How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster (20 page)
Read How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster Online
Authors: M.C Queen
Tags: #love, #horror, #humor, #fantasy, #hot, #teen, #free, #monsters, #guys, #free download
lip. “I'm sorry, but I'm very busy Daisuke.”
“
Oh,” I stared down at the ground. “I understand.”
out his hand to pat me on the shoulder, but he suddenly stopped
midway and returned his hand to his side, like he didn't want to
touch me. “It's alright, you'll learn it with time,” he said
quickly before fleeing back into his room.
“
It's alright, you'll learn it with
time,
” I mocked before punching the
corridor wall. It left a small dent and I had to quickly flee
before anyone saw me.
incident Akito asked to see my back a few times (he claimed he was
looking for signs of an Obake attack) but he only stared at the
scars and continued to look puzzled. He also took a few pictures to
send to a friend who was apparently an expert.
I still
couldn't comprehend what his problem was. The only plausible theory
I had come up with was that he was still secretly in love with Sis,
and her sudden reappearance was causing him anguish. Maybe I was a
constant reminder of his pain. I was unsure how to ask without
causing suspicion and making him flee, but I decided to be direct
and ask while he was eating lunch.
“
So Akito,” I said from the kitchen doorway. “I heard that you
and Sis were going to get married but she dumped you for a guy
called Keigo. I know it was a long time ago, but I was wondering if
her sudden re-appearance is making you feel depressed.”
soup from his instant noodles all over the table. “No of course
not!” He coughed. “What gave you that impression?”
“
I don't know, “ I shrugged. “But if I were you I'd be pretty
angry.”
“
I have to admit there was a time when I was quite upset about
the whole affair,” he whipped out a tissue and began wiping up.
“But then she was dumped for someone else.” His face broke out into
a manic grin and I've come to realize that Akito can be quite
vindictive when he wants to be.
made up another lame excuse about having to study or run an errand
(Akito's excuses were all so lame that they've blended together in
my head) and he disappeared. I wondered off into one of the empty
rooms to mull over how much my life currently sucked.
I sat on the
tatami mat and stared at the ceiling. There were signs of water
damage and spots of mold in the corner. I hadn't noticed before,
but it suddenly hit me that headquarters was pretty old and
decrepit. The wallpaper was pealing off and the paint was chipped
in several areas. The place seemed new and cool when I first
arrived, but I suddenly realized it was just a decrepit house full
of moody teens and their lame teacher. I was beginning to have real
doubts about whether I wanted to spend the rest of my life as an
exorcist.
“
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,” I said to myself. I
could have been, and I should have been, doing all the fun stuff
that regular teens did. Like hanging out at the mall or playing
video games.
“
This sucks,” I muttered.
Patter patter patter
, came the sound
of small footsteps up the hall and the sliding door flew open with
a bang. I looked up to yell at the guy who had disturbed by angst,
only to find my five year old niece Hikaru staring back at me. Her
smiling face was enough to melt away all my sorrows.
“
Dai-chan!” She cried.
“
Hikaru-chan!” I yelled back.
“
Dai-chan!”
“
Hikaru-chan!”
continued until I gave in and picked her up. Hikaru then began
telling me about her day, and how difficult it was to do homework
when she was too busy eating dinner or taking a bath.
As soon as I
placed her down, Hikaru grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside
while demanding that we play tag immediately.
I chased her
around the garden pretending to be a ghost who would turn her
upside down when she was caught. This may sound mean, but Hikaru
thinks it's awesome and always pestered me to play when I was busy
doing homework.
Sis was
casually chatting with Akito on the verandah. I'm sure my sister
thought it was a casual conversation, but from my perspective it
look more like she was interrogating Akito about my recent
progress.
I pretended
that I was immersed in play, but I was actually listening in. I
gained so much insightful information last time I eavesdropped, so
I thought it was my chance to discover what was really going on
with Akito. Most of what they were saying was pretty boring, like
the weather, and how this summer was going to be hotter than the
last. It didn't sound like he was still harboring a secret crush on
my sister, and I almost gave up until Akito said something that
made my ears prick.
“
Kanako, there's something we need to talk about,” said
Akito.
“
Hmm, what's the matter?” My sister asked.
“
It's about,” he stopped to look at Hikaru and I. I stared
back at him until I realized the best thing to do would be to
appear oblivious, and I went back to playing with my niece. I hoped
it was the revelation I'd been waiting for. I couldn't help but
assume that he'd discovered the truth about my parents, and now
held all the answers to my mysterious past. Unfortunately, what
came next was only disappointment.
“
Maybe it can wait for another time,” he said.
could have gotten any worse it would have suddenly hit rock bottom,
but his words gave me a renewed sense of hope. There was something
about Akito's tone of voice and recent behavior which left me
convinced there was something about my past he wasn't telling me.
He had to know something. Akito liked to pretend that he was cold
and aloof, but the man was as translucent as plastic wrap.
I was
determined to confront him. I slept over the following night, but
Akito was out on errands so my efforts were in vain. Luckily I
still had Itsuki who would listen to me moan about my
problems.
“
I know he's hiding something,” I said while pacing around
Itsuki's room. The great thing about us being friends was that I
could now stay over in his bedroom instead of being squished in
with the others.
“
Maybe,” said Itsuki while he was bent over his desk studying.
The guy obviously hadn't given up his dream to get into a good
school. “I don't know why you're pushing so much, sometimes it's
better if you don't know.”
“
So you're saying it could be bad news? Like they already died
in a terrible accident?”
“
Well..” his voice trailed off.
“
Oh no, my parents are dead!” I flung myself dramatically on
to the bed which creaked under my weight. “I'm an orphan! I'm just
like those children in all the miserable fairy-tales!”
“
But haven't you already spent the last ten years assuming
they were dead,” said Itsuki's voice of reason.
“
Oh yes,” I suddenly didn't feel so
depressed. “I suppose that's true.
But I need to
know
,” I rolled over and began punching his
pillow out of anxiety. “This feeling is killing me. The truth may
be out there just beyond my fingertips.”
“
There's nothing we can do right now,” said Itsuki as he
closed his books and placed them back on his shelf. “We just have
to wait until Akito gets back.”
“
Hmpth,”
I fumed. I rolled off his bed
and on to my futon which had been placed neatly on the floor beside
it.
“
I'm turning the light off,” said Itsuki.
“
Errrr,
” I
groaned. I could already feel sleep begin to overtake me as soon as
my head hit the pillow. There was a click of Itsuki pulling the
light string, and the room was plunged into darkness. There were no
houses or street lights nearby, so whenever the lights went out it
was pitch black. I no longer had the light of Taisei texting to act
as a night-light, and it was difficult to shake my feelings of
fear. The darkness reminded me of the day Grandpa locked me away,
but I quickly fell into a dreamless sleep before I could spend time
dwelling on the past. I never stopped to consider how that night
would be my last.
Chapter
20
swore that I was awoken by a voice calling my name from outside
Itsuki's window.
“
Daisuke Matsumoto, Daisuke
Matsumoto,”
It called out to me like the wind. I was too tired to
understand its true form, and by morning I had dismissed it as a
dream.
Little
did I know that my approaching death was out there attempting to
communicate with me.
have been in a particularly good mood, and I walked into the
kitchen for breakfast only to discover him grinning from ear to
ear.
“
Good morning,” he called out as I entered, and I realized
that maybe his days of treating me like the plague were finally
over. He must have also been attempting a peace-offering with the
others and I, because he brought us all lunch for school. A small
pile of several department style bento boxes sat stacked up on the
table.
“
Wow, this looks like expensive shit!” Said Kiyori while
staring at the food through the plastic wrap. Akito had to slap
Kiyori's hand away to prevent him from eating one for
breakfast.
“
Here you go Daisuke,” said Akito as he handed over the packed
lunch and patted me on the shoulder. His hand lingered for a moment
and I expected him to soon pull away, but before I knew it Akito
was grabbing onto my shoulder with so much strength that I almost
cried out in pain. I looked up to ask why he was attempting to
break my arm before I realized that his face was deathly
pale.
“
What? What is it Akito?” I asked nervously.
“
Just stay still for a moment,” he hissed.
staring in fear at something outside the window. I turned around
and squinted to see what could be so horrifying, but I could see
nothing but trees.
“
Is there something there Akito?” I asked.
to stare intensely for a moment, before his face relaxed and he
finally let go. “No, it was just my imagination,” he sighed and
shook his head. “Hurry up and get to school, your sister will scold
me if you're late. You need to get your homework organized before
we start training again.”
My face almost broke out into a smile, but then I quickly
remembered all the other times Akito told me we were going to do
something awesome, but then it turned out to be lame.
“
Are you serious
?”
I asked sceptically. “Are we really going to begin training
again?”
“
Of course,” Akito replied. “It's time for you to stop
slacking off and start hitting the books again.”
those words would have been enough to make me grind my teeth and
scream, but instead I was overwhelmed with joy. I raised my arms
and yelled "finally!" Through the halls of headquarters like I had
just won a marathon. Even Kiyori sticking his foot out to trip me
couldn't ruin my happiness.
eventful happened at school that day so I won't bore you with the
details. Things only began sliding down hill once the final bell
rang. Taisei recently got his motorcycle license and somehow
convinced Akito to use exorcist funds to buy a scooter. Taisei
claimed it would be useful for tracking Obake in a hurry, but he
only used it to commute to school. He also liked to sit on it after
class and wave at any girl who passed by.
All the
exorcists and I stared in awe as Taisei jumped on. I used to see
him practice every morning while staring at his reflection in the
windows.
“
Come on Kurumi, I'll give you a ride back?” He said while
throwing her his spare helmet. He leaned casually over the
handlebars and attempted to appear as suave as possible. I was a
pretty suave guy myself so I could see what he was
doing.
“
OK,” shrugged Kurumi as she hopped on to the back and wrapped
her arms around Taisei's waist.
“
What about me?” Asked Mana.
“
You have Itsuki to go home with,” said Taisei.
“
But Itsuki has Judo practice,” she pouted.
“
So, just wait until he's finished or catch the
bus.”
“
But I watched last week, it's all just a bunch of grunting
and moaning.”
“
Hey can I go to Judo practice,” I asked, it sounded like
fun.
“
Just sort it out yourself!” Taisei yelled as he hit the
accelerator and drove off into the distance.
“
Taisei you arsehole!” Yelled Mana as she stamped her foot and
continued to yell out profanities.
that Nina was also staring at them as they drove off into the
distance. Her eyes were full of longing, and I couldn't help but
wonder if she also wanted a ride home.
“
Come on, let's go back,” said Kiyori as he turned to
leave.
eyes momentarily to Kiyori, but when I turned back to Nina she'd
suddenly vanished. I looked around frantically and caught a glance
of her dashing behind the school building.
