School was closed the next day. And it would be for the rest of the week. Of course it would. It was a crime scene, after all.
Haku feigned illness so she could stay in her room all day with a guarantee that her dad wouldn't randomly burst in on her. He respected her privacy.
But really, she just needed to appear sick when her dad was actually at home.
Plus, she did feel pretty sick anyway.
He left for work around nine and wouldn't be back till three. That gave Haku about six hours to come to terms with everything. Six hours to really sit down and think about everything. Like, will the authorities ever discover that it was me and Luo behind everything? What will happen next?
It's your fault, she thought to herself. She clenched her teeth to stop the guilt from rising. It didn't really help.
Her gaze shifted to Eyes of the Moon sitting on her bedside table. She hadn't even so much as opened it yet, and she'll need to get started on reading it if she and Luo were to complete the poster.
She sighed, sat up in bed, grabbed the book and began to read.
"Nature in itself is one great big storybook. Trees have rings that display how long they've been alive. The grass bears footprints, showing a person going about their everyday business. The beaches hide wrecked ships buried beneath the sand, waiting to be discovered. Nature always has a story to tell, no matter how mundane."
Haku thought back to the Enchanted Trail on the mountain. The trees, the dirt, the leaves...they'd all tell tales of being walked on, brushed up against, used to hide a festering corpse. It's all part of their individual stories. But they certainly weren't mundane.
Haku wanted to throw the book at the wall. But, at the same time, she didn't want to damage said book. She clenched her teeth again and tried to suppress an angry groan. Having conflicting feelings is truly the worst kind of torture.
Then came a knock at the front door.
Haku exited her room, walked down the stairs and opened the door to see that it was Luo. Haku didn't say a word, just watched as Luo entered.
"Are you okay?" She asked as Haku shut the front door.
Haku gave a half shake, half nod and bit her lip.
Luo took a step closer. "Do you need to talk about it?" She noticed Haku's eyelids squeezing shut as a wet shine slowly covered them. Luo placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Haku? Are you sure you're okay?" Her voice was more tender and caring than before.
"No I'm not!" Haku cried, bringing up her hand and wiped her eyes messily. "This whole thing is my fault! If we weren't friends then I wouldn't have been at your house and I wouldn't have made Gumi mad and she and Rin and the other two would still be alive and and and…" Haku was cut off as Luo pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's not your fault." Luo said calmly.
"Y-yes it is, how can I live w-with myself…?"
"No. I killed Gumi and Rin because they tried to kill you. You did not kill them. You did nothing wrong. It's not your fault." Luo paused for a second. "Really though, it's Gumi's fault, isn't it? She did follow us home, after all. And, she attacked you first."
Haku sniffed loudly and buried her damp face into Luo's shoulder.
"We're not going to get caught." Luo continued. "Gongyu and I used to watch a lot of crime shows. Last Hour, To Catch a Killer, all that good stuff. I know what to do, all the pitfalls, whatever. We'll be fine."
What Luo didn't mention was that she really couldn't say with 100% certainty that they were going to get away with Rin's killing. There might be something she left at the scene, a stray hair, for example. Or something she had no control over. Rin could have told someone else about Gumi, like another friend or family member. That person might even come out about it, give a statement to the police. Luo could always deny it. They'd trashed the notes they received and the school had no security cameras as far as she knew. No evidence to link her and Haku to Rin, or Gumi.
But, on the off chance someone else did know, Luo would just have to be prepared to leave town. Or kill again.
"I'm glad you're my friend," came a teary, muffled voice. Luo hugged her tighter. She really was sorry that Haku thought of herself as responsible. She was nothing more than a catalyst. A catalyst that did not deserve to go through all those mental gymnastics.
She hoped they would both make it out alright.
The police station was in a state of chaos. Officials had been called in from out of town, and they now moved about the station as if they owned it.
Quinxian didn't like it. She thought it looked more than a bit arrogant. She watched them from where she leaned against the wall with her cap pulled over her eyes in a way that hid the fact that she was watching everyone.
This was her station, her territory. Who did these people think they were, strutting about, ordering around her coworkers and draining her water cooler?
"Mo!" A voice called. It was one of the Otomachi twins, the one everyone called Spice, Quinxian couldn't remember her actual name. "Mo! The Chief wants to see you!"
Quinxian pushed past Spice and made her way into the Chief of Police's office, shutting the door behind her. The Chief sat at his desk. Also in the room were Spice's twin Una, or Sugar as she was more affectionately known, and a white-haired male she didn't recognise.
"Officer Mo, this is Private Investorgator Piko Utatane. He has come in from out of town to assist us with this case. I'm assigning you to this new case, and you and Utatane and Otomachi will be working together on it." The Chief wasted no time in getting down to business. He spied the disdain in Quinxian's eye and tutted. "You better not let your feelings get in the way. I want this case closed. And fast. I'm trusting you, Quinxian." He handed Quinxian two manila folders. The case files. He turned to Piko. "Quinxian Mo is one of my best detectives," he said brightly, as if he didn't just lecture one of his best detectives. Then, he shooed them out of his office.
Quinxian, Sugar and Piko stood outside the office door. Piko offered his hand to Quinxian, who stared at it with disgust before puffing out her chest as taking his hand. She tried not to let her skin crawl at the thought of shaking the hand of one of those fancy-pancy private investigators that stank of poshness and thought they were above everyone else because they could be hired by the police themselves.
Piko looked as if he was trying not to notice the poor attempt at intimidation and Sugar watched the whole thing take place, standing there awkwardly.
This case probably wasn't getting solved any time soon if things carried on like this.