AN- I keep getting inspired by weird creepy things...I'm thinking of just making a new one-shot collection with all of the stories based on Urban Legends and ghost stories...or maybe I'll just keep them in here...what do you think? D=

And for those wondering, yes I am going to start working on Seashore again. I'm just trying to get back into writing after my hiatus by working on these one shots...Need to make sure I haven't lost my touch.

Seventeen: Carved
Watashi kire?

"Am I...pretty?"

Len woke with a start. After a moment of blinking through sleep, he rubbed his eyes and tried to remember where he was. Around him were several columns of books. He sat at a table with about twenty books layed out before him. One of them was open and had been drooled upon when he had used it as a pillow.

"Len, are you awake?" The blonde boy looked up to see the reason behind his awakening. A young woman stood beside him, one hand on his shoulder. She'd shaken him awake.

"Um...y-yeah," Len quickly began to gather his things and stuff them into his backpack, "I-I'm sorry I fell asleep again, Mrs. Yowane."

"Don't worry about it, Len," The young librarian smiled, "I'm just worried that you're not getting enough sleep." Len scratched the back of his head as he held one of the books in his hand.

"Well...all these stories I'm researching have really affected my paranoia." He laughed. She only smiled and shook her head.

"I can't believe you of all people decided to write a report about urban legends."

"Neither can Rin. She always teases me."

"She's probably worried about you. You should head home now."

"Alright, I'll be by tomorrow to finish up my report." With this, the two said their goodbyes and Len departed the library. It was only a few blocks from here to his house so he always walked. It was a waste to drive such a short distance. Checking his watch he found it was almost seven o' clock. The sun was setting, leaving the blue sky a dull gray colour. It was windier than usual, and a fog was setting in. Len pulled his jacket closed and pulled his backpack onto his shoulders.

It was strange. Usually there were at least a few people traveling down the sidewalk. He figured it was due to the cold wind. Not many people like the cold. As he trudged down the sidewalk, Len began to notice other strange things. Other than the sound of wind there wasn't much else to be heard. No people. No birds. Not even the sounds of cars on the nearby roads. There was only the wind, his footsteps, and for some reason the echo of said footsteps. He'd never heard an echo around this spot before...In fact the echo was slightly off from his own steps. They were lighter...quicker.

He paused and took a look over his shoulder. Nothing there. Just the lone library building he'd left moments before. Still no sign of anyone around. He shrugged it off and went back on his way. Strange. No echo this time. Had he been hearing this? Must still be half asleep or something. Now it was just him and the wind. Kind of calming actually. Usually there were so many kids around and-

Tap tap tap tap tap...

"That noise again..." Len whispered, his breath turning to smoke in the icy air. It wasn't an echo. Someone was...following him? He began to speed up his pace, and the footsteps behind him did the same. He wanted to turn around but that would be the foolish thing to do here. What if it was some mugger who wanted his money? He needed that money...for things! And stuff!

Although he knew better, he took a look over his shoulder without stopping. Just as he suspected there was no one there...but the extra footsteps had stopped. It really wasn't an echo. His heartbeat picked up in his chest and his breathing became heavier. He was getting too worked up. The books in his pack were heavy and walking at such a fast pace wasn't helping. He grudgingly slowed back to a comfortable stroll. He needed to conserve energy in case his paranoia turned to be true and he needed to run. He turned back. And they started again.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap...

They were louder now...closer now. With each second they seemed to get more audible. With each second they sounded to be getting quicker in pace. It wasn't long before Len could hear them running toward him. Running and getting closer and closer and closer and-

He whipped around once more, turning all of his body this time. Nothing. Not a soul. His azure eyes moved frantically across the pavement of the sidewalk in front of him. Into the plants on the sides. Even across the street. Nothing. Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing but the heavy breathing behind his back.

He turned again but of course there was no one here either. He was positive he'd heard that breathing...Who wouldn't be able to hear it? It was so loud. He even felt it on his neck. The hairs on his arms were standing on end and it wasn't because of the cold.

When he felt the vibration of his phone in his pocket, he jumped and clutched his chest. His heart couldn't take much more of this. It was a text message from Rin.

Where are you, Len? I made dinner for you and everything and it's getting cold :I

Len took a few deep breaths before sliding open the phone and typing a quick reply on the keyboard.

Sorry. Fell asleep at the library again...Heading home now. =w=;;;

The teen did one last 360, making sure he was truly alone. Everything seemed calm for now. With that he turned around

only to find a woman standing behind him.

He jumped back, startled. The woman looked only a little older than he was. She was dressed in a blue coat, small black skirt, and a small beanie covered the top of her long pink locks. She wasn't wearing any shoes...but had a surgical mask covering her mouth. She must be sick. No wonder...wearing such a short skirt in this cold.

"Y-you scared me." Len mumbled in a shaking breath. Where had this lady come from? He'd just checked and she'd been no where in sight. The woman only placed her hands into the pockets of her coat and stared at him with large blue eyes. He thought he heard her say something but the wind was too strong for him to hear such a quiet tone.

"Pardon?" She stepped closer.

"Am I...pretty?"

Well...this definitely caught him off guard. For a moment he didn't know how to respond. Len had always been the type to be respectful towards females whenever he was around one. He was the type of gentlman that was rare now-a-days. The woman before him was quite pretty...but he couldn't fully tell because of the mask she wore. But...he wasn't going to make fun of her for having a cold.

"Y-yes. You're very pretty." He gave her a small smile. It was very awkward... He wondered what could possibly make this woman ask a complete stranger about her looks.

The woman's eyes expressed her smile at him. She was pleased with his answer it seemed. With one hand she reached around to untie her surgical mask and rip it from her face. What hid beneath it made Len's eyes widen and his feet shuffle backwards. From each corner of her mouth were scabby,red cuts that reached to each ear. The seperated skin looked to have been poorly stitched back together. The woman was smiling, stretching the stitching and giving Len a look into the muscles beneath the skin.

"Am I still pretty?"

Len was paralyzed. How did it come to this? He just wanted to go home and eat dinner with Rin.

Wait a moment. This scenario...it seemed familiar...This woman...She was one of the legends he'd been studying...she was...

"Kuchisake-onna..." Len whispered. The woman stepped even closer to the young man, perhaps to give him a better look of her cut mouth. Len's mind exploded with thought. There were ways to escape her, weren't there? What were they? Shit, what were they? Think quickly. If he said 'no,' he'd be dead and if he said 'yes' she'd cut his mouth up...But what was the third option...?

The Kuchisake-onna continued to stare at him, eyes wide and expectant. From within the pocket of her coat, she toyed with the large pair of scissors she hid. What is his answer?

Finally Len took a deep breath, and the woman smiled once more, ready for his answer.

"Well, what about me? Am I pretty?" He answered, crossing his arms. The woman's brows furrowed in confusion. She backed away from the young man, trying to decide what exactly she should do. Len on the other hand was gone before she even realized it. He ran all the way home, ignoring the weight of his backpack and the way it would slam against his back as he ran. When he got into his home is the only time he stopped to take a breath.

"Len, is that you?" Rin called from the next room. Len was too out of breath to even answer. Rin walked into the entrance room and immediantly saw that something wasn't right. She took Len's pack and lead him into the kitchen to sit at the table and try to catch his breath. She even fetched him a glass of water. When he had calmed down he relayed his story to his sibling.

"So you actually met the Kuchisake-onna?" She asked skeptically, handing Len the plate of food she'd made him.

"Yes!" He shouted, "I'm telling you it was real."

"Are you sure you weren't just half asleep? I mean...it's hard to believe.."

"You believe me though, don't you?" He looked at her pleadingly. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"If you truley believe you met the Kuchisake-onna then I guess I have to believe you... Lucky for you that you knew how to confuse her...Or else you'd have serious Joker mouth." With this comment, she tugged at Len's cheek a bit and he swatted her hand away.

The rest of the evening, Len tried to take his mind off of his encounter with the woman. Mostly that meant playing video games with Rin and letting her win when she pouted. After a while, Rin decided that they both needed to go to bed. Len, being the good little brother, didn't argue with her. They both had classes in the morning after all.

So as Rin turned everything off in the living room, Len started to head upstairs.

Knock knock knock

He paused in the entrance way. Who the heck could that be at this time of night? Wiping his sleepy eyes, he unlocked the front door and swung it open. Standing on the stoop was a woman with long pink hair looking at the ground. His heart stopped as she lifted her gaze to him. She opened her mouth, pulling at the stitching holding her mouth together.

"You never answered my question."