Seven guards lumbered into the aisle, their posture betraying hidden desires. Heads lolled at abnormal angles, either as a result of fatigue or something more sinister. Her Kusengan buzzed with dark energy, yet their minds were empty, with only dull yearnings. Doubts gnawed at her, sharpened by the unease she sensed beneath their practised facade of stoicism. Were they pawns, or predators shrouded in fatigue ?

The first had a figure so poor from his diet and habit, almost like he was imprisoned to be a security guard.

The second had a figure complete opposite to the first, almost like he was imprisoned to be a lazy bum.

The third had a habit of frowning in mercy, almost like his home was filled with endless troubles.

The fourth had her lips crimping and her foot tapping, almost like she couldn’t stand a wait.

The fifth had his eyes blank and his head wobbling, almost like his mind wasn’t part of this world.

The sixth had his head bowing, his back slouching, and his eyes closing, almost like he had been on duty for a whole day.

And lastly, the seventh had his eyes attended to Ayako’s despite his age reaching prime, almost like his spirit was filled with dedication and discipline.

“Y’all look something else, eh?” murmured Ayako, then sighed and faintly raised his voice. “Well, let’s get straight to the question.”

“Have we been questioned already?” asked the fourth, rolling his eyes.

“Just in front of the different kind of officer,” said the third, sighing. “How long can we be relieved?”

“Don’t worry,” Ayako shook her head. “ I’ve already heard enough reports from them, so I’ll only ask all of you… with some unique questions.”

“Yeah, go on.”

“Since you were the ones who found the body first and also confirmed this event to the authorities, I really want to ask whichever of you comes first till last… to this very crime scene.”

“Comes first… until last…?”

“Well,” the seventh raised his hand and cried. “Would it be me if I was about to just pee there instead of being alarmed?”

“If you could consider being there right after the scene had happened, then yes… that can count.”

The first suddenly stepped up a bit and raised his hand, “I-I could say I was second, but I wasn’t able to enter the restroom.”

“Then that might also be me as a third,” the fourth raised her hand, then looked at the fifth whose face remained blank. “What can you say, Mr. ADHD?”

The fifth still hadn’t paid her heed yet, so the fourth gave him a faint slap upon his head, waking him up from his ‘daydreaming’ look. “Oh… yeah! I was with them. Outside the aisle. Then we got inside together.”

“Who’s ‘them’ are you talking about?” asked Ayako.

“These guys,” replied the fifth. “The strict one, the skinny one, and later… that old man.”

Sounds like you really haven’t gotten to each other so well, thought Ayako, then continued. “Then who comes after you?”

“That could be that fat-ass guy over there,” said the fourth, giving the second a faint glaring look. “Quite surprised of him to get here… so fast for a few seconds after reaching the crime scene”

“W-What?” the second gasped, his eyes gaping from… a tick of a shock, perhaps? “Fast?”

Ayako's eyes flared crimson, locking onto them as doubt gnawed at her. Gone was the innocent white, replaced by an unsettling black, before finally settling on a burning red. The Kusengan, ever-present, sent shivers down their spines. Her gaze, an ethereal flame, sought to illuminate the mysteries tucked within their forms, rendering the invisible a vivid dance of colours and lines. But it was the second that drew her sharpest focus. A miasma of yellow, swirling like a spectral chain, clung to his head, whispering of deceit, of secrets he held even from himself.

“Fast, eh?” Ayako raised her brows, intrigued by curiosity. “What makes him ‘fast’ all of a sudden?”

“Oh, well,” the fourth began scratching her head, perhaps growing cautious over her own choice of words. “Supposedly… how do I say this?”

“If she means that reaching from his respective station to here at some speed seems quite questionable, then I can see her point,” said the old man of seventh.

“Respective station? Which one?”

“Control room from the fifth floor… all the way to the second floor here. There wasn’t even an elevator nearby there.”

“And why do you think that him being fast can be… quite suspicious? Like maybe he had caught up with the event from the camera way sooner than y’all.”

“Nah,” the fourth shook her head. “I was in the control room, and saw him from behind… watching the surveillance cameras as usual.”

“Saw him… from behind?” Ayako repeated her words with a slight nod and narrow eyes.

“Yes, and it took a few walks after the old man contacted us about the sudden event, so I immediately rushed towards here, and a few seconds later after my arrival, that fat-ass man just suddenly showed up from the opposite side as if he had gone out from the restaurants or some sort.”

Then the second gulped, beginning to sweat profusely.

Ayako noticed his uneasy look, so she asked him, “What’s the matter?

“Well… ummm…”

“Surely, that fat-ass guy’s suspicious,” chuckled the fourth. “Like how on the bloody damned earth can he run like a flash with his size as if a Freedom Eagle would ‘rah’ over his dead body and, even few seconds, the entire Libertian army would come to seize it, eh?”

“Oh,” Ayako gaped her eyes, her tongue forced to stifle her laughter from within. “Okay.”

Just then, the second trembled, gnashing his teeth as if his urge to cry demanded. His pour of sweat became clearer, and his eyes trembled, as to how much shame he could hear from the fourth’s impudent tongue.

“Umm… uhhh.”

“And I bet you’re quite a magician-in-disguise… now tell me—”

“Ok, fine!” the second suddenly roared, sighing out of his dithering breath. “You win, aye?!”

“See?”

“But that doesn’t mean that I’m the killer!”

“Heh?”

No chain-like miasma clung to his head, not even around his hulking frame. Ayako's crimson-black Kusengan scoured him, but found no deceit upon his lips, no secrets hidden deep within. Instead, a different truth emerged - a heavy burden of guilt radiating from his very being, each laboured breath a confession of a past transgression.

The second turned his head towards Ayako and bowed his head myriad times, its haste akin to his own feeling, “Puh-please, ma’am! I was from the food court, eating some lunch after staying at the camera room for six hours. I’ve to go out because I haven’t eaten breakfast lately, and my boss is gonna fire me if I leave the room unattended… for sure.”

“So who’s the ‘other one’ from the control room?” asked Ayako.

“It’s… uhhh…”

“Hey Aya,” Evige suddenly interrupted, calling her from outside the aisle whilst approaching. “Got something new.”

“What is it?”

“There’s one more guard inside the control room… seemingly unresponsive. Locked, too.”

“Oh… if that’s the case, then this guy must’ve be—”

“No no no,” the second cried, waving his apprehensive hands. “You’ve got it wrong.”

“What’s it?”

“T-That was just… uhhh… a mannequin of me that I’ve placed… just in case of me going outside the control room.”

“What?!” cried the fourth, her glares threatening the second. “A doll? You’ve been doing that many times?”

“Uhhh… y-yeah. I think.”

“Don’t bloody ‘I think’ me! You should know your responsibility being the most crucial, as you're the one dealing with the most significant part of mall security! One mistake, and our bloody cunt and bullocks will be smashed!”

“Yes, ma’am… I understand.”

“Oh,” gasped Ayako, shocked over the fourth’s banter. “According to what I see, you must’ve been the boss.”

“Nah, vice-boss… actually,” answered the fourth. “The boss is actually that old man over there, although he’s like… almost on the verge of retirement.”

“Really?” Ayako faced the old man who shrugged and shook his head, as if he couldn’t care less about it. “I wasn’t thinking about it at first, given that you’re just like a rogo-resu type of guy.”

“Rogo-resu?” the seventh repeated her words. “What do you mean about it?”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“If I’m not mistaken,” said Evige. “It’s actually a common phenomena throughout Fareast that most old people tend to work… even till death do they part.”

“That’s quite… horrible,” commented the second.

“Shut it, you lazy bum,” fumed the fourth.

Then the seventh suddenly chuckled, then bowed his head and sighed out of his relief, “Well, looks like I’m not alone then. Except that this work is just for me and myself only.”

“Never had a family?” asked Ayako.

Evige patted her shoulder and murmured, “Hey. that’s quite a bit rude to ask.”

“Well,” the seventh replied, his head tilted down and his frown softened. “I once had… until my wife passed away earlier from pneumonia… and even my only child h-had gone missing.”

“Only child? What’s his or her name?”

The seventh paused, shutting his lips. Only his gaping eyes told amid the silence, yet a single inch of twitch could speak of a rather smothering mystery within.

“I kinda forgot.”

As soon as those prominent words left his very lips, her crimson-black eyes cast once again, but this time, a sight of yellow miasma slightly appeared from within, while his hand rubbed across the back of the neck.

Meanwhile, the seventh flinched from her flashing eyes, “O-Oh! Don’t scare an old man like that!”

“I apologise, old man,” said Ayako, glaring at him. “But what kind of father dares to forget his beloved child even after gone missing?”

“Uh, beloved? I… uhhh… don’t think she’s b-beloved to me.”

Yellow miasma, a familiar unwelcome guest, billowed above his head, thick and oppressive. The veil of secrets behind his words suffocated her, the prospect of her wrath and his own shame looming in the air. Would denying his fatherly love fan the flames of her fury, bringing more torment to her and even smirching her withheld feeling? The dilemma twisted her gut.

And enough was the answer to her curiosity.

Yet, the timing of it would rather prove inconvenient to her, so she thought, Perhaps I'll have to spill his beans… and asked, “What makes her ‘un-beloved’ to you?”

The seventh paused, thinking of an answer that might convince her. Yet unbeknownst to him, her eyes could do no favour at him. Feeling the chill, he crossed his arms, but his true thoughts couldn’t escape his mind, as his index finger from one tapped on the upper arm from the other.

“.... For one,” answered the seventh. “She used to be the most vocal one… noisy brat, not afraid to voice her true thoughts and feelings. She usually told me how ‘down bad’ I am when it comes to me being her father by declining her joyous favour oftentimes. Like an amusement park, carnivals, and even her favourite musician’s concert back in Fantasia…. Truly, a really stubborn, loudmouthed child who spoiled herself with some nice ‘for rich people’ things even though my wallet also went scarce, and true was her words to me…. Totally cheapskate of me. And growing up, as expected, she also happened to be the champion of her debate varsity team back in her high school and even college days. Thanks to that, scholarship was there to back us up.”

“I see,” Ayako nodded with a faint smile. Familiar feeling, only she could grasp, yet almost tempted to yawn at his rambling. Studying with her Kusengan, yellow miasma grew only its faint size, as his words were almost genuine. Though, at the same time, his words contradicted his very lie. “In other words, you’ve spoiled her… in a sense that you probably introduced envy to her rather earlier.”

“Si, and in return, she could see me undeserving of being a father to her. After declining her invitation to be at the school's mandatory ‘Family Day’ festival… and after declining her offer to buy a concert ticket with her friends… I knew my fatherly responsibility had already been doomed… by my own inexcusable ‘busyness’ and my lowly status as someone who was born from a rather lower middle-class family. With that, she decided to grind herself to the top… and even obtain her financial independence.”

“And then… here lies a dysfunctional relationship with your ‘un-beloved’ daughter.”

“And after years of constant hardship, she finally studied college,” chuckled the seventh, shaking his head. “At first, I thought of her as an aspiring lawyer.”

“But?”

“But instead, she took an unexpectedly different path. The most ‘boring’ one, too, if I dare say.”

“What is it?”

The seventh heaved an exasperated sigh, shaking his head once again, “Accountancy. Glad she graduated with flying colours, but her selfishness had consumed her soul… to the point of no regards.”

Then his answer brought a faint smirk upon Ayako’s lips, as that also came across her familiarity moments ago.

“Well,” said Ayako. “Sorry for awkward timing, by the way, but what is your name?”

“Raul,” answered the seventh. “Raul L-La Grace.”

“La Grace, eh? Do you have any siblings?”

“Only my younger brother and I. Though, he passed away earlier than me due to his drug overdose. Man’s a total dickhead towards my mother, so we never got along with each other.”

No yellow mist appeared.

“I see.”

“Do you have any cousins, too?”

“I’ve known some,” Raul shrugged. “But like I said, we never got close to each other. Only my mother was the dearest during my youth.”

Again, no yellow mist appeared.

“Must’ve been rough for you to know little of what ‘family’ truly is.”

“And that’s why I ended up being a terrible father to her, too.”

“So since you pretty much recalled and told me a brief story of your… daughter, may I ask again?.... What is her name?”

Raul clamped his mouth shut, a strangled effort visible in his tense form. A silent head shake was his only reply, but it prompted her crimson-black eyes to flash a menacing glint. Perhaps he deemed her as an IL-SSIA agent, and the knowledge caused the unavoidable beading of sweat on his brow. Her access credentials laid his unspoken fear bare - a reason for his tension that would soon be unravelled, thread by thread.

A minute and a half stretched into an eternity for him. His lips remained sealed, tongue trapped in its own prison of whispered truths. His eyes darted nervously, each glance betraying a growing tide of regret. Even as she offered him patience, the ticking clock in her mind tested her own resolve.

“Or how about I guess her name?” said Ayako.

Raul's weathered face crumpled as her threat to unearth his silence hung in the air. A frown etched deep lines across his brow, and his hands, calloused from a life lived rough, twitched like caged birds yearning for escape. Fingers were itching for a draw, perhaps readied for a time to come.

Ayako crossed her arms and smirked, “The name of your daughter could be Miss… Lurna La Grace Galea, a former senior public accountant of the Great Himel Bank… right?”

And once her words were spoken, Raul’s hand prompted to pull out his gun. Yet, in a trice, it couldn’t move.

How?

Why?

What stopped him from moving his hand?

Looking at his face, it seemed similar to the one trying to pull out something that was stuck in a rather narrow tight space. An effort trying, yet wasting his breath to groan, whilst the rest of his underlings backed out for a few steps and watched the abrupt play before their eyes.

Meanwhile, Ayako’s crimson-black eyes locked her glare onto his wrist. Then Evige promptly came and took the pistol out of his grasp.

“Boss,” gasped the fourth. “What are you doing?”

“Yeah, alright, latra,” chuckled Raul, his glares pointing at him. “You’ve got me”

“Your mistakes were threefold, I’m afraid,” Ayako smirked. “Your careless tale spilled the beans more clearly than a broken dam. And thanks to the words of Mr.ADHD there, I already assume a scene of your hasty prop-gathering act from behind the curtain, all the while your colleagues waited outside oblivious. And lastly, your last name, La Grace, sounds quite familiar to me, perhaps that must be the event from twelve years ago, neh? So, instead of tiptoeing through an enigma, a slip of your tongue saves us all the theatrics. After all, wouldn't that disappoint the armchair detectives among us?”

“.... Heh, I’m an old man, anyway. Way too old for me to think like a pretentious mastermind.”

Raul’s smirk shone before her, as his poise still abided. Never he needed to lurch back, but forward to show his struggle. His will to loathe was never ending, even as persistent as stainless steel.

“If I’m not mistaken…. Since you’re the father of Miss Lurna, you must’ve already known Mister John Stone, no?”

“John Stone,” Raul fumed. “That bastardi… always being on the top… flexing his glamour… while my daughter has been on the bottom of the soil… rotting her precious body away. After seeing his face twice in front of the TV, I knew straight to his eyes… that he was that one who stole her life away.”

“And how did you know where he was going?”

“It’s all thanks to the one named… the Raiser”

“Raiser? Never heard of him.”

“And now you’ve already had. All thanks to him, the insurance before my eternal rest has already been guaranteed.”

“Insurance?”

“Life insurance, young latra,” chuckled Raul. “Something completely open and free to suffice my resting peace, no longer consuming my decade-ful grief.”

“In other words, you no longer matter whether you live or die now… since you're an old man who had no family to live with… and no more reasons to play with.”

“You’re right about the first, but the latter… let’s say that I’m not quite finished yet.”

Then Ayako walked closer to Raul and patted his shoulder, bringing her lips beside his ears, and whispered, “Then how about giving the identity of this Raiser guy? In that way, we’re gonna finish piling up those ‘reasons’ for your… life insurance.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“He’s not the one you should be looking for, and other than that… my lips are sealed, so does my fate.”

Ayako clicked her tongue and grabbed his collar, “Now you’re just toying with us?”

“That’s enough, Aya!” Evige shoved Ayako away, then cuffed the old man Raul’s hands behind his back. His face, however, remained calm and composed. “Sir Raul La Grace, you’re now under arrest for the suspicion of John Stone’s murder.”

Evige shepherded Raul away, leaving whispers and shocked stares in their wake. While the revelation sent ripples of astonishment through the onlookers, for Ayako, it was little more than a blip on the radar, a pain in the ass at best. The urgency to wrap things up gnawed at her, her pursuit fueled by an ever-growing impatience. Her Kusengan, a keen blade against deceit, could dissect feigned words and nervous tics. Yet, Raul's audacity, disruptive as it was, had ironically gifted her a shortcut, sparing her the meandering cost of time.