[WP] A monster hunter came to your village to deal with a threat nobody knew about until his arrival. Shortly afterward, people started disappearing. You suspect that the monster and the hunter are two sides of the same coin.
*****
Ken. Again. The way his name kept popping up at every turn in my investigation was a strange coincidence, and I didn't believe in coincidences.
"Ken? Do you have any details?" I asked Ayame. The grin plastered on her face showed she was amused at my eagerness to know.
"You're a strange one, Lee. You know that, right? You could be uninterested in pretty much everything - even this business you own, but bring a crime scene and suddenly you're up and kicking. It's funny to watch."
"Maybe I should have been one of the Royal Guards, huh? Or a spy or something..."
We both looked at each other and laughed.
"You're too laid back for that, Lee. You just want to relax on a beach for the rest of your life, if I know you any, which I do. These cases once in a while are just for your entertainment, huh?"
"Yeah, usually," I said, sitting down. "Now it's personal. There's no safety anymore, and people are being kidnapped right while were sleeping and snoozing. It's personal."
"Heh. Well, if you're asking, then theythey have been together for a little over a week now."
"Together?"
"Nothing permanent. Just a casual fling, I guess. He is new here, and he is quite a looker, I'm sure Izumi was just satisfying her curiosity and having an adventure, is all."
I nodded. That sounded like Izumi alright.
"And before you ask awkwardly, yes, I believe they were having sex."
She did save me the embarassment of asking that question. I didn't understand why I was like that, but we'll, it was one of my quirks.
"Thanks for that too," I blushed.
"So what are you doing now?"
"Well, he's a prime suspect, for sure, but I won't rule out any other possibilities, just in case. We'll be keeping our eyes on them all now, and I will be keeping mine on Ken especially."
I walked out the office, but I did a double take when I reached the door.
"And Ayame?"
"Uh huh?"
"Stay safe, you hear?"
"Awww, you care?" She asked, with a fake pout. She was so cheeky.
"Yeah, I do."
*****
Ken didn't stay at a place, so it was quite stressful to follow him. One thing that intrigued me was the fact that most of his day was spent telling everyone who was unfortunate enough to stop and listen that we were the ones who allowed this to happen by lowering our guard, and that he was the hunter who would take care of this monster that was terrorizing the village.
The other thing was that he was actually investigating. I believed that I managed to avoid getting spotted by him, and I followed him for two days straight, not bothering sleeping or leaving within 20 metres of his person for longer than 5 minutes.
He kept on going to remote locations, searching extensively. Not only was it quite a dangerous journey, but I was also on constant danger of being caught by the one person I considered to be the prime suspect.
His activities were strange, yes, bit they didn't give a clear indication that he was the person we were looking for.
And yet all other 'evidence' I had, concrete or not, pointed at him. My gut instinct said it was him; that was fueled not only by all deductiona which pointed at him, but also the fact that it was after he came here, talking about the presence of a monster, that people starred disappearing.
Could it be that he was the monster and the hunter at the same time?
That was also a possibility.
But alas, the second day was done, and as much as I'd have loved to continue following him, I had to bath and eat anything other than roadside snacks.
I went home.
*****
It was 10:00PM when I left my house. I needed to stock up on some energy-giving herbs, snacks and stimulants that would help in my shadowing of Ken the next day.
Speaking of the devil, I saw him marching towards me ahead, his steps looking anger-filled.
"Hey, what's ha-'
Whatever I was about to say was cut off by Ken as he bumped into shoulders before me, forcing me out of the way while he stomped on.
"Watch where you're going, fool!" He said in a hoarse voice which sounded nothing like his usual voice. I then knew that I had to follow him by all means.
If I didn't turn and follow him immediately, If I had waited just a little, I would have noticed the black silhouetted figure that followed me as I followed Ken.
*****
Two chapters left!!! I know, crazy right? My thoughts exactly.
I can't wait to be done with this, honestly. I love the storyline, but I'm not as enthusiastic about writing series as I used to. Can't wait to start writing oneshots again, or better still, to finish these exams 😪.
you finish those exams first 😅😅😅 you need the rest before anything else