Chapter - 16

──The next step was simple.

I could have secured a way in and broken into the next door from this side, but fortunately, Yohei stepped in front of me.

"Using the power of my eyes to detect it in advance, I waited with my handcuffs and quickly captured Yohei when he entered the room.

With just a little punishment, I took away his will to resist, and then, fully prepared, I offered him my virginity.

The result is that he's a bit of a lunger, but that's a small matter.

Needless to say, a virgin is a virgin is a virgin.

Now that Yohei knows my body, I don't think he'll ever lust after a poor, bone-and-skin firewoman.

But even if he did, I wouldn't feel safe.

Araki Maya contacted Yohei immediately after my failure, as if she had planned it in advance, promising me a "two-day retreat."

I'm not going to call her a liar.

She was making a promise that was unlikely to be kept in the first place.

I think he was just being brave and keeping quiet.

What bothers me is the timing.

Why did he only make his move when Yohei had an opening?

That night, the effects of the stimulant lasted long enough that Yohei got an erection, even for a kid like him who doesn't move unless he's on Loricom.

It would have been a golden opportunity, but it's hard to plan around that.

I don't think he made a plan after he got the information that I had received the stimulant from Azusa.

If I did.

Are you saying that Azusa and that kid were in cahoots from the beginning──?

No way.

It can't be.

I blow up at the unconvincing nature of my own "horror story".

Anyway, Yohei is mine now. I just need to make sure I don't let my guard down next time.

Well, I do have eyes. It's a power that was once thought to be a curse, but I have both.

I can detect when a fire fox is about to do something unnecessary, so I can catch it right away.

I was finally at peace and thinking about my future with Yohei when the phone rang.

Yohei leaves the room, looking a bit flustered, and heads down the stairs, straight to the front door.

What, are you going outside?

The poor fox said, "I'll wait for you," but are you planning to join him somewhere?

I rush out the door.

"Wait...!"

I try to stop him, but Yohei is already riding away on his bike.

Too bad──I don't have a bicycle.

The good news is that I'm confident in my fitness.

I would be a little late, but I was confident I could run and catch up.

I wasn't told where we would meet up, but Araki Maya's place was two kilometers ahead.

The meeting must be around there.

I couldn't wait to get going.

But it's almost 10 o'clock, and it's dark.

There are few streetlights in this neighborhood, so it's better to bring a flashlight.

With that thought in mind, I returned home. I rummaged through my luggage.

Two minutes later, I came out. I decided to give up the flashlight and picked up my bow instead.

I slung my quiver over my shoulder.

Ahaha...I almost forgot because I was panicking, but I have the most reliable "eyes" of all.

It's not only clairvoyant, but it's also suggestive, and you don't have to take out a pew light to use it.

If you look around regularly, you can move around unnoticed without accidentally bumping into someone.

And when it sees two people with the naked eye, it shoots an arrow.

Shooting arrows in the dark is actually a hidden skill.

If you keep the "eye" open, you can shoot with your eyes closed and still hit the target.

I catch sight of Yohei's back and laugh as I gather strength in my legs.

──The posture of a lady. We will finally begin the fox hunt now.

Go, go, go, go, go.

A melody in my head-─La Marseillaise.

Everything you learned in your world history class flashes through your lobes, swelling with hatred.

Reclaim Yohei. Kill the fire fox.

It is a necessary advance to build up a power source of serenity and fulfillment.

The alienated mind transforms into a four-legged beast, galloping through the night.

Only the grudge was practicing the "eye" that sees into the distant beyond.

Alas, we must hunt quickly, quickly.

Marquez's echoes intensify.

──With the blood he sheds, I will soak my jade field...!

I can't lose it. I can't miss it.

I surely caught Yohei's back and continued to chase after him.

The bike stops. In front of a small park.

I looked right at him.

There she was. Sitting on a bench is that woman, the fire fox that no amount of hatred can make up for.

Yohei gets off his bike and walks slowly.

Maya Araki seems to have noticed, too, and raises her face.

She smiles. The corners of her mouth dangle slightly.

A smile. Her gaze is firmly fixed on Yohei.

──It's unpleasant.

Don't look at Yohei with that face...! Don't smile with that face...!

It didn't matter what Yohei's reaction was now.

Even if she walked away from him, she couldn't allow that smile to remain on her face.

The mere sight of her showing even the slightest hint of happiness made his heart boil.

It's hard to allow myself to breathe.

Of course she did it──she did it...

Faster than me! Because I did!

Anger that threatens to ignite my entire body. I move immediately and grab my bow. I pull an arrow out of the quiver.

A few hundred meters to where the two men are still there. It takes me a while to get to them.

In the meantime, I try to keep myself together as much as I can. Never miss.

Sniping from the darkness──The decision was firm.

"A country with eyes might be able to see her, but with only the light of a street lamp, she would never be able to escape.

Let's stop threatening her... and shoot her without warning.

I'm not going to let her die anytime soon. Aim for the legs first.

Once it stops moving, shoot it in the shoulder to take away its resistance.

Next, move in close and beat the crap out of him, and finally, kick him in the body, roll him over, and pierce his kidneys.

Let them die in agony.

Yohei doesn't kill. He can't.

You just have to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Yeah, yeah...First, we'll cut his Achilles tendon, handcuff him, put a chain around his neck, and lock him in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town.

Ahhhhh. I picked up the "isolation point where I can be alone with Yohei" during a free moment.

I'd look at the map, do a preliminary survey, "eyeball" the surroundings, imagine that this would be the perfect place to grow "something", and enjoy myself.

In particularly promising locations, I would bring in preserved food and supplies in advance. We can live now.

Let's head there right after we kill the fire fox, Yohei.

We can't be tempted by other women anymore.

If you kill too many, you'll be arrested.

The distance is two hundred meters ahead.

I'd like to get within thirty meters of them to make sure we hit them, and do it quietly so they don't notice.

Maybe I should take my eyes off the two of them and survey the terrain around us first──

With that thought, I was about to release my clairvoyance.

Suddenly, Araki-Maya stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Yohei's neck.

She stood up straight and stood on her toes.

She kissed him lightly.

No, no.

...Aha, ha.

My heart, which had been boiling over to the point where I thought there was no more, had passed the boiling point.

I stopped doing the math. The terrain around me? I don't know.

I can just run a straight line, shoot an arrow, and tie up my opponent, not caring if he notices.

I don't even have to sneak up on them.

I have an advantage: the darkness of the night.

Even if he attacks me, there's nothing I can do against him.

Aha. I'll kill you... I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll put an arrow in your blue eyes!

You'll die in the dark, unable to see anything, writhing in pain and terror!

"In the eye. And then, with all the strength in my legs, I'm ready to run───

──and then you run.

Standing on her toes, the fire fox turns her head to look back.

"The eyes met.

Eh?

What is it?

Can you see me?

Her gaze is unmistakable, as if she can see through the air.

Less than a hundred meters ahead. A distance that wouldn't be strange to see──that is, if it was daytime.

Now it's night. Even if there are streetlights, they are few and far between. There's no way to see him properly.

It's not impossible that they've been waiting for you. In a night filled with silence, even the slightest footstep echoes quite loudly.

It must be him. I'm sure it's me, and I'm sure I'm making a lot of noise.

...Wait a minute.

Sound?

Speaking of sounds, what's going on?

I can't hear anything.

I can't hear anything, can you?

...Ah, I see. "I've been concentrating so much on my eyes that my senses have been dulled. No, no, no.

I consciously stopped activating the Eye.

Just then.

An ear-piercing sound.

A flood of light that shot into my pupils.

──Eh?

I squinted through my narrowed eyelids.

The thing that jumped in was red──the red of the traffic light that coldly turns on in front of the crosswalk.

It feels so close.

It's not anywhere.

I've been standing on the crosswalk the whole time.

Memories of the past racing through my mind.

The ridiculous days when I was running around looking for Yohei and was so focused on the "snow" that I rolled over, hit a telephone pole, or fell into a ditch.

This place where you can laugh lightly, but you can't laugh.

I get it.

Oh, but this is a driveway──

Why did I make such a mistake, I thought.

Haha──I didn't even realize I was out of the residential area.

────thud

Without much time to think about it.

A huge impact from the side made everything disappear.

Ah...

Consciousness is bleached.

The only sensation left is the eye.

At the end of a gaze that spun like a merry-go-round, high and fast as a lie.

The kid was smiling smugly.