Hometorius : Coming Home

chapter 25 : She, The Assassin

Marylin POV

I returned to the living room, holding my wand in my hand. It had already gotten dark outside. I completely lost my sense of time in this stupid basement. I didn't even know there was a basement in this house to begin with. And that was for my own good. I've always been afraid of basements. When I was a child, I watched quite a few horror movies with my seven years older cousin. Actually, now this 'cousin' was pretty much a stranger to me.

Fleur was talking to Sam about the afterlife, Zarina was watching TV, and Kate was bustling around the kitchen. You could easily smell from afar that he was preparing something incredibly delicious. 'As always', I thought and went into the kitchen, then sat on one of the chairs.

"What are you cooking?" I asked with curiosity, greedily taking in all the tasty smells from several pots.

"You'll find out when I'm done," Kate answered, not looking away from the dish.

She was already wearing her pink pajamas, which looked quite strange combined with a bright green apron. If that wasn't enough, the background of the kitchen was brown, which made her outfit look even weirder.

"Kate?" I started uncertainly. "I have a question."

"Sure, ask away," Kate said in her joyful voice, stirring something that looked like soup with something like a small wooden shovel.

"What happened a year ago at the camp?" I was referring to our pure heart test with Jo.

She froze at once. The spoon fell to the floor, leaving a stain of dark red sauce on it. The dish in the pot immediately started to bubble. Kate slowly turned off the stove, wiped her hands carefully on her apron, took it off, then sat down in front of me.

"I didn't tell you about it, because I was afraid you would no longer want to be friends with me," she said in a quiet voice, as if she feared we were being eavesdropped on, and she pointed to the door. "Can you do something so that they won't hear us?"

"Sure," I said eagerly and said 'Walltorius!', so much loved by Anri. "Now you can talk freely."

"Well..." she began, still hesitant, but when I grabbed her hand to cheer her up, she took on a little more courage. "I liked that one girl there... Her name was Sakura. In Japanese it means a cherry blossom. She was so cute. Her hair was completely white and all that kawaii stuff. If you know what I'm talking about..."

"And what about it? That's the reason your heart isn't pure?" I was honestly surprised. "Because you liked a girl?"

"No," Kate said quietly and lowered her eyes. "I had one nice friend there, Natalie. She persuaded me to do it."

"Do what, Kate?" I urged her, sliding to the edge of my seat, though I probably already knew what they had done. "Just don't tell me that you killed an unarmed... innocent... Sakura..."

Kate remained silent for some time. She was giving me a sign that "I'm very smart" (Anri's words). She didn't want to say it out loud. She must have been stoned. She was certainly under the influence of some weird drugs that she could easily get at the camp party.

"Kate, what the hell have you done!?" I shouted and rose abruptly from my chair, gripping my head. "What did she do to you, for God's sake!?"

"Marylin," she wanted to explain quietly, but she lacked courage.

I have already left. I didn't think Kate could be a killer. And then something reminded me. I hastily returned to the kitchen, hoping that Kate would still be there. She sat with her head on the table, crying.

"Listen," I started vigorously, sitting on the counter. "Do you remember how you sent me three letters by mail?"

When Kate nodded slightly and muttered in a sign that he remembered, I continued.

"Have you read any of these letters? Except for the one you wrote of course?"

"One."

"Which one?" I rushed her, approaching the table and crouching beside her.

"The one with your survey," Kate admitted, and I breathed a sigh of relief. "The second was the correct answers?"

"When someone says it aloud, it really does sound at least weird," I said with a laugh. "Correct answers to the survey. But yes. There were answers."

"Why are you telling me that?"

I pulled the crumpled pages from my pocket. First, I once again gave her the survey to read again, and then I slid the answer card in front of her. Kate glanced at it and almost fell from the chair, but in time I grabbed her sleeve.

"Marylin, I didn't do it, I swear," she started explaining quickly when she regained her voice. "I was there, but I couldn't help her. It was impossible."

"I know," I said in a quick half-whisper. "I just wanted to explain it in some way. So that you wouldn't blame yourself for something you didn't do," I made a dramatic pause, then went on. "It was..."

"No, I won't sell Anri out," I thought. After all, he confessed voluntarily. And if the girls know, they won't want to help him. Although they probably won't want to help him anyway.

"It was Victuvius," I finished, to some extent close to the truth. "I have no idea which one."

"How many of them are there?"

"I don't know, either. Okay, Kate. I'm out."

"Are you going somewhere?"

I only nodded and quickly left the house. As I closed the door, the tip of my shoe accidentally kicked some diamond vase, and it tumbled down the stairs to the stone path. Out of it fell black roses. 'To hell with those roses', I thought, without even wondering where they came from. It was warm and sunny outside. I touched my fingertips together. I didn't say any spell. I just said it in my mind.

When I disappeared, something flashed in between those scattered roses. One of them was blue.

Something (or someone) moved in the bushes by the stairs.