CHAPTER 29
There wasn't a single complacent nor relaxed face at Saitama Central Hospital as the group of girls lingered in the waiting room. Konata, Tsukasa, Minami, Yutaka, Ayano, Patty, and Hiyori all sat in their chairs and felt so helpless and useless as the only thing they could do was sit and wait for news of their friend, Miyuki Takara. It all happened so fast, especially for Konata and Tsukasa. At one point the pink-haired girl was spending the night at Tsukasa's home and twenty-four hours later, she was in the hospital and for all reasons, a violent attack. The idea was so horrid that as they sat in the spacious waiting room, some still couldn't comprehend that there was a "person" alive that was so vile and so depraved that they would beat a girl like Miyuki nearly to death.
Even when Konata turned her head and saw Miyuki's parents sitting closest to the operating room doors and crying, she still could barely believe that something like this had happened. Yukari was a complete mess while her husband tried his best to comfort her until the large doors opened and a middle-aged male doctor walked out while removing his surgical mask. With permission from Miyuki's parents, the girls scooted closer to await the news of their battered friend as the doctor sat down in front of them.
"Well…I must first tell you that your daughter will live." The doctor quickly broke the news everyone was aching for, prompting them to breathe a deep sigh of relief and he continued. "However, we had to put her in a chemically-induced coma so she could sleep through the worst of the pain while she recovers. Your daughter has three broken ribs, a broken nose, a concussion, and it appears to us that whoever attacked Miyuki-san like this, they at one point had her pinned to the ground and they deliberately placed her glasses back on and stomped on them. We were able to remove eight shards of glass from her right eye and four from her left eye but there are still two left in her left. We're going to have to try another surgery soon but for now she needs to recover. Whoever did this also took a disturbing delight in mutating her as one of her molars is missing and based on the wound, we believe it was pulled out with a pair of pliers. Her eyes are what concerns me the most, though."
Yukari gulped as she held her used tissue to her face and stuttered, "What…what does that…mean?"
The doctor inadvertently gulped, telling everyone that it wasn't good news. "It means that…depending on the surgery and…any possible complications…Miyuki-san may lose sight in one or…both of her eyes…permanently."
Yukari abruptly buried her face in her tissue and hands again and began to weep as her husband pulled her closer around her shoulder.
As one of Miyuki's best friends, Konata couldn't help but intervene as the rest of the girls started crying. "Doctor…who could've done this?"
The doctor was reluctant to give his opinion on this criminal-related matter but nonetheless could see how important Miyuki was to this body of people so he did the best he could. "Ma'am, I only know as much as you do about that. The police are still conducting their investigation but I was informed by an officer in the operating room that they completed their search of the Takara household and found no sign of a break-in, meaning it wasn't a robbery gone bad so whoever did it, there is a very high chance that Miyuki-san knew the assailant and willingly let them in the front door."
Konata turned her head away and the doctor continued briefing Miyuki's parents on her condition. The blue-haired girl quickly scanned her group of friends and saw anxiety mixed with suspicion in their eyes. None of them dared to say it, especially with Tsukasa in the room, but they all believed they knew who attacked Miyuki. In their minds this had to have been Kagami's work. Who else could've done it? After what they saw at the intervention and Kagami's mild but still heart-stopping attack on Konata, the twin-tailed Hiiragi was the only viable answer. They also wouldn't admit this but now they all feared for their safety. They believed that this was Kagami's idea of revenge; to pick them all off one at a time. Of course, they were still oblivious to the fact that Kagami was high on an incredibly potent drug when she attacked Miyuki.
Konata glanced back at Tsukasa, who was also listening to the doctor explain everything to her parents. The youngest Hiiragi twin joined Miyuki's parents in their deepening cries when the doctor informed them that Miyuki was going to have to miss her flight to France as a result of her injuries and the lengthy recovery process. In Konata's mind, Tsukasa was the only one who couldn't feel what everyone else was feeling when it came to Kagami. She was the only one who didn't suspect her sister of doing such a horrendous thing to one of her own friends. Was it still blind love for Kagami that hindered her from seeing it, or was she still simply that innocent to the evil Kagami was now embedded in?
The group of friends wanted to see their battered and sleeping friend but regrettably the doctor couldn't allow that as she still wasn't out of the operating room yet and she needed time to heal from it. They left all their gifts for Miyuki with her crying parents and had no choice but to go about their day. How could they though? They not only had to carry on with not only the knowledge that their friend was in a coma after a sadistic beatdown, but they also had to fear for their safety. Kagami was still loose in the streets somewhere and for all they knew, she could be waiting at one of their houses for one of them when they returned.
Because Tsukasa was so used to having someone walk to and from home with her on a daily basis, she still needed someone to do that for her now more than ever after hearing about Miyuki. Konata took command for that as she and Tsukasa were starting to become as close as Tsukasa was to Kagami at one point. The two friends walked side-by-side and Konata did her best to try and keep the conversation off Miyuki and Kagami's possible involvement, but Tsukasa's innocence to it all wouldn't let it go.
"Who could've done such a horrible thing to Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa whimpered with a sniff.
Konata shook her head and ignored her instincts telling her about Kagami for now. "I wish I could tell you, Tsukasa, but I talked to Yui-nee-san and she already told me that the police are on the case and they're looking for whoever did it. It'll only be a matter of time until whoever did it is arrested."
Tsukasa nodded. "I hope so. Yuki-chan is like…another sister to me. If Kagami was here and…herself again…she would make that evil person pay."
The blue-haired girl wanted to sigh out loud but decided to keep beating around the bush. "Look, Tsukasa, I know you still love Kagami and everything, but your sister is different now and she's…not herself."
To Konata's surprise, Tsukasa nodded and responded, "I agree with you, Kona-chan."
Konata tilted her head. "You do?"
Tsukasa nodded again. "I know all of that, but she's still out there somewhere and what if the person who did that to Yuki-chan finds Kagami and does that to her, too?"
This time Konata had no problem in bluntly sighing, which Tsukasa interpreted as an insinuation. "Is there something wrong, Kona-chan?"
"Well, Tsukasa, I actually have a feeling I know who attacked Miyuki…but I don't think you're going to like the answer." Konata replied and averted her eyes.
Tsukasa quickly stopped walking and halted Konata too. "You do, Kona -chan?! Then tell me! Tell me! Tell me who did it so we can go to the police together!"
Konata stared at the youngest Hiiragi girl who now had so much life and vigor in her once crying eyes. As she stared, the short blue-haired girl felt conflicted and confused at the same time. She felt irony in the fact that Tsukasa's innocence was once a huge part of her charm, but now it hindered her from seeing reality. Konata didn't know if she wanted to be the one or if she had to be the one to break through Tsukasa's innocence barrier and tell her just how sick Kagami had become, if not for her own good than for her own safety as well if she ever encountered her again.
She took another deep breath and replied, "I think that it was…Kagami…who did it."
Tsukasa's face suddenly froze. Konata expected her to explode with a sudden emotional outburst of denial but it was quite the opposite initially. Tsukasa simply stood before her with an expression that painted no reaction whatsoever and Konata didn't know what to make of it. Was she angry? Was she upset? The blue-haired girl couldn't tell until Konata's words truly sank into Tsukasa's brain and she replied.
"You…you think…you think it…it was…sis?" Tsukasa wheezed with eyes that were beginning to moisten and her facial muscles began to twitch.
Konata now feared that Tsukasa's reaction was going to be anything but accepting of this harsh possibility but the blue-haired girl knew there was no turning back now as her opinion was now public knowledge. "Yes, Tsukasa, I do believe it was Kagami. Think about it. You saw how she hit me with the picture frame at the intervention and how she reacted when Patty-chan first brought her there. This attack on Miyuki has to be an act of revenge for the intervention."
Tsukasa's breathing deepened until a full-sized tear fell from her eye and she shook her head violently. "No, no, no! It couldn't have been Kagami! Even when she was the way she was she would never do anything like that to Yuki-chan!"
"But Tsukasa, she assaulted you and your entire family before. She even nearly murdered your own mother." Konata tried to keep her friend calm as she knew if she raised her voice it would only add fuel to the fire. "Is it so hard to believe that if Kagami is capable of doing that to her own family that she could also do that to Miyuki?"
Tsukasa quickly covered her ears and turned her back. "No, Kona-chan, you're wrong! My sis would never hurt someone like Yuki-chan! She didn't have anything to do with our family issues so she couldn't have! And besides, if it was really Kagami who did it for revenge, then explain to me why she also didn't attack Minami-chan while she was there! She lives right across the street from her!"
It was this sudden realization that actually stumped Konata because Tsukasa had a point. Minami Iwasaki was just as much an active and willing participant of the intervention as either Tsukasa or even Konata herself was. If Kagami was responsible for Miyuki's current state, then why didn't she simply cross the street and beat down two birds with one stone? Konata thought she had her answer but Tsukasa's skepticism and retort was making her second-guess herself.
"I…I don't have an answer for that, Tsukasa, but if Kagami didn't do that than who else would have a grudge against someone as pure and sweet as Miyuki that would be so bad that they would do that to her?" Konata countered as she crossed her arms across her chest.
Tsukasa turned back and wiped her eyes. "I don't know but I do know that Kagami could never hurt one of her closest friends like that! She's all talk because the drugs are talking for her! The Kagami we all know and love is still inside her but it's buried by so much anguish and despair over Matsuri and Kusakabe-san!"
Konata glanced away and looked back at Tsukasa. "Tsukasa, look, I—"
"I don't want to hear it, Kona-chan!" Tsukasa interrupted anxiously but took a deep breath herself and calmed herself before she said something she would regret like Kagami once did to Matsuri. "Look, I appreciate everything you tried to do for us, but I think what we need now is to take it from here as a family. I think I can make it home on my own from here, Kona-chan, so thank you. I'll text you later."
Tsukasa quickly turned and scurried down the street, leaving the blue-haired girl alone and feeling depressed. Konata slowly shook her head in disappointment, turned, and walked in the opposite direction as the two friends parted company in opposite directions.
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Before Tsukasa made it back to her home, Inori texted her to tell her she was at the market and asked her if she wanted anything. Tsukasa replied no thank you and soon stood on her house's front doorstep while tucking her phone back into her skirt pocket. She felt flustered and stressed from her earlier conversation with Konata about Miyuki and tried her old coping mechanism to try and calm herself. She reached into her blue overalls pocket and retracted the small stuffed puppy Dr. Kishimoto gave her during their first visit with them and she hugged the puppy to her face. She rubbed the plush doll gently across her cheek and soon felt better as she unlocked her front door. As she opened the door and walked in, she didn't notice the window to her left was broken. If she did see it, she would know that someone was in the house and she was walking not into the sanctity of her home, but into deep trouble.
As soon as Tsukasa closed the door behind her, she walked into the foyer and could hear activity coming from inside the kitchen and assumed her parents were home. She walked further in and said, "Mom? Dad?"
Tsukasa rounded the corner and was met with a scene of horror. Her entire home was destroyed. Tables were overturned, windows were smashed, the walls were riddled with axe chops, broken glass and framed family pictures were scattered all over the floors, and all the furniture was also hacked with an axe. The only thing that kept Tsukasa from screaming was when she saw the supposed perpetrator's back. She recognized the twin pigtails of her sister and her sister's back was facing her and she was blasted by a tidal wave of mixed emotions. She didn't know whether to feel scared, relieved that her sister was home, or panic from what happened to her home.
"Kagami! You're home! But what happened here?! Were we robbed?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Do you want me to call the police or an ambulance?!" Tsukasa's wails of hysteria buried the frozen twin-tailed girl and Tsukasa suddenly noticed a pair of pliers in Kagami's hands. "What are those for, sis?"
Kagami remained motionless and staring into space until she slowly turned, revealing the face of a being not of this world. The flesh on her face was pasty white, green and black circles covered her eyes, her eyeballs were riddled with black veins as well as glowing red iris's, and her lips were a disturbing mixture of purple, blue, and black and the skin was peeling off them. Kagami simply stood and looked at her increasingly scared sister until Kagami smiled a teeth-rearing grin.
It wasn't the sudden disturbing smile that made Tsukasa scream in terror. It was when a pint of blood rushed out of Kagami's mouth and splashed on the floor. Kagami's teeth could be seen through the flowing river of blood oozing out of her mouth and Tsukasa kept screaming at the sight.
"Sis! You're hurt! What happened?!" Tsukasa cried as she tightened her grip on her plushy dog.
Kagami started giggling through the blood flowing out of her mouth, making Tsukasa tremble in fear. The twin-tailed girl uttered in a drug-fueled rant, "Thought you could just sneak in here and kill me, did you? Well…so…did…he…"
Kagami pointed to the floor near her boot and when Tsukasa saw the cause of so much blood loss from her sister's mouth, she felt her stomach flip and she was ready to vomit. A human tooth sat in a small puddle of blood on the floor and Tsukasa was able to put the two together. Kagami's drug abuse had reached a point where she was hallucinating and hearing her teeth talk to her, prompting her to grab a pair of pliers and pull one of them out herself.
The squeamish Tsukasa fell to the floor and covered her mouth to prevent a spew and she heard her sister drop the pliers and pick something else up from behind a destroyed piece of furniture. Tsukasa slowly raised her head again and screamed loudly when she saw her sister standing above her with an axe in her hands and was still smiling her bloody smirk. Tsukasa quickly sprung and sat up and began to back up slowly with her hands and feet on the floor as Kagami continued.
"Now, my baby sister, I'm going to have to do something to you now…but don't worry…it's for your own good…" Kagami giggled as she tightened the grip on the bladed tool. "Hold still…and I'll make it quick."
Tsukasa panicked and she started crying relentlessly as she continued to back up. "Sis, please don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! I love you!"
"Tsukasa…baby sister…sissy…my favorite sibling…don't worry…I'm not going to hurt you…I'm just going to kill you!" Kagami screamed, raised the axe, and forced it downward.
Tsukasa backed up enough and spread her legs just in time for the blade to dig into the floor and Tsukasa screamed her lungs dry when she saw the axe cut her plush puppy from Dr. Kishimoto in half. Kagami tried to pry the blade out of the floor but it proved difficult, allowing Tsukasa to scramble to her feet and take off running. Kagami was able to wedge the axe free and began chasing her sister, her mouth still oozing blood. Tsukasa kept screaming as she ran for the staircase and as she climbed, she felt the wind of the axe blow behind her and the crack of it landing in the steps.
Tsukasa suddenly tripped and fell onto the steps and tried to climb up but she felt Kagami's hand suddenly latch onto her foot, making her deepen her cries of terror as she flipped over to see her sister's laughing face with a bloody mouth as she raised her axe high with her other arm. Using her free foot, Tsukasa quickly kicked Kagami in the stomach, knocking her down the steps and to the floor, allowing Tsukasa to climb up the steps and she made a mad dash for her room.
Kagami quickly recovered and carried her axe up the stairs and heard Tsukasa's door slam shut and lock. Inside her room, Tsukasa tried to keep quiet as she trembled and cried but knew it wouldn't make a difference. In the midst of her panic, her childish and innocent mind told her to escape to her bedroom, a place that always offered her protection and comfort instead of making a dash for the front door. She knew she was trapped and tried to think of what to do next.
When she heard Kagami slowly creeping up the stairs, she cowered in the corner of her room away from the door and kept shaking and crying. Kagami's voice echoed in the hallway, "Oh little sis? Little sis? Big sister Kagami wants to play with you…"
Tsukasa's panting reached unprecedented heights as she curled tighter into a ball and kept crying. She started screaming once again when Kagami's axe blade cut into her wooden door. Kagami quickly retracted the blade and chopped again, turning up the volume of Tsukasa's screams and making another piece of the door fall away. The enraged twin-tailed Hiiragi chopped several more times until she created a hole large enough to jam her face through though splinters still lodged themselves in her face and drew blood.
"Peek-a-boo, baby sis!" Kagami screamed and followed it up with a laugh as she chopped one more time, making the rest of the door fall away and the drug-fueled Kagami Hiiragi stepped into her screaming sister's bedroom.
Tsukasa kept trying to back up but she was trapped in her corner as she stayed in her ball and looked up with tear-drenched eyes at her former idol, protector, and big sister slowly approach her with the axe. "Kagami, please don't kill me! Please don't do this! Have mercy! I don't want to die!"
Kagami finally stood above her trembling sister and giggled. "Don't worry, Tsukasa, I'll make it quick. Now hold still and I'll aim for your head!"
The twin-tailed girl tightened her grip on her axe and raised it high again over her head as Tsukasa dug herself further into the floor and held her hands up both as her show of surrender and desire to block the weapon though she knew it was a futile plan. Tsukasa kept screaming and crying for mercy and as Kagami mustered the strength to drive the razor weapon onto her sister, she heard a new pair of footsteps rush up the stairs.
"Kagami, drop the axe! Don't hurt Tsukasa!" Inori's voice screamed with indescribable fury and panic.
Still holding her weapon high above the trembling and crying Tsukasa curled in a ball, Kagami slowly turned around and looked at her sister standing in the open doorway and in a state of shock and fear. Already she was sweating and panting with her eyes leaking tears at the sheer insanity that Kagami had unleashed onto the Hiiragi household. Worst of all Inori could still see Tsukasa with a look of fear that she would only see in her worst nightmare. Of course, she was in the midst of such a nightmare.
Kagami reformed her blood-soaked smile and slowly lowered her weapon. "Even better…this will be payback for the fucking frying pan…"
Kagami suddenly charged Inori while swinging the axe. Inori shrieked and ducked just in time for the blade to miss her and dig deep into the doorframe. The oldest Hiiragi sister was now in a serious dilemma. She had either a choice of either letting her crazed sister chase her with an axe, or flee for her life while risking Kagami turning around to finish Tsukasa. Her sisterly instincts took hold and she tried to keep Kagami's interest in chasing her alive by staying close as Kagami finally pulled the axe out of the doorframe.
Inori rushed down the stairs as Kagami gave chase with her weapon and laughing every step of the way. The two siblings reemerged in the destroyed kitchen and living room and Kagami and Inori faced off. As terrified as Inori was when she turned and faced her drugged sister bleeding and holding the axe, Kagami seemed to be having the time of her life. Her laugh was disturbing yet it somehow seemed genuine and not forced.
"Kagami, calm down! What's wrong?! Please stop destroying our home! Stop! Stop!" Inori cried the last two words as Kagami swung her axe in a seemingly taunting display.
"Oh come now, big sis!" Kagami spat more blood out. "I'm only playing a game! It's called how many chops does it take to get to the center of your guts!"
"Snap out of it, Kagami! You're high and I know it's not you that's doing this!" Inori shouted as she continued to back up.
"I am doing this, Inori! I have become the darkest shadow of the night!" Kagami screamed so loudly it was barely audible.
As Kagami readied herself to charge without holding back, a man's voice called her name. She quickly turned and saw Tadao Hiiragi had come home and he presented a look of fear that mirrored Inori's. He held out his hand and tried to get her to drop the axe but it was no use. The Kagami Hiiragi he remembered holding in his arms after her birth eighteen years ago was gone and replaced by a creature of unparalleled hate and anger.
"Eat this!" Kagami screamed and to everyone's further horror, she threw the axe with all her might and the bladed weapon spun towards her own father.
Tadao was running on his own adrenaline and was barely able to jump out of the way and he felt the wind of the axe blow past him. The blade sunk deep into the wooden wall of the house and Kagami was left in the open without her weapon. Of course, that still didn't stop her drug-fueled rampage. She shrieked loudly again as if it was her own battle cry and never ceasing to amaze everyone, Kagami made a mad sprint for the nearest window and jumped.
Her bodyweight shattered the glass and she plummeted onto the backyard but the drugs hindered her from feeling the glass slice her skin open. She quickly stood, turned back and looked at her petrified sister and father, and made a dash for the small fence while giggling every step of the way. She jumped over the small fence and kept running despite her bleeding and soon disappeared, leaving both their home and their hearts in shambles.
Miki Hiiragi abruptly swooped into the house following her husband and cried, "Where's Tsukasa?!"
"In her room!" Inori cried back.
Miki wasted no time in running upstairs, her heart pounding every step of the way. She nearly screamed when she saw the condition of her daughter's bedroom door but when she rushed in and saw Tsukasa was still alive and physically undamaged, she breathed deeply and swooped in. She dropped herself next to Tsukasa, who was still curled in a ball and shaking, crying, and whimpering.
"My baby, my baby, are you hurt?" Miki whispered as she cuddled her youngest daughter.
Tsukasa was in a state of shock over what just transpired here and it broke Miki's heart to feel her daughter shake like a rattle. "Mo…mom…mommy…I…I…I think I…had an…accident. I'm…I'm sorry I…wet myself…"
Miki softly shushed Tsukasa as she continued to cry in her lap. "It's okay, sweetheart, it's okay. Mommy's here, now. Mommy's here now."
As Tsukasa nestled her crying face in the sanctuary of her mother's bosom, Miki feared that in lieu of this horrifying and unexpected ambush by Kagami, not only their family, but especially their youngest daughter was about to have many, many more appointments with Dr. Nagisa Kishimoto. For now, all Miki could do was continue to rock Tsukasa in her arms as she cried in heartbreaking fear of the one who was once her idol and best friend who tried to take her life in the most sadistic way imaginable. Little did anyone know that Tsukasa's pain and mental destruction at the hands of Kagami Hiiragi was still far from over, as was Kagami's decline into disparity and ruin.