DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor
Chapter Four: What it Seems is Not Everything
Megumi arrived at the location indicated on the phone she had confiscated hours prior. It was a two-story building that had been boarded up. A sign that read, "Watanabe Inn," was cracked down the middle with vines creeping up the staircases and moldy walls.
Exiting the maize car with the support of her cane, the crippled agent pulled out her gun using her free hand and began searching the premises. The smell was an unpleasant one. It was a mixture of crusty week old socks and rotten eggs.
Her reason for secrecy was if Hachi happened to be on site, she wanted to be the one to put a bullet between his eyes. It irked her to the core that Gardner had told her to stay in the car like a dog. If he thought doing so was going to protect her from harm, he was sadly mistaken. She didn't need it thanks to her curse.
In rooms that weren't boarded up, Megumi shined her flashlight into them, squinting to see through the stained windows but received no luck.
Cursing, Megumi headed back to her car, but stopped from footsteps behind her. Gun still in hand, she spun around while aiming it, however, before she could get a bearing, she was met with red beady eyes and a blue highlighted figure.
Xxx
Itashi Megumi woke with a start from her nightmare. Sweat was pouring down her body, dousing her gray nightshirt and blue pajamas. Her heart was racing faster than a cheetah and her lungs were frantically grasping for breath.
After a minute of anxiety, the petrified woman gathered her composure and laid down on her futon.
It had been one hectic dream she had never encountered before. The things that had swarmed in her brain had felt so real. She tried to wrap her head around it, remembering the whole thing, but it slipped through her grasp.
"Bad dream?" a guy asked beside her.
Startled, Megumi looked to her left and noticed a shirtless man who resembled a muscular Asian Harry Potter. His biceps were flexed from cuddling up with a pillow and he was somewhat sweaty from the mild heat.
She smiled, and said, "Yeah, Hizumi."
"You wanna talk about it?"
"Wish I could."
"Oh, one of those. I hate that. I just wanted to know what woke up my precious jewel."
Shivers running down her back, Megumi leaned in and kissed him.
"I love you," she said.
He gave a crooked smile, and said, "I know."
Megumi gave him a peculiar look. His voice sounded a little odd, but it was probably from morning fatigue. She stood, walked over to the curtains, and opened it to have the morning sun shine through.
"Oh, wow, what a rare sight."
"What is it?"
"The moon! It has a weird oval shape to it. Probably because it's still visible in the morning."
Turning around, Megumi was smiling from ear to ear. It was as if she had first laid eyes on something marvelous. She returned to her husband, sitting on top of him and whipping her long brown hair aside so she could kiss him again.
Normally Hizumi would have had morning sex, but there was another man in Megumi's life that needed her attention. Mournfully, he pushed her at arms length and gave his wife the look.
Rolling her eyes, Megumi stood, exited their room, and entered the kitchen that was jointed to the living corridors. A black cat with a red collar entered and sat before her, whipping its tail. She picked up a small device, clicked the button, and said, "Holovision on."
"Holovision on. Is that correct?" a recorded woman's voice asked.
"Yes."
"Holovision on. Continue using voice activation while cooking, cleaning, watching H.V. or other business of chores."
The holo television turned on, as Megumi began cooking breakfast. A talk show was being broadcasted that starred the former J-rock artist Hizumi. His latest guest was from a rock band called Dark Ray.
"There's a lot of adrenaline pumping through your veins performing in front of thousands of fans, isn't there?" the former J-rocker asked.
"Yes. Yes there is," nodded the lead signer.
His hair was mangled and resembled a rainbow.
Megumi began frying some rice mixed with carrots and onions. As the food sizzled, she decided to feed her cat dry food. Once done, Megumi returned to the stove.
"I just want to eat," a voice babbled.
Dumbstruck, Megumi looked down at her cat, believing he had spoke, but knew the thought was ignorant, and figured it had come from the holovision.
Moments later, her son, Li, entered the room rubbing at his blue eyes. His brown hair was a mess, but looked cute, especially in his Power Ranger pajamas.
"Good morning, Li-chan!" chimed Megumi.
"Ah, good… mornen," muttered Li. "Rice? I wan' cake!"
"Oh, no. Cake is not a healthy way to start the day."
"But daddy does."
"And I've said the same thing to him."
"That you have," replied Hizumi, walking over.
His hairless, muscular chest and six-packs seemed to gleam from the midnight sweat. The black trousers he wore hung loose, nearly revealing his package. What made her putty in his arms were his smooth collarbones.
"Would you put on a shirt!" frowned Megumi. "You make it hard for me to cook when you're like that. Especially when we miss out on our special moment."
"I know. That's why I do it. And because you don't wear only your apron around me anymore."
"I wonder why!" frowned Megumi.
"Mommy, what's yours and daddy's special moment?"
Megumi narrowed her eyes at her husband and then looked at her son, saying, "Our play time by ourselves."
"Oh. What do you play?"
"Tickling matches," chuckled Hizumi, kneeling next to Li.
"Tonight is going to be hockey night if you keep this up," said Megumi, referring to it as a slugfest, "and then you'll be sleeping on the hard floor."
After thoroughly cooking breakfast, Megumi carried the pot over to a small table, and poured it onto their bowls. She returned to her stove, turning it off before pitching the pot in the sink and joining her family.
The holovision began to go on the fritz and then a radiation-like high-pitched noise came from it. Moments later, it tuned in to reveal a news station.
"We interrupt our local programming to bring you a special report," said a middle-aged man. His graying black hair looked wind whipped, he had on a cheap black business suit, and seemed as though he had not shaved in days. "It seems a man dressed in all black wearing a white mask was seen flying through Tokyo in the Shinjuku area. We go over to reporter Izumi Sakura. Sakura, can you tell us more."
The holo screen changed to reveal a young woman. She had on a knee length tan skirt that looked too tight to run in, and a loose fitting white blouse.
"I can, Hayate," she began, flipping her short black hair over her right ear. "It seemed this mask vigilantly decided to swing from one building to another, scaring multiple people. Now, somebody had caught a holo picture of the man and here it is."
They showed it, confirming the description of the person.
"I speculate that this man is a fanatic fan-fiction reader and is portraying a masked hero in a story from Bara no Maurice."
"Izumi Sakura, what did I say about theories. This news station does not put together theories. Only facts. We follow the rules of our predecessors before us."
Dumfounded from the reporter's statement, Megumi recalled a similar memory.
"Enough of this crap," said Hizumi. "Holovision off."
"Turing off Holovision."
"I was watching that!" scolded Megumi
Her husband shrugged.
"I was thinking," began Megumi, "this city is packed with people. How about we look into finding a place in the suburbs. Maybe closer to Yokohama."
"Where your parents live," indicated Hizumi. "You know I don't get along with your dad. We're always arguing about politics."
"You're always arguing with him about a Gaijin Minister running things in Tokyo."
"Damn straight! That foreigner only came over here because nobody in the States voted for him."
Megumi chuckled, and said, "At least my mom likes you."
"Because I remind her of a crush she had had on a foreign exchange student from China who got shipped back. She find out what had happened to him?"
"Failed a bunch of his classes, dropped out and became a hobo. After that, I don't know."
"At least he's not like my parents. My old man lying around the house while my mom cooks food that tastes like dog food."
Megumi eyed him devilishly as he smiled.
"Daddy, that true?" Li asked.
"He's kidding!" informed Megumi. "His parents died in a car crash!"
Her right eye twitched again, experiencing another Déjà vu. She shook it off and continued eating.
Once they were done, Megumi packed her son's lunch and sent him off to school. She entered the shower to wash off the night stench, but as she did, the same high-pitched sound echoed around the enclosed room, making Megumi think something was up with the pipes.
However, her thoughts were distracted from Hizumi slipping in to have their special moment. Megumi smiled, noticing she had left an impression down under on him.
"I have to be at work in an hour!" she informed.
"All I need is a minute," he said, his voice sounding odd again. Megumi gave him a puzzling look from his comment. "Wait that came out wrong."
Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around his neck, as he placed her on his hips and they made love.
In her blue car as it headed towards her work, Megumi sat back in her seat singing to a Florence + The Machine song called No Light, No light. It was an older song that came out almost a year after she was born, but since her father had played it continuously, she had grown to love it.
Her car drove into the TCS Headquarters and pulled into an empty lot. After turning it off, Megumi exited the vehicle, walked over to enter the minuscule building and headed down a long corridor to step into a darkened room that was illuminated by a dozen lights.
"You're late, Megumi!" yelled Kanami, as she approached her.
"Sorry, but I got a little distracted in the shower… with Hizumi," blushed Megumi.
Kanami opened her mouth to continue her lecture, but stopped while winking, and said, "I guess I could let you off this time. How was it?"
Blushing more, Megumi was about to give the naughty details, but she couldn't remember anything. It was as if she had read Fifty Shades of Grey but skipped the sex scenes.
"Well?" spoke up Kanami.
"Eh, it was… fine…"
"Fine? Fine? Are you two having problems in the bedroom? If you are, I could buy or let you borrow some of my, 'Toys.'"
"Err, we're fine, Kanami-san."
Kanami sighed. "So, are you still going to pay me for that dress you tore on a bench?"
Megumi looked at her startled, recalling another memory. What was going on with her today? The same high pitch echoed throughout the office. Baffled, the young mother glanced at the screens to see if something from it was causing an ear-screeching noise.
"Boy, you said it, girly!" spoke up a woman. Kanami and Megumi looked to their right and saw Emiko talking to Chou. However, it sounded like Emiko had said, "Chewy." She gestured over her shoulder while glaring at Kanami. "Where did you dig up that old fossil?"
The pitch sound began to die off. As it did, Megumi looked past Emiko and saw an old man wearing big glasses sweeping the floor. Something about him was familiar, but what was it?
Suddenly, her brain began to ache and she snatched at it while cringing.
"Megumi, are you all right?" Kanami asked.
Within seconds, the pain subsided.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured.
"You didn't look so good," pointed out Kanami. "If it's bad, you can go home."
"No, I'm fine."
Straightening out her posture, Megumi glanced over at the old man, but he was gone. Kanami followed her stare, and asked, "Something wrong."
"No. I just thought I recognized that old man Emiko was talking about, so I wanted to get a better look at him."
"What old man?" Emiko asked. Megumi glared at her peculiarly and repeated her words about the old fossil. "I never had said that. I've had my eyes on the holo screen for the past twenty minutes until you collapsed."
"But, you just had said it like twenty seconds ago."
"Megumi-chan," spoke up Kanami, guiding her away from Emiko. "Maybe you should go home. Or perhaps go see your doctor."
"I'm fine, Kanami-san. Really."
Megumi walked past Kanami and sat at her desk across from her new co-worker, Fukazawa. He blushed and shyly stuck his nose back into his work. Shaking her head, she began working on her holo computer.
The hours seemed to fly by, as though an hour was a mere second. Before she knew it, it was almost time to go home. Megumi couldn't recall what she had had for lunch, or even if she had taken one.
However, before she was done, Megumi's phone rang. She pressed the answer button, noticing it was on speakerphone, and picked up the receiver.
"This is Itashi Megumi, how can I help you?" she said into it.
Unexpectedly, the high-pitched sound rang ten times louder than the last, and it felt as though it was in the depths of her brain. Clamping her eyes shut, she quickly pulled the phone away.
A vision of a glowing blue man appeared, staring down at her with bloodstained like eyes. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to make sense of it. Who was this man? Was he even a man, or a being of some kind?
"She's waking!" yelled a man off to her left.
"Great Scott. This is heavy!" replied the glowing man.
"Quick, put her back under!"
"One-point twenty-one gigawatts!"
Within seconds, the blue man evaporated and her workstation reappeared.
"What's a gigawatt!" babbled Megumi.
Shaking her head, she wondered what had happened? Had she dozed off and had a quick dream? Furthermore, what was that high pitch noise?
Looking at her phone, she noticed it was still on its slot. Something wasn't right.
"Megumi, you all right?"
Dumbfounded, she spun around to stare into her husband's eyes. They were in their apartment late at night. He was standing in the bedroom's doorway dressed in his bartender outfit.
"How…?" She began looking around, baffled. "What…? How did I get here?"
"You walked through the front door," mentioned Hizumi, his eyelids slanted.
"When?"
"Three hours ago after picking up Li from school. Honey, is something wrong?"
Megumi began to open her mouth, to mention that she had lost a whole day, but it felt as though the saliva on her lips had become so thick and sticky that it prevented her from uttering anything.
The high-pitched sound returned. Cringing, Megumi pinched the bridge of her nose.
"What is that sound?" she cried
"What sound?" questioned Hizumi.
"You don't hear it? She yelled, glaring at him. "How?"
"The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do," he said, altering his voice.
Megumi narrowed her eyes at her husband for quoting a line from her favorite Novel book, Twilight. To be blunt, there had been quotes all day, even during her three-second catnap at work.
Finally, the pitch sound subsided.
"Perhaps a nice dinner will ease your mind, Megumi-chan," said her dad.
She turned on her heels and saw her mother, father, son and husband kneeling before the small table.
"Mom, Dad? What are you two doing here?" she asked, oblivious about her husband's teleportation trick.
"Family dinner, of course," said her mother.
"But we have that on Sundays."
"Isn't it Sunday?"
"Can't be! Hizumi had just said I had picked up Li-chan from school. He doesn't have school on Sundays."
"I don't go to school yet, OneMegi!" said Li, while eating pocky.
Megumi stared at Li, baffled. OneMegi? The word seemed to have an emotional effect to her, not as a mother, but as an older sister.
The high-pitch sounded in her head, making her clamp her ears in hope of extinguishing the noise. Her family looked at her concerned.
"Megumi…?" questioned her mother.
"You don't hear that? It's clear as day!" Megumi hollered over the pitch sound.
"Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM," said her father, but it wasn't his own voice.
"Would you stop doing that?"
"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"
With her head pounding, and irritated from her family acting a scene from Twilight, she barged out of her apartment and found herself running across a darken street vacated of cars, but was cluttered with headlights and horns.
She wished the ringing would stop so she could think.
In the distance, the confused woman recognized an old man in a green coat wearing big glasses. He was the same old man from work.
Bursting out of her maize car, she headed after him, yelling, "Hey, wait!" while hopping over something. "Please! Wait! How did you vanish?" People came to a sudden halt as she ran pass them. "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!"
She caught up to make him turn around and look back at her.
"Yes?" he smiled.
"Where…? Who are you?" she asked. "You seem so familiar? Like we've met before."
He placed his hands on her shoulder, and said, "Miss, I think it's time for you to wake up."
She looked at him baffled. His smile disappeared, as his body began to outline in blue and his glasses beamed red. She gasped, as she found her body shaking from an electrical current coursing through her body.
Within a split second, Megumi woke and sat up before the highlighted man in a run down room. He wore a flat cap tilted sideways, heavy brown coat that ghostly outlined in blue, and black jeans with matching shoes. Next to him was a pale-skinned man pimped out in nineteen fifty-style clothing with a feathered-brim hat.
Pain was seeping through her back, as if she had been injured from something.
"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" shouted the glowing man.
"I can see that!" yelled the brim hat man. "Get her back under!"
"AAASSS… YYYOOOUUU… WWWIIISSSHHH…!"
As though her mind had gone blank, Megumi found herself waking up next to Hizumi. It all made sense. This was the dream world and some glowing man who was making the high-pitched sound had locked her in her own mind. She had to escape, but how?
The old man in green perhaps had the answer, but where would she find him.
On her stand, the holovision's screen began to waver, clicked, and then turned on.
"We interrupted our local programming to bring you a special report," said Hayate. "It seems a man dressed in all black wearing a white mask was seen flying through Tokyo in the Shinjuku area. We go over to reporter Izumi Sakura. Sakura, can you tell us more."
Megumi glared at it, believing it was the same program from yesterday, as the woman reported the situation. She had to find the man in black.
Perhaps she might be able to conjure up the vigilantly and old man if this was a dream.
"It won't work that way," said her husband, who was standing in the doorway half naked. "He controls it."
Megumi narrowed her eyes.
"Who are you? Are we really married?" she asked.
"What you want me to be, or at least in your deepest and darkest dreams. You wanted me like this, so here I am. He created this life for you."
"Why?"
Hizumi walked over and sat next to her, staring into her brown eyes, and said, "Does it matter? Your dreams have come true."
"But it's not real! For all I know, you could be dead and I want you back. If this is how, then I don't want it. Not like this."
"Maybe you do?"
"I changed my mind. Let me out!"
"It doesn't work that way." Megumi found herself in a straitjacket and white ten-by-ten room. Hizumi stood, dressed in ordinary outfit, and glared down at her. "When you've learned to accept this world, he will let you go."
Hizumi exited with the door closing behind him. Tightening her jaw line, Megumi snorted at the door. There had to be a way to escape this nightmare.
Closing her eyes, she forced to imagine being free from the straitjacket, but when she opened them, Megumi was still in her binds. Saying a word that wasn't proper for a PG movie, she tried again with no luck. Perhaps it would be best to give in and live out her life in this fantasy world.
"That is not you," said a voice behind her.
Turning around, she gasped at the sight of the old man.
"How…?" she began to say, but stopped.
"You are not a quitter, but yet, you're trying too hard. You're strong-minded. It will set you free."
Megumi looked at him curiously, but then realized she wasn't in a straitjacket anymore. In addition, the door was open. She looked back at the old man to ask how he had done that, but he had disappeared.
Not wishing to push her luck anymore, Megumi bolted from her confinement to step into a blustery Tokyo. However, it was different than what she had remembered. It looked as though the place had been uninhabited for decades. Mold, vines and weeds infested the city. Cracks branched out throughout the roads and the buildings had grimy or busted out windows. The night sky itself was amiss. It was purple in color, the stars arranged incorrectly, and the moon was absent.
To Megumi, it was wrong, but felt right.
Movement to her left caught her attention. Turning towards it, Megumi spotted the masked, dark-clothed man running into a building. She followed suite. Stepping through, Megumi watched the dark figure enter an emergency exit in which she repeated his actions. Once inside, she looked upwards to gaze upon what seemed like a never-ending staircase. A few floors up stood the masked man staring down at her.
Her eyes focused on the slanted dark eyes, believing they had glowing red pupils, and then he continued ascending. Megumi began her incline, however, to her it felt as though she was running on a backwards escalator. She tried running faster, but it seemed like her feet sank into the concrete to where she could not get any footing.
Her prey was getting away. She knew if she could catch up and unmask him, this nightmarish dream would end.
"Wait! Please! PLEASE!" screamed the frantic woman.
Without realizing it, Megumi burst through a door to find herself on a rooftop. Before her stood Hizumi, his white shirt, blue pants and black hair being blown around by the gusty wind with his arms crossed.
"You continue to persist on playing these games," he said. Hizumi dropped his arms and walked towards her, the gravel roof crackling under his black shoes. "You can't win against him. If he has to, he will put you into a deep coma where everything is blank. Give up, Megumi." Her beloved stepped before her and cradled her face. "Come back home to me and Li-chan."
"No!" Megumi pushed away. "It's not real."
"You have no idea what is out there in the real world. In fact, you're already gazing on part of it. You have everything you need with me." He held out his right hand. "We can be happy together."
Megumi looked at it, thinking of forgetting about the real world, but a knife was suddenly shoved through his chest. It was yanked out, having him drop to his knees before dying. Behind him stood her mystery man holding a bloody knife, his coat whipping in the wind.
With tropical storm-like speed, the masked man kneed her stomach, surprising and having her cough in pain, and then was elbowed in the back.
As she tried to stand, her legs became wobbly, as though a thousand pounds had been placed on her shoulder. The pain in her back was beyond tolerant. If she had to put it from one to ten, it felt like a sixty. Confusion was overwhelming her. Was her puppeteer doing this or was it her own mind?
Unable to burden the pain, Megumi dropped to her knees. The man in black took a hold of his mask and removed it. She gazed at the face, knowing the person before her wasn't her masked man, but another man. He had long silky hair, a sharp face, and a stare filled with hatred.
"Ha…chi…" she rolled off her tongue. "Suzuki, Hachi…"
Anger she had never experienced filled every pore in her body. Pointing a gun at Hachi that had materialized in her hand, she fired a shot to have him evaporate into a swirl of dust that blew off into the wind.
Megumi looked down, slightly astounded at her husband to see he was wearing the mask and black outfit.
Unable to take it, Megumi placed the gun to her temple. There was an urging feeling that swarmed throughout her body, as though instructing her to do it, but some other unknown notion kept her from doing so.
"Do it already!" the brim hat man said in her head. "Kill her!"
"I'm giving her all I got, Captain," said the glowing man's voice. "I don't have the power."
Tears began to run down her cheek, wishing all of it would end.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm, spun her around, and kissed her. The person pulled away to reveal an average Japanese man in a black coat and blue jeans. She knew this man.
"Shoji?" Megumi mumbled.
"Strike one," he said, and then pushed her over the ledge.
The street seemed miles upon miles below, as though the buildings had created a square-like tunnel. She began to scream out her lungs, but could not hear it. The fall felt light-headed, but heavy as she flapped her arms. However, everything faded away, and then she woke up again, noticing she was sitting upright with a gun to her temple like in her dream.
"Inconceivable!" babbled the glowing man.
"Damn it!" yelled the pale-skinned man.
He pulled out a gun from his overcoat and began pointing it at Megumi. Like riding a bike, she instinctually aimed her gun at the paled man and fired a shot in his heart, killing him. Megumi then trained it back to the glowing man, which forced him to throw up his hands.
"Parley! Parrrrley!" he yelled.
"Who are you?" Megumi asked.
"No one of consequence," he replied, having Megumi slant her eyelids. Why was he quoting movie lines? "Get use to disappointments."
Due to her distraction, he swatted the gun away. Megumi looked on dumbstruck, but shook it off after spotting a two-by-four. Grabbing it, she swung it, striking the glowing man in the shoulder.
"That didn't hurt!" Anger soaring through her veins, she struck him two more times around the waist. "That didn't hurt! That didn't hurt." Peeved off now, Megumi struck him across the face. He performed a one-eighty and fell face forward while muttering, "That hurt!"
"Don't move, dirt bag!" babbled Megumi, remembering the 1980 comedy movie, Police Academy.
She stood from the bed, as the glow the man produced faded. As on cue, the floodgates opened to have all her memories return. Overwhelmed with so much drama, she dropped to her knees and erupted into tears.
Hizumi from her dreams was right. If she had remembered this world, she would not have returned.
Xxx
While Agents Gardner, Smith and Bishop escorted the Contractor out of the motel blindfolded, Megumi sat on the bumper of an ambulance being checked out by a paramedic. He was younger than her, had a peachy face, and his dark hair was parted to the side. Also, he looked to be averagely built.
"You'll never take me alive, coppa!" babbled the Contractor.
After regaining control of her own memory, she was able to determine him saying movie quotes was his obeisance.
"Shut up!" replied Gardner, throwing him in the back of a cop car.
"145 over 85. You're hypertensive," said the paramedic after taking her blood pressure.
"I wonder why," she sarcastically commented, as he swiped a device across her forehead.
"Your temperature is normal. Look straight without blinking for me." He shined his light into her eyes. "Your pupils look fine. I suggest you head to a local hospital to get checked out thoroughly."
"I'll be fine."
The paramedic packed up his stuff and departed. Moments later, Gardner approached.
"You shouldn't have come on your own," he said.
"Why does it matter? We both know I can't die. Not at least for another eleven years."
"But that's no excuse to go running off into danger."
"Then fire me."
Megumi stood and headed towards her car. Gardner frowned at her.