The Unsolved Case of Kamisato Ayato

Chapter Two

Diona gasped awake as her eyes flew open. She found herself lying on a bed and staring up at the ceiling of a clinic... The only clinic would be the one in the church... She slightly turned her head to the side to see that the sun was shining from the window... When did she get here? How did she get here? What she recalled was that she climbed the statue to tell the man she met to leave or at least move out of frame... But then he turned around and...

She felt her blood run cold and a shiver went up her spine... That man.. she can clearly still see that man with no face... Her ears perked up from the sound of the door opening.

"Diona! Thank Barbatos you're alive!" Draff came rushing in the clinic with Barbara behind him. Diona slowly sat up as Barbara stopped Draff from getting closer to Diona.

"Mr. Draff, Diona is a patient, please be respectful and be more cautious of your actions. If you rush to give her a hug, her injuries might reopen," Barbara instructed, "I highly suggest you avoid physical contact with her until she has recovered."

Draff only sulked in defeat... But Barbara was right, the fall that impacted on Diona was severe... If it had not been for Diluc who was out to deliver a package to the Favonius Headquarters and saw Diona fall off the statue... Draff only shook his head and gave a small sad smile to Diona. "Of course... I'm...I'm just glad I didn't lose my only daughter..." He said... But then he noticed Diona was wary and glancing around the room.

"Is... Is the man here too?" She asked. Barbara and Sister Victoria looked at each other in confusion before looking back to Diona.

"What man?" Barbara asked and she thought for a moment. "Master Diluc only found you, he didn't see anyone else."

"But... There was a man... A man in white..! He has blue hair and- and he doesn't have a face.." Diona stated.

"What are you talking about?" Barbara and Sister Victoria turned behind them as they parted to make way for Diluc who came by to visit to see how Diona was. "When I got to the plaza, I only saw you, I didn't see anyone else. What were you doing up there anyway?"

No one saw that man...? Diona looked at him for a moment... She was about to say something but her words were caught in her throat. Her stare turned from worry to frantic as she looked pass Diluc and to a pillar in visible view just outside the door. The man she saw... He was standing beside the pillar with his wide eyes, staring at her once they locked eyes. The man gave her an squinted eye smile as he slow came out of hiding, stepping closer and closer to her, yet the people around her took no notice of the man.

"There..! He's right there! He's-! He's walking this way!" Diona said as she hid under the blanket, shivering and shaking with fear.

Diluc looked to where she pointed at the man she mentioned..... Be he saw no one.

"Diona you should rest some more.. we'll accompany you as you recover alright?" Sister Victoria said, but Diona shook her head in denial.

"No no..! He's there..!"

"Diona, there's no one there.." Diluc pointed out as Diona peered out from her blanket... In her eyes, he was still there... That man drawing closer with each eerie step forward. Diona whimpered and stayed under her blanket in fear.

Diluc looked again but found no one... However, he couldn't help but feel uneasy as well. The faceless man went unseen in front of others, but not the feeling of an uncomfortable presence that seemed to be noticed only by Diluc... The presence drew closer and seemingly passed him. His eyes followed the direction of the presence towards Diona who whimpered under her blanket and her visible form shaking a bit. Diluc couldn't help but wonder if it was that feeling that Diona was seeing... He has read on about how children can see things that adults could not..

Days passed, and Diona had already recovered, but many are worried for her mental health... The faceless man she described lingered with her, even though she tries to talk to others about it, other people's response were either:

"It's all in your head."

"Perhaps you should rest for the day, Diona."

"Are you injured again? Did you hit your head that hard?"

Diona was at her breaking point and she didn't know what to do... She sat on a bench by the church as she stared to her shadow... She couldn't look anywhere else without seeing that faceless man... The ground was safer to look at...

"Hey." A voice said as Diona's ears perked up at the familiar tone. "You haven't been tending to the cat's tail the entire week... Still bothered by that so called faceless man?"

"Hhhrr... Mind your own business, Master Diluc.. as if you'd even believe me! You're just like the other adults..!" Diona scowled. "Just leave me alone..." She said before covering her ears, hearing those voices and static again. She hears these when that faceless man was close by.

Diluc narrowed his eyes and looked around seeing nothing. Even though it seemed that what Diona says is all in his head, he couldn't help the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. He looked back to Diona who was covering her ears and her eyes shut tightly closed. It was clear that this issue was cutting her sleep and destroying her mental health. Diluc crossed his arms and looked inside his coat before taking out a pen and a notepad before deciding to sit next to her.

"Wh-What are you doing now?!" Diona exclaimed but Diona ignored her and asked her a question she didn't want to answer to.

"What did this.... Faceless man look like?" He asked as he lightly tapped the tip of his pen on the paper and looked at her. "I just want to visualize what he looks like... Perhaps I can help in some way."

"You? You want to help? Me?" Diona asked as she raised a brow. "Why are you asking to help me now of all times!"

"What? You don't want help? Mind you everyone is beginning to worry about you. Many want to help you bit most wouldn't know how to approach you without you mentioning the faceless man." Diluc pointed out and looked back to his blank notepad. "Now what did the man look like."

Diona was hesitant, looking at Diluc who seemed unphased by her glare, then at the blank notepad. After a few minutes of silence between the two, Diona finally spoke. "He has... Blue hair... Blue like the color of the sky..." She began and Diluc nodded his head, imagining the color in his head as Diona continues the description. "The style of his hair was like some fancy commissioner- oh! A commissioner that belongs to a wealthy family.... I don't know... His clothing resembles that of a rich guy anyway."

"I see... Can you tell if he's a wanderer? An adventurer?" Diluc asked.

"Stupid Diluc! I said he was like a commissioner! And he doesn't look like a traveler or an adventurer of sort. Hmph!"

Diluc wrote those details down as well as a side note. "What about his appearance? What nation did he appear to be from?"

Diona thought for a moment as her ears twitched from the sound that only she can hear once more. She didn't want to look at the faceless man anymore... but if it helps give a clearer description... She slowly lifted her head and looked to the direction where the sound was coming from. There, by the pillar by the church, stood the tall faceless man in a white fancy clothing. "U-um..." Diona began, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. "He...H-He looks like he comes from... the nation out in s-sea... uh... he has a wh-white kimono like..o-outfit.."

Diluc pauses for a moment before looking at Diona. He had an idea of who she might be talking about...