Murder Anniversary and the Reverse Memorial

by Mizuki Mizushiro

  “If Eiri managed to kill someone, would it change the way you feel about her?” Kyousuke asked her departing figure.

  After a short, contemplative pause, Kagura agreed, “…It would. She would finally be worthy of my approval. In all likelihood it’s impossible, but…no, there’s no way that a loser like her could kill someone, after all.”

  “I agree.”

  “……What?”

  Kagura looked back at Kyousuke with a puzzled expression.

  Ignoring her stinging gaze, Kyousuke laughed. “Eiri is a gentle person. I can’t even imagine her hurting or killing another human being. Isn’t that right, Kagura?”

  “”

  Kagura’s mouth clamped shut, and her eyes widened ever so slightly. Then she looked away. “…I thought I told you not to address me so familiarly,” she answered sullenly, before turning and walking off.

  Good-bye— As he watched her back fade from sight, Kyousuke suddenly had an absurd thought. Had Kagura been visiting this wing of the mansion because she was concerned about Eiri spending time with Kyousuke and the others? She had been planning to observe them unnoticed but had run into Kyousuke and reluctantly turned back, hadn’t she…? The notion circled around in his head unbidden.

  When he had said that Eiri was “a gentle person,” for a moment it looked as though a happy expression had appeared on Kagura’s face. It had probably been an optical illusion, but at least she had not denied it. Kyousuke decided to believe that it had been real.

  “They’re blood sisters… That’s for sure.” Since she was Eiri’s little sister, she was probably not a bad person, deep down.

  Wishing for that to be true, Kyousuke started walking back.

  Fear and the Loathing of Loss

  BROKEN WINGS

  ACT TWO

  “Good morning, everyone! Did you sleep well last night? Kksshh.”

  As Kyousuke and Ayaka were folding up their futons the next morning, Renko, excited this morning as always, barged in, accompanied by the maid. Unlike the siblings, who were still wearing their pajamas, Renko was in a tank top and distressed jeans. Her gas mask neatly completed her ensemble.

  “Good morning, Miss Renko!” Ayaka greeted her energetically.

  Kyousuke looked back at her with bleary eyes. “……Morning.”

  “Hm?” Renko tilted her head, tossing her unruly hair, which always had just one section sticking out. “You look sleepy, Kyousuke. Didn’t you go to bed right after the games?”

  “Hm. No—”

  “Everyone split up around midnight, but we went to sleep closer to dawn.”

  They had awoken at seven AM, which meant they had gotten only about three hours of sleep.

  “…Fwah.” Kyousuke yawned and rubbed his heavy eyelids. “Ayaka wouldn’t let me get any sleep…”

  “Heh-heh-heh. It’s because it’s been so long since I slept alone with you, big brother! And you really let me enjoy it to my heart’s content.”

  “Ehhhhhh?! Just what did you two siblings do?!”

  “Tee-hee. It’s a seeecret. You may be Miss Renko, but I’m not teeelling!”

  “……Shady.”

  Whether it was shady or not, they had just spent the night chatting in bed. Every time Kyousuke had started to fall asleep, Ayaka had gently slapped his cheeks. She’d gotten into the same futon with him, bringing them more than a little too close together, demanding to touch him all over. Which was not to say there was nothing worrisome about that—but honestly, they hadn’t been doing anything to be guilty about.

  Leaving her protesting aside for the moment, Renko turned to the maid still standing in the doorway. “Which reminds me, where’s Eiri? Is she still sleeping?”

  The maid shook her Noh mask. “No. Earlier I went to wake her, so she should be along soon,” she replied matter-of-factly.

  “…I see. Well, then, why don’t we also get dressed?”

  “Okaaay! Miss Renko, let’s do warm-up exercises please; it’s summer vacation-y.”

  Thirty minutes later:

  “……She’s not coming, huh?”

  “Seems like she’s not coming. Wonder what she’s doing…”

  “One, two, three, four!”

  Kyousuke and Ayaka had finished dressing, and Renko was starting on a fifth round of exercises, but there was not the least indication of Eiri’s arrival. Maybe she’s taking her time getting dressed…

  The maid, who had returned after putting the futons away, looked around the room. “My, my, Miss Eiri is still not here…? It’s likely she fell asleep again. I will go wake her once more.”

  “Wait a minuuuuuute!” Renko stopped her warm-up and called the departing maid to a halt. “You’re going to Eiri’s room right now?”

  “Yes, that is what I said.”

  “Well, then! Well, then! Take me with you, too.”

  “Stop it. Wouldn’t Eiri hate that—?”

  “Yes, yes, yeees!” Ayaka interrupted, floundering Kyousuke’s efforts to put the brakes on Renko’s proposal. “I want to go, too! I want to go wake Eiri uuuuuuppp!”

  The maid nodded readily.

  “Understood. Well, then, I will lead the way.”

  “Hey, hey…” Kyousuke tried to object, but Renko and Ayaka were already gleefully following the maid down the hall, leaving him behind. Kyousuke roughly scratched his head. “…Geez. If she gets mad, I don’t know you, okay?” Talking to himself, he followed after Renko and the others.

  Obviously, the only reason he was going along was to keep an eye on the two of them, to make sure that they didn’t do anything reckless. It was certainly not because he had any interest in Eiri’s—in a girl’s room.

  “Listen up, you guys, don’t do anything weird when we get to her room!”

  “Is that a joke?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Kksshh. Whaaaaaat? You don’t have to worry—right, Ayaka?”

  “Right. We’re only going to thoroughly investigate the disorderly state and interior design of her room, as well as the whereabouts of anything suspicious or embarrassing.”

  “P-please don’t…”

  …Ayaka’s inspections are relentless, after all.

  Some time ago, Ayaka had easily discovered a photogravure magazine that Kyousuke had been pretty confident he had hidden.

  “I suppose that side dish should be plenty for you tonight, big brother?”

  He’d gone quite pale when she’d placed the magazine next to his supper. Unfortunately their parents had also been in the house, so—he didn’t wish to recall the ensuing disaster. It was known as the “Big-Breasted Bikini Model Side-Dish Substitution Incident,” one of many traumatic memories etched into his mind.

  While Kyousuke had been lost in the agony of this and other memories, they had traveled quite far from the guest rooms. They had arrived at a distant corner of the splendid main house.

  “We have arrived.”

  Kyousuke and the others came to a stop in front of a closed door. The inside of the room was deathly silent, and they couldn’t hear a single sound. Eiri must have been sleeping after all…

  Renko, with her ear pressed against the sliding door, flashed an “all clear” sign at Ayaka, who was on the other side, awaiting orders. Ayaka returned a “roger” signal, and the two of them looked at Kyousuke simultaneously. It somehow seemed as if they were seeking his approval.

  Kyousuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  Nodding, he jerked his thumb toward the room.

  Charge.

  Renko and Ayaka, at the ready on either side of the door, slid each side open at the same instant. The scene that greeted them was—

  A different dimension.

  It was another world, completely covered in white and pastel pink.

  “…………”

  Renko and Ayaka froze in place. In the center of the open sliding doors, their commanding officer, Kyousuke, stood with his arms folded and his mouth hanging open.

  Spread out bef
ore their eyes was a Japanese room arranged in the Western style. A pure white carpet covered the floor, and the walls were pasted with pastel pink wallpaper. Fixtures like the desk and shelves were also painted the same color and decorated with adorable small animals and mascot characters. A chandelier sparkled from the ceiling overhead, and a dizzyingly sweet fragrance filled the air. In the corner of the princess-chic room—

  “…Zzz…zzz…”

  They could hear the faint sounds of snoring coming from a canopied bed. White lace curtains obscured the details of the situation, but there was no doubt that she was in there.

  “”

  Kyousuke and the girls exchanged silent looks and crept closer, trying to keep their footsteps muted. Renko, who was in the lead, placed a hand on the curtain and slowly pulled it back.

  “…Zzz…zzz…uun…”

  There, just as they had expected, was Eiri, asleep in her pajamas. Oblivious to their invasion, she continued breathing peacefully. Clutched in her arms was a huge teddy bear.

  “……You faker,” Ayaka mumbled, the first thing she had said since seeing the spectacle with her own eyes.

  Eiri was sound asleep, tightly embracing the child-sized stuffed animal, which she had turned sideways. Renko timidly poked her cheek, but she did not wake. Then she tried gently slapping her, but she did not wake. Renko pinched and squished, but still she did not wake. Eiri did not react in the least.

  “Kksshh…looks like she’s sound asleep.”

  “…Sure does. But is this really Eiri? Are we sure it’s not someone else who just looks like her?”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I wonder if it’s a twin sister or something…”

  Kyousuke and Renko stood side by side, staring at this creature that closely resembled their friend. Long eyelashes fringed her closed eyelids, and rust-red hair fell messily across her face. Her lips were half-open, releasing a small trickle of clear drool. She had one cheek pressed against the teddy bear’s face and was clutching it tightly.

  The hem of her negligee had shifted in her sleep, provocatively exposing her beautiful legs. The thin fabric of her pajamas only barely preserved her modesty. This was a defenseless, unarmed form that Eiri would never have shown them while she was awake.

  “Uh, umm…are we going to…wake her up?”

  “She’ll definitely murder us the instant she’s awake, though.”

  “Y-yeah, that’s right! We saw nothing, and we know nothing. This was not Eiri’s room. We’ll leave the rest up to the servants and get the hell outta here—”

  Realizing that her companions had lost their nerve, Ayaka pushed Kyousuke and Renko aside.

  “Wake up, Eiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

  “……Uuh…un…?”

  The shouting in Eiri’s ear made her stir slightly.

  “What are you doing?! Waking her up is suicide! Cut it out!”

  “He’s right, he’s right—this is no good! Let’s run!! Like, now!!”

  Ayaka ignored their protestations. Shaking Eiri’s shoulder, she started shouting in an even louder voice. “It’s morning, it’s morning, it’s mooorniiinggg!! How long are you going to sleeeeeeppp?! Hey, wake up, wake up, wake uuuuuuppp!”

  Somehow Eiri still did not awake. Furrowing her brow intensely, she groaned, “Unnn…” and squeezed the stuffed animal even tighter.

  Something snapped in Ayaka’s brain. She grabbed the arm of the soft, fluffy teddy bear in both hands and began to pull. “Aaaaaagghh, geez! I said waaaaaake uuuuuuppp!!”

  Eiri resisted at first, but she could only do so much while still asleep. Eventually her grip on the bear loosened, until finally Ayaka snatched it away.

  “……Pooh Bear?”

  Eiri’s eyes opened ever so slightly. Still clouded by sleep, she wiped at a bit of the drool hanging from her mouth. Her expression instantly changed when she realized that the teddy bear was missing from her arms. Bolting upright, she began to frantically search the bed. “Pooh Bear?! Where did you go, Pooh Bear?! Hey, Pooh—”

  “”

  The moment Eiri caught sight of Kyousuke, Ayaka, and Renko standing stock-still by her bedside, she froze. The blood drained from her face, turning her from pale to pallid before their eyes.

  “Wha…wh-wwwwh-wwwwwwwha…?” she gasped, mouth flapping open and shut. A deep blush spread over her face from the neck up. “Gahha!” she screamed, now bright red. “Why are you here, all of you?!”

  Clutching a pillow, Eiri retreated to the far edge of the bed, her eyes darting about the room. “Huh, no way…no, no, no, no, why?! Why are these people in my room?! I don’t understand, I don’t understand, what, what, what, what…wait. Please, wait! Umm, uhh…what is this, what is this, what the hell is this?! Aaaaaahhh…”

  Meanwhile, Kyousuke and the others stood there looking shaken.

  “…Pooh Bear? Is this bear some kind of mascot character with that name?”

  “It’s a teddy bear, so I don’t think so. It sounds like a name that Eiri gave it herself.”

  “Ehh?! Naming a stuffed animal…? How old did you say you are?”

  “Uuuh…stop! Don’t look at me like that!”

  Eiri tried to escape by burying her face in the pillow.

  “Hmm, you must really like this Pooh Bear…sleeping with him in your arms.”

  “You’re such a faker. Though this sure is soft and feels nice…soft and fluffy.”

  “Aah, stingy! Let me hold it, too!”

  “Just a… Do you think you can just go squeezing whatever you want?! Give me back my Pooh Bear!”

  “Hyah?!”

  Eiri shot Ayaka a menacing glare and snatched back her Pooh Bear. Immediately withdrawing to her previous position, she hugged the recaptured teddy bear tightly.

  “…How violent.” Ayaka frowned.

  “You’re too possessive, Miss Eiri. Those were the movements of an angry lion that’s had its meat taken away! You must really love Pooh Bear.”

  “Sh-shut up!” Red all the way out to her ears, Eiri squeezed tighter and glared at Ayaka. “That’s right, I love Pooh Bear! I can’t sleep well without him! Sorry for being a child!! Sorry for being a faker!! Yes, yes, sorry, sorry. What’s wrong with liking stuffed animals?! It’s fine, isn’t it? Who cares! They’re cute. Do you have something to say about it?! What? Seriously, what’s your excuse for barging in here and making a fool of me?! You should all die!”

  Eiri’s eyes were wide as she ranted and raved. It was completely unlike the languid expression she always wore at school. Perhaps the lack of her stuffed animal friend was the reason she always looked so sleepy?

  “……I wish I was dead.”

  Kyousuke, Ayaka, and Renko could do nothing but stand silently in the pink and white room, watching Eiri sob with her head buried in Pooh Bear’s chest.

  “…Ah, geez, this is the worst,” Eiri groaned miserably. “Really just the worst…” She sat at the table in the banquet hall, her pajamas changed out for regular clothes. Five-grain rice, lightly pickled vegetables, grilled fish, small bowls of miso soup—she had not once touched her chopsticks to the sumptuous breakfast laid out before her.

  Eiri kept her head hung low, looking greatly troubled. “I just knew you would all tease me if you saw it, so I tried to hide it, but…why? Why did you all have to come and wake me up? Aaah…I want to disappear. I want to disappeeeaaarrr…!” She twisted and writhed in apparent agony.

  Kyousuke smiled bitterly as he stirred his natto. “I don’t get why you’re so upset. I think your stuffed animal is really cute. And your super-girly room, too…I think it’s totally fine.”

  “Ehh…really?”

  Ayaka, however, couldn’t keep to herself. Setting a memo book down onto the table, she began reading out her notes. “An enormous three-foot teddy bear, heart-shaped cushions, a strawberry-shaped alarm clock, floral lighting fixtures, a sparkly jewelry box, various things shaped like pastries, a bookshelf full of shoujo
manga—”

  Eiri covered her ears with both hands. “Lalalala, I can’t heeear you.”

  “And the list goes on,” Ayaka continued. “I do think you might be overdoing it a little. Too many sweets will sour your stomach. I mean, I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is! What do you think, Miss Renko?”

  “Huh, me? L-let me see…,” Renko answered in a fluster. “Well, I think it might not be that bad, yeah.” She slurped up her jelly pack. Contrary to all expectations, Renko did not seem comfortable teasing Eiri over her girlish tastes. Even she must have decided that it made for poor comedy material.

  Renko’s unusual restraint seemed to torment Eiri even more. “Stop it!” she cried. “Don’t you cover for her! This is the point where you crack up laughing and make fun of me, isn’t it? Why are you being all serious and considerate…? I hatehatehate it! It makes me really uncomfortable! S-stop… I’m begging you, give it up already…” She hung her head somberly.

  Kagura, who had been eating silently, spoke up. “…What are you so embarrassed about, big sister?” She sounded incredulous and looked at Eiri with scornful eyes. “It’s not like your girly tastes are a recent thing, right? Didn’t big brother and his friends use to tease you rather relentlessly?”

  “Eh?” Eiri lifted her face at this unexpected attack.

  “And you weren’t just satisfied redecorating your room,” Kagura continued, while gracefully lifting food to her mouth. “You even tried changing the way you dressed, didn’t you? What was it you were into…? Gothic Lolita, I believe? You wore big, frilly, Western-style clothes and carried an umbrella even when it wasn’t raining… I can’t say I really understood it, but you did make quite an impression. Don’t you dress like that anymore, big sister?”

  “Wha—?”

  Eiri’s eyes were wide.

  Kyousuke and the others couldn’t help but stare at her.

  …Gothic Lolita clothes in a purely Japanese-style house? It seemed like the style would suit Eiri’s appearance just fine but wouldn’t match the surroundings at all. They could almost picture it.