Boogiepop Returns VS Imaginator Part 1 by Kouhei Kadono Page A

her greatest fear.
    With her head down, Aya waited for Masaki, not moving.
    She was always worried that he wouldn't come. But she couldn't possibly arrive after him. It would be awful if he hated her because of that. So she always came an hour before they were supposed to meet. But today was quite sudden, so she only had to wait another ten minutes or so.
    As Aya glanced at her watch, a shadow stood before her.
    She thought it was Masaki, and looked up, blushing slightly.
    Her expression froze.
    “. . . . . . . . !”
    It wasn't him. It was a very fat man, with graying hair and a broad grin. Big, round, glittering eyes.
    “What are you doing, 'Camille'?” the man said to Aya, in a high, reedy voice. The black leather jacket he wore was open at the front, but looked ready to burst apart at the seams at any moment. It shone with a tasteless gleam. There was a belt round his waist with a number of pockets hanging from it, each of which had a cell phone in it.
    “Nothing of any purpose,” Aya replied, dutifully answering to the name 'Camille,' eyes down towards the ground.
    “Meeting a boy? Remember who you are,” the fat man sneered. When he laughed, his eyes didn't budge, but stayed perfectly round.
    His fat lay entirely on his head and belly, which were perfectly round, but his arms and legs were thin and long like poles. He looked very unhealthy. He had almost no neck. Strongly defined features and swollen cheeks, like he'd placed pads on the sides of his face.
    At that moment, a gust of wind swept by, lifting his long, greying hair. His right ear was missing. There was only a jagged wound, like it had been torn off.
    The man straightened his hair, hiding the injury.
    “. . . . . . . . .” Aya's head was still down.
    “Look up,” the man said, and she obeyed, moving jerkily.
    He glared down at her frostily. “Have you done him?”
    “. . . No, not yet.”
    “What are you waiting for? Let him have you. You're in no position to make a big deal out of something like that.”
    “Yes. . . . . . . . .”
    “Well, not like that mission has to be in any hurry. . . but the other one does. Have you found any clues?”
    “No, I -- “ Aya started to say, but was abruptly cut off as the man punched her in the face.
    Aya fell off the bench, and sprawled on the pavement. Her lip was split and bleeding.
    “. . . . . . . . .”
    But her expression registered neither pain nor anger.
    “You just don't get it, Camille, do you? What are you? Mm? You don't perform your duty. You're nothing but a defective product.”
    He slowly waddled over to her, and kicked her in the side. He kicked her again and again, and each time her body shook.
    “. . . . . . . . .”
    But still her expression didn't change.
    “You see? I'm not letting you stay alive out of pity. If you aren't useful to the Towa Organization. . . if you aren't useful to me. . . I'll dispose of you whenever I wish. We've got a lot more where you came from!”
    He grabbed Aya's collar, and yanked her upwards, putting his face right in hers.
    “Now you listen to me. He's in this area.” His voice went low and quiet, like a knife twisting in her gut. “I don't know why, but all the young girls in this area know about him. It's idle gossip, but they know of him. There must be something. Finding out what that is. . . is your job. Not walking around and just wasting time with a guy you're not even having sex with. Got me?”
    “I understand, Spooky E.” Aya answered quietly, emotionless.
    And then, someone called out, “Hey! What are you doing?!”
    Spooky E twisted his head towards the voice. It was Taniguchi Masaki.
    “Let go of her!” he screamed, running towards them.
    “. . . . . . ! N-no!” Aya cried, terrified.
    “Mm?” Spooky E frowned at her emotion, but quickly grinned, and dropped her. “You must be lover boy.”
    He turned towards Masaki, on his guard.
    “What did you do to her?!” Masaki yelled, furious, and uncharacteristically came right at