Ghost
Step Three: Identity
"You certainly cleaned up very nicely." Giggled my landlord. I have come to know her simply as Yuka. She seemed to take a liking to me.
She was of course referring to my little make over from last night. I had done a fully fledged make over. I couldn't remember the last time I spent so long grooming myself. It was a bit nostalgic in a way really.
I had transformed my hair to a much lighter color, a gentle auburn brown that would match my eyes far better than the previous sleek black hair I had. Gone were my long unruly locks, but I decided to keep the side bang look going. In their place was a short shoulder length cut. My hair was light enough now to where it actually could dance in gentle breeze, rather than needing heavy wind just to move it. My side bangs swept to the left side, and my left eye just gently peaked out from under them. The look felt flirty and more approachable. More importantly, it cloaked my identity far better. Anyone who knew me would recognize the wild mess I called hair from a mile away. Most people recall me as the girl who didn't even know the meaning of the word "scissors". Naturally it had become a part of my personality to some. You know how they say you can sometimes just tell how a person is how they look? I was one of those people. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but really if you truly think about it; a majority of people won't think twice about something if it doesn't catch their eye the first time.
A part of me missed the feeling of my cloak of hair, but another part felt freer without it. It was like a great weight was lifted off my shoulders, literally.
The hair wasn't all that was changed. I picked up a pair of glasses to match some of my new clothes. I was going for a more attractive approach, while still looking mildly professional. The glasses were essentially just glass lens however, merely cosmetic appeal, and to aid in throwing off who I was to anyone who might have recognized me otherwise.
The difficult part however was hiding my tattoos. In retrospect, my decisions to get two tattoos in my youth was one that would hinder me now in the present, as I stupidly decided to get one of them in a rather noticeable area. It was my Raven Clan emblem, right there on my damn shoulder. This meant I needed sleeves at all times. I considered using makeup to cover it up, but being jet black in color would mean it'd be difficult to hide with simple cover up.
Fortunately the other tattoo was in a far less noticeable spot. It was my school emblem for Lilium. I had it placed on my lower stomach right upon my pelvic area. The only way anyone could really see it is if I pulled my underwear down really. I had gotten it to remind me of the days at Lilium, to remind me where I came from. Now that I look back at it, it feels more like I needed a reminder that I was still me that somewhere in this body Chikaru Minamoto was still alive. Through all the aliases, all the paranoia, and all the lies, somewhere in here was the sweet innocent girl from Lilium; the delicate virgin, precious to all involved in her life, and so caring to others in return. Somehow, in the midst of all of the pain and tragedy, she vanished.
My new appearance though gave off an aura closer to that young girl I was, and not the paranoid woman I had become I'd assume.
"You think so?" I replied to Yuka.
"I know so." She teased tapping me on the nose.
She wandered off to go pursue more housework, but not without putting a smile on my face. For the first time in years I actually kind of felt pretty. Dare I say it, I even felt sexy. I couldn't help but be a bit dazzled. This must be what Rei felt like for many years. Then again I'm not the flirt Rei was, that's for sure. It's easy to see where her sister Shizuma got it from.
I had made a few phone calls the night before to set up strategic moves for the day. I was referring to it like a giant chess game now. Everything I did was part of a greater strategy, and every move carefully planned out. I didn't take a single risk in my strategy, and could not afford taking guesses; everything had to be precise. It all had to be dead on; perhaps that's just the paranoid, perfectionist in me speaking though.
I had pushed for some papers I had drawn up to be pushed through, using an anonymous alias and dropping them off unnoticed; I had to check today to see if they made it through.
To check my progress, I decided to utilize a library that was far out of town. I traveled a good twenty-five miles out of town just to ensure I'd be at a more secure location. I needed to use a computer to check some databases; however I could not afford to be tracked. Logically thinking, the solution to such a problem is simple. I would need to use a public computer, preferably one where no one is going to keep records of me using it, even more importantly one where so many people walk in and out, no one will remember me specifically. That part was perfectly figured out; however I needed to add further security by going out of town. In the event someone does catch on, I needed to find a way to link it out of town, so it doesn't come back to me. Not to mention this would greatly decrease the chance of anyone recognizing, or remembering me. Many high profile criminals that I've had to chase used this method; this made it essentially impossible to track them using their computer usage. Eliminating a digital trail is just as important as eliminating the paper one.
Upon arrival, everything went exactly as expected. I'm not even given a second glance. The only part I forgot about was the fact they'd have camera footage of me, however I knew that security footage is thrown away after a period of time. By the time anyone would catch on, that footage would be long gone.
I sat down at a computer casually, so far everything was working smoothly, and now all I had to do was check my information and leave.
A smile played my face as I gazed at the screen. Perfect was the only word that came to my head. The papers I had delivered were successful. I needed to "get rid of", a certain employee at a place of business. To do so I checked her record that was on file. From there I found her signature, and studied it until I could duplicate her handwriting. Directly after that event I created a fake letter of "adult affection", and had it speaking about a minor. I then had her "accidently", send it to the wrong mailbox. It only took a matter of hours for her to be dismissed from her position, and to be under investigation. Being with the police force before, I knew as a fact that cases that involved children not only got more attention, but were acted upon far quicker.
Quickly I pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the computer. It contained special police software for eliminating history and covering up tracks. We used it in investigations for when we searched suspects' computers. It basically just set the computer back in time as if we never used it.
After wiping out my presence, I logged off and vacated the area very quickly. So far so good I thought. Everything was working flawlessly thus far.
I framed that woman. I have potentially pinned a crime upon her, that if convicted would ruin her forever. What I just did was a crime. It felt strange being an officer and knowing that I have just vastly broken the law, not to mention utilizing police equipment for unauthorized personal use. I had become a detective though to deliver justice. After I finally became one though, I quickly discovered that the law prevents justice from happening a majority of the time. The cops play by all the rules and the criminals don't. At this point, the only way to proceed, the only way to make any progress was to accept that I was now to ignore the law. Everything is permitted from here.
I do feel bad about that woman's predicament, but I needed a swift solution, and that's just how things had to be. I'm no hero. I did what I had to.
Going back now wasn't an option, not that I had any plans to. I was serious about this operation, and I needed to it to the end.
The bus ride to where I was heading next was long, but gave me time to think. I would love to have a car to get around, but I could not acquire one. Using a car means I would have to register one, which creates a paper trail that I do no desire. The same would come from renting one. The only other option would be stealing a car, but if I were caught, then I'd be getting much more questioning from the police than just about a stolen car. Essentially getting a car was not an option.
I kept thinking back to that teenage Chikaru. The girl I used to be. For some reason I felt more like her recently than I ever have. It felt kind of nice, it was just too bad I couldn't be the real me again. I've been so used to being someone else for so long that sometimes I wonder if I even remember how to be me, if that I've molded myself so much to be someone else that the original mold is still in me somewhere.
I arrived at an internet café back near my hometown, where I had brought a laptop with me. I ordered one coffee while I conducted business. I pulled up my resume that I had pulled together with the fake information I coordinated before. I was assuming the role of Dr. Aya Asuka, from Yale University in the United States, Ready to take the position of the woman I just "let go".
Using the internet café was a choice of logic as well. I didn't want to send an email from the computer I just used to check information on the person I was trying to replace. I couldn't allow such a connection being made to this alias.
I sent off all I needed; now it was just a matter of time. I would await the interview, take the job, and move on to the next step of my plan.
With a degree from Yale, and the massive amount of "work experience" I had stacked onto that falsified resume, I would very much ensure that I was chosen to replace the previous employee.
I had never actually lied on a resume before, mostly because I didn't have to I suppose. When I lived in America I worked at a bar as a bartender for a period of time, but I didn't even have to submit a resume then. I got that job because Thief had a cousin that knew the owner.
That was a thought that hadn't crossed my mind in some time, Thief. I wondered how she was doing; I hadn't seen her in years. Hell, her and a majority of the Raven Clan actually. The last time I saw any of them was Rayne only weeks ago during the incident. Chances are though that by now the news has traveled that I'm dead, after all unlike me, Rayne would stay in contact with old friends, so much that she'd probably want them to be the first to know of their former leader's passing.
I wished I could see them again, but as it stood right now, it didn't look like I was going to get that chance anytime soon at the very least. I may never see them again for all I knew. It may be for the best though; they can remember me for what I was, and not what I've become.
The only thing that mattered now though was moving forward, and getting to where I needed to go.
Only a day later did I receive a phone call about the position. I went and bought myself a prepaid phone that I paid for in cash to use for the occasion. If you buy a phone in cash, without a contract, you can easily falsify the registration details. I put down an address that was miles away from where I was actually staying, and of course used my alias name. I would use this phone only for a small period of time, then dispose of it to further eliminate the trail.
"Hello, is this Dr. Asuka?" Asked an older woman on the phone.
"This is she." I replied calmly. It was difficult to remain calm, as I was a bit excited about the whole operation.
"I am calling about your resume. It's very impressive, and we'd like you to come over for an interview as soon as you're able." She spoke.
"Of course, I heard about the incident with your previous psychologist, and I was very devastated about the situation. I figured the least I could do to help was offering you my services." I skillfully lied.
"Thank you so much. This whole incident is really bad reputation for the whole institute; it's got a lot of the students stirred up as well, a lot of them could use a new face around here to help them forget about the incident. To be honest it really took me by surprise! I never would have suspected her as such." She seemed a bit more relaxed now.
"It's always the last person you expect, now isn't it? I do hope that she gets help though, after all this is a growing issue within the world. If we don't take the time to understand the minds of these people, we can never hope to stop this from occurring in the future." I kept feeding her more bullshit.
"Right, I agree full heartedly." She replied.
There was a short awkward pause.
"Right, so I will see you tomorrow perhaps, say 10AM?" She asked going back to the original subject matter.
"That should work out perfectly, I'll be there. I look forward to meeting with you." I answered.
"Excellent, we can't wait to see you!" Said she.
After the call ended I slid the phone into my pocket, and a smile played my face. I did it. The only thing that was bothering me now was a feeling of awkwardness. In order to move forward, I had to go backward. I was soon to be an employee at Astraea Hill.
A/N: Chikaru you sneaky, mischievous woman. Back to Astraea we go. Yup, I told you we were going back to the roots. What's in store next you ask? Well that would be telling.
FUN FACT: There are actually some interesting back stories of characters that will be revealed soon, which I'm sure readers of the originals will enjoy.