"Excuse me, do you live here?" The man said. He was clearly much older than you, yet you were too afraid to do anything, so you just nodded in reply. "I'm from a small news agency, to pick up some facts about the recent event in Exolaern. Shall we talk over some tea?" He smiled kindly, yet you couldn't trust him one bit. He was not the most attractive, rather fat, and wore a blue shirt with black work pants and tie. You gulped, and decided to stand up. Although he was creepy-looking, you thought that it was better to go to a small diner than to stay out there. You never know what he would've done if you said no. "You might get a cold or something out here." He handed you his umbrella and you walked to the small diner nearby, only five minutes away.

As you sat at the table, he started to interview you. What.. am I doing here...? The man started ordering some food. "A pancake combo and orange juice for her, please".

"Ah... Umm..." You murmered, still puzzled why he brought you there.

"Don't be so nervous, just relax." His eyes flashed over in a weird shade of green. ...Those eyes just now... Why did he look at me like that? "I would like to know about... Gilraen." He said it in a deep tone, and it vibrated through your core. "I would like to ask about the local religion of Helyawne, the worship of 'Gilraen'. You do know of it, don't you?"

"Eh...?" You murmered again. How did he know about this, how did he know about where I live?!

"You see, after the gas disaster in Helyawne a few days ago... a pattern of strange behavior has surfaced among people who came from the village... especially among the elderly. They believe that the disaster was Gilraen's curse, and they've been performing some sort of religious ceremony. They say it's because they've been hit.. or  it's to avoid being hit.. by Gilraen's curse." 

"Religious cremonies?" You were curious, yet still wary of this man. How does he know so much?

He leaned over the table. "More than a few of therse rites have developed into serious crimes, like murder. Arson, murder... the most common is suicide... it's not unusual for people to hange themselves or jump in front of trains... but there are also cases where they've died in waays you'd normally not expect, like gouging our their throats with a knife or even with their own fingernails." 

Your eyes grew to the size of dishplates, he was so blunt about this information.

"So far there have been instances where.. someone put farming chemicals into a cooking pot at a retirement home, killing several of the residents.. . someone set his house on fire and drowned himself... someone killed his children, grandchildren, and next-door neighbours on both sides with a hunting knife before killing himself.. and these crimes were all commited by families from Helyawne, Exolaern and the surrounding vicinity."

You clenched your fists, digging your nails into the palms of your hands.

"They drag their own families into it."

Writing a regional history..? Publishers..? No... That's not what they want...! Is everything all right at home?

The man slid his hands to the sides of your face and looked into your eyes. "It's all right? Really? That's not true, is it?"

"Ah..." The man ruffled your hair.

"There are too many things about Exolaern that we don't understand. Especially after this gas incident! We're stumped! How is this related to the brutal muder of Rika Furude, the priestess said to be a manifestation of God on earth? This is the best we can come up with... so please.. we want you to tell us more...!" He leaned in closer to your face, you felt the stale air from his nostrels on your skin. "You'll tell us, won't you? ____________?" 

Suddenly someone slammed his hands on the table between you two, separating the man's filthy hands from your head. They boy looked at the 'reporter' with anger in his eyes. His eyes were dark, and his black hair rested on his forhead. His eyes spoke anger as he stared at the man. 

"Aww, now look, the table is soaked." The fat man said, with tease in his voice. "Pardon me, young man. But I'm trying to have a conversation with this girl..."

The boy looked down at you, and said in a mysterious tone, "Let's get out of here." You accepted, you wanted to get as far away from that creepy old man as possible.

"...But I am still talking with ___________."

"We're not allowed to eneter eating establishments while in school uniform. Excuse us." You looked at they boy, and he was wearing the same uniform as you. You were surprised that you have never seen him before, for he had a very individual look. But we was very charming. The rain died down - thankfully. You walkled out of the diner, and when you got far enough away, you decided to thank him. 

"Thank you for helping me back there. I didn't know what to do."

"It's fine, but try not to bump into him again. He is not a reporter. He is not even from around here. Or anywhere in fact... I'm Tao, if you wanted to know..."

You blushed slightly, "I'm _________, how come I haven't seen you around?" 

He looked at you. You couldn't help but gaze into his eyes. "I run the martial arts class most lunchtimes... not many people come, so I take the oppertunity to train a bit..."

"That's amazing! I should come along... some self defense may prove useful next time!" He laughed at your comment, and you laughed too.

"Why don't I walk you home, just incase you see him again..." He blushed, and looked at the ground. You didn't realise that he could be so sweet. 

"That'll be lovely! I just want to use the telephone quickly though, sorry for being so much trouble..." You walked to the telephone machine and slipped in the coin. It landed with a clunk. You picked up the phone and typed in your home number. Maybe grandma would be home early. The phone purred as it rang. You heared a click when it was picked up.

"Hello, __________ residence."

"... grandma..."

"Oh, ___________? What's the matter? You're out late today."

"I went home earlier, but no one was there..."

"Ah, I just went out shopping, we must've missed eachother, come home quickly then dear. It's nearly very dark!"

"Okay! Bye!"

You clicked the phone back. When you came out th e telephone box, Tao was there leaning against the wall. "You ready to go?" He said. You smiled and nodded.