Behind the Mask

Chapter 2

The man was tall, probably 5’11 in height. He has black hair which was trimmed short at the top and tapered on both sides. From the first look, I could tell right away that he was not a Japanese – he is either an American or an English man.

He was wearing an unbuttoned navy blue long sleeve shirt over a light grey cotton shirt, and cream-colored pants paired with white rubber shoes. It was the typical casual wear for men, but somehow it looked more fashionable and appealing when he was the one wearing it.

Is it because of his body built? I thought to myself then my gaze shifted to my cousin who was unconscious. I hurriedly walked towards them which made the man turned at me.

“Are you Hiiragi’s cousin?” He asked when I stopped in front of them.

“Yes. I’m sorry for all the trouble she has caused you.” I embarrassedly apologized while lowering my head in front of him.

“It’s okay,” he replied casually. “By the way, Hiiragi passed out while we were on our way.”

 “Oh, I’m sorry about that.” I reached out my hand and carefully took Kaya from his arm. “Thank you for bringing her here and I really am sorry.”

I could not help but wonder if he was the new guy that Kaya was targeting. Kaya was the outgoing type of person and she was really into dating hot and handsome guys. Well, she was beautiful, so I thought it was not that hard for her to date such type of men.

She has round eyes and cheeks that made her look cuter and she also dressed fashionably which added to her appeal. Her jet black straight hair that ran down below her shoulders complemented the shape of her face, as well as her white skin.

I secretly took a glimpse of Kaya who was now beside me. I was holding her with her one arm around my shoulder. Just what kind of plot did she pull to make this guy bring her home? I thought to myself with an irked expression.

I turned at the guy again and forced a little smile. “Do you want to come in and have some tea or water?” I reluctantly asked. I honestly did not want any stranger inside my apartment, but I cannot just let him leave like that without at least paying him back for bringing Kaya home safely.

“No, it’s okay. I have to go back there immediately.”

“Is that so? Then please take care on your way back.” I said then lowered my head again. “Thank you again. I’ll make sure Kaya pays you for what you did.” He just nodded as a response then walked back to his car.

I waited for his car to leave before bringing Kaya inside the building. This woman is so heavy, I complained as I struggled to drag her to the elevator and my apartment.

Then I carefully put her on my bed and removed her shoes; she was really drunk and fast asleep. It was a good thing that man was a gentleman and did not touch her while she was in that state.

I exhaled heavily. I was already tired at school and was starving to death, then now this woman made my day worst. What would I tell Aunty?

Aunt Claire was an American and was the elder sister of my mother. She married a Japanese man whom she met when she attended an international seminar, then they got married and immigrated here in Japan.

She was not particularly strict, but she hated it when we were not being responsible for our actions like what Kaya was doing.

Kaya, on the other hand, was a hardheaded one and would always do what she wanted. Well, she was already at the right age and had the freedom to do these things, but I hated it when she always dragged me into these kinds of things.

“I’ll just tell her that Kaya wants to stay here tonight,” I mumbled as I got my phone and messaged Aunty.

The water that I heated earlier had turned cold so I re-heated it again and prepared my noodles before going back inside my room.

I sat near the center table beside my bed – the table’s legs were made with black metals and it had a black glass on top, which perfectly complemented the white-painted walls of the room. Then I reached for the remote and opened the television that was hanging on the wall.

I was watching the news when the report about the missing women flashed again – it was the same news I saw earlier at the convenience store.

These past few days, there were news about women who were gone missing and according to it, these missing women had been reported from the last four years. It only got attention now when the body of one of those women was found in Aokigahara Forest by tourists.

Normally, that forest is known as a suicidal forest, but there are still some tourists who are curious about it and want to visit the place. Every dead body that would be found there is assumed to have committed suicide. But, the body of the woman that was found there implied something else.

It was reported to the police and when the police came, they saw that her body had not decomposed completely yet and probably died five days ago when it was found.

Her body showed signs of being extremely tortured because of the bruises, wounds, burns, and broken bones, and…her eyeballs were both missing as if the suspect deliberately plucked them out.

What’s more terrifying was that after another two days, one kilometer away from that place, another traveler found a body that had the same case, and that woman was also one of the reported missing women.

“The National Police Agency released a report regarding the investigation of the missing women and found out that these people have three physical characteristics in common. As reported earlier, all of them were women and based on the initial findings, these women all have brown eyes and moles under their eyes.” The newscaster reported.

“The Police Agency is trying to investigate if these common characteristics of the victims have a connection to the crime and if they are, according to the Chief handling the investigation, these findings will be a great step in identifying the suspect and their ulterior motive in their crime.” She added.

I watched the news with coldness in my eyes as I slurped the hot noodles. I could not help but think about how the victim cried in pain and agony as she was slowly being killed by the suspect and…about the kind of expression the killer was making as they watched their victim.

Is it like the expression of the person who killed my parents? I thought to myself then remembered the nightmare that was hunting me even after several years had passed. I was not able to see his face because of the mask he was wearing, but I could not forget the way he laughed in pleasure.

“Ugh…” I quickly put the noodles on the table and ran towards the bathroom while covering my mouth with my hand. Just remembering that nightmare made me want to throw up.

I continuously coughed after throwing up all the food that I had eaten that day, then rinsed my mouth with the water on the sink. My mouth twisted when I felt the burning pain in my stomach and throat.

I stood there for a moment, not moving an inch, and watched the water flowed out from the faucet. Then slowly, I looked up and met my own eyes in front of the mirror.

My eyes traced my reflection on the mirror; from my loose tousled wavy hair that was running down to my shoulders, then gazed back at my own eyes down to the bridge of my nose.

Since I was a child, many people said that they admired my eyes – the honey-brown eyes I inherited from my father…and my mother used to like the two small moles below my left eye, which were like dots, near at the bridge of my nose and was positioned like the punctuation mark colon.

I honestly like them too, because my eyes and the two dotted moles on my face were one of the things that reminded me of my mom and dad. Whenever I looked at them, I always remembered the lovely words that my parents used to say about it. But now…

Do I need to hide them too?