Goth by Otsuichi

soon.
    The ground beneath me was covered in leaves, and the slightest movement shook the branches of the bushes around me. It was early fall, so it was still warm during the day, but come night, it was a little chilly.
    I reached into my jacket pocket, touching the hilt of the knife inside, which I had brought with me just in case.
    If I did catch a glimpse of the kidnapper, I had no intention of turning the criminal in. I intended to simply watch from a distance, unseen—so it was unlikely I would need the weapon, yet I had brought one of the knives from the knife set with me anyway, without really thinking about it. The naked blade made it easy to cut myself, so I carried it in a leather case I had bought for it.
    I enjoyed watching people carry out unusual crimes. This hobby had once led me to encounter a man who had killed several women. I’d stolen a set of twenty-three knives from that man’s apartment, which I now kept hidden behind a bookcase in my room. When I was at home, I often gazed at the reflection of the ceiling light in the metal of the blades—the white light gleamed like it was wet.
    Occasionally, my reflection in the blade would transform into the faces of the women those knives had killed. I knew this was just a trick of the mind, but I felt like their suffering and despair had stained the knives forever.
    The knives were a little too much for me. I should never have brought them home. I felt like the gleam in that metal surface was telling me to use them.
    I checked my watch again, turning the light on and reading the display. It was Wednesday now. Not a single person had passed the whole time I’d sat in the bush.
    I wondered where the kidnapper lived. If I knew that, I might be able to narrow down the list of places to wait. At any rate, it seemed obvious I hadn’t seen the kidnapper that day.
    Ten minutes later, I left the thicket and returned home.
    My parents were asleep, but Sakura was studying for exams. When she heard me come home, she came downstairs, asking where I’d been. I told her I’d been to the convenience store.
    †
    I’d known the man would be coming today, so I should never have fallen asleep.
    I was torn from my slumber by Yuka’s scream, her voice coming from the living room.
    I ran toward her.
    She had been hiding in back with me, but he must have taken her into the living room. Mama was out of the house, so the man was alone with Yuka.
    Yuka was lying in a heap, groaning. She sounded very sad, fighting against the pain.
    The man was standing next to her head, staring down at her without expression. He seemed so big, like his head was touching the ceiling. And Yuka seemed so small. All she could do was moan in pain, powerless.
    Anger boiled over in my mind. I howled, the voice tearing out of me.
    The man turned toward me, eyes wide in surprise. He took a step back, moving away from Yuka.
    She lay there groaning, but her eyes were on me, eyes filled with love. From the bottom of my heart, I knew I had to protect her.
    I heard the front door open and someone call out. Mama had come home from shopping. That was where she had gone when she’d left him there.
    I tried to bite the man’s hand, but Mama grabbed me from behind. My jaws snapped shut a few inches too short.
    But that was long enough for Yuka to stand up. As Mama shouted angrily, Yuka ran for the door. I ran after her, and we both fled the house.
    Outside, we both ran as fast and far as we could. I heard Mama calling after us, but we didn’t turn around. We fled into the depths of the night.
    Rows of lights lined quiet, dark roads, but the only thing they really illuminated was the ground beneath our feet. Our two small shadows flitted from one lamppost to the next.
    The night stretched as far as we could see in every direction—but I was with Yuka, so I wasn’t scared. Still, thinking about her made me very sad.
    Yuka wasn’t crying, but I could tell she was hurt. I felt it too. Occasionally, the pain was too