Free Murderer in the Flower of Death by Mizuki Mizushiro Page A

his voice in loud, raucous laughter, was—
    “…Mohawk,” Kurumiya snarled. “You came back already, you bastard? I guess I didn’t punish you enough!” Sticking out from the mummy-like bandages that covered the intruder’s head was his bright red Mohawk.
    Kurumiya’s attention had turned away from Kyousuke with the flashy return of the student who had, just earlier that day, been dragged to the school infirmary. A thick vein bulged on her temple as she turned about to face Mohawk. “…We are in the middle of class, you know. In addition, that door…are you making fun of me? Hmm?! I’ll send you straight back to hell if you keep screwing around! Unfortunately for you, I’m in a bad mood right now… You might be injured, but I won’t go easy on you! Hope you’re ready!”
    Recoiling for a moment from the bloodthirsty glint in Kurumiya’s eyes, Mohawk quickly regathered his courage and raised his voice in unpleasant laughter. “Gya-ha-ha-ha! Is that so? Well, fine by me! I ain’t gonna take it easy on ya this time, either, little miss! I’m gonna shred that stumpy little body of yours! I’m gonna put all my strength into it! Ready or not, here I come! Gya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
    “Stumpy? Stumpy?! Why you little…!” Kurumiya’s expression grew cold as she stepped toward the still-laughing Mohawk. “…I’ll teach youa lesson from the underworld. The pigs who have called me ‘stumpy’ or ‘pip-squeak’ or ‘kiddo’ or ‘kindergartner’…they’re all dead now.”
    It seemed that Kurumiya, whose eyes now bulged with bloody rage, had entirely forgotten about Kyousuke.
    “
Fwah…
That’s great, isn’t it, Kyousuke?” yawned Eiri from beside him. “You’re saved.”
    Saved? I’ve just got a stay of execution is all…
    However, because of Mohawk’s clumsy provocation, Kurumiya’s temper was getting worse and worse. An aura of dark bloodlust radiated about her. Mohawk, who was facing her down, should have been shaking in terror, but—
    “Gya-ha-ha-ha! Is that so, little miss stumpy kindergartner? Or was that elementary schooler? You’re too shrimpy, so that’s my mistake! Sooo sowwy.”
    “…WHAT?!”
    Every student in the room got goose bumps at the same time.
    They all stared at their reckless classmate with expressions of utter shock.
    Only Eiri offered a quiet comment. “…He’s a dead man.”
    Kurumiya’s shoulders, which had been rigid and tight, began to tremble like Maina’s. “Ha…ha-ha-ha-ha…fwa…fwa-ha-ha-ha… HAA-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Her voice grew loud as she broke into frantic laughter, holding her stomach.
    Perhaps put at ease by Kurumiya’s laugh, Mohawk also opened his mouth wide. “Gya-ha…gya-ha-ha-ha! GYA-ha-ha-ha-HA-HA!” For a short moment, the two of them laughed like good friends.
    “Well, that was a good laugh,” Kurumiya eventually said. “Hee-hee-hee…it’s been a long time since someone made me laugh like that.” Wiping away the slight tears that had welled up in her eyes, Kurumiya dropped her iron pipes. Approaching Mohawk, she stretched up on her toes and placed both hands on his shoulders, her smile falling away.
    “—Do you want to be beaten to death ten million times over?”
    With all her strength, she wrenched his shoulders out of their sockets.
    “Gyeaaaaaahhhhhhh!!”
    Kicking Mohawk with her heel and stamping down on top of him as he fainted from the pain, Kurumiya surveyed the classroom.
    “Listen up, you maggots. For your first afternoon lesson, I was planning a nice little tour of the grounds and an introduction to the facilities. Too bad that had to go and change, hmm? No worries, though, I’ve got a great demonstration of
numerous
bare-handed torture techniques lined up instead! Well, then, let’s begin with the extremities, eh? Starting with the fingernails—”

    “…And finally, we get to the scalp. Oh, would you look at that! It seems like I got a little bit too engrossed in my demonstration. If you ask me, we’ve