Summary: They say life flashes before you in that moment before death. I could see it all reflected in the blade. I was standing under the cherry blossoms at my school entrance ceremony, eating cake at my sister's wedding, standing outside praying the monster wouldn't come tonight. I might not be dead yet but I can see what's coming, this is the story of how I was murdered by a fox monster!
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Chapter 12
"It's not a werewolf," said Akito.
We were all gathered before him in the front room of headquarters. All of us were anxiously sitting seiza style on the tatami floor (or in Taisei's case, lying on his back) as we waited for Akito's verdict.
I felt a sense of relief wash over me.
"At least there's no longer any need to worry about a werewolf infestation, right?" I asked.
"It's worse," said Akito.
"Oh, I knew it was too good to be true," I muttered.
"Wolves are high level Obake who are capable of transforming into human form," said Akito. "It's no difficult task for them to trick humans, lure them back to their lair, and then eat them alive."
"But you don't have to worry about them sneaking up on you and ripping your heart out, right?" I asked.
"No," said Kiyori in a spooky voice. "They eat the body whole."
"Eh," I felt a cold shiver run down my body.
"Are you really sure it's them?" Taisei asked. "What if this first year was just making the whole thing up? Didn't we already go through this with the big foot scare?"
"I'm not spending another week searching the city for nothing," added Kurumi. "My skin became so dry last time."
"Always you and your skin," Nina muttered under her breath.
Kurumi mustn't have heard, because they would have both been arguing too loudly for me to hear what Akito had to say next.
My teacher continued. "There's been a string of violent attacks in a nearby city that I've been following for weeks. Muggings, shop windows, smaller Obake suddenly leaving the area. These are all signs of a wolf gang presence."
Kiyori raised his hand. "Hey Akito! When you made me write that composition on wolf Obake, the textbook said that the organization made a truce with them not to attack humans."
"Hmm," nodded Akito. "That was true when I was your age, but things have changed. Ever since the old pack leader died that truce has be rendered invalid, and most of the wolves now run around doing as they please."
"Err," Kiyori ground his teeth. He was obviously annoyed that he had to write a report which was a lie.
The look on his face was enough to make me laugh, until Akito turned around and said "that reminds me, I think I've found the subject for your next composition Daisuke."
I began to imagine what Akito would look like if he was stabbed with a thousand pins, and I began to consider making my own Akito voodoo doll.
"That's why we need to treat this with utmost caution," said Akito. "We don't know their intentions. They could be after fun, money, or aiming for new territory. The organization even assigned a special task force to combat this insurgency. They requested that we don't make a move until their agent arrives. Until then we will scourer the town and try to discover their location, but we are forbidden from doing anymore. Understood?"