Incident 1: Killer Queen (Part 3)

Yasu: That’s crazy! So that serial killer might be what you and Hana are/were?

Tsubaki: Yeah it seems crazy but we both know that MGs exist and what they really are after Hana so...it’s not that big of a leap. Hell, it’s the least jumpy jump to make.

Tsubaki looked away from her phone and focused on getting her sneakers on. The school day felt like it had gone on for a decade! She’d been jittering in her seat all day, haunted by the knowledge that potential evidence could be waiting to be found. Part of her was still shocked that this was her new normal. The idea of Magical girls                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         not only existing but being something out of a sci-fy horror movie on its own was insane, but the fact that the government just accepted it and covered it up had shattered her concept of reality. But she hadn’t had time to angst over it; she’d had to make a choice right away. Finding out you were living on a biological timer that was rapidly ticking down tended to change your priorities, particularly when the supernatural was involved. ‘It is what it is. I can’t change what my future is, so all I can do is make sure I don’t leave anything unfinished.'

Yasu: I know that you’re a MG too, but please be careful! Knowing what’s really going on with you doesn’t make me worry any less! The opposite, really, since you’re dealing with mentally unhinged killers

Yasu: We already have so little time left together that I don’t want to lose anymore. Besides, we’re still apart...

Yasu: I know, I know! You don’t want me involved and want me to act like everything is normal, but it's NOT!!! I love you, I miss you and we're wasting what time we do have by only communicating over the phone!

Tsubaki: ...

Tsubaki: I’m not going to have this conversation with you again, Yasu-Chan. I’m not going to let you ruin your future over someone who doesn’t have one.

Tsubaki aggressively hit the buttons and pressed send. ‘This man...!’ She slammed her locker shut, trying to shove down her guilt. ‘Does he think I’m really that cruel or unfeeling? That I don’t miss him too? He’s going to have to get used to it because soon I’ll be...’

“Hey, earth to Tsubaki-San!” Tomboy jumped up, waving her hands wildly. Tsubaki skidded to a stop by the front gate. “I’ve been calling to you for like five minutes! What are you doing, girl?” “Oh, sorry. What did you want?” “A couple of us are going to the arcade. Wanna join us?” Tsubaki shook her head. “Sorry, I have something I need to take care of Maybe next time?” Tomboy looked disappointed, and Tsubaki felt like a jerk. Even if she was just using her classmates as a cover, they were already getting genuinely attached to her. “I know, it stinks, but I really need to get this personal errand done.” She smiled and waved as she resumed walking. “Have fun!”

Once she was around the corner from the school, Tsubaki sighed and pulled her cellphone out to face the music. From how long the typing icon had been buffering, Yasu was composing a real earth-scorcher in reply to her smacking down his feelings.

Yasu: I’m not ruining my future by wanting to spend time with you. I thought you were my future. Knowing that’s not going to happen doesn’t make me love you any less. It makes me want to spend even more time with you, so I don’t regret it after...

Yasu: You don’t need to worry about sparing my feelings. You don’t need to push me away. I know you’re not dead inside and fine with all this. It’s not a crime to be sad or scared. It’s okay for you to have feelings and it’s not bad for other people to have their own feelings about what’s happening to you. You don't have to act like a robot

Yasu: ...are you mad at me again, Tsu-Chan? Please, don’t be. I’m sorry. I’ll keep my thoughts to myself, okay? Just don’t ghost me completely.

Tsubaki touched her cellphone to her forehead head and closed her eyes. ‘I’m an asshole. Yasu is too good. I don’t deserve him. I wish there was a way to keep him of this, but he deserved to know about my time limit so I had to explain it all. After that, I can't just lie to him or keep him out of the loop about what I'm doing now since he knows.'

Tsubaki: No! You’re fine! You didn’t do a single! Thing! Wrong! I’m sorry I’m that I’m so...

Tsubaki:... the way I am. It's just so much to deal with...but I’m glad that I at least have you to talk to I can’t be with you right now I just can’t. Not now, not yet I still love you and always will, but...I’m scared, okay? I’m scared and just wish I could forget about what’s coming

Tsubaki: I know that there’s only one end waiting for me and I... I’m not okay with it. But I don’t have any choice. I have to keep going. I’m not okay but....

Tsubaki: Please don’t ditch me, Yasu

Tsubaki didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t even know how to explain it to herself. Everything that had happened to her and her family, the truths the people in power didn’t want the public to know...it was all just so much. She had to compartmentalize and hide her feelings away. If she thought about it too much, she’d fall apart. There was no outlet; no escape from her pain. No one could help her,and she couldn’t trust anyone if she didn’t want to end up being manipulated further like Hana was. Her playing the role of a perfect student and average middle school girl was as much for her own sanity and sense of order as it was for her to be able to achieve her goals. She needed some sense of stability and control, even though both were slowly slipping out of her hands completely as the days went by.

Tsubaki: Please don’t give up on me okay? Thanks for always putting up with my crap and dealing with...this...with me. I love you. I love you SO much. I just...can’t

She had no clue what she was even rambling about, but she hoped he could understand. Her phone vibrated almost instantaneously.

Yasu: I’m not mad! We both just have a lot of feelings right now. I’m never going to be mad at you for being confused or hurt. You’re dealing with something no one should ever have to go through! And it doesn’t even make logical sense!

Yasu: Just focus on your investigation. We can video chat later tonight, okay? Just do what you need to do. Everything's okay between us

Tsubaki gave a genuine smile as she typed out a single heart emoji. ‘At least there’s one thing I haven’t lost yet.’

              *                                                                            *                                                                     *

Tsubaki glanced around. “For a public area in the city, it’s quiet here.” She could distantly hear the cars rumbling on the nearby overpass, which contrasted with the bubbling sound of the gently bubbling creak. The creak and sidewalk wound their way around a high-class housing community. The community wasn’t gated, but the houses were clearly the type that only someone who was working as a surgeon, professor or mid-level government worker could afford. Not exactly rich people's housing, but pretty damn affluent and completely out of league with the apartments that Tsubaki had lived in her entire life. ‘I can’t believe Emiri seriously lived here until recently! Though with her over-the-top diva act, it does make sense. And our school is so prestigious that you either need a scholarship or a buttload of cash to attend, even if you're able to pass the entrance exams.’

Tsubaki surveyed the benches and grass. While the months that had elapsed significantly lowered her chances of finding anything, she had a hunch. Whether it was just optimism or a true extra-sensory instinct transmitted by presence of  the thing living in her head, she had no idea. She just trusted her gut that she was going to find something. ‘I’m guessing no one realizes it’s a magical girl behind the killings yet, otherwise they wouldn’t be blasting news coverage 24/7 or asking for tips. The whole thing would have been hushed up by now if the cops who deal handle this sort of thing had been brought in. The fact that it’s such a big story means they still think it’s a normal human serial killer and the murderer is 100% still on the loose.’

Tsubaki wasn't sure where to start combing the grass. She’d narrowed things down to between these two specific benches and the creak because of the camera shot on the news, but it’s not like they’d aired any crime scene photos. She glared at the grass, willing it to give up its secrets. ‘Where was the body found?’ Tsubaki plopped down on one of the benches, contemplating what to do next. When the grass started blur and waver, she initially thought she was seeing things.

After rubbing her eyes, the anomaly wasn’t just still there, but it was growing in intensity. “Oh, fuck off! I don’t need any extra help that you can give, you parasite!” Tsubaki growled aloud to nothing. The static glitch warped and morphed, and she realized that it was taking an intentional shape. She stood up and took a few steps back. It was a phantom outline of a body; its long skirt and hair askew, and its limbs splayed out. A residual echo of what had occurred there last summer; the environment’s memory keeping score even when humanity had moved on. After a moment, the outline of the where the body had once been decreased in intensity before fading from existence completely. Tsubaki strided over to where the glitch had appeared, ignoring the serendipitous occurrence.

‘I’m not going to think about it or how it did that. I’m not going to acknowledge it. I’m just going to roll with this and not give it more power over my thoughts.’ She knelt and lightly, yet firmly, dug her fingers into the dirt. Slowly, she groped her way through the grass and earth, hoping that her instincts weren’t wrong. Suddenly, something blunt jabbed under her nail bed. “Owch!” She recoiled and sucked her injured finger. “Mother-!” Carefully, she pushed the grass away from the area and caught a flash of something pink. Reaching into her skirt pocket, she pulled out a pen. Gently, she pried the small object lost from the ground and dropped it into her palm. Frowning, she studied the dirt encrusted piece of plastic, trying to figure out what she was looking at. Doubting her judgement, she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture.

Tsubaki: URGENT!

Tsubaki: Yasu, I need you to look at this RIGHT NOW

Tsubaki: What does this look like to you?

Yasu: ...

Yasu: Give me a sec

Yasu: Isn’t that just a nail?

Yasu: Why are you asking? Does it have something to do with that thing you’re investigating?

Tsubaki closed her first around the piece of evidence. It was tied to the murder of the beauty queen killer’s first victim; she was sure of it! It confirmed that all the phantom threads she’d been connecting in her head weren’t imaginary.

Tsubaki: Yeah it has everything to do with it

Tsubaki: I’ve figured out who’s been doing the killings and I know what I need to do now.