It happened too fast; the sword came down on top of Aoki-san. And, since both Enju and Tina held onto Aoki-san, the sword came down on them as well. Aoki-san rose from her crouching position and spun on her right foot, swinging her left leg up and into the sword. To my surprise as well as Kisara-san's, the sword broke in two. It was enough to knock her out of the air. "What is your problem?" Aoki-san asked with a growl, "You could have hurt Enju-chan or Tina-chan."
"I wasn't aiming for them!" Kisara-san countered, getting up off of the ground. "It doesn't matter," the other retorted, "They were right by me. Had I not countered your attack, they could've been seriously hurt."
"How did you counter?" I asked, approaching the girls, "You broke her sword with one move. That's incredible." She shrugged, "I had hoped it was enough to knock her off course. I didn't mean to break it." I sighed and turned to Kisara-san, "What happened to the calm, professional you?" I asked her, "You normally would've analyzed the situation." She looked at the ground, letting the hilt and remains of one half of the sword fall from her hand, "Things have just been...difficult lately..." I watched her for a moment then sighed again, "I get it... But, please, Kisara-san, try to think before acting. Who knows, maybe it'll help you later." She said nothing, but instead, turned away, walking back towards the house. Tina looked at Aoki-san then at me before going after Kisara-san. I watched them walk away then turned to Enju and Aoki-san, "Are you okay?" I asked. Aoki-san looked at Enju who jumped slightly, "Me..?" I nodded, though I had been asking both. She nodded, "I'm fine."
"What about you, Aoki-san?"
She nodded and looked at her leg, "But I think I broke something..."
"Besides Kisara-san's sword?" I asked, smirking slightly, quickly shaking my head, "Sorry, that was uncalled for. But are you okay? Should we call a doctor or something?" She shook her head, "It's nothing to worry about." Then, she bowed slightly, "Sorry... It seems my presence has caused a problem for you and others." I waved my hand, "It's fine.. She's been weird lately so it's not a big deal."
"Um..." Enju said slowly, "What was that about not worrying?" I raised an eyebrow and saw what she was staring at; a dent on Aoki-san's left leg. My eyes widened, "Is that...one of your..?" Aoki-san frowned slightly, "Part of it, if I remember correctly..." I looked at Enju then at Aoki-san again, turning away and towards the exit, "Maybe we don't need a doctor. But we could really use a scientist." Enju pouted, "We're going to go to the crazy lady again, aren't we?" I nodded, leading the way, "It shouldn't take long. Come on."
Enju and I waited beyond the curtain of the examination section of Sensei's office. Sensei had requested complete silence. And I knew that wasn't going to happen; "What's wrong with Angel-nee-chan?" Enju asked me in a whisper. I looked down at her for a moment then at the curtain, "You know," I began slowly, "how I have artificial limbs?" She nodded and I took a breath, "Aoki-san is the same way."
"WHAT?"
"Shhh!"
Enju covered her mouth and we waited, making sure that Sensei wasn't going to question. Then, she removed her hands, "Really..?" I nodded, "Really."
"Where did you actually meet her?"
"On that job...for Sensei. I had been attacked by a Stage One Gastrea and was taken by surprise. Aoki-san came out of nowhere and helped me. In the end, she was the one that killed it. On the way home, she explained to me that she was more of a human weapon than I was."
Enju tapped her chin, tilting her head as she looked at me, "Aren't you a weapon?" I nodded again, "I am. But I don't kill unless it's absolutely necessary. Unlike Kagetane." She shivered, "Angel-nee-chan...is like that creep?" Well, this was bad - I could be changing Enju's opinion of Aoki-san, "Actually," I told her, "she said she had no problem taking out Infected that were still human. Incase you haven't noticed, she refrains from harming people." She was silent for a moment then nodded, "I get it. She didn't fight Kisara-san back, but, instead, defended herself and nothing else. And with you, Rentaro, I saw something." I tilted my head, "Like what?"
"I don't know. But it seemed like she was doing her best to resist attacking you."
I sighed, leaning back against the wall, "Kisara-san called her a monster because of the way she fought. When you think about it, it makes sense." Enju nodded and I felt overcome by a wave of relief; there was no need to explain it to Enju. The curtain moved and Aoki-san came out with Sensei standing behind her, arms crossed, "Rentaro-kun," she said, motioning for me to come to her, "we need to talk." I sighed, standing up, "Alright." Aoki-san took my place beside Enju. I looked at her, "Are you okay now?" She nodded and crossed her arms, "I'm fine... Don't worry yourself over me." I frowned and followed Sensei to her computer just as my phone rang. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw it was Kisara-san, "One moment," I informed Sensei, answering the phone. "Satomi-kun!" Kisara-san exclaimed, "Are you okay?!" I raised an eyebrow, "I'm fine. What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
"I don't think your "Aoki-san" is who she says she is."
"Not this again..."
"Listen!"
I heard shuffling papers on the other end. "I looked her name up," Kisara-san said, a panicked tone in her voice, "And nothing."
My eyes widened, "Nothing? What do you mean 'nothing'?"
"Exactly that. There's no one with the name 'Aoki Angel'."
Thoughts swirled in my head, "Okay, okay... Are you sure?" She huffed, "Of course I'm su-"
"Rentaro-kun!" Sensei snapped. I jumped, "Right, right. We'll talk later, Kisara-san." Then I hung up, walking over to Sensei, "What is it?" She looked up at me, "Do you know Angel-chan's real name?" I frowned, "Of course I do; Aoki Angel. Why?" She looked at her computer screen, "I ran the name through the system and... There is no one with that name." My eyes widened, "You can't be serious... Well, maybe she changed her name."
"The family name, Aoki, comes up," Sensei told me, typing away on the keyboard, "But every single one of them is dead."
Well, this was news to me; "Dead? How can they all be dead?"
"There is one family but they're in the Osaka area. And they're elderly people who don't have any record of having a child."
I put a hand on my head, "This is weird..." Sensei nodded and leaned back in her chair, "Just to be sure, I ran a quick blood test. However, Angel-chan's blood is...contaminated, you could say." My eyes narrowed, "Contaminated? Is she sick?"
"There's no way to know for sure. Did she by any chance tell you that she has circuitry and wiring inside of her, replacing important nerves and muscles?"
"There's no way that can be possible..."
"Remember the other scientists I told you about?"
I nodded, feeling uneasy. "Well, she wasn't made by ANY of them," Sensei said, "The Varanium parts inside of her, the weapon she is, was not made by a single one of them. If you are going to stay around her, I suggest you be cautious." I grabbed my stomach, feeling incredibly sick, "A-are you saying she could attack at any moment..?"
"Pretty much. But, don't be completely afraid of her. After talking with her, she seems like a good girl. Lacks communication and emotions," she added, smirking lightly, "but is a good girl."
"Sensei..." I said slowly, swallowing the panic I felt, "What am I supposed to think of her now..?"
"Well, what did you think of her before?"
"I don't know..."
"Rentaro-kun," she said softly, standing up and putting a hand on my shoulder, "has Angel-chan given you any reason to be afraid of her? Or doubt her intentions?" I shook my head, "She scared me when we trained but... No.." Sensei smiled, "Good. Let's keep it that way." Sitting down again, she started typing. I was about to head back to Enju and Aoki-san when I paused, "Sensei? That other family... Did they have kids?"
"Yes. But, like I said before, they're all dead."
"Did they have a daughter?"
"Two daughters, four sons."
I fell silent, looking at Aoki-san. She watched Enju carefully, listening to the little girl ramble on about Tenchu Girls. Sensei smirked, "I'll keep researching, Rentaro-kun. Don't worry." As I approached the two, she chuckled, "This is going to be interesting~"
