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As the rain rattles loudly at the windows, I pull the blanket closer to my face. The warmth is soothing; just knowing that I am home, actually resting in my bed for once, is incredibly calming to my mind.
“
The University is working on a certain project. A project to honor the dead, the fallen citizens of Rivlainge.”
And then less calming memories slowly return to me. I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair, trying to drown out the painful parts and only concentrate on what was said.
Two certain voices are in my head, but I can’t retrace the exact conversation. Too many parts are missing, vague or incomplete.
“
Apparently, this is a common procedure in the Outside World.”
“
I’ll say it again. How do we know unless we try?”
“
And this is more of a personal interest, but…”
“
Someone out there even outsmarts Death.”
“
An entity capable of creating Immortals. Who is
the King?”
I remember them talking about the things I know about the dead. Something about our Creator. Something about the Netherworld. Lady Aurora taking pleasure in my ear-shattering screaming.
Sighing, I turn away from the windows. Blindly reaching for the other pillow, I end up grabbing something cold and hard instead.
Confused, I open my eyes.
Lady Aurora.
In my bed.
Hugging a dead man.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!!!”
Startled, I fall back on the floor, accidentally ripping off the body’s hand. Despite the awful sight in front of me, I can’t take my eyes off Lady Aurora and her new friend.
She yawns and rubs her eyes as she slowly sits up, clutching the body like a plush toy.
“You don’t like him?”
As shivers run down my spine (ha ha, what spine?), my admittedly weak heart beats rapidly. Feeling my stomach twist and turn, I cover my mouth with both hands.
Only my own hands, mind you.
“You’re such a wuss.”
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When we meet again in the kitchen only a few minutes later, after Lady Aurora has dressed, I still haven’t calmed down. First I pass out for an entire day, and now this.
Water leaks from the tap. The tiles are broken. Bugs crawl from one corner to another. I’d love to think that nothing has changed at all, but alas, I can’t.
“Whothehellisthatguy.”
Raising an eyebrow, Lady Aurora sits down next to me as she drinks from a bottle filled with red liquid.
“I found him last night.”
“Y-You
found him!?”
“Nobody else looked like they wanted him, so I took him in. Finders keepers.”
“What were you thinking!?”
“That he looks tasty.”
All too happily, the princess finally reclaims the hand I accidentally ripped off and takes a bite from its index finger.
“I was right.”
“No, I mean, you should have called a doctor!”
“I did. The Doc said I should just go have fun with him.”
“A
real doctor—!!”
Leaning back, completely exhausted, I breathe in and out deeply a few more times before I even look at Lady Aurora again.
“Give me that.”
“Uh--”
I snatch the bottle from her and take a large sip.
And then I spit it out again.
“What the bloody hell is that!?”
“Funny you should say that. It’s your blood.”
“How--”
“Well, you
were bleeding an awful lot when the Doc and I cut you up.”
Lady Aurora makes use of my few seconds of speechlessness and continues drinking. She licks her lips, deadpan, and waits for my reaction.
“Why would— Are you— Kids shouldn’t be drinking!!”
“What did you say, old man!?”
Considering that a challenge, apparently, Lady Aurora drinks more and more as she dodges my attempts to stop her.
“Put that away! Why are you drinking my blood!? Do you even know how creepy that is!?”
The princess pokes out her bloodstained tongue as she quickly leaves the kitchen. Eyes twitching, I follow her into the entrance hall and chase after her.
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“Stop, damn it!!”
Lady Aurora runs around the desk, I follow, again and again, until she makes her way towards the exit and turns to me.
“You want this, huh?”
She throws the bottle onto the floor, making the remains of my blood leak out. Unable to stop in time, I step on the small puddle, slip and fall. Fall onto her, that is.
“Gyah!!” “Waah—!!”
Frowning, Lady Aurora immediately opens her mouth to yell at me, but before either of us gets to say something, her phone rings.
“Ah!”
In a situation that is bound to cause a massive misunderstanding, I would never even think about answering a call.
Lady Aurora, of course, has different plans.
“Hey, Doc!” “This isn’t what it looks like!!”
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When my brain finally regains its functionality, I move away from Lady Aurora and clear my throat. She sits up as well, but with one hundred percent less embarrassment than me.
Although Evans’ expression is still somewhat awkward, he grins.
“
Huh, I would’ve expected the princess to be on top.”
“I told you, it’s not—!!”
Despite clearly not understanding what’s going on, Lady Aurora crosses her arms angrily.
“What’re you saying, Doc! Of course I’m on top! I’m always on top!”
“L-Lady Aurora, that’s…”
With a light chuckle, Evans picks up a sheet of paper from his desk. It’s covered in coffee stains and I have no idea how he manages to read from it.
“
Anyway. You know why I’m calling?”
If Lady Aurora is this easy to distract with a single call, then there is only one way.
“This deal is working out so nicely,” – her voice deepens – “unlike a certain other agreement.”
Evans grins even wider at my unimpressed face.
“
Sorry, no time to play marriage counselor today. There was another murder at the Williams Cellar Bar. I thought you might want to know.”
“Gotcha. Thanks, Doc!”
They both hang up. At least there was a point in my suffering. To her. I could do very well without chasing after a serial killer. But anything goes to get me closer to getting killed.
Lady Aurora immediately checks her map.
“Williams… Cellar Bar, was it? I think we can reach that with the, uh, subway again.”
“I’ll just go get my jacket.”
When I return from my… our… I’m-not-sure-whose room and hand Lady Aurora the umbrella I found in my closet, she once again fails to understand.
I open the front door to introduce her to another natural phenomenon: rain.
“Ohh!”
Lady Aurora runs into some trouble trying to open the umbrella, but when she manages to do so, she’s all the more proud. Holding it up high enough to keep me dry as well, she starts walking.
“By the way.”
“Hmm?”
“What the hell’s a marriage?”
†
Lounge Gardens district
East Styx St.
“It should be somewhere around here.”
As I walk along the river, several steps ahead of Lady Aurora, I brush aside some wet strands of hair. On our way here, she kept insisting on sharing the umbrella, but I declined. Every time.
Although it has earned us a few weird stares from people passing by, I just can’t stand so close to her. Not until I stop feeling sick from her mere presence.
“Ah, there it is!”
Hang on.
I turn around to Lady Aurora only to find her pointing at a nearby building. Without having her map ready to make sure, that is.
“You seem to know the area.”
“Who? Me? Naaah, I just, uh, I memorized the map!”
Could she be any more suspicious right now?
“Then I’m sure you know which part of the city this is.”
She looks at me like I’m speaking some ancient human language.
“Uuuh. North-west?”
“South-east, but close.”
The princess puts on her best
innocent cute girl face and scratches her cheek while showing her tongue just a little.
“Oopsie! I keep mixing those up.”
That’s not her. The real princess is a crude, bossy woman who wouldn’t accept having made such a mistake.
And then it hits me.
Pointing at her accusingly, I yell out my conclusion.
“So that’s how you know! The body you brought home is yesterday’s murder victim!!”
Clearly feeling caught, Lady Aurora stares at me. Clutching the umbrella’s handle and lowering her head, she starts shaking.
Then suddenly, she runs off towards the bar, leaving me behind.
“You can’t take him away from meeeeeeeee!!”
“H-Heeey! Stop right there!!”
Sighing, I put one hand on my cheek. Despite the cold rain pouring down on my face, it feels like it’s burning. More calming memories return to me. Memories of what it is like to feel.
Even if it’s just frustration right now.
“
The network constantly reads our brain waves. It repels lies.”
…I suppose obvious lies and stupid pranks aren’t included in that.
Slowly walking towards the bar, I check my phone. Even though the place is “closed for investigation,” Lady Aurora isn’t the only person inside.
I hesitate, but then I drastically quicken my pace and head down the nearby stairs into the Cellar Bar.
When the heavy creaking door closes behind me, the air feels stale at once. It really is a crime scene. One that reeks of death, sweat and alcohol.
And the vomit I just stepped into.
Clumsily wiping my shoes on the carpet close to the entrance, I stop abruptly when I suddenly hear someone playing the piano. Sure as hell can’t be
her.
I head further inside the bar, past several expensive-looking bottles of alcohol and a collection of old-fashioned records.
There she stands in awe, Lady Aurora, as she watches a young man play an enchanting song. Unbothered by our disturbance, he goes on, slower, then faster, putting his heart and soul into every note played.
He remains seated until the final note stops resounding through the bar. Then he stands up, steps off the stage and smiles at us.
“That song, it’s called Death and the Maiden. A man by the name of Franz Schubert wrote it a long, long time ago.”
His accent is subtle, but it immediately gives him away. He’s an Outsider.
When the princess begins clapping her hands, the young man chuckles and scratches the back of his head.
“Ah, thank you, thank you very much. Allow me to introduce myself.”
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“Hitoe Naritomo, lead homicide investigator of the Rivlainge crime investigation department. It is an honor to meet you.”
Lady Aurora’s eyes shine at the sound of the word “homicide.” Even more so when Hitoe bows before her and boldly kisses the back of her hand.
“So you’re here for the murder case, too.”
“Never too far from a perfect crime, my dear.”
Hitoe puts his arm around Lady Aurora’s waist and heads towards the bar. He walks behind the counter and grabs three glasses from the shelves.
Something about this guy makes me want to get away from him as fast as possible, but as Lady Aurora takes a seat, I decide to do so as well.
He pours the Lady a glass of blood-red fruit juice, and himself a glass of scotch. And I get nothing. Thanks a lot.
“This case, it’s interesting, isn’t it? When I got here last night, the body had already disappeared.”
As he downs his drink at once, Lady Aurora looks at me first, then back to him, grinning.
“Yeah, that was me.”
Hitoe appears to be neither surprised nor angry. No, instead, he keeps up his annoying smile like his face is stuck that way.
“Is that so?”
“Oh, but I didn’t kill him. I just happened to pass by and take him home.”
Just happened to… Honestly, what
was she doing out there?
But of course, I’m the only one who thinks this entire thing is unreasonable beyond belief. To Hitoe, it’s utterly amusing.
“As expected from the princess. A noble woman who takes anything she wants, just the way it should be.”
Noble woman. Right.
Spoiled brat. Those are the words you were looking for.
Lady Aurora critically examines her drink and takes a sip. She seems surprised, but the taste doesn’t appear to be entirely unpleasant.
“Being the kind and loving lady that I am--”
Not again.
“—I would be willing to return the body to you. For the investigation.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Hitoe refills his glass and shrugs.
“In fact,
please keep him. Being used by such a beautiful lady, he must be very happy.”
Happy, huh.
And now they are heartily laughing together. About having fun with dead bodies. Evans is weird enough already, but this guy might just be Lady Aurora’s soulmate.
As I nibble at my empty glass, I try to put my finger on the countless other things that are bothering me.
“If one of the bar’s guests found the body and called you, did they just… leave the body outside? Unattended? Is that what happened?”
For the first time, Hitoe’s expression changes to slight surprise.
“Isn’t that alright?”
He casually points below a table to his right.
“
That girl hasn’t been moved since she died last week.”
“Oh my God, what the—!?”
Shrinking back, I nearly fall off the bar stool. This is the wrongest kind of wrong. I shouldn’t feel normal just because I am among complete maniacs.
Lady Aurora sighs and crosses her arms.
“You really are a terrible right-hand man.”
“Yeah, for a walking morgue, you sure don’t handle dead bodies well.”
Hitoe suppresses his laughter, way too confident about his stupid joke.
But suddenly, I remember.
“
The University is working on a certain project. A project to honor the dead, the fallen citizens of Rivlainge. To keep their memory alive. If we could access the information stored within his brain, then perhaps…”
I’m probably in a whole lot more trouble than I can imagine right now.
“Psst.”
Lady Aurora leans over to me and starts whispering. Well, as much as she can whisper when she’s this obnoxiously excited.
“He knows what a ‘morgue’ is. He must be from the Outside World.”
“You don’t say.”
My sarcasm earns me a punch against my upper arm. The princess crosses her arms and turns her attention to Hitoe again, whereas I hold my arm, flinching. I keep forgetting how ridiculously strong that gullible little girl is.
“Are there lots of ‘morgues’ in the Outside World?” “How in the world did you get here?”
Smirking yet again, Hitoe shoves me away and leans in closer to Lady Aurora. He begins whispering to her seductively.
“Let’s go out for dinner, shall we? I can tell you all about it. The Outside World, the murder case… Everything you want to know.”
“Sure!”
Lady Aurora joins Hitoe behind the counter to link arms with him.
“But first you need to walk me home. And then you need to pick me up later and take me to the best restaurant in the city.”
No questions asked, he agrees and heads for the exit with her. Before they leave, though, Hitoe turns around to me.
“Be seeing you, my decaying friend.”
The two of them wave me goodbye and leave me there. All by myself, with my umbrella and some unfinished fruit juice and scotch.
Psh.
Friend. Yeah, right.
Grumbling in annoyance – or despair, I guess – I pick up the glass of scotch and force its contents down my throat. Coughing repeatedly, I rest my head on the counter and try to breathe normally.
“
From this moment on, you are bound by my chains.”
…Doesn’t really feel like it. Doesn’t feel like it at all. I can’t tell what she’s planning to do, or whether she’s already forgotten about her plans, and it’s driving me crazy.
This is torture. Real torture.
When my phone rings all of a sudden, I’d just love to ignore it, but us Rivlaingeans can never resist the urge to check what’s going on.
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Lady Aurora said: You'll do anything to solve this case with me, right???
Lady Aurora invited you to Your Funeral and said: ♥ ♥ ♥
…Crap.
My lips almost, almost curve into a smile, and before I know it, I am already headed for a place I had almost forgotten about.
†
Perfect Caedis district
Caelectronics store
“Now that isn’t unusual, per se. I just haven’t actually spoken to someone from the Outside World who was willing to tell me how they got here.”
Yawning, the shop assistant takes off his glasses and begins cleaning them.
“Dude. I don’t care.”
Ignoring the queue behind me, I lean against the counter and continue.
“I don’t feel well knowing they’ll be on a date later. She doesn’t even know what that is. I mean, someone’s gotta look after her, right?”
A pink-haired girl waiting in line leans forward.
“You should talk to her! She probably doesn’t know how you feel about it.”
“Don’t give him advice, damn it.”
“But he looks really upset!”
“Irena, seriously.”
As most of the other customers step away to spend their time playing video games or trying out recent laptop models instead, the shop assistant sighs.
“So you’re a creepy stalker. Just say so instead of babbling for an hour.”
Before I get to defend myself, he places a small box on the counter.
“Not sure if you can afford this if all you do is bother people with your drama, but this is the best I can offer right now.”
Give something to society, get something in return. That’s how it works. Determined, I hold up my phone in front of the checkout and watch the debt level on my profile rise immensely.
…Yeah, I haven’t exactly contributed anything worthwhile to society in forever. Shouldn’t be surprised.
“Doesn’t matter. How does it work?”
He opens the box, revealing a robot bug and a tiny earpiece.
“Place that bug on someone--”
“Won’t they notice?”
“Will you let me finish!?”
Clearing my throat, I look away.
“The bug will disappear the second it comes into contact with the other person. And from then on, any of their relevant conversations will be transferred to your phone.”
“Relevant?”
“Anything relevant to your intention. Or that’s supposed to happen, anyway. We haven’t been able to test it much.”
The shop assistant pauses, then gives me a disgusted stare.
“Not many creepy stalkers around here, you know.”
Really shouldn’t be surprised.
Sighing, I pick up the box. Can I really do such a thing to Lady Aurora? I have to, but…
This is exactly why people vote me the creepiest guy in the city. This is exactly why people vote me the creepiest guy in the city. This is--
“Exactly what I need.”
When I ask for a bag to carry my purchase in, my phone mascot scolds me and tells me to stop leeching off society. So I leave the store with the little technological bug crawling in my hand, and the earpiece tucked away in my suit jacket.
And this is why I hate this district. Always have, always will. Bloody snobs and their stupidly expensive ‘upper class’ service.
Speak of the devil, the second I step on the pavement, he shows up.
“
Yaa! Morguey!”
PuppyofaMikuru.
With his usual disgusting smile, Hitoe goes ahead and follows me along the street full of high-class stores.
As I look away, all the confidence I had before is crushed to pieces. The rain is almost louder than my voice.
“Did Lady Aurora get home safely?”
“One hundred percent is the least I’ll ever accept. The very least.”
A simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed. I want to clench my fists, but then I remember the bug is still hiding there.
“Why are you so interested in her?”
Chuckling, Hitoe lights up a cigarette.
“Why is she so interested in me?”
Dumbfounded, I stand still and almost drop my umbrella. That’s what I’ve been really asking myself, but… Shaking my head to get rid of that train of thoughts, I catch up with him.
“Kidding, kidding. What connects us all is the search for a serial killer who even outsmarts Death, right?”
“So what’s in it for you?”
“Harsh, my friend. Harsh.”
Not looking hurt in the slightest, Hitoe inhales deeply and blows the cigarette smoke right in my face.
“I like a lot of things. Power. Women. Wealth. I like constantly being voted the hottest piece of shit in this entire city. But you know what I like most?”
He holds his umbrella away from him and lets the rain pour all over him as he steps in front of me.
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“Perfection.”
Getting a clear, reasonable answer from this guy is impossible.
Hitoe continues walking and briefly looks back as we head towards the center of the district; a perfectly neat park with a large fountain in the middle, and people retreating as soon as we set foot on the piece of land.
He tosses both his cigarette and umbrella aside and reveals a knife from inside his jacket.
“Perfection, indeed, is all I’m interested in. That’s why I need to set myself apart from mere humans.”
Trying to argue with him would be pointless, so I don’t.
“What do you want?”
Smirking, Hitoe cuts deeply into his hand, blood dripping onto the muddy ground and blending with the rain water.
“A blood oath.”
How much of a jerk would I be if I said “no” after he already cut his hand, and more importantly, how satisfying would that be?
Even before explaining his intentions further, Hitoe hands me the knife. As the sky darkens and the wind grows stronger, I hesitate.
“I want an Immortal’s abilities as much as you want mortal blood flowing through your veins. Isn’t that true?”
You have nothing left to lose.
I don’t even care if my death wish is painfully obvious or if Lady Aurora already told him all about how pathetic I am.
If all else fails, I can at least take this chance to use the surveillance bug. Without a word, I put my umbrella away as well and take the knife to get it over with.
Damn it, I should have taken off my gloves first.
After having the knife returned to him, Hitoe licks over the blade and firmly presses our cuts together. The stinging pain almost escapes my notice, that’s how ‘out there’ my thoughts are right now.
“That should be enough.”
“Yes.”
He lets go of me and tucks his wounded hand into his pants pocket without a care in the world. As he turns around, he holds up the other hand briefly.
“Well then, better get this taken care of. I’ve got a date tonight.”
And
I’ve got to make sure it won’t go wrong.
