If the target still had the same job as before, this was the station they’d arrive at on their way home. Hinata hid in a place where no one would notice her, scanning the faces of the different passengers as they got off the train. Several trains came and went, and then she saw who she was looking for. She could never forget that face, even if she wanted to.
This plan had been just a spur-of-the-moment thing, so it was a relief that they’d found the target so easily. At the same time, seeing someone who had caused her so much pain walking around like nothing had happened made Hinata’s blood boil.
“…Looks like we’re still in the clear. Now we just have to follow them. Ready, Kumori?”
“Sure, but what then? Should I go talk to them to create an opening for you?”
“No, too risky. I don’t want to put you in danger if things go wrong. This is my problem. Just stay behind me and keep yourself safe.”
All she needed was for Kumori to be there for her. Knowing she was there meant more to Hinata than the other girl could have realized. If she were doing this alone, she would have crumpled under the pressure and given up. But with Kumori by her side, she knew her resolve would stay strong.
“…Let’s go,” said Hinata.
Mixing in with the crowd of commuters coming out of the station, Hinata began tailing the target. Kumori was a short distance behind. Every now and then Hinata would turn around to check that she was still there, and Kumori would meet her gaze and smile encouragingly.
It was getting dark, and with so many people around, the target wasn’t likely to notice the two girls. In fact, the target wasn’t taking much notice of their surroundings at all. Clearly, this was someone who never expected anyone to come after them for revenge someday. So carefree, so oblivious… It made Hinata want to puke.
Eventually, the target turned off the main street onto a smaller, quieter road. The girls followed, still being as careful as they could.
It shouldn’t be long now…, Hinata thought.
She wouldn’t have to worry about people seeing her down here. All she needed was to pick her moment. If she ran as fast as she could, she’d be able to get close to the target before they noticed her. It would be tight, but a few seconds was all she’d need. Once the wound touched the target’s neck, the whole thing would be over.
But the right moment never presented itself. Before she knew it, the target had turned down a narrow side alley. That happened to be the opportunity she’d been waiting for.
The target emerged into a park, bought a drink from a vending machine, and sat down on a bench. There was a strong breeze that night. It ruffled the leaves on the trees, covering any footsteps Hinata made as she crept across the grass on the other side of the bench.
Finally, she was standing right behind her target. Hinata took out two plastic bags from her coat pocket: One held the deep cut she’d peeled off that afternoon, and the other had the scar she’d removed from her chest almost half a year ago. Even after sitting in her drawer all this time, it hadn’t healed or faded. It still looked the same as ever. That was the bag she opened first.
Holding the scar with the tweezers, Hinata lifted it out of the bag. She swung it gently toward the target, watching as the scar made contact and attached itself to the back of their neck.
I…I did it…!
She’d always wanted the chance to give this back, too. The scar was no longer Hinata’s. It was the target’s problem now. It didn’t look like they’d noticed it sticking onto them. It was an old scar, after all; it had stopped hurting a long time ago.
Breathing heavier now, she opened the second bag. She picked up the cut with the tweezers like she had with the last one, ready to transfer it.
But then something unexpected happened. The light from the streetlamps fell on the scar on the target’s neck.
When Hinata saw the scar, she started trembling. She’d stuck it there herself just a few seconds ago. It looked different attached to someone than when she’d peeled it off. Why did it look so much more fresh and raw now?
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed to death. A shudder ran down her arm, making her fingers loosen up.
Ah…!
The wound fell out of the tweezers’ grasp. The next moment, it was blown away by the wind, along with some dry leaves.
What…? No… No way!
Hinata’s mind went completely blank. That cut still technically belonged to her. If she lost it now, she’d be in real trouble.
I need to hurry… I have to get it back!
Hinata practically crawled after the breeze in search of her missing injury. It had blown away from the target, so at least she wouldn’t have to step out in front of them and risk being caught. But that also meant it had blown out of the park and into the street.
She headed out and saw Kumori standing a little ways away.
“K-Kumori, I…I dropped the cut…!”
Kumori came running over, and Hinata told her what had happened, her voice somewhere between a scream and a whisper. Kumori looked shaken, but she pulled herself together and did her best to sound calm.
“Then we’ll just have to find it,” she said. “Where did you lose it? Out here?”
“The wind blew it away, so I can’t be sure…but it’s probably around here somewhere.”
“Let’s split up and look. Don’t worry; we can fix this. Just remember not to get excited and touch it with your bare hands, okay?”
Hinata nodded, and the two of them began their search. They desperately felt around on the sidewalk and in the road, squinting into the darkness. They investigated anything that looked remotely like the cut, but all they found were old stains and cracks in the asphalt.
Then a car approached and honked its horn. The girls got out of the way to let it go by, and there, illuminated by the headlights, was a familiar wound. The breeze of the passing car whipped it up from the ground. Before they could stop it, a strong night wind blew, sending the wound flying even farther away. The girls hurried after it—they couldn’t afford to lose sight of it again.
But they were too late. Before their eyes, the wound was blown toward a roadside waterway and silently drifted down into the water.
“No…!”
Every ounce of Hinata’s strength seemed to leave her at once. A regular river would have been bad enough, but this was a city waterway. That water was practically sewage. Who knew what kind of germs were swimming around in it? And that was her wound that had just fallen in. If it got infected, all that nasty stuff would find its way into her body. She might as well have been pouring poison directly into her bloodstream.
She had to get her wound out of there. But how was she supposed to find something so thin and flimsy in that murky water, and at night, too?
Just as Hinata was starting to despair, Kumori leaped over the guardrail that fenced off the waterway and plunged in.
“K-Kumori!”
Hinata staggered toward the rail and climbed over as well. The water wasn’t very deep—it would probably only come up to her knees. It wasn’t flowing very quickly, either.
Kumori had already thrust both arms into the water, swirling them around in the general area where she’d last seen the wound. Then the moon came out from behind the clouds, and one patch of the water seemed to change color. Kumori lunged toward it.
“I found it!”
She raised her arm and waved to Hinata. Her palm now had a deep, bloody gash on it.