Chapter 28

A/N: Hello! I just want to inform everyone that the next update will be on December 17. Because side projects came up and I'll be busy during those weeks. Please continue to let me know your thoughts. For the meantime, here's your next chapter! Enjoy!

It has been merely a few minutes after Akko's departure and Diana had felt the coldness and the bleakness of her absence.

Diana thought her a delightful curiosity. The Japanese girl seemed to be leashed to a Filipino girl who seemed just as trapped by her. Diana knew exactly why Akko bewitched Sucy Manbavaran in such a way. No person of sound mind carried such obsession. And it cannot be love. No person capable of love acted the way Manbavaran does. Diana had only a small glimpse into the Filipino's heart, and they are enough to know that her heart is dead.

Akko appeared like an everlasting source of knowledge and mystery; when the enigma of life would be long revealed by the humanity, her heart would still conceal the secrecy of her nature, for Diana knew that something as pure and nonesuch as she was could never run out of puzzles that needed to be solved.

This was not love-at-first sight, she reckoned, albeit not having a clue about what it meant or implied. Diana was rather intrigued by Akko's manner of behaving, as it offered her a perpetual subject of debates and speculations. Diana saw Akko as the epitome of all the wild-goose chases; it nurtured her appetite for adventure and flow of adrenaline, it stimulated her mind and it gave her the opportunity to solve an enigma in times in which the every day threatened to stain her existence. Akko was just another jigsaw whose pieces she had to put back together in order to understand what she represented. Or was Akko more than that?

What was it to this girl that attracted her so much? Diana guessed that it had to do with the aura of secrecy that always seemed to convey her.

"…Minister of Defense's son died of a heart attack this morning along with twenty other boys who died of various diseases. All of the young men were believed to be a part of a reformist group..." Constanze played the UKN news on her little robot as they all huddled close together.

"Can you turn it off?" Amanda asked as she flipped her cards. "The news is so depressing."

"Did you not hear what they said?" Diana asked, looking up from the card game she did not even want to play. "Louis Blackwell has died. One of our schoolmates."

"Probably deserved more than that." Constanze signed after she put down her cards. "Yes, Amanda told us everything." She added when Diana sent her a surprised look.

"Poor thing, we're not that close to him though," Jasminka said as she bit into a glazed donut. "With more students dead, this means another assembly when the new semester comes."

All these recent deaths merely intrigued her. It was not natural, especially because most of the victims were healthy young people. Then it was quite hard to conceal murder as heart attack or any other diseases, Diana knew only of one serial killer that had ever managed to pull it off, and that on a massive scale. But it could not be.

Other diseases were easy. Exposing them to a deadly virus or bacteria and cultivate them, but it could take years for it to work, given a person's immune system and healthcare. There were no outbreaks to boot.

Whatever dirty tricks she could conjure to give people heart diseases was unheard of and might not be possible. Unless the victim has a pacemaker.

"I would insist that all of you would treat it as white noise," Diana said, as she listened intently on all the names of the dead people.

"On another news, one woman is missing after a plane hit the water while trying to land at the International airport in the Philippines archipelago on Sunday, December 26. The airline had said all passengers and crew had managed to evacuate the sinking aircraft safely, but they confirmed that one passenger was unaccounted for. Her name is Dr. Ophelia Adams."

Diana's eyes widened when she heard that. Unaware she spaced out until somebody threw a candy at her. She shot the American with a heated glare. "What?"

"What's got you so riled up?" Amanda said, munching on a lollipop.

Diana contemplated whether or not to tell Amanda about Sucy Manbavaran's missing foster mother around the company of other people. She decided it will be worth mentioning later instead. "Nothing," she mused.

"Kids like ourselves shouldn't care about the news, especially not people dying," Jasminka said.

"It worries me though," Lotte said putting down a card. Her face was lined with concern. "Apparently Louis Blackwell had visited the doctor just a few days ago and then there had been absolutely nothing wrong with his heart."

"I'm sure there is a natural explanation, Lotte," Jasminka said in an attempt at comforting her. It might have worked too, had not the shy girl spoke.

"But all 21 of them dying from various diseases?" Lotte asked.

"Probably some new drug that hit the market," Amanda said, undecided how to play her cards. "Fafnir's arrest led to discovering that he was actually making new ones too. Maybe they were the first customers."

"I, for one, think it might be related to the Blytonbury Killer." Diana failed to stop her tongue from wagging.

The girls just stared at her. Amanda palmed her face as if Diana was crazy. Constanze actually looked worried for her. Lotte's face paled, her concern turning to anxiety. Jasminka slowly widened her almond-shaped eyes, sending an annoyed glance.

"That's like a correlation, Diana, I think you're finally losing it, but do explain why you thought of that," Amanda said.

"The Blytonbury Killer only targets boys who attend Luna Nova and was somehow able to conceal their deaths as suicides, right?" Constanze signed.

"Yeah, that was one of the great mysteries surrounding the killer. How did they really kill them?" Jasminka asked.

"I have a theory about it," Lotte said, peering curiously at Diana over her cards. "Do you want to hear?"

"Please."

"The Blytonbury killer only needed one murder weapon to kill the victims and hide the evidence. The murder weapon is still with them."

Diana's jaw twitched. "That sounds implausible."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be an object, Diana. Perhaps she's a great manipulator."

"You are not the only one who suggested manipulation—" Diana's voice faded as she staggered at the Headmistress' granddaughter. "Did you say she?"

"Sorry," Lotte pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose, "but I believe the Blytonbury Killer is a female. And I believe that Andrew Hanbridge was a victim of our psychopath as well."

Amanda took a huge gulp as she tried to wedge her teeth together to stop from talking. Fearing, she might confirm or deny the truth that Diana wanted to hide.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Jasminka said, offering Happy Flavored popcorn to her. "The Blytonbury Killer only targets bullies, and Andrew Hanbridge doesn't fit the profile of the victims. I would believe that Louis Blackwell and his reformist group would be targeted, but disguising it as heart attacks seemed like that Japanese manga. It's not feasible unless the supernatural or paranormal is at its work."

"You have a point there, Jasna!" Amanda pointed a biscuit at her before taking a bite. "What say you, Diana?"

"I refuse to entertain such ideas," Diana said when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She hissed lowly in annoyance, figuring it would be notifications or pesky kids at school who got her number, but a smile danced on her lips when she saw it was Akko.

But as soon as she read the message, her smile turned upside down.

"There, all patched up," Akko said, but there was a tense silence.

Sucy heard a notification go off and Akko instantly checked her phone. She typed something away as Sucy slowly sat up, grimacing with the effort, and rubbed her eyes. "Thanks."

"How do your injuries feel, Sucy?" her beloved asked as soon as she pocketed her phone again.

Sucy eyed at the bandages in her burned areas. "They will heal."

"Will they scar?" Akko asked.

"Positively," Sucy said. "My doll offered to use a spell to make it heal quickly and scar-less."

"Did you say yes?"

"Of course." Sucy blinked hard. "Wouldn't want stupid inquiries from people at school."

"You have a point." Akko let out a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Sucy noticed that Akko was smiling every now and then on her phone. Her beloved had been checking it every so often that it became an instant mood killer. She frowned at that and cleared her throat to get her attention.

Sucy scowled and looked away. "Akko, it's my birthday this Saturday. If you're planning any surprise, you better tell me now."

"Actually, Amanda and the rest are planning—"

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Akko, but I don't give a fuck about them." She interrupted with a grimace. "I want you."

Akko's tongue seemed to have turned heavy. She avoided Sucy's gaze and went back to texting on her phone in the middle of their conversation.

Sucy couldn't take it anymore. "Who are you texting?" she asked, snatching the phone away from her beloved.

The name surprised her. Her throat and chest constricted for a moment in unbearable pain, then fury exploded through her, washing away the anguish in waves of violent rage.

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM CAVENDISH."

"I'm asking for advice, Sucy!" Akko reasoned out, grabbing her phone back. "Did you even read our conversation before you raised your voice at me?"

"Why are you asking her for advice? You could have asked anyone else! You can talk to me! I'm here, but you're talking to her!"

"You want me to do something I'm not ready to do yet! And I'm asking her how to go about it and how to make you see my point of view."

"Akko! I'm in pain!" Sucy said, breathing quickly. "If I got bitten by a stray dog, you would have no problem helping me undress to wash the saliva and blood out!"

"Those are completely two different circumstances!" Akko lashed back. "And don't you think the boiling oil is your karma? You have been killing people left and right and you don't even blink an eye!"

"I'M JUST SAYING, DON'T YOU DARE CHEAT ON ME!" The moment the words left her lips, Sucy knew she would regret it.

And regret she did. Akko's face contorted into an angry mess. "Oh, so when I text another friend about advice, it's cheating and unforgivable but if you kissed another girl because I'm not home with you to fulfill your needs, it's a mistake and you won't do it again?"

"I don't trust Cavendish, Akko. I trust you, I'm just angry you went all the way to text her about this dilemma when I'm over here and you can just talk to me."

"Can't you control your insufferable jealousy, Sucy?"

"No! What's mine is mine!" Sucy roared.

"So I am your territory now?" Akko chuckled sarcastically.

"I don't mean it like that, Akko!"

"Didn't you ever noticed, it's getting hard for me to talk to you?" Akko's jaw was clenched, and she was shuddering in her efforts to hold back her sobs. "If I say something wrong, you can just use your witchy magic at me. You even killed your foster mother, Sucy. What's to say you won't do it to me and Chariot?"

"My foster mother is a different matter, Akko. You know how much she abused me. And besides, I didn't kill her. Loa did. It's her birthday gift for me this Saturday."

"Why do you try to validate your murders, Sucy? I understand you would want to kill them. But their murders are in no way righteous! You're a voodoo obsessed lunatic with no emotion whatsoever. You tell me you love me, you tell me you need no fixing, but Sucy, do you even know what love is?"

"Of course I do—"

"Yes, you don't need me to fix you," Akko didn't let her finish. "But don't you think there are a lot of things to unwrap? Things that need fixing? Can't you see it Sucy? You need to fix a lot about yourself. I know you are a psycho, but this is too much for me! It's like you and I both have a karmic debt that needs to be paid before we can be truly happy together."

Sucy's tongue became heavy with dread.

"Sucy, do you even know you won't take no for an answer? It's hard to please you! You know what, I never knew you'd be like this. Once we got together, I want to call it quits."

"Akko, please don't leave me—if you leave me... I... I will—"

"—what? Kill me? Will you kill me, Sucy? I should have broken up with you when I caught you kissing that pretty girl. But no! I listened to reason! You didn't! I don't want this anymore, Sucy. I have a life, I have dreams, but it's hard to go for both when you need me to fix you. I don't want this anymore, I want to break up with you."

Rage flared up in Sucy's belly. With a snarl, she swung hard. Her punch caught the Akko full in the mouth, snapping her head back and throwing her to the ground. Sucy couldn't comprehend why she did it or where the thought of it came from but the moment she saw Akko fly from impact, she panicked.

Akko immediately crumpled into a sobbing heap on the floor, she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she stood up tremulously.

Sucy wanted to go to her and kiss away the tears, but she was the one who had put them there in the first place. She clenched her fists.

"Don't be such a possessive ass. Don't come to the Christmas dinner anymore. I don't want to see you." She snapped, driving her elbow into Sucy's burn free ribs as she stalked by.

Tears brimmed in the eyes and spilled down Sucy's cheeks. The agony of it had almost knocked her unconscious. "May I at least know why you're breaking up with me?"

"You're unstable, Sucy." Akko flat out stated. Her shoulders began to shake. Her lips were cut from the blow she gave her. "If you're angry about that, go ahead and kill me. What's stopping you from doing so, huh? What's stopping you from controlling me?"

Sucy's entire body flared. She wanted to reach her, grab her and never let her go. She wanted to do so. The only thing stopping her was her love for Akko. The innate fear she might break the poor girl and cause her to look at her with horror filled eyes.

The voodoo doll had been Sucy's salvation. She needed to do it so she can be with Akko. She just had to. She can't lose her. Sucy will do anything. Steal, kill, and humiliate their enemies. She can and she will.

"Please, even if we broke up, can we at least stay friends?" Sucy asked. "I promise I will not interfere with your romantic pursuits."

"If you say so," Akko said, unconvinced. She wiped the blood trailing from her lips with her own wrist.

"Please, don't leave me here!" Sucy's hands clutched at Akko's shirt, the knuckles white against her skin.

Akko pried off her hands off her and stepped aside, shoving the door fully open as she did and walked away.

As soon as Akko left, the tears were mechanical. Coming out simply because they have been held back too long. "I hate Cavendish. I hate her so much it hurts to even think about it."

It made her stomach flutter, her breath unsteady.

"I'm so sick of seeing her nearly every day at school."

Every time Sucy thought about her failed relationship with Akko, she laughed. For once, Diana Cavendish had won. For once, she had made Sucy weak, defenseless.

She hoped in vain that Cavendish is still suffering from the guilt of Andrew's death. If she moved on with him, she can kill new ones.

"I think my enemies got what they wanted. They created chaos in my life. They got my lover hating me for wanting to be loved. Why can't she just take my side?"

"You were meant to be alone." The doll whispered, reveling on her misery in a way.

"No, shut the fuck up."

"You don't deserve happiness. You lost your soul when you killed all those people. You are forsaken. No salvation shall come for you."

"No, that's not true at all." Sucy replied weakly, somehow she didn't believe what she was saying either."

"You don't deserve her."

"No, please. She's all that I have."

Her heart ached more so than the oil burn incident she had earlier.

"She's right in a way." Loa tuned in with her unnecessary comments. "Your emotional depth is really hard to reach because you buried it so deep to feel good about yourself—to continue as a murderer. Don't worry about it, Sucy. Your ancestor's never received, romantic love. You are a part of this curse."

"And you told me just now you bitch!" Sucy grabbed Loa and hurled the doll towards the wall once more. "Was it worth it to watch me suffer?"

Loa stayed connected where she collided, Sucy could see its stitches widen into a snicker.

"Yes," the doll chuckled, "very much. You should have known that there will be curses brought about if you inherit me but I failed to mention the curse to you for a reason, Sucy. I only want you to experience it firsthand to believe it. You might have thrown me to the washer. It's all in vain for me though, you still threw me somewhere."

"Wait, so you believe that Sucy somehow killed her foster mom during that flight?" Detective Inspector Croix said.

It has been days after the surprise party inside her chamber back at the Cavendish mansion and she had shared the information she gained from the news to the Detective Inspector working on the Blytonbury Killer case.

"I believe the desire to kill members of one's family—blood or foster—takes root in frustration that gets ignored and builds up," Diana said, her face was neutral as if she was reciting something she memorized for an oral recitation. "Repeated abuse, anger, mistreatment, whether sexual, physical or morale. If unchecked, this grows in intensity and can push some children way beyond the limits."

"Yeah," Amanda said. "Daughters of dysfunctional families really sometimes would kill their mothers or fathers. Trust me, if I weren't sane in the head I would kill my old folks."

Detective Inspector Croix then perched her elbows on top of the desk. "And you thought it was wise to share that thought to the police?"

Diana's brows knitted in concern for her. "How come?"

"My folks and I weren't really emotionally close, but you knew that, don't you, Diana? You knew I'm a rebel from an influential family."

"I thought it was the pressure that made you consider it."

"Eh, it's among the few things."

Wangari spoke loud and clear on her ongoing recording. "Despite the numerous reports of family killings in the last few years, the causes and motive behind such aberrant behavior remain unclear. Family killings occur mostly in the middle class. They often seem brought on because parents perhaps want to make up for some failure of their own, put pressure on their kids and project their own ambitions on them. If the parents then add verbal or physical abuse to this pressure, it is a sure recipe for tragedy. Young people in such a situation who are searching for their own start seeing their family—or their parents—as nothing more than machines that stand in the way of their own fulfillment."

"Are you psychoanalyzing?" Diana asked.

Detective Inspector Croix sensed the atmosphere and chimed in to divert the energy elsewhere. "School's starting soon. Are you all ready for the new semester?"

There was a chorus of answers from the three of them.

"Have you interviewed Sucy Manbavaran about the bouquet?" Diana asked her.

"My men have," Detective Inspector Croix said. "I haven't interviewed her myself or else my position as a DI will be compromised. Her only statement was she was annoyed he was there, to begin with just to buy you red flowers that she had to arrange herself. The young man didn't seem to like any of the premade bouquets available."

"Andrew sounded like he was stalling," Diana commented.

"I noticed that too, but what would he be stalling about?"

Diana inhaled a lungful of air and buried her head in her palms. "I have no idea anymore."

"Is that all?" Wangari inquired.

The older woman went over the report. "One constable even noted that she was far too happy to help."

"Some people have no difficulty cooperating with the police," Wangari stated.

"As one of my men have said... she's far too helpful. So another constable was sent to her."

"And?"

"Miss Manbavaran was still helpful, but her facial expression was too indignant. She said she didn't know what kind of flowers Diana liked and requested that she should make it the way Miss Atsuko Kagari wanted it."

"A blatant lie," Diana gasped. "Andrew knew what I wanted. He was the one who helped Frank to give me flowers."

"So wait, who's lying?" Amanda cut in. "Sucy for saying that? Or Andrew?"

"I reckon I should get to the bottom of this."

"How?"

"I shall befriend Miss Sucy Manbavaran myself."