Moonlight Illusions

Blind Hemingway

Ancient Iwaku Scum from 2006.
Original poster
MYTHICAL MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
NEVER
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Douche
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Surrealism, Surreal Horror (Think Tim Burton), Steampunk, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Spaghetti Westerns, Mercenaries, Dieselpunk, Cyberpunk, Historical fantasies
Episode One: This Way Comes




Chiba City –is one of the Kantō region's primary seaports, which handles one of the highest volumes of cargo in the nation of Japan. Much of the city is residential, although there are many factories and warehouses located along the coast. There are several major urban centers in the city, including Makuhari, a prime waterfront business district in which Makuhari Messe is located, and Central Chiba, in which the prefectural government office and the city hall are located.

Hashimoto Ryuunosuke was the most recent victim found related to an increase in murders - his corpse hanging from a bridge and being ravaged by the Chiba Urban Monorail.

A rope made of what was confirmed to be a weave of human hair was tied around his neck.

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Weighing at a hefty 250 lbs, reports suggest that his neck had snapped with great force. This revealed that he had been tossed head first towards the raging river below. Just how strong was the murderer? This still baffled the police.

The city government took DNA tests of hair gathered from the rope - but unofficial reports state that each strand taken from the macabre rope belongs to a different person.

Hashimoto was reported missing after a taxi with his number plate was found empty in a highway tunnel at the city limits at 4:15 AM on November 21st.

The population of Chiba City links this death to the Morpheus Murders.

The Morpheus Murders are the general term for a baffling string of murders happening recently with no real unifying feature - other than that they are done in the middle of the night in this city and that all the victims have pills somewhere on their person. A curfew has been set up to counter this, as well as increased police patrols - but they still continue, claiming victims who have been reported missing for a few days.


[DASH=purple]He was running late. Not that it really mattered, for he always came in late. The homeroom teacher didn't seem too concerned. The old man probably gave up months ago. The issue wasn't that this young man was a troublesome student, quite the opposite. He just didn't seem to really care...

This young man was named Takahashi Daiki.

He was a young man that stood about six feet in height and was almost always seen sporting a trench coat, no matter the weather was.

Therefore, as one could guess, Daiki was often the center of attention for his fellow students at Chikushi High. None of the students ever seen him actually in any classes. Wild rumors were often said about him. Some believed that he was a transfer student from America. Others stated that he was a member of a gang. One or two stranger ones suggested that he was really a government spy.

The fact of the matter was, no one seemed to be able to connect with him....Daiki pushed them aside. Though he was widely admired at school as an honors student, it was a front he put up in order to prevent others from prying into his life.

This morning, he stared blankly at the world like he always did. It was a Monday, the school days were largely the same. It started with the home room teacher reading role...Then several hours of classes...And then clean up.

"Hrmm..." He looked at his wristwatch. The time read "6:30 AM." The school day begins at 8:30. "Well shit. Early for once."

While some students sleep or study during their long commute, public transportation also provided a chance for socializing with peers. Daiki never bothered doing this either. He always walked from wherever his home was in Chiba to the high school.

Student behavior on the way to school was regulated by school policies. These policies prohibited certain activities in public--chewing gum, consuming snacks, reading books while walking--anything that might reflect badly on the reputation of the school. And yet...He ignored these social norms. Most of the time, he rarely wore his school's uniform until he got within a few feet of the main hall.

He reached the school at 7: 00 AM. Still early. Daiki chuckled to himself.

Once at school, the students entered an area full of small lockers in which they place their street shoes and don school slippers. These slippers were color coded: pink for girls and blue for boys. He didn't bother changing his shoes. Daiki decided, why break habit now?

Looking around, he saw that most of the teachers weren't milling around and the rest of the student body were still a whiles off. Placing his hands in this pockets, Daiki climbed the stairs down to the basement. He had entered the theater of the school.
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hotaru.jpg Satou Hotaru was starting to remember why she did not like attending school. The girl mulled over the thoughts in her head while she was walking down the long terrace in front of the entrance to Chikushi High. The first thought, of course, were the classes and the teachers. Both of them pointless, true, but how pointless they were continued to bug her. For one, her mother was forcing her to attend a mandatory school. Not only that, but this school was filled with the most mentally challenged people she had ever known to meet. Hotaru herself was a pretty smart girl; she knew not to touch fire and to lock the door to the public restrooms. It was all common sense, and to her, that was all you really needed at that age. Then, in comes the teachers and lessons of Chikushi High. English, Math, History, Art. They were all "required" courses, meaning that if she didn't pass them, she'd do them again until she did pass them. As irritating of a fact as that was, that was also the only reason she even bothered going there. To get out.

Apart from that, there was only one other reason why should couldn't stand walking into the building 5 days a week, and that reason was a trio of three walking beside her.

no_title_by_hazza01-d4g2u3d.png"I bet he's some kind of exchanged student. You know? One of those one's who stays away from all the people that are 'foreign' to him? I bet he's like...Dutch or something."

"Urusai! He is not Dutch! Dutch people have big noses! He's probably American. Have you seen his eyes?"

"What do his eyes have to do with being from The States? Really, Misuki."

"Uh...they're bigger than ours. DUH." Hotaru, clenching her wad of books and binders beneath her forearm and hip, let out a large and highly noticeable sigh. The first girl that spoke was Hitori Kaname. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, an instant boy-magnet in their school. She was made instantly popular by her looks and uppity attitude. It was the typical, 'i'm-prettier-than-you-so-everyone-loves-me-more' syndrome. Hotaru didn't know much about her as a person and also didn't care to. Whatever Kaname did with everyone in the school was both none of her interest and business. It wasn't going to help her graduate.

The other girl beside her with the long brown hair and amethyst eyes was Takashi Misuki She was in the same boat as Kaname, but more of a ditz. Actually, Misuki was dumber than a bag of doorknobs as far as Hotaru knew. The only reason her stature was up with Kaname's is because they looked just alike, and Kaname 'deemed it so.' Chikushi High didn't complain, Hotaru kept her mouth shut, and everyone was happy.

school_girl_by_maelstrom33-d3rdsxw.png"Maybe...we can go see what he does, if you both wanna know so much. We can be super sneaky! Like American spies! The CYA!" And that was the broken screw in the light bulb, Mihan Natsuko. Natsuko was shorter than them, probaly around 5'2. She had a short crop of brown hair with dazzling pink eyes. Natsuko was actually quite tolerable, if you exclude the density level of her brain. She may have been just as ditzy as Misuki, but at least Natsuko knew when to shut up. Her bashfulness was a big play on who she was, quieting down when the attention was ever directed solely on her. Fine by Hotaru.

"It's C.I.A." Hotaru spoke up, knowing that she was going to pay for it in the end. The clock on the top arch of Chisuki high read 7:15. They had more than an hour to get to class.

"You know, Cupcake here has a point! I think I saw him earlier this morning when I was doing my make up in the car, and--"

"You do your make up while you drive? That must be hard..."

"No, you idiot! I was in the passenger seat!" Kaname snapped and Misuki giggled while the word 'idiot' flew right over her head. Probably used to it by now.

"Where was he going?" Natsuko asked, interest piqued. Hotaru sighed heavily in her head. This girl would follow them to the depts of hell if they told her she could come...

"The basement. Whoever goes to the basement at 6 in the morning in Chikushi High? Probably someone who stows dead bodies."

"You can't be serious..." Hotaru grumbled.

"Let's go see!" Misuki chimed in, grabbing both her and Kaname's arms to stop them from walking into the main hall. Natsuko stopped along with them and folded both of her hands behind her back like the good little trolly she was. Hotaru's face was a steam of annoyance. How close she was from entering the school! Only to be pulled away by this nonsense!

"Hmm...you have a point there, Kaname." Natsuko said. Hotaru refrained from dropping her books and slapping each and every one of them in the face. Instead, she channeled her anger into a deep breath as usual, and let it out in a low exhale, eyes closing as a result.

"You...are all insane. He's a high school boy, not a serial killer. Who cares about what he does?"

"I bet you don't know what he does." Kaname drawled.

"No, I don't. And I don't care. Care to let me go now?"

"How about we send HOTARU to see the dead bodies for herself!" Misuki claimed again, jumping up and down without releasing her hold on both of their arms. Natsuko nodded and Kaname shot Hotaru a smirk.

"Nah...bet she's too scared."

"I'd look if you get your puppy to let me go." she said in a monotone voice. It was quiet between the three of them, though they could still feel the other mass of students push past them into the entrance of the school. Finally, after 5 more seconds, Kaname nodded in approval.

"Deal. Go down there and see what this Takahashi Daiki does in his spare time."she said. Simultaneously, Misuki released her. Hotaru didn't bother to confirm a thing; she only scudded off into the opposite direction. School hadn't even officially started and she already wanted to go home. She was not about to waste her time on this stupid quest, for as soon as their backs turned, Hotaru was going straight through the side entrance.
 
The girls entered the basement. They wanted to make sure that Hotaru had actually fulfilled her end of the bargain.

Hitori crossed her arms. “Who bets that she ran off. That Hotaru can never commit herself to anything!”

“Yeah!” Misuki added

Natsuko blinked, but said nothing. While Hotaru might not actually have even bothered to come down, at least they would be able to see the mysterious Daiki….

Their trek down to the basement level of the school required them to take two flights of stairs. While there were many doors in the basement, everyone knew the rumors. Daiki was a member of the drama club. Though just who was in the drama club was also not well known either. For example, none of the trio had ever gone to the theater of the school. For Misuki and Hitori, the drama club was of little interest to them. Natsuko’s attention span was always short, so was always distracted by someone or something.

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They soon came across a door that had katakana writing on it. It read: “Dorama kurabu.”

“This proves that he is not from Japan!” Hitori exclaimed. The dimwit was somewhat right. Katakana was only used for foreign words. “Na…Dorks use those sorts of letters to make it look cool.” Misuki retorted.

"This is exciting!" Natsuko said. Being the bravest of the group she opened the door first.

Upon entering the room, they found that it was mostly used for storage. Hitori, pretending to be the bravest one of the bunch then flicked the light switch on. She didn’t want to be upstaged by Natsuko!

Unfortunately, for them, the room was dimly lit.

"EEEP!" Natsuko squeaked. She had tripped over something. Kaname and Misuki also reacted to this.

It was humanoid in shape. Where the rumors of bodies being stored here true?!!?

FWIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS....

A strange hissing sound had all the girls jump!

“Ahhhaha!!!” Misuki squealed. “Shut up! Shut up!” Kaname yelled back, “It’s just clearly Hotaru being a punk!”

Natsuko sloooowly turned to peer what she had falled on. She didn't see anything. Removing herself from the ground, she started to look around with more interest.

FWIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...

The noise occurred again!

Misuki RAN for the door! Nearly running in to it, she fought with trying to twist the knob, but it wouldn't budge! Misuki spun around, pressing her back against it. "Hotaru, where are you? We know you're in here!"



“Frère Jacques, frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din, dan, don. Din, dan, don.


”Who’s there?” Kaname demanded to know.

“Frère Jacques, frère Jacques.”

This was the only response they got. The lights then went out by themselves. Save one. The girls then looked straight forward. In front of them was something none of them would ever soon forget…..

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“GET OUT!” It then screamed.
 
"YYIIIIIAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"

There was a girl falling over a girl falling over a girl who was falling over herself. Soon enough, it was a tumble and tangle of legs, arms, hair, and color as Kaname, Natsuko, and Misuki all fought to reach the door at one time. The sight of the blooded, white haired girl caused them to scream on contact, and even as they all hit the ground with a thud, their screams never stopped. Misuki was the closest too the door and she was the also the first to bang on it.

"LET US OUT! LET US OUT!"she screamed. Kaname shoved a shivering and shrieking Natsuko out the way to wiggle the door knob as hard as she possibly could. The entire time, the girl's did not look behind them. Not even once. The darkness was not helping them with their current task at hand, but a quick rush by Natsuko did just the trick.

"RAAAAH!" Natsuko yelled in the loudest, high-pitched shriek she could manage and rammed her shoulder into the door. Surprisingly, the door opened a lot easier than it appeared it would. Natsuko's ram caused all three of the girls to trip over the open door and heighten the volumes in their shrieks. Skirts frilled and hair out of place, Misuki, Kaname, and Natsuko hauled out of the basement, not taking one look behind them.

**************

Hotaru was taking the stairs one at a time only because she had 15 minutes to spare and her class only across the hall. She had no idea what she was going to do with 15 minutes but it sure wasn't what the other three thought she was doing. That would only waste her time. She could always find something more productive, like...watching a clock. Hotaru found herself wondering about the mysterious boy as she climbed up the stairs one foot at a time. She only knew him by name: Takahashi Daiki. Hotaru didn't bother to worry too much about his looks, whereabouts, schedule, or anything for that matter. He wasn't going to help her pass.

Gripping her books, she took one more look up at the clock on the right wall, standing big and large and off set by the blueish color of the background wallpaper. 8:24. Blowing a stray piece of her bang out of her face, Hotaru finally reached the last step to the third floor and walked on with her head down, satring at the blank tiles ahead of her, not paying attention to where she was going.
 
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He come back from the stage carrying a cardboard box full of various items that left on the stage the day previous when he and the drama club had been practicing lines for their upcoming production.

Daiki was nearby when the girls came screaming past him.

"Oh, great..." He thought to himself.

Two of them were girls that he knew were considered the snooty chicks and the other gal, he wasn't awar. They were in too much of a panic to even notice him. Daiki moved to the side of the hallway some more, hoping that they wouldn't run into him. The girls then charged up the stairs.

"That was weird...." Daiki said aloud. He then peered to his right and saw that the door to the club room was opened. "Irene..."

Daiki then gritted his teeth. Almost marching into the room, Daiki slammed the box onto the table. The lights were out, so he flipped the switch to on. For some reason, he figured that the three girls weren't bright enough to think about turning the main ones on.

Irene.png

A teenage girl with white hair and dark golden eyes behind a pair of eyeglasses suddenly appeared behind Daiki.

"You ignore, evade, and hide from me for days, weeks, and it's not until I get caught up with schoolgirls that you decide to show up here!" She said.

"Irene, I told you that I was going to pick up some items left behind from the last session. You could have met up with me before you decided to take a nap in the middle of the room. It is also not my fault that a bunch of girls were interested in seeking this spot out. You are the one that loves spreading rumors around about me."

"What I do during my time is my business!" Irene hissed.

"Yeah, yeah...Why do you have red paint in your hair, anyways?" Daiki then asked.

Irene then looked down. She wore knee-high black boots and a black school blazer that looked like it was from out of an anime catalog.

"That's also none of your business." She said a matter of factly.
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