Murderous Contemplation Prelude
I had decided to take a night stroll again tonight. The weather was pleasantly cool for late summer, carrying with it the subtle charm of early autumn.
“Miss. Please return home quickly tonight,” Akitaka said as I slipped on my shoes at the entrance, his voice carrying a quiet, formal plea.
I listened to his flat, emotionless tone as I stepped out the door.
I walked the narrow path that cut through the bamboo forest surrounding the estate. No streetlights illuminated the way; instead, I relied on moonlight to guide me.
The breeze blew gently, rustling the bamboo in a cool, whispering sound.
... as if tempting me to summon an unsettling image within my chest.
This kind of walk, one that stirred extreme unease, was my sole source of pleasure.
As the night deepened, the darkness grew even thicker.
I suppose I walked the empty streets because I wanted to be alone. Or perhaps it was because I simply wanted to feel that way.
Either way, it didn’t matter. After all, I could never truly be alone.
I crossed the main road and turned into a narrow alley. There was a flickering streetlamp, its light dancing like nerves.
I turned sixteen this year. I was a first-year at an ordinary private high school. Since becoming an adult meant I would be confined to the house anyway, I chose the nearest school. My commute was shortened, and the benefit was clear. But perhaps that choice had been a mistake.
The alley with the broken lamp grew darker still.
Suddenly, a face flashed through my mind. I bit my teeth. I couldn’t settle my thoughts lately. Even while walking, the man’s face kept surfacing.
Even after becoming a high school student, my life hadn’t changed much. My classmates and upperclassmen avoided me. I could guess the reason. My thoughts were probably reflected in my demeanor. I disliked human contact. From childhood, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to like them. Since I was human, I couldn’t even like myself.
So, when others spoke to me, I couldn’t respond kindly. I didn’t hate them specifically, but they understood it that way. My personality had spread throughout the school. After about a month, no one tried to approach me. I liked the quiet environment, so I left it be.
But my perfect solitude didn’t last. Among my classmates, only one person approached me—Ryougi Shiki. A tall, strange-looking boy who looked foolish. He was the only one who didn’t know my secret.
Strange as it was, I couldn’t maintain my usual self in front of him.
I kicked a nearby can. The remaining contents scattered across the ground.
Yes... it really was annoying.
In the distance, under a streetlamp, I saw a suspicious figure moving.
For some reason, I began to follow him.
At the end of the alley, where no light reached, a vagrant should have been living there. But there was no one now. The walls on both sides had been freshly painted. The floor was slick with something wet. The usual stench of food waste had been covered by another, thicker odor.
It was a space like a lake of blood.
The red paint I had mistaken for blood was actually a vast amount of blood. The liquid soaking into my shoes was human fluid. At the center of the sharp smell was a dead body.
The area where the head should have been was completely empty. The arms and legs were missing—cut off near the knees. It was no longer human; it was merely a sprayer of blood.
This place was another world.
Shiki’s world bloomed here. The sleeves of the kimono that seemed to hold the Milky Way were stained red. With elegant grace, petals fell as I touched the blood flowing on the ground and applied it to my lips.
The intense fragrance blocked my vision.
My body trembled in that ecstasy.
That was the first kiss on her lips.