Killing Eyes and Faerie Hounds
Part One
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 to the side in order to better see the woman standing beside my bed.
"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 was 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 seemed clearer after I was done. After I finished, I changed into my uniform so as to not make anyone suspicious and went 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, to 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 needing 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 done. 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 Arihiko 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 definitely 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 for its contrast to their uniforms, and 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 is there beside the school, 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.
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 she 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 couldn't force my body to move even 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 thorough way imaginable. I'd left her shattered like pieces of a broken mirror 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 contained 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; I 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 deserted 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 had been right 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 façade 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."
