OW - SHD 203 pt2

Ida groaned as she stepped out of the dreary, dimly lit shadowmancy classroom as another boring class by the professor ended. New assignments awaited and Ida couldn’t wait until the summer finally arrived. But before that, she still had the assignment at hand: to find a victim and make them believe that their loved one is dead, hanged, to be exact. Tempted to just quit had she not needed to pass this class, Ida let out a defeated sigh and thought hard. It was mid afternoon, one of the busiest times of the day around the academy and it shouldn’t be too hard to find a victim. Gaining a bit of her confidence back, Ida wandered to the castle lounge where she expected to find at least one student with a love interest.

Upon reaching the dark room furnished with plush royal chairs and sofas, Ida was surprised to find that no one was there. Confused, she looked around again and rubbed her eyes to make sure. How could it be that no one was here in the middle of the day? Looking around again, Ida’s blue eyes settled on a calendar that hangs lopsided on the wall, flipped open to the current date, Jun 28th. Ida squinted and tilted her eyes as if trying to remember something, June twenty eighth, wait… that was the day before summer vacation! No wonder there was no one around, most of the students who had finished their assignments early had already went on summer vacation early as well, leaving the academy almost completely empty. Groaning and sliding a hand across her face, Ida wondered what she was going to do now that all the students were gone. It wasn’t that she was afraid, but she wasn't confident that her powers were strong enough to work on another professor.

Pushing open the door to the outside, Ida glared angrily at the sky. How was she expected to complete her assignment if she couldn’t find a victim? Grumbling, Ida kicked at the grayish brown dirt. She was never going to finish her courses and would be stuck at this academy forever, unable to go find Death and do what a shinigami is meant to do! Amidst her inner complaining, an idea was starting to form in Ida’s head. She wasn’t certain if it would work, or even if it was allowed, but it seemed like the only plausible way to finish her assignment. She would feel terrible doing so, but once she explained after it was over… A small grin crept up Ida’s pale face. Finally, she might be able to do the assignment after all.

Casting a glance around the empty courtyard just to make sure that there were no teachers in the vicinity, Ida rushed to the academy gates and stepped out. It felt nice to finally escape the gloomy and dark atmosphere of the academy. Ida immediately set out for the familiar place she knew by heart, hoping to get there before dark. After hours of travelling, Ida stood in front of a two-story house, on the lawn decorated with gnomes and a pond. Snarling slightly at the disgusting cuteness of the decorations, Ida kicked a gnome in the face. A sneaky smirk on her face, Ida waved her hands slightly and shadow tendrils swept across the lawn, covering the sweet-looking gnomes with sinister faces and twisted bodies. There go Mercury’s decorations. Ida thought, chuckling darkly.

Stepping into the familiar interior of her boyfriend and his sister’s shared house, Ida paused temporarily to make sure that the siblings weren’t home. Heading up to Beru’s room, she was pleased to find that their photo stood prominent on the bedside table. Ida’s eyes swept over the room, taking in the rock band posters and blood stains covering the walls as well as the loud death metal music sweeping across the room. Grinning in satisfaction that the little twerp Mercury hadn’t “purified” her boyfriend, she began to investigate the room. If she was planning her own death, she had to make it look perfect.

Humming with the music, Ida thought hard: if I were to commit suicide for real, how would I do it? Firstly, Ida thought, I must start with myself. Waving a hand, she let the shadows drift across her body, covering herself in bruises and cuts. If she had to be forced to commit suicide, it would be the result of a humiliating defeat. Making sure that she looked like she had just been through a great battle, Ida painted herself with shadow-created blood. Touching her neck gently, the shadows flowed over to create dark bruises as if she had been strangled by rope. Looking at herself through the cracked mirror in Beru’s room, she touched her fingers to the cool surface and let shadows surge forward until an exact replica of her current appearance stood in front of her. Finally, Ida creates a bloodstained rope that she attaches to the ceiling. The shadow droid was then attached to the rope before Ida created the sense of smell with the coppery tang of fresh blood coupled with a dry musty stink of death. Leaving droplets of blood on the floor beneath the droid as a final touch, Ida surveyed the scene with a satisfied nod before blending quietly into the shadows of the room.

Within an hour of her creation, Ida could hear the small mummer of chatter drifting into the room as Beru and Mercury arrived home. Footsteps could be heard approaching the room before the door was finally pushed open. From her hidden place in the shadows, Ida watched as the door opened to reveal Beru’s expression as his eyes settled on the droid. Eyes widening, Beru rushed forward, quickly untying the rope to feel for a pulse on the droid, unnerved by the lack of presence of Ida’s familiar red scythe. Finding none, Beru immediately leaned in, preparing to perform CPR, taking in the fact that the wounds were still fresh and there was still a possibility of saving his girlfriend.

Having seen enough, Ida materialized from the shadows as she let the droid, rope, and blood disappear back into shadow tendrils. “Hey babe, I’m back~” She said as she wrapped her arms around Beru’s neck. Eyes widening, Beru pushed Ida away and blinked slowly, “You…wha-” Hoping that the joke hadn’t gone too far, Ida quickly explained about the assignment. Beru chuckled and matched the sadistic grin on Ida’s face, “That’s my girl.” Ida laughed and kissed Beru softly. “Although, those twisted gnomes did kind of give you away.” Beru said, eyes twinkling teasingly and watching as Ida’s face fell, suddenly remembering what she had done to the front yard. After a few minutes of cuddling, Beru was the first to break the silence. “Want to go say hi to Mercury?” Beru offered, although he was 99% sure Ida would reject. Upon hearing the name of Beru’s younger sister, Ida’s eyes darkened and she shook her head, “Sorry Beru, I have to get back to the academy now. I’ll see you some other time.” Beru smiled wryly and gave Ida another kiss before walking to the door with her. “Alright then, see you. And nice illusions, I see you’ve learned a lot.” Ida smiled, a rare, almost uncharacteristic smile she only allowed Beru to see, and called out, “I’ll show you everything I can do properly another day, bye.”