Chapter Twenty-One
Kill Those Mother-F*cking Bees
Her first thought was pain. Her second thought was the realization that it was the first time she didn't wake and immediately long for home.
Inari rolled her head to the side, shrinking away from the light blaring from the window. Crinkling her nose, she listened to the covers rustle as she stretched her legs, pointing her toes like a cat unfurling. Coarse bandages wrapped her chest beneath a cotton night gown, constricting her breaths and bothering her skin. Memories arrived like a slow sun dawning; Zank, Bulat crashing into her, Akame saving them all. Laying a hand on her bruised ribcage, Inari hoped it wasn't Seiger who bandaged her up. She also hoped it was.
Hesitantly testing her limits, Inari sat up. Numb stabs of pain knocked on her bones from the inside, like pressure on a bruise, a sensation that felt like it should hurt more, like a wall of cotton muffled the pain. Uncomfortable, but bearable. She slipped off the bed—the floor was cold against her bare feet—and held out her hand. Jock gruffed, and soon she felt the delighting familiar moisture of his nose on her palm. Deciding to give herself and Wind Rider a break, she took Jock's leash and let the lion guide her from the room.
She opened the door, and heard screams.
After a flicker of confusion followed by irritation, the spark of adrenalin settled in, urging Inari down the halls. The logic in her head told her to scout the base, activate Wind Rider and see what she was racing towards, but she was still recovering. She would only have a limited use of the gauntlets before they would both need to re-charge again, and Inari needed to save every ounce of energy she had. Settling on only her immediate surroundings in preparation for an ambush, Inari dashed towards the screeches and intermittent banging coming from downstairs.
Everyones' screams overlapped, merging into one massive jumble of vowels and shrill cries. Jock suddenly yanked on his leash, pulling Inari backwards. She fell on her butt and less that an instant after, the floor she had been running towards exploded in a flash of light. Throwing her arms up, she shielded her face from the cannonade of wooden debris. Splinters smattered into her palms, ripped past her elbows, leaving torn skin and trails of stinging cold. In a breath she was up again, bounding towards the stairs, cursing every Night Raid member over and over again.
She followed the ruckus to the living room. It was utter pandemonium. Screaming, shattering glass, thumping furniture, and a tide of buzzing that seemed to devour the air. Standing just outside the doorway, Inari abandoned her previous decision, alarm and curiosity driving her to activate Wind Rider.
For the gods' sake.
Bees. Gods damned bees swarmed the room to high heaven.
"LUBBOCK!" Mine shrieked, her small feet teetering on a chair ledge. The wind around her hands covered a weapon nearly half the girl's size—Inari had only ever seen its like once, strapped to several guards' thighs at the Emperor's palace. A gun. Only, Mine's was massive, and being brandished like the most powerful of fetishes, aimlessly shooting streaks of light that singed the air and anything, bees included, in its path. Dangerous, was what it was. Mine nearly blasted Inari into oblivion upstairs!
"Don't yell at me!" Lubbock slashed his right hand in the air, felling several bees with the whip-like strings of his Imperial Arms. Furniture hung from the ceiling, tables and chairs strung with the thin tentacles, surrounding the man in a makeshift, floating barrier. "It's Seiger's fault!"
Inari took everything in at once. Akame and Najenda, backs to a wall, fearlessly slashing their swords; Sheele running in circles around the room, her giant sheers held before her, snapping open and closed; Tatsumi batting at the bees with a sword in one hand and a spatula in the other. Leone, in full lion-mode, barred her canines and swiped the horde with her enlarged, deathly paws. Bulat had nothing to fear in his full armor, the only one adequately protected. Seiger stood on a couch, a sheet covering him head-to-toe but for his left arm, which swung a pillow wildly. Coffee tables were overturned, her collection of papers either littered the floor or zoomed through the air, stuck to a bee's stinger. Feathers from the pillows fell in a furious rain, and bees, bees everywhere, stuck to the walls or swarming or dead on the floor. How the hell had it gotten this bad?
"Akame! Watch where you swing that thing!" Tatsumi shouted.
Akame whisked her Imperial Arms blade through the bodies of—Inari counted seven bees. "Stay out of my way."
Inari ducked moments before a glass bottle soared over her head, smacking the wall behind her and exploding in a cascade of shards.
"Oh, shit, sorry Inari!" Leone threw over her shoulder before chucking another empty bottle.
"INARI!" Najenda shouted in surprise. Her voice bellowed over the chaos, "push them outside!"
Right. She rubbed her hands together. Bulat rushed for the sliding door, shoving it open to the courtyard beyond. Mustering her strength, Inari spread her arms wide and rapidly dipped them low, as if scooping up the air. Thrusting her hands forward, a burst of wind coursed through the room, strong enough to capture the bees in a tide of currents but humble enough for everyone to remain on their feet. Her "vision" depleted to a useless whirl of black dots and rushing ripples. Blind, she swirled her hands to ensure no crack or crevice in the room or its adjacent corridors was left untouched by Wind Rider's fingers before whisking out the door in a wave of bees, feathers, glass shards, debris and—papers.
At the sound of Bulat slamming the door shut, Inari sank to her knees. Poundings on the glass window were indication enough that the surviving bees were unsatisfied by the turn of events. Trickles of dust, wood, and ceramic tile rained from the ceiling in intermittent spurts, the destruction of Mine's firearm smacking the floor in light patters and no doubt leaving behind yawning gaps. Wooden squeaks groaned from the direction of Lubbock's fort as everyone stood still, startled by the sudden absence of chaos.
"Oh, my, god," Mine breathed, before turning on Lubbock. "What the hell is wrong with you!? You're supposed to keep watch! This is not keeping watch!"
"I'm sorry," Lubbock scathed. "I was a bit busy running from them myself, if you didn't see me throwing myself against the door."
"Bulat shouldn't have let you in," Mine snapped. Focusing on her breathing, Inari leaned her head against the doorframe.
"They're still outside," Akame muttered.
"It's not his fault," Seiger's boots slammed on the floor—Inari supposed he jumped off the couch. "They must have tracked me. I didn't think these were the vengeful type, but I guess I was wrong," he said sheepishly.
"Inari, are you alright?" Sheele's voice was soft in her ear. The gentle touch of the woman's hand on her shoulder re-ignited her senses. Inari thought of saying something sardonic, but she was too tired, honestly, and just wanted to sit.
"Lie her on the couch," Seiger instructed, before his footsteps hit the floor at a run, bounding past her and down the corridor. "I'll get the salve!"
Strong arms helped Inari up—time was an odd thing and suddenly cushions were beneath her. She covered her face in her hands and sighed despairingly.
Leone whistled. "Look at them go!" The furious taps on the window showed no sign of easing up. If she listened closely, Inari could hear their buzzing and more poundings against the outer walls and roof. No doubt, the bees had them surrounded.
"Looks like our missions are canceled tonight," Najenda said wryly. "No one leaves the base until we're sure the bees are gone," she ordered.
"But what about the drug smugglers in the Red District?" Leone argued.
"You and Tatsumi can go after them at their meeting next week," Najenda said calmly. "And Mine, Sheele, Shagway Legump will have to wait as well." Shagway Legump—Inari recognized that name. He was a tax collector for the Empire. Why was he being targeted by Night Raid? "I just hope they'll let up before our food supply lets up," Najenda murmured. "Inari, you're free of chores for the next few days. We'll need you recovered in case we end up having to open the door to a swarm."
You mean I wasn't excused before? She wanted to ask, still acutely aware of the dull ache in her chest, but something much more pressing was on her mind. She bit her lip, trying not to groan and lose any bit of decorum she had left. She recognized the couch under her—its velvet fabric, the bulge in the third cushion—as the one she had set up her workstation at. There should be papers crinkling beneath her, not soft plush.
"Inari, are you alright?" Bulat asked.
"The papers," she forced through her fingers. She didn't need Wind Rider to know where they were: outside, with the bees. A wind heavy enough to sway a horde of insects was bound to bring any loose paper with it.
"Oh…" Sheele whispered.
"I'm sure they're fine," Leone waved her hand, though she sounded uncertain. The buzzing dominating in the followed silence.
Seiger's storming down the staircase carried into the room, and soon a putrid smell licked Inari's nose. "I got it! Here, who's got it worse? Tatsumi, let me see you."
"Why do you automatically assume its me?" The boy grumbled.
"There's no way I'm going near that stuff," Mine's voice was nasally—Inari could practically see her holding her nose.
"There is," Najenda said, "and you will. I won't have my assassins running about with big welts on their skin—dying from laughter isn't a permissible end, in my book. Akame, you go first, then take stock on our food. Lubbock, what do you know about these bees?"
"Um, they're wasps, actually," Lubbock answered.
"Oh my god," Mine groaned, exasperated.
"But, uh, other than that," Lubbock thought, "They're a Danger Beast species-I've read about these ones before. They infest a singular tree as their main hive, and then build other, smaller hives around the area. Seiger's right. The residue left on him must have signaled the rest of the horde. Heh—sorry guys, I didn't recognize them when Seiger and I were out yesterday. They're stubborn, too, so it's not likely they'll leave any time soon. I'm guessing we've got a week, maybe ten days."
"Well, we can alwa—" Tatsumi started, but was quickly interrupted.
"Hear that, Akame?" Najenda asked. "That means smaller portions for all of us."
"If we run out of food, we can just sacrifice Lubbock," Leone suggested.
"Why don't we ju—" Tatsumi tried.
"What!" The boy exclaimed. "Why is everyone—I told you, this is Seiger's fault!"
"You just said you should have recognized them," Mine countered.
"I—" Lubbock stuttered.
"Guys!" Tatsumi shouted, demanding everyone's' attention. "If we run out of food, we can send Bulat out. The bees can't pierce through Incursio, right?"
"Well, I guess that's an option too," Leone considered, not sounding as excited as she was about her own idea.
"I'll be protected," Bulat thought, "but my posters are plastered all around the Capital. I look different now, it's true, but someone might still recognize me." So that was why Bulat always seemed to stay at the base during the day, Inari thought through her exhaustion.
"If food becomes a problem," Najenda said, "then we'll have no other choice. But let's try to hold out first. Worst comes to worse, we can settle for several days of unseasoned fish and Danger Beast protein. I'm not as concerned about bread and greens."
"Inari still can't keep down any meat," Seiger piped in.
Inari waved her hand numbly. "I'm still here." You don't have to speak for me. Plus, she was still mortified about her sudden "condition," or whatever it was supposed to be called. Improper, was what it was—disgusting, how the smallest bite of meat brought thoughts of maggots and death to her mind. But she wasn't about to let her pathetic weakness become everyone else's problem. "And I can deal with it."
"Alright then," Najenda clapped her hands, a powerful sound that signaled the end to the discussion. "Mine, go see if we have plaster in any of the supply closets to fix the holes you blasted into my ceiling."
"I'll go with her!" Lubbock said, a bit too eagerly, considering Mine had been all for Leone's plan to sacrifice him to the bees not five minutes earlier. Then again, in Inari's few weeks of living with the girl, Mine had never done more than throw nasty comments. She threatened everyone, yes, but not once has she actually acted on it. Joking about pain and death just seemed to be apart of Night Raid's social dynamic.
"Fine," Najenda waved him off. "Seiger, when you're finished up with Sheele, cover Tatsumi next so he can help Akame in the kitchen. Bulat, just…try not to go crazy being stuck inside. You have permission to clear out a room for sparring practice, but don't break any of my walls." Inari listened as Bulat's heavy footsteps clomped out the room. "Sheele, don't open an—Sheele, are you listening?" Inari heard Najenda snap her fingers several times. "Don't open any doors or windows. Got it?"
"Don't open any doors or windows," Sheele affirmed.
"Good," Najenda said softly.. "Seiger, make sure none of us die in the next few days," she sighed, "and see if you can find a way to keep us all smelling half-way decent. We won't be able to bathe in the springs for a while, and I, for one, could live without experiencing Leone's body odor again."
"Yours 'aint no cotton candy either," Leone laughed. "So what's my job?"
"Go bother Bulat," Najenda said disinterestedly.
"Aye-aye," Leone said wryly, before her footsteps pattered off.
"Inari, just, rest up, alright?" Najenda told her.
"Fine," she yawned, absolutely alright with the order. Inari dropped her hand to dangle off the edge of the couch and sway against Jock's fur. Letting her mind wander off, she slowly succumbed to exhaustion, and it was like she had never come downstairs at all.