When a familiar car backed into the ally Kinu was in, she tightened her grasp on her purse, and a fuzzy prisoner. The girl had collected her things, and was leaning against the wall, staring at the corpse. The car stopped, and the lights turned off, but the engine kept running. Takasugi got out of the driver's seat and walked to the body. He stared down at it for a moment, before approaching Kinu. She was holding something white against her chest, and he frowned.
"What is that?"
"The only witness..." Kinu murmured, and Takasugi realized it was a cat. A kitten, to be exact. Instead of chastising the girl, as she expected, he firmly placed a hand on her shoulder. She had not looked up at him; her eyes were locked to the dead man. Despite the fact that she was obviously shaken up, the girl held no expression.
"Are you alright?"
Slowly nodding, Kinu shifted her gaze. Takasugi studied her for a moment, before pulling her off of the wall.
"Get in the car. And take your witness too. We might need to torture him to silence." For some reason, the man smirked as he spoke, and Kinu managed an invisible smile. At least he had a good sense of humor about it.
She wanted to ask what they should do, but she was too nervous. Nodding once more, Kinu did as instructed. In a matter of seconds, Takasugi opened the trunk of the car, and grabbed a bottle of bleach. Kinu didn't really watch him from the passenger seat, she was too engrossed in her own thoughts. The kitten walked all over her, and climbed to her shoulder, but she could not focus on it. That guy wasn't supposed to actually die. He was suppose to play dead, and return to take his revenge or something, like the books she read. Not that it always worked like that. Most of the time people actually died, but some of them did not. She thought he would be one of those. Then again, she really hadn't thought at all.
Night seemed fitting for something like this. Takasugi had figured this would happen. He had lined his trunk with a tarp, and already known bleach would be necessary. It tainted evidence, and that was exactly what he would do. Kinu seemed out of it, but the girl could think enough to know how to cover this up. She had done the right thing; calling him. The body had probably had enough time to mostly bleed out. Gripping the man, Takasugi threw him in the trunk. The one-eyed man poured bleach over the puddle of blood, knowing that even if it was found, it could never be tested. Silently closing the boot of the car, the man moved back to the driver side.
Kinu was still completely silent. Though she seemed tough at times, this was obviously too much for her. Glancing at the girl, Takasugi shifted the car into first gear. He knew how to solve this. He had the perfect plan and it had only taken him minutes to form it. The first ten minutes of the ride, Kinu stared out of the window. An occasional glance was spared on her, and Takasugi wondered if she would calm down. Though she was silent, and seemed composed, he could see right through her. She was allowing her own mind to attack her, and tear her apart. Plus, the kitten had dug its nails into her skin numerous times, and she didn't even look at it.
"Don't think so hard."
Gazing at Takasugi, Kinu sighed.
"What should I do with the knife?"
"Bleach. Just leave it to me. Did you get his blood on your bandages?"
"No." The girl responded, peering at her right hand. "Apparently my left hand is my killing hand. The right one freaks out, and grabs my clothes."
Chuckling, the man nodded. "You've been reading too much. There's no demon in your hand."
His words earned a light snicker from the girl, but it was a bitter sound. When the scenery around them changed from a city to a forest, Kinu frowned.
"Are we going to bury him? Isn't that cliché?"
"Do you really think I'd put that much effort into a stalker? I've got a better plan. Anyway, I didn't have any lemon or lime, so burying is out of the question." Slowing the car, Takasugi turned onto a dirt road. No light entered the forest. The entire area was pitch black. If not for the headlights, it would seem as though nothing existed. The ride had been about half an hour, enough time for Kinu to collect her mind, but she was still shaken up. Takasugi continued to navigate down the dark, winding road. Soon a large, lonely house came into view. The moon was partially blotted out by the house, and fully illuminated the structure. It was older, and two stories tall. Everything about the place seemed dreary; gloomy. It looked almost gray with vines creeping up the side of it. Most of the windows were broken, and the headlights of the car revealed peels of paint on the wood. Takasugi stopped the car, put the emergency break on and shifted into neutral.
"Stay here."
Kinu watched, as he approached the eerie house, and pushed the door open. He walked in for a second, probably checking around the place. In a matter of minutes, the man had opened the trunk again. When he was leaning over the driver's side, he asked for the knife. Of course, Kinu gave it to him. The body was wrapped in a tarp, and he carried it into the house along with a bottle of bleach. Kinu stared at the intimidating structure, wondering how long it had been abandoned, and why. A beam of light entered the house, and the girl assumed Takasugi had opened another door. Probably a backdoor, facing the forest, and moon. It took about five to ten minutes for him to return. He had left the tarp, but it was unclear where. If the body was left for animals, he would,'t leave it covered in a tarp. He had undoubtedly used bleach on the tarp though, just to keep evidence down to a minimum. Any hair, blood, DNA; destroyed by one common household item.
The man got back in the car, and wasted no time in leaving. He had closed the front door behind himself, yet the back remained open. When they were headed back down the dirt road, Kinu decided to ask him some questions, just to fill the silence.
"Why here? What is that place?"
Takasugi gazed at her, before returning his attention to the dirt road.
"Nobody goes there but homeless people. He'd be written off as a nameless hobo, who got into a fight over drugs or something. That place has been empty for more than five years. Ghost stories keep people out. Since it's so far into the forest, people never check on it. Plus, there's just the right amount of wild life. Predators are out at night. By morning, any scavengers will find it. In less than a week, almost nothing will be left. Oh, and..." Reaching into his pocket, Takasugi pulled out a small folded over stack of money. He offered it to Kinu, and she hesitated before accepting. The white kitten tried to bat it out of his hands.
"He's not going to need that any time soon." The man stated, stopping at the edge of the highway. The rest of the ride was silent. Takasugi stopped behind a restaurant, and started to strip his shirt off. When the fabric was in his hands, he turned to Kinu and wiped her cheeks, hands and neck. The man then wiped his own hands off, opened the bottle of bleach, and stuffed the shirt inside. Next, he threw a long baggy t-shirt at Kinu. It had been in the back seat, patiently awaiting its moment. She stared at it, as if she was confused, so he elaborated.
"Hurry up and change. There's blood on your clothes."
Realization crossed the girl, and she started to unzip her skirt, and pull her shirt off. Takasugi could not help but glance at her, but for the most part stared out of the window. When she finished, he pushed her clothes into the bleach container as well, and chucked it into a large dumpster behind the restaurant.
"No cameras back here. It's a family business, and they hate technology; plus, they never separate their garbage." He informed, as the car started to move, and Kinu nodded.
Once at the man's apartment, he sighed. Kinu studied him thankful that he had helped so much. If anything, he had taken everything into his own hands. She did not even have to do anything. Gazing at him, she felt her brow furrow.
"Am I going to have to move to America and change my name?"
Chuckling Takasugi shook his head.
"Only if you want to. Your English is horrible anyway. I heard you and Ginpachi earlier today; you sound funny when you say 'Bye bye'."
Frowning, the girl crossed her arms.
"Yeah, well you sounded funny when you said it."
"I wasn't really trying. You would be amazed."
Surprisingly, the girl chuckled, and shook her head. "Sure."
Pulling two pairs of slippers from the back seat, Takasugi handed one to Kinu. He instructed her to take off her shoes and wear those as he did the same. Kinu grabbed the kitten, and it mewed in response. As he got out of the car, Takasugi urged the girl to follow. He briskly led her to his apartment, and let her in. When the door closed behind them, he let himself out of the slippers, and grabbed a plastic box. The man held it up to Kinu, and she placed her shoes inside. He also put his beside hers, and she realized he had been wearing cheap sneakers. Kinu let the kitten down on the floor, and it scampered over the hardwood, exploring the place. The man walked to his bathroom, and Kinu followed. She watched as he poured bleach in the container around their shoes, and a rusty color seeped throughout the liquid.
Takasugi placed it on his balcony, under a small table, and returned to the apartment.
"That should be enough. No America for you."
"What about cops? If they find him- And then jail... I would probably die. It would make more sense to do it myself, right? Because once they find the remains, they would know he was stalking me... Somehow... Even though I never reported him."
Smirking, yet frowning, Takasugi tilted his head.
"Did you know his name?"
Kinu shook her head, and he snickered.
"Oh yeah, you better have a razor ready."
Frowning, Kinu crossed her arms. The man continued to chuckle as he walked to the hallway.
"I'm going to take a shower. Do the same when I'm finished. Watch some TV or something." He continued away as he spoke, before adding another line.
"Oh, and my bookshelf is in the second bedroom; you can take a look."
The door could be heard closing behind him, and Kinu sat on the couch. According to him, this wasn't a big deal. If anything, he acted as if nothing had happened at all. Nevertheless, Kinu could not pretend she hadn't just stabbed a stranger to death. She had been there the whole time, and the image would be forever etched into her mind. Break lights had revealed the man's mangled appearance and each the disturbing laceration she had inflicted. The man was not scary any more. He was disgusting. His memory made her want to hide under the covers like a child; as if covering her head would erase the events of the night.
Yeah, he had attacked her. He started it. But Kinu didn't think she would actually end it. No, she knew what she was doing, and understood what would happen. She understood very well. Her thoughts had been clear, and the whole time she wished he would die. That someone would stop picking on her, and learn their lesson. Even so, she didn't know how she should feel. Books had taught her a lot. Every main character that has killed for the first time goes through a power rush. They become proud, because they can defend themselves, or they finally accomplished their goal. Then the guilt sets in. Shame consumes them, and pushes them to the brink of insanity. Some partially recover; enough to live moderately normal lives. Others don't and become mass murderers, or kill themselves.
Nevertheless, this wasn't the same. Kinu had not acted out of greed, or jealousy. That was not about revenge or an ongoing spat. She was threatened, and back against a wall. Almost literally, when you get past the fact that her face had been to the wall.
When Takasugi got out of the shower, Kinu hadn't moved at all. The girl was seated on the couch, staring at the door to the balcony. The kitten sat in her lap, staring up at her as if it had been demanding attention for hours. If he did not know any better, he would say she was contemplating jumping off of the second floor. But everybody knows, that girl would prefer a knife. Moreover, that wouldn't kill her unless she perfectly positioned herself. Standing in front of her, the man raised his pipe to his lips. His free arm comfortably rested in his kimono, supported by the belt.
"Go on, take a shower. I'll lend you a shirt."
Kinu blankly peered up at him before offering a slow nod. Her eyes were glazed over and he wondered if she had even heard him. Soon the girl placed the kitten on the floor and pushed herself to her feet. She started to walk to the hallway, and Takasugi stared at the "witness". Kinu was going to have to get over this. The first time is always the hardest. By her second kill, she would be fine. Takasugi studied the girl as she moved, smirking to himself. Even when she was depressed and acting like a ghost, she was still cute. Moreover, he got to witness another kind of pain on her part. One which he would not cause, but could appreciate.
Other than that, he would have to make accommodations for the cat. It was sort of cute, and he wondered what they would name it. Witnesses can't be allowed to roam the streets after all.
A/N: Takasugi's so smart. He handled that like a man. Yay for him! :p
But now Kinu's depressed. D:
And they have a kitten! :D
(So many mixed emotions, gosh.)
