Winged Dagger

Twin-Tailed Cat

"Details, please," I said, plopping onto a couch in the drawing room. Arthur sat across from me, while Theo leaned against the wall. The air was cold no matter how light my tone sounded.

"This is the third murder that's happened," said Arthur, his voice slightly tight.

"Why have I not heard of this?"

"Most of the murders were in the middle of the night or early morning, under the cover of darkness. The authorities have been trying to cover them up," sighed Theo. "I'd like to see them try and cover up this one."

"A local officer outside the pub was rather good conversation on this matter," clarified Arthur. Of course he somehow weaseled information from them.

"Any similarity between the victims?" I asked.

"All women. All stabbed to death. The location of all the murders were unrelated, I heard."

I leaned back. That sounded like Jack the Ripper, but that had happened in Whitechapel, London. Not in Paris.

"Anything else?"

"Not much," said Theo.

"Do you know anything about this, Mina?"

"No. Why would I?" I asked, bewildered as Arthur watched me. Something about his gaze told me he didn't really suspect I knew something.

"The murders started the night after you appeared."

"It wasn't me," I said, shaking my head frantically. "I haven't even left the mansion at all!"

Arthur and Theo nodded like two people who were in on a conspiracy. "That's the only reason you're not a suspect," said Arthur. "Dazai said you hadn't left your room last night."

A fleeting memory of the face at the window last night flashed through my thoughts. "Was I being stalked by him the whole time?"

"No, just last night, when facts started falling into place. At least you have an alibi, Knabbeltje," shrugged Theo.

"Jerks," I muttered.

"'Scusa for that," came a voice behind the couch. Leaning over, I saw Leonardo lying on the floor. He had either passed out or had fallen asleep, and a quick glance at Arthur told me it was a common occurrence.

"Were you in on this?"

"Not at all," he said, standing up and walking over to Theo.

I thought for a second, before turning to Arthur, who seemed like he had his own thinking to do. "Arthur, how old were the victims?"

"Between eighteen and twenty two. All of them had black hair and black eyes."

I ran a hand through my own black hair, nodding. I sat in silence as Theo and Arthur spoke of other news, and Sebastian called us for lunch. The rest of the day passed by in a blur, and all I remember was Sebastian pulling me and Kiyomi aside, telling us not to go out anywhere alone.

I headed into the gardens at night, just to see the flowers. Mozart, who had seen me gardening early in the day while he was walking with Kiyomi, said there were some flowers that blossomed only at midnight. It might be just me, but I think Mozart seems to be much more... human when he's with his girlfriend.

I stood in the garden, watching the petals unfurl.

"Meow."

Startled at the sound that broke the silence, I prodded through the bushes. A black cat with purple eyes stared at me, three white circles on its head, reminding me of a crown. His look was intense, not unlike a human who had purpose. A look at his paw told me he was injured, and I held a hand out to him, before he batted it away.

"Don't touch me, child."

I stared wide-eyed, wondering if I was experiencing auditory hallucinations. The cat had spoken, and if I wasn't mistaken, his voice was rather familiar.

"Did you just talk?"

He gave me a look of annoyance. "I see no one else around. Unless you believe you can communicate with god or ghosts, it stands to reason that it would be me, no?"

"I... are you really a cat?" I asked, an eyebrow raised. He simply looked away, and I sighed, my gaze moving to his paw. "You're injured."

"That's none of your concern."

"I was going to get you inside and patch up your paw, perhaps give you some food while I was at it, but I suppose you don't want it," I said, about to head back in.

"Wait." I squashed down my small, triumphant smile as I turned back. "I'll let you take me in. Consider it an honor."

"Of course," I said, picking him up. This time, he didn't try to bat me away, and I blinked as I realized he had two tails instead of one. Deciding not to ask about that, I changed my question. "How did you get hurt?"

"I... got caught in a crossfire," he said, his voice telling me he wouldn't elaborate. I took him to my room, and set him down on the desk. Pulling down bandages and disinfectant from my stash in the cupboard, I headed over to him.

"This might hurt."

"Nothing can hurt me—" he hissed as I dabbed his paw with disinfectant and I smiled.

"What's your name?"

"Asura."

"My name is Mina."

He simply purred at that, as if my name was nothing new to him. "Thank you, child," he said as I bandaged his injury. "I think I'll stay the night." He made himself comfy on my table, and I headed through the cabinet and rummaged through it for some blankets, arranging it into a makeshift bed, which he readily hopped into.

I snuck some milk from the kitchen in the night, hoping he wasn't a picky eater, but I needn't have worried—he seemed to like it. I watched him, wondering if I would get an answer if I asked him about himself.

"I won't answer any questions."

I sighed. "I imagined you wouldn't."

A knock on my door interrupted both of us as we looked up. I opened the door to Leonardo's face, and hearing another meow, looked down at a black cat that circled his legs. Asura hopped down and walked over, staring at the other cat.

"A two-tailed cat?" asked Leonardo, his eyes seeming to brighten for a second. "I've heard of two-tailed foxes from Sebastian, but never cats."

"I was a little surprised too," I said, fidgeting with my fingers as Leonardo walked in. "What brings you here?"

"My cat suddenly got agitated and seemed rather restless, so I followed him," he said, nodding to his black cat, who was sitting with Asura on the windowsill. His eyes darkened as he looked at me, and I knew a solemn topic followed. "There's something else you should know."

"Yes?"

"There's been another assault."

"Dead?"

"Injured. She got off with a scrape. I hear she's testifying at the police station right now."

"That's new."

"Arthur thinks someone interfered, giving her a chance to escape." At this, Asura perked his ears up and looked at us in a very self-satisfied manner.

Leonardo's cat meowed again. Hopping down the windowsill, he rubbed against Leonardo's legs. He stood up and nodded to me. "Good night, cara mia."

"Good night." I watched his black cat trail after him, tail high in the air.

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