怪獣の放出 / Kaijuu no Houshutsu / Unleashed Beasts

第５章 (Chapter 5)

Slightly embarrassed, Tsuki held Kirai up for a few seconds until Kirai said it was fine to put her down now. Kirai asked, "Was... my weight... normal?" Tsuki looked to the side and said, "Well, yeah, I suppose. Or at least, you were as heavy as I expected you to be." Kirai thought about this and came to the conclusion that this gravity chousen reduced the weight of objects greatly as long as they were inorganic.

Tsuki got up and said, "Well, that seems to be all the problem I had," and she led Kirai back outside. It was still before noon, around 11:12 AM. Tsuki thanked Kirai for coming by and investigating. Kirai nodded her head in humbleness and began walking to Fred's house.

She now suspected Fred of something.

- - -

When she got to Frederick's house, she knocked on the door, with four knocks. Nobody answered.

Kirai looked in the window. The living room was a mess. There was a blanket falling off the couch, a glass bottle was shattered on the floor next to it, the table was uneven, and the couches were ripped, the stuffing spewing out the rips. Kirai wondered how on earth a human could have done something like this.

She turned the doorknob. It was unlocked, so she came in. There was even more of a mess inside than she thought. There were torn clothes in a pile in the corner, another pile of shattered glass, and the carpet was wet. The room smelled like a hospital.

Just past the living room, a doorway led into another hall she hadn't been in before. At the end of the hall, a shut door stood. Kirai opened the door. There, the man lay in bed. He was shaking uncontrollably, trembling. He was mumbling.

Kirai ran over to his side and asked, "What... happened?"

"...nd ther...wasn't... it search...it can't find... but..."

He was speaking in English. Kirai couldn't understand what he was saying, but she tried to speak what little bit of English she knew, saying "Eeehh... eet ees... aau rlaito." She was trying to say "It is alright," but her Japanese accent was greatly apparent. Fred looked up and saw Kirai for the first time.

"You... you're not going to... are you?" Again, his words were English.

"watashi wa... wakarimasen." Kirai spoke in her native language saying, "I don't understand." Fred switched to Japanese and grabbed Kirai by the shoulders.

His face was wreathed with sweat, and his eyes full of horror and fear, like he was face-to-face with his killer. His expression indicated that he has undergone a traumatic experience within the past 24 hours.

Fred began saying in a panicked manner, "I have... have seen... I have seen it, it was... It was not... It wants... I-It... It's searching for me... I-I can't es... escape it! I... don't... You... Your name, Kirai? You're the one who... You're going to... It's going to... Y-y-you... It... won't... I..."

His eyes rolled up and closed and he passed out, releasing the grip on Kirai. Kirai looked him in the face as he was unconscious. She had no expression. She had no worry or regrets for the man. She fixed his position in the bed and covered him with blankets so he could sleep. She cleared a path in the mess in the room. After finding a piece of paper and a pencil, she left a note on his desk and left, shutting the door.

Right next to the exit of the bedroom, there was the entrance to the basement. It was dark and menacing,  and it seemed to call Kirai toward it. There was something about the basement that Kirai wanted to see. Kirai looked behind her subtly but menacingly, and began to walk quietly down the steps.