CHAPTER FOUR - CRAZY RAIN ARC - THE STRANGER

"Hey, it's ketchup girl!"

...

Huh?

Riru tried her hardest to recognize the girl who was currently running up to her, only to completely draw a blank.

"It's you, right? Hey, are you okay?!"

She looks down at Riru's clothes, completely drenched in blood and vomit.

"Uh... Yes! I'm fine!"

The girl looks off at the cleanup crew desperately trying to spray a giant bloodstain off a convenience store wall. It doesn't seem to be working.

"Devil attack, huh? Guess we're all used to it by now... But hey, are you hurt? The exterminators swung by, right? They didn't help you out or anything?"

"They seemed... uh, busy!"

The girl has a concerned look on her face.

Riru finally asks the question that can't seem to escape her brain.

"Um... who are you?"

"Oh! It's Fukuzaki, from school. Haru Fukuzaki. I guess we haven't really talked," she smiles. 

Riru hadn't talked to her any less than any other student, though that wasn't saying much.

"You're... Riru, right?"

Riru is surprised.

"Yes!"

"Just Riru?"

"Riru… uh… Riru Ririsu!"

"Huh? What the hell kind of name is that?" 

Fukuzaki's laugh is loud and obnoxious. Riru was happy to find someone who shared this trait.

"People in class have been pretty worried, you know! Since you stopped showing up, and Mitsugi-"

She trails off.

The mere sound of the name creates a lump in Riru's throat.

"You guys were close, right?"

"Um... no. Not really." murmurs Riru.

"Oh..."

The two stand in silence.

"Well, try to show up sometime, okay? Maybe I'll try to introduce you to some people."

Riru wasn't sure how to feel about the uncomfortable amounts of pity spewing from the girl's mouth. 

She knew she would have to go to school again eventually. The entire plan would fall apart if she didn't. She wouldn't find a lover, she'd get expelled from school, Thanatos would descend upon the circles of Hell wreaking havoc upon everything that stood in its way, and the world as she knew it would come to an end. Or something. 

...and for the first time, she thought maybe that would be okay. 

The urge to vomit began to resurface.

"Um, Riru?"

"Yeah! Yeah, sounds good!"

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With the sound of a toilet flushing, Riru wipes her mouth while leaving the bathroom.

She lies on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. Her room is somehow even more of a mess than  yesterday, when it was still more of a mess than usual. And it was usually a mess. 

Recently, the shockingly small amount of ways she spent her newfound free time started to become noticeable. Maybe trying to go back to school wouldn't hurt.

If she could just get through the gates, and then just a step into that classroom-

She was used to violence. She was used to killing. So why did it hurt so much this time?

At the end of the day, how Riru was feeling didn't matter. Someone was depending on her to show up. She could at least do it for Fukuzaki, right?

But why?

Riru began to resent the responsibility this random girl had just thrust upon her.

But right now, she was too weak to refuse.

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Riru stands at the front gates of Yamabuki High.

Her hair is haphazardly brushed in random areas, somehow making it look even more messy than usual.

"Hey, isn't that..." comments a boy as he walks by.

"Shh! Not too loud!" whispers another.

"Hey, Riru! No way, you really came!"

Fukuzaki runs up to her, grabbing her around the shoulder.

"Hey, come up to the roof during lunch, okay? See you then!"

Before Riru can even get a word in, the girl runs off.

Despite how much Riru was dreading this situation, she could feel the smallest hint of happiness and relief somewhere within her. Maybe it was simply the change of pace.

As for the rest of the school day that followed, it was surprisingly mundane. Even in the face of supernatural rifts unleashing hellish monstrosities upon your doorstep, humanity somehow finds a way to adapt and remain apathetic to it all. 

The new homeroom teacher was an older stubborn man, who constantly looked as if he was trying to last a week on a single night of sleep and just about had enough of it. He hadn't made an effort to introduce himself to Riru, and every small movement from her seemed to piss him off. 

Finally the bell rang, and the promised hour began.

After using a microwave to heat up her instant ramen, a new and foreign technology she now desperately wished she had in her apartment, she made her way up to the stairs to the roof. She brought a few ketchup packets with her for good measure.

A gust of wind blows in her face as she opens the door and is greeted with a mildly scenic view of the city.

"Over here!" shouts Fukuzaki.

Sitting around the ledge with her is a group of other girls, all with all with carefully manicured appearances and similarly styled uniforms.

"Heeeey~! Ryunosuke!" a girl with dyed blonde hair shouts. 

"It's Riru. Where did you even get that name from..?" retorts a pudgy girl with glasses.

Riru awkwardly waves as she approaches. Fukuzaki smiles. 

The four sit together as a group. 

"So you agree, right?! Moriyama is, like, crazy hot!"

"I don't see it."

"Yeah, Misaki is into older guys. Like Mr. Kanou," teases Fukuzaki.

"Ew. Don't even."

"Come on, how else could your grades be so stupid high?"

"Why are you always such a bitch?"

"Why do you always make it so easy?"

Riru wasn't sure how to deal with this conversation.

"HA HA HA! HA!" she laughs.

The girls go silent.

Finally, Fukuzaki speaks up.

"See, even Riru agrees!"

"That laugh was obviously fake!"

"So..." the blonde girl asks. "What do you like to do for fun, Ruriri?"

Riru can't seem to find a reply.

"Uh! Eating! I like eating!"

"Hahaha! What the heck?"

"Misaki can definitely relate to that one," Fukuzaki smiles as she nudges Misaki's stomach. The poor girl can't seem to catch a break. 

"Choke on a dick."

"You shouldn't. It's not good for your dieting, you know?"

"It's Inuyama, by the way. I like eating, too. And knitting. And shopping! We should go sometime!"

The blonde girl remains willingly oblivious to the other two's bickering. 

"Y-yes! We should!" shouts Riru.

Misaki, finally free from Fukuzaki's reign of terror, clears her throat and chimes in. 

"It's Misaki. Umm... I draw, I guess."

"Yeah, she's kind of amazing." says Fukuzaki.

"Y-you really think so...?" Misaki blushes as she pushes up her glasses.

"Wow, that's all it takes..."

"Shut up! Were you being honest or not?!"

"And I'm Fukuzaki. I like making fun of girls who always have a bit too much to eat."

"She already knows you! And fuck off!"

The three girls laugh and Riru laughs along, always seeming to lag slightly behind.

An unidentifiable feeling was creating a tight knot in her chest, a feeling that made her want to run away that she could never quite ignore. 

"So, where are we headed after school?" asks Inuyama innocently. "I vote karaoke!"

"Umm... I'm not sure that's a great idea," says Misaki, embarrassed.

"She thinks you fucking suck, Inuyama."

"Hey! I didn't-"

"Whaaaat? I reaaally tried last time, you know! I put my whole soul into it!" she pouts.

"No wonder it sounded like you were dying."

"How about the arcade?" suggests Misaki. 

"What are you, a kid?"

Misaki has a confident and smug expression.

"I have... a goal."

"We saw you eyeing that rabbit plush last time. You're not keeping any secrets."

"T-that wasn't me..."

"It wasn't you?! That's your best excuse?!"

Fukuzaki laughs.

"It might be nice to bring Kou something from there..."

"He still hasn't been discharged, huh...?" frowns Inuyama.

"How about it, Riru?"

The three look at her as if she has any choice to say no.

...

"What's an arcade?"

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After the signal of the final bell, the girls met up outside the gate, making their way down the congested Tokyo streets.

"I still can't believe you've never been!", Misaki passionately shouts.

Inuyama chimes in.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun! They have go-karts, laser tag..."

"What kinds of arcades are you going to?!"

"Whaaat? They don't? But my friend Ryunosuke told me..."

"He's a real guy?!"

"Hey, Riru!" shouts Fukuzaki, pointing at a big frilly dress displayed in a shop window. She has a smug expression.

"Think you could pull that one off?"

Riru blushes.

Somehow, she got dragged into nearly an hour of window shopping and dressing rooms before finally reaching the arcade.

"Hahahaha! I can't believe you actually put that one on! Really doesn’t fit your whole ‘just rolled out of bed’ look. But maybe that’s the appeal?"

"Don't be mean, Fukuzaki!"

Riru desperately attempts to catch her breath.

"We're heeere!" shouts Inuyama.

Entering the building, Riru is immediately greeted with an explosion of neon flashing lights and a barrage of loud and foreign sounds emanating from every direction.

"Over here!" shouts Fukuzaki, gesturing towards the currency exchange.

After receiving her coins, Misaki immediately storms off to the claw machines.

"She doesn't waste any time, huh?"

The remaining three follow her, only to find her kneeling on the floor in front of a machine, utterly defeated.

"The rabbit plush. It's gone..."

"Why don't you try, Riru?" Fukuzaki nudges her. 

Riru inserts a coin in the claw machine, attempting to catch a small devil plushie. Even destructive beasts from Hell weren't safe from the undiscerning jaws of capitalism.

She smacks the button, and the claw descends.

...

...

...

It dropped the plush.

...

Riru grabs the entire cabinet, attempting to flip it on its side.

"Hey, hey, hey, it's just a game!" Fukuzaki panics.

"I understand your loss..." mutters Misaki, her hands clasped in prayer.

"Hey, where'd Inuyama go?"

"Hiyah! Hiiiyah!" 

The girls walk up to the next floor to find Inuyama slamming her drumsticks on a taiko drumming game. 

"She's really into it..."

"Here!" Inuyama smiles as she hands Riru the sticks.

Riru holds a single stick like a blade, readying herself for battle. 

In a single fell swoop, she stabs it into the body of the drum, defeating her foe. She broke the machine.

"Uhhh, maybe we should get out of here."

They run away from the scene of the crime. Riru looks around carefully before eating the drumstick, permanently hiding the evidence.

Misaki runs over to a basketball game, inserting two coins and throwing the ball.

She cleanly makes the basket, with the ball only touching the net. 

"You sure know how to handle your balls, huh?"

"Y-you think..?" Misaki blushes.

…

“Hey, fuck off!”

"You cared way more about the compliment!"

Misaki scowls.

“You know I’m a virgin.”

“Yeah, no shit. I can practically smell the sexual frustration radiating off you and your stupid glasses.”

“I remember when me and Ryu-chan used to really go at it…” mentions Inuyama.

“How have we never heard about this guy?!”

“What about you, Riru? Any experience?” smirks Fukuzaki.

“Uhhh.. yes! Tons!”

“Huh? What?!”

Misaki blushes and looks away, forcefully tossing a basketball to Riru.

“Here.”

Riru makes a halfhearted attempt, and the ball bounces back off the rim to hit her in the face.

Everyone laughs, and Riru smiles along with them. At some point, the strange feeling in her chest had started to fade away.

"Hey, try this one!" yells Fukuzaki, pointing towards a tile dancing game.

Riru takes up the challenge and attempts to keep her rhythm, utterly failing while constantly tripping over herself in the process. Fukuzaki points and laughs. 

She pushes through until the very end.

“YOUR GRADE… D! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, PARTNER!” the machine shouts. A countdown timer appears on the screen with the words ‘TRY AGAIN?’.

Riru breathes heavily, only to find that the other girls had disappeared in her moment of intense focus.

After a few minutes, she spots them walking out of a photo booth, looking at some photo strips and laughing together.

“What’s up with that face, Inuyama?!” 

“I thought I should try my best, ‘I got really close to winning a prize in the claw machine, so I retried but I lost again and ended up wasting two coins’ face!“

“Weirdly specific...”

Riru softly smiles from a distance as her gaze meets Fukuzaki's.

Outside the arcade on top of a nearby rooftop, four hooded figures stand in a circle around a pentagram drawn in blood.

They wear long pitch black robes, with tall horns sticking out from under their hoods.  They twist their fingers together to form unknown hand signs and begin their chant.

"Four severed heads and sixteen piercing glares,

Reveal to those who stand atop the corpse of a god,

They avert their gaze and silence the noise,

In a hollow rejection of sloth.

Descending from above to wash away the filth,

The rain will reveal the truth."

The sky darkens, and large twisting clouds blot out the sun.

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An hour later, the girls stand around near the arcade entrance.

"We all done here? Should we get dinner?" asks Fukuzaki.

"Ramen!" Riru shouts.

"You never get sick of that stuff, do you..?"

"It's really pouring out there, huh?" Inuyama mentions, looking out the glass doors.

A harsh downpour of rain patters against the pavement outside.

Suddenly, Riru yells.

"Watch out!"

She grabs Inuyama by the collar, jumping aside and pulling her out of the way.

Seconds later, a man jumps straight through a nearby window, shattering it into a million pieces.

Screams are heard throughout the arcade.

The man gets up, ignoring the glass cuts causing him to bleed all over.

He shouts from the top of his lungs.

"I... AM BELPHEGOR!"

"I WANNA HAVE SEX! SEEEEEEEEEEX!!!!!!"