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“This cake looks exactly how I imagined it!” a customer gushed as Amai Odayaka brought out the cake from the back room.
With a smile on her face, Amai placed the glass counter in place. “Thank you. I am sorry we don’t have a delivery van to take it to the venue.”
“Oh don’t bother yourself. We have already arranged for that." The customer carried the cake outside.
“Thank you! Come again!” Amai waved as the customer disappeared from the premises and walked back to the kitchen where her parents kneaded the dough.
“Did she like it?” asked her mother.
Amai clapped her hands. “Yes! She was so happy!”
Her mother chuckled and her father removed the cupcakes from the oven. “These are done. How about you start decorating the cupcakes that are cooling on the counter while I manage the shop?"
“Yes Father,” Amai said and started making the buttercream. Then she separated the cream into three bowls, added food coloring to them, and placed them in different piping bags. Within a few minutes, she was done decorating and packaging a mint green box. Then she picked up the boxes and walked towards the back door.
Her mother looked up from mixing the sourdough. “Where are you going?”
Opening the door, she looked back at her mother with a smile. “To give these to someone."
The streets were busy thanks to Christmas shopping but everyone ignored Amai as she walked down the street with a sinister smile on her face. However, that smile quickly vanished when she saw Emma approaching her.
“Emma! Good morning!” she chirped.
Emma clutched the basket and grinned. “Good morning Amai. How are you?"
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I am a bit cold but that’s nothing when you have been dead for a long time.”
Her words sent a chill up Emma’s spine but she hid it and showed her the basket. “I baked this for you.”
Once she looked at the basket of ‘Cat-Ears’ cookies, she gasped and took the basket from her. “Thank you! I know someone who would love this! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Emma nodded and looked at Amai's cupcake box. “Are you making a delivery?”
“Not really. This one is for someone special!” She opened the box and took out a cupcake. “You can have this one. It’s made especially for you.”
Her fingers felt cold when Emma collected the cupcake from her. “Thank you. Are you busy after this?"
Amai closed her eyes and nodded. “Are you busy?”
“No. I am not.”
She chuckled and opened her eyes revealing a glint in them. “Why don’t you join me? I could use some extra help or do you want to return home to your husband?”
“What? No! No! No! He's my boyfriend, not my husband," Emma replied quickly, taking the cupcake box from her. “Who are you giving it to?”
The sinister grin reappeared on Amai’s face and she led the way to the East Side of town. Even though Emma had eaten a healthy breakfast, she felt hungry and decided to eat the golden cupcake that was offered to her. The moment she swallowed, something flashed in her eyes and a surge of energy passed through her, and she couldn't resist eating the remainder of the cake.
“We are here,” Amai announced pointing at a restaurant. “He is three tables to the right.”
“Who?” asked Emma.
Amai shrugged and signaled the door with her eyes. Emma opened the door, looked to her right, and was shocked.
“Isn't that Mr Yamada?”
“Mmm hmm?” Amai placed her undead hands on her shoulders and whispered into her ears. “He has all the answers you need. Just make sure you ask him specific questions. Okay?”
“Excuse me?”
Emma snapped out of it and moved out of the way. “I…I am sorry."
A chubby woman wearing a purple dress and heavy makeup turned her nose in the air. The man beside her muttered something about ‘peasants’ under his breath.
On the other hand, Taro took a sip of wine and stared at his phone in anger. He had just finished face-timing his sister and was busy blocking his mother-in-law's number.
‘She can’t take a hint can she?’ he thought as he hit the ‘block’ option for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.
“Excuse me is this seat taken?” asked a feminine voice.
“Yes I am waiting for…” he looked up and beam a smile. “No, it's free. Please have a seat?”
Emma’s POV
‘Didn’t he just mention he was waiting for someone?’
I ignore my inner voice and sit across the table from him. “Good morning Mr. Yamada."
"I'd like to say good morning to you too,” he replied and looked at his phone. “One moment please."
From the way his fingers moved, I knew he was turning off his phone and noticed the wedding ring he was wearing on his right hand. Once he put his phone into his pocket and pulled out his right hand, the ring was gone.
Seriously. Who was he trying to fool?
“Your perfume is intoxicating!” He tried to grab my hand. “Are you sure you aren’t trying to capture my attention?”
I quickly retract my hand. “I am sorry Mr. Yamada but I am not wearing any perfume.”
“Oh,” he looked disappointed.
“I think what captivates your attention are these cupcakes I brought!” I push the box towards him. “I hope you like them."
To my surprise, he grabbed the box expectantly and opened it. “Wow! These look amazing! You are quite the baker and an artist!”
"Actually..." I glanced at the restaurant window where Amai was watching and she shook her head. “Your wife asked me to give them to you.”
A lustful gleam disappeared from his eyes. “I see."
An awkward silence took over while I wait for him to open the box and eat at least one of the cupcakes but he didn't. Noticing my eyes on the box, he pushed it back to me.
"You can have it," he muttered while taking a sip of his wine.
"Okay," I take the box away from him. "So Mr. Yamada, why don't you tell me more about the girls you dated during your high school days? From what I heard, you seemed to have had an interesting school life."
He looked at me and chuckled sheepishly. "Well, my life wasn't that interesting. Where do you want me to start?"
“Anywhere is fine,”
“Well there was Osana Najimi, Amai Odayaka, Asu Rito, Oka Ruto, and Kizana Sunobu,” he said casually while ticking them off his fingers. “And Osoro Shidesu."
‘Osoro Shidesu? I had never heard that name before,' I thought. “How was your relationship with them?”
“A little rocky. Osana was always pushy and demanding, unlike Amai who was very nice to me. She helped me overcome my grief when Osana died and I was extremely sad when she passed away and Oka…”
His voice trailed off at that point and I looked at Amai who was still staring at us through the window with a sad expression on her face.
“Oka was alright. A bit creepy and obsessed with the occult but she was down to earth, cute, and shared my love of books. To be honest, she would have been my type if she was popular.”
On instinct, I narrow my eyes at his words. “What about the other girls? Did you not like them?”
"Not really. I was shocked when Kizana approached me at the cinema on a weekend asking me to join the Drama Club.”
“Why were you surprised at her request?” I asked although I had an inkling of what he was going to say.
“She was the most popular girl in school during our high school days while I was nothing but a loner with no personality. Every boy wanted to be her boyfriend but she picked me." He chuckled. "Thanks to that, I became popular overnight but…”
I leaned forward. “But…?”
“She was bossy, narcissistic, and always looked down on other students because they were less popular than her. She even bullied a girl called Kokona Haruka because she looked like her. However, Kohona was already a controversial student because of a rumor about her 'servicing' older men but Ayano told me it was a lie but I rarely trust her these days."
I instantly recalled what Ms. Kitagawa told me and his words confirmed my suspicion that he never loved her to begin with. But I wasn’t here to talk about his marital woes.
“What happened to the rest of the girls?”
“Well, Asu Rito but she was too ambitious for my liking. All she talked about was sports, the Olympics, eating healthy…ugh! It nearly drove me nuts.”
“The Olympics?”
"She dreamed of being at the Olympics or something like that," he frowned at his glass of wine. "It's unfortunate that she passed away from food poisoning."
"Didn't she die from an allergic reaction?" I ask.
He shook his head and looked away. "I heard it was from food poisoning or something. I don't really know."
I cocked an eyebrow at his words. “What about Osoro Shidesu?”
He sighed. “To be honest, I wanted nothing to do with that girl because of the rumors surrounding her.”
“What rumors?”
“A rumor that she single-handedly beat up eight boys by herself or was it fifteen?”
My eyes widen in shock. “Wow! Then she must have been a very strong girl then.”
“More like violent,” he scoffed and looked away. “For some reason, she didn’t like me and her cronies made it clear I wasn’t wanted. I was terrified of her but noticed she had a soft side. So I thought that since she approached me first, I might as well make full use of the situation I am in. We might end up like a couple in the romance book I have read. Then she got expelled.”
That caught my attention. “Expelled for what?”
“Something about her forcing another student to take pictures of other girls' underwear and threatening the student into silence.” He shuddered. “It’s just gross thinking about it.”
“You don’t need to tell me about it,” I mutter under my breath. “But that means she is…Sorry. Do you know where she is?”
He gave a nonchalant glance and shrugged. Something rang. Instinctively, I took out my phone since the ringing tone was familiar but it was blank.
“What the…? I thought I had switched it off!”
I looked back at Taro who was glaring until he noticed I was looking at him. "Excuse me. Can I take this?”
Before I could say anything, he stood up and abruptly leaves holding the phone to his ear.
‘Wow!' I thought.
‘The way he treated those girls is awful.'
I take out my notebook and write down Osoro Shidesu’s name and Kokona Haruka's name. Her name sounds familiar. Where did I hear it from again?
‘Did you notice he showed no signs of remorse when he talked about them?’
'There is no doubt that he likes Oka Ruto better. She is his type.’ I take out my phone and start searching for their names.
‘How do you know that?’
'He said so himself. He would have dated her if she was popular.' I reply as a picture of a woman appeared on the screen. 'Bingo!'
'What did you find?'
'Kokona Haruka. She is the costume designer for the show 'My Phenoex, My Love!' but it doesn't show where she lives.'
Then the atmosphere in the room turned grim and I looked up from my phone to see the ghostly girl sitting in Mr. Yamada's place staring at me with its grey soulless eyes. It wasn’t easy to compose myself but I did considering the fact that I had just delivered cupcakes to a man baked by a zombie-like creature, I steeled myself and waited for it to attack.
Instead, it tilted its head to the right, opened its mouth showing its sharp teeth, and gave an ear-piercing screech only to be blasted away by a purple light. I jerked back thanks to its impact and tried to breathe but it was impossible especially when beads of sweat trickled down my forehead.
“Emma?”
I blink and see Mr. Yamada looking at me with concern in his eyes.
“Are you alright? You look like you saw a ghost.”
Looking around, everywhere seemed to be back to normal until I notice something warm on my hand. I quickly retract it away from his grip and composed myself.
“Oh. It’s nothing.” I say.
“Are you sure? Your eyes look a little different," he pointed out.
I touch my face. “H…how are they different?”
“They have something surrounding your iris…Oh, it's disappeared. It must have been my imagination.”
An awkward silence hung in the air so I quickly changed the subject. “So Mr. Yamada, out of all these girls who did you really like?”
Taken aback by my question he looked away for a while before answering. “None.”
My face was grim. "Are you kidding me?"
“Sorry but I am not joking. Looking back at my love life during my school days, I didn’t know what I saw in those girls, especially Osana. It seems like I have outgrown girls like them.”
‘What an idiot!’
“I have even outgrown women like my wife.” he muttered loudly but my ears picked it up.
“Wow! I didn’t know one could ‘outgrow’ their spouses after ten years of marriage.” I say.219Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOUkvycHFn
“Yeah well,” he chuckled and looked back at me with a sly smile, "I found out I have an eye for a particular type of woman."
“And what are your types of women, Mr. Yamada?” I ask and when his sly grin turned into a lustful one I understood the message. “I’m sixteen Mr. Yamada.”
“Why don’t you stay for lunch? They make the most delicious beef steaks here.” he requested.
"I am sorry Mr. Yamada but I have to get home." I stand up. "My boyfriend is waiting for me."
His eyes widen to the size of saucers. "Your...boyfriend?"
I nod and proceed to carry the box of cupcakes from the table.
"When did you start dating?" he asked.
"I am sorry Mr. Yamada but it is none of your business," I tuck the box underneath my arm. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be on your way home? Your wife must be waiting for you."
He stared at me for a while and looked away. "No. I have no interest in going home to her."
I stare at him for a while and turn to walk away.
"At least stay for a while," he begged. "I will miss you."
Still refusing to look back, I bid him farewell and walk out of the restaurant.
Third POV
“Well. That’s what I get for putting my eggs in one basket,” Taro muttered under his breath as he watched Emma walk out the door. He took another sip of his wine and looked at his phone alerted him with a message.
'Look behind you.'
He did and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"
With a frown on her face, Ryoba stood up from her table and walked over to his. "I should be asking you that question."
Taro glared as she took a seat in front of him.
"Let's have a talk shall we dear?"
Meanwhile, Emma handed the box of cupcakes to Amai. "I am sorry. It seems like he didn't like the fact that it was made by his wife."
Amai only grinned. "It's okay. It's not like he truly liked me from the beginning."
Emma cocked an eyebrow at her words and was about to say something but changed her mind. Taking a look at her notebook, she tapped at Kohona's name with her pen before crossing it out and circling Osoro's name.
"Geez! Where do I even start with this one?" she muttered.
"I don't know," Amai replied.
"Say why don't you make it easier for me instead?" she asked.
A confused look appeared on Amai's face. "What do you mean? I did make it easier for you," then she grinned. "I helped you score a date with Taro didn't I?"
"It's not a date," Emma muttered back with a grimacing face.
"It sure looks like it from his point of view." she giggled. "He did look disappointed when you told him you had a boyfriend. I wish the others would see the look on his face. It was priceless."
As she laughed Emma frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose because of how hard the whole investigation was. "You know what? Forget this. I'll just talk to his wife instead."
Amai's eyes flew open at that and she reached out to grab Emma's hand. "No! Don't!"
"Why? It's pretty obvious she did it isn't it?" Emma asked.
Just as Amai was about to say something her eyes widened with fear and she started to back away before breaking into a run but a huge claw appeared behind Emma and wrapped itself around her neck. Shocked, Emma looked behind her and saw Jake standing behind her with a sadistic smirk.
"Jake stop!" Emma screamed.
"No," he replied as his smirk concocted into a sadistic smile as his eyes glowed purple. "She is trying to separate us!"
"Jake it's not what it looks like!" Emma grabbed his hand and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please. Let her go."
Jake's smile widened as dark wisps surrounded his arm increased the size of his demon arm which tightened his grip on Amai. Although she was already dead, she still choked on the dark energy emerging from the demon's arm.
"Honey please let her go!" Emma begged. "Please!"
He gave a side glance before releasing Amai who was still coughing. Emma rushed to her and noticed she and her arms were turning into a deeper shade of grey.
"Amai you are cold." Emma pointed out.
"Don't worry. I was always cold." With that, she stood up and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“What a bitch!” Jake muttered. Emma whipped her head towards him and he smiled. "Beloved! Why didn't call me? I was worried sick you know. Why didn't you call me?"
"Well, you could have just called me instead of acting like that," Emma replied angrily. "You nearly killed her."
He frowned at her words. "But she was trying to separate us Beloved. She was trying to hook you up with that...bastard." he looked back at the restaurant with clenched teeth.
Then the door burst open and Taro walked out in a huff without taking a look at them. Ryoba Aishi walked out after him wearing a frown and she turned to look at Emma with anger.
While Emma's goosebumps rose on her skin, Jake sensed her discomfort and turned her away."Let's go home, Beloved. She is making you uncomfortable."
Ryoba watched them leave and wanted to follow them but Jake looked back at her and glared. Startled, she quickly turned around and walked in the opposite direction but turned back and continued to follow them until they got to their apartment building.
"Shoot. It will be hard to sneak into that building," she whispered to herself. "I will have to plan this carefully."
“I want to kill him,” Jake muttered as soon as they entered the kitchen. “I want to end him, I am going to get rid of him, I need to eliminate him, I want to kill him, I want to kill him! I WANT TO…”
A pair of soft arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Shocked, Jake looked behind him and saw Emma hugging him from behind. The anger in him vanished as he slowly turned around to hug her back.
“I am sorry,” he murmured burying his face in her neck. “I am sorry for the way I reacted Beloved. I was just so angry!”
“It’s okay,” Emma patted his back. “You were trying to look out for me. Besides, it's my fault that this happened.”
“No! Don’t say that!” He released her from his embrace and cupped her face in his hand. “Don’t say that! You didn’t know this would happen. Neither of us knew what she was going to do so don’t mention that okay?”
Emma nodded stiffly and he grinned.
“Besides, what made me angry was he wasn’t getting the hint.”
Emma smiled. “Yeah, he wasn’t but it wasn't Amai's fault either.”
Jake scoffed. "Then she shouldn't have done that. She should have told you what happened instead of subjecting you to this."
Then the sound of someone making noises in the room next to them shattered the moment. Jake frowned and wanted to step out of the room but Emma stopped him.
“What is it Beloved?”
Emma shushed him and they listened carefully.
“Shut up! You don’t want her to hear you do you?”
Annoyed, Jake snapped his fingers casting a spell to silence the room.
Meanwhile, in the midst of Tokyo City, the famous catering service, ‘Shoku Tsuburaya’s Catering Company’ was still open. Inside the building, Shoku Tsuburaya going through the supplies for tomorrow's feast when someone walked in.
“Excuse me, sir?”
“What is it?” he asked without looking up from his notepad.
“This came in this morning,”
Shoku Tsuburaya turned to look at the woman wearing a white chef’s uniform with anger in his eyes but they softened when he saw the basket filled with parcels of ‘Cat-Ear’ cookies.
“Where did that come from?” he asked.
The woman only shrugged. “Should I place it on the counter?”
“Don’t be stupid! We just cleaned that counter!” he barked but seeing the fear in her eyes, he calmed down and put the cap back on his pen. “Give it to me. I will see them.”
The woman handed the basket to him and quickly walked out of the storage room. Rolling his eyes at her stupidity, he set the basket on the floor, he picked up the note, and opened it.
“Dear Shoku Tsuburaya,
How are you? I hope you are doing well and I know you have sharpened your culinary skills since my demise.
I am writing from beyond the grave to tell you my death isn’t your fault. Yes, you were the last one to use the oven but you followed all the necessary procedures as I told you: turning off the stove, checking the oven before leaving, and sniffing the air for any gas leaks. My death was not your mistake for I was murdered and my killer is still out there being punished for the sins of her family.
It is a shame I am not allowed to visit you thanks to the deal I made with the entity but I can’t rest knowing you are punishing yourself because of what happened years ago. You have a good job and a loving family. Don’t let what happened years ago take over you and please don’t avenge me. Be happy. Love your family and live your life to the fullest and I promise to look after you when the time comes.
Your Cooking Club President,
Amai Odayaka.
P.S. Someone helped me bake these cookies. What do you think of them?
With tears in his eyes, Shoku Tsuburaya folded the note. The handwriting was different but he could recognize her voice through the words; soft and sweet like a strawberry mochi cake. Then his eyes fell on the parcel of cookies.
Through the crystal ball provided to her, Amai watched him open one of the parcels and giggled when he winced after taking a bite.
“They are salty.” He muttered with a chuckle.
She giggled again.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
