Another chapter, hope you will like it. Enjoy.
Whoever said that Japanese are calm, shy and friendly people was either very lucky or dimwitted as hell.
Koizumi closes to me, with this bloodied chainsaw. She's got psychotic grin on her face that makes me think how lucky I was up until this moment.
"Good afternoon." She greets me politely, although I can see that her eyes speak totally different. She's already lost it. Her own sanity, buried under tons of anger and senseless hatred towards the world.
"I'm surprised... To see you here, Koizumi-san." I respond as calm as I can. However, my chalk white skin uncovers my emotions. I'm scared...No, I'm mortified.
"I thought that I will visit Kiyoura-san. After all, it's not nice to know that your acquaintance was beaten by someone... And I'm here to help her feel better." She says with smile. No, it's not a smile. It's a smirk.
"I'm afraid that she cannot talk right now."
"I know. This will make things much easier both for her and me. " Suddenly, I can feel some presence next to me. It's this German doctor, now armed with a bone-saw and a few syringes.
"Mein Junge, I do believe you should take a step back now." He says seriously, standing in a fighting pose. Is he mad? She's armed with chainsaw, for Alastor's sake! "Barricade yourself in the room and rufen to the police." He also adds. Natsumi just stands there, still smiling.
"We've got this drug you've been asking for, Doc!" From the depths of a corridor, Sawanaga and Kasanoin approach. Nanami's boyfriend is holding something in his hand. It looks like... Well, a drug.
"Gut Gemacht." Man of science takes the bottle from Kyouichi's hands. "How's the evacuation going?"
"Almost everyone escaped safely." Sawanaga reports, while giving a little looks at Koizumi.
"Almost?" I ask dully.
"Some of them panicked and scattered around the hospital. There's also a few patients unable to escape."
"Not good. In that case, we need to stop diese Fraulein as quick as we can... Wait, where is she?" He asks. I look at the place where Natsumi was standing just a few moments before... She's nowhere here.
"She ran away." Taisuke says with disbelief.
"We can follow her by these traces of blood." Kasanoin adds, pointing at little red points.
"But why did she run away?" Sawanaga keeps asking.
And then, I've got an enlightment.
"Sawanaga. You imbecile." I growl. "You've just given her an excellent idea."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"She will go to these poor patients and take them hostage... Then, she will start dispatching every single one, one after another... Unless we'll fulfill her wishes." Taisuke goes pale. Okay, he maybe isn't the brightest candle, but this?
"What wishes?" Kyouichi asks seriously. He seems to be a little less moved than Sawanaga.
"Lifes of Setsuna and Katsura-san." I respond after a short while. No one answers. "Mr. Medicine, we need to gather everyone who can pick a weapon and use it properly. If we want to live, we need to go hunting." I say, looking at my fingers. They're moving erratically, without any sense of order at all. They're insane.
It starts.
"What kind of... Uh, weaponry, do we have?" Itou asks with anxiety. We're sitting in Setsuna's room, debating about the problem. Doctor sighs.
"Not much: This bone-saw, crossbow and syringes save for everything usable as a weapon that is in a hospital." He responds in a worried tone. "To be honest, I've never experienced such kind of... visitor during my work here. Well, it's time to remind myself of a few tricks from the past."
"So, who's gonna go?" Sekai asks. She's scared... But I do believe we're all, except maybe this mysterious medic.
"I will." Makoto says. He's got balls, I must admit it.
"Then so will I." Sawanaga adds with a cheerful smile. I'm afraid he doesn't know what's he doing.
"Me too." Kasanoin says, although he isn't even as half enthusiastic as Taisuke. Maybe that's because he's got a girlfriend?
"And I will." I say after a short while. What the hell am I doing? It's a deathwish!
"Then we've reached the agreement." German doctor says, standing up and picking his bone-saw. "The others that will stay here, please barricade the door with this metal shelf. It should be enough to prevent the girl from entering here..." Suddenly, we can hear Natsumi's distorted voice from speakers.
"Good afternoon everyone. I've got a news for you: Three young souls are very close to be erased from existence. If you don't want them to be killed, send Katsura-san and Kiyoura-san to the canteen. They have to be alone or I kill both them and the kids. Oh, by the way, Kotonoha..." Why does she use Katsura-san's first name? "Your sister is very brave, telling me to "flock off". You don't want to fail her, do you?" Koizumi starts giggling and Katsura-san... Well, she's pale. She sits on a free bed, in a state of deep shock. "You've got only one hour." Natsumi stops talking, leaving us in silence.
Suddenly, I've got an idea.
"Mr. Medicine, is there any way to make a contact back to the place where Koizumi is now?"
"I do believe that ja." He responds, giving worried looks at wrecked Katsura-san.
"Sweet. Let's change the rules of her game." I say with a smirk. I don't what am I doing. Why I'm so eager to die? Just because to protect my friends? Ridicolous.
In fact, killing the bitch will be immensly satisfactory.
...Wait. Did I really think like that? Since when? It sounds very... Stratoavis-like.
I will think about it later when I'll finally get the hell out of here.
"Koizumi-san, are you there?" I ask to the microphone near the speaker.
"Well, if it isn't our lovely foreigner." She responds with a mocking tone. "What do you want? Some kind of heroic sacrifice instead of your friends?"
"Kind of. Let's just say that I would like to see you in person, since there's a thing that we should discuss about."
"And what's that?" I lower my voice to a whisper and smile maliciously.
"I thought you would want to see Katou-san's murderer personally." For a longer time, there's no response. Finally, Koizumi starts saying again.
"Let's meet in a canteen."
"Not until you'll set free the kids."
"You want to argue with me?"
"Oh, I do believe you don't have much of a choice. The police is coming and they won't speak to you politely. Instead, they're list you as an insane lunatic and shoot you or close in a mental asylum.
"I will free two of them. The last one, at cost of yours and Katsura's life. I will forgive Kiyoura since actually I don't have a reason to be against her... In fact, I was the one to kill Obuchi." Now I'm surprised. I expected that her madness is a result of Obuchi's death... But this?
"Why?" I ask dully.
"She was pissing me off." Koizumi responds carelessly, but her voice becomes darker and deeper in next sentence. "You better come alone or Katsura Kokoro will cease to exist." Her voice breaks, the line is silent again.
So it began. My madness will now develop into something totally different.
This is gonna be fun.
Thankfully(Or not), Katsura-san was willing to come with me in order to save her sister. It took quite a long time to convince Itou that he definitely shouldn't watch us from afar, because it can blow up the whole operation. In the end, Sawanaga and Kasanoin had to hold him tight, so he will not run with us. I could see he's almost as wrecked as Katsura-san was a few minutes before. I could see tears in his eyes. He was... He was crying. He couldn't stand it.
He wasn't the bastard which Himler told me about.
"Are you sure Sie want to go there?" Doctor asks us once again, with a concerned look. Sure, no one would like to see casualties in your work.
"It's the only thing we can do." I answer quietly. "Besides, I've never had an opportunity to meet a crazed murderer in person." I say, trying to joking. Suddenly, Sekai grabs me in half. She's crying.
"Baka..." She whispers, making an attempt in stopping me. I smile slightly and kiss her in a forehead.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I say quietly, petting her head.
"Promise?" We're making an eye contact. She can easily tell that either I'm lying or I'm incredibly confident.
"Promise. I love you." I answer, hugging her. "After this mess, you need to meet my parents." I say, changing the topic. I cannot allow her to break. It would be soulless. She smiles slightly and wipes her tears.
"Good luck." She finally says, taking a step back. "You'll need it."
"There's no thing like luck. It's only about skills." I say, giving her a big grin and cracking my wrists. "I once said that I will never use violence against other people, even in the most extreme situations. Since Koizumi's so willing to fight us, I will however respond and accept the challenge." My fingers creak when I'm straightening them. "Now, when my life is on the edge, I shall drop the mask and unleash all my wrath that has been accumulated in my mind, heart and soul for these sixteen years. Childhood, primary school and junior high school, all of them were full of misery and isolation. They were good moments, but they were outshadowed by negative emotions." I whisper to myself, although a quick look at Katsura-san's face tells me she heard it. "It's time to be just." I say, creaking the neck. "Let's go, Katsura-san." Long-haired girl nods in "Yes" fashion.
Now, we're slowly moving through the corridor. Katsura-san is armed with a bone-saw that German doctor lent her. Since she's pretty good in kendo, she can use this bonesaw as a profiecent substitute of a katana. And what about me? Well, I used to practice Oyama karate when I was seven, aikido when I was ten and Enshin karate when I was eleven... But all these martial arts are nothing to me, considering the trump card in my deck. My joker. My way of disposing some of the most troublesome adversaries.
Krav Maga.
There's no grace in Krav Maga. There's no healthy rivarly in Krav Maga. There's no idealistic crap about training of spirit in Krav Maga. There's only a quick and effiecent way of dispatching opponents by any means. Even if practicioner of Krav Maga had to snap someone's neck, he or she will do it, as it's about his or her well-being.
Koizumi is going to share this fate.
Wait, what? Did I really think like that? Again, it's very Stratoavis-like. Could I possibly be that much linked with him that his way of thinking start to eliminate my way of thinking? Is this even possible?
Maybe I'm really insane.
"I'm sorry." I say to Katsura-san. She seems surprised.
"Excuse me?" She asks.
"Forgive me for getting you involved in this stuff."
"I was involved from the very beggining. From the day... From the very start of our education in Sakakino." She responds calmly. There's still life in her eyes. She's not insane. She's not gonna snap yet. She's determined to save her sister, but she's still not crazy. "Also, we can save not only Kokoro, but also Kiyoura-san as well." She says with a slight smile.
"Kokoro? Meaningful name."
"Isn't it?" Katsura giggles lightly. It doesn't sound appropiate, but oh well. "To be honest, I feel bad for Koizumi-san."
"She's a psychotic killer that holds your younger sister hostage." I answer with surprise in my voice.
"I mean that she's alone in this. There's no one who can support her or at least try to leave the violence behind." Katsura says sadly. She does have point... But why do I care? For me, Natsumi Koizumi is nothing more than a furious animal. And as a furious animal, she should be dispatched as quickly as possible.
"You, stop playing with my mind!" I growl to Stratoavis. He only murmurs something in return and doesn't say a thing after that.
"Is something wrong, Casper-kun?" Katsura asks with concern.
"Nah, it's okay... Kotonoha-san." I answer. Since we're going to die soon, we can possibly at least know each other. She blushes slightly. "Are you afraid?"
"Yes." She responds after a short while. "Aren't you?"
"I am, like hell incarnated." I say, looking at my creaking fingers. Suddenly, a thought comes to my mind.
"Kotonoha-san, would you believe me if I told you that I know possible future of your relationship?" I say. Katsura-san stops and gives me a truly surprised look. "I know, this sounds absurdly, but... I know that you have a darker side. "At first I thought that she won't buy it... But than, surprisingly, she nods with comprehension in her eyes."
"When I was like ten, I had an accident. We've been in train, when it went off the rails and fell down the road, crashing pretty big chunk of a highway. My father died and I was transported to the hospital with a very serious head injury... Thankfully, Kokoro and my mother were unharmed. I've seen many victims of this tragedy in this hospital, many of them were begging doctors to kill them..." She stops for a while. I haven't known that her father isn't a biological one. "They said that my brain was damaged and that I will in the future suffer some mental instability that can transform into permanent one if under some strong negative emotions. That's one of the two reasons for me to avoiding romantic relationships... If dumped, I could possibly become very dangerous... And hurt someone." She almost whispers these words. So Himler was right this time. "That's why I beg you for one favor. If... If Kokoro will be killed, kill me as well."
WHOA! Now that's something that I would never think of.
"You aren't serious, are you?" I ask with shock. She makes an eye-contact with me... And in her eyes I can only see determination. She's gentle and shy girl, but when in tight situations... I would never think about making such an request. "And what about Itou?" She shivers and takes a step back. Looks like I found the weak spot.
"Makoto-kun would not accept me... In this state." She finally says and starts viewing herself in a blade of a bone-saw. "Lone girl, abandoned by everyone and disliked by everyone... I don't want to end like this."
"Don't worry... The only person to die today is Koizumi." I say, while smiling maliciously... Wait. Did I really say that? It's progressing! I can hear his giggle in my head. He starts to capture my body and mind...
"What did you say?" Katsura-san asks me, surprised. I give her a look.
"Would you believe if I told you that I have some mental problems too?" I ask grimly. I've managed to silence this little bugger for some amount of time.
"I see." She says with comprehension in her voice.
"The problem is that I don't even have a reason to be... unstable." I continue, looking at my fingers moving erratically. "I... When all this fuss started, it began to consume me. I can resist it for now, but the longer it happens, the worse effects are... The only way I can stop it is to prevent the murderer from killing everyone near me... Even if this means to unleash lethal force..." I raise my voice. "We're going to stop this soon!"
"We are." She says with determination. We resume our journey to the canteen.
To the Natsumi Koizumi.
All I see is Terror
All I see is Pain
All I see is mothers dragging children to their graves
A curse as old as time, an armageddon misery
Spectators of a World in ruins
Hypnotized I'm staring at
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
It's all there was, it's all there'll ever be
All I see is Violence
All I see is Hate
All I see is tyrants dragging servants on a chain
A curse as old as time, an armageddon misery
Spectators of a World in ruins
Paralyzed I'm staring at
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
Impossible Brutality
It's all there was, it's all there'll ever be
Whispering Kreator's song during such an immense and dangerous situation. Truly, it certainly will help me overcome the fear.
"Why won't you just leave everything to me?" Stratoavis asks with viciousness in his voice.
"Because if I allow you do to everything you please, I won't be much better than she is."
"And now you're an idealist, huh?" My evil twin mock me, laughing quietly.
"I don't want to lose my own sanity, unlike you." I respond angrily.
"Who said I want lose my senses? It's you that think I've already lost them."
"Your obsession about defeating the evil at all costs is dangerous."
"Who would have guess that YOU said such thing. After all, you're the one who created this obsession."
"I know... But the best that you can do at this moment is to shut up and, if you want, you can cheer me up when I'll be trying to neutralize Koizumi along with Katsura-san."
"Whatever." With this one-liner, Stratoavis finally stops talking.
I can feel a sensation going through my body back and forth. Soon I will meet with the incarnation of horror. The girl whose insanity started with Katou-san's death. The girl that will kill more people if we don't stop her. Her name is Natsumi Koizumi and she used to be a human.
Katsura-san pushes the door of a canteen.
"So... You've come."
