Being Led by A Blood Red Thread [Closed]

"Hey. I heard someone witnessed the Dead Hands in the Mirror again..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Some girl doing gymnastics early morning did."

"How creepy. You know, I'm honestly getting scared of all the ghost stories going around. I mostly thought they were rumors, but..."

"I know how you feel. In fact, another ghost story's going around. Apparently the Girl of the Stairs has returned."

"What?"

"The Girl of the Stairs. They say there was once a girl who attended Beacon and committed suicide on the northern stairs. Every 15 years or so, she returns and that's when disaster strikes."

"Don't say that! What if you jinx an accident there!?"

"Sorry, you're right. Let's just hope we don't see her."

"I heard she has deathly pale skin and two different colored eyes. Her hair's darker than black and she carries a doll around with her. No one can see her...except her next victim."

"The full moon's coming soon. Let's just hope it passes without any accidents."

"Yeah...let's hope."


It was around five minutes to eight o' clock and the study hall was close to empty. It would be closing soon but a pale girl with dark hair was waiting patiently at one of the tables. Next to her was a white bear, pretty worn out though it had been stitched together nicely. Next to that was another bear, looking in much better shape, nothing like it had been in its previous condition. In fact, if no one knew, they would have never assumed it had been clawed by Grimm in the first place.

"Watch as I sew your eyes and nose..." the girl was singing. "It might hurt a bit, but that's the price to pay..."

The girl waited patiently. She wasn't going to leave until her "friend" arrived. Until then, she would continue sewing using bright red thread.

"Salutations Shiki. I see Merasmus is all better. I must say you are truly a master of your work." Marlin said warmly as he entered the room. He walked over to her with a (hidden) smile on his face. He took a seat next to her. "I must say the stich work you do is amazing." He said as he examined the bear.

Shiki had lifted her head to give Marlin her own smile. She put down her thread and needle.

"I'm glad you like how he's been fixed," Shiki said. "The stitches should hold firmly in place but be careful not to have him torn up again. Stitching is easy, yes, but if he loses more fabric, that's going to take its toll on him eventually."

Kuma was sitting on the table, using a stack of sewing books as a back rest. Shiki, at the moment, was working on a new image. This time it looked like a red hand trying to reach out to the black sky of the fabric.

"So, how have you been, my friend?" she asked. "I'm sorry I called you out at such a time. The rest of my day didn't allow me to meet here."

Marlin nodded. "No problem at all. It would seem sleep evades me any way. To busy reviewing for tests and such." He said warmly. He yawned a little, and just shook his head. "Though I am feeling the after effects of lack of sleep." He pulled out Merlin, and put him in his front pocket. He had two. one with a moon, and one with a sun. Merlin fit into the sun, and the other was missing. "Come now Merasmus." He said as the bear rose, and came to him. Letting of a black like glow. It slid into his other pocket gently.

"I guess I should be retiring, too," Shiki said as she folded her cloth away and put her needle back in its needle book. She fixed up her things.

"For the inconvenience, however," Shiki said as she looked directly at Marlin, her one red eye blank while the other eye remained hidden under a patch. "It's the weekend tomorrow and there's going to be an exhibit at my employer's shop. I'm not sure if it's your kind of thing, but perhaps you'll be interested just the same. I'll treat you to lunch afterwards."

She picked up Kuma and held it under one arm while the other hugged her books.

"Do you accept this arrangement?"

Marlin nodded. "But of course. I shall not miss it." He said as stood up to follow her. "Might I ask when this will be?"

Shiki nodded.

"The Blue Twilight Doll exhibit's going to take place at around 10AM at Eglantine's Doll Studio," she said. "I'll give you the coordinates on your Scroll."

She did a little fiddling with the touch pad and sent the coordinates along with a digital invitation. Around the same time, the study hall's door opened and an old man in a janitor's suit stood there.

"Hey, hey, kid with the hood," he said grumpily. "It's already past eight. You should head out of here. Oh and the south stairs to the dorm room are closed. They're being buffed so you'll have to take care of the northern ones."

He waited for Marlin to respond before getting impatient.

"Didn't you hear me?" he said waving his hands in a warding manner. "Amscray!"

"Looks like we should go." Shiki said plainly.

Marlin nodded and followed suit. "Indeed. Sorry to trespass sir." He said as he exited the door. He looked down the hall way. He could see through the dark corridors, with his eyes a glow. "Tell me...do you fear the dark?" He asked with a sly hidden smile.

"Not at all," Shiki said bluntly. And then, with a rueful smile, "But I'd be curious if you were scared of ghosts."

They began walking, the dark only somewhat subdued by the faint moonlight coming from the windows. The sky was cloudy and showed a moon just close to being full. The northern stairs laid at the very edge, just a small set of sidesteps that twisted upwards. For some reason, the wood of the steps had been neglected. It was chipped and dull, nowhere near polished.

"They say a girl died here once," Shiki said quietly, though not at all scared. "She was a first year student and due to a situation of hers, she committed suicide. If she shows herself to you, you're considered to die next on these steps on or before the full moon."

Marlin shook his head. "Sprits walk this plane of existence yes, but I do not believe such nonsense as omens." He said taking a step down. He looked to her and waited. "Shall we?" He said as he offered his hand to her.

Shiki stopped for a while and smiled. She was just about to take his hand until a strange noise came from above. It sounded like a gurgling sound. A choking sound. Shiki's hand dropped and she slowly started climbing the stairs, jerking her head to gesture Marlin should follow. The moment she and Marlin would reach the second twist of the stairs, they would see a guard doubled over, one hand on his stomach.

If Marlin looked down, he would see a thick small pool of blood under him.

"H-help..." the man gurgled, his mouth also now bloodied.

As soon as Marlin saw the man, his hand grew green as he sent a stream of green dust to help the man. "Hold on sir. I shall heal you." He said as his stream grew stronger.

As Marlin drew closer the man began to spit out some blood. He looked up to where Marlin was and staggered back.

"She's here! Oh god, she's here!" he began saying. He tried to back away from Marlin but saw he couldn't. If Marlin looked around, Shiki wouldn't be seen anywhere.

"What's going on here!?" a voice said. The sound of running footsteps could be heard and soon a professor came next to Marlin. He knelt down and turned to him. He was soon followed by a group of people from the infirmary and they soon had pushed Marlin aside brusquely to do they're work.

The professor, a thin man with balding brown hair and wearing a long coat, looked at Marlin.

"You, young man, can you tell me what happened here?"

Once Marlin would finish retelling the events, the professor would nod.

"We'll try to ask more from the guard himself," the professor would say. "But right now he's in a frantic state. You should head up to your dorm before it gets any darker. The culprit could still be on the loose."

After that, the professor would ask for Marlin's name just in case there were questions. Once the confusion was done and the man was taken away.

"We should be careful," Shiki's voice would come out of nowhere. She was now back at the edge of the stairs. "Is the man alright?"

Marlin looked to her. "He looked frantic, but he is in good hands now. Come let's get going. It would appear sleep deprivation is beginning to take it's toll on me." He said with a yawn as they walked. Marlin seemed unmoved by the events of what had occurred. He just kept moving down the stairs.

Shiki continued walking along. The dark didn't seem to bother the two and not long enough, they had reached Shiki's dorm room first. She twisted the knob but before she went in, she turned to Marlin.

"Goodnight," she said plainly.

***

Around ten am, the sky was slightly dark because of rain clouds. Marlin would eventually find the Eglantine's Doll Studio lodged in two corners of a strangely empty street. It was a two floor rectangular building, its upper half having two round windows while the lower had a door and a window displaying a strange doll peering right back at him.

There was a sign standing next to the door.

The Blue Twilight Doll Exhibit -->

The arrow pointed to the door. As Marlin went inside, he'd see periwinkle colored walls, and tables with glass casings. Strange dollsof all sorts filled the room. There weren't any people. But there was an old woman at the counter.

"May I help you?" she said in a very dead voice.

Marlin approached the women unmoved by the atmosphere. "I am looking for a Miss Zenchi. Is she here?" He said his eyes aglow. He spoke calmly and clearly.

The woman didn't move her position and pointed to the little sign on the counter, asking for an admission fee.

"You're a student, so you get a discount," the woman said dryly. "Funny how a student boy would have interests like this. Please take your time...you're my only customer."

She seemed to have not heard Marlin's question. As Marlin would look around, he'd just see more dolls. Dolls with sad faces, dolls tied in ribbons, dolls pale and seemingly miserable. There was, however, a sign near a stairwell going down.

More Dolls this Way

There was also the sound of movement downstairs. Hopefully Shiki.

Marlin listened to the noises. He began to walk up stairs. I must say these dolls maybe a bit unnerving, but the craftsmen's ship is admirable. He reached the top and entered the room. "Hello?"

The downstairs was even darker and it looked less organized as the floor above. There were dolls standing on the shelves. Dolls stuffed inside shelves, dolls in boxes, and dolls standing on their own. Dolls hanging midair...There was a doll that glanced at him from it's side. There was couple on a red sofa.

But what eventually caught Marlin's attention was the coffin at the very edge. It had pale skin and black hair in a bob, one green eye peering at him as it tilted its head in the coffin. It had a striking resemblance to Shiki.

Marlin would walk up to it to get a closer look.

"That's a work in progress," Shiki said from behind Marlin.

Marlin slowly turned around. "I see. Are all of these done by you?" He asked as he looked around. He was surrounded by dolls. A bit unnerved, but still composed He looked at Shiki, and waited for an answer.

Shiki smiled and shook her head.

"These are Eglantine's work," Shiki said. "I merely sew the clothes."

She turned to look at the doll in the coffin and stroked its cheek.

"This is going to be her masterpiece," she said. "But it's not done. So...how have you enjoyed the exhibit so far?"

Marlin just nodded. "Many of these dolls are a tad unnerving, but the craftsmen's ship is so well that I barely noticed." He said as he looked around. He looked back at the one in the coffin. "Might I ask why that doll resembles you?" He asked as he looked back to her.

"Eglantine has...a unique...perception of beauty," Shiki said. "I actually like it."

When asked the second question, Shiki looked at the doll and then back to Marlin.

"Yes, you could say it looks like me..." Shiki said. "But it's not me. Perhaps it once was? Perhaps it's a part of me? Who knows?"

She walked over to Marlin.

"Let's go back upstairs. It's not good to stay down here."

She took him back upstairs and faced him.

"Dolls are hollow things," Shiki said. "They absorb energy. Anyways, I'm done with my shift. Do you want to go anywhere in particular before lunch?"

Marlin shook his head. "I don't really have a whole lot planed for today. I shall follow your lead for now." He smiled, and let her respond.

Shiki nodded.

"Very well. Follow me."

Shiki led the way to the door. The woman at the counter not lifting her head.

"Come back again," she said to Marlin. "You're the only one who comes around. It's lonesome here."

***

The rain clouds had strangely subsided and now there was a bit of light. A frozen yogurt cart was passing by and Shiki got one for Marlin as she got her own.

"I didn't bring Kuma today as he gets iffy about the studio," Shiki said. "Were you able to sleep last night?"