Left. Then right.
"Anyone in here?"
Silence.
Perfect! No-one around to ruin Weisse's plan. Today was going to be the day he put everyone's fears to bed, once and for all. He was going to prove the girl who got injured was hurt by accident. And where better to start the investigation than the scene of the "crime" itself?
So, after dressing, he grabbed a torch, notepad, pencil and of course, his sword, and merrily wandered down to the basement. The fear-filled faces of his friends filled his mind as he walked through the halls of this crazy school and he couldn't help but laugh. How could they be so shaken up by such a minor incident? Yeah, ok, someone got hurt, but she'd live. It was a nasty accident, that was all. He refused to believe he could be sharing a hallway with a wannabe murderer.
The basement looked much more welcoming in the bright light of a high-power torch, but it was still a shoddy afair. Junk and bits of junk and the unmistakable smell of rot enveloped the wretched place, and its wonky structure meant no matter how high powered your lights, there was always a shadow in the room. A very creepy place indeed, but all basements were. He was yet to find an underground room that didn't terrify the hell out of him.
But he'd come this far. Getting here was the hard part - time to do some investigating.
The first thing that came to mind was the funny structure. Because of the awkward shape, it would be relatively easy to just step into the shadows and vanish from sight. An attacker could wait for the crowds and armed investigators to pass, then slip out undetected.
Or wait for more prey...
Despite his initial confidence, Weisse was sttarting to doubt his decision to come down here. It wasn't that he was scared as such, but he was... Hungry. Yeah, that was it. He hadn't had breakfast, so he needed something to eat. Maybe he could come back later with some food in his belly...
Come on! Don't chicken out!
How about the pool of blood? It would have dried up by now, but there still might be clues and hints nearby.
As he got closer, Weisse couldn't quite shake the feeling he wasn't alone. There was something in the room with him, he could feel it. Watching. Waiting. Getting ready to pounce.
Get a hold of yourself! Remember what Amy taught you
Suddenly, Weisse saw something just as terrifying as a murderer. The blood.
The blood made a Kanji symbol.
There was no denying this was a deliberate attack now. It was neatly drawn, almost perfect. A Kanji rune drawn in blood. Or at least, not a Roman letter.
Quickly sketching what he saw meant shining the light away from the dark corners of the room. That would leave him open to attack. Maybe he should just devote the symbol to memory and pray he remembered it.
No. He could do this. Draw quickly and get out. By the time he came back with friends, the attacker could have returned, or worse, struck again. He had to do this now, or not at all.
"Giggle at the ghostly, Weisse. Laugh and it'll all go away."
But he doidn't feel like laughing. He was bricking it. It took every ounce of him not to sprint out the door and leave the whole damn academy for good.
He started drawing the sign. His hand was suprisingly steady, despite the fact he was about to throw up from fear. To break the monotony of the scratching of the pencil, he began to sing.
"Nagurateku toki no na-ka de demo
Kedarusara hora guruguru mawatte"
He had no idea what the words meant, but they sounded pretty. It kept his mind of the fact there could be a heartless psychopath in the room, armed to the teeth, circling, ready to strike...
He couldn't get out the basement fast enough.
He was pretty sure he had shattered the sound barrier by the time he had got back to his dorm, creepy kanji symbol in one hand, torch in the other. He had thrown a few people aside, literally, in an attempt to escape the imaginery threat of the basement. After checking himself over for injury or lost items, he thought about his next move.
Who could he trust that could read Kanji?
It was obvious. Who had lived in Japan all her life and spoke Japanese? Shakuntala.
Where was she, though? He hadn't the slightest idea what she did, other than play guitar. Maybe she was in the music room, then?
But what if she was asleep? Or maybe she'd gone out with friends? If she wasn't in the dorm, Nikita might know where she went. It made most sense to check on his/her room first. Hell, maybe he was in luck and Nikita knew what it meant anyway.
Weisse wallked up to Nikita's door and rapped on it three times. He hoped s/he would answer quickly - this couldn't wait.