koneko-3

[koneko-3]

Chapter 3 of "Far"

The crickets chirped loudly as the sun started to rise. Mai awoke and shielded her eyes from the bright sun. She soon got up and walked around the village. Everyone was staring at her. She didn't know how to react so she stayed silent. So many thoughts were racing through her head. "Everyone here doesn't hide their face. It's so strange." She whispered to herself. She continued to wander around. These were her people after all but it all felt so strange to her. Everything was just so overwhelming. She soon took a break as she was approached by a young girl that appeared about the same age as her. "Hey." She shouted. Mai looked up at her in surprise. "O-oh hello." Mai studder. The girl grew a friendly smile on her face. "I've never seen you around here. Where are you from?" The girl said in a friendly manner. "Oh… I don't really know how to explain…" "Well it's not like you're from the forest like those strange creatures out there." The girl giggled. "Well actually…" Mai blushed from embarrassment. "I did come from the forest but… I don't really know how to explain it. So much has happened and… and…" Mai started to hyperventilate and cry. The girl hugged her and patted Mai's back. "Its okay. You're here now. You're safe here." Those words reassured Mai. "By the way I'm Vara, what's your name?" Mai pointed at herself, "Well my name is Mai." Vara giggled but it was Intrupted by a voice if a young boy. "Vara, what did mom tell you about talking to strangers?" Out came a boy. He was significantly taller than Vara and Mai. He stared at Mai. "Who are you? And why are you dressed like that. It's so strange." He chuckled for a second until he was cut of my Vara. "Haruku, why are you like this?" She sighed. Mai started to tremble in fear. She felt intimidated by this guy. He looked over at Vara. "Look I'm just looking out for you Vara. Besides, she's looks like she came out of the woods anyway. Look at her clothes. She's dressed like one of those things out there." He sighed. Vara didn't say anything and just glared at him. Mai could feel the tension between the two of them. "Um… I may be from the forest but… I'm not trying to cause any harm." Mai spoke trying to break the thick tension. The boy sighed. "Look, I might not be as naive as my sister but I'm not going to trust some random girl that appeared from the forest. Vara, if you want to be around that girl for much longer please be careful. I wont tell mom and dad okay?" He said as he started to leave. Vara only nodded and looked back over at Mai. "Oh im sorry, that was my older brother Haruka. Don't worry he just likes to be hard on me." She smiled weakly, something about him bothered her. "Oh I have to go now. Sorry Mai but can I talk to again soon?" Mai nodded as a response which made Vara smile bigger as she waved goodbye to Mai making her alone again.

Mai soon started to miss her home. She really started to miss Moxi. It only seemed that being far away from her original home was worse than it was before. Now she was lonely. She soon went back into the woods and started to cry. "Why did I follow her!? I hate this place already! I don't belong here at all." Tears were streaming down her face. Something felt odd, like someone was watching her. She looked around only to see a figure of what appeared to be a Trax. Her heart stopped for a second, only to see it was Moxi. "Mai! Oh, thank god I finally found you!" Panic rose into her body, but she was frozen in place. Moxi noticed this. "Mai, are you okay? Look, everyone else is looking for you for a different reason than why I'm out here looking for you." Moxi reassured her. Mai calmed herself down a bit. "How did you find me?" She asked. "Well… let's just say I had some assistance." After he said that, there stood Aoi. Mai could not believe what she was seeing. "M-moxi?! B-but a Wisp and a Trax can't be together. I thought they're sworn enemies?" Mai shouted, but Aoi shushed her. "Hey, quiet down. We don't want to alert our presence, especially yours." Aoi started to stroke Mai's hair. "Look, they're looking for you. We want to help you go as far away as possible." Moxi sighed. "Look, Mai. I don't think I've ever told you this, but I've actually saved you once. A long time ago. You probably don't even remember." He shook his head. "Wait, really?" Mai sounded surprised by this. "It was when you were an infant, Mai. I'm the reason why they want to sacrifice you now, but you deserve a chance to live. We've lived for so long now that this life is just so… exhausting. But there's always these sacrifices we do on human infants that bring us life, which makes us immortal beings. But I wanted to change that. Mai, please understand you're the first step in that change. I don't want you to die!" Mai never heard Moxi act in such a manner before. It almost sounded like he was about to break into tears, but Mai knew she'd never see it. She started to realize so many things at that moment. Moxi was the only Trax that was actually kind to her. But he wasn't the only one to help her attempt to escape her death.

[koneko-3]

Chapter 2 of "Far"

In the middle of the forest sat Mai. She only stared at the ground. "So, my time is running short. But why?" She thought. Tears started to form in her eyes. "I guess after all I was worth nothing to them. So i guess now i should just…" her words pause as she felt something touch her shoulder. She looked up to see Aoi. "Ah!! The Wisp!!" Mai shrieked as she pulled her mask back on. "Hey calm down, also you don't need to hide your face from me." She smiled. Mai let out a deep breath. "You're not gonna kill me?" She asked. "Kill you? Why would I kill you" Aoi questioned her. "Because I'm one of them." Mai stated. "Oh no, you're not a Trax. You know you're human right?" Mai shook her head. "Wait a minute. Have you ever met another human being before?" Mai shook head again. "Moxi told me the other humans are dangerous." Mai stated. "Ah, don't believe those losers. You belong with your own kind. I'll take you to them." Aoi said with a big smile. "Um, okay. But what if the trax find out?" Mai said curiously. "They won't." Aoi assured. Mai nodded.

Mai and Aoi were walking in the forest. Mai turns to Aoi. "So Aoi… how can you see?" "What do you mean?" Aoi asked. "You have no eyes. But you seem to get around with no problem. How do you do it?" Mai asked. Aoi let out a slight giggle, "Wisp have magical powers. You should have know that from the trax since they always like to rant about our abilities. Part of that is also how we can see. But I find it better using my other senses." Mai held out her mask in front of her. "I dont understand it though. Why would they say that to me?" Mai wondered. "Oh, what do you mean by that?" Aoi questioned. "Ah, sorry I was thinking aloud." "Did something happen?" They both stopped. Mai turned her head towards Aoi. "Do the trax have any weird traditions that i might not know about?" Mai asked. In shock, Aoi said, "Huh? Wait, I thought you would know about them? Unless… no." "No? What do you mean by no?" "Shh, Mai. Do ask anymore questions about them, okay." Mai nodded. "Look over there. That's a village and there live other humans." Aoi pointed out. Mai was amazed despite it looking so small. Aoi patted Mai's head. "It nice isnt it. I met a human once in these woods you know. He was from the same village. He was also the same person who named me." Mai turned to Aoi confused. "Named you?" She asked. "Yes, unlike humans. Wisps usually never receive a name. But he gave me one and I've stuck to it. It makes the other wisps question me a lot." Aoi sighed. "I would do anything just to see him again." Mai seemed concerned but she didn't want to make the mood worse. They eventually made it close to the village. "This is where we part for now. Good luck for now and it was nice meeting you." Aoi said as she began to walk away from Mai. And yet again Mai was alone.

Mai began to wander the streets. No one was around. Course it was now dark out. She saw something shining towards the forest so she decided to follow it. Mai saw an orb. "What is that?" She wondered. She chased it until she found herself in the middle of the dark woods. "Hello." A faint whisper came beyond the trees. Mai was now frightened. "I-Is anyone o-out here?" Mai stuttered while trembling. The next thing she saw sent her into shock.

In front of her was a young boy looking around the same age as her. But the boy seemed very strange. He was very white as if he was a ghost. His clothes were very ragged and his hair seemed like it hadn't been cut in a long time. But one thing Mai couldn't ignore was he was also floating. "Well hello there" the boy said gently. Mai was shaking in fear. She put her mask on in hopes to avoid making eye contact with the boy. He chuckled, "so are you one of them? I thought you were human but i'm guessing you're actually a Trax. What a shame." The boy let out a sigh. "You could have at least been a wisp." Mai seemed confused. "Um actually i am human, but…" her words were cut off by a soft giggle. "Of course you're human. You have two eyes so you're like me." Mai sighed. "Wait, what exactly are you?" The boy stopped. "Oh yeah. Im dead. Im just a ghost that haunts this forest. But my name is Shoga but you can just call me Sho!" He said so cheerfully. Mai was even more scared. "W-wait, you're a g-ghost?!" She screeched. "Alright calm down. And you can take off that mask. I wont hurt you." Sho sighed. Mai took off her mask. She looked down at the ground to continue avoiding eye contact. "How did you die?" Mai asked. "Uh, thats the first question you ask a ghost. Fine. Well i got sick like really sick. I coughed up this black stuff and after a couple days it just got worse which lead to my death. It hurt a lot you know." He sighed. "You know this world is pretty lonely. More that i think about it you're kinda like me!" Sho chuckled. "How?" Mai asked. "Your with the trax right? I grew up with the wisp after my mother passed away." Mai was confused by the word mother. "Um, what's a mother?" Mai asked out of curiosity. "What?! You should know what one is! Unless…" He started to think a bit. "Oh god, you're a human sacrifice." Sho yelled. "What do you mean by human sacrifice?" Mai asked. "Well the trax sacrifice a human infant every several years. Sometimes there's cases like you where they try to beef you up. They honestly don't care about you. The only thing they want from you is that beating heart of yours." He explained. Mai screamed. "Hey, hey calm down. Anyways you never told me who you were." Mai took a deep breath. "Im Mai…" he clapped. "You don't know how much of Trax you reek of do you. They are such smelly beings." He gagged. "Well sorry. I can't help it plus you never answered my question." Mai stated. "Oh yeah, whoops, I got ahead of myself. Yeah so basically humans come from two beings: a mother and a father. I don't think you'd want me to explain that whole process since you're still pretty young." He giggled. "Process?" Mai questioned. "Oh god please don't make me talk about sex. Oh wait, you probably don't know that word either." He slapped his palm in his face. "What's sex?" Mai asked. "I'm not explaining that." Sho shook his head. "The forest is rather beautiful isn't it?" Sho said, trying to change the topic. "It's where I met Aoi." Mai's head shot up. "You know Aoi?" She asked. "Yeah, I practically named her Aoi. She raised me, but…" he went quiet. "Aoi was talking about you." Mai stated. "S-she was?! But I thought she hated me. But you can't know that. Wisps don't have emotions after all." He sighed. Daylight was starting to break. "Hey, I have to go now. Please visit me again here tomorrow, okay? I like having a presence like yours." Sho stated before disappearing. Mai stood there quietly before going back to the village where she eventually found herself passed out in a large field.

[koneko-3]

Chapter 1 of "Far"

Deep within the thicket of the woods laid an infant. Alone it sat on a stump only to be surrounded by 6 individuals. These individuals wore long robes covering almost everything while wearing strange masks. They seemed to be preforming a ritual on the dear child only to be stopped by one. The child started to cry. The one individual spoke, "I'm sorry, but do we really have to continue doing these? It just seems wrong sacrificing newborn humans." One of them looked at him, "you know, its important to our culture and our needs of survival." They all stared af the child. The one that spoke out started to speak again, "Why? It's an innocent human being with a life ahead of them. They sacrifice this poor child in need for their home. I-I cant. No. Lets stop this." They all gasped and stared at him. One spoke out directly at him, "Do you even hear yourself?!" They all seemed angry at him. "Hear me out, how about we raise it as one of our own?" He suggested. "One of our own?" "Is that even possible" between the five of them suggested. One spoke out. "How are you going to manage that? We arent humans." "We can always try. At least it's not a wisp. I cant stand wisps. Humans are fragile creatures afterall. So they wont live long. And we can sacrifice the child later." They all agreed upon it. "The child will live a life of 20 years then. It will not interact with the near village or the wisps of the woods." The child started to cry. "Oh god make it stop!" One of them shrieked. "So then, this begins the life of the sacrificed human."

*14 years later*

A little girl was out picking berries in the forest. She wore only a robe as she carried a strange mask with her. Her hair was long and a dark chocolate brown. "Hmm, i wondered how much berries i should take with me today?" She asked herself. "Oh Mai!" Mai picked up her mask immediately and put it back on. "Oh look at you picking berries, how sweet." The moax looked at her. "Its nothing much Moxi, i was hoping to get a lot today." Moxi giggled. "Oh Mai, you're such a joy. Lets get you back home now." "But why?" She whined. "Danger is approaching Mai. The six of us need to protect you from it." Moxi said with a serious tone. "Okay then... i wanted to pick some more berries." She crossed her arms and sighed. "Well you can later Mai. Please come with me." Mai starts to follow Moxi into a small makeshift shelter. To Mai this was her home. She sat alone in her home for hours wondering what kind of danger this was. Was it a bear attack? Or maybe a bunch of crazy animals we're coming to attack. She was really curious. She left her little home only to be alone. So she went back to picking berries. She kept picking berries until her basket was full. She got and there in front of her was a strange woman. Her hair was short but her bangs covered her eyes. It didn't seem like she had eyes at all. It stared at Mai. "Um, hi there?" It seemed amazed at Mai. "Oh my you are so pretty, but are you one of them? Oh i hope not!" Mai started to feel creeped out by this being. "Um... can you explain to me who you are? You're kinda creeping me out." Mai exclaimed. "Oh you dont know? I'm Aoi, the only wisp with a name." Wisps... Mai heard of these creatures before. They didnt have any eyes but were able to wield magic. Mai started to back away from Aoi. "I gotta go!" Mai screamed. Aoi grabbed Mai's arm. "Wait." Mai's face turned fully red. "Let go of me!" Mai screamed. Mai was able to escape Aoi's grip but Mai forgot one thing. Her mask. She had to go back for it. She ran back but Aoi was now gone. She felt something touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Moxi. Mai screeched. "Mai, what are you doing out here?" The only thing Mai could do was panic. "I-I... I thought it was okay to come back out." He scoffed. "You should know better Mai. And why is your face showing?" At this point Mai started to hyperventilate. "Moxi, Im sorry! Im really sorry!!" Tears started streaming down Mai's eyes. "It's fine as long as you didn't encounter anything." Mai placed her face in her palms. She turned around to pick up her mask and her basket. "Let's go back Moxi..." she said as she placed her mask back on her face. "Alright let's go Mai, and don't let this happen again." Moxi told her. The only thing that was on Mai's mind at the moment was Aoi. She had never seen a Wisp before until now. But she knew something about their encounterment would start something. But she wasn't sure yet what it was so the only thing she could do was keep it a secret. No one was allowed to know.

The day had seem to turn into night. Mai stayed alone in her shelter. "I wish it wasnt so lonely in here. But Aoi huh... she seemed beautiful. I wonder why everyone else doesnt like Wisps. They dont seem to harmless." Mai spoke to herself. "I wonder why the others dont like them. At least wisps dont have to wear these stupid masks. I wonder what it would be like to be a wisp. Being able to do magic like they do. It sounds incredible!" Mai could only dream of what its like to be a wisp. She yawned and decided to head to bed. She closed her eyes and left into the world of dreams.

She opened her eyes to find herself in a bed. She didnt feel like herself. She felt a bit shorter and her hair wasnt long. Something wasnt right. She looked around the room as it looked like a room for a little boy. She'd never seen a place like this before. She got up to look around. Mai found a mirror and looked into it. She only saw a little boy instead of herself. She figured she was dreaming. Her chest started to hurt. She started to cough. She collapsed onto the floor as she coughed. And everything went black. Mai suddenly woke up in her bed. "What was that? Was that real?" Mai started throwing out questions. "I shouldn't worry about it. It's probably nothing." Mai noticed it was still dark out but she couldn’t go back to sleep. The only thing that was going through her mind was that dream. "I wonder why i had that dream. Is it suppose to mean something?" She questioned. Mai decided to shrug it off for now and went back to sleep.

In the morning she woken by Fen. “Mai, you must awake right now. There is important business we all must attend to.” he says as he wakes Mai. She stretches and yawns. Mai was now being led by Fen to the others. Moxi was alerted of her appearance. “Good morning Mai!” He said cheerly. Despite being different from the rest of the trax, he wanted Mai to be comfortable around them since she didn't know what they were hiding from her. Soto spoke up. “Mai, we need too discuss something with you.” Mai was confused. “Why? Did I do something wrong?” Vax started to laugh. “Gosh shes so naive. Oh, Mai…” Mai sat still for a minute trying to think of anything that she did. Then it hit her, her encounterment with Aoi yesterday. How could they know? She wondered. Soto began to speak, "we're here to discuss your future Mai." "Oh thats why…" Mai giggled nervously. "Why else would you be here Mai? I know about yesterday's events but this has nothing to do with it." Soto exlamated. "Oh, sorry for the assumption." Roko giggled and whisper to Vax, "i still cant believe we let her live." Mai felt so dumbfounded that she started to blush from embarrassment. "Guys, please quiet down." Moxi yelled. Everything went silent. "Thank you Moxi. Now we all know that Mai was supposed to have a 20 year span. Well things are changing now to 15." Everyone gasped. "Wait, what?!" Mai screamed. "Mai, you weren’t supposed to know." Moxi glared at Soto. "She had to find out somehow Moxi. I dont know why you suck up to her all the time." Moxi gasped. "Maybe he likes her like that." Vax snickered. A fight broke out between Vax and Moxi with everyone cheering. But Mai was no where to be seen.

[koneko-3]

Chapter 6 of "Light"

"I'm not letting you go. At least not alone." Ryu said looking at me. I felt now that he wanted to protect me. The rain was still coming down pretty hard and it seemed he didn't bring an umbrella. "What good is it for you to be around me? After this case is solved, we aren't going to talk to each other anymore." I spoke softly. "But wait-" I stopped him as I started to fill with rage. "Don't you understand?! There is no we! These feelings I feel arent real and this is all just a phase. Please just leave me alone." I yelled. He stared at me full of concern. He grabbed my shoulders. "How would you feel about this?" He said. Ryu's lips touched mine but I shoved him away. I ran as far as I can but I couldn't stop blushing. Part of me wanted that kiss but the rest of me didnt. Why do I feel this way? Why does he like me? So many thoughts raced acrossed my head leaving me in a state of confusion.

I ran until I found myself in a dark alley. It was empty. I was finally alone. I sat on the ground and started to cry. How did things get this way? Why are they this way now? From behind me I heard a familiar voice. "What are you doing here Ryuka?" I jumped as I heard it. I turned around to see Tsukuba behind me. Tears were still rolling down my face. "Tsukuba..." I tried to find a response but I couldnt find the right words. She placed her hands on my shoulders. "You know Ryuka, I know things are hard for you right now. If you just need to talk to someone. Just know I'm here for you. Don't be afraid. Okay?" I stared at her and gently nodded my head. The only thought that came to my head was. How could she kill anyone? She is so kind and cares deeply about me and my family. She wouldn't do anything so cruel. Ryu is wrong. He is so wrong. He is only saying things like this just so he can hook up with me. That guy... I hate him. I hate him so much. He's a liar. He's wrong. More wrong than I could ever be. I dont care if he's good at his job, he's still wrong. Tsukuba could never hurt a living thing. She continued to stare at me. "Ryuka, are you okay?" She asked. I stayed silent. I stood up and started walking away. "I'm okay Tsukuba." I said as I walked away. She stood there watching me walk. I could tell she cared about me.

I returned back at the home that was my own. It felt so empty. As I looked at everything around the house, i could only think about about them. Tears came to my eyes but I refuse to cry. I want to be strong. I laid in my bed, I was thinking about the things I wanted to do to this killer and the justice that I deserved. What family did I have now? Only me now. I heard a knock on the door. I opened it only to see Margie there. "Oh hey there Ryuka, I thought I could find you here." She said very shyly. I havent really talked to Margie that much since I've met her. "Why are you here?" I asked her. She handed me a box. "Ryu wanted me to deliver this to you since he well..." her voice fell silent. I took the box from her. "Oh, thanks Margie. Did you want to come inside?" I shook her head and backed away from me and walked away. I stared down at the box that was handed to me. What is he trying to do now?

[koneko-3]

Chapter 5 of "Light"

There stood my mother, staring into the camera. "Hi mom, it's been a while." She said with a bit of relief in her voice. "Ryuka finally went to sleep. She is just a blessing. Kiro's condition keeps getting worse by the days. I'm afraid he's going to hurt someone or even us." Her voice started to tremble with fear. "I love him so much, but I don't want him to hurt anyone, especially me and our daughter-" after that I paused the tape. "Kiro can't be a suspect." I said. "Your parents are dead aren't they?" Ryu asked. "Yes, they passed when I was only five..." "That rolls one suspect off our list." Ryu said confidently. I started to worry. "Wait, then who is left on our list? There's no one left right?" I started to freak out. Ryu grabbed my shoulder and sighed. "Ryuka, you need to calm down. Plus we have many other people to suspect." "People like who?! Ryu just tell me!!" His hand slid from my shoulder to now my arm. "Ryuka, can you please calm down for me?" I took a deep breath and sighed. "Okay, I'll try." My face turned to a light shade of pink. "There were a couple people around here before I found you when you arrived home from school. And I'm afraid your friend Tsukuba is one of them." He said calmly. I pushed him, "No, you're lying. Tsukuba would never kill anyone!" He clenched my hand while his face turned beet red. "Ryuka, I would never lie to you. Please believe me. We are getting closer to the truth I swear. I just need you to hold on." He looked up at me and let go of my hand. I was in shock and awe while he stood and was trying not to stare at me. "Ryu... do you like me?" I asked. He looked right back at me. "No Ryuka, I actually fell in love with you..." he said while trembling his words. In that moment I realized he was brave enough to even tell me this. So I decided I should confess as well. "Ryu... I-I actually feel the same way..." I trembled. Then he hugged me. "Ryuka, I-I love you!" He shouted. Both our faces were beet red. our lips touched at that moment. If felt like a sensation ive never felt before. I pushed him away. "What's wrong?" He asked. "This feels wrong." I said. He placed his arm around me. "Its okay, we dont have to tell anyone." He said casually as he started to kiss me again. I couldnt resist since it felt so great. "Okay, we have ti stop. We have work to do." I said abruptly. "Oh, your right. Im sorry this all just cane out all at once Ryuka. It kinda felt right." He said embarrassed. "If anything. Im not ready for a relationship just yet." "Its okay..." he started walking away. Both our faces we flushed red. I took the tape out of the player and took it with me as evidence.

The next day at school, i couldn't keep my eyes off him. He couldn't either. After class Setsuna approached me. "So whats the deal between you and Ryu?" "W-what do you mean?" I said trembling. "You two have been acting weird." "Eh, no we haven't." I said. She grunted. "Ryuka, I know you're lying!" She stood there with a fierce look in her eyes, demanding an honesty answer from me. I sighed, "Fine, just dont tell Margie. Me and Ryo kinda have a thing with each other." "I knew it!" She started started to do a small victory dance which made me feel embarrassed. "Setsuna can you please stop!" I yelled. She kept going and stuck her tongue out at me. I sighed. I regretted everything at that moment. From the moment we kissed to now Setsuna knowing. How am I going to get out of this?

Eventually Setsuna let up but i left before she could say anything else. I walked to the nearest diner as I held my umbrella in the summer rain. I only wanted to be alone and clear my mind after everything that has already happened to me. After I ate I visited the graves of what now is the home to gram gram and aunt Maki. I rain continued to fall but even harder now. Tears started to roll down my face as I remembered the memories of them both. I felt someone grabbed my shoulder. I turn around to see Ryu. "I figured I could find you here." He said with a reassuring smile. I stared at him. "Why are you here?" I asked him. "Because I care about you. Look I know everything was a little sudden-" I stopped him before he could say anymore. "Just leave me alone." He grabbed my hand as I tried to leave. "I'm not letting you go. At least not alone."

[koneko-3]

Chapter 4 of "Light"

I found myself at the diner looking around for Tsukuba. Then I saw her, waving her hand like an idiot. I sat down across from her. "So Ryuka, how have you been holding up?" She asked. "Fine I guess." I replied. She smiled, "That's good. I was hoping you weren't still down in the dumps. But I can relate though." "Tsukuba, it doesn't matter if you can relate." I shouted with anger. "Oh, sorry." I glared at her. "I guess we started this conversation on the wrong foot. Let's start over. What have you been doing recently?" She said. "Not really much. Just going to school and hanging out with my friends." She started staring at my with joy filled in her eyes. "You made some new friends! Awww, I knew you could do it!" She said cheerfully. "You wanna know what I've been doing?" She asked. "Sure?" "I've been listening Misaka ablums on repeat, especially Cannibal." She proceeded to pull out the cd for it and shove it in my face. "Tsukuba-" she started bursting out facts about Misaka that I didn't even ask for. But there one fact she avoids at all cost. The fact that Misaka is dead. About ten years ago during one of her concerts, she collapsed on stage. No one really knows why she collapsed. Some say it was an overdose, but mid-concert? I wouldn't say it was. Some also say it was a heart attack but to Tsukuba and some other fans, she believes that it was all fake. They believe she is still alive and just wants to leave her idol life. Tsukuba, from what she been telling me, has listened to her music since she was 8 and went to a few of her concerts. I, myself have only listened to a couple of her songs but I just couldn't get into it. I don't understand the hype about it but most of the time I listen to any random songs in my playlist of songs I like.

Eventually, she stopped talking about Misaka. "Tsukuba, have you ever had a crush before?" I asked. "Yes... I used to." She said with sorrow. "Why did you say it like that?" I aksed. "Because, He unfortunately passed away after we went out for a while. He was the only person that loved me." "What happened?" "He got into an accident..." her voice seemed faded like all that excitement from earlier disappeared. "Oh..." "From your question, im guessing you have a crush on someone?" My face turned beet red. "M-Mayb-be..." I stuttered. Tsukuba giggled. "So what are they like? I bet they make you happy, don't they?" "Of course, but how do I ask them?" "Its easy. Well not that easy actually. The best thing you can do for that is try not to let your thoughts get the best of you or else you'll say the wrong things. You never know how they'll react, but it best to tell them sooner than later." She smiled at me. "I'm sure you'll be good at it Ryuka. And im pretty sure they'll like you back. I mean, who doesn't want to go out with a girl like you." "What do you mean by that?" I asked. "Do I really need to explain that. Ryuka, you are the most beautiful and smartest person I've ever had the chance of meeting. I anyone regects you, they are missing out." Her saying that made me feel very warm inside like she had inspired me. This was the first time anyone had said anything so kind to me. "Welp I guess I should go. I have some business to attend to today. And Ryuka, dont put yourself down. I know things are though right now for you but stay strong. Okay?" She said. I nodded my head. And we both went our separate ways.

Outside the diner I found Ryu. "What are you doing here?" I asked. "Uh- nothing actually. Just going for a walk." He suspiciously. I didnt believe him what so ever. "Its a little convenient for you to be here. Im going back, you can go back to your 'walk.'" I said sarcastically. I began to walk but i was stopped when he grabbed my shoulder. "Wait. Can I walk back with you?" He asked. His face was a light shade of pink. "Sorry, but I'm just gonna head back, by myself." I said with a smile. "Oh, okay..." It only seemed that I hurt Ryu. I didn't really care at that moment.

The next day, I found myself in front of my house. While shaking, I opened the front door. I came here today in hope find some files or some records that show something about Kiro. Ryu of course came with me while Setsuna and Margie were off studying for an upcoming test. "So where do think we might find something about this Kiro?" Ryu asked. "I'm thinking somewhere in my gram grams room. Since that letter suggests my mother was writing to her, there might be possibly more." I said. "Well someone is getting the hang of it." He said with a bright smile. First place I went was the basement. It was always really spooky so I really never came down here often. There was a room in the back i never went into. Something had to be in there. I attempted to open the door only to find it locked. Odd, I thought. I attempted again. Still locked. "Do you know where a key for this door might be?" Ryu asked. "No..." I said with disappointment. Ryu took something out of his pocket. It seemed like a lockpick of some sort. "This might open it." He said. With a click, the door slowly opened. "Shall we?" Ryu said gesturing his hands towards the door. I opened the door fully to find shelves filled with old tapes with a television in the center. I looked at the tapes until i found a really odd one labeled "Goodbye". I tapped Ryu's shoulder which made him jump. "I found this tape. Maybe this might point us somewhere." I said. He nodded. "I think that TV might a have a way we can watch that with." He said. We found a player and inserted the tape. The Tv was mostly full of static. Until we saw a woman appear. I reconized that woman as my mother. Someone I haven't seen in many years.

[koneko-3]

Chapter 3 of "Light"

I was still at my temporary residence, but all of us got down on this case. The only thoughts I could think if who was this person and where are they now. I didn't want them dead since it would be too cruel but I wanted to see them be tortured to beg for forgiveness and only wishing for death. Course that isn't up to me, unfortunately. Setsuna really didn't do much other than go out and get coffee for everyone. Margie on the other hand, would always try to help in any way possible though she didn't have any idea of what she was doing. Meanwhile, me and Ryu assessed the entirety of the crume scene carefully. Since I've lived in that house for a long time, I knew every nook and cranny. The four of us grew closer everyday, practically the three of them I considered my friends. I wasn't lonely anymore! They started feeling like family, a family I could trust. But there was one person who felt more than family to me. I don't want to admit it though. They make me feel a way no one has ever before, like they were ment for me. I don't want to express my feelings just yet or even acknowledge them.

While in my downtime, I picked up a new book. This book was titled "Rise" and it seemed pretty intresting. It was about this traveler finding this girl and going on a journey across the desert. I would recommend it after all. I studied a lot too knowing that what gram gram and aunt Maki would want. I'm not giving up my dream of becoming a marine biologist! I'm going to work as hard to reach my goal! I heard a knock on my door. Entered a strange man dressed in a brown suit. His was really long plus it was blonde so it kinda looked ramen to me. "Your Ryuka Harakawa?" "Yeah?" "I was a friend of your grandmother. I asked about your family and they told me I could find you here." "Okay?" I asked. He lent me a small black box. "This may have a clue to help you find this murderer. Whoever did this. May they be sent to the depths of hell." He yelled. I was confused at this point. I never seen this man before and gram gram had never talked about her friends. I placed the box on the nightstand and didn't even touch it. I wanted to ask Ryu about it before I did anything with it. I knocked on his bedroom door, "Hey, Ryu. I have something I think you should look at." No response. Maybe he's out somewhere. At that moment I recieved a text. It was Tsukuba. "Ryuka, it's been a while since we last spoke. Can we hang sometime?" Instead of texing her back, I called her. The phone rang and this time she picked up. "Hello." "So you want to go out?" "Yeah of course Ryuka. Its been a while since I've seen your lovely face." "Of course, but I'm really busy." "I know, especially after everything thats happened." Her voice seemed sad but also happy. It confused me for a little bit. "Oh, how about we go to that new restaurant! I can't remember the name but we can try it." He tone changed to cheery instantly. "I dont know Tsukuba..." "Oh come on. It will cheer you up!" "Okay..." "Great! Hows tomorrow sound?" "Great." "Good, see you then." After she said that, she hung up. Why was she so happy? I turned around to find Ryu. "Oh, there you are." "Who were you on the phone with?" He asked. "Just a friend, why?" My heart was pounding. The sudden confrontion just scared me plus how he was behind me. "I'm just asking. Plus they might have something to do with the murder. Do they have an alibi?" I didnt understand all the questions all of a sudden. "She doesn't have an alibi but she would never kill anyone." "Really? How are you sure?" My head was spinning at this point. I'm not the person he should be asking these questions. "You know, I'm not even sure, but I know her for a long time. She practically my best friend." "If she was a good friend wouldn't she have been helping you this whole time." "Kinda..." there was an awkward silence between us. He sighed. "Alright, how about this. What was your guys conversation about?" "I'm not telling. That my private matter to worry about!" I yelled. He kinda looked at me and just left to his room. I stopped him at least. "Wait, I have something to show you." "What?" He said sternly. I showed him the box. "Some guy early claiming to be my gram grams friend gave me this. He said it could be helpful." He took the box out of my hand and opened it. Inside seemed to me a small piece of paper. He handed it to me. "Here, you can read this." I opened the paper and and it wrote,

Dear mom,

I wish I could come home but I have to much to worry. Im am now 6 months into my pregnancy. I hope you can meet your grandchild soon but you and Maki are gonna have to wait. My group is doing something this week but after that I'll be home with Kiro.

After that the note seemed to be ripped in half. "It seemes my mother was about of something from what im guessing." "How do infer that this is your mother?" "The pregnancy plus it mention my aunts name." "Who is Kiro?" "I don't know. I've never heard the name Kiro in my life." Kiro, who is this? Maybe this person murdered them. "Ryu, I think the murderer might be Kiro." "What makes you think that?" "Because, we have no idea who it is!" "There's no evidence Ryuka." He smiled at me. It kinda made be blush a little.

That night, after remembering the conversation I had with Tsukuba made me have some thoughts. Why does she really want to see me? Maybe to it's to blab on about her favorite Idol. She is dead anyway, but still talks about her and everything about the horizon. At least she still wants to be there for me. Knowing that thought makes me feel some joy. After school, I gathered my things and started to think, what new restaurant was she talking about. I decided to text her and ask. She only sent me a photo and I instantly knew where it was. It was the diner I had recently went. I texted her back "omw."

[koneko-3]

Chapter 2 of "Light"

I stood frozen, looking at the room containing the unimaginable. Blood was spilled all across the floor with both of them left with no life in their eyes. The only thing I could do was run. Run as fast as I could because they could be looking to get me next. Who? I didn't know. All I knew right now was my life was on the line. I bumped into somebody. I looked at them and there I couldn't believe who it was. It was that boy from earlier. I forgot what his name was already. "Are you okay?" He asked while lending out a hand to help me up. "I'm not even too sure..." "Wait, your that girl that helped me this morning. Ryuka right?" "Yeah..." he was dressed differently than his school uniform. "Im looking for something if your wondering. I don't think you could help in anyway. But why were you running?" I didn't respond but started crying. I couldnt stop myself. I cried so much that I passed out.

I woke up in a place I wasnt familiar with. I was lying in a small bed right next to a nightstand. On top of the night stand was a lamp and a stack of clothing. I got up and tried to investigate the room I was in. I heard a knock on the door. There the boy from earlier came in. "So, I have some news..." I sat on the bed. "Where am i?" I asked. "This is my house. You're in my guest room at the moment. I brought you here since you passed out. You kinda scared me." I stayed quiet. I didn't want to say anything. "So I'm guessing you were running from a crime scene?" "Yeah..." "They were family, werent they?" I nodded. "I'm sorry. You can stay here for as long as you want. But you cant go home right now." He sounded pretty serious. He didn't seem like the same person I've met before. "Why do you want to help me?" "Because, I'm a detective." He said confidently. "I'll leave you be for now but if you need anything my father or me can assist you. Also I put a set of clothing you can use. It was my mother's old clothes." He said pointing at the stack of the clothes on the nightstand. After he left there was one thought in my head. He's actually kinda cute. I liked this side of him. Besides that, I pulled out my phone and called the person I trusted. Tsukuba. I rang but she never picked up. I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I did the only thing I could do. Sleep.

I went to school the next day. Everyone seemed so cheery, meanwhile there was me. I didn't speak in class and Setsuna tried to talk to me but I ignored her. I wanted nothing to do with anyone. Remember his name now. Ryu. I went back to his house and I just sat in the room I was in before. I stared at the wall. I only thought to myself, what would have happened if I stayed or even if I never went to school. I knew I couldn't cry anymore. But I was curious now. Who did this to me? Who hurt me this way and why?

Ryu opened the door. "Your here Harakawa-san, I didnt expect you to be here. But I need you to come with me. I need to ask you questions." He said sternly. Questions? What kind of questions?

At the police station, there where four men. One of them being Ryu. They asked me questions regarding my aunt and gram gram. I answered them to the best of my ability. I wanted to cry. I missed them so much. My only family left, taken away from me. I asked when I would be allowed to go back and the only response I got was, "Eventually." Ryu introduced me to his father that happened to be one of the three other guys. He seemed kind at least. I went back to my temporary home and slept.

I woke the next morning with the text from Tsukuba saying "Hey r u ok?" I didn't respond. She started spam calling my phone but I ignored every single one of them. She sent another message saying "I thought we were gonna hang yesterday. But u never showed." I ignored it. I went to school again today. Setsuna finally got on my nerves as she was annoying me with tapping her nails on my desk. "What do you want?" I asked. "Since yesterday, you haven't seemed like how you were acting on the first day. I wanted to cheer you up!" She shouted. "What's the point... there's nothing you can do." "What's wrong?" Ryu was standing behind us. "I can tell you, just leave her be for now." He said. "Okay?" She said. He told her and she looked at me with shock. I think she understood now. Setsuna left me alone for the rest of the day. I was stopped by Ryu before I could go back to his house. "What do you want?" "I wanted to do something for you." Was he asking me to go on a date or something? That felt weird as he said it but I was curious. "What did you want to do?" I asked. "Follow me." I did as he said. He took me to this dinner. Inside there was two familiar faces. Setsuna and her friend I think was Margie? I sat down at the booth next to Setsuna. All of them were giving me concerning faces like they were worried about me. "Ryuka, I want you to know the three of us are here for you, no matter what happens. We all know about what happened and well..." Setsuna said only to stop. "What she is trying to say is, we want you to be happy. We know right now is tough but if there's anything you want. We'll be here." Margie said with a slight smile on her face. "You know what I want? I want to find that fucker that killed my family!" I said filled with anger. Ryu looked at me. "You know, you can help me with this case." "Really? But i dont-" i was cut off by Ryu. "I know you have no experience with this, but I can teach you." He said full of confidence. Margie and Setsune chimed in, "we're gonna help too!" In that moment I felt really happy, knowing the fact people actually care about me and wanted to help.

[koneko-3]

Chapter 1 of "Light"

My name is Ryuka harakawa. I am know as a really smart student and I have been accepted to a high school dedicated to students that are intelligent as I am. Think of it like Harvard... almost. This school is a little different since it also looks for students that are gifted in talent in which I didn't meet that criteria. I've always wanted to expand my field in science research and have a career in marine biology. I look really in depth at everything I see and I've always wanted to see the ocean one day. Today was the beginning if a new chapter. I found myself at the steps of my new school reading the name "Atamagi highschool home for talent and smarts" the name alone made me smile and fill with excitement. Everything was going to be great for me. I wish my parents were here to see all this, unfortunately they passed away when i was only 5. The three of us were in a major car accident and i was the only sole survivor. I dont really have many fond memories of them but my gram gram always tells me stories about my mother and sometimes about my father. My aunt Maki also tells me a lot of things about my mother and sometimes tells me things about my father that gram gram didn't know about. The two of them love together, since my aunt is paralyzed from the waist down. Me and gram gram usually help her out a lot since she was also in a var accident with a boy she liked but he crashed into a tree while being intoxicated. Both luckily survived but the boy never talled to my aunt ever again. She says she doesn't hate him but it's just rude to just ditch her after everything. He didnt even care to even check on her after the crash, plus he only suffered minor damages.

Gram gram liked to sew a lot and would usually sew my clothes expect for my school uniform. She was kinda upset about it but I reassured her that it was okay and she should keep making me more clothing anyway. This moring she handed me a pin and told it was for good luck and everyone was going to love me. I love my family, and if anything were to happen to them I wouldnt know what I would do.

At the school gates I spoted a small group of people. They were surrounding a student throwing rocks at them. I had to do something, and on the first day too. That seemed to be very inappropriate to me. "Hey, Stop!" I said as I stepped in. It was a boy, the same age as me. "Aw, would you look at this girl. She trying to be the hero. How stupid." One of the bullies said. "How about we teach her a lesson about hunter and prey." One of the other bullies said with a smirk. I stomped my foot and said, "Look at yourselves. Do you guys even realize what you are doing? This isn't right, especially on the first day." One of the bullies looked at me. Her hair was long, blonde with purple highlights at the tips. "Aw, I think we should listen to her. Never!" She laughed with the other bullies. There was a total of five of them. The boy grabbed my hand and said, "Let's get out of here!" And we ran. We entered the school and stopped in a hallway. I was out of breath, but I wanted to ask him questions. "Hey, are you okay?" "I'm fine..." "you don't seem fine." "I am... now leave." He seemed kinda rude especially just considering I just stopped him from getting bullied. "Hey, maybe we started off on the right foot. What's your name?" "Why does it matter? You're just gonna be like them." He seemed scared and was trembling. I saw that his arm was bleeding, so I reached into my bag and pulled out a bandage. "Here, I see that your arm is bleeding." I said with a cheerful smile. He looked at me and smiled. "Thanks, but why are you doing this for me?" "Because I'm not a twisted individual." He seemed really happy now. "Alright, my name is Ryu Ichigawa." The name Ichigawa, it felt familiar before but I could decipher where I had heard it before. "I'm Ryuka Harakawa, I hope we can become great friends." He looked at me with shock. "I dont think that would be a good option..." "why?" I asked. "Nevermind, nice meeting you." He waved me goodbye. He seemed very suspicious. I took out my phone and noticed I was going to be late for my first class. I panicked and I didn't even know what or where my first class was.

Eventually, I found my class despite being 5 minutes late. And to my surprise I saw him again in that class. I sighed and sat down. The girl that sat right next to me slamed her hands on my desk and looked at me with the biggest smile on her face. "Oh my god, I love you pin!! It's so cute!!!" Her eyes with different colors, the left being green and the right being blue. I had never seen anyone with heterochromia before. "Hey! Are you going to respond? You looking at my eyes arent you? Man, I'm not a monster!!!" She cried. "Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second. Thanks for your comment though." "Eh? What kind of reponse is that?" "One I thought would be mature to answer with, sorry." "What’s your name?" "I am Ryuka Harakawa." "Hmph, I'm Setsuna Kodaki the girls that outshines everyone else and it's not because of my eyes." "You want to sing and be an idol?" "Not really..." it seemed I had dampened the mood. "I really like to draw a lot if things. Such as really cute animals, like cats." She said. She pulled out her sketckbook and showed me many of her drawings. They were pretty impressive, sadly i wished i had talent like hers. "Your work is pretty impressive." I said to her. "Thank you!!" She sat down at her seat really quickly when the teacher stepped into the classroom. He was even later than i was. "Sorry, I had an issue on my way here. I am your english teacher."

After school i was met with Setsuna. "Hey there Harakawa-san! I want you to meet my friend." A shy girl, a little shorter than Setsuna stood next to her. "Hi, I'm Margie Smith. I'm a foreign exchange student from

Senria. Nice to meet you..." she seemed like didnt want to continue the conversation. I looked at my phone. I recieved a text messags from my best friend Tsukuba. It read, "want 2 get ice cream tmmr?" I responded "of course!" My gram gram wasn't too fond of Tsukuba since she was older than me and plus she knew my mother in ways that gram gram and aunt never told me before. But Tsukuba never really liked to talk about the topic of my mother. She liked to talk about cosplay, video games and anime she watched. I started my walk home. Today was really nice and I was already starting to like this new school. I was already excited to go the next day. I reached my home and noticed the door was locked. That was odd to me, but luckily i had a key. I unlocked the door and called my aunt and gram gram names. No response. They should've been home, even if they went out. I ran to my aunt bedroom. I knocked on her door. No response. My heart racing. I raced to my gram gram room. I knocked on her door. No response again. I opened her door only to find the unthinkable. There laid the corpses of my gram gram and aunt Maki.