Harker and Joan went to the antique shop by Columbus Park after taking the kids to school. Joan had requested for a leave in both Stoker Academy and the asylum, and Harker was not enrolled yet or involved in anything else so they were good to go.
Since there were children around and the walls weren't that thick, Joan and Harker could only go as far as kissing and cuddling together as they slept. Harker did promise to make it up to her though.
Joan just shrugged. "It's fine. I'll just treat this trip to the antique shop as our date."
"You want to go on a date to a possibly haunted antiques shop?" Harker chuckled.
"Why not? I'd been on worse dates. And who knows, I might like one of the things there and buy it." Joan said.
Harker knew she was joking, but he had a bad feeling the moment they got to the antique shops' front steps. It turned out to be owned by some Japanese owners, since the name was 'Kokoro to Shinzou', and they were written with a heart around them.
"Maybe they're a couple? Quite a lot of the unpopular businesses around here are by old couples. Maybe they're just selling their stuff after retirement." Joan asked.
Harker shrugged. "We can't be sure. Let's not get it twisted."
And he was right. Soon as they went in, they learned the owners were actually identical twin men, and though they were indeed old, they seemed to be in better condition than most at the age of 70 to 80.
Or at least, their skin was so smooth and perfect.
"Hello! Welcome, welcome!" One of them spoke in quite an adorably enthusiastic tone.
"Yokoso, minasama!" The other greeted them in Japanese.
"Hi." Joan waved awkwardly at the two smiling grandpas. "Uh…. We're here to just check out some things. Which one of you is Kokoro and which is Shinzou?"
The two looked at each other, and laughed. Their hairs were gray and thinning, but they have such high energies in their bodies. They both wore white button up shirts and navy blue overalls with a black bowtie. The only way to tell them apart was that one had slightly long hair tied up in a bun, and the other had a cropped cut.
The one with the cropped cut said. "I am Shinzou, if you like."
"And I will be Kokoro." The other added.
Harker could tell those weren't really their names, and they seemed to be enjoying teasing Joan so much. They took something from their display and handed it to her. It was a rag doll with white hair tied in a bun, fair skin, and cute tiny glasses.
"This one fits you well." Kokoro said.
Joan looked at the doll and clenched her fist. This doll looked too much like her sister.
"N-No, thank you. We're actually here for… Him." She pointed at Harker. "He might be interested in something, though."
Shinzou tilted his head to the side. "Ah, then follow me."
They were led to one of the farthest shelves on the back, which ended up with those displayed on the walls or in glass cases. He pointed to the one in the glass case.
It had a long samurai sword with a gold tassel. The blade had some red stains in it.
"This one fits you well." He said. "This is owned by a samurai who committed seppuku after being betrayed by his friend. You know what seppuku is, right? It is when the samurai cut his own belly, slicing himself up until he spills all his insides— "
Harker gritted his teeth. "Yes, I know what seppuku is. Thanks for the offer, but I have no use for a sword with that kind of history right now."
Harker was now 99% sure that these twin grandpas were not humans and that their wares were most likely cursed.
He turned to them, and pointed at the window. "I noticed that before entering. Was that recent? It hasn't been replaced yet."
At these, the smiling old men finally stopped smiling, their mouths turning into a straight line at the exact same time. They sighed at the same time as well.
"Kids these days." Kokoro explained.
"They like to play tricks." Shinzou added.
"But we pay them no mind."
"None of the items were damaged anyway."
"Best we change that glass window, though."
"We'll take care of it soon."
They spoke in rapid succession. Harker couldn't help but feel even more unnerved, but…..
This felt different. This place, somehow….. It didn't feel the same as the thing with the shadows near the Circus Cabaret. They were similar, but there was something here that he can't place….
"Do you know about the murders near the Circus Cabaret?" Harker went to ask them directly.
He was willing to aggravate them so they'd show their true colors. He wanted to get rid of all these mystery bullshits and just fight if he had to, monster to monster.
Kokoro tilted his head. "Murders?"
"We barely leave the shop, so we don't know." Shinzou did the same, tilting it in the opposite direction.
"Can't read English newspapers much."
"Can barely speak English at all."
Harker really didn't like their synchronized thing. It's making his head hurt.
"Fine. We'll just go looking around for now."
He grabbed Joan by the shoulder, and walked briskly farther away from the two. They just stood there, wearing similar smiles with exactly the same face.
"Of course. We hope you find something that fits you!"
"Just go over to the counter once you make a purchase!"
Harler scoffed at this, and once they were far enough, he turned to Joan.
"It's not them. At least, I don't think so. But they were certainly not some innocent humans either, they're almost like the shadows. They're from the same cloth, but still different cloths."
Joan furrowed her brows. "So…. We went there and put ourselves in a monster twins' shop for nothing?"
Harker shook his head. "Maybe not for nothing. At least we know that they tend to be restrained in one place. Back in the Circus Cabaret, Ivan mentioned something about not crossing territories with the police. So whatever killed Dahlia, it should stay there."
Joan rubbed her chin. "The kid mentioned something about the flame protecting him. Maybe you can use that against them too. I mean, the police set up lights there. The lights must be a significant weakness to them."
Harker nodded. It would make sense if they were creatures that liked to conceal themselves after all.
But before they could decide to leave the shop, something caught his eye.
It was a large female puppet. It had dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes…. And she tends to wear very clean and pristine formal clothes.
There were strings attached to her into this oversized puppet controller. There was a look of terror on her face.
Then…..
He turned and saw another one that looked like Dahlia. And another of an old gentleman, a beautiful woman, and a scrawny thin man. All of them seemed to have their chest open, empty and without a heart....
Except for the first one, the woman with dark eyes. Her heart was still intact, but she looked terrified.
At this, he narrowed his eyes and grabbed the one with dark eyes.
"Artea Holmwood…."
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