Before showering, Shiki placed the towel he had taken from the hook beside the wardrobe on the steel bar above the right side of the bathroom door. Then, he stepped into the shower area on the left side of the steel bar to take a shower. He then pulled the shower curtain closed. Shiki turned the faucet in front of him to the right with his right hand, and water started spraying from the showerhead above. After a minute, when his whole body was wet, he held out his left hand under the top of the soap dispenser beside him and pressed the top of the dispenser with his right hand. When the soap fell onto his left hand, Shiki lathered it all over his body.
'.......' Shiki sighed.
"I used to think my life was disappointing... but now it's even worse... I want to tell Aoi, but I don't want to put her in danger again..." Shiki said this and then leaned his hand against the wall in front of him, looking down at the floor with his head bowed.
At that moment, the strange 8-inch long gash-shaped scar that had inexplicably appeared on Shiki's back gradually disappeared.
After showering, Shiki pushed the shower curtain to the right and stepped out. Then, he grabbed the towel he had placed on the steel bar earlier and dried his body. He then wrapped the towel around his lower body. He pulled the bathroom door open to the left with his hand and came out of the bathroom. Then, he went into his bedroom, walked towards the wardrobe, and pulled the double doors open. He then took a white shirt with a blue crescent moon design and a pair of folded black shorts from the hangers inside the wardrobe and put them on. He then closed the wardrobe doors and came out to the living room to eat the instant noodles that Aoi had prepared for him at the table. Within seconds of Shiki leaving his bedroom, the lights in Shiki's bedroom suddenly flickered strangely and went out, and Shiki's shadow didn't follow him but stayed behind, standing and watching Shiki.
When Shiki reached the table in the living room, a bowl of delicious and fragrant instant noodles was already set on the table. Aoi was sitting on the left side of the sofa, watching TV and eating her own bowl of instant noodles.
"The corpse was brutally dismembered and dumped on the riverbank under the overpass. The identity of the deceased is still unknown. The cleanly severed parts suggest that the perpetrator is quite skilled and may be a butcher," the TV news reported.
Shiki looked at the news and then turned to Aoi. However, Aoi continued to eat her noodles.
"Aren't you disgusted eating while watching that?" Shiki asked Aoi.
"Not at all. I've seen things like this in movies all the time. I'm even used to it," Aoi replied to Shiki's question, pausing her eating for a moment.
"But still, the murderer is so cruel. They dismembered a person like it was nothing and just dumped them... And dumping them in a public place like that probably means they wanted people to see it," Aoi said to Shiki.
"....... Yeah, you're right..." Shiki replied to Aoi after a moment of silence.
Shiki fell silent because the way the corpse was dismembered reminded him of the body parts of Aoi and the man scattered on the ground in the alley behind the apartment building that Shiki had seen a few days ago. Shiki knew that this murderer was the one who killed Aoi.
Why is he going around killing people like that? He kills a person's life like it's an animal and throws them away like trash... What a cruel and wicked bastard, Shiki thought.
Then, Shiki sat down on the right side of the sofa and picked up the chopsticks placed beside the bowl of instant noodles that Aoi had made for him and started eating.
"How is it? Is it good?" Aoi asked Shiki with a beautiful smile.
"..... Of course. It's the best, the absolute best instant noodles in the world," Shiki replied to Aoi while eating.
"That's right!" Aoi replied to Shiki.
I have to protect that beautiful smile with all my might, Shiki thought while eating.
After both of them finished eating, it was 7:25 PM. Shiki got up from the sofa and took his and Aoi's empty noodle bowls.
"I'll go wash these."
"You're so good, my dear Shiki."
"Of course!"
After they both laughed, Shiki put the bowls in the sink in the kitchen and turned on the faucet beside it, starting to wash the basked
After washing the bowls, Shiki took out two small cups to make coffee. Then, he turned to Aoi and asked,
"Do you want some coffee, Aoi?"
"Yes, please."
Shiki made two cups of coffee and brought them to the sofa where Aoi was. Then, he handed one cup to Aoi.
"Here you go..." Shiki offered the coffee to Aoi.
Aoi carefully took the coffee from Shiki.
Then, she inhaled the fragrant aroma of the coffee Shiki had made and took a sip.
"It still tastes as good as usual," Aoi said to Shiki.
"I have the ability to make any food taste good for Aoi," Shiki said to Aoi.
"That's my little chef," Aoi said with a soft laugh and a smile.
Shiki also smiled back at Aoi. However, Shiki was still very worried about Aoi in his heart. The news from earlier made Shiki even more worried and anxious about Aoi.
"Aoi... are you really going back to sleep in your room tonight?" Shiki asked Aoi with worried eyes.
"... Yes... Since Shiki is feeling better now, I should go back to sleeping in my own room... Why...? Do you want me to keep sleeping in Shiki's room?" Aoi noticed Shiki's worried expression but didn't know why. So, Aoi asked back with a teasing tone to lighten Shiki's mood.
"Yes... please continue sleeping in my room tonight," Shiki said, looking directly into Aoi's eyes, even though he knew Aoi was teasing him to lighten his mood.
"... Alright then.... If Shiki wants me to." Aoi gradually understood the depth of Shiki's worry.
Shiki is worried that something might happen to me... Did something happen on the day he collapsed in the rain...? Aoi wondered.
I know Aoi noticed and understood my worry... That's why she immediately agreed to my request... Ever since that day, my nights have been like skipping a chapter in a story... I don't know what will happen tonight either, so I have to protect Aoi with my life... Shiki thought.
"I'll go and prepare the bed then. Let's watch TV for a bit longer... What do you want to watch?" Shiki asked Aoi.
"Anything is fine... I'll watch whatever Shiki wants to," Aoi replied to Shiki.
"Okay...."
Then, Shiki and Aoi sat together on the sofa and happily watched a movie, laughing together.
However, Shiki's anxiety didn't lessen.
After the movie, Aoi was asleep on the sofa, her head resting on Shiki's left shoulder.
"...... Good night....."
Shiki gently carried Aoi like a princess and took her to his bedroom. He then gently laid Aoi down on his bed, which he had already prepared. He then covered Aoi with a blanket. After that, Shiki sat down beside the bed, bending his right leg and stretching his left leg forward, leaning against the bed. Shiki held Aoi's left hand with his left hand.
After quite some time, Shiki started to feel drowsy.
"No... I... If I fall asleep, I won't know what will happen tonight... I have to protect Aoi..."
Even though Shiki tried to stay awake, something terrifying happened. The light in the bedroom suddenly flickered and then went out.
"Huh! My light was perfectly fine, what happened...?"
However, the moonlight from the sky streamed into the room through the window. In this dim light, Shiki's shadow gradually grew larger. The shadow became terrifyingly dark. Shiki was drowsy and didn't look at himself carefully. His own shadow gradually grew larger and deeper and started to devour his body from the bottom up. Dark glitches appeared on Shiki's body, and the large shadow devoured Shiki's body in a matter of seconds. Shiki didn't even realize what had happened to him.
Suddenly, in Shiki's dizzy vision, someone appeared in a place that shouldn't have been his bedroom.
Huh... this... where is this...? Shiki was so dizzy that he couldn't even think clearly.
Then, the unknown person started to speak.
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that a being like you existed in this world."
The person's voice was very deep, and it was definitely a man. The man was wearing a shrine priest's kimono and carrying a long sword. He was about the same height as Shiki. The man's hair was also a very dark black, just like Shiki's hair. However, Shiki couldn't see the man's eyes and face clearly.
"You are a bloodthirsty creature.... I will not allow you to harm people anymore."
You... what are you talking about...? I don't understand anything you're saying...... Shiki wanted to say this, but he couldn't even open his mouth slightly.
The man held his long sword and ran towards Shiki. Shiki suddenly glanced to the side and noticed that they were near a riverbank. However, Shiki was very dizzy and fell backward, sitting down. Then, he felt himself press down on something wet. So, when he turned around, Shiki saw brutally dismembered human body parts.
Shiki was very shocked, and as he faced those things, the man came from behind and slashed Shiki's back with his long sword.