"I'm human too"

"Why are you following me?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"..."

"Why did you kill him?"

Hikaru was referring to the guy Junpei had beaten to a pulp. Junpei thought for a moment before answering.

"I got too excited and accidentally killed him. I didn't mean to."

"Excited? You looked furious."

"Ah, that's what I meant."

"..."

"Are you human?"

The day was clear but lightning struck Junpei.

"Haha! Is that a joke! Do I look human? You want to test me right now?"

"It looked like you wanted all the parasites dead. You look like you want to kill me right now."

'Damn right.'

Junpei was itching to crush his skull if he found out his secret. However, he hasn't been caught yet. He had to patiently play the mind games as he couldn't risk his sister's life.

"Did Daichi send you?"

"No. I came here by myself."

Junpei suspected that Daichi didn't trust him. He couldn't believe anything Hikaru was saying at this point.

"I thought you were smart but you must be an idiot to think I'm human." Junpei began walking away.

"Am I an idiot for saving you?"

Junpei turned around.

"Saving me?"

Junpei thought back to what Hikaru said when he was being squashed by Botan.

"What a waste."

'That? How was that saving? It didn't look like he cared at all.'

He couldn't imagine Daichi changing his mind if Hikaru hadn't said that. Hikaru didn't stand up for him. If he wanted to save Junpei, why would he say something that had no impact? There was too much risk. It was more likely that Hikaru was lying.

Then why is Hikaru following him if he could have convinced Daichi to kill him there? He looked at Hikaru's beautiful androgynous face. He couldn't ascertain anything from that poker face of his. Out of everyone else. He now hated Hikaru the most.

"Why do you wear that pin?"

Junpei looked down at his flower pin on his left breast.

"To keep up appearances. Don't you know that?"

Hikaru chuckled.

"I can smell detergent in your clothes."

"What?"

"You must have taken the pin off during washing. You could be the type to lazily leave it on but the pin is slightly moved from its position since the meeting yesterday."

"You have a photographic memory. So what?"

"You don't seem to be the meticulous type to pay attention to a pin for the sake of keeping up appearances.

"... Appearances can be deceiving you know?"

"..."

"I'm human too."

Veins pulsed in Junpei's temple. He gave an icy stare to Hikaru's unflinching eyes. Hikaru had a stoic face and his little smile was gone.

"It couldn't have been easy fighting off the pain. How did you do it?" Hikaru asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. You should be careful saying stuff like that, I might tell Daichi."

Junpei walked away. He had just watched Hikaru sink a dead body into his tentacles. He remembered that stronger parasites tended to also be loyal to the mission. What Hikaru said was probably to deceive him so that he can get Junpei to admit he was human.

"Who were you keeping appearances for?" Hikaru hollered.

Junpei walked off without answering. Hikaru watched Junpei walking down the street before making a turn. He noticed Junpei had walked in the opposite direction of where he was originally walking to. He was clearly trying to throw him off. Which is a common strategy against a stalker but considering the flower pin on his blazer, was he also trying to protect his family?

Hikaru might uncover the truth if he looked at the self-reports collected and handled by the intelligence department. Although that looked mostly to be Ikuyo at the moment.

Hikaru sent his location to his harvest team for a pickup. His phone rang so he picked it up. It was Chiho. He pressed on her contact details and then blocked her.

***

Taiyo, the school janitor had finished mopping the gym and stood waiting outside the gym storage room. Ever since he was replaced by the parasite, no more was he Taiyona, his lazy alter ego that students knew.

Every corner was speck free. He was a tireless machine. His diligence immortal. Respect for him grew. Even students who didn't care whether the school was trash or not were uplifted by the neat and tidy everyday scenery.

The teachers had mentioned him in their meetings and suggested that he be nominated for the best school janitor in Yokohama city and Kanagawa prefecture. Best news yet, the principle wasn't against the idea and said he will do it if they thought it was for the best. Taiyo's career was at the peak of his life.

Indeed. If only the world knew how many blood stains and viscera he had cleaned up, they would be impressed.

The door swung open. Kazumi stepped outside and gestured with his hand that Taiyo was free to clean up after him. Taiyo entered the storeroom and found a body that was half-eaten. The neck, shoulders and chest were scrapped, revealing bloodied bones whereas the head was left untouched.

It was a girl's face that had an expression of dread frozen in time. Her eyes were widely opened. Silvery tear and snot trails still glistened. Yet in the artistic world, this was still a masterpiece to some. Kazumi was an artist. A connoisseur of suffering.

Taiyo kneeled and feasted on the leftovers. He will clean up the mess after he finishes. The best janitor in the world needed to eat after all.

***

"Hikaru, damn you!"

Chiho threw her phone on the bed and jumped in her pillow. She was upset that Hikaru had blocked her on the phone.

"Liar! You good looking scumhead."

Hikaru had originally said that he will look with her once or twice but since he agreed to meet her the second time, he had cancelled without a reason, directly going back on his word. She grew even more suspicious of him. This may seem like proof of Hikaru's evil alignment, but she did not wish for it to be true.

"Hikaru, how could you?"

That person in her heart had completely died. She wept in bed until she fell asleep.

Ring Ring

Ring Ring

Chiho woke up and saw that the phone call was from Aimi's mum.

"Chizuko? What's -"

"Aimi's returned home."