Nasuverse [Tsukihime/DF] Killing Eyes and Faerie Hounds

[Ryuugi]

Killing Eyes and Faerie Hounds

I left school early. To be honest, it probably would have been wiser to just rest in the Infirmary, but if I did that at this hour, who knows how long it would be after school ended that I�d wake up? Ahika would probably have to be called and would end up worrying a lot, so I decided it would probably be better to just go home by myself, even if it required pushing my body.

I was lucky Akihiko caught on to how I was feeling, honestly; most times I would just end up silently passing out on the floor instead, but I started feeling a bit better once I was outside and breathing the fresh air. It had been awhile since I�d collapsed from dizziness and my bouts of anemia had gotten less and less frequent in the years after the accident, but they still came upon me now and then. I suppose that was a fair price to pay for having been able to survive that near-fatal accident.

I turn into the main street, walking slowly in the hopes of not getting sick. It�s just through here and the residential district and then it�s a straight line to the Tohno Mansion. Hah�I suppose at some point I�d have to start think of that place as home, but�that wasn�t something I was certain I was capable of doing. After all, that was the place where I�d�

��Ah,� I suddenly exhaled. I guess I wasn�t feeling as well as I thought. Looking around at where I am, I nearly sigh. No; there was no way I�d manage to get all the way to the mansion just by pushing myself. At best, I�d end up collapsing by the side of the street.

There�s no helping it, then. I move to the guardrail and lean against it, breathing in and out carefully. I�ll just rest here until my anemia calms down a bit.

There isn�t really anything else I can do, so I just blankly watch the street in front of me. A part of me is surprised; it�s only a little past noon but the streets are full. Many people are walking by where I�m sitting, hardly casting me or anyone around them a glance. Of course, I don�t recognize any of them, either, and am only watching them because I have nothing to do, so that�s understandable. It is, after all, just a normal crowd of people; the type one sees every day. Not something worth any particular attention.

�At least, until I see her.

All she does is walk past me, but I freeze. The air comes from my lungs in a helpless sigh, my hands tightening on the guardrail against my will. My eyes widen as I look at her�at her, and no one else, as my heart starts to race, and my back arches, as if my spine were about to tear free from it.

She was beautiful. Her hair is blonde and her eyes are green�and she�s not paying attention to me in the slightest. I felt warmer just by being near her, like she was a fire and I was a moth�and even though I felt like I would be burned if I did, I wanted to get closer to her.

She passes me by and I suddenly feel cold, like something important is getting away from me. My heart is pounding still, as if telling me to hurry up, and I can�t bare it any longer and stand up. My blood is rushing through my veins so fast it drowns out the sounds of the street, and I can think of only one thing.

Her. That girl. I�m going to�

I realize I�ve stopped breathing only when my lungs start burning, and I force myself to take in air. I feel so cold and it�s only then I realize I�m drenched in sweat. I tremble for a moment before I realize what I have to do.

I have to follow her. I have to follow that girl. I have to chase after her and talk to her.

My feet start to move.

She�s walking slowly, taking in everything around her with careful eyes. If I rush up to her now, she�ll notice me and I can talk to her and ask for her name�

Ask her name? Who am I kidding? I know very well that�s not what I want to do.

But I don�t know. I can�t think; what do I want to do? If I know, then I should know, but somehow it�s something I can�t put in to words.

My lungs are burning again and I realize I�ve stopped breathing once more, but so what? After seeing such a beautiful woman, it�s understandable that I�ve gotten breathless, right?

That�s right. Stop and ask for her name? Why would I do that? I�m not a kid, after all; there�s only one thing I have to do.

My breathing returns to normal and I put my hands into my pockets. My fingers touch steel and I remember the knife I was given just a few days ago.

How fortunate. It seems the tools are all here.

As she walks, I leave plenty of space between us, so she won�t notice. So other people won�t suspect. My pace changes, becoming more natural, and I shift my eyes to something else, showing the right amount of interest and no more, just like I was taught by my�

She and I are complete strangers, after all. I have to do my best to make it look natural as I follow her. Slowly, like I was riding a bike again after a long time and just brushing off the dust, I change; the way I walk, the way my arms and eyes move, my expressions, everything, and then I�m just a normal person. I continue to follow her like that as she heads towards a building�an apartment complex.

I look through the glass after she enters and see her heading towards the elevator. It opens immediately as she pushes the button and it�s empty; I see my chance.

�Ah!� I say, coming through the door and seeing her in front of the elevator. �Hold that, please!�

I �rush� towards it, moving normally as she looks at me. I have her attention for that moment and I wonder how she�ll react to me. I feel her eyes look over the sweat on my skin, my uniform, my hair, my build, my glasses�everything I appeared to be, she captured in a moment, and then I felt something brush over my skin, and knew it was looking at me too, trying to see what I was. But I was just a human; I had no _____ for her to find. A moment later she dismissed me completely.

I smiled at her as I stopped by her side and waited politely as she entered first before following her inside.

�What floor?� I asked.

�Eighth,� She replied simply and I nodded as I pushed the button. It might seem odd if I was taking the elevator up to the second floor and the third could be borderline, so without hesitation I pressed the button for the fourth and stepped back to lean against the rear of the elevator. She glanced at me as I moved before turning her attention once more to the front.

Good. Everything was in place except�

These glasses were in the way. I can�t do what I�ve come to do while they�re still on.

�It�s a promise, Shiki; you should never cut those lines thoughtlessly.�

�A woman had once told me that, but�I couldn�t even remember her name or face right now.

I take my glasses off.

I can see the lines. Not just them, either, but countless black dots covering everything. Has something happened to my eyes? The sight of them makes me wonder again; what am I trying to do? Why am I trying to do this? What do I want to do with that girl? I don�t know anything.

I put my glasses in my pocket as the elevator reaches the second floor. The motion draws her attention again�I can tell even if she�s not looking at me�so I wait. She�s different, now that my glasses were gone, and I took a moment to watch her in the periphery of my vision. Her blonde hair had faded to a silvery-white and she was tall�taller than me, actually, standing over two meters. Her skin was pale and beautiful, and though I was behind her, I could make out some of the features of her face in the reflection of the elevator doors. Her lips were cherry red and her eyes shone through shifting shades of catlike green. She was beautiful beyond words, even more so than before, but that beauty was marred by the lines and dots, like everything else I saw. But I do nothing, even as we reach the third floor.

But then we reach the fourth. The opening of the doors draws her attention away from me for an instant and I see my chance. I take a silent step forward and pull out my knife.

��W�� The woman says. No, she tries to say. She will never finish, because I�m already cutting her apart. The words fall silent as the steel of my blade passes through her pale neck, white flames erupting bright against the white of her skin at its touch. She tries to do something, fingers curling into some trained gesture, but it�s already meaningless. I finish with her neck and trace the line along the back of her head, turning as I pass her. My blade traces from her right shifting eye to those beautiful red lips, and then down to her abdomen, through her left breast, up from the rib to the heart, across her right shoulder, right below the elbow, through the middle of her hand, across her right thigh and above the left knee, across her left thumb and index finger, through her left forearm, across her stomach in two places, down through her groin, across her right ankle, and through her right foot, and I leave her in burning pieces on the floor of the elevator as slipped through the barely opened doors, not even taking a second. It had happened in a passing moment and was done�and she was nothing but swiftly burning meat.

 

[nick012000]

So, was that Lea or Mab that Shiki just tried to murder? I dunno if Lea's Immortal (even if she's confirmed as being more powerful than someone who is), so if Shiki killed her, she might actually stay dead.

 

[Ryuugi]

So, was that Lea or Mab that Shiki just tried to murder? I dunno if Lea's Immortal (even if she's confirmed as being more powerful than someone who is), so if Shiki killed her, she might actually stay dead.

Don't have the books on me at the moment to check, but I believe Lea's hair is red.

 

[Ryuugi]

The Elevator doors chime as they open fully.

��Huh?� I hear an incredibly dumb sounding voice say.

It takes me a moment to realize that voice is coming from my own throat.

I feel dizzy and stumble, turning to look behind me. The pieces of the woman are still lying there are the floor of the elevator, burning. The wounds are cauterized by the flames, so there is no blood, and the cuts are very clean, but even so, she looks like someone had broken apart a jigsaw puzzle and left the pieces lying on the ground. The scent of burning meat fills the air, and it seems so strange�I look around wildly, but there�s nothing. There�s nobody in this hallway but me and the scattered pieces of the woman.

I look down. In my hands is the murder weapon, the knife that had cut her to pieces. The doors chime once more as they begin to close, draw over the sight of her body like a curtain and hiding it from my sight, but the scene is still there, bright and vivid in my mind.

�She�s�dead�?�

The question is stupid, I realize the moment I speak it. Of course she is; she wouldn�t be human if she could survive after being cut to piece like that.

�Why�?�

Any equally pointless question. I just did it with my own hands, after all. Like it was nothing, I cut apart a woman I didn�t even know.

�I killed her,� I breathed, looking at the closed doors of the elevator. There was no mistaking it; I had killed her.

But why would I do that?

There was no reason for it. I had no reason to kill her. I didn�t even know her. It didn�t make any sense, did it? Was it a mistake? It had to be a mistake, right? It could have been a dream or a nightmare or something, but it couldn�t have been real.

But no, that was a lie. The scent of her burning flesh still filled my nostrils, I was still in the apartment complex, the elevator was still heading up�without a doubt, it was real.

I stumbled again, barely managing to stay on my feet. This was wrong. This was all wrong. Why would I do this�I didn�t even know her! She was just a woman I�d passed by on the street! She was a complete stranger; why would I kill her!?

But then, the reason was already clear. From the moment I saw her, I�d only been able to think of one thing. The thing I couldn�t put into words before, the thing I didn�t want to acknowledge�

Yes.

I had wanted to kill that woman.

�Ah��

I felt like throwing up.

�Ugh, ah, aah�!�

I shook, scared and sick at what I�d just done, and I ran. I didn�t think about hiding the body, I didn�t think about how I might be seen, I just wanted to be anywhere but here, so I ran. Half-crazed, I left the apartment behind. I make it down the street before I can�t hold it in any longer and fall to my knees, vomiting up the contents of my stomach while I cry. Even once my stomach is empty, I can�t stop and I convulse slightly as I dry heave. It hurts, like my insides are burning, and I collapse to the side, continuing to cry.

I killed someone. Without any reason, without any remorse, I�d ended someone�s life. Why I�d done it�even now I could not find a reason.

I choke and start to cough into my hand, and it leaves behind droplets of scarlet red. My throat had started to bleed because of my body wouldn�t stop trying to throw up and it hurt.

It hurt, so�this definitely wasn�t a dream.

Maybe I did understand. Looking at her, I�d thought of her as the most beautiful woman I�d ever seen, but that thought paled in comparison to when I�d torn her apart. That moment, when my blade traced her lines, had been sublime, like I�d realized what I�d always wanted to do and done it. The beauty of the sunset or the sea or a piece of art�they were nothing compared the awe and wonder that had come what chopping her to pieces.

I�d known since long ago that anything whose lines I cut would be torn to pieces and I�d tried not to think about it, but I�d also always known that had applied to people as well. If I was the type of person who wanted to kill people, these eyes were a weapon that could end many lives.

Since I�d known that�perhaps I should have put out these eyes or locked myself away.

��I�m sorry, Sensei.� I said, still crying. �I couldn�t even keep such a simple promise.�

But I don�t care about myself. I killed that person. That person�s life up until now, the future she�d dreamed of�a complete stranger had destroyed it all for no reason.

Even if I regret it, that isn�t something that can be forgiven.

�Have I�gone insane�?� I wondered. I didn�t know the answer. The impulse I�d felt had vanished, but while it had lasted�I hadn�t even thought of holding back. I hadn�t even considered trying to stop myself. Killing that woman had seemed like the obvious thing to do, the only thing that had made sense, and I�d done it without giving it any thought.

Then the answer was simple. I really must be insane. Maybe I�d been insane since that day eight years ago�

I feel myself start to fade, but from somewhere nearby I hear a voice�

��Shiki-sama?�

XxXXxX

I wake up slowly, still feeling dazed. I stare blearily up at the ceiling for several seconds before I understand.

�My room�?�

�Have you awakened, Shiki-sama?�

I turned my head slowly, .

�Hisui�?�

�Yes,� The maid nodded, staring quietly at him. �How is your body feeling?�

That�s an odd question. My body is feeling fine, but�

The woman�s face, before and after I was done with it, flashes through my mind.

��Why�?�

Why am I back in my house, even after I killed that woman? I ran from the scene of that crime in horror, but her body would have been found. Surely someone would have connected it to me, a young man who ran from the building and vomited nearby, right?

So why aren�t I in a jail cell?

�Even though I k�� I say after a minute, only to stop. I was going to say I killed a woman, but I didn�t want Hisui to know. I was a coward, I realized, on top of being a murderer. I knew I had to be punished for my actions, but I didn�t want them to know�not yet, at least. I could admit what I�d done to a police officer, but not to Akiha. It was cruel of me, to make her find out some other way, but I couldn�t say it to her face.

I couldn�t see the look in her eyes when she found out her brother was a murderer.

�What am I doing here, Hisui?� I asked instead.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked at me.

�Do you not remember, Shiki-sama?� She asked, concerned. �Your school called to say you had left early because you felt sick, but you didn�t come back, even after the Sun fell. When my sister went to look for you, she found you resting in the park.�

What?

�The park? You mean the park near here?�

�Yes. She said she found you resting on a park bench and woke you. The two of you returned together.

�What?� I said, shaking my head slowly. �I don�t remember any of that.�

�I do not think that�s odd, Shiki-sama. When my sister brought you back, it seemed like you were in a daze.�

�I seriously don�t remember any of this. But I have no reason to doubt what Hisui says�do I?

I turned my eyes to the clock. It was already nine o�clock. I�d left the school at noon and done�that less than half an hour later. Over eight hours had passed�It was possible, maybe. But I couldn�t remember any of it.

�When you returned to the mansion, you said you wanted to sleep. My sister suggested calling a doctor, but you said it happens all the time.�

��I see. I guess I do collapse pretty often, but��

This time was different. It was definitely different. Because I had�I had definitely killed someone.

�Did you have a nightmare of some sort, Shiki-sama? You looked like you were having a bad dream and you don�t look well��

I looked away. There was no way that had been a dream, but�

�Yes. Just a nightmare, Hisui. I�m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I�m alright now, thank you.�

�Then if you are feeling better, I will go prepare dinner now.�

The thought of eating with those images still in my mind�

A small shudder goes through me.

�Ah, no, that�s all right. I think I�ll just sleep like this today. More importantly, did Akiha say anything when I came back?�

�Akiha-sama was not home at the time. She returned a couple of hours ago and was informed of your condition. Why?�

�Ah�I was just wondering if she was upset that I caused her so much trouble.�

I didn�t have to face her yet. I relaxed a bit.

��She was worried, but I would not say she was upset with you, Shiki-sama.� Hisui said, before stepping back. �If that is all, I will be leaving now�please call for me if you need anything.�

�Good night then, Hisui. I�ve very sorry about today. Please say thank you to Kohaku, as well. I promise it won�t happen again.�

It wouldn�t. I�d make sure of it. Because tomorrow�

�I understand. Goodnight.�

XxXXxX

It�s six when I wake up. I hadn�t slept well last night; every time I was about to fall asleep, I would see that woman�s corpse, stark and fresh in my mind. Hisui comes to wake me shortly after, and I finally get out of bed. I take a bath, wanting to put this off a little bit longer, and perhaps it was a good idea, because both my head and purpose seem clearer after I�m done. After I�m done, I change into my uniform so as to not make anyone suspicious, and go downstairs. Kohaku meets me and stops me on my way to the door.

�Good morning, Shiki-san,� She says cheerfully. �You�re up early today. Just hold on a minute; I�m going to prepare some breakfast right now.�

The mere mention of food makes me flashback to that woman and I lose my appetite immediately. Besides, I�m in a hurry and if I stay here, I might start to have second thoughts, and I couldn�t let that happen.

�Ah, that�s okay, Kohaku-san. I�ll head to school today without eating. Goodbye.� I said, heading towards the door to leave for what would probably be the last time.

But suddenly, my arm is grabbed stopping me.

�Shiki-san!� She says, and I realize with some surprise that she�s really angry. �What are you saying!? Have you looked at yourself!?�

Ah�now that she mentioned it, I�d looked at myself once in the mirror. I�d looked like death warmed over, too be frank, so maybe I shouldn�t have been surprised that she was worried.

Even so, I try to play it off.

�It�s okay, Kohaku-san; it�s just because I had an anemia spell yesterday, so I look a bit bad. I�m used to it, though.�

�You shouldn�t skip meals while you�re feeling sick, Shiki-san! Hisui said you�d skipped dinner last night, too, and did you even eat lunch yesterday!?�

I had, so I nodded, even though I�d ended up vomiting all of it up. Of course, that didn�t really seem to satisfy Kohaku.

�If you don�t have an appetite, then I�ll prepare something light for you, so please wait in the dining room!�

I couldn�t really justify needed to leave the house without even taking a snack with me�or I could, but not in any way I�d be willing to tell Kohaku�so I resigned myself to waiting a few more minutes. What could it hurt, after all?

And then I saw my sister waiting there.

�Good morning, niisan. How are you feeling?� She asked worriedly, her usual sternness gone.

She�s the last person I want to face right now, but I answer the question regardless.

�Ah�good morning, Akiha. I�m feeling�� I decide to lie. ��better today. I�m sorry for worrying you.�

I try to follow Kohaku into the dining room, but she�s apparently decided to thwart my every action.

�Please wait here, Shiki-san; I�ll call you when it�s ready!�

XxXXxX

Talking to Akiha is�hard. She waited eight years for me to return and when I do, I kill an innocent woman just a day later. What kind of brother�what kind of person�am I? Now, I�m going to have to leave her again, and this time I won�t be back in something as short as eight years, if ever. I can barely look at her, I feel so guilty, but this is probably the last time I�ll see her except through bars, so when she speaks, I respond. I ask about her school, trying to get a feel for whether she has any friends that can help her through things after I�m gone, and she scolds me for collapsing yesterday. I accept the chastisement easily and try to make a few jokes, hoping to at least give her something before I ruin her life. But when Kohaku is done, I�m quick to enter the dining room and despite how my stomach feels I scarf the food done, hoping to leave as quickly as possible.

When I�m done, Hisui escorts me outside, but right as I�m about to leave, I�m stopped again.

�Shiki-sama�what happened to you last night?� She says so quietly I barely hear it, but when I do, I all but freeze.

��Nothing in particular,� I say after a moment. �I just felt sick at school and was on my way back when�well, I suppose I just collapsed in the park. As Akiha said, I was careless, but I promise I won�t be causing you anymore trouble from now on.�

Without another word, I smile at her and leave.

The police station is only a few blocks away from the school; it�s really just a left turn and a little walk from the intersection I usually go straight through to get to the school. When the lights turn red and I�m forced to stop yet again, I wonder if some force is conspiring against me or if I�m unconsciously trying to drag things out. It�s probably the former, unless I�m punishing myself, because from where I�m standing, I can see my school. I take a moment to look at it for the last time.

My friends are probably there already. I wonder when they�ll find out about what I�ve gone. Will it just be in the newspaper or will they find out on TV? Will they believe the truth or reject it? I can imagine Akihiko and Satsuki being unable to believe it�a day ago, I never would have thought myself capable of such a thing. I�ve probably caused them both a lot of trouble, too; they�ll probably have a hard time, having been friends with a murderer and not knowing it. What I�ve done will probably make their lives a lot harder.

I close my eyes for a moment, apologizing to them silently, before opening them again to look at the school�

Between the cars rushing by, I catch sight of a woman in green, with blonde hair and green eyes. Around her, there are nothing but students, and her dress stands out sharply from their uniforms, none of them so much as looking at her, despite her beauty.

I�ve seen her only once before, but there�s no way I could ever mistake her for someone else.

But that�s impossible. I killed her myself. Yesterday, I definitely cut that woman to pieces.

But then, if that�s so, why is she here? Have I gone even more insane? Have I started to hallucinate? Or is she really, impossibly there?

The light turns green and the people around me start to walk to the other side, but I can�t help but stand there, stunned.

She stands there, beside the school, leaning silently standing beside the wall of the School. She looks like she�s waiting for someone. Who�s she waiting for? Could it be�?

I have a bad feeling about this.

The woman in green looks my way. It�s probably nothing more than a coincidence. It has to be, right? She�s just a girl who looks like her and she�s waiting for someone else. After all, definitely, I killed that woman yesterday, and left her burning on the floor.

But she�s still looking at me and a slight smile forms on her lips. The woman I killed turns and heads towards me.

The light turns red again, but she doesn�t even slow down. She moves gracefully through the rushing cars, paying no more attention to them then they do to her, walking straight across the street as they pass by.

It can�t be her. It�s a dream or a hallucination, but it can�t be her.

It can�t be her.

It can�t be, but even so, when her feet touch the sidewalk less than a meter away from me and she looks at me, smile still on her lips and I can feel heat on my skin and my heart�s pounding enough to hurt and she still refuses to fade away�

When that happens�

I run.

 

[Ryuugi]

I run as fast as I can. I run with all my might. I run with no regard to anyone or anything around me or about how I looked or where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get away. My heart starts pounding painfully and my lungs and legs start to burn, but I don�t stop�I can�t stop, because if I do�

I look behind me, and the woman in the green gown is still there, walking towards me, following me. The woman I killed is chasing me, so it�s obvious I had to run.

But every time I look back, she�s there. She�s not running, but simply walking towards me, her movements so graceful that moves easily through the crown, not bumping into anyone or even slowing down. She�s neither sweating nor hurrying�and yet, she�s the exact same distance away from me as she had been before.

Every time is the same.

I run until my arms feel heavy.

I run until my legs feel like they�re about to fall off.

I run until I�m panting so hard I can barely breathe and I�m sweating through my clothes.

And yet�

And yet I can�t even get away from someone who�s merely walking after me!?

I�ve already run several kilometers, but even so, when I look back she�s always there, walking towards me. Casually, like she�s taking a stroll, she follows right behind me.

It�s not funny, but I start to laugh. I laugh until I cry, but I continue to run, because I know that if I should stop, it�ll be the death of me. If she catches me, she�ll kill me for sure. I have nothing to base that on�no reason, no basis, no evidence�but for what other reason would a murder victim come back to life and hunt down her killer?

And perhaps that�s her right. Perhaps she deserves to take my life as I had taken hers.

That�s logical.

Perhaps even reasonable.

But I still can�t help but run from her.

But then it�s over. I collapse suddenly, falling forward pathetically, not because I�ve tripped over anything but simple because I could force my body to move a single step further. With anemia yesterday, how little I�ve eaten, and how little sleep I managed to get, it was a miracle I�d even managed to get this far, but it didn�t seem that way as I fell, because no matter how amazing it was, it still wasn�t anywhere near enough.

When I looked back, she was still there, walking slowly, but now that I�d stopped she was gaining ground with slow, steady steps.

Pathetically, I somehow manage to crawl my way into the alley beside me and to the wall in a hopeless attempt to hide myself from her. I try to pull myself up with it, knowing well that even if I did I couldn�t possibly continue to run, but I couldn�t even do that much. My knees buckled almost instantly and I collapse back down.

I can�t run from her any more.

I haven�t been breathing properly for a while now and my head hurts because of it, but I try to gain control of it and think.

Even now, I don�t know what�s going on. I don�t even know what I�m doing. But�

��I�m sure I killed her.� I whisper aloud.

That was a fact. It was something there was no way around. I had definitely, absolutely killed that woman in the most through way imaginable. I�d left her scattered like a broken glass and the rent pieces of her body had even started to burn, so�she had definitely been dead. I�m sure I killed her so�

How was she still here?

�Oh?� A beautiful, feminine voice asked, colored faintly by disappointment. �Is the chase over already? A pity.�

She turned into the alley, stopping in front of me. Her smile was still on her lips, but her eyes blazed fiercely with barely constrained emotion,

�Hello,� She greeted warmly, despite her eyes. �Do you remember me? You gave me quite a bit of trouble yesterday.�

My heart clenches in fear as I look at those eyes and I know I have to run away�but I can�t. I can�t move; can�t even stand.

I try anyway, but all I manage to accomplish is knocking against the wall as I attempt to jerk myself upright.

She shook her head slowly, pleasant smile never fading.

�The chase is over,� She repeated, gesturing towards the air behind her. A slight shimmer filled it for a moment before fading away. �This is a dead-end and no one shall be coming along or interfering.�

I glance deeper into the alleyway and curse myself for my stupidity. Without even thinking about it, I�d tried to hide in here, but thinking about it, if I wanted to be safe I should have stayed closer to other people. Coming into a desolate place like this�it�s the same as asking her to kill me.

�I�m�happy to have found you,� She said, lifting a hand to my face. �It�s fortunate that I remembered your uniform. It wasn�t so long ago, but for me, these last eighteen hours were some of the longest of my life.�

Slowly, deliberately, she dragged the tip of a nail across my face�and I felt it. Without a doubt, this was no dream or hallucination, and her words left no doubt that she was the same woman.

But still�

�I��

She looked at me silently and let me stutter, something like amusement glimmering in her eyes.

�I definitely��

�Yes, I�m the woman you chopped to pieces so ruthlessly yesterday.�

�T-then�that�s impossible! There�s no way a human could survive something like that!�

It wasn�t something that could be argued or debated. I�d cut her brain in two, left half her face on the ground, torn of her limbs, sliced through her vital organs, and left her burning corpses on the floor. That wasn�t something anyone could just get better from or heal�even if the best doctors in the world were there, all they�d be able to do is state the obvious and tell someone she was dead.

So how�

�Of course not,� She said patiently. �But then, I�m not human.�

��What?�

�I�m not human,� she had said. I�d definitely heard her right, but�

�You�re not�human�?�

�Shouldn�t that have been obvious?� She asked. �As far as I�m aware, there are no mortals who could survive what you did to me.�

Well, of course. Hadn�t I just thought that? There was no way a human could do something like that. But�

�No way�� I breathe. I want to laugh, but my throat is too dry. ��The hell�?�

But�it did make sense, in a way. If she wasn�t a human, that explains why she was alive after what I did to her. A part of me feels ridiculous even thinking about it, but without a doubt it makes more sense than a normal person spontaneously getting better after what I did. Perhaps this was hard to believe, but that would be impossible.

I start to calm down. In a situation like this, I need to observe carefully and think things through.

�I see; you�re not human. What are you then?�

�My people have gone by many names, but the one we prefer is the Sidhe. That is not a term that would mean anything to you, however, so you can instead think of me as an Immortal.�

Ah, good. �Shee� doesn�t mean a thing to me, but Immortal is something I can understand. Something that can�t die�in that case, of course it makes sense that she would still be alive.

�I see, so you�re a Shee,� I say, and she nodded, smile widening. It was an odd reaction, I thought, but then, this entire conversation had long since become weird. I take a moment to ponder how strange it was that I of all people ran into someone who wasn�t a human and choose to try and kill them, but I suppose things like odds didn�t matter right now. �So, what does someone like you want from me, then?�

For a moment, she almost loses her composure, but seems to recover at the last moment. The emotions running through her eyes brighten feverishly, but it doesn�t touch her face.

�You must be fairly used to this, murderer,� She murmured. �What do you think one of your victims would want after you were done with them?�

�To be honest, I never expected it to come up�I didn�t think the woman I killed would come back to complain about it�� I look out into the sunlit street just a few feet away, pondering.

�Are you ignoring me now, Murderer?�

��No, I�m paying attention. Could you just be quiet for a little while though? I�m contemplating just how unlucky I am.�

But really. First there was a woman who I went insane the moment I saw and cut to pieces. Then, horrified, I collapse and have to be found and taken back to the Mansion. Afterwards, I spend the night wracked with guilt and decide the only way to make up for what I�ve done is to turn myself into the police before I hurt anyone else and face the punishment of the law�only, the woman I cut to pieces was actually an immortal so she put herself back together and then hunted me down, chasing me across the city and cornering me in an alleyway. I can�t help but laugh at how surreal it all is.

�But it�s not all bad.

Definitely, the woman I tried to kill is still alive, so it�s not all bad. That is definitely something to be happy about. I may have ended up being cornered by a strange person, but I definitely prefer that to being a murderer.�

Of course, it goes without saying that the woman I left on the floor in pieces has a different perspective on things.

My laughter dies with a croak as her hands close around my throat. The controlled fa�ade she kept falls away suddenly after a moment of being stunned silent by my words. Her eyes fill with hate enough to burn as they bore into mine and when she speaks her voice comes out in a hiss.

��No. Rather than me, why don�t you be silent, Murderer? Just quietly die and fall into hell.�

 

[nick012000]

You know, if Mab really wanted Shiki dead, he'd already be dead. She did tell Dresden that if he tried to shoot her, he'd be dead before he could pull the trigger, after all.

 

[Ryuugi]

You know, if Mab really wanted Shiki dead, he'd already be dead. She did tell Dresden that if he tried to shoot her, he'd be dead before he could pull the trigger, after all.

The Queens can't kill unassociated mortals, remember?

 

[nick012000]

You know, if Mab really wanted Shiki dead, he'd already be dead. She did tell Dresden that if he tried to shoot her, he'd be dead before he could pull the trigger, after all.

The Queens can't kill unassociated mortals, remember?

Yeah, but Shiki killed her, and it's not just accepting their gifts that can put you into their debt.

 

[biigoh]

That's what you get for killing mystery blondes, they end up a part of your life. ^_^

 

[Brandark]

It looks like its someone from the Summer court , probably Aurora or Titania , from the description . But I think Shiki will find the consequences of chopping strangers to pieces a bit more severe compared to canon . The sidhe have a very different attitude towards humans compared to Arcueid .

 

[Valint]

The fire references would imply Summer to me, and the description (catlike green eyes, white hair) seems to fit Aurora.

I look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[nick012000]

It looks like its someone from the Summer court , probably Aurora or Titania , from the description . But I think Shiki will find the consequences of chopping strangers to pieces a bit more severe compared to canon . The sidhe have a very different attitude towards humans compared to Arcueid .

Mab has blonde hair as well, IIRC. It might also be Lily, since she winds up basically identical to Aurora once she's worn the Mantle for a while. If it was Lily, though, she'd probably be being accompanied by a very angry Fix right now.

 

[Brandark]

The multiple fire references suggest strongly that she is a summer fae . If it is Aurora, it might be the original one , we don't know where this is in the timeline of dresdenverse .

What I really want to see is how Ryuugi blends dresden-style magic with the nasuverse one . Fae do exist in nasuverse , but they didn't come up anywhere except for the background info on Excalibur and Avalon ,IIRC .

 

[nick012000]

The multiple fire references suggest strongly that she is a summer fae . If it is Aurora, it might be the original one , we don't know where this is in the timeline of dresdenverse .

What I really want to see is how Ryuugi blends dresden-style magic with the nasuverse one . Fae do exist in nasuverse , but they didn't come up anywhere except for the background info on Excalibur and Avalon ,IIRC .

Technically, Arcueid and Primate Murder are also faeries, since the term refers to any nature spirit powerful enough to manifest physically.

 

[Ryuugi]

The hand around my throat tightened, steel like fingers gripping my neck like a vice and I was sure for a moment that this was it, that I was about to die, that she was going to crush the life out of me with a single hand�but she didn�t.

For a moment, she seemed too try, struggling as if with herself, attempting to force her fingers tighter around my throat�but after a moment, she stopped, releasing me with a brief expression of disgust. I almost fell, but at the last second managed to catch myself on the wall and lean against it. I still had to look up at her, but at least this way I was on my feet instead of the ground. My right hand went to my throat, rubbing it. It would bruise, I was sure, but for now I was alive.

�So even after what you have done, I am not allowed to take your life?� She mused, fingers curling at the thought. �Perhaps that is for the best; I lost control of myself for a moment. It would have been a shame if I had ended your life so quickly.�

��It�s no problem. I�ve calmed down now, too. I�m sorry for laughing; I was just thinking things over and it all seemed kind of funny, but if you have something to say, I�ll listen, so talk as much as you want.�

��Funny,�� She mused. �Is that how this seems to you, mortal? Do you find it funny?�

�I think it�s kind of hilarious how odd this situation has gotten,� I have to admit. �The woman I thought I�d killed turned out to be immortal and has returned to punish me and now we�re having a conversation; I don�t think that�s something that happens very often, but I hadn�t believed in immortals before today either, so perhaps I am wrong�?�

�No,� She shook her head. �This is not something which has ever happened before, to my knowledge. But then, no one has ever tried to kill me in such a manner, either�no one has dared. But I do not find this situation funny, Murderer. Do you have any idea what will happen now?�

�You�ll take your revenge and kill me?� I guessed, before remembering what she�d said. �Or�can you not do that?�

She lifted her hand again and gently touched it to mine, making me stop rubbing my bruising throat.

�I cannot,� She admitted. �It is the way of things that I cannot put an end to your life. However, should I so wish�This hand, which was responsible for my pain��

She drew that warm finger slowly over my hand and up the length of my middle finger, stopping once she�d reached the nail.

��I could make it burn�� She said, tone not changing. Her eyes even brighter as she looked at my hand. �And I could make that burning continue, in water or in air or even within the earth�s smothering grasp, from your fullest extension to the right, to your fullest extension to your left, devouring your body inch by slow inch, until the last, smoldering inch of you was left writhing in your own ashes�and even then, it would not stop, because even then I would not let you die.�

Her words froze me to the core and as she took my hand from my neck, gazing at it was those feverish eyes, the hand grasping mine was hot, almost enough to burn�and if I could bring my body to move at all, I would have shaken.

Her breath quickened then, as she stared down at my fingers.

�I am the Lady of Life, Murderer�should I so wish, I could make you suffer in ways you could not imagine��

She let go of my hand so suddenly that I jerked as it fell, blinking her green eyes and taking a deep breath.

�Would that I had time enough and magic to spare,� She murmured. �You will most likely never truly understand how light your punishment shall be, Murderer, but I will punish you nonetheless, to the greatest extent I can�because you have ended me, mortal.�

I swallowed.

�What do you mean? You�you�re immortal,� I said.

�Even so, this is my end,� She said. �What you did to me did not go unnoticed. It took most of my power simply to put myself back together after you left me in pieces and tomorrow my enemies will come for me and my allies will turn against me, and I cannot fend them off as I am. I will not last the night, Murderer. And neither shall you.�

�M-me? Why?�

�Because when they find me, they shall find you,� She said, baring her teeth in what could have been a smile if there was less hate in it. �You are coming with me, Murderer, to better feed the hounds. You and I shall be torn to pieces and destroyed. Perhaps quickly. Perhaps slowly. But together, I assure you of that. It is a meager punishment, given what you have done, but it shall have to suffice.�

I watched her silently for a moment, barely breathing. She looked at me in turn, inhuman eyes waiting�for what? For me to run and be chased down? Fight and be defeated?

I didn�t do any of that. There was no point and, more importantly, I didn�t want to.

Instead, I spoke.

�Okay,� I said.

Her poker face was good, but I saw that she was surprised.

�What?� She asked.

�I said okay.� I repeated. �When you chased me down, I figured it was only natural that you would be here for revenge and�yeah, that�s fair. I shouldn�t have run you and I apologize for doing so. I�ve led to your death so I shall die with you�like I said, that�s fair. Is there anywhere in particular we�re going to die or are we just going to wait here in this alley?�

��As I expected, you are a very strange person, Murderer.�

�Well, in this situation, I think it�s for the best if I just take everything in stride. After what�s already happened today, I guess I�m building up a tolerance to weird stuff?� I wonder, pushing myself off the wall. My knees feel a bit wobbly, but I manage to stay on my feet. �Are we staying here, then?�

��No,� She said, still looking at me like I was some sort of strange, incomprehensible thing. �Follow me.�

 

[nick012000]

So, what, did Shiki damage the Mantle or something? Is that even possible?

 

[SilverBack354]

Maybe too much damage to the container of the Mantle. A bottle is not gonna work as well as it should if you have a hole in the side of it so Shiki will probably be force to be her bodyguard till she plugs up the leak in her body.

 

[Ryuugi]

There should be enough information in this scene for anyone to figure out exactly when in the DF series this story takes place, by the way, but I'm not going to tell you where.

______________________________________________________________________________

XxXXxX

I walk down the street in front of her, quietly obeying whenever she gives directions. It would probably be a lot simpler if she led and I followed, but last time I was behind her, I�d ended up chopping her into over a dozen pieces and leaving her on fire, so I suppose I couldn�t blame her for wanting me where she could see me.

However, there were a few things I wanted to ask.

�Why tomorrow?� I suddenly said, and though I couldn�t see her, I felt pretty sure she was surprised by the sudden question.

�Does it matter, Murderer?�

�Not particularly, I suppose,� I admitted, pondering the words even as I spoke them. �I guess dying tomorrow isn�t really that different from dying any other day. I�m just wondering why people are going to come and kill us tomorrow instead of today. You�d figure that if you wanted someone to die, you�d want them to die as soon as possible, right?�

�I suppose that�s something you would know, Murderer,� She murmured.

It wasn�t, I thought, but somehow I got the feeling that telling her that, actually, she was the first person I�d ever tried to kill and I�d done it randomly and for now reason was not something that would endear her to me. As such, I chose to err on the side of not angering someone who could make me suffer unbelievably and kept quiet.

We walked for a few minutes before she spoke again.

�It has to be tomorrow. It can only be tomorrow.� She said.

�Why?�

�Do you know what day tomorrow is, Murderer?�

�Tuesday?�

I felt her eyes silently boring into my back and realized quickly that wasn�t the answer she was looking for.

�Um�October 31st?� I tried again.

�Yes,� She murmured. �But do you realize the importance of that day?�

No, I thought, trying to think of anything that happened tomorrow and failing. I opened my mouth to tell her so when a thought flashed through my mind.

Tokyo Disneyland had been advertising something a lot, recently�a Western Celebration they were going to have here in Japan for the first time. Universal Studios Japan in Osaka had been doing the same thing. Satsuki, Arihiko, and I had spoken jokingly about it a few weeks prior, talking about going. We hadn�t been serious, of course; it was a long trip to either place and an expensive one, not to mention that the first celebration was bound to be packed. We could imagine lines of hundreds of people and prices high enough to make my wallet weep and Arihiko had exaggerated it even further to make Satsuki laugh. In the end, we let the subject die, promising to do something more locale at some point instead.

But that Western Holiday�it was supposed to happen tomorrow, right? I�d never celebrated it before, but the commercials had insured I knew the name.

�Halloween?� I asked, more myself then the woman behind me.

What could something like that have to do with anything? It was just a night when people went�what had Satsuki called it? Trick-or-treating? They went around and dressed up in costumes and got candy, I think. I felt pretty silly just for mentioning it.

But she surprised me again.

�So you are not completely ignorant, Murderer,� She granted. �Yes; tomorrow night is All Hallows Eve and Samhain.�

Her voice became both wistful and bitter, then.

��Summer�s End,�� She translated before I could ask what Samhain meant. �A fitting name, this year more than any.�

�But�why does that matter?� I asked.

�It is a special day, mortal, even if you do not know it. It is the day when this world and the next are closest and we immortals�celebrate it alongside you.� A hint of amusement slid into her voice. �Or I suppose it�s more accurate to say you celebrate because we do. On that night, we will�you could not understand the truth of that night if you tried, so let us instead say that we go guising.�

She paused, seeming to remember something.

�No, I suppose you would not understand that term,� She mused. �Then we go�trick-or-treating. We run free that night and celebrate it, drawing power to ourselves.�

�Where does that power come from?� I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach.

�All manner of places. The world. Humans. But most of all, each other. Usually, we rob and swindle each other for bits of power. But that is not what will happen tomorrow.�

I suddenly understood what she meant.

�They�ll tear you apart and take everything, won�t they?� I asked quietly. �Because you�re too weak to defend yourself.�

�Me,� She said. �And you, as well. You are small, granted, but you will give them something nonetheless, and since you will be by my side when they come, you will die.�

�I see.� I said, wondering what it was going to be like. Would they literally eat us? I nearly trembled at the thought, but forced the feeling down. �And hiding isn�t possible?�

�Not from those that will pursue us,� She said. �Not with the current limits of my power.�

�And you don�t have any allies to help you?� I wondered, thinking she couldn�t truly be alone. Immortality without anyone�who would want something like that? If I were immortal and there were others like myself, I�d want to at least try to get along with them�eternity alone sounded more like a level of hell then a blessing.

�I do,� She said, and there was something in her tone that made me stop walking and look back. She looked�sad. �I have many, many allies, but��

�But what?� I asked.

She said nothing. After a moment, she gestured for me to keep moving and we walked the rest of the way in silence.

 

[Ryuugi]

I was surprised when I began to recognize the path we were taking, if only barely, and I began to realize precisely where we were heading. I started to make turns without bothering to wait for directions, guiding us back to the place that had occupied my thoughts a great deal lately, hesitating only when I stood at the doorway.

It was the same Apartment Complex as earlier; the place where I�d hacked her to pieces with my knife. I suppose it should have been obvious, thinking about it�I came here the first time following her, after all, and she led me here presumably because she owned an Apartment.

I felt her shift impatiently behind me and opened the door before she could say a word. Once more, the elevator doors opened as soon as the button was pushed and she slid in after me, keeping a careful eye of me the entire time; I imagine she didn�t have any better memories of this place then I did, what with the brutal murder and all. Well, maybe it was attempted murder, but still.

Nonetheless, I remained calm and composed. It was surprisingly easy�ever since I�d been cornered and truly understood what was going on, I�d felt sort of numb. Not like I was in shock, but more like I understood that this was just the way things were going to be and no amount of fear, complaining, or denial was going to change that. I�d felt this way once before, on the�was it the third day after I woke up in a world covered in lines? At the time, it had seemed like I�d never forget any of it, but now it just seemed so long ago.

�Eighth, again?� I asked, waiting only a second for a possible denial before pushing the button. The first three floors we went up in an, at least to me, awkward silence, but then my thoughts began to wander. I think I was really just getting used to what was happening, because I�d already stopped being bothered by the weird aspects and simply started wondering about the stuff I didn�t know the answers too.

�This Halloween thing�� I began, tilting my head to look at her. �Do you immortals usually celebrate it in Japan? It�s a Western Holiday, right? I�d figure you�d celebrate it in England or America or something, rather than here.�

She stared quietly at me for a moment, almost looking bored.

�The location doesn�t matter. Even the Holiday is just a name that was given to mark the date of an annual event,� She murmured. �It doesn�t matter if the local culture knows the meaning of the occasion or not.�

�Ah,� I said, nodding. After a beat, I rephrased the question. �Then, out of everywhere you could celebrate it, why here in Japan? And why in this town rather than, say, Tokyo or Kyoto?�

�We celebrate in many places, not just one. If I celebrated her, nothing stops anyone else from doing so anywhere else, though I generally have a number of followers, no matter where I go.� Her gaze momentarily sharped as she looked at me. �This time more than ever, I imagine.�

I quietly scratched the side of my cheek, trying to express the shame I felt. I don�t think it came across very well, because she just glared harder, like I was making fun of her. I�d never thought about it before, but perhaps I simply have an annoying face.

�As for the location�I am not certain,� She admitted. �It�felt like the right place to spend the night. I follow my heart, I suppose, even too the end.�

I blinked, surprised.

�So, you mean�it was just a whim, then?�

The amount of anger that flashed through her eyes then would have made take a step back in any other situation. As it was, my back was literally to a wall, so I stood my ground. A moment before I thought she was going to do something, she took a deep breath and appeared to regain control of herself�probably by remembering that killing me now would just spare me a worse fate later, or something.

�Not a whim,� She all but hissed as she exhaled. �I was looking for something very important and my heart told me to look here. I trust my heart, Murderer; if what I�m looking for is real, if it exists, then it will be in this country. And I will find it if I must to search every city on this Island to do so.�

�It must be really important to you if you�d go that far for it,� I mused. �What are you looking for, then?�

She glared at me again, apparently annoyed by my continued questioning. But�

I got the feeling that even she wasn�t sure what she was looking for. I was a little confused by that, to be honest; what could be so important that you�d look for it so frantically that you�d scour and Island for it on a hunch, even if you didn�t have the slightest clue what you were actually trying to find. I got the feeling that she wouldn�t tell me if I asked, though; she only seemed to tell me things that either didn�t matter to her anymore or when she got really angry.

I pondered making her angry on purpose but�no. That seemed like a strategy that would likely end up shortening my already dwindling life span.

Still, it was sort of admirable, in a way, to be that devoted to a goal. Whatever she was looking for must have been really important to her and a part of me wondered which she was angrier at me for�cutting her to pieces or ending her search before she found it.

 

[Ryuugi]

As we reach the eighth floor and step out of the elevator, I suddenly have a lot more questions. Like, why the hell would she rent the entire top floor? And, what was she thinking covering the entire floor with plants and vegetation of every kind, many of which probably weren�t native to Japan�or, for all I know, Earth. On that note, if she really wanted to do such a thing, wouldn�t it have made more sense to find a cheaper apartment complex rather than the most expensive one in town?

I turned to her as she stepped out after me, ready to voice those questions, before shutting my jaw after thinking better of it.

No�this woman is understandably made at me and her patience with me is probably dwindling with every question I ask. If that�s the case, it would be best not to waste time on pointless things like that and risk irritating her. I had a feeling that if I wanted to know anything, I needed to think things through slowly and carefully choose what to ask and when to ask it.

Nodding to myself, I followed her directions to one of the apartments, noting as I did so that it was the one furthest away from the room around which the plants were most common�her room, I assumed.

�Stay in here,� She said, pushing me slightly to make me step inside. �I�ll come and get you when it�s time.�

�Time?� I started to ask, but she�d already closed the door.

Time for what? Did she want me to stay inside this apartment until Halloween night?

Sighing quietly, I looked around at my temporary home. It was pretty nice, to be honest, and I supposed there were worse places to wait for one�s death. A high-class three room apartment, with a bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom on top of a living room area. Out of curiosity, I checked the refrigerator, which was empty, meaning the snack Kohaku made me was probably going to have to count as my last meal. I scratched my head ruefully at that; if I�d known things would have turned out like this, I would have asked for something special on principle, if nothing else.

Still, at least for now I wasn�t hungry and when I checked the sink, clean water flowed. I�d be fine.

I was debating with myself whether to sleep away my remaining hours or waste them away with the television when I heard something.

Well�no. That wasn�t correct, I realized, standing again. I wasn�t hearing anything�was I? But after a minute, whatever it was happened again, sending a shiver up my spine, making me want to�I don�t know what. It happened three more times, irregularly, before I moved closer to the door.

Whatever was happening was somewhere beyond the door. I reached out for the doorknob, before remembering the type of day I�d been having and thought better of it. I tried the peep hole instead, trying to see if anything was outside, but it was dark, as if the other side were being covered�or, I thought, as if something had grown over it. So, as the�something happened again, I pressed my ear against the door and tried to listen instead.

At first, there was nothing. But just as I was about to pull away and open the door, I heard something, a slight sound that seemed to come from a distance, coinciding with the feeling coming over me. I closed my eyes and focused on that sound, blotting out everything else until I could focus entirely on my sense of hearing, and the sound became louder and louder each time it repeated, until it was almost as if it were happening in the same room�and then I realized what it was.

Coughing, intermixed with not quite suppressed sounds of pain. The coughing sounded like it hurt�or like the person coughing was already in pain and this coughing fit was just making it worse. After several seconds, I heard stumbling, followed by a muffled impact, like they�d fallen onto something soft. The coughing and sounds of pain continued for a few more minutes before going silent.

I open my eyes and in a rush I come back to my senses.

What had just happened? I�d heard�but the only other person on this floor was�

That couldn�t be. If she was in her room, than she was down the hall and behind several walls, at bare minimum. I must have been hearing things because hearing her from here would be impossible.

I stopped for a moment, considering that. After what had happened so far�maybe it would be a good idea to sit down and reconsider what I would�could�believe was possible. Certainly, at this point, believing in the existence of the supernatural seemed more like an acknowledgement of reality than anything else. If I could believe in immortals and Halloween being special and Sidhe�whatever those were�then what exactly should I consider �impossible.� Would the existence of Gods be that surprising at this point? Or magical creatures like Kitsune and Oni? In comparison to a woman that could be chopped to pieces, lit on fire, and then put herself back together�those would still be pretty weird, but I wouldn�t consider that impossible any more.

And I wasn�t entirely sure where I�d rate having ears like a bat, but it seemed like it would be somewhat strange if that was where I drew the line. Now, someone like me having that ability�but then, I wasn�t a completely normal person either, was I? That desire to kill that I couldn�t explain�the skill with which I tore her apart�the lines that only I could see�

Even just in comparison to those things, hearing someone down the hall wasn�t that weird. And if I admitted it was possible and that I might not just be hearing things, then�

That woman�

I reached for the doorknob, but the moment my fingers touched it, I felt something like a shock course up my arm and drew it back quickly.

Static?

I tried again, with the same result; a small jolt of electricity, just enough to hurt, dissuaded me from opening the door. By this point, I was suspicious, and when I got shocked the third time I was sure it wasn�t normal. Something was punishing me for trying to leave.

Frowning, I braced myself and reached from the knob, grabbing hold of it with the intention of not drawing back at the sudden pain�and this time, got not a shock but what seemed like a steady stream of pain up the length of my arm.

Gasping and drawing away, my arm shook for a minute before steading. Obviously, that woman didn�t want me going anywhere. I leaned against the wall, thinking.

I didn�t really have to do anything, did I? After all, she was the one who�d told me to stay here and obviously she wanted me too�but�

But if she was in pain right now, odds were that it was my fault.

I hesitated again, just for a moment, and took off my glasses.

 

[Ryuugi]

In a moment, lines were draw across everything I could see, like an invisible brush had painted them there in a flash. Sloppy, seemingly random lines zigzagged across the surfaces of everything around me, scrawling weird patterns. The lines intersected in places, but if there was any pattern or reason for that, I�d never figured it out, even after years living with these eyes. But if there was one thing I knew for sure�

Yes, looking at those lines made me feel sick.

Even so, I don�t hesitate to slide my eyes over the doorway and walls, following the paths of the lines. Morbidly, I can�t help but imagine what would happen after each line was cut, the image of the wall falling to pieces in my mind, but in its own way, that�s pretty helpful. With these eyes, it made no difference what substance the object was made of or how strong or hard they were, so all that mattered was where I decided to cut. I didn�t really want to destroy the entire wall if I didn�t have too, so�the easiest ways out would be through the door or slightly to the left of the corner. After a moment, of thought, I decided that the door would probably be easier to replace that the walls for the poor owners of this building. Sending up a silent apology, I took out my knife.

Honestly, I was pretty lucky to have it with me, today. I�d only drought with me this morning as evidence for the police, as I�d thought it had been the murder weapon. When I�d first grabbed it this morning, just holding it had disgusted me�or, rather, the strange comfort I felt whenever I held it in my hands disgusted me. Even now, as my fingers curled around its handle�its shape, weight, and texture seemed so right in my hands, and I couldn�t ignore that feeling. I�d liked this knife the moment I�d first laid my hands on it.

It worried me a little, to be honest. I hadn�t thought of it much at first but within hours of receiving it, I stalked and chopped up a woman with this knife. Maybe on some level, I�d even wanted to use it since I got it?

But now was not the time to worry about such things. If that woman had collapsed, I definitely had to help her. Approaching the door, an almost natural motion causes the blade to extend and I pick my first line. Without exerting any strength at all, all ten centimeters of the blade slide into the line and I trace the line easily, using the side of it like a straight edge. Up from the hinge to a corner, across the knob, down the side at an angle, through the other hinge�line by line, I take it apart, revealing�

A wall-like mass of unusual grey plants. They seemed nearly metallic, with luminous blooms which hummed lightly with a current, and I realized suddenly that this plant was the source of shocks I�d received. One of the blooms had wrapped itself around the doorknob on the other side and still held what was left of it. I lifted a hand before dropping it, wary of being shocked. Instead, I leaned back and pressed on of my shoes against it, trying to push it out of my way, but it was like pushing on steel bars. After a moment, I gave up trying to move it with sheer strength.

What was this thing? A plant made out of metal that generated its own current? And it must have been at least somewhat flexible if it could grow and intertwine its limbs like that, but when I tried to push on it, I couldn�t so much as make it budge. Such a thing�it couldn�t possibly be natural. Some type of machine, then? Maybe in a science fiction book, but I doubted there was anything like this currently. This was almost like magic, but�

�You're incredible, Sensei! You made all those horrible lines disappear just like that! It's like magic!�

�Well, of course! I am a wizard, after all!�

�I suppose it wasn�t so odd. I�d thought Sensei had been joking, since she�d been laughing as she�d said that and I�d never seen her do anything else magical, but�I couldn�t dismiss anything anymore, could I?

Magic, then. Okay. That could�take some getting used to, but okay.

�Sorry,� I apologized, lifting my knife again. �But I need to get through.�

I took apart the steel-like plants in seconds and stepped through the doorway, moving quickly down the hall to that woman�s room. The plants gathered around her apartment suddenly seemed more like a defensive wall then a strange scene, but I cut through both then and the actual wall without difficulty and entered the room.

�She was asleep. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she was unconscious, because she seemed to have collapsed rather than willingly slept. She seemed to have fallen off the bed and laid curl on her side, both her arms and her legs drawn over her stomach. Even though she wasn�t awake, her face was drawn in a rictus of pain and whenever she breathed, it was shaky, as if the act pained her. Before my eyes, spots of slowly spreading red stained the fabric of her dress�she was bleeding and I could tell by the location of the injuries that it was from where I�d cut her. None of the places that would have been fatal were bleeding, but less important places seemed to be opening up again.

She must have been in a lot of pain when she�d confronted me earlier�

I exhaled slowly.

�I could run away right now,� I said, more to myself then the unconscious woman. �It�s not like I�want to die��

Really, it was the opposite. Because I could see death so clearly�see how fragile the world and everyone in it truly was�I was probably more afraid of death then anyone. In the first few years after getting these eyes, I�d had a lot of nightmares�what if I just fell apart one day? Or what if I tore myself apart, on accident, brushing my hands over my lines without thinking about it while I was sleeping or in the shower or something? What if the house or the school or the city just suddenly fell to pieces around me?

I could say with complete honesty that I was scared of death. I was terrified of it and being able to see it so clearly didn�t change that, nor did the knowledge that my health would probably ensure I didn�t live a very long life regardless of what I did.

So, it wasn�t as if I wanted to die tomorrow night. So I could just run right now, if I really wanted too, and walk away. I hadn�t told her my name or where I lived and she wasn�t in any state to really hunt me down and she�d be dead in a little over twenty four hours anyway�if I left right here, right now, she probably wouldn�t be able to track me down. Hell, if I really wanted too, I could even cut her to pieces again right now. I had the knife in my hand, my glasses were off, and she couldn�t defend herself; by the time she put herself back together again, she�d have no chance of finding me in time. I could run and hide for a day or two, just to be sure, and then just go back to my normal life, pass of the missed day of school as a bout of Anemia, and just pretend none of this had ever happened.

Even if it had. Even if a woman was going to die because of what I�d done. Even if she was on the floor, bleeding from the wounds I�d inflicted.

I couldn�t lie and say I didn�t think about my options right then. I couldn�t say I didn�t contemplate doing something I knew was wrong to survive. If I left right now, no one would ever know about this but me. No one would ever know that I�d caused a woman�s death.

Except me, of course. And that�s the thing; I thought about my choices and what I could do and who I could become�and I could become someone like that. Just like, years ago, if I hadn�t met anyone on that grassy field outside of town, I could have become a lot of things. I could have gone mad, I could have become a monster, I could have killed myself to escape, I could have done or become a thousand things if I hadn�t met a red-haired woman on that field.

But I had. And she�d taught me a few things about life and power and choices and responsibility and making mistakes and apologizing�and because of her, I wasn�t any of those things. I was just me.

And I couldn�t do any of that.

I turned around and left the room, walking to the elevator. If I remembered correctly, there was a pharmacy about ten minutes from here.

 

[nick012000]

THIS DOOR. THIS DOOR. THIS DOOR. THIS DOOR. THIS DOOR. THIS DOOR.

 

[Ryuugi]

XxXXxX

When I returned, she was awake and back on the bed. Spots of color had begun to return to her cheeks, but they mainly just added to the image that she was sickly. I stood by the opening I�d made in the wall for a moment, hesitating, and our eyes met.

The first emotion that registered in her eyes�which I was watching carefully, wanting some prior warning if she decided to give torturing me to not quite death a shot�was shock. She�d probably come to the same conclusions about the unlikelihood of tracking me down if I ran as I had and was surprised to see me.

And then surprise gave way to anger and she immediately tried to rise from the bed, only for her features to tighten in pain. For a moment she seemed to try to fight through it and rise anyway, but then she sagged, breathing hard as she glared at me. But she didn�t make a single pained noise�no, more like, she seemed unwilling to do such a thing in front of me.

Seeing patches of dark color spreading through her clothes, I quickly entered the roof, lifting the bag I held in my hands as both a shield and a peace offering. Her eyes lingered on it for a moment before turning towards me, careful and blank. I paused for a moment when those eyes landed on me, before slowly taking a step towards her and then another, careful not to make any sudden movements. She watched me silently as I made my way to the bed, like a predator about to strike, and it was somewhat amazing how nervous someone that couldn�t even get off her bed could make me.

I set the bag on the bed and with deliberate slowness removed one item at a time, holding it up as if I didn�t know what it was and turning it to let her see it completely. One by one, I laid all the first-aid supplies out in front of her, and she didn�t try grabbing my neck again so she must not have disapproved.

�I don�t know if they�d help an immortal, but�you were hurt, so I�� I tried to explain when she looked at me before trailing off again. After all, I�d been the one to cause her injuries; to also be the one to try and heal them must have looked odd. At the very least, confusion touched the corners of her eyes but after a moment she started breathing again and I realized I hadn�t even noticed he�d been holding her breath. I really had no way of explaining why I�d done it�at least not without looking really strange�so I tried to change the subject. Sorting through the supplies, I lifted the disinfectant and the bandages first. �Do you need me to�?�

Her eyebrow twitched and she held out a hand and I placed the disinfectant in it gingerly, half expecting it to fall out of her hands. It didn�t, but her hands shook so much that she had to grip it until her knuckles went white to keep it from doing so. As she moved to lift her shirt, I wondered for a moment if I should look away to give her privacy or force myself to look at what I�d done to her, she jerked it up before I could decide.

It was ugly, needless to say; I doubted there was anyone in the world good-looking enough to make �numerous open wounds� look attractive. The wounds remained along the lines where I�d cut her, though nowhere near as deep. Before they�d been all the way through, leaving her it neatly cut pieces, but now they were shallow wounds. But there were a lot of them and even if they weren�t deep it didn�t matter, because they added up. I noticed that in certain places they were completely healed however, such as when they tapered off into fading scars near vital organs, just like I�d thought earlier. I think the healed areas had spread, too.

But it was disgusting to look at, even if it was much better than it had been before. And to have had to go through that�before, I thought it might not have been too painful, because I�d slit her throat first and then stabbed her in the head twice, so there shouldn�t have been much time for her to feel pain. But for an immortal�

When her fingers finally failed her, I caught the bottle long before it hit the ground.

�Let me,� I said.

She glared at me and at her hand, as if trying to decide which she was more disgusted with, but when I began to tend to the wounds I�d caused, she didn�t stop me. I�d finished disinfecting the wounds and was in the process of bandaging them when she spoke.

�Why did you come back?� She said in a hoarse voice and I realized belatedly that if she couldn�t even get off the bed she probably couldn�t get herself any water, either. I made a mental note to get her something to drink after I was done, even as I thought about my answer.

�Because�since I was the one who did this to you, it�s my responsibility. Since you told me to stay, I�ll stay, because I�m the one who chopped you to pieces in the first place. And since I�m the one whose actions are going to be the end of you, it only makes sense if I die too, right?� I reason.

She looks at me for a moment, before looking up at the ceiling.

�I supposed I was aware from the beginning that you likely weren�t very sane, as you cut a woman you didn�t even know to pieces for no reason,� She muses.

I finish with the bandages and stood to leave. I�d guess I�d watch TV until the end. Now that I think about it, since I was out, I could have gotten a real last meal, too�Oh, well.

��Wait,� She stopped me. �There�s no point in locking you in that room if you�re not going to leave��

�Especially since you can obviously get out whenever you want,� went unsaid, but I wasn�t dense enough to miss it.

��And I have several questions I would like you to answer, Murderer,� She finished, glancing at me sharply.

�My name�s Shiki, by the way,� I told her, belatedly. �I just realized you didn�t even know the name of the person who gave you all this trouble.�

�I�ll remember to curse that name, when the time comes,� She said, nodding in what seemed to be honest thanks. I sat back down beside her and waited for her to ask her questions.

�I am Titania,� She said abruptly, and I blinked, turning towards her in surprise. I hadn�t actually expected her to give her name back. �Lady of Light and Life. Monarch of the Seelie Fae, the Summer Court of the Sidhe. Remember it well, boy.�

I nodded at her, still staring. Her features twisted in irritation.

�And even still you do not understand that of which I speak?�

I shook my head.

�Shakespeare�s A Midsummer Night�s Dream?� She tried. �Ovid�s Metamorphosis? Spencer�s Faerie Queene? Goethe�s Faust I? Tennyson�s The Foresters!?�

The last one was said with a bit of put-upon desperation, but I didn�t recognize it anymore then I recognized any of the others.

�Sorry, no.� I apologized, shaking my head. �But it�s nice to know your name, Titania.�

She was looking less and less tolerant of my existence by the minute�

I felt it would be beneficial to my continued survival if I changed the subject.

�You said you wanted to ask me something?�

 

[chrnno]

Ha, I knew it. Everyone was talking about Aurora, Lily or Maeve but I thought you would go for higher than that.

 

[nick012000]

Hmm. So, the reason that Titania's powers have been weakened is because she's using them all to overcome the powers of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and heal herself?