Pygmalion Is Planting Seeds - chapter 7

News on the weather announced the end of the rainy season; Summer had officially arrived.

Under this fine weather, women exposed their shoulders and legs, seducing young men and lecherous geezers. Children were excited about their upcoming summer vacation and were beseeching their parents to visit an amusement park or to go to the beach.

In this happy season, when everyone was jumping up in excitement, my heart was sinking into the dark instead. A completely different feeling of despair and weariness from the time I was searching for Misaki, one that was crushing me while I pointlessly wandered the town before I could head back home.

This is was the fifth time I did that.

I had already had a plan in mind to acquire a corpse. I also made the preparations for executing that. However, the last piece to bring up the resolution I needed in order to move accordingly, was still buried somewhere I couldn’’t reach. I was still not confident whether I had enough courage to put it into effect.

I silently walked around the town which was slowly swallowed up in the darkness of the night.

Passing by a cafe bar, I saw some college students sitting oppositely in its open terrace and having a talk. Judging from their facial expressions, I could tell that they were discussing an important matter.

It seemed they were telling their friends their troubles, a simple action that had made me terribly envious.

For as long as I could remember, I was bad at measuring my distance with other people. I didn’t have the least idea about how far I was allowed to step into someone else’s heart, or how much I should confide to the other party to make them trust me. Whenever I received a favor from someone, or whenever they waved their hands towards me, I sensed from them the feeling of wanting to draw back. Even at this age now, those who I considered as friends could be counted on one hand, not to mention, these valuable friendships of mine have completely disappeared due to the long distance.

Even if supposedly, I had a friend whom I can speak to with a calm mind and spirit, I don’t think I would go on and ask him for a way to obtain human flesh. In the end, keeping a distance with the other party was better than speaking my mind clumsily and having them report me to the police.

I wonder how I am supposed to deal with a secret anguish sealed deep inside my heart.

When I was walking my way through the streets in a dispirited mood, in front of me, a man wearing a red aloha shirt and sunglasses waved his hand while looking at my direction.

“Heey, boy! It’s me! me, me! Don’t get the wrong idea though, I’m not a fraud.” That man leisurely marched toward me and removed his glasses. It took me a short while to make a connection between the face before me and the one I met in Erisa’s shop. “What are you doing in such a place with that gloomy face?”

“Same to you, why is a fine adult like yourself aimlessly loitering on a weekday?” I held my tongue though, enduring the urge to answer him back with a similar question and briefly explained my situation after hearing out that flesh was necessary to the Shishikuibana from Erisa.

“Same to you, why is a fine adult like yourself aimlessly loitering on a weekday?”

“That woman’s got a mischievous personality as usual. She could just have told you that from the start and everything would be nice. She’s definitely a sadist, right? She enjoys watching the Shishikuibana’s owners going through a hard time. Just because she’s a cutie doesn’t mean she can get too full of herself like that.”

The man started bad mouthing Erisa without controlling his voice. I recall the exchange between both of them last time. Perhaps he was forced to undergo a bitter experience by her as well.

“By the way boy, you still have some time to spare?”

“My name is Mamesaki Kuuya. And yes, I still have a bit of time.” Honestly, I just wanted to go back home and comfort myself by gazing at Misaki. But thinking about the pain of refusing his invitation, I decided to go along.

“Aight then, Soramame, let’s invite you to my house. I can help you with some advice as your senior in this field”

“What’s Soramame?”

“Kuuya and Mamesaki. By using the initial kanji in both of them it becomes Soramame. Don’t you think it’s a good nickname for a shorty like you?”

–Sorry for being a shorty.

–Sorry for being a shorty.

It was quite irritating having someone make fun of my appearance, but I thought it wasn’t interesting to complain about it currently.

I followed the man called Andou to a tower mansion near the station. Passing the entrance after a fingerprint confirmation, I noticed a security guard room in the frontward. Countless security cameras were installed in the elevator hall, surveying the interior without leaving any gaps. Looking at this strict security, I easily understood that this was not a mansion of ordinary rent prices.

“Rent price? Something close to blowing off the income of an average hard-working salaryman, I guess.” When I asked him about it in the elevator, Ando answered me casually without hesitation.

The chosen people, this sentence crossed my mind after hearing the answer.

Ando’s apartment was on the fifty-first floor.

“Open.”

In response to his short order, I heard the sound of the lock automatically moving in the door.

“It’s a voice identification inserted to an auto lock module. I drove the landlord to install it for me no matter what. It doesn’t open for anyone expect me, from both the inside and the outside”

By opening the door, a young woman wearing an oversized T-shirt was using a mattress, instead of a futon, and sprawled herself across it in a careless posture.

“Huh!? Don’t tumble around in places like this, you bitch!”

The young woman jumped up by Ando’s kick and leaped to the inner room with high speed.

“Dammit, what a brute! Well, I’m not providing them with a bed to use, sleeping on the floor is only natural I guess.”

When I was guided to the room where the woman went, I was startled by seeing what was in front of me.

There was a vast living room connected with a kitchen, a long and waist high counter acting as a wall between the two. Behind the counter, western liquor bottles were placed on a shelf and released a faint light. The furniture was high class to the point where it made you hesitate to even touch it. In one of the walls opposing the window, a huge aquarium was standing still and tropical fish were comfortably swimming and weaving their way inside the aquatic plants.

I heard he was an individual investigator, but I did not spot any research documents or equipment anywhere near. Maybe his work place is in another room.

“What an amazing room!”

Ando’s reaction to my compliment was weak. He’s probably accustomed to hearing this all the time.

Two young women dressed in camisoles were sitting on a leather sofa. Without caring to stand up, they kept staring at me with their contemptuous gazes.

“‘ey! Why are you lazing around! How many times did I tell you?! If a guest enters, then fucking welcome him! Now move!”

The women stood up reacting to Ando’s maniacal roar and moved their peach-looking round butts to hide behind the counter. The one who was lying down at the entrance was squatting in the room corner holding her knees and peeking at Ando’s expression with a frightened glance.

“You too! Stop making that irritating face and prepare the feed, stupid woman!”

The T-shirt woman stood up and went to the kitchen while dragging her leg that received the earlier kick.

“I showed you some shameful stuff for the first time, didn’t I? Dammit, it looks like they don’t care. Even if they’re quite attractive, dealing with a dog or cat is much better than this.”

“Are you raising the Shishikuibana over there?”

“Ah, that’s right. I didn’t call you here just to inspect my house. So let’s get to the real thing.”

I was guided to an eight tatami western style room. Apparently, it was a guest room in the past.

The interior had no furniture installed. However, around ten potted plants were lined up on the wooden floor.

All of them were ‘female’.

At first, I had trouble to figure out where to place my eyes, but in the end I persuaded myself of the fact that they were plants and not humans.

The plants were in different states of growth. There were some with an ambiguously shaped stalk, seeming to have started sprouted not too long ago, and there were those with a full grown body and a withered flower hanging on top of their heads.

All the Shishikuibana that were developed to the point where they ascertained a human shape, held their knees as they sat.

I remembered the Shishikuibana boy in Erisa’s shop made the same pose, and I could not help but wonder if all of them took this stance naturally during maturation.

“I like them to be at this approximate age” Ando finally said, and pointed to a beautiful black haired Shishikuibana stretching out till the hips. She is pretty erotic indeed, though, she was lacking the feeling of youth.

“This one was a thirty-three old divorced woman. Stating she got all lonely after breaking up with her husband, she started spending every night with a different man in the street. She didn’t understand that her unfaithfulness was the original cause of the divorce. Her body’s affinity was not bad, but you see, I hate women with this kind of character.”

“So you turned it into a Shishikuibana?”

“That’s right.”

The long T-shirt woman sluggishly walked over us while carrying flesh in a stainless tray. Ando received the tray and drove her away from the room with a single gesture as if she were a dog.

“Is this the flesh of the girl you brought to Erisa’s shop that day?”

“Nah, I delivered her the whole thing that time. Giving her the entire body is the condition of acquiring the seed after all. I initially thought of offering the girl to stay one night if she was willing to flirt with me, but once I remembered the seed, I decided to take the opportunity and kill her. Nobody would care where she was in any case”

“Whose flesh are you feeding the Shishikuibana then?”

“Oh? Prying for information? Information from me is pretty expensive, you know?

A cold sweat ran down my neck as I was seen through.

[Admin: Seriously? It was so obvious though. I thought it wasn’t a scheme to begin with! This…]

Ando kept glaring at me while biting his lips, but he eventually became unable to bear it and bursted out in laughter.

“I’m only joking! Just joking! It can’t be helped, let’s give the confused Soramame boy some information for free, shall we? It should turn out to be useful for you in the end.”

Ando gripped the flesh from the tray and waved it in the air.

“We usually send in living children from certain destitute foreign areas to Japan. Using money of course. The market does actually exist, since there are plenty of rich people who are willing to offer cash in order to adopt them. For the parents, it doesn’t only reduce another mouth to feed, but they can also gain profit from it. Although they don’t have the slightest idea that their children are being chopped up and fed to a plant.”

“Immigrating children with the false purpose of adopting them?”

“I wouldn’t go to the troubles of adopting them since they will end up as food. That’s why we’re smuggling them. If we use the legal route, there are enough chances of getting found out by the authorities.” After Ando offered the foreign child’s flesh to the widow Shishikuibana, he approached near its ear, and spoke, “you are blessed, aren’t you? You got released from this world’s ties to end up living in my place. Just forget about that husband who threw you away. Such a man doesn’t exist here anymore. All you have to do is stay with me and feed on the flesh I give you. Getting raised by me is your prime delight, and nothing makes you happier than devoting yourself just. to. please. Me.”

And with every Shishikuibana he fed, he said the same thing, over and over, each word fraught with arrogance and deception.

“Do you do this every day?”

“You see, you can brainwash the Shishikuibana if you do this. These fellows do not only have the same internal organs as humans but also the same brain chemistry. They can maintain the memories and personality they had before dying, but It’s possible to erase the inconvenient memories or even to alter their past life. Although they’re still unable to use their mouth, but their ears are working just fine.”

“But what’s the purpose of doing all of this if they can’t talk or walk? They are nothing but humans growing in a pot and made for viewing pleasure I mean.”

“Huh? Shishikuibana are able to talk and move.”

“Eh? Are you serious? I never heard about this.”

Ando laughed. “She didn’t tell you about this either?” He then scratched his head. “You know about the flower that blooms on their head, right? Before that flower turns into light brown and withers away you need to cut the growing root behind their legs. It’s pretty thin, so just a small cutter would do the job. And….that’s it I guess. They will eventually stand up alone and start talking”

“How did you know all of this?”

“Around the time when I started raising them, I pressed that woman for an answer. I caught her naked at that moment and took advantage of the situation. She easily spilled out everything out at that moment.”

“Wait! Does that mean all those women in the living room are Shishikuibana?” I yelped.

[Admin: Just noticing now?]

“That’s right. They’re not only useful for housework and miscellaneous stuff, but they also take care of my body. Just to let you get the correct idea, I’m not getting nursed, in other words, am using them as sex partners and doing them whenever and however I want. Very convenient slaves if I say so myself.”

“In that case, why not just do it with a real human? With all the money you have, you can just hire a maid or surround yourself with lovers anytime you want.”

“Don’t be naive. You can’t make a woman your own without throwing all your money at her. Even if you surround yourself with lovers, you can’t control them. ‘I want to eat that’ or ‘buy me that’, and the nagging continues, on and on until they are satisfied. But if you don’t satisfy them even a tiny bit, they’ll just leave you behind… Speaking of maids, you never know what will happen if you choose the wrong one. Once she finds your cash vault, she will keep on absorbing it till it’s left with only air. You can acquire a human heart using money, but you can never buy their souls. Women are often seen as foxes in the end. Behind that forced smile she makes in front of you, she is actually looking down at you while sticking out her tongue.”

Ignoring Ando’s rant, I observed the Shishikuibana in the room. All of them were killed and turned into plants in order to bring his ideal harem into reality. To top it off, their memories and personality got overwritten by him. Even if he was feigning innocence, I didn’t think what he did was unforgivable.

Pain spread across my chest as I became lost in deep thought. Soon it was too much that I excused myself from Ando’s apartment.

“That’s unfortunate, I was planning on showing you more stuff just now. Oh well, we shall do that at the next opportunity I guess.”

While I was putting on my shoes near the door, a sudden question popped up in my mind.

“I wonder why Erisa didn’t tell me that the Shishikuibana could move.”

“That’s because she has her own reasons to not tell you.” Ando said as he approached from behind.

“Did something happen in her past perhaps?”

Ando just grinned.

“You can just ask her if you wanna know. Though am not sure whether she will answer you or not.”

“Open,” and with Ando’s word, the door opened. “Well then. Later! And next time you visit, bring your Shishikuibana along.”

After exiting the mansion, nighttime had fully taken hold, and the darkness was overwhelming.

Ando’s haughty attitude had indeed been disturbing, however, getting invited to his house was definitely a fortune for me. I will make Misaki human again.

I will make Misaki human again.

At the moment I realized that I could adapt this empty dream into reality, my heart felt refreshed. Witnessing the moving Shishikuibana earlier served for a great push.

However, at the same time, countless problems started emerging.

The first problem was as usual. How can I acquire human flesh?

As expected, Ando’s method was impossible for me, simply because I did not own enough money nor connections. Probably, the only option was to keep wandering the town and praying to stumble upon a corpse.

The second problem was the unclear intentions of Erisa. Why didn’t she inform me about the Shishikuibana’s matter?

Judging from Ando’s information, it was safe to assume that she was hiding it from me on purpose. I still do not know her plan for doing so, however, if it held some kind of disadvantage to her side of things, then all I have to do is to turn Misaki into a human in order to expose it.

As I walked home, thinking about all kind of possible circumstances, I spotted Erisa’s street stall.

Only, she was not alone. A slender man wearing a dark suit in this summer season was arguing with her. His facial expression showed that he was pressed by something urgent, but by switching my sight to Erisa again, she looked as unconcerned as always. After the conversation reached an end, Erisa nodded her head, quickly cleared the stall, and got in her car with that man.

I kept observing the whole scene in a place far enough to avoid getting noticed by her.

Who was that man? What were they doing? I decided to stop thinking about such useless doubts and returned my thoughts to what really mattered in this moment. The things I could take care of with the power I currently had.

Ando told me that I could brainwash the Shishikuibana. I’m not sure whether that was the result, but those women in his apartment did indeed seem a bit dull. Seeing them willingly following his orders gave an impression as if they were nothing but tamed.

What kept me insecure of his place, was the glances of the Shishikuibana who were peeping at his face in the living room. Rather than respect or fear, I felt a different emotion accumulated in their eyes.

I considered going back to check on these uncertainties floating in my mind, however, that will never happen.

In other words, this was the first and last day I would ever visit Ando’s apartment.