Raikou doesn't know.
Oh god, if Raikou finds out he doesn't know what he would do.
He has to fix this. He has to fix fix fix fix fix this; this was never supposed to happen.
Gau has failed him.
After all Raikou has done for him.
My god I am a monster.

This was supposed to be simple.
He is not supposed to be stuck in a decrepit, dusty basement with dusty old scrolls.
He is not supposed to be coughing at the cloying smell, burning in the back of his throat.
He is not supposed to be drugged and confused.
And surely, he is not supposed to be held captive by some pigtailed glasses-girl.

She's watching him and he's watching her and she's got this god-awful grin on her face.
Gau really wishes he had a shirt on.
He really wishes his hands weren't tied behind him.
Gau really wishes she would stop staring at his scar.
It's fascinating to her, he thinks. She's been changing her look from his eyes to his torso and back to his eyes and back at his torso.
She's intimidating him and its working.
Gau tries to keep calm but he's pretty sure she can see his heart palpitating faster than a hummingbird's.
He just feels so awkward and sweaty and what the hell.

The floor is covered in tattered rice paper. Scrolls are unraveled and strewn everywhere. Kanji all around. A kanji carpet.
He wants to clean it up. He wants everything back in order.
He doesn't know why he feels so alert but so impeded at the same time. Confusion.
He shifts in his chair. It's wooden and it creaks. His hands are uncomfortably positioned behind.
He curls and uncurls his fingers; his wrists are sore.
God why is this is girl with a bondage and scar fetish trapping me in her school's dim kanji basement.

He doesn't know why he's not fighting back. He doesn't feel like He has a reason too.
The next thing that comes to mind is Yukimi, calling him Tenpa-kun. Fucking chicken head.
Gau sighs.

The girl perks up and her smile seems a bit friendlier.
"He's not going to find out," she says.
Gau's eyes widen. How does she know?
It's as if she's reading his mind.
"And you're going to be back on time. "
Gau stares.

The girl stands up, pigtails swaying. She walks up to Gau and pats him on the head, like some twisted form of reassurance.
"You're acting as though I haven't planned this out Gau-chan."
Who the hell is this and what exactly does she know about me.
Gau opens his mouth to say something; she stops him.
"Just listen for now, Gau."

The boy looks at her questioningly, but then nods and looks down at the notes and scrolls on the ground.
"I find things out, you know? That's why I'm here. Cause I know things. Cause I pay attention. Not knowing is not a choice, for me. "
Silence in the room.
"You weren't there when it happened, when he . . . died." She takes a moment to collect herself.
"But your lover was. You know what I sensed from him? Grief. Intense grief. And guilt."
Gau's face contorts into between horror and sadness.
Raikou-san shouldn't be allowed to worry about him –he's too pathetic and insignificant and bothersome and–
"And naturally, I just wanted to know who or what he was grieving for. .. My god he must have been so relieved when you got better."
She's blinking back tears at this point.
"People are so lucky, you know? Some force just feels sorry for you all and that's it. You get the person you cherish the most back . . . I didn't get that. That force just can't pity me. Or bring back the dead,"
She extends her hand; her fingers shake as they run down Gau's cheek.
"But you're so special, Gau-chan. You deserve love."
Gau shuts his eyes and shakes his head.
No, no, no, no, no.

She picks up, "I figured that if I can't be happy myself, I'll live my life making others happy. I'll give them life. I will counteract death"
The girl smiles, cheerless and tired.
"I want you and Raikou-san to be happy."
Gau doesn't understand her or her motives, but he feels a bit less alert, like this girl is too doleful to be an enemy. Nevertheless, he does not let his guard fall down further.

The girl walks over the kanji, away from Gau, to a bookshelf. She treads carefully and returns with a bottle of red ink and a calligraphic brush.
"Don't you have questions?" she asks, as she gets down on her knees. She is at eye level to his torso.
"Oh, plenty," Gau says.
"Perhaps I'll answer one," she says as she pulls the cork off of the paint bottle.
He hesitates.
"Is body painting the ultimate source of happiness?"
The girl laughs with great mirth, but quickly collects herself.
"I don't know, Gau. Let's find out," she says solemnly, dipping the brush into the paint.
"Don't squirm," she warns, and as a precaution grips his shoulder with her left hand.

For what seems to be ages, she is cold and calculating, trying to find an angle of attack with the brush on his right shoulder. She seems to find it and keeps the brush hovering over the spot.
"Sit straight," she orders.
Gau purses his lips together and straightens up.
The stroke she makes across his chest is sharp, swift, and cold.
Gau sort of jolts in surprise or shock –she can't really tell which. She stands up and steps back to admire her work.
Gau looks down as well. For another eternity, both just seem to be staring at his chest.

It is a perfect mirror image of the scar Raikou had given him, stretching from his right shoulder to his left hip. A giant X marks the spot on his torso.
She breaks the silence, "You tell me, Gau-kun. Is body painting the ultimate source of happiness?"
"No," he responds, "I don't think it is . . . but isn't happiness subjective? How do you know that your idea of happiness will be Raikou-san's –or mine?"
She smiles but doesn't answer.
Gau frowns.

"I appreciate you not being stubborn or difficult about this," she says.
"It's not me; it's whatever you drugged me with," he deadpans.
She shrugs, "Well, we're almost done here either way, so it'll wear off soon. But since you're putting up with my antics, I'll let you leave with whatever you came looking to steal."
He sort of gasps, partly since she knows and partly since putting up with her is a really modest price for what he wants to take.
She's got this coy grin, as if she's got him all figured out.
The girl navigates around bookshelves but goes out of his sight.
Gau turns attention to reading the characters on the scrolls below him.
Some of the ink is smeared.
He makes out simple ones in his vision.
Water.
Rain.
Love.
Robins.
Flowers.
What has to do with what has to do with what.

The girl comes back with two dusty tomes. She's standing at an angle where the light hits her glasses and bounces right off them. She smiles, and for some reason, Gau gets a bit afraid.
"Are you really just going to give them to me?" he blurts in disbelief. He regrets saying it automatically.
Classic Foot in mouth syndrome. Shit what if I dissuade her.
"Yes I'll give it to you. Do I go back on my word?"
Gau blinks. She laughs.
"Okay, you wouldn't know. I'll give them of course, but I just want to try something first . . . well, more like continue, since I didn't mark you off in red like that just for fun."
Gau begins to get queasy and is starting to doubt his judgment, but says, "Alright."
"I can see why Raikou likes you."
The boy just snorts.

The girl places the two tomes on the ground, where there are less scattered scrolls. She steps up to Gau and asks him if he is ready.
Gau shrugs but sits up straighter.
She takes this as a note to begin. The girl arranges her fingers and hands in a way as to perform a jutsu. He had seen so many variations since his exposure to the world of Nabari.
The placement of hands. The facial expressions. The breathing rate. No two performances were ever alike.
She looks completely detached from the world, eyes closed and barely breathing.
He hadn't realized that she started whispering some orisons under her breath.

When she finally opens her eyes, they lock with Gau's. She steps closer to him, her movements robot and calculated.
On her knees once more, she undoes her finger positioning and places two flat palms on Gau's torso, one right at his heart, and the other at the lower part of his abdomen.
The boy is taken aback as the red ink starts to fade right into his skin.
He feels altogether the most peculiar sensation: he feels as though he has completely disconnected with his body. He feels freezing as the red just bleeds into him.
When there is nothing left of her markings but a pale pink line, she removes her hands from Gau and traces the scar and the mark with both hands, drawing the X.

There is a protracted silence between them; one in which Gau returns to his senses and is left feeling dizzy.
The girl stands up and retrieves Gau's shirt and vest. She unties his wrists and hands him the clothing.
Automatically, he rubs his sore wrists.
After a while, he breaks the silence quite bluntly, "W-what exactly um, was that?"
It takes a moment before she decides to answer, "Let's . . . call it an experiment. A scientific one? Alright. A scientific experiment. Chances are, nothing happened. Nothing will happen. You're fine, you were fine, and you'll be fine."
Gau doesn't know whether to believe her or not. He can't if she's disappointed or just trying to calm him down, so he just pulls on his shirt and his vest.
The tomes are handed to him, as promised.

She leads him up the stairs and walks him to the door.
Gau looks at her, not really knowing what to say.
"W-well, um. Thanks," is all he can really muster.
"Remember Gau-chan, your happiness is my happiness." She pats him on the back and says a final goodbye.
And with that, Gau leaves the doors of what used to be Alya Academy. He regrets not asking for her name.