A Beautiful Mirror Covered in Bloodlust

Broken Silence: Is It Really Nostalgic?

--March 18, 2009--

Hiroko and I carried Aki into the more mid area of this farm. The rain was still too much for us to be able to walk through. Even though Aki had been injured badly, his face was expressionless, almost like it was all those years ago. The only difference was that it looked more like he was serious than emotionless. His breathing started to slow down and he seemed more calm and collected. He inhaled and exhaled with short bursts and pauses in between.

"I'll go check near the back entrance, I might have left a first aid-kit down there! Wait for me, I'll be back in a second!" Yells Hiroko, as he quickly makes his way past a few gates, behind which are well-groomed horses.

I sat next to Aki's pale-looking body, his eyes seemed to move around a bit. It looked almost as though he was distracting himself from the pain. The wound left on his waist didn't seem fatal, but a lot of blood poured out cloaking his coat in red stains. No matter what he did, his hands never seemed to budge from its grip over his shirt that is covering his wound. A lateral cut was made evident through his torn shirt. How exactly did this happen, and who did this to him? Those were the questions I so eagerly wanted to ask him at that moment.

Hiroko had finally rushed over with a kit. Luckily, I had some background knowledge in medicine from being on campus in England. I quickly grabbed open the kit and found incision scissors and disinfectant wipes. Aki started moving his arm that was placed on top of his wound. I realized that he was holding something in his hand this entire time, and I noticed one other thing that I had hoped to have not been able to see. I pushed Aki's arm aside and saw that his wound wasn't really that deep but that he had something else inside his cut. His hand flung open and a few strands of hair fell from it. Before I took a look at the hair he was holding so determinedly, I removed small fragments of rotten flesh that were stuck inside his wound. Something else had already been smited on to whatever it was that cut Aki, and to make things worse, it was the flesh of a human.

Aki wasn't exactly suffering due to the cut, but rather from the infectious impulse created by the remnants of flesh found inside him. I quickly disinfected his wound and removed the fragments of flesh. Hiroko and I left Aki in a state of rest and sleep for about forty minutes. During the procedure of cleansing his wound, Aki passed out from the pain. The rain kept showering tremendously, we could only but hope that Aki is able to recuperate from his injury. Hiroko kept watch at the rear end of the farm while I sat gazing out at the streaks of lightning flashing by my eyes every few seconds that was visible from the front end of the entrance. The both of us were being careful, after all, if someone was able to harm another in such a climactic disaster; then we couldn't stand a chance unless we stay alert. I held tightly onto the soft strands of hair that Aki had in his hand earlier. Who could this belong to? If only I had been there by his side when this took place. I lowered my head into my lap as I grieved away at another regret I felt I deserved to be burdened with.

-Flashback-

--A few hours earlier--

P.O.V (Aki Yakushima)

I made sure of it. I made sure of the fact that James and the rest were safe. Although I remembered seeing James lock himself in his room earlier, I need to learn more about what I attained so far. The Chief sent me out here to see to the safety of James, but to also mark my eyes on the land closest to the 'Stench'. Firstly, I follow a set of rules. Rules that put my place as a detective in check. James still seems oblivious of my investigating, and so have Akane and Reina. As I sit here quietly, contemplating over the clues and signs I have collected so far, I realized that the most sentimental room in this house, is the one with the mirror in it. It is true that, I have been distancing myself from James in order to observe my surroundings and draw some conclusions. I believe I found almost all parts of this puzzle, the killer is definitely near. I'm ashamed of one thing however, and that's the fact that I found myself following the same footsteps of my heedless father. He dug up information in this sort of way, which I didn't like, but this time I had no other choice. A few days ago I made my way up to a hill, up North of this house. The burial ground of the two Kiwasawa members, Rin Takadashi and Alice Johanna. A few nights after the arrival of James, I decided to prove my suspicions, so I went and dug up both the graves. Just as I assumed, both graves contained the bodies of others. Not only that, I noted the fact that the Kiwasawa family had the scent of lemon roaming around even though the fruits are produced in the gardens of the Kagamine. My main question is, who from the families is the killer? By now it's no mystery, no one else lives up here, yet so many people are left missing. The only ones who couldn't possibly disappear are the culprits themselves. I had done a little research on the family conditions, something doesn't seem to add up.

I make my way over towards the front entrance of the house, I'll have to keep looking for the final wrap up. Just as I race my arms out of a black coat and wear leather crafted gloves, I sneak my way out of the house and slow my pace as I head towards the back fields of the vegetables gardens behind the house. Before I could hurry myself towards the trees, I saw a dark figure shoveling dirt out of the ground, near the patch of soil that grows grains. I hunched my position and lowered myself so that I wouldn't be visible to this man. I carefully observed his appearance and realized that it was James. James? I thought he stayed in his room. I crouched near a load full of crops as I stealthily made my way past James to the trees hidden behind all of these vegetable fields. I knew....I knew exactly what it is James was doing. I checked the graves uphill, but in reality there was one down here as well; one that belonged to the two for whom whose graves were forged. When I checked into the history of burials I found no record of the Kiwasawa family. The only explanation left for this was the fact that there was no funeral for those two, because someone from their family had buried them by herself, Reina. Suspects are now in order, yet, something didn't quite feel right. I rose from my position, and ran my way through the trees, even though I could smell the 'Stench' growing stronger with every step I took, I just felt relieved for once. Living in a society where the wrong is not made straight from the right, I realized the utter difference in atmosphere shows a brief glance of the ugly reality we live in. There it was, behind the trees I saw a large farmhouse, this one looked more hidden and out of sight. Grapevines had enclosed upon all sides of this farm, however, the entrance seemed to look cleaner.

An unpleasant wind shook my balance, I began to realize that a stormy sky was left hanging above the village. A flash of lightning sparked a tiny bit of fire near a chipped up piece of log resting a few meters away from the farms entrance. It's time I stay a lot more cautious, right when I thought of that, I heard something creep off from behind me. I lodged my body within the grass, luckily it was a few inches taller then my resting position. The amount of light present in this night was very grim, I squinted my eyes tight as possible. I heard heavy friction between the ground and the movement of an object, by now rain started to pour aggressively. I couldn't see the figure in the distance, but I could see that it was dragging something with it, I heard the most breathtakingly loud sound of lightning tear its way through the dark night. A woman? And with her..the corpse of a man. The light allowed me to see her from a distance, a young girl was dragging along with her, a dead body. My pocket felt a buzz, I checked and saw that the Chief had called me.

"Aki, it's Tensou, where are you? Are you sure you're safe enough to take such a risk? You should give me more notice, but I guess I should thank you if in fact you have the identity of the killer. You left that message earlier today, but I still don't know how or why? Just whatever you do, be careful and come back as quickly as you can, the weather might not make things as easy as it could be. The stay at the Kiwasawa residence is no longer necessary, but your duty as detective is. Don't get killed and stay away from the enemy, until you report back to me."

"Alright, sir." I whispered, as I quickly shut off the device. The musky aroma of the fresh mist of air was making its way into my nose as the rain weakened for a brief moment. A flash of light coming from a candle seemed to be illuminating the entrance of the farm. Someone else was here, not just one person it seems. Firstly, I have to intercede with this one walking towards the farm. I figured that this would be the case, Reina, the seventeen year old teenager would be responsible for the death of the villagers. I quickly sprinted towards her, but before I was able to catch hold of her I was shocked at what I had seen. It wasn't...Reina... holding the dead body. But...I could see fear in her eyes, I couldn't bring myself to harm this girl whose eyes were flowing with tears. Within a matter of seconds, she pulled out a pickaxe and struck me down the left side. I could tell by the appearance of the gory filled body of the deceased, that he had been killed with many violent blows. I was somehow able to grab hold of her arm before she could strike me again, this time she cut through her hair as she waved the handle of the axe a little closer. I felt a tug on my waist where the cut was left. I still don't know who the other one in the farm is. Before I could take a few steps back, my arms began to feel numb. The only thing I could do at this point was run, but before I did I grabbed hold of the few hairs that were cut from her hair. She tried to chase after me, but even with the burning pain I felt from my wound, I ran as far as I could back towards the North of James house. The cut was opening slowly for every movement I made. Lady luck had been on my side, carrying a corpse and running through heavy rain was inevitably a difficult task for that girl to accomplish. But....she prioritized her meeting with the one in the farm more than getting her hands on anyone who would reveal her secret. That convinced me that her actions were done out of fear not violent tendencies or hatred. It was who she was waiting for that hid a fear inside of her, and her eyes that were filled with tears proved it. I take slow sloth-like moves towards some faint light I spot near a farm close to the Kagamine family. By the time I reached there, I had found James and an old man named Hiroko. My lips became flaky and my eyes were very blurry. I could feel the temperature in my body rising, and the pain from my wound didn't really help. After a while, I passed out from some of the pain that I felt when James was treating me.

My eyes awaken to unfamiliar surroundings, or so I thought. It was still the farm we were in, the rain had not stopped yet. I lifted my body upright and sat clumsily.

"Aki! You're awake!...How are you feeling?" James happily asks.

I didn't know how to respond, all I did was thank him.

I could tell that James expression had changed, he had a cunning look on his face and eyes filled with hate.

"Who did this to you?! And who does this hair belong to?" He demanded to know.

"That hair belongs to the one who did this to me. It was Akane. But wait, there was someone else there that I couldn't see, and Akane looked terrified. She tried to kill me out of some sort of desperation. I could tell by the tears flowing from her eyes, that she did what she didn't want to do." I explained with a bit of difficulty.

Narrator (P.O.V)

It was near the brink of the last quarter of the night, rain no longer had its turf and the scowling winds made unbearable hollow sounds. Aki had been covered in a few layers of bandage wrappings, James wondered as to who exactly Akane was afraid of and why would she go to the lengths of killing for their sake. He couldn't shake the thought, he was so immersed in his mind that he started hearing rhythmic music emanating from his ears. What exactly prompts the one who fears to blindly follow the instructions of the oppressor?

"James? James!?" Hiroko had yelled into the distracted young man's ears.

"Huh?" James came back into his senses.

"Help me carry Aki." Hiroko requests as he rests Aki's arm on his shoulder.

Aki was still quite eager to find out about the one inside the farm. Within a few seconds, the young Detective's eyes shined with zealousness.

A few drops of blood spat out of his mouth as began to cough. "N-..Now I understand." He whispers.

Tensou was waiting for the arrival of Aki, but he was unaware of the fact that All had been injured. A few minutes after Hiroko, James, and Aki left the farm, they all headed towards the house of Hiroko.

"Are you sure you want to go back there? To where the 'Stench' is? We'll take a few arms, and procedural mask in preparation." Hiroko says as they all prepare to head out towards the farm.

The field of trees behind the vegetable gardens, Aki's deduction, and a remaining mystery. All of these factors were going to play hand in hand that would decide the fate of this village. Aki's arms were held onto the shoulder of James as both of them struggled to walk at a slow pace. Hiroko is armed with a rifle, a hunting rifle, and the three of them are crossing past the trees. Before they could arrive at the farm, Aki's coat started to vibrate; Tensou called and asked for their whereabouts so that he could be of some assistance. One who is dragged along, suffered and gave it all they had; Aki's eyes were squinting, he could barely move his arms and legs. A struggle to walk did not stop his determination, James had felt the same way. Although, for him, his determination might not have been because of how much he placed effort in coming this far into the investigation; rather, his sole reason to not give up was because of his struggle to find shelter in such a lost society. He wanted things to go back to the way they were in this village.

The night kept progressing, and within a matter of time the three stood before the farmhouse. Rattling noises of boar screaming we're heard, a small flame was visible from the outside. The night remains silent, but the liveliness that existed in that farm at that very moment is what broke the silent screams of the deceased. Hiroko held his hands in position, Aki and James moved closer towards the entrance of the farm.

Aki looks away from the scene in disgust, then returns his sight back to the farm. James fell on to the floor in fright, his eyes widened like that of an owl, and his breathing and perspiring increased. His legs shook with fear and confusion. A farm full of corpses, medicinal fluids, syringes, cages of rats cleaning the remnants of rotten corpses and most importantly the two creatures visible in the farm. James had no control over his body, his left hand quickly slid the mask which protected him from the odour quickly off his face. A heap of fluid spilled out of his stomach, the unsightly scene caused him to barf his entire day's supply of food.

James eyes once again met with the eyes of a frail bony like figure, "You we-...were dead. Ho- How are you alive?!"

"This is what I meant James, one of the culprits was assumed dead, but in reality she was kept hidden from society. The one behind all of these intentful slaughters, is none other than your grandmother, Rin Takadashi.

...To Be Continued...