After we left my office, we split into two destinations. Charla go to A's house to ask her parents about their child. Simply put, she gather information about A. The one who know A the most is of course her parents, so she go there. For the reason why she need to gather information about A is, well, usually the doppelganger have the same preference with their mains. So if the mains like beach, then the doppelgangers also like beach. With the information like that we Will eventually know where she is. Because our problem right now is we don't know where she is.
For me, i'm searching for a place that looks like she will used to hide. The first place is, ofcourse, her school, Future High School. I don't know if she like her school or not, but she go there everyday, so there's a chance she also there. Hiding somewhere.
Maybe you wondering, why she need to hide? Well, most of Irregular, when they 'become human' they need to adapt to this world. Since they are not from this world, when they 'become human', they are like a baby who just born. The difference is they already have an intelligence to think. Most of baby don't have that, unless they are reincarnator. But I have never met them in my life, so i don't know if they are real or not.
So, even if Irregular become stronger when a lot of people know their existence, they need to adapt first to this world, and with this much crowd around them, their mind Will be confused, and for them, who just born, the confusion on their mind is a pain. That's why they need a place to hide first so they can adapt to this world.
Of course at first they don't know about that weakness, that's why the rumor about student A's strange behavior spread in the first place.
By the way, about why the one who gather the information is Charla and not me, the detective, well, we don't want to make the doppelganger's parents panic. Imagine a detective suddenly come to your house and then asking about your daughter, they Will think something bad is happening to their daughter. Yes she is missing since yesterday, but it seems she often do that, so her parents don't think too much about it. That's why Charla is the one who go to doppelganger's house. I don't know what reason that she make, but i'm sure she is fine.
When i arrive at the entrance of the Future High School and looking around for a bit, suddenly there's someone who call me from behind.
"Excuse me."
"Hm?" I turn around and i saw a girl with short black hair and blue eyes standing there. Her hair is a bit spiky and make her looks tomboy-ish. She wear a yellow jacket with white t-shirt and gray long pants with black-yellow shoes. There's also a backpack at her back.
I know this girl.
"You again." I said with low voice so she Will not hear it.
Yes, 'again'. I already meet her some times already when i investigate a case that involved Irregular.
She is Marsha Gray, 17y.o, years 2 at Future High School.
And i already erase her memories about anything that related with Irregular, but she always show up when there's rumor about it. That makes me worried with her brain if i erase her memory too much. I don't know if there's any side effect but i know if you do 'something' too much, it's bad for you. Everything that is 'too much' is bad, that's what i believe.
After that we just talk a bit about why im looking at the school, i also ask why she is here, well i already know the answer though.
And suddenly she climb the gate and went to the school building, and i decided to follow her. It Will be dangerous if the doppelganger inside, so i have no choice. I can't leave her, Charla Will Made at me if i do that.
"So, Mr.Aqua, why you following me?" She ask while still walking in front of me.
"Well, if there's really doppelganger in this world, it Will be dangerous if you go alone even if you have self-defense tools. You still young. Atleast me, an adult, can protect you."
"Protect, eh. Well, but it's true that it Will be safer if a 'detective' accompanies me."
"Right?"
"But isn't it Will be a problem if you get caught? I'm a student in here, so i can escape with some random excuse later, but you are outsider."
"Don't worry about that. I can just said that i investigate a missing student because of her friend's request."
"But the truth that you trespassing wouldn't go, you know? They Will still asking you, or worse, they Will call the police."
"Let's just say i'm escorting a highschool girl who also trespassing when she searching for a doppelganger inside the school."
"There's no way they would believe such nonsense."
"So you know that is nonsense."
"Of Course, even if i believe with their existence, i also have a 'common sense' that believe they're not real. That's why i want to prove it to my 'common sense' that they really exist. I need to know their existence."
"Know, huh. 'Believe and know are different things', eh."
"Oh, you also know that phrase?"
"Of course, it's quite popular after all."
"Hmm, so you also read the book."
"Hey, i'm a detective, remember?"
"Yeah yeah."
"By the way, Marsha."
"Yes?"
"Why you interested in this kind of thing and want to know about it?"
"....In the past i feel like i already experience something related to the occult world."
"You 'feel'?
"Yes. I don't remember it clearly. It feels like real, but not real at the same time. Maybe it just a dream, or maybe it really happen. That's why i want to know."
"But if it just that, i don't think you Will be interested on it so much. Is there anything special happen at that time?"
"....I don't think i want to tell my story to a man that i just met."
"Well, fair enough."
After that we just walking inside the school building while checking each room. But unfortunately we didn't find the doppelganger.
"Btw, Mr.Aqua. My classmate say that the doppelganger stab her own hand while smiling, do you know why?"
"Hmmm. I don't know. Why you ask me?"
"Well, I feel like you know something about this kind of stuff."
"Maybe it's because they finally have a 'body'."
"What do you mean?"
"I once read this in a certain book. It said that doppelganger, or something similar to it, is not have physical body at first, so they never really know how it feels to 'life'. That's why they need to meet their 'original' to take over their place. That's also why when you meet your doppelganger, the original Will disappear. Maybe with 'pain', they finally can feel how it is to become 'life', how it is to have a body."
"But why it need to be 'pain'? There's something else that can prove that you are alive."
"Remember, they are monster. So try to know what their thinking is a waste of time. We, a fellow human, sometimes can't understand each other's thinking."
"Well, that's true."
"The one who probably can guess their way of thinking probably just a psychopath and their fellow monsters.
"Anyway, it seems like she is not in this school. We already searching inside each room but there's nothing we found."
We already searching for two house and there's no sign of her being here. The day is getting dark too, maybe it's time to go home, at least for her. I guess i need to wait for Charla's report.
"How about we finish today's search?"
"You're right."
After she said that, there's sound from somewhere.
*Grrroooowwwwwlllll*
The sound is not that loud, but i can hear it clearly. After the sound came out, Marsha stop her walk and i can see it clearly, her ear's red.
".... I'm hungry." She said while looking at me. Her cheek is red.
"Hahaha. Then, let's search somewhere to eat. I also hadn't eat anything since afternoon."
She just nod and we left the school.