An hour later, Haku left Luo's house and began trudging back to her own home.
She and Luo had explained what happened to Gongyu, and Gongyu just sat down and cried. Whether it was out of terror, frustration or exhaustion was anyone's guess.
Another life had been taken.
But...it was in self-defence, again. And Rin did kind of bring it upon herself. She tried to kill Haku, just like Gumi had.
But...Rin was justifiably upset. Her best friend had been brutally slain and left to rot somewhere.
Haku's lower lip trembled. She knew she would be upset too if Luo was killed. But would she be upset to the point of attempted murder? Probably not, but who knew? The human mind works in mysterious ways, she mused.
Luo would probably turn to murder should Haku bite the dust herself. She would slaughter everyone involved.
The notion that her best friend was a killer made Haku sway to the side, as if in a daze. She placed one hand on a fence to steady herself.
She couldn't deny that it was true. Luo was the one that held the chair and shears. But…
It was for her.
Had Luo just stood idly by, Haku's face would have turned a ghastly shade of blue. Her throat would have become a stream of red.
Luo was a killer, but she did it for her best friend.
Did this mean Haku herself was responsible too?
Haku stumbled through the front door of her house, and, in the nick of time, remembered to adjust the scarf so they were hiding the bruises on her neck.
Her dad greeted her, his expression was that of sadness.
"What's wrong?" She asked, quickly, to hide the inevitable worry wobble.
"Come see the news," her dad took her arm and led her to the TV. He grabbed the remote and rewound, then pressed the play button.
The local news woman, a Chinese named Yan He, was standing in the middle of a street, surrounded by cars and flashing lights. There was also a truck nearby, and an ambulance. It took Haku a second to realise it was the scene she had seen from the school field.
"This normally quiet street was the scene of a double tragedy this afternoon," Yan He began, "as two local teenage boys were both hit by a truck when they suddenly ran out onto the street. The driver was unable to stop in time, and both boys were killed."
As she spoke, a stretcher, covered with a sheet, was being loaded into the ambulance. From the top of the sheet, Haku could make out a mop of red hair. Realisation hit her and she keeled over. Her dad rubbed her back.
"You may think that things couldn't get any worse," Yan He continued, "but just twenty minutes ago another body was discovered on the school field by the caretaker. This time, it was that of a teenage girl. She appears to have had her throat cut. Police believe that these two incidents are related…"
Haku couldn't watch anymore. She made a move for the stairs. Suddenly, the phone rang. Her dad answered it, then handed it over. "It's for you," he mouthed.
Haku took the phone and ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Just as she'd expected, it was Luo on the other end.
"Did you just see the news?" Luo sounded incredulous.
Haku mumbled an affirmative. "I-I don't k-know what t-to say… Is this f-fate? Is this s-some twisted divine intervention?" She spat that last word out.
"It would certainly seem like that. Holy fuck, just, holy fuck," Haku imagined Luo running her fingers through her hair. "I'm, I'm almost…relieved. That's one loose end we won't have to worry about."
"But they seemed like they understood,"
"Just because they understood doesn't mean they won't tell. Gongyu said that, by the way."
"Hey, how is Gongyu?" Haku asked.
"Still upset," Luo responded, "she's calmed down some, though."
Later, after a very quiet and somber dinner, Haku examined her neck in the bathroom mirror. It was still tuned with that hideous shade of purple. She hoped it was cold tomorrow, so she wouldn't look too out of place wearing her scarf again.
She tossed and turned in bed that night, unable to shut her eyes for too long because every time she did, she would see the red mop of hair peeking out from beneath the sheet. She would see the decimated neck and wrist coated in red. She would see the crushed steampunk goggles and green hair matted with red.
Nothing but red.
Red, red, red.
A few short hours before dawn, her heavy eyelids finally closed on their own. She dreamed of Gumi once more, joined by her best friend and her brother and his friend. All red, of course.
Some blocks away, Luo also dreamed of red, but this time she was wading through a river of it, and suddenly saw herself with a hard expression of determination and coldness.