『—…This is a news flash.
Today, in ○○ Prefecture, the body of a male student was discovered.』
As I ate dinner alone, that sort of news was broadcasted.
……Since that day? Huh? Just what had I been doing since that day, again?
The announcer continued in a robotic voice.
『A cutting tool stabbed into the victim’s body.
He was discovered with a cellphone gripped tightly within his hands.』
Cell phone in his hands, huh. Just like A-ya.
A-ya always had his cell phone in his hands, typing something.
An image of A-ya gripping his cell phone, covered in blood and lying on the ground, drifted into my head.
“……h!”
“……There’s no way……right?”
Even though that idea of A-ya wasn’t very realistic, I felt unease build up.
——Pirori~n♪
My cell phone suddenly rang out. Looking at the LCD, it seemed to be from someone in my class who lived in the neighborhood.
“Hey, did you hear? The victim of today’s incident was A-ya. C-ta, you were good friends with him, right? You okay?”
——What was that?
After all, every day, I………….
——Pirori~n♪
Again, my cell phone rang out.
When I looked at the display to confirm it, it was a push notification for Twitter replies.
Just when had I turned on notifications? Even while thinking it was strange, I opened the app.
『Right now, I’m in that place.』
……?
On that account that I didn’t remember following, they were following one person and had one follower……in other words, they were linked only to me.
……What’s with this.
Feeling uneasy, I abandoned my dinner and returned to my room.
Just who had killed A-ya……? And on top of that, so cruelly!
So cruel so cruel so cruel so cruel so cruel so cruel……!!
After that, a few hours probably passed.
I suddenly remembered the other members from the old school building.
“……That’s right……I have to let them know……”
Taking out my phone, I thought that I should contact B-ko first, and made a call.
Brrrrrrrt……zztzztzzzztt……brrrrrrrt……zzztzzztzzzzzzzt
“……He-hello?”
“………………A-ya was killed……”
——With that……when I was about to continue, the line was cut off.
Huh? That’s strange.
——Pirori~n♪
When I reached for the button to call back, I was notified of another reply.
『Right now, I am looking at the moon from that window.』
……Moon?
The sender was the mystery account from earlier after all.
——Pirori~n♪
『It’s the same color as the moon from that night.』
——That night? That, red, moon’s, night? That red, red, moon’s…….
A flashback. Fragments, as if the channel had been broken, a colorless scenery.
Just like A-ya had done to the doll earlier, I stabbed his stomach with the cutter knife. And again, and again, and again……….
Little by little, as if the puzzle pieces were assembling together, the world from that day began to regain its color…….That’s right, on that day, I…….
It had become 3 AM. In the distance that really didn’t even take a few minutes to walk, was A-ya’s house.
It felt like a ruin that no one had lived in for a long time.
Be careful, be careful……. I turned off my phone.
But, suddenly, I heard footsteps from upstairs.
Thinking, “Crap!”, I relocated myself to the living room next to the kitchen.
——It was A-ya. And, A-ya was for some reason hugging that doll.
……Just, what?
“……Again?”
“……Ah!”
I floundered my gaze to the kitchen where A-ya was.
Just like that classmate had been……I’ll be killed!!
I held my breath and listened in on the situation. From the rice bin, he took out some rice, then made a cup of salt water, and left the kitchen with those things.
Relieved, I let out my breath.
I held my breath again and closed the distance between me and A-ya, and observed his actions.
Indistinguishably, he obtained a sewing needle and red thread, scissors and cutter knife.
And, raising his head with grim determination, stabbed the doll’s stomach, and took out the stuffing.
At that sudden action, I doubted my eyes.
Then, replacing the stuffing with rice and some of his own nail clippings, he clumsily stitched it up. Having stitched up the doll’s arms, legs, and even its mouth with the red thread, just from looking at it, it appeared to be an extremely grotesque thing.
……The doll, the doll that I had given was…….
“It’s as if they were blood vessels.”
A-ya softly muttered, and then, taking the salt water, took it deep inside the closet.
When he emerged, the cup had vanished from his hands.
“After that, the doll’s name, huh……”
A-ya appeared to think for a bit, and whispered softly.
“……C-ta.”
“——Your name is C-ta. ……Now, let’s start.”
……What was that……?
A-ya went around the room filled with light, turned off all the lights in the house, and closed the curtains, leaving only the television on.
“A-ya is first to be it. A-ya is first to be it. A-ya is first to be it.”
In the pitch black darkness, the water reflected only a little light, as if distorting A-ya’s expression like he was laughing.
I felt a cold chill that I had never felt before up until this point.
I had gotten so close that I could possibly be caught at any moment even now, but I had already stopped paying attention to that.
Returning to the kitchen, A-ya took the cutter knife in his hand, closed his eyes and counted to ten.
“Are you ready?”
Having said that, he set off for the bathroom, opened the tub, and took out the doll.
……………………!!
“Next is C-ta’s turn to be it. Next is C-ta’s turn to be it. Next is C-ta’s turn to be it……”
After A-ya said that, he returned to the kitchen, and after dropping off the wet cutter knife, returned to the closet where he had hidden the salt water.
Once A-ya had gone, my legs carried me to the bathroom.
Rice scattered from its stomach, and the clumsily sewn red thread was cruelly wrapped around it like blood vessels.
“……I see…”
——With this, I finally understood.
A-ya was already, no longer here.
That wasn’t A-ya. It was surely thinking of killing me in the same way tomorrow.
That’s how it was, right? As for me, as his childhood friend, I, who was his only close friend, in this manner, he planned to kill me, right?
Precisely, that guy is the “fox”……in other words, the traitor.
——If I kill him, the game will end.
I wonder if A-ya is still okay? In any case, I have to end this fucking game and save A-ya.
Because, the only one who can save A-ya, is me.
With grim determination, I made my way to where he was.
Just as I passed through the kitchen, I laid my eyes on the cutter knife that he had put down.
Where are you? Where are you hiding?
I’ll fucking kill you, so come on out.
Creak. Creak.
In the corridor, the sound of footsteps echoed about.
Don’t think that I’ll let you kill me like you did to that doll without resistance, okay?
I’ll take revenge for A-ya.
Creak. Creak. Step. Step.
Drops of water fell from the cutter knife. Somehow, doesn’t it seem like blood? Fufuu.
Inside of the closet, he was hiding there.
A-ya’s lungs were weak, so if he hid in dusty places for a long time, he wouldn’t be able to stop coughing, yet you didn’t even know that?
Look, hurry up and come out already.
The sliding doors of the closet slowly opened, and inside, I saw the guy who was taking A-ya’s appearance.
“I foound you.”
『As if slashing at a doll, you used the knife.』
『Even though he called out your name.』
『You mistook him for the traitor, right?』
——But I was wrong. A-ya hadn’t been the traitor. I realized it soon after killing him.
Fufufufufufu…….That’s right, it happened just like that, and I had soon become scared. What kind of punishment would the Bookmark of Demise grant on me? That’s why, I had deceived. My own self. If I myself didn’t remember, then who would know who the culprit was? Even though I had thought so, it could have been that someone else had witnessed it.
——Pirori~n♪
Come, I’ll kill you. Just like I had killed A-ya then.
“That’s right, I killed A-ya!! If you’ll give me punishment, come on out!!”
——Pirori~n♪
I answered the phone by mistake.
『……Right now, I’m behind you.』
『This is a news flash.
Today, in ○○ Prefecture, the body of a male student was discovered.
The victim was discovered with a cellphone gripped tightly within his hands.
Police suspect that there is a possibility that both murders were committed by the same culprit.
——After that, one more thing. Punishment will be granted if the wrong response is given, so please take care. With that, onto the next news……』
In a corner of the room, a single page of a letter fluttered in the wind. On it, only a single phrase was written.
«Don’t answer a call from Mearry-san.»