"Rachel?" As I continue chopping the intestines into smaller pieces for faster disposal, the class rep calls out my name.
Not stopping my hands nor turning my head, I give her a quick reply: "I'm listening."
Strangely, Laura does not say anything after that. She merely sits there and observes what I am doing.
I have to commend her for her strong will, actually. Minutes ago, she was uncomfortable looking at blood splashing onto her cute face. Laura's pale face made me think she would vomit at any second. And now, she is staring at me with curiosity in her eyes. Even the headless, gutless corpse beside her is unworthy of paying attention anymore.
If C were here, he would have been stunned to death by the contrast. In the corner, the class rep's amber eyes shine brightly on a perfect face, showing me the beauty of unmatched proportion. Next to her is a gutted, headless human carcass whose blood is still dripping slowly. The scene is by no means something that you would see every day.
Who would have thought this pretty little girl butchered a human? Of course, she did it under my guidance, so let's say I take 20 percent of the blame.
She even gave me an intestine necklace! My body still stinks because of that!
Times like this remind me we are never ordinary, to begin with. Me, Laura, Kurokawa, the not-yet-arrived princess, and many others are crazy at the core. No sane human will be able to have such an ability to adapt as we do. It is unnatural, to say the least.
But I am used to it by now.
"Don't worry, this is not for consumption. What we want to do is to mince these into a paste so that we can flush it down the toilets. After that, well, we need to take a bath. There is no time for us to do anything else."
She shakes her head from left to right. "No. I'm not thinking of that. I'm thinking about C."
"Yeah, me too." I glance over and nod.
She is covering her whole body by hugging her legs. Smart.
"What did you see, Rachel? Last night." A sudden question comes from her.
Finally, it has come to this point. I know it is only a matter of time until either Laura or Kurokawa asks that question. There is nothing shocking about her inquiry. If I were her, I would do the same thing.
"You know, the past." I answer half-heartedly, wanting to play with her a little bit.
Sadly, between the two of us, the one who has a funny bone is me.
"You know well that is not what I mean, blondy." She looks at me intensely. Then, using a serious tone, the class rep states her case. "You had a complete switch in personality as if you flipped a lightbulb inside your head. Look at what we are doing currently. Where did you even learn to cut a body open when you did not become a true yandere? You're not just good. You're a professional."
"Thanks! I take pride in my craft!" I really do.
In response to my joke, her expression turns cold with a hint of annoyance: "In addition to that, ever since you...kissed him, C has been calling you Blondy in his head. He has never changed the way he addresses anyone of us except for you. There is only one reason for that to happen. That memory he showed you was so special that it made his unconscious mind remember something!"
"It's true." There is no need to lie if she already figured out that much. Unlike Han, who has dirt for his brain, Laura is much more intuitive. Or should I say the girls are more intuitive? "The truth is, class rep, I am not the Rachel you know."
"...What is that supposed to mean?" A frown appears on Laura's face. She is definitely taken aback.
*Chop chop chop*
The chopping sounds are almost washed away by the water falling above us. I would love to have a wooden board to do the dissection. It would be much better than hitting the floor because I will chip the blade. Perhaps it is already chipped, even.
"I mean it literally." Then, I put the knife down and point and the red chunk of mushy meat. "Here, scoop these up with your hands and start flushing them down the toilets. Remember to scoop less than the size of your fist per stall. Otherwise, it will clog up the plumbing system."
Laura sighs deeply, then begins picking up chunks of flesh. "I hate this. It's disgusting."
"Me too," I agree with a smile. "But it is necessary."
"You still have to explain what you meant by saying you were not the same, Rachel." Laura's voice comes from the booth next to mine.
*Crack*
After the head and the guts, arms, and legs are next. Driving the knife straight into the armpit, I use more force to break the shoulder bone. The sound of the metal cutting through the bones makes the surrounding air vibrate. Unfortunately, these places are harder to cut with a simple kitchen knife I am holding, so it will be more time-consuming. I do not think it would be possible without the abnormal strength I was given.
"How about this! You tell me what you saw, and I'll do the same? Fair, right?"
"Very well. I saw my death. To be more exact, I saw what happened after my death." Laura comes into the booth and scoops some more meaty chunks with her hands. "C...jumped off the rooftop after that." She sounds a little sad.
There is no need to verify what Laura says. I know C would have done such a thing.
"Interesting. And after that?"
"That's it. The moment C decided to end it, the vision got cut." Laura continues.
"So, only one?" I confirm it once again.
"Yes. Why are you asking that? Did you see more than one?!" The class rep's voice becomes louder.
"First, I saw C giving Han ideas to make him a better man."
"And? What's the other one?"
"I saw the end of the world. Almost everyone disappeared." Putting the knife down, I stare straight into Laura's shiny brown eyes, making sure she understands I am not making a joke.
"Is that it?" Laura turns silent after that, but she does not forget to take the rest of the guts away.
I know I am not telling the class rep the rest of the truth like we were the only ones when the apocalypse came, but does Laura do that? Just because I do not want history to repeat itself does not mean I will do everything for her. After all, I am a selfish person.
When C touched me, I was only shown the vision of his endeavor: what happened during the trials and what he did to change it. However, when I kissed him, I was brought to an ending that consisted of C and me. Laura's case was similar. She was only sent back to the middle of the story rather than the end of it.
Then, it is not wrong for me to hypothesize it like this.
A touch will set a heroine free from their curse. At the same time, it will show them what C had done for them when he still wanted to help them. The only problem is that it will create another person to watch out for. On the other hand, a kiss will bring them to an ending where C achieves his goal of saving that particular heroine. This, of course, needs much more evidence to back it up. Over time, I think we can finalize the answer with the help of the other girls.
"Laura! Rachel! Are you here?" Suddenly, I hear C's worried voice coming from outside.
[Please, girls, be safe!]
CRAP! Did Laura not send Kurokawa to stall him? If he gets in right now, we are done! Kurokawa probably told him we were going to the bathroom to make C less worried. Then why is he sounding like that?
[If it was not for the lunch box, I would not have been so stressed like this. But Laura and Rachel forgot about it. Therefore, their reason must have been so significant they could not bring it.]
Nearby, Laura looks at me with a "What the hell?" expression.
...God damn it! I forgot the lunch box! C! There was no other thing! I swear I was being clutz!
"They're inside, C. Let me go check, okay?" Kurokawa speaks softly.
"Wait! Just to be safe, let me go in with you."
"But...this is the ladies' room." I can hear the panic in Kurokawa's voice.