"This just in. 9 bodies were found dead in skyscraper 6, room 708. Investigators say they suffered stab wounds and died as a cause of rapid bleeding. No scenes from the time of the murder were caught on CCTV footage but it was presumed that a woman dressed in black, code woman S, left that room that night. Investigators are now looking further into other CCTV cameras from around the residential area to trace woman S."
Monday, 7 April 2110. The first day of the last year in high school for 17-year-old girl Kistuna Ran, otherwise known by her classmates as,
"Kira!"
It was Kohaku. "Did you hear the announcement this morning?" she asked, resting her arms on Kira's shoulders while catching up with her pace. "Looks like another murder took place near our area."
Kira, still studying the yellow bump lines on the sidewalk, turned to her and said, "I know."
"Aren't you scared a bit? A murderer is literally out here on the loose. They could be anywhere, no, 'she'. What if she starts attacking our school? Or our rooms while we sleep? It did happen at night... although I don't think the victims were sleeping at the time. Hold on, I think the announcement said it took place in skyscraper 6. Isn't that where you stay? And you're not the least bit—"
"Alright, alright. I get it. But what do you expect? It's not like this happened the first time." Her eyes rolled in exasperation. She crossed her arms and fixed her eyes forward. "Plus, the murderer might just've been instructed to kill certain people. It doesn't seem like she'll be killing innocent people anytime soon considering the fact that no one other than the people in that room was harmed. So stop with your nagging."
"You stop with your cOnSidERing tHe fAcT talk," Kohaku replied as she reached over her bag to grab a pack of gum. "If I were you, I'd be more scared of the victim's ghosts flying around my own skyscraper."
Kira glanced at her for a moment, relaxed her eyes and gave her a smirk.
Soon, they arrived at the locker rooms.
As they took off their shoes, faint footsteps approached them in a distance and managed to let out a soft voice. Though panting heavily, he greeted the girls and waved, "Hello~"
"Hey, Hiro!"
"Hey!"
An awkward silence. They continued, reaching for the lockers to take their slippers.
"Why don't you ask Hiro about the announcement?"
"Again?!" he replied. His eyes widened in disbelief, then continued, "So you did this to her too."
"It's not like it's a bad thing. It's completely normal to—"
He held up his hand to stop her. "I don't want a lecture."
Kira chuckled.
They continued carrying on school as usual, only having to attend an orientation ceremony. Everybody knew each other and had gotten themselves into friend groups. There was no need to introduce anyone to anybody. And in a moment, school was over.
Being the first day of school, all students were dismissed earlier in the day. Kira, Kohaku and Hiro said their goodbyes and parted ways.
Announcement: "There was only one CCTV footage that gave investigators a lead onto the case. After woman S was spotted leaving room 708, she proceeded to get in the elevator. Unfortunately, no cameras in the lift were able to spot her visually as it was dark, and also not thermally which investigators thought was awfully weird. What they found next was even more shocking to investigators: motion sensors in the lift were only able to capture woman S's movements as she walked towards the elevator. Nothing was recorded afterward. It seemed as if the woman stood still for the rest of the ride, investigators say...
...But before making its way up to the working area, the lift seemed to have stopped on floor 20 of the residential area. CCTV footage on that floor showed a man and a dog leaving the lift. Investigators are now suspecting this man, code man U, and are currently about to check in on his room. The number of this room will not be disclosed."
"Well, that took a while," Kitsuna thought as she waited for the next station in transit. Upon arriving at skyscraper 6, she made her way to her room.
At this point, investigators were already standing in front of man U's room. They barged in the door—gently, with a key. And the door swung open.
"Hello, anyone here?" their commander said.
Silence.
"Go in." As instructed, all investigators walked in the room although barefoot.
They found no man, just dog.
"Room 2012, clear."
Just exactly a floor below, a sigh of relief uttered in response.
It was Kitsuna. She was living in a duplex apartment room, connecting both rooms 2012 and 1912.
She was safe.