Artifice - The Copycat Killer

Chapter 1: Initiation

He suffered nothing but bleak walls for company and a life of indignity, but he enjoyed the thrill. It was his shift to patrol the prison, though this time he had received a box of poorly baked cookies to pass on to a certain inmate.

He came to an abrupt, almost uncomfortable, stop outside of the cell, blood running cold at the thought of interacting with the offender on the other side. Nevertheless, he knocked and opened the slot on the bulky door to peer in.

"Someone's left you a gift," he said, "lucky you."

He fed it through the food hatch and did not wait another second before making his swift departure.

On the other side, the inmate grinned and waited for the guard to disappear far from the scene before making a move to retrieve it.

"Finally..."

Although, peering into the box, the grin faltered.

There was a small note tucked into the box, envelope ripped open and letter very clearly already read by the prison officers, but it wasn't like that was of any concern. Undermining the law was like second nature to all of them.

You had to be clever.

Between two frail hands, the criminal held the crumpled paper and read.

'It's never the same without you around. It's been a long while. I haven't been able to visit you lately, you know how work is. I'm going to be busy for a while so I baked you these instead. Though I should warn you, my cooking skills are terrible so I can't guarantee that they're edible.
I'll see you soon.'

Perhaps too clever.

The prisoner took a cookie, odd in shape and size though somehow consistent through all, and broke it. Inside was a thin piece of metal which poked out. The rest were promptly broken too, and all of which full of little pieces of metal.

A giggle spilled past cracked lips as pale fingers got to work assembling the fragments. It took great concentration and immense skill, yet piecing together the sharp segments was surprisingly a simple task. Alas - it was done.

Held up against the daylight peeking through the barred window was a dagger, small but undoubtedly lethal. The blade was thin and crafted from a very special metal, strong enough to tear through human bones like paper.

Eyes lighting up, immediate work was made tampering with the electronic lock on the door. Little effort was needed to break it, as expected. Sparks flew as the door unlocked itself and, with great care, the prisoner peeked out.

The coast was clear.

Bare feet sped down the hall. Freedom was in near reach.

The world wasn't ready for the malice unleashed.

-

Shuichi Saihara couldn't help but avert his gaze from the rest of the group when Kaede asked the question he feared she would.

She stumbled in through the doorway into the living room of Maki and Kaito, an expression of pure perplexity twisting the corners of her lips up into an unsure smile. And there it came: "Why is there cat litter beside the bath? I didn't know you had a cat."

Kokichi turned to grin at the group from where he sat inside the play pen with Iyu, Kaito and Maki's daughter. He rolled the ball they were playing with towards the toddler once more before focusing his attention completely on the hilarious, awkward shame rising in the room.

"We don't." Maki said.

Kaito pointed an accusing finger at Kokichi. "It's that brat's fault!"

"Well, what did he do?" Kaede asked. She knew it couldn't have been good; the petty pranks between Kaito and Kokichi had become commonplace throughout the past couple of months.