Late at night, everything was silent. The daytime noise seemed like a distant dream. Kanjuro, like a ghost, silently infiltrated the elementary students' campsite. An eerie stillness permeated the air, even the chirping of insects had vanished. He precisely located Tsurumi Rumi's tent and quietly slipped inside.
Inside the small tent, Tsurumi Rumi wasn't asleep; she was waiting in the dark with wide-open eyes. When Kanjuro entered, she immediately threw herself into his arms like a fledgling returning to its nest.
"Daddy!" she whispered, then tilted her head, listening confusedly. "Why... is there no sound around? It's so quiet."
Kanjuro held her cold, small body tightly, his voice low and calm, as if stating a most natural fact:
"Because everyone's asleep, Rumi." He paused, then added, his tone devoid of emotion, "Asleep forever."
Tsurumi Rumi understood some of it, but not all. Yet, she keenly caught the word "forever" and the undeniable meaning in her father's words. She felt no fear; instead, there was a sense of satisfaction from revenge and an intimacy from sharing a secret with her father.
"Rumi, come with Daddy, go to Daddy's camp to sleep," Kanjuro said softly.
"Why?" Rumi asked curiously.
Kanjuro patiently explained, as if teaching her an important rule of survival: "If everyone discovers you and I sleeping here tomorrow morning, and everyone else is... 'asleep,' then our secret might be exposed. So, we must return to our own place."
He cleverly packaged the necessity of "silencing witnesses" as a strategy to protect each other.
Tsurumi Rumi immediately "understood," nodding vigorously, her small face full of adoration: "Daddy is amazing! So thoughtful!" In her completely twisted perception, covering up traces after killing was a matter of course.
"It's because they bullied Rumi," Kanjuro hugged her, his tone carrying a perfectly pitched hint of "doting" and "protection," as if all these atrocities were for her.
He carried Tsurumi Rumi, as if carrying a precious trophy, and left the death-shrouded campsite, returning to the high school students' camping area.
He gently unzipped his tent, where a dim camping light was still on. What greeted his eyes were Miura Yumiko and Ebina Hina, who had been waiting for him. They seemed to have stayed awake, waiting for his return.
However, when they saw Kanjuro holding an unfamiliar little girl in his arms, they both froze.
Yumiko's expectant face instantly turned to astonishment. Her gaze swept back and forth between Kanjuro and Tsurumi Rumi, finally settling on Rumi's small face, which bore a faint resemblance to Kanjuro's. An absurd thought made her blurt out, her voice trembling with disbelief:
"Daddy?" She repeated Rumi's address to Kanjuro, then suddenly looked at Kanjuro. "You... you have another daughter?!"
Ebina Hina also adjusted her glasses, silently watching the scene, her eyes complex.
The atmosphere in the tent instantly became somewhat stagnant.
Facing Yumiko's questioning, Kanjuro showed no trace of panic or guilt. He calmly hummed in affirmation, carried Tsurumi Rumi into the tent, and zipped it up, as if he had merely brought back an ordinary item. He looked at Rumi, who was nervously clutching his clothes in his arms, then at Yumiko and Ebina, and spoke in a flat tone, as if recalling past events:
"Yes. Her name is Tsurumi Rumi." He paused, seemingly organizing his words, then continued with astonishing frankness:
"About ten years ago, my deskmate at the time, Rumi's mother, Tsurumi... (he seemed to deliberately obscure the name)... we had a... well, a one-night stand. Later she transferred schools, and I didn't contact her again. I never expected that Rumi was left behind."
He lightly summarized a complex past involving the creation of life as a "one-night stand" and "never expected," his tone as calm as if discussing the weather. There was no responsibility, no guilt, only a statement that was almost cold.
Tsurumi Rumi nestled close to Kanjuro, her big eyes shyly looking at the two beautiful "big sisters" in front of her, and softly added: "Mommy said I never had a daddy since I was little..."
Yumiko opened her mouth, looking at Kanjuro's matter-of-fact expression, then at Rumi's completely dependent look, and for a moment didn't know what to say. Anger? It seemed unnecessary; Kanjuro never had just one woman. Surprise? Yes, it was surprising; she never expected him to have such a young daughter. But in the end, having been controlled and brainwashed by Kanjuro for so long, she quickly found a reason to comfort herself—at least, he seemed very gentle with this daughter, which meant he wasn't completely cold-blooded? And, having one more "sister"... perhaps it wasn't unacceptable?
The astonishment on her face slowly faded, replaced by a somewhat forced smile. She said to Tsurumi Rumi, "Oh, so it's Rumi... Hello."
Ebina Hina also silently nodded to Rumi.
Kanjuro looked at Yumiko, who quickly accepted reality, and the silent Ebina, a barely perceptible curve forming at the corner of his mouth. He placed Tsurumi Rumi next to the laid-out sleeping bag and said gently, "Rumi, these two big sisters will take care of you from now on too. Tonight, we'll sleep here."
The small tent was crowded with four women who had a deep connection with Kanjuro—Yui Yuigahama, his "daughter" with a twisted love for him, was not here, but there was Yumiko, his "girlfriend" obsessed with him, Ebina, his "pet" who was absolutely obedient to him, and Tsurumi Rumi, his new "daughter" whom he had just personally tainted and who regarded him as her whole world.
Like a spider perched in the center of its web, he admired the twisted yet harmonious "family" tableau, composed of different forms of "bonds," belonging only to him. Outside the tent were dozens of young lives that had silently vanished; inside the tent were the new members and old subjects of his dark kingdom.
The night was thick as ink. The morning mist enveloped the camp like a light veil, the air fresh and crisp. As the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama emerged from their respective tents almost simultaneously, ready to greet the new day.
However, their gaze was instantly fixed on the scene not far away.
Kanjuro was seen emerging from his tent, followed closely by Miura Yumiko, whose face wore a lazy, satisfied smile, and... Tsurumi Rumi, whose small hand was held by Kanjuro, her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling with unusual excitement and happiness! The little girl looked exhilarated, as if she had spent an extremely wonderful night, clinging tightly to Kanjuro, her dependence evident.
This scene, like a bolt of lightning, struck Yukinoshita and Yuigahama.
"Wh-what... you! How could you!!" Yui Yuigahama was the first to cry out. She pointed at Kanjuro, then at Yumiko and Rumi, and finally looked at Kanjuro in disbelief, her voice filled with shock, grievance, and a hint of jealousy at being excluded. "Daddy! What... what are you doing! How did you all come out of one tent?!"
Although Yukinoshita Yukino didn't exclaim, her icy blue eyes instantly sharpened. She folded her arms, watching Kanjuro coldly, a sneer of undisguised sarcasm and understanding playing on her lips. In her opinion, Kanjuro sharing a tent with an elementary student and another high school girl, regardless of the truth, was in itself sufficiently vile and suspicious.
Facing Yui Yuigahama's questioning and Yukinoshita Yukino's cold gaze, Kanjuro showed a perfectly natural expression, a mix of helplessness and wry amusement. He spread his hands, explaining in a relaxed tone:
"What are you thinking?" He seemed highly amused by their "misunderstanding." "Last night, Rumi was a little scared and didn't dare to sleep alone, and Yumiko was there too. Seeing that neither of them could sleep, I simply told them 'One Thousand and One Nights' stories all night long. Otherwise, what did you think we were doing?"
He cleverly downplayed the potentially ambiguous and dark aspects, lightly attributing them to the warm activity of "storytelling." He even lowered his head and gently ruffled Tsurumi Rumi's hair. Rumi immediately nodded vigorously, echoing in a clear voice, "Mm! Daddy's stories are so good! There's a flying magic carpet, and a smart vizier's daughter!"
Her overly excited and happy state suggested less that she had listened to stories all night, and more that she had undergone some extreme "baptism," which might not have originated solely from stories.
Yui Yuigahama looked at Rumi's expression, then at Kanjuro's "frank" face, and her mind was a bit slow to process. She foolishly didn't delve into the odd details, such as why Rumi was so excited, or whether Yumiko's satisfied smile held other meanings. Instead, her focus veered off, and she mumbled with a hint of grievance and coquetry:
"Storytelling... why didn't you call me? I want to hear Daddy tell stories too..."
She completely ignored the abnormality of sharing a tent, only caring if she had been excluded from a intimate activity with her "father."
Yukinoshita Yukino listened to Kanjuro's rhetoric and looked at Yuigahama's naive (or perhaps foolish) reaction, and the sneer at the corner of her mouth deepened. She didn't believe that Kanjuro would have such leisure to simply tell two girls fairy tales all night. Especially Tsurumi Rumi's abnormal mental state and Yumiko's indescribable expression made her suspicions grow like vines. But she knew that without evidence, any more questioning would be futile. She just let out a cold snort, saying nothing, but her eyes clearly said, "Lie, keep lying."
Kanjuro paid no mind to Yukinoshita's reaction. He bent down, picked up a few scattered, slightly wilted rose petals from the edge of the tent, and gently blew off the dust, as if they were something important. He faced Yuigahama and Yukino, explaining in a doting tone:
"Rumi loves flowers, so I specifically picked a rose for her yesterday. This little one was happy all night, she couldn't even bear to part with the fallen petals."
This detail, seemingly proving the "purity" and "warmth" of their activities last night, instead added a touch of eeriness when combined with Rumi's abnormal mental state.
The morning breeze blew, bringing a chill, yet it couldn't disperse the subtlety, suspicion, and the unknown undercurrents hidden beneath the façade of "storytelling" that permeated this morning encounter. Kanjuro, holding Tsurumi Rumi's hand, and accompanied by Yumiko, like an ordinary person traveling with his family, walked towards the washing area, leaving Yui Yuigahama feeling wronged in place, and Yukinoshita Yukino with an increasingly cold gaze.
A new day began, but everything that truly happened in the tent last night, and the terrifying silence of the elementary student camp, lay like heavy shadows hidden beneath the dawn's light, waiting for the moment to be fully revealed. The morning assembly whistle sounded as usual, and Teacher Hiratsuka Shizuka stood before the high school team, her brows slightly furrowed as she looked at her watch.
"Strange, aren't we supposed to have a joint activity with the elementary students today? Why is there no movement from their side at all? It's too quiet," she muttered, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible unease. According to the plan, the elementary students should have been noisily gathering by now.
Yukinoshita Yukino heard Hiratsuka Shizuka's words, and the vague unease in her heart instantly magnified. Almost instinctively, she cast a probing glance at Kanjuro. Kanjuro, too, had a "suspicious" look on his face. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to distant movements, then asked in the direction of Hiratsuka Shizuka with a perfectly pitched tone of confusion:
"What's wrong? Teacher Hiratsuka, has something happened?" His expression was utterly natural, as if he knew nothing of the elementary student camp's abnormality.
Hiratsuka Shizuka's gaze swept over Kanjuro. When she saw Tsurumi Rumi, who was clutching his clothes and lowering her head beside him, her eyes suddenly narrowed, as if recalling some terrible memory about Kanjuro that she didn't want to revisit. Her lips moved, but she ultimately swallowed her words, not daring to ask more. She took a deep breath, forced herself to compose, and said to the students, "Maybe they overslept? Come on, let's go check on the situation."
An ominous premonition, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed everyone walking towards the elementary student camp. The closer they got, the more chilling the silence became. There was no usual morning bustle, no cooking smoke, and even the birdsong seemed to have been swallowed by this area.
When the full view of the campsite came into sight, time seemed to freeze.
Immediately following was a heartbreaking scream and gasp, almost piercing the eardrums!
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah—!"
The scene before them was a living hell.
Inside and outside the tents, and in the open space, small figures lay sprawled everywhere, motionless. Their faces were bruised and purple, their eyes wide open, with dried, blackened bloodstains around their mouths, noses, and ears, clearly indicating death by bleeding from all seven orifices! Not only the children, but even the few elementary school teachers leading the group had not been spared, lying lifeless in equally tragic postures. The campsite, once vibrant yesterday, had now become a graveyard of death, with a strong smell of blood and an indescribable scent of decay permeating the air, making one nauseous.
The students were scared out of their wits; some collapsed on the spot, some turned to vomit, and more let out uncontrollable screams, the scene instantly descending into chaos.
(Good) Kanjuro reacted immediately under the horrified gazes of everyone. He fiercely pulled Tsurumi Rumi tightly into his arms, covering her eyes with his large hand to prevent her from seeing the terrifying scene, while simultaneously blocking most of the view with his own body. His face was filled with "shock" and "disbelief," as if he too was deeply impacted by the tragedy.
Tsurumi Rumi buried her face deep in Kanjuro's chest, her small shoulders trembling violently, letting out whimpering cries filled with "fear" and "sadness":
"Why... why is everyone dead... Wuwuwuwu... it's so scary..."
Her crying sounded so real, so helpless; anyone would think it was a child terrified by the tragedy before her, without a trace of acting.
Yukinoshita Yukino suppressed the churning in her stomach and the tumultuous waves in her heart. Her face pale, her sharp gaze shot towards Kanjuro like an ice pick, her voice trembling slightly from tension:
"Kanjuro! What...what exactly is going on?!" Her intuition screamed wildly that all of this was definitely related to this man!
Kanjuro looked up, meeting Yukinoshita's questioning gaze, his face filled with "innocence" and "gravity." He shook his head, his brows tightly furrowed, his tone carrying a painful confusion:
"I don't know... Yukinoshita, I have no idea what happened either!" He paused, a perfectly timed "anger" and "condemnation" appearing on his face. His gaze swept over the tragic campsite, his voice rising a few octaves, carrying a sense of righteous indignation that seemed to come from his very core:
"Damn it! Which deranged criminal did this?! To...to lay such a vicious hand on so many innocent children and teachers! This is simply inhuman and unforgivable!"
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