"Saeko, you and Rei take Dr. Shizuka outside," said Mr. Takagi, turning with quiet authority to his daughter.
Takagi Saya hesitated. Her expression flickered as she glanced between her father, her mother, and finally Saeko Busujima. In her mind's eye, Kevin Cross appeared his image vivid and unwavering. Then came the memory of how close Saeko had been to him, how naturally their gestures had flowed. A pang of jealousy twisted in her chest.
She lowered her head, ashamed of her thoughts. Still, she stood and grasped Dr. Shizuka Marikawa by the arm, helping Rei Miyamoto lead her toward the door.
"Let me go! Let go of me, Rei! Saya! You can't just let me go!"
Though Dr. Marikawa was an adult, she had never been athletic burdened, too, by her physique. She had little strength to resist. Rei, on the other hand, though still a teenager, had trained as the ace of the school's rifle club. Her grip was steady and strong. With Saya's help, they managed to drag Dr. Marikawa toward the hallway.
Mr. and Mrs. Takagi also rose, preparing to leave the room.
Takagi Soichiro gave a firm pat on the shoulder of a man standing beside him. "Kenjiro, I leave her to you."
"Yes, Mr. Takagi! You can count on me!" The young man replied with a flicker of excitement in his eyes as he looked at Saeko.
Saeko Busujima had always been beautiful elegant, poised, the daughter of a renowned martial arts family. Her aura was unlike that of any other woman. Now, under the influence of the drug they'd given her, her cheeks were flushed, her breath short, and the sheen of sweat on her skin made her look all the more tempting.
With a quiet click, Mr. Takagi closed the door behind them, leaving only Saeko and the man called Kenjiro in the room.
Kenjiro licked his lips, dry and cracked. Slowly, deliberately, he stepped toward her.
"Saeko... a woman like you deserves a real man. Someone strong. Someone from our proud people. You"
Shkkk
A glint of silver tore through the dim air.
Kenjiro's lecherous grin froze. His vision shattered into a kaleidoscope of fragments Saeko's flushed face, the ceiling overhead, the floor rushing up at him. He tumbled, rolling twice, and then the world went black.
Blood splattered across Saeko's cheeks like a macabre blush, glistening against her fevered skin. Her breath came in ragged bursts, her limbs trembling faintly. Yet her grip on the katana was firm steady as steel.
"What a beautiful color," she murmured, gazing at the headless corpse. Blood surged from the severed neck like a grotesque fountain. Her voice was low, dazed with the haze of intoxication. "Like the bloom of a red spider lily..."
She rose, her legs shaking, knees pressed together with every step, yet her arm never wavered. The blade in her hand gleamed coldly, spotless, merciless.
Click
The door flew open.
Two black-clad guards with sunglasses turned, confused by the sound. They caught a flash of silver and then, nothing.
Outside, Takagi Soichiro and Yukiko Takagi were just a few steps away when the sound drew their attention. They turned and froze.
Two bodies lay in a pool of blood, headless. And there, standing framed in the doorway, was a beautiful girl. Her eyes burned with madness, her flushed cheeks streaked with blood. Her uniform was soaked in crimson, blooming across her body like sakura petals in spring. In her hand, the blade shimmered, still clean gleaming like a mirror that reflected only death.
A chill ran down both their spines.
Then, in an instant, Saeko launched forward like lightning. The Takagis had no time to speak, no chance to react.
With a flash of cold steel, silence fell.
"Aaahhh!"
A scream tore through the air.
"Mom! Dad!"
Saeko turned. Saya stood frozen, eyes wide in horror, unable to accept what she was seeing.
Rei Miyamoto held on to Dr. Marikawa, but her legs trembled beneath her. Her whole body shook.
Up until now, Saeko had only fought the undead. She'd never turned her sword on the living. But this... this was different. The girl standing before them now radiated danger lethal and untamed. She had just slaughtered Saya's parents before their eyes.
Fear churned in Rei's chest, followed by a sickening twist of regret. If she had known Saeko was this powerful, she would never have conspired with Mr. Takagi. She would never have agreed to drug her.
But back then, the Takagi estate had seemed like the safest choice heavily armed, well-protected, with numbers on their side. She'd instinctively sought to align herself with the strongest.
Just like back in school. She had been Komuro's childhood friend, but when Igou appeared handsome, top of the class, athletic, wealthy she'd immediately become his girlfriend. And when Igou died, she'd run back into Komuro's arms.
Had Kevin Cross not shown up, she might have already shared a bed with Komuro. But Kevin was with Saeko. And Kevin had only appeared briefly before disappearing again, never settling down.
So her ambitions shifted once more to the Takagi family.
And now… this was the result.
The sounds of violence drew more of the Takagi clan to the hall. They arrived only to witness the aftermath the corpses of their patriarch and matriarch, the blood, the girl with the sword standing over them like a vengeful spirit.
In a panic, they rushed to attack.
But Saeko was faster. She weaved through them, avoiding strikes with the precision of a predator. In one swift motion, she was upon them.
Her blade moved like a god's wrath, cutting through defenses as if they were paper. None of them could stop her.
Screams filled the corridor. Blood sprayed against the walls like war paint.
And in the center of it all, Saeko Busujima stood, bathed in blood and utterly unafraid like a blossom of deadly beauty. A flower that bloomed only in carnage.
The smile on her face widened with every fallen foe. Their dying screams, to her, were not cries of terror but the rising chorus of a symphony.