is a thing to be feared! I’m sorry, miss transfer student… I’m just too lovely! Kksshh.”

  The boastful Renko’s face was covered by a jet-black gas mask. It had dim plastic viewports and a cylindrical canister. Because her true face was completely hidden by the vaguely-insectoid mask, her alleged beauty, as well as any other quality about her appearance, remained entirely hypothetical.

  She also wore a pair of headphones, and her appearance was, in a word, strange.

  And while Kyousuke and the others had grown used to her, Ayaka, who was meeting her for the first time, looked shocked.

  “……”

  Renko tilted her head curiously at Ayaka, who had yet to even respond. “What is it, miss transfer student? Don’t tell me you really are charmed—”

  “Please don’t talk to me.”

  “Kksshh?!”

  Renko stiffened as if by electric shock.

  “Your appearance is very strange, and your speech and conduct are also cryptic. Your face is hidden by a weird mask, yet you insist that you’re ‘beautiful’… I don’t want anything to do with a freak like you.”

  Renko, who had been flatly rejected, flew into a panic. “Whaaaaaa—?! N-n-no way! This must be some kinda joke! Because there’s no way you really said thaaat! You can’t see me that way…”

  “…Huh? Is it a joke, then, that thing?”

  Ayaka pointed at Renko’s gas mask.

  “Yep. So if you don’t really stick it to me, I’ll think that you’re funny in the head. Kksshh…do you understand me?”

  “Uh, yes. I understand well that you are someone I don’t really understand.”

  “I-is that so…? And I understand well that you do not understand me one bit.”

  Renko’s shoulders slumped dejectedly.

  Kyousuke scratched the back of his head, said “…Geez,” and tried to mediate between the two of them. “Uh…Renko may look a little…unusual, but on the inside, she’s really not all that strange! And anyway, she’s my friend, just like Eiri and Maina. And she’s a relatively good person, so please try to get along with her.”

  “……Hmph.” Ayaka stuck her lip out in a pout at Kyousuke’s request. “And it’s another girl, too…” she complained. “Well, if you say so, big brother, I’ll try, but…shouldn’t you be more selective about your friends? If you ask me, a kinky chick wearing a gas mask as a joke is—”

  “W-wwww-what did you saaaaaayyy?!” Renko interrupted, her voice hysterical. Ayaka drew back with a start, and Renko instantly drew that much closer, taking her by both shoulders.

  “‘Big brother’?! Could it be? Are…you…Kyousuke’s little sister?!”

  Renko, who had not heard Ayaka’s introduction to the class, seemed to have finally realized that she was Kyousuke’s younger sister.

  Turning her face away from the gas mask as she spoke, Ayaka answered, “…Y-yes, that’s right.”

  Renko, growing even more excited, peered down at Ayaka’s face. “Now that you say it, I can see the resemblance! Something in your eyes is just like him! And there are lots of other traces, too. Yep, yep! You’re his adorable little sister, all right. Kksshh.”

  “Just a… Hey, get away from me already! Your mask is too close!”

  Twisting her body around to escape from Renko, Ayaka hid behind Kyousuke.

  “What is this all of a sudden?! Ayaka is my little sister, so what—”

  “…………Ayaka?”

  Renko let forth a fierce, low-pitched sound. Her bright tone of voice was instantly transformed, tinged with threatening, dark emotions.

  “……?!”

  Ayaka winced at the sudd
en change.

  Kyousuke’s heart skipped a beat.

  —Ayaka.

  Renko absolutely could not let that name pass unchallenged. In spite of the fact that she was wearing her gas mask “safety device,” Renko’s bloodlust surged.

  “Did you say ‘Ayaka’ just now? ‘Ayaka’… Is that what you said?” She dropped her body low like a wild animal that had spotted prey. Her viewports reflected the fluorescent lights, shining with the glare.

  “…Renko?” “Renko?” “GMK…?”

  Everyone was baffled by Renko, who had caused the atmosphere to suddenly and completely change. It was the first time that they had seen her behave like this while still wearing the gas mask.

  Sensing this unusual turn of events, Eiri stood up and placed a hand on Renko’s shoulder. “Hold on. What’s happened to you all of a sudden?”

  “It’s Ayaka.”

  “…Huh? Why do you know this girl’s name—”

  “I’m telling you, it’s Ayakaaaaaa!” Renko roared, shaking off Eiri’s hand. It looked like she was about to throw a temper tantrum. “Don’t you know, Eiri?! This is Ayaka, A-ya-ka! The girl who is most important to Kyousuke in all the world! When I confessed my love to him, Kyousuke rejected me like this… He said, ‘I’m sorry, Renko. The one I love is Ayaka. That’s why I can’t return your feelings,’ see! I lost to Ayaka…to his little sisteeer! Waaaaaahhh!”

  Her sad performance concluded, Renko broke down into weeping.

  “……?!”

  Everyone stared incredulously at Kyousuke.

  Ayaka’s face was flushed bright red before their eyes. “The most important girl in all the world…? Love, me…? Rejected a…confession of l-love? Eh? Eeeeeehhh?! Wh-wwwwh-what is she saying, big brother?!”

  “Huh?! No, that’s—” Kyousuke was utterly flustered. Don’t tell me that my sister crush is going to be exposed like this…

  Eiri and the others also began to question the lad, who was in a panic.

  “Kyousuke, you…rejected a chance at love because you like your sister? N-no way…”