Mayuzumi pulled me out of the taxi.

There was nonetheless solely darkness earlier than me.

I glanced round helplessly. What I felt beneath my toes wasn’t a paved street. We traveled for some time, and I used to be unsure of our present whereabouts.

A cool breeze brushed my cheek. The expansive environment made me uneasy.

I heard the automotive dashing away. Mayuzumi took my hand as soon as extra.

I clung tightly to her pale, slender fingers, shocked as all the time at how heat they have been.

“Would you loosen up? Relaxation assured, I cannot abandon you. That is much less bother than you getting misplaced.”

Mayuzumi was holding a parasol in her left hand and pulled me alongside along with her proper. Cautiously, I let the small woman cleared the path.

After some time, I stepped on one thing strong. I strained my eyes and noticed a greenish colour bleeding by means of the darkness. Timber rustled. We appeared to have set foot on a cobblestone path in a backyard. The perfume of candy olive drifted from someplace. I took a deep breath.

One thing was off. There was an disagreeable odor mixing within the air. The scent of smoke.

“Mayu-san, is one thing burning?” I requested.

Mayuzumi didn’t reply. She continued on, pulling my hand.

I noticed orange specks on both facet of the trail, quite a few dots adorning the foliage.

They have been on the bottom too, like stars dotting the evening sky.

It have to be candy olives. Between them was a hidden entrance.

A white door stood earlier than us. I might see it too. A curious door, exuding an unwelcoming aura.

Creak.

Undaunted, Mayuzumi pushed the door open.

“We’re right here,” she referred to as out into the darkness past. “Come.”

There was no response. Forward of us lay a dim hallway, submerged in shadows.

A peculiar stench crammed the home. The air was stagnant, as if the place had been inhabited for a very long time. All of a sudden, my eager ears caught an odd sound.

The ground creaked rhythmically. It didn’t sound like human footsteps.

My eyes widened as I peered into the darkness. One thing was approaching from the far finish of the hallway.

A pasty wrist appeared from across the nook, with stunning fingers and lengthy nails.

The hand belonged to a lady, with plump flesh on her palm.

The wrist touched the ground softly.

The ground creaked as soon as extra. I couldn’t consider what I used to be seeing. The wrist stood out amidst the murky environment, clearly seen right down to the person fingers. Within the subsequent immediate, a lady appeared. Her lengthy black hair, like strands of silk, trailed alongside the ground. Surprisingly, it didn’t merge with the darkness that surrounded her. Her plump determine, ample with flesh, was oddly fascinating.

Her pale bosom swayed closely. Her eyes shone with an intense glimmer, and her lips, disproportionately giant on her face, curled right into a depraved smile.

She was stunningly stunning.

The girl crawled alongside the ground on all fours, inching towards us.

Creak.

The girl approached us at an irregular velocity, shifting on all fours and altering her path. Spreading her legs and arms vast, she scuttled whereas rubbing her abdomen and breasts towards the ground.

I remained mounted in my place, staring on the unusual spectacle in amazement. Mayuzumi let go of my hand, most likely taking off her boots. There was a rustling of garments, and she or he took my hand once more.

“Watch your step, Odagiri-kun,” she warned. “There’s an elevation. Don’t journey and drag me down with you.”

However I couldn’t transfer. My brows furrowed as I attempted to make sense of what I simply witnessed.

The sight of the crawling girl was exceedingly bizarre. What did I simply see?

“Mayu-san, who was that girl?” I requested.

“…Girl?” She sounded baffled.

Mayuzumi’s face was nothing however a white form in my eyes. But I might see each wrinkle within the girl’s flesh and every strand of hair clearly. Who was she?

After a short pause, Mayuzumi smiled “Ah, I see. You needn’t concern your self along with her,” she lastly mentioned. “The world is filled with issues which can be finest left unknown, Odagiri-kun. Curiosity kills the cat. Ignore it for now and maintain strolling,” she coaxed.

Mayuzumi pulled me alongside, her grip tight and forceful, almost inflicting me to stumble. Bewildered, I eliminated my very own footwear earlier than following her down the hallway. A candy aroma mingled with the odd scent within the air. The scent of sweet drifted from Mayuzumi.

Her pale, delicate palms seemed like lumps of sugar that may crumble at any second. I clutched them tightly. Mayuzumi smiled faintly, however mentioned nothing.

Lastly, we got here to a halt earlier than a shoji display, barely seen amidst the darkness. We appeared to have made it far into the guts of the home.

“Are you there, Mukai?” Mayuzumi referred to as. “You’ve gotten company.”

“I do know. Are available.”

A youthful voice sounded. The taut bass was not one would anticipate from an outdated man.

Mayuzumi flung the shoji open, revealing a room with a boring inexperienced hue, most likely tatami mats. Within the middle sat a determine in a lightweight blue apparel. The proprietor of the voice gave the impression to be draped in a yukata or one thing related. I might see his skinny legs and arms protruding out the free garment, yellowish palms mixing into the dimness.

My breath caught on the sight of him.

The girl from earlier than was crawling atop the person’s knees, urgent her physique towards him, squishing her pale breasts. The person’s palms stroked her again time and again, caressing her easy pores and skin indifferently.

Though I couldn’t make out the person’s face, I sensed a chopping glint in his eyes.

The person named Mukai mounted me with a glare. “Who’s that? I don’t recall you having a interest of holding males.”

“After all not. Preserving Odagiri-kun wouldn’t be any enjoyable. He’s simply my assistant. He carries one thing attention-grabbing in his stomach, you see. He’s helpful in numerous methods.”

Mayuzumi spoke with a simple tone, her voice devoid of malice. But her phrases reduce deep into my chest. I dug my nails into her palm. She mentioned nothing, as a substitute stepped on my foot onerous.

I let go of her hand and pulled my foot again.

Mukai gave no remark about my conduct. He eliminated one thing from his mouth, and tender white smoke rose within the darkness. He gave the impression to be smoking a pipe or one thing. I couldn’t see it nicely due to its darkish colour. The one factor I might distinguish was the mouthpiece.

“So, why did you name for me?” Mayuzumi requested. “I assumed you disliked idle chatter, identical to me. Are you able to simply inform me already?”

“And but you appear to speak an excessive amount of. Didn’t you learn the letter?”

Clank.

The person tapped the pipe. “I’m dying quickly,” he mentioned indifferently.

“So that you say.” Mayuzumi’s voice was simply as nonchalant.

They confronted one another, their figures blurry in my imaginative and prescient.

I turned my gaze to the lady. She narrowed her eyes, snuggling to Mukai’s knee. Her determine was the one clear factor in my hazy imaginative and prescient.

What on the planet was she?

“Effectively, that doesn’t matter,” Mukai mentioned. “The issue is that this factor. She lately gave start, and every single day she’s hungry. The screening ended the opposite day, and so they’re being raised inside. All that thought of, I assumed it will be a disgrace to die.”

“It’s too late for regrets. For those who’re on the finish of your life, then simply die already.”

“Harsh as all the time, I see. I’ve a favor to ask you.”

“For those who’re asking me to deal with that factor, the reply is not any,” Mayuzumi replied flatly. “It’s too steep a value for the debt I owe you.”

Mukai clicked his tongue loud. Responding to his vexation, the lady lifted her head, her fierce eyes spinning of their sockets.

“Why would I depart her with an immature brat such as you?! You appear to have gotten the mistaken concept. After I cross away, she too will die. It’s inevitable. Her destiny is to starve slowly after I perish. So I need to tie up some free ends earlier than then. That’s all.”

Mukai exhaled extra smoke, its acrid aroma filling the air. The girl pressed herself tightly towards Mukai, refusing to let go. I peered into her eyes, however discovered no hint of rationality in these feral orbs.

Mukai was elevating this girl. An uncommon state of affairs from a logical standpoint.