Chapter 12:
Marii’s World
IT WOULD BE COOL if I could say I’d felt it in my bones, but honestly I didn’t have any premonition of it or anything. My classmates seem to think I’m some old soul because I practice the naginata, and, okay, like yeah: I do pray at the altar every day like my grandma taught me, but all that said, I do not believe in the supernatural or a sixth sense whatsoever.
When I saw the news that the new suspect in the Tokyo Ripper case had fled, I immediately got the urge to run to Yukari, but it wasn’t because of any ESP nonsense. It was just because I knew that Yukari was concerned about the case. She’d already been uneasy not being able to see how things were progressing, and I figured this news would shake her up as well. I imagined if I was there with her, I might be able to do something to support her, to reassure her.
I couldn’t wait a second longer. It was a Saturday, so I could head to Yukari’s house as soon as I wanted that morning.
If I were able to instinctively gaze into the future like a psychic, I probably wouldn’t have responded to the ringing of the doorbell by thinking, Is that Yukari? Did she get so scared she came here?
I opened the door without a second thought.
Standing there outside was an older girl with a lovely smile. She was slender and had long hair. My heart raced. At first I assumed it was because she was so beautiful, but my heart was really telling me something really different. I had to take some deep breaths to calm myself and look over her carefully before I realized she was familiar.
She looked much more mature than she did in the photo—but it was definitely her. The older girl before me was one of the five people Yukari had pointed to that night after looking at the horrible photos.
Supposedly I’d undergone both physical and mental training to wield the naginata, but I couldn’t move a finger. I couldn’t even make a sound. I just watched, unable to resist, as she put something that looked like a stun gun to my stomach.
She smiled even more. “You don’t have to be so scared. I won’t kill you right away. After all, I need you as bait. What’s her name, Marii Yukari…? I understand she has eyes like mine.”
Those words finally got my body in gear. Don’t mess with me! I tried to jump her, but I lost consciousness in an instant.