“MISS!” Shindo yelled and tried to open the door, shocked by the muffled scream that leaked through the moment he arrived. But the door was locked, barring his entry. Fortunately, Satsuki gave him a spare key to the room “in case of emergencies” when she started coming here regularly as a member of the Student Council. He quickly pulled the key out of its case and unlocked the door. The moment he stormed into the room, he froze in place!
“What...in the...?” his voice came out trembling. He slammed the door shut behind him.
The inside lacked so much as a trace of the once tidy Student Council Room. From the table and chairs to the shelving, pictures and paintings, everything was broken, smashed, or crushed. Not even the furnishings were spared. The body of a man was leaning against the wall. However, it was missing everything from the neck up.
Upon quickly scanning the room, Shindo found the head—its face contorted into the most horrible expression in the world—stuck in an empty vase. Its eyes were rolled up with its mouth hanging wide open like a slack-jawed fool. Its red tongue dangled limply out of the mouth. The tiny gust of air created by shutting the door rocked the head, knocking it from the vase. The object rolled across the floor.
Shindo found Satsuki huddled in on herself as if trying to avoid getting hit by the glass shards and debris. As he slowly made his way to her, it became evident her clothing had been ripped from her chest. As if trying to cover her normally porcelain-white skin, her arms were held across her bosom as she shrunk in on herself. Her eyes were glued on her feet. Even though they were open, they were vacant, her expression empty.
“Miss...?” Shindo softly called out to her. Satsuki’s entire body jumped violently at the sound. Her expression unchanged, she raised her dead eyes to look at Shindo. The moment his face entered her vision, tears sprung from her eyes. They fell from her cheeks like waterfalls.
“Shin...do...” Satsuki’s voice came out vacant and scratchy; her body was as crimson as if she were dressed in red.
Shindo fell to one knee before Satsuki and began combing her tussled hair with both hands. His voice catching in his throat, he apologized, “...I am...so sorry...”
Placing his hands upon her bloody shoulders, he dropped his head in apology. “This is all my fault for leaving your side...” It was impossible to discern whether the trembling in his voice came from anger or sadness. “I can’t apologize enough...”
“Shin...do... I...killed...” Satsuki managed to force her words—choppy and broken—to that point before Shindo pulled her towards his chest and held her tight.
Squeezing Satsuki so tightly in his arms she couldn’t speak, Shindo continued his apology in a quivering voice, “I am sorry...Miss...for making you...endure that nightmare.”
All he could do was protectively hold the young girl drenched in blood.
“...I wanted to kill him instead...” he whispered in a voice trembling with hatred and anger.
✦ ✦ ✦
“EVERYTHING! Restore it all!” Shindo barked. It was probably the first time he ever issued orders in such a manner.
“I want everything from the desk down to the furnishings, even the damn flowers for the arrangements—everything—put back the way it was!” Shindo raised his voice. He’d already made the directive loud and clear, so it was grating when a subordinate called for confirmation.
But he mustn’t allow Satsuki hear him yell. Reminding himself as much, he drew forth a mental image of the young lady and took deep breaths as he tried to soothe his temper. Once he achieved a level of calm, he resumed speaking into the cell phone.
“Do it within the day. Make sure nothing seems amiss if someone enters the Student Council Room tomorrow. Don’t let anyone in until you’re done. Don’t let anyone look inside. I’ve contacted the school chairman. Five lawyers on retainer are already on the case. The only thing you have to worry about is making the Student Council Room look like it did before,” Shindo directed in his usual calm voice and hung up. The moment the cell phone was safely in his suit pocket, he heaved a heavy sigh.
The inside of Tsujikawa’s private suite was filled with nothing but the barely audible sound of water coming from the shower room. Satsuki was there at the moment. She was rinsing off the downpour of filth that covered her entire body.