Chapter Nine – One Half of the Equation
Suguru reentered the mansion cautiously. The body count was piling up, and he had yet to find the one body that really mattered. And what a nice one it was. I mean, Hiro didn't doesn't really seem the type to work out, but look at him. Tall, dark and handsome. A perfect specimen for any hard working keyboard player/producer/arranger would love to tickle his fingers over.
He looked over his should to make sure Tohma was still dead. "Can never be too careful," he thought to himself. Seeing the well-tailored corpse gently floating on the water, Suguru focused on the hallway upon which he entered. He thought he heard a muffled sound to his left, a slight struggle, followed by a bang of the door. His curiosity getting the better of him, Suguru made his way down the hall, and opened the large oak door at the end. It lay out to a large room that looked very familiar. Looking up, he saw the dull canvases of Ryuichi's elders. He was back in this hallway.
"Let go of me!"
Suguru heard a female scream from behind another door in this room. This scream was followed by yet another slam, followed by another. Suguru could hear footsteps from behind the door. With nowhere to go, he tried his best to hide behind a plush, dark purple sofa next to him. The door creaked open.
"Na no dee! Na no dan! I just killed Noriko-chan! Hehehehe!" Ryuichi left the door open, and pranced into the room with a spin. He seemed quite lively. Following him came the sound of sliding metal. Meaning only one thing. From behind the couch, Suguru could not see, but he knew the sound. He knew what was out there.
"Hey!" Ryuichi called out, and Suguru's heart stopped. "How many times have I told you to shut the door behind you, Kumagoro! Silly rabbit." Still holding his breath, Suguru heard the door gently shut. "Hurry up, Kumagoro! We still need to find the other two before crazy panda lady comes! She always ruins our fun… I know, you go this way, and I'll go that way!" And the room was silent again.
Letting a breath escape, Suguru headed towards the door that Ryuichi and the demon-Kumagoro had entered from. Another short hallway, two plain-looking doors. Picking the first one, he entered a well-equiped, but dilapidated-looking kitchen. With a large, walk-in freezer with a convenient trail of blood coming from it. "Well… Isn't that convenient. Let's see what he did to Noriko."
Opening the door, a flood of flying, hissing, angry cockroaches poured out. Suguru backed up, and screamed. He could feel the insects all over him. Trying to bite him. In the background, he could barely make out a gasping voice, "Bugspray… Above the stove…" Suguru covered his eyes, and made out the stove a few steps away. Fighting through the swarm, he reached above it, grabbing an aerosol can. Opening the lid, shaking it, and spraying it with abandon, he could feel a change. Coughing slightly from the fumes, he felt the swarm slowly dissipate.
"Noriko!" Suguru yelled, seeing his former co-worker lying in the still-open freezer. She had a nasty cut to her side, with her blouse covered in blood, with a few still-living cockroaches feasting on it.
"Suguru…" Noriko gasped out. "Tohma… Ryuichi… Ku…ma…"
"I know, but Hiro is in the house somewhere! Don't try and talk," he said, swatting away the roaches.
"No… Sorry… Tohma tried to…" Noriko slowly, and painfully pulled an arm up, and into her pants pocket. "Key… Basement… Second door… Hurry…"
Noriko closed her eyes, and her head felt to the ground. In her hand was a key. Suguru took it from her hand, and then closed it. He looked around, and spotted an old light blue tablecloth on the countertop. He brushed away a few more of the insect, before gently covering Noriko with it. Fighting tears, he stood up.
"I won't let them get away with this." Clutching the key in his hand, he knew what he had to do. "Hiro, I will find you. We will get out of this alive, and have that sex scene. I know it.
"But… Didn't Ryuichi say something about a panda lady… Is Reiji somehow involved…?"
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a/n Another year, another chapter. This one's a bit more dramatic than the previous ones, but it was necessary to get us to the final stages. Here's hoping it's not another year for THAT to come.
