Taro had a lot on his mind as he drove toward the cabins for the second time. What had started as a simple break from the city had turned into something unimaginable. A magical girl named Ryoko Asakura was now living at his place; in his television set; sort of.
The question that confused Taro the most was… why was she there? She may have needed Taro at first to help transport her; maybe even for his electronics, though he now doubted that. No, there was something keeping Ryoko in that warehouse. There was something Taro had that this girl needed.
Ryoko openly admitted that she was using Taro and using people was wrong - wasn't it?
But was it? After all Taro was using Ryoko, too. When the beautiful girl appeared for the first time on that old tube TV set in that cabin, Taro instantly imagined her as the subject of one of his paintings. And somehow he had made that painting happen.
Ryoko was the same way. Somehow she had made it happen, or she was getting close to making it happen - though Taro wasn't sure what her "it" was.
Taro studied the map. According to the address listed on the restaurant's web site, the Kahachi Restaurant was just off of the freeway. "Good old-fashioned Japanese cooking!" was their tag line. Taro called the place to verify that it existed, and that a waitress named Rena would be working there today.
"Why do you want to know if she's working?" the manager had asked.
"Because I've never had such good service. I won't be coming if she's not there."
Though he felt a little guilty about the lie, it worked wonders and got him the verification he needed. It was 3PM when he walked into the restaurant. Perfect timing - right between lunch and dinner. He was surprised at how genuinely homey the place looked. This was definitely not a city cafe. Also, the food smelled fantastic.
"I'd like to sit in Rena's section," he told the hostess.
She looked him over and smiled, "Sure," then led him to a booth. "She'll be with you in a minute."
Taro did a double-take when his waitress came out to greet him. Rena was a small girl with deep dark eyes. She didn't look a year over fourteen. Taro noticed there was a bandage on her right wrist.
"Can I help you?" the girl asked sweetly - almost too sweetly Taro thought.
"Hot tea to start." Then he looked back down into the menu.
"Okay. Why did you ask for me?" Rena asked with a cute smile. Taro looked up with shocked eyes. "I'm not as young or dumb as I look. Kira sent you here, didn't she." Rena giggled. "Don't worry. I don't mind. You are kinda cute!"
"Who? Kira? No." Taro shook his head. "Ryoko told me to come talk to you."
Rena looked perplexed. "Who's that? I don't know any Ryoko."
Taro took a deep breath. "The girl in the video."
Rena's eyes grew wide as her face turned pale. She stumbled back a couple steps. "What… what are you talking about?"
Taro pulled out the red plastic box. "Did you write this warning?"
Rena just stood there with her mouth wide open. She blinked a couple times but did not move.
"Ryoko told me to talk to the person who wrote this. From your reaction it's clear that you know something."
Rena took Taro's menu. "Meet me behind the restaurant in ten minutes."
Taro looked at his watch, nodded, and walked out the door. The hostess gave him a funny look as he passed her. Taro waited at the dumpster behind the restaurant for fifteen minutes before Rena stepped out the back door. She walked up to Taro and looked up into his eyes.
"You know about the girl in the video? She's real?"
"Yes." Taro nodded.
Rena took a deep breath. "I've been wanting to talk to someone about this ever since that night. But I couldn't." Rena turned and walked to the side of the building. "Come on. We should sit." Rena led Taro to a covered wooden picnic table underneath a sign that said Break Area. "This is where we come to smoke and gab," she said. "But I don't smoke." They sat down across from each other in the shade, though the day's shadows were getting longer.
"Well I hope we can gab," Taro said. "I have so many questions. What happened that night?"
"You mean the night that guy killed himself, right?"
Taro nodded. "That's right. Although we both know that's not what really happened."
Rena laughed. "No, it's not." Then she caught herself. "But I can laugh about it now because of… Ryoko. That was her name, right?"
Taro nodded. "Please tell me what happened."
"How is she?"
"I promise to tell you what I know if you tell me what you know."
"Okay. Fair deal." Rena took a deep breath before starting. "I was on the day shift and my mom - she works at the hospital the next town over - mom had to work a double shift cause someone in the E.R. called in sick. Usually she picks me up but not this time, so I had to get my own ride. There's just the one main road out here and I walk it all the time. It's a small town and everybody knows me and they always give me rides. I live about five miles west of here."
"So I left the restaurant and I got to the road and walked maybe a hundred yards when this utility truck passed me and came to a stop. I saw a big wrench on the side and I thought it was Mr. Nishiki - he's the local plumber. But when I hopped in, it wasn't him. It was this other creep. I tried to jump out but the guy hit me on the head - I think it was a wrench - and he nearly knocked me out.
"He drove us up to the Sky Tower Cabins." Rena held out her wrist. "When we got to his cabin, he dragged me by my wrist along the ground. As soon as we got inside, he threw me down on the sofa. Then he hit me again." Rena pointed to her eye. "It's getting better but I still have to wear makeup over it.
"I think he wanted to create some noise, you know, to mask the noise he was going to make. So he turned on the TV. It just had static, so he put the red tape - it was on top - into the VCR and started it. By this time I was getting to the point where I could walk. I tried to get to the door. But he came after me. He caught me by the door and punched me in the stomach - real hard. It knocked all the air out of me. Then he started tearing off my clothes."
"You were still in your work uniform, huh?"
Rena nodded. "Yeah. I was never so scared in my life. I could see it in his eyes. He was going to have his way with me. Then he was going to kill me."
"I don't suppose he decided to kill himself at this point."
"Nu-uh." Rena shook her head. "That was when the girl in the video came out of the TV set. It scared the crap out of me... and the guy, too. He still had the wrench on his belt and he threw it at her. It destroyed the TV tube. But it didn't stop her. 'Who the hell are you?' was the last thing he said."
"What happened next?"
Rena laughed. "The girl in the video took him out."
"Took him out? What do you mean?"
"I mean she took him out like she was taking out the garbage, she made it look so easy. The guy was on his back with a knife in his chest - dead, I mean stone cold dead - in less than a second. It was creepy. And I found out why."
"Why?"
"Like I said, my mom had to work a double shift at the hospital. Well, they brought the guy in - to the hospital - he was DOA of course. But the thing is, he was 'D' before he hit the floor. My mom said they'd never seen anything like it. The knife stroke was perfect. The blade went in horizontal, exactly parallel to the ribs. The blade didn't even nick them - went right in between; straight into the heart. My mom said not even a surgeon could have pulled that off. And especially not a suicide. Even though that's what they ended up calling it."
"So Ryoko scared you?"
"You're damn right she scared me! But I was already pretty scared and now the guy wasn't hurting me anymore, so it was a much better kind of scared." Rena shook her head. "What happened next… well I always thought it was a dream. I don't know. It couldn't be real. Ryoko told me to get my clothes and leave right away. Go home. Don't talk to anybody. Then she disappeared just as the tape popped out of the VCR. And there I was. All alone. With this dead guy on the floor."
"Did you call the police?"
"No. I think I sat there for about an hour. Until the shock wore off, you know? I don't remember. Then I did what the girl told me. I got my clothes and put them on the best I could. Then, I don't know why I did this, but then I took the tape out of the VCR and I put it back in the box. It was my crazy way of putting the girl back in her home. But I still didn't believe she was real."
"You scratched the warning in the box?"
"Yes, I did. With a fork. Just in case. But I didn't tell anyone. It seems so silly now."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"Because Ryoko told me not to. She told me to go home. To not talk to anybody. I made my way back to the road and got a ride home from Mr. Fukabi, the grocer. It was dark and I told him I fell off the berm and hurt myself a little. He bought my story. When I got home, I cleaned up the best I could. My mom ripped on me for not being more careful at night. She bought me a flashlight." Rena laughed. "That's a good one, huh?"
"So nobody knew you were there?"
"Nope. And now that I think back on it, I'm glad I kept it to myself. Just think what that would have done to my reputation. For the rest of my life I'd be the girl with the torn clothes found with the dead guy in the cabin. Who would want to date me, right?"
"So the girl in the video saved your life?"
Rena nodded. "Yes she did. I'm sure of it." Her face took on a satisfied expression. "Like I said. She took out the garbage." Then she smiled. "Okay, I've told you my story - which I'm confident you'll keep to yourself. Now tell me.. how is she doing?"
"Ryoko is fine." Taro chuckled. "And her knife wielding skills are as good as ever." Then Taro told Rena about his friendship with Ryoko Asakura.
