Those Scars. 007

My mom returned back quite late, at 9:00pm. But glad that she has come back home all safe and sound. 

Skipping to the next morning; I woke up like the very usual this morning. Ah yes, I can finally carry out my daily morning routine.

After being done with that it seemed that my mom was convinced enough to let me go to school as I wasn't being all unusual or strange like yesterday. Hope she believes that it was just a simple rest that is keeping me in good shape currently. 

"Kei, you seem to be actually doing fine today."

"Yeah, staying home yesterday and resting in bed for almost throughout the day is keeping me in a really good shape now."

"I'm glad to hear that." She said and I was glad myself that she was convinced enough to send me to school today. After finishing up my morning meal, breakfast, I headed to school. The gates, yet again still didn't seem to have been open. The crowd which had already been swarmed around outside this big black gate is in a larger number than it had been on that day. There were not just students swarmed around, the crowd also had a mix of journalists, reporters, teachers, staff members from the school and…police officers.

The two guards who had gone missing on that day have both been found. Right in front of the gate, their lifeless bodies lie on that rocky floor. 

The crowd's student, teacher and staff member portion were filled with worries and fears. Both of the guards didn't seem to have been suffered from severe injuries or anything. It was really hard to take a good look at the bodies but I can at least say that much. 

They both have got strange looking scars on their faces, especially on the center portion of their foreheads. These scars…look like claw marks. Were they attacked by some wild animal which happened to have escaped from a zoo? Couldn't be, there was no mentioning about it ever since or even days before their disappearance. 

"They've been missing since the past two to three days, eh?"

"Yes yes, b-but then we filed a report on this. They both suddenly went missing, we had thought that they were unable to do their jobs for the day but…the calls never reached."

"Hm, I see. Now, early in the morning you find them both lying here on the ground like this?"

"Y-Yes, exactly. I'm always the first one to reach school and when I came here I saw these two lying here on the ground in this state…"

"They don't seem to have suffered any major injuries, but goshhhhh, just look at their last facial expressions. It's just hella awful to look at. What kind of a nightmarish figure scared them like this?"

"T-Their faces are the ones which scare me the most…"

"You've got any additional information to give? Also, these two seemed to have been strangled to death instead judging by the really mild cloth marking on both sides of their necks. But, they've got some claw markings too on their faces and in some other parts of their bodies."

"No additional information, officer. I-Is this a tough case to solve?"

"Probably. We barely have any information so far…"

"You're right." And that's how the conversation ended between Mr. Buss and Officer Rodrick. 

Strangled to death…the markings seem to be really mild, eh? 

Leaving claw marks on the face, especially on the forehead according to my analysis. Also, such marks left here and there on the body too…

I didn't get a good look at their facial expressions but I believe that the murder must've been done by something inhuman.

Summing everything up is giving me a negative answer. I wonder which took place first…the strangulation? Trying to rip open the skins on their faces with claws?  Traumatizing them to death? 

The answer could be anything. There is a probability of 1/3.

This is really giving me a bad feeling…since I mentioned earlier that magic does exist if such a grotesquery exists within a 'mystical accessory' like my necklace then of course the murder could've also been done by some supernatural being!

"Do not jump into conclusions so quickly, Keiko Marion." There was a slight pain on my temples as the cold message was heard an taken in by my ears. Makkura's presence was nowhere to be seen but yet the message was received by me. I didn't know what to reply as the crowd might find me strange to be talking to myself. "Grahah, I get it. Thou cannot reply to my statement in this huge crowd." It said as I still stood there, silent. The crowd was organized and calmed down. We were all in the end sent home as the police officers needed to further investigate this case. 

The school was now said to be closed for one week, if they find enough evidences or…find the culprit itself.

My mom was extremely surprised and I can easily notice the concerns all over her face. News spread throughout the town and now I don't have any studying to do for a week…wonder how I could spend it. I headed upstairs immediately after reaching home, threw my bag on the bed and relaxed on the blue bean bag situated at one corner of my room. 

"Finally in thy private domain, eh?"

"Ah yes, my favorite place in this entire world. Cannot be beaten."

"I get it. Now we both have got some privacy hither."

"We indeed do. So, you have any guesses for what really murdered those two geezers?"

"My closest guess is, the thirsty swindler who possesses that dire, hungry lion."

"That's extremely close! I didn't even think about this."

"Hrm, or it could be an element user and their entity."

"That too is a close guess. Could it be that Brandon guy?"

"This Brandon boy thou speak of…according to Denis Pub seems to be an element user and thy first target."

"Yes, exactly."

"Thy fear of me seems to have perished, thou seem to be communicating with me so casually…"

"It sure has. You seem to have grown slightly friendlier than the usual. You always seem to be aggressive in your accent."

"My voice remains the same throughout the rest of my life. I don't get what thou art trying to say."

"No worries, you don't really have to get it. It isn't really necessary and needed for our current topic."

"Coming back to topic. The culprit is either the swindler or any other element user around thy school."

"Hmm, yeah, probably. These are the only two guesses, right?"

"Mhrmm, aye. I can't think of anything else, so aye."

"I see…so this isn't really humanly possible at all even though both involve humans who aren't really humans…"

"Thou art right. The thirsty swindler is not an easy one to find…"

"Where do you think he lives?"

"No clue. He nests in his hive. That hive can be present anywhere. Inside or outside this milky way galaxy, on another planet in this solar system, on Earth, in thy country, in thy town or not in thy town, in another country, in another continent...just anywhere. Or why not, mayhap even in a totally different universe."

"Gosh, you are talking as if he really is some kind of supernatural being rather than a human being…"

"He is older than thou think he is…"

"Approximately or accurately how old?"

"It cannot be estimated. I am not aware of his age myself. He is no longer human, that is for sure."

"Oh…is he immortal?"

"I am not sure of that myself. He was once a mere mortal of thy kind."

"Damn. Is it really not possible to hunt him down."

"He is the hunter who cannot be hunted down. The probability is a zero. It is not even nearly impossible to hunt him down…it is simply just impossible."

"So, he is always the hunter and cannot become the hunted?"

"Aye, correct."

"Pretty obvious."

"I know, grahah."

"Now what to do, the Brandon guy is the other suspect even though I don't think that it could only be him…since there are multiple of these element users."

"Thou art right. But since they all art human beings regardless of age and gender, just like thou, they all live in ordinary houses."

"Human beings just like me…living in ordinary houses and possess similar powers as I do."

"Aye, that's literally what I just said."

"Yeah, I get it." I said as I heard my mom calling me for lunch downstairs. Gosh, we've had this conversation for such a long time. Makkura's grotesque figure slowly disappeared. I headed downstairs for lunch. Nothing so special today…

"So dear, you have any clue on who must've brutally murdered those two guards…?" My mom asked me and I could still notice the concerns all over her face.

"No clue. The cause of death seems to be due to strangulation…"

"That's what they were saying but now they say that they themselves are not so sure about it."

"Well…hope they find the culprit soon."

"Hope so too. This is the first time a murder has occurred around in your school, right?"

"Yeah, such things often take place in America. Crime rates do be high here…"

"Well, yeah. Can't do anything about it here. I miss Germany, don't you dear?"

"I do too, feel like going back."

"Same here." With that we both were done with our meals and I headed back upstairs. I threw myself on the bed and started thinking about what to do for this whole entire week. Lying down on my soft, comfortable bed, it's honestly making me feel drowsy. I'm feeling really homesick…feel like going back to my home country. I've never had this feeling before in my entire life. Well yeah, I mostly spent it there, this is such a foreign feeling to me. I found my phone to be vibrating on the nightstand. I gently picked it up to find Denis texting me. Is it perhaps about my mission?

Meet me at Autre restaurant again at 6:00pm today, sharply. We must discuss about this viral murder case. The message he sent me, he didn't seem to have sent me anything else.

Autre restaurant again…should I really go back there for this? What would Makkura say about this now.

"Thou can go, let's use him. I highly expect him to be having a different interpretation and guess but yet so similar to ours."

"Goddamn, you know what I'm thinking about."

"For a face, I can read thy mind and I know all thy secrets. Thou cannot hide anything from me, grahah."

"Sheesh, so you can't let me have my privacy?"

"Aye, well don't worry though. Not like I'm going to stick my nose into any of them."

"Good. Just don't invade into my personal space."

"Well, I'll automatically know everything thou feel and think."

"I get it…but still…"

"Nay buts, it is what it is, I can't control it."

"Argh, fine fine, I get it, alright?"

"Grahah, good." Makkura's voice got fainter and it was not heard at all for the whole period of time till 6:00pm.

Looks like it doesn't come out when I wish for it to…

I really wonder if Makkura has it's own concerns and worries. Does it even care about me? Does it care about itself? Does it care about anything or anyone at all??? I wonder…

Sharply at 5:40pm I decided to once again lie to my mom about just visiting the nearby library for killing my boredom by feeding myself with some novels I find there. Instead, of course I'm heading to Autre restaurant. Looks like my curfew today is 7:30pm. I reached the restaurant at 5:55pm and was glad that I was five minutes ahead of the deadline. I walked inside by pulling that newly replaced dark-wooden handle bar. 

"Welcome, Mrs. Keiko. How are you doing on this fine day, m'lady?"

"...." As soon as I entered there, my eyes caught the scene of Denis, casually standing next to the front counter, reserving a table.

"A table for two, please." He said to the same man who had strangely looked at me that day when I broke the handle bar of the front door.

"Hey Denis, I'm doing all fine. How about you?" I asked quite reluctantly. 

"I'm all good. Really glad that you're doing fine." Having said that, he led the way to our reserved table which was led to by one of the waiters. "Now, shall we discuss about this unsolvable-looking case?" He asked with a grin on his pale white face.

"Yes, go ahead. Who do you really think could've been the culprit." 

He immediately uttered an answer which left me in an unexpected shock.