* * * What little shred of “happiness” we had remaining by that point was already rotted to pieces, beyond all repair. “…So I think the ‘Snake of Clearing Eyes’ that possessed Dad is trying to make his wish come true for him.” “His wish…?” “Yeah. He wants to see Mom again, one more time.” “Can…can he do that?” “Supposedly, he can, if he can create a monster in this world. That way, he can meet up with people swallowed into the other world…” “…Well, great, then! Can we help him out at—?” “No!!” “Huh…?” “…If you want to create a monster, you have to gather up a bunch of snakes to substitute for your own life. You have to form them all into one…so…” “You mean…our…?” “I want to see Mom again, too…but if everyone has to die to make that happen, then…No. Just no…!” “Sis…” “Mom worried so much about us, right up to the end. We can’t let anything like this happen…Never…!” “The older students you know…Those guys?” “Yeah. You met ’em at school, right, Shuuya? Takane and Haruka…That snake’s trying to possess both of them with the remaining snakes on the other side. I think it’s gonna try to swallow them into the other world.” “You mean it’s gonna kill ’em?! …But he can’t go that far! The police aren’t just gonna let that happen!” “I looked into it myself! While you were going to school for me, Shuuya! That snake’s already done all kinds of horrible things in Dad’s body…He’s got a ton of money. He’s got hospitals, he’s got schools, he’s got the police…And other bad guys way high up, too. They’re all helping that snake out…” “N-no way…” “So listen, Shuuya. I’m thinking about trying to make contact with that snake. I think that’s the only option we’ve got left…” “Huh?! We can’t! This guy who kills people on a whim like that?! What makes you think it’ll bother listening to us…?!” “You don’t think so? Well, I’m so stupid, maybe that’ll throw it off enough to start talking, y’know?” “Don’t be so dumb, Sis! If I have to lose you, too, I’d…” “Oh, what’re you talking about? I’m not planning on going anywhere. I’m staying right here. With all you guys. So don’t cry, all right?” “No…You can’t do that…I can’t live in a world without you, Sis…!” “It’ll be fine, okay? Look, you didn’t forget, did you, Shuuya? I’m the leader of the Mekakushi-dan! I could whip one or two of those guys, no sweat! So listen…Don’t start hating the world on me again, okay? “’Cause it’s gonna be a happy one for all of us pretty soon.” “Sis! No!!”
✦ ✦ ✦
* * * I flung the door open and flew outside. My sister’s hair whirled in the howling night gusts as she stood at the edge of the roof. Her body, completely bathed in orange, seemed fleeting to me, ready to be sucked into the sky at any moment. “Shuuya…!” She called my name, terror clear upon her face. “Don’t do anything like that! You said we’d be together…That you’d always be there for me!” The words made Ayano grimace in anguish. But she didn’t waver. “…If we know the plan’s not going to work, there’s no point going on with it! This way, those two students don’t have to die for good. Or our family.” Then she turned toward the wide-open night sky. Another step, and there would be no more resistance between her body and the ground. “Stop! Sis, stop!!” I screamed as loud as I could. But my sister neither pulled back nor turned to see me again. “This way, I’m taking the dead in with me.” As she spoke, a dark sort of haze shimmered around her for just a moment. I had seen that before. The saddest existence there was in this world. I thought I was going to go insane. From the bottom of my heart, I prayed that the next instant would never arrive. I pleaded to this world, the one I hated so much, to just stop everything. I don’t care who it is. Just help me. Save me…and save my sister. She spoke through the sobs. “I’m sorry, Shuuya. It’s not very cool of me as a big sister, I guess, but…I’m kind of scared.” Even if I ran at full speed, I wouldn’t be in time. Powerless, I felt something snap and tear itself apart in my mind as my sister left her body to the wind, disappearing from sight. “Ugh…I never thought it’d wind up like this. I’m so exasperated with these guys, I don’t know what to say.” “…I’m gonna kill you.” “Whoa, whoa, get ahold of yourself. You know full well I’m the one who let your father live, don’t you? There’s no need to go around making threats like that…Although she certainly did a great job ruining our plans. Now that we can’t gather up all the snakes, we can’t bring him his wife back. How wonderful…” “Just do nothing, then. Just…give me my father back, at least…!” “What are you, stupid? If we failed once, we’ll just try it again. From the top…Hey, I know. Why don’t you pretend to be her corpse for us? You’re good at that sort of thing, right? That way, once they find you, the other guys I have control over will just chalk it up to suicide. Having her disappear without a trace, you know…That would present a lot of lingering problems.”