How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster (3 page)

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Authors: M.C Queen

Tags: #love, #horror, #humor, #fantasy, #hot, #teen, #free, #monsters, #guys, #free download

BOOK: How I was Murdered by a Fox Monster
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"Thanks," she
smiled.
"No problem.
Any time."
She twirled
the flag in her fingers. "If you don't mind me asking, your name is
Daisuke Matsumoto right?"
I was
surprised she could remember my name after hearing everyone's self
introduction. I assumed that she'd heard of my amazing reputation
from middle school. Most of my friends had gone to different
schools (some even leaving the prefecture) but there were still a
few of my old classmates roaming the halls. Surely the rumors had
begun to spread already. I was a real chick magnet back then.
During the course of three years I had a total of four girlfriends.
One even threatened to jump out the classroom window after we broke
up.
I couldn't
believe my high school love life was beginning already. I thought
I'd have to put some effort into this whole girl thing, but they
were already lining up.
I put on the
Daisuke Matsumoto charms, and turned my face so that it showed off
my good side. "Yes it sure is, and what might your name be?"
"Shinya, Mana
Shinya."
And that was
how I first met Mana. Back then she was a vision of perfect health
with no blood pouring from her forehead. She was always kind and
never hesitated to defend me in front of the others. If I'd known
the future, I would have done more to repay her kindness, but
instead I just saw her as another cute girl that I could play
around with.
"Well Mana
Shinya, do you mind if I just call you Mana?" It was common to call
our classmates by their family names.
"I suppose,"
she replied. "Back in middle school everyone just called me
Mana."
"Mana," I
repeated. Then I went in for the kill. "That's such a cute name,
just like the girl it belongs to."
"Mana!" Said
a voice behind me. "You shouldn't waste your time on guys like
that."
I turned to
face my nemesis who had ruined my chances at love. He was seated
behind me at the far right. He was pale, almost sickly so, with
short hair and average build. What looked like a math textbook was
laid out in front of him. He'd obviously been studying until he
made the decision to ruin my life.
Mana looked
nervous. "But, I thought it might be good to know some of our new
classmates."
"I know what
you're thinking," said nemesis (as I decided to call him) "We can
talk about it later."
Mana looked
like she wanted to stay, like any sensible girl would (because I'm
awesome) but she gave in and went back to her desk.

"Bye, it was nice to meet you,
 
Daisuke
Matsumoto
."

"It was nice to meet you as well,
 
Mana
."

During the
course of the day I paid extra attention to my nemesis. Until lunch
time he'd been just another blob in a sea of students, but now he
was on my radar. I quickly discovered his name was Itsuki and he
was good at school, almost frightening so. Every time a teacher
called on him, he would stand up, answer the question correctly,
sit down, and then stare at his textbook intensely like he was
attempting to burn a hole in it. Unknown to me he was soon to
become my best friend, but back then I saw him as nothing but an
asshole.
Mana was also
very cute during class time. She would often lose her place in the
textbook, only to be reminded by the girl sitting behind her.
Sadly the
rest of my day was lacking in girl action. Even friend action for
that matter. There were a few classmates who looked like they'd
make good friend material, but I hadn't come to any final decisions
on which group I should target. The last thing I wanted was to
accidentally make friends with the uncool people, and spend the
remaining three years of high school regretting it.
But if I had
known what was to come, I would have spent less time worrying about
friends, and more time building my own personal fortress.

 

Chapter
4

 

Everything
soon fell into place on the third day of school. I remember it as
the day I discovered my life was a lie, and the countless secrets
which had been hidden from me by my adopted family, finally came to
light.
It all began
when Itsuki decided to approach me. We hadn't directly spoken since
the first day, so I assumed he didn't have the guts to face me. I
finished my lunch only to look up and find him hovering over my
desk like the grim reaper looming over a deathbed.


Can I have a word with you?” he asked.

I turned around to say '
look at this
guys, Itsuki wants a word with me,'
 
until I realized this wasn't
middle school anymore, and my friends had all abandoned me to go to
trade school instead.

I suppressed
the feeling of being friendless, and rose to follow Itsuki as he
left the classroom. I wasn't surprised when he failed to start-up a
colorful conversation, so I decided to ask the one thing I'd been
dying to know.


So what's going on with you and Mana?” I asked.


Mana?” he scoffed. “That's a pretty friendly way to talk
about someone you barely know.”


Maybe I don't know her
well
 
yet
, but I will soon.”


That's a stupid assumption.”


Hey! Mana and I obviously have a connection.”


Yeah,
 
whatever
.”


Dick,” I muttered under my breath.

I was
uncertain if he heard me, but he continued moving his mouth
regardless.“You should give up on Mana. There's another sixteen
girls in the class who are probably stupid enough to fall for your
playboy attitude.”


Yeah but,” I tried to think up a witty
response. “What's your problem anyway, is she
your
 
girlfriend
?”


No, we're just friends.”


But you like her right? But she won't go out with you because
you're too much of an arse!”

Itsuki
stopped dead in his tracks, turned to face me, and narrowed his
eyes in anger. I didn't think it was possible for him to look
moodier, but he quickly exceeded my expectations.


I don't usually beat up idiots because
it's not always their fault,” he said. “But
for
 
you
 
I'm
willing to make an exception.”


What's wrong, did I hit a sore spot?” I raised my fists and
began jumping from side to side in case of any incoming assault.
“Come on, bring it!”

Itsuki
scoffed. “We should probably go somewhere with less people, you
don't want to get in trouble with any of the teachers right?”
He had a
point. I was smart enough to know that getting suspended in the
first week wouldn't be the best start to my high school
career.
I followed
him outside to the back of the school. There was a small space
between the school building and fence which was beyond the
teacher's gaze. I was about to compliment him on his excellent
choice of a battleground, until we turned the corner and I realized
the terrible mistake I'd made.
In front of
me stood another four students who were all bigger than myself.
They looked too tall to be in first year, so I assumed they were in
either second or third. There was a tall guy playing on his cell
phone, a guy who appeared to be the biggest (and fattest) student
I'd seen at school, and one more guy with curly hair who was
anxiously kicking the dirt by his feet. The last student was a girl
with bleached blonde hair and bracelets (which I'm certain was
against school policy). Her face was devoid of emotion, and given
the way her hands were crossed against her chest, I wouldn't have
put it past her to rip out a crow bar and swing it towards my
head.
For the first
time in my life (and obviously not the last) I felt the terror of
knowing I was going to die. I froze.


What's your
problem,
 
scared?
” Itsuki hissed. He began
shoving me towards them and I was too petrified to fight
back.

"So this is
the guy you were talking about?" said the big guy.
"More of
less," said Itsuki. "I wouldn't give your hopes up."

Hopes?
 
I
thought.
 
Did
that mean I wasn't up to standard as a victim?

The guy
playing on his cell phone finally stopped and slid it back into his
pocket. He was a foot taller than I, and cast an imposing
shadow.


Oh hey, sorry, this is the first time we've met isn't it? I'm
Taisei Shinya, I see you've already met Itsuki. This guy is
Kiyori," he pointed to the large guy. "The guy with the curly hair
is Souta, and this girl is Kurumi."

"Nice to meet you,” I said nervously. “
I think.
"  I wasn't sure if it
was common for bullies to introduce themselves before they took a
swing at you.

Little did I
know I was staring at my soon to be friends before they'd been
beaten up, thrown through walls, and gone missing. All because of
me. If they'd known my friendship was going to cause them critical
injuries, they would have thrown me in the school dumpster and
walked away. Unfortunately for us all, no one could have predicted
our terrible future.


Now, how should we go about this?" pondered
Taisei.

I backed up slowly until my heels hit the fence. His face
didn't look aggressive, but that just made him scarier. I was
certain
 
he was
planning the most effective way to beat my face
in.
 
I
considered running for my life, but I had a feeling they'd soon
catch me.

"Your name is
Daisuke Matsumoto right?" Said the big guy named Kiyori.
"Oh yeah,
would it be alright if we took a look at your ID?" asked
Taisei.
I hesitantly
reached for my wallet while keeping one eye on them (in case they
attempted to make a grab for it), pulled out my school ID card, and
handed it to Taisei.
All five of
them crowded around in a circle. The curly-haired guy called Souta
didn't fit, so he had to jump up and down behind Kurumi's shoulder
to get a better look.
"Wow you're
right, his name really is Daisuke Matsumoto," said Kiyori.
"Its even
written the same way and everything," said Souta.
It was almost
comical to watch them all hovering over my school ID. I used to
think I was a pretty cool guy, but I knew I wasn't famous enough to
receive that amount of awe. "Hey guys,” I coughed.


What's so interesting about that card?"

Taisei held
it up to the light and turned it back and forth like he was
checking for errors. "Sorry, here you go," he handed it back to me.
"You wouldn't happen to be related to a different guy called
Daisuke Matsumoto would you?"
"Yeah," I
shrugged, trying to think of the best way to explain the
relationship between the other Daisuke and I. "I had an older
brother with the same name."
I watched
their draws drop open. It's hard to describe their shock in words,
so I wish I had a camera. Souta pounced, grabbed me by the
shoulders, and began to shake me back and forth.
"Really! Are
you serious? Was Daisuke Matsumoto really your brother?" His voice
was higher than I expected and it almost hurt my ears.


Shut up Souta,” muttered Kiyori. He then turned to me and
narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You're not making this up are
you?”

I attempted
to pry Souta's fingers from my shoulders. “Well actually more like
my step brother, his father adopted me.”


I see, so you were adopted by Kousuke Matsumoto, that's
pretty cool,” said Taisei. “But also kind of creepy that you have
the same name,” he added.


So he's not actually related,” said Kurumi. “That's kind of
disappointing.”


Didn't I say you were going to be disappointed,” said
Itsuki.


But if you're the adopted son of Kousuke Matsumoto then you
should know all about the Obake?” asked Taisei.


Of course,” I said. I thought back to all
the tales of Obake that Grandpa told me as a child. I found
it
 
odd
that these people also knew about his Obake obsession. I'd never
considered that he may have been a well-known Obake
expert.


That's good,” said Taisei. “So I guess we don't have to hide
that we're exorcists from you.”


Exorcists?”
 
I muttered in confusion. Unless
I'd misheard, I was certain he'd claimed they were exorcists. I
pictured all five of them dressed up as priests with a cross in one
hand and a bottle of holy water in the other. I'd seen a few movies
about possessed people who called upon the help of exorcists to
drive out the devil inside, but I never knew that such people could
also be high school students.


So you deal with possessed people?” I asked sceptically. I
had a feeling they were either making it up, or it was one of those
role-playing clubs were people dressed up and pretended to be
fantasy characters.


Sometimes,” said Taisei. “But we usually exterminate
Obake.”

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