Indeed, there it was, completely heedless of the harmony of its surroundings, or the context it was in. The thing in front of him could be described in no other way: it was a long black box.
It didn’t have a Christian cross engraved on it or anything, but even so... The ominous black color and its roughly two-meters of length, along with its 70-centimeter width, just seemed to scream that a person was lying down inside. Without a doubt, it was the spitting image of a Western coffin. On top of all that, it was lying on an artificial beach, so it was a rather surreal sight.
“Did it float in from somewhere...?”
The internet said that the sea around the beach didn’t have too much marine life in it, so it shouldn’t have washed up considering its size...
“...A coffin...” he breathed with a gulp, staring at the black cuboid; a box that might have contained a corpse inside. “If I open it... there might be a body...”
He was silent... for almost five seconds.
“I’m pumped!” he cried, thrusting his fist into the air.
If Kyouhei had been around, he would have collapsed on the sand.
“It’ll be in the paper! ‘Local Runner Discovers Coffin from Abroad!’ I’ll stand out! I’ll stand out so hard! Hell yeah!”
His idea completely lacked any respect for the dead. However, Mizuhito made it his policy that he’d sell his parents to stand out, so applying half-baked common decency to him was pointless.
There was no one on the beach to call him on his heresy either, so Mizuhito happily pulled out his phone.
“Right then! Let’s call the newspapers, the tabloids... Oh yeah, the cops, too. Ah, I should take a picture to prove I found it first!” He hadn’t even the slightest inclination to call the police first, so he was beyond help. “Yeah!”
Mizuhito put his left hand on the coffin, and then held his right hand out as far as possible, like he was taking a selfie with a girl, pointing the lens towards them.
But then...
“...Huh?” he said, finally noticing that the black coffin had some machinery and countless pipes across its side. “What? It’s not a coffin?”
There must have been some reason for it.
Mizuhito wasn’t given the time to think about it though. Suddenly, a rumbling and clattering of machinery started up, along with the beeping of an alarm... Then, some white smoke, maybe steam, started gushing out of the coffin.
“Uwah! Wha—What the hell?!”
Mizuhito staggered back, white smoke blasting into his face. The shock sent him into a tailspin. Before his bewildered gaze, the lid began to open out to the left and right, like it was a door.
And then...
Haltingly, a swaying figure stood behind the smoke.
It was like a scene right out of a movie, when some evil mummy was revived by an ignorant modern-day person.
The figure turned to face him. They approached him, pushing through the smoke...
“Schwester!” they yelled, in German for some reason.
● ● ●
The winter season didn’t necessarily mean that the temperature would stay low throughout the whole day. As the sun rose, it brought warmth with it to the city.
Kyouhei and Pamil were walking together, a slight breeze carrying that mild warmth. They were heading for the Corvette. Most of the time, Kyouhei cooked for the two of them, but they also went out to eat like this occasionally.
However...
The scene Kyouhei faced as he turned a corner made him stop on the spot.
The street they were coming into was fairly close to the shopping district, and a bizarre girl was standing there.
She wore a black dress and long black gloves, with black frills. She also had a silver chain around her neck, with a skull dangling from it. Her feet were in long stiletto heels. Her hair was pitch-black, but dyed crimson partway down its length in a gradient.
The whole outfit was somewhere between gothic and punk, but not quite right for either, or at least that’s what Kyouhei felt.
Well, the existence of an eccentric like that was fine. Everyone had their hobbies, and whatever they wore was no reason for Kyouhei to be concerned.
Still, looking her in the eye was a different matter.
No, he cried mentally, feeling like he was staring down a wild animal in the mountains. I need to look away...
“Kyouhei!” the girl called to him, heedless of his worries, pumping a fist cheerily into the air. Not only had she called to him, but she’d also used his name.
“Wha—” Kyouhei managed, stiffening as he felt the passersby recoil from him.
Why does she know my name?!
“Hey, if it isn’t you!” she cried.
“No... um... huh? You’re talking to me?!”
Unconcerned with Kyouhei’s panic, the girl flounced over. As she did, he could feel the stares around him intensify.
“Do you know her?” Pamil asked. That question, coupled with her curious expression, was enough to tell him that the girl had nothing to do with Pamil.
“Umm, who are you?!” he asked, looking at her as she approached.
Well... she wasn’t bad looking. She was a bit dull, so you couldn’t call her a beauty, though. The tribal design on her cheek lent a bit of an avant-garde accent to her looks... huh?
Kyouhei suddenly felt the blood leave his face.
He recognized that design.
The girl slapped Kyouhei’s shoulder companionably as he stood stock still, uncomprehending, or maybe refusing to accept the situation.
“Hey, you heading out shopping?”
“You... Mizuhito?!” Kyouhei cried out.
“Yo, I’m Mizuhito-chaaan.”
“The hell are you wearing?!” Kyouhei demanded an answer. “Seriously, the fuck?! I knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t think you’d go fucking crossdressing at midday on a Sunday—”
“It’s not that rare in Akiba,” Mizuhito defended.
“Shut your face, you crappy otaku!”
“No, you see,” Mizuhito continued, no shame visible, “it turns out I’m actually... an onee-sama!”