Toshiya strolled through the white hallway locating room 304. In one hand was a plastic bag full of goods from the convenience store. He heard Die’s voice ring in the hallway. Toshiya quickened his pace. He walked in to see that everyone else had arrived before him.
“Hello,” greeted Kyo.
He was sitting up on his bed in his light blue hospital robe under thick blankets. His cheeks were rosy with glee. Toshiya dropped his bag on the empty table beside Kyo and stood at the foot of his bed.
“I got you some drinks and snacks,” said Toshiya.
“Did you get my favorite mushi cake,” asked Kyo.
“Of course,” said Toshiya.
“When you get better, we’ll take you to this place to celebrate,” said Die.
“Hm? What kind of place is it?” said Kyo.
“You’ll know when you get there,” said Shinya.
“Now that we are all here, I have a few questions,” Kyo began. “What did you guys tell the police to explain everything that happened?”
“We may have …” said Toshiya.
“Omitted some details,” said Die.
“Changed a few words here and there,” said Kaoru.
“Or lied about it,” said Shinya.
“Now really? Officer Kobayashi is going to believe that I came back from the dead,” said Kyo.
“We may have said something about a kidnapping,” said Die.
“And we may have suggested temporary unconsciousness through medical drugs,” said Kaoru.
“That’s a bullshit story that no one is going to believe,” said Kyo.
“Should we tell him,” whispered Shinya.
“Tell me what? Spit it out,” Kyo demanded.
Kaoru and Die looked at each other.
“Someone from the FBI came to talk to us. They said they would believe everything we told them,” said Toshiya. “We gave them the entire story from top to bottom. In return they told us to keep it a secret from the public.”
“Apparently they had been investigating Mavros for a really long time not fully aware of who he really was until things got out of hand,” Die chimed in. “He was on his way to claim another victim, but then we appeared.”
“I could never fully understand why he pick us as targets,” said Kyo.
“He’s a serial killer,” said Kaoru. “The agent told us that Mavros has a habit of picking random people to ‘experiment’ on. He had an unnatural fixation on life and death. We were passersbys in the area. What better target to pick on.”
“I think the FBI has some special unit for nutcases like him. They were so calm listening to us talk about necromancy and shit,” said Toshiya.
“Whatever it is, they promised to deal with Mavros and won’t bother us anymore. We are done with this,” said Kaoru.
“But didn’t you tell me you got attacked by a bunch of zombies on your way to the mountain? How are the police and the FBI going to explain that to the media?” said Kyo.
“They said they found a vehicle nearby that contained soil composition from the mountain that is different from the soil elsewhere. Based on the fingerprints and DNA found on the vehicle, they deduced that Mavros used the area as a dumping ground for corpses,” said Kaoru.
“And then you fabricated a story for pushing Mavros off a mountain,” said Kyo.
“Actually I pushed him,” Die said proudly. “In self defense of course.”
“But what about me? Drug influence?” said Kyo.
“Temporary unconsciousness,” said Shinya. “And memory loss induced by chemicals.”
“Crazy Americans. I’m not going back to the United States to tour. I hate touring,” said Kyo.
“C’mon Kyo. It’s not because of Mavros that you’ll never tour again. Management needs money,” said Die.
“Touring means buses, language barriers, and faulty equipment emergencies. Oh wait, don’t forget to add serial killer on the list now,” said Kyo.
“If you’re worried about touring, we’re not going to be doing any of that for a while. Inoue and Takabayashi have promised a sabbatical before resuming band activities,” said Kaoru.
“Did you tell them word for word what happened?”
Kaoru gave a cheeky smile. “I can be very persuasive sometimes.”
Kyo unwrapped the mushi cake Toshiya bought.
“Once I’m discharged, I need to start writing again. There’s so much to be done,” said Kyo.
“You’re in a rush to work with sukekiyo,” said Kaoru.
“I’ve been gone for a year. It’s December already. I have to get some things done before the new year,” said Kyo. “And our new album too. Don’t we need to write some songs?”
“Kyo, you woke up only … how many days … just two days ago,” said Die.
“Just take it easy,” said Shinya. “Eat your mushi cake.”
*****
Within a week, Kyo was discharged. The rowdy gang of musicians walked down the narrow streets. They reached a familiar dusty looking sign lit up by yellowing lights. Toshiya slid open the door. The owner was busy behind his counter, but peered over to see who it was.
“Welcome back!” he greeted loudly over the chatter in the restaurant. Tonight the place was teeming with people. Only one table remained empty. A server removed the “reserved” sign and started pouring hot cups of tea.
“So this is what you were all talking about,” said Kyo inspecting around the izakaya.
“Comfy. Welcoming, but also very private,” said Die.
“I can’t imagine people walking in with a sign like that,” said Kyo.
“Only for the keen eyed,” Toshiya added.
The table was soon occupied with little plates of food and alcohol. White steam rose from the mouthwatering dishes of grilled meat and rice cakes. Kaoru grew pink from all the laughter and alcohol intake. Even Shinya who was usually reserved joined in on the banter. The bottles kept coming and the glasses kept clinking. Kyo shied away from the alcohol and sipped his tea. In this moment in the darkness of a snowy night, a dimly lit izakaya provided enough brightness for the five members of Dir en grey.
*****
BGM: Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakenetsu Yami
I had delayed the finale for such a long time, but here it is, the final chapter. It was a long journey writing this story and I hope readers are satisfied with this ending. Thank you so much for staying until the very end.
