Chapter 24

I passed through a line between the black-clothed guys and Mink's men and ran full speed to the door father inside. I open the door and go outside. In front of me is a parking lot space, a car, and black colored van that had been parked.

Around it stands a crowd of people in black clothing. Three people come out of the back seat and move towards the open van. I see the person in the middle…and yell out without thinking.

"Granny!"

That small silhouette, being restrained on both sides and forced to walk is undoubtedly Granny!

The black-clothed men notice me and begin to run towards me.

"…Wait."

A single person calls for them to stop. I can't see his face because of his hood.

The hooded person comes closer to me, but keeps a small distance and stops. He pulls down his hood slowly with both hands.

I look at the face under the hood, and…

My heart stops.

"…!?"

"I almost didn't think you'd come all the way out here. That's just like you, Aoba."

"Mizuki…You, why…To Granny…" I'm too shocked to speak as Mizuki stares at me. He shows off an almost superficial smile.

"I waited for the guys I sent to find you, but for you to come all the way here…I wonder if they were caught?"

…No way.

This isn't the face of the Mizuki I know. And he's saying all of these things with that horrible smile.

"What…happened to you? Both Koujaku and I were so worried when Dry Juice just disappeared…" I desperately asked him.

"Ah, that, huh? Listen, Aoba. It's amazing. We were reborn as members of Morphine."

"Morphine…?"

"Yeah. That legendary team, you know, that one? They're not just some group in Rib. Being in Morphine is like being Gods."

"…Are you serious?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course I am. Did you think I was joking? Dry Juice is now an absolute being. I'm saying that now, no other team could possibly pass Morphine. Haha, hahahahaha!" Mizuki starts to laugh with a huge smile on his face.

I can't believe he's wearing such a disturbing expression. The surrounding members don't move a muscle. Does everyone here have those doll-like eyes? Is someone controlling them…?

"Mizuki, open up your eyes already. This is nuts!"

"Huh? What're you saying? You're the weird one, Aoba." Mizuki said "You never once accepted an invitation to any team. I was calling out to you with all seriousness, you know? Did you think that Rib was just something stupid to play?"

"Of course not!" I yelled.

"Then why didn't you join a team? You knew that I was always serious about it."

"…"

"Aoba, it's not too late. And I'll even offer you a high ranked position. Become a comrade of the reborn Dry Juice."

"…Never."

I know Mizuki is completely serious when it comes to Rib. And that's why I always was as stern as possible when answering him. He's being strange right now. He's not someone who would say these things.

Mizuki listens to me with that distorted smile on his face, and soon he lets out another eerie smile. "…Oh, really. I see. Whatever. I have a good idea, anyway. Aoba, you really lover your grandma, don't you?"

"!"

Mizuki grabs Granny, puts her in a hold, and then puts something to her neck.

…It's a knife.

I can feel the sweat drip down my back.

"…Mizuki, stop this."

"I will if you join my team."

"…Nguh!"

Granny's face becomes stiff and she closes her eyes. Seeing her put on an expression of acceptance, I quickly become even more impatient.

"Let go of her." I demanded clenching my fists.

"You really don't get it, do you? I already told you. Become a part of our team."

"I said I won't."

"Huh?" The irritation starts to show on Mizuki's face. "You think I'm just bluffing? That I'm all talk?...Fine then I'll start."

"Hey…"

"Don't regret it afterwards, after all, you're the one who didn't choose to join me."

"Hey, Mizuki! Stop!" I yelled desperately as Mizuki pushes the tip of the knife to Granny's throat.

No…

Stop…

Granny…

Granny!

"…!" My legs start running on their own. I grab onto Mizuki and look into his eyes…

…And then.

BA-DUMP

…Suddenly, my vision starts to go blurry. I've felt this sensation somewhere before…

That's right, this…

…In Rhyme. The sensation I felt when I was fighting Noiz.

…No.

I've know it from even longer ago. Much longer…A long time ago…

BA-DUMP

BA-DUMP

BA-DUMP

BA-DUMP

…

Wha…t…?

This is…This is Mizuki's shop.

But it's a little different.

Inside it are countless customers, more than it's ever had before. But every one of them…

They're all missing a face.

Only bright red, slimy mouths were wriggling with a joyful giggle to them. And even more so, I could hear what everyone was saying, word for word.

"Eh, Rib is so out of style!"

"Yeah, Rhyme is so much better."

"Everyone doing it is dropping dead."

"Yeah, Rib is gonna be dead soon, right?"

"People are just gonna do Rhyme from now on."

"Rib is gonna be out of the picture."

"…guh…" All the rustling voices jumble up my mind. They're so unbearably loud. "Wha-What is this…!?" This can't be real. Then, is this a dream? Am I dreaming…? But…this sensation. It's like the time when I was pulled into Rhyme.

From a long time ago…

"…" I try to think of something, anything to get these voices out of my head.

Shut up, shut up…

My head hurts.

The voices are giving me a horrible headache.

Shit…!

I'm going to go crazy…!

I feel an unusual heat in both my hands and ears, and something starts to pour out.

"…?" It's black, slimy liquid, like tar. In the liquid there were a bunch of katakana and hiragana characters mixed together. Just floating there.

This…

"!"

Some of the words are coming into my mind…!? The black liquid begins to fill my ears, and they suddenly become heavy. All the dead words are squeezing together, and both of my ears are overflowing…

"What's going on…"

If this is a dream, I want to wake up soon. But this feels so real. If this was a dream…It doesn't matter, I have to get out of here or else. As I search for the entrance, I suddenly feel someone's gaze on me.

Right now…Is someone watching me?

When I turn around, I pass a familiar face.

…A face. They have a face.

Although it was featureless, this one had a face.

"…Keh!" I start running after him.

The man with the featureless face suddenly stops speaking, and I push through the crowd with both hands towards the inside of the shop. This place is a tattoo parlor. I open the door and enter.

…The place through the door was Dry Juice's HQ.

Why?

They should've been in here.

It looks like the entire place has been vacated…

"!" On the staircase where Dry Juice's tag was drawn, the guy I just saw earlier comes over, holding his head down. I slowly walk up to him. I don't know what will happen. But I understand who he is. "…Mizuki."

Mizuki slowly raises his head. He looks distraught, as if he was about to cry. "Aoba…Help me, Aoba." Suddenly, the tag art turns black and blood is splashed everywhere.

"What happened to you…?" I asked.

"I don't know what I should do."

"What..?"

"About Dry Juice." Mizuki said. "Rib is so fun, and I love it so much…That's why I'm always thinking seriously about Dry Juice. What kind of team we need to be so everyone enjoys it, so no one ever comes to hate it. I've been thinking about how to do that. I was thinking of how we could make it seem like we were family."

"I understand." I said "That's why Dry Juice became the largest team."

"But…That's just not good enough anymore." Mizuki hangs his head in frustration, balling fists with his hands. "Rhyme's becoming so popular that it's not working anymore. Everyone is losing interest in Rib, it was like a dream from the past…And they just throw it away like that. In the end, both Rib and Rhyme are just games. People always like new and fun things more. But I…Both Rib and Dry Juice, they were so important to me that I didn't want to let go of them! That's why getting serious about it was stupid, but I couldn't just let go of it so quickly. Our members are steadily moving over to Rhyme, and we aren't getting many new recruits… All the effort I put into friendships I made are crumbling away."

It pains me to watch Mizuki say these things while looking so miserable…I clench my teeth. I know that Mizuki holds Dry Juice very close to him. But for him to brood like this is…

I've been close to him for a long time, but I've never noticed how much he was hurting inside. It makes me so frustrated to realize I've been so weak. If only I could talk about personal things like that with Mizuki…

"It bothered me every day, but I couldn't figure out what to do about it. And then I met a guy that said he was a Morphine member."

"Morphine…" I mutter.

"Since Dry Juice was the best team out there, I didn't join Morphine. At the start, he was suspicious as hell, and said what I was thinking all the time. But then I met more members from Morphine…and eventually I thought it was okay. If they knew I became a member of Morphine, then everyone wouldn't go to Rhyme instead. And that I could finally boast about Dry Juice again."

"Then you really entered Morphine…" I said.

"Yeah. But that was a huge mistake. Morphine wasn't what I thought it was. Morphine, they're…"

"Ugh…"

"You know, Mizuki…"

"No…You're lying…Dry Juice finally became a part of Morphine, isn't that what I told you!? But why… Don't mess with me…. Damn it… ! …Ugaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Mizuki's facial expression suddenly changes. Holding on to his stomach in pain, he falls to the ground on his knees.

"Mizuki?" I called out to him in worry.

"Ugh, urghh, aaaaahhhhh…." Mizuki tilts his head upward as if it was tearing apart. His eyes turn in every direction, and he opens his mouth to let out a hoarse scream. Large amounts of sweat drop from his chin and pool on the ground.

"Hey, Mizuki!"

"Aggggghhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Mizuki!" I rush over to Mizuki and grab hold of his shoulders. "…!?"

What?

What's going on? Just now…

"…!" My head hurts… I can see something. These images…

These…memories.

These are…

My…

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"…Mizuki!"