Cult X

  Smiling, Komaki unhooked her skirt. “You don’t have to worry about what will happen to Mineno-san. She’s already someone’s woman. Her, and Rina-sama, and Takahara-sama . . . You’re not part of their little affair.”

  “But . . .” Narazaki finally said. “You just said she might become the leader’s.”

  “Don’t worry about that. The leader doesn’t sleep with anyone who isn’t obsessed with him. If he does fuck her, it will be of her own will. She will have just moved on from Takahara-sama.”

  “But isn’t that brainwashing?”

  Komaki smiled at Narazaki’s words. “You say such funny things.” She brought her body to his. “Brainwashing, romance . . . How are they different?”

  Her neck gave off a sweet smell. Her body was thin but sexy. She wrapped her arms around Narazaki’s back. “Why worry about other people’s women?” She kissed him, and pushed him onto the bed. “You can do what you want to me. I know how you looked at me at the mansion . . . Do what you imagined then. You can do whatever you want. Whatever you want.”

  What should I do? I’m running out of time.

  Ryoko Tachibana stood up from her chair, then lay down in bed. She had been moving between the chair and bed for a while now. I can’t handle this, she thought. I can’t handle him, or myself.

  It was Monday. She couldn’t make herself relax. If I listen hard, I can probably hear those other women’s voices. On Mondays the building always felt like it was shaking. Like the air were infected with what they were doing. This is the leader’s place. This space appeared in the world just for him.

  I can’t go there and have sex with some man I don’t love, she thought. Does it make them feel free? Don’t they feel like they’ll never be able to take it back? I’ve imagined having sex with a strange man. But I could never actually do it in real life.

  But . . . What was real life?

  Her mind went to places she didn’t want it to. How were her feelings different from normal ideas of chastity? Wasn’t she just scared? Tachibana closed her eyes. This was a gift, being so connected to him, even before they had discovered sex. “It feels good. It feels good.” They had been whispering that to each other since they were children. When they were thirteen, Takahara put his penis inside her for the first time. Takahara and Tachibana lived in their own private state of happiness. But that happiness came too early, and was probably the sort of thing one should not experience. It had bred a hatred in them for the rest of the world. They wanted to prove together that they were removed from everyone else by doing something they shouldn’t. Because hatred and pleasure were so closely tied together.

  The greater the pleasure they felt, the more they felt they were arriving at something. Something great and black, that stared down on their insignificance.

  Even as they got closer, they knew that great black thing would take no responsibility for what became of them. It would use them up and abandon them.

  There was a knock at the door, and a woman came in. A Cupro girl. Even though today’s Monday. Did she take the day off?

  “Rina-sama. I have something to tell you.”

  Ha, Rina, Tachibana thought. As if we could keep on running from it. It had been his suggestion she use a fake name.

  “It’s about Takahara-sama.”

  Tachibana stared at the woman. That’s right. She came on to him. But I thought she was sent to counseling. She should be on the 21st floor. She has a strange air about her.

  She was holding a tape recorder.

  “Today is Monday. Should you be here?”

  “Yes. I took the day off.”

  “And what about the twenty-first floor?”

  When Tachibana asked, the woman glared at her. “The leader wouldn’t sleep with me. I just sat there in his room . . . I think that’s why he forgave my desire for Takahara-sama.”

  “I wonder.”

  “Please, listen to this.”

  She hit the switch on the recorder. She had recorded it off Mineno’s USB. Takahara’s voice rang out. He talked of his plan to fool the leader and incite the believers. Tachibana’s heart began to race.

  This was proof. The proof that Tachibana had been searching for. With this, she thought. With this, I can stop him. But he’s already gone so far.

  “What is this?”

  “I know that you and Takahara-sama are dating. And that you have permission,” the woman said. “But I don’t think he loves you anymore. He stays by your side because you want him.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “Please, give up on Takahara-sama. If you do that, I’ll destroy this, and I won’t tell the leader.”

  Tachibana looked at the woman, who showed no signs of faltering.

  “If the leader learns about this, Takahara-sama will probably be killed. You understand, right? If you leave him, you can save him. So—please, don’t come any closer.”

  She’s crazy for him, Tachibana thought. She isn’t making sound decisions. He always acts so nice if he’s even a tiny bit interested in a girl. And then he causes these kinds of problems.

  “Please, calm down. Can I get you a drink?”

  “No thank you.”

  “Give me some time to think. This is too much.”

  Tachibana stood up, hit the switch on her electric kettle, and made some black tea. Black tea helped her calm down. She made a cup for the girl as well. She couldn’t let herself be carried away by the girl’s frenzy. She needed to act like her normal, everyday self.

  The woman was glaring at Tachibana, but when she finally took a sip of tea, she let out a short sigh. It didn’t show in her expression or her voice, but Tachibana knew she was nervous. She seems rather brave, Tachibana thought. But she’s also truly stupid. I can’t stand this kind of woman.

  “All right. Please stay calm and listen to me. What you just heard, that was a hallucination.”

  “What?”

  “I didn’t hear anything. You played me the sounds of trains.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “. . . Have you been thinking about suicide? We may have to send you to counseling again.”

  “I’ve had enough of this.”

  The woman grabbed the recorder from Tachibana and stood up. She was tall. If they fought, Tachibana would lose.

  “I’ll play this for Takahara-sama. He’ll know that I have control of his life. He’s mine. As long as I have this . . .”

  She collapsed onto the carpet. Tachibana gingerly picked up the recorder from beside her. The drug had worked more slowly than she’d hoped.

  Tachibana undressed, then prepared herself to go out. Seeing the clothes she’d taken off lying next to the woman on the floor made Tachibana feel disgusting, so she picked them up. Next to her, she now saw, was a USB drive. Could the original recording be on this? Tachibana picked that up as well.

  This idiot, Tachibana thought, as she looked at the shadows of the breasts and hips of the defenseless woman. I wonder if he slept with this idiot.

  “Rina-sama!” Her door was flung open and men entered. They were crying.

  “What? What is it?”

  “Rina-sama. We have to take you.”

  “What?”

  “We’re sorry.”

  They seized her arms. She tried to shake them off, but they were strong.

  “What happened? What’s wrong?”

  “We can’t say. We’re sorry.”

  Tachibana quickly slid the recorder and the USB drive into her pocket. The men were crying, but that did not stop them from taking her. They didn’t pay any attention to the woman on the floor.

  “Wait! Please, calm down . . . I was just drinking some tea.”

  “We’re sorry.”

  “Who told you to do this? At least tell me that much!”

  “We can’t say
. We can’t say!”

  They hauled her out of the room. They were crying, but wouldn’t answer any of her questions. Maybe they were taking her to the down room, where they put believers who start scenes. Yes, just as she thought, they led her down a long hall, and opened the down room door.

  “This is only temporary. Just stay here a little while!”

  They left. She didn’t know what was happening. The only way an officer could be treated like this was at the command of the leader, or by the decision of the officers’ council. But why? Who? They had waited until a Monday, when almost everyone was busy elsewhere.

  Tachibana felt short of breath, but she tried to get up.

  Then she finally realized she was not alone.

  5

  Yoshiko took Matsuo’s body back to the mansion in a cab.

  The old members came to meet her and they laid his body out on a futon. It was the middle of the night, but many had rushed over when they heard of Matsuo’s death. They looked at Matsuo’s body, which seemed to have gotten much smaller, and cried quietly.

  “But,” one of the members said. “But—he’s making a kind of strange face.”

  Someone let out a quiet laugh. Everyone had already vaguely noticed.

  “He’s grinning . . . He must have died thinking something dirty.”

  Everyone laughed. They laughed while still crying. Yoshiko laughed too, but there was a warmth lingering on her cheek. I can’t tell them he was kissing me when he died, she thought. That precious memory is mine alone.

  Matsuo had said they didn’t need to have a funeral for him. He claimed that dying was becoming one with nothingness, that living was existing alienated from that great nothingness. Dying was just going back to where you came from. It was completely natural.

  “Think about before you were born,” Yoshiko had heard Matsuo say long ago. “There was nothing, right? But that’s somehow comforting. Or think about when you’re sleeping. If you die asleep, you won’t even notice that you’ve died. Death is a natural thing. Living is being alienated from that peace. It’s weirder than death.”

  This is probably some sort of Zen thinking, Yoshiko thought. But we still have to bury him.

  “Yoshida-kun,” she called, although he was already at Yoshiko’s side. Yoshiko always addressed him with -kun. He was forty-four, but to Yoshiko he was still a youth.

  “Mineno’s gone,” Yoshida said decisively. His eyes were wet, but he was trying to focus on the things he’d have to do. “And not just her. Narazaki-kun, too. And Komaki-san.”

  Yoshiko was struck dumb.

  “This is what I think. Narazaki-kun and Komaki-san were summoned back to the cult. Mineno noticed and followed them, or they noticed her and took her with them . . . None of them will answer their phones.”

  Yoshiko felt her mind wandering, but then suddenly returned to her senses. Now wasn’t the time to be shocked. Yoshiko stood. She had faith in her legs. They could still move smoothly.

  “Everyone, listen. Mine-chan is gone. So are Narazaki-kun and Komaki-san. There is a chance they were taken to Sawatari-san’s cult.”

  A rustling ran through the hall.

  “I will go to the police. Everyone else, please split up and look for them. I know we don’t have any clues, but we can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  Everyone knew of Sawatari’s cult. They began discussing how to look for their friends.

  Matsuo had said it was possible that no one would be able to stop what was going to happen. But even if that’s the case, we have to resist. Right, Yoshiko whispered in her head, looking at Matsuo. We have to resist. If Shotaro were still here, it’s what he would do.

  “Yoshida-kun, can you take care of Shotaro’s burial at your temple?”

  “Of course.” He nodded. “Matsuo-san was always a little resistant to normal religion . . . And going to another world after death.” Unease lingered in Yoshida’s face, but he made himself smile. He turned to Matsuo. “But I’ll say a prayer just in case.”

  Mineno was shocked to realize that the woman the men thrust through the door was Ryoko Tachibana. But Mineno saw the surprise in Tachibana’s eyes as well, and knew she, too, had not expected this meeting. Overcome by jealousy, Mineno forgot about her own situation. Why this woman? Sure, her face is beautiful, but there’s nothing appealing about her. Her hair was too long. And her make-up wasn’t right.

  The only thing you’ve got on me is that you used to be Takahara-kun’s sister. You just met him first.

  But Mineno didn’t say anything. She kept her intense feelings bottled up. She always hesitated to argue with others. She’d hated herself for hiding her true feelings from those she disliked.

  “You? Why?” Ryoko Tachibana asked first.

  Mineno worried about what to say. She didn’t want to say anything she’d regret later. “I was brought here.”

  “Brought? This is your first time here, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “If that’s true . . . If that’s true, you’ll have to meet the leader.”

  “What?”

  “Do you know what he’ll do?”

  Their eyes met. It lasted just a few seconds, but to Tachibana it felt like close to a minute, and to Mineno several.

  Tachibana seemed to be thinking about terrible things, to see a dark future for Mineno. But Mineno couldn’t help but feel that she was also confused about something.

  Eventually, Tachibana heaved a small sigh. “It’s been a long time. I’m sure you have a lot you want to say . . . But now—now there’s something we must do, before you tell me what you think of me. Let me warn you—when you meet the leader, he will have sex with you.”

  “Why?”

  “Yes, it’s insane. But there’s nothing we can do about that. The inner workings of any cult are far removed from the normal workings of the world. Cults produce a sort of fictional world within themselves in order to keep themselves running.”

  “So he’ll rape me?”

  “Not necessarily . . . Even if he forces you at first . . . I don’t know quite how to put it, but the leader has this disgusting power. You’ll understand when you meet him. He’s special . . . I never did it with him, though. I had a special induction.”

  Because you joined as Takahara-kun’s woman, Mineno thought.

  “But there is one way you can avoid that. And it may lead to exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. We want the same things right now.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re the one who brought this here, right?”

  Ryoko Tachibana took out the recorder and then the USB drive. Mineno was shocked.

  “How did you—?”

  “These wound up in my possession. I believe we want the same things . . . Make the leader listen to this.”

  Above them in the great hall, many men and women were devouring each other, their lust let loose. It all tangled together, spewed forth, a tremendous uproar surpassing both logic and emotion.

  “But if I do that, Takahara-kun will be killed.”

  “Don’t worry. He won’t be killed. Trust me. He’s number two here. There are many believers who worship him as well. The leader won’t hand down that kind of judgment—or at the very least, not right away. If you show him this, he’ll have more important things to take care of than raping you. This whole cult will be shaken up. And all that man wants is to maintain this cult. This hell.”

  “And you?”

  “I’m not a believer. I’m an officer, but I just . . .”

  Tachibana swallowed her words. But Mineno knew what she was going to say next. She’d come to save Takahara-kun. That must have been it.

  “I can’t believe Takahara-kun won’t be punished.”

  “He’ll probably be punished. And eventually he may be killed. We’ll go to the police before then. You are
being held captive here. Once the police know where this place is, they’ll have no trouble getting a warrant.”

  “Tachibana-san . . .”

  “The only one who can stop Takahara-kun is the leader. The only way to stop him is to lock him up somewhere. You listened to this, didn’t you? You know what sort of situation he’s got himself into!” Tachibana’s voice grew louder. “He will really go through with it. It may be a few days from now. It may be tomorrow. We don’t have time. If he does do this, he really will be killed. The Japanese police don’t just arrest terror suspects. You know how conservative the government is now? They’ll shoot to kill—make him an example. Maybe some people will criticize that, but now, in this political climate, the mass media won’t criticize the police or the government for violating international laws and successfully shooting down a terrorist. The media will just be dragged along, rejoicing. Even on the Internet, everyone will side with the police. They’ll make Takahara out to be the brains behind a terrorist plot. His whole life will be destroyed . . . There’s no time. The only one who can show this to the leader is you. No matter how important the matter, the leader won’t meet with any of us unless we’re called. That rule is absolute. I tried to meet him earlier, but I couldn’t get in. But he’ll probably call for you in the next couple of hours. You’re the only one who can show this to him.”

  “And what about letting the police know?”

  “Of course that would be the best thing for us to do. But that’s not an option. We’re both locked up. We’d likely never get out of this building. But if there’s some sort of panic, we might have a chance.”

  The ceiling was low, and the room was small. Mineno thought of the other idea that must have occurred to Tachibana—an idea she had rejected. She could have not told Mineno about the USB and just let her be raped by the leader. She could have let Mineno get brainwashed, and become the leader’s woman. Then one of the people standing between her and Takahara would be out of the picture. It was a terrible thought. Because if she hadn’t handed over the USB drive and let Mineno get raped, it would have meant giving up this precious opportunity to stop Takahara. She must have thought about it, imagined a way to destroy me even though it would put Takahara-kun’s life in danger—she might have hated me that much.