frenzy. She was an unbelievable blockhead. And then, of course, as she was rushing around…
“Whoooaaa!!”
“Gyah!!”
Fortunately, Usami also fell prey to her clumsiness.
“Whoa!!” “Gya!!” “Whoa!!” “Gyaha!!” “Whoa!!” “Gyooh!!”
Over the sounds of Maina and Usami’s alternating screams, Shinji posed a question. “Hey, Mr. Kamiya…what the hell is going on?”
“What the— You think I have any idea?!”
As Kyousuke and Shinji watched in fear and astonishment, Maina rose shakily to her feet. It had probably happened when she struck Usami in the nose: Maina’s whole top half, from her cheeks to her chest, was soaked with sticky red blood. Tears fell in fat drops from her wide eyes as she sobbed.
“Aaa…I killed again, I killed again…waa…hic. What do I do, whatdoido, watdoido, waddoidooo… Uuhh, uh…aaa…a…”
Her spaced-out gaze finally landed on Kyousuke and Shinji, her tear-filled eyes calling to mind an abandoned puppy. Like a drowning man grasping at straws, Maina stretched her arms out toward the two. “Waah!! D-don’t come near me! Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!”
Shinji turned and ran. The vicious murderer who had strangled two girls ran away without hesitation.
“……Aah.” Maina suddenly stopped moving. Her body even ceased shaking. Only her eyes, overflowing with tears and open as wide as possible, were trembling.
“M-Maina…?”
“…For once, it was good that they had the wrong impression of me.” Kyousuke had been about to speak up, when Maina began to mumble faintly. Teardrops fell onto her cheeks, distorted with self-deprecating laughter. “Everyone around me is a murderer or worse, and I feared them, avoided them, hated them… I’m an idiot. I felt that way even though I myself am an accomplished murderer. Even though I’m the very kind of person who should be feared, avoided, hated… I really am an idiot. No matter how much time passes, this is what I am, what I will always be…”
“H-hey…are you okay? First of all, calm dow—”
“Don’t come near meeeeee!!” As soon as Kyousuke began moving toward her, Maina raised her voice in a shout. Shutting her eyes and holding her head, she seemed weak, about to crumble.
“Please don’t come near me…I don’t want to hurt anyone else…I don’t want to lose anyone else. More than enough people have
died because of my clumsiness
…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry I was ever born…” She lapsed into tears.
Unable to find the right words, Kyousuke stood and said nothing. The chime indicating the end of the break period resounded through the hallway where Maina sobbed alone.
“…Hey, you bastards. Are you ready for your trip to hell?”
A few minutes had passed, and Kyousuke was worrying over whether he should say something to Maina, who had so far shown no signs of crying herself out, when the last voice he ever wanted to hear echoed loudly through the hallway. Maina had her face covered with both hands, but her body shuddered.
“…Five. Do you know what that number means? It’s the number of times in the last two days that I’ve had to really discipline someone. Now, that was mostly that annoying Mohawk, but…I swear, you all are giving me so much trouble! How far will you have to push me before you’re satisfied? Huh?!”
“No, miss, that’s not it!” Kyousuke answered in a rush. “This is—” Just as he was about to look back at the scene behind him, something bright red brushed against his cheek.
Whatever it was that Kurumiya had lobbed at him with one hand, it traced a gentle parabola—passing in front of Maina, and between Oonogi and Usami, before it landed with a thud.
It was a young man, covered in blood from head to toe.
It was Shinji “reformed” and almost unrecognizable.
“……Wha—? Ah… E-eeeeeek!!” Catching a glimpse of Shinji’s battered form was enough to send Maina into a full-speed retreat. Scooting back across the floor, she slid past
Terry Pratchett
Stan Hayes
Charlotte Stein
Dan Verner
Chad Evercroft
Mickey Huff
Jeannette Winters
Will Self
Kennedy Chase
Ana Vela