Chapter 2: Ami
Years had passed since Ami made the trek to Hikawa Shrine, but her feet remembered the way like it had been only yesterday. The medical bag's straps dug into her underarms as she walked, each step a sharp slice that grew in intensity alongside the apprehension burning a hole in her stomach. No amount of jostling relieved the discomfort, so she wedged her fingers under the fabric to cushion the brunt of it. If only she could do the same for her mind.
The text had arrived unprompted, always a troubling sign from someone as mulish and independent as Rei.
Need you at the shrine. Bring tools.
Fearing the worst, Ami had left her shift at the clinic early, but not before stuffing her bag with as many supplies as she could without raising suspicion. No one would notice if a few basic first-aid supplies went missing, but the more expensive items—heavy-duty stuff like antibiotics and IV fluid—were tricky. Rei hadn't been specific, and so Ami was left to do what she did best: prepare for as many scenarios as possible.
Children in rumpled school uniforms passed opposite her on the sidewalk, keeping one another company on their walk home. Nostalgia bubbled to the surface, tinged with sadness. How many times had the five of them made the same pilgrimage during the week, peering in storefronts or stopping for dessert at Usagi's request? Lately, they were lucky to see each other once a month.
Soon, concrete gave way to dirt and gravel as the path snaked away from the bustling city and plunged into the tranquil countryside. At the torii, Ami's hands went through the proper ritual, but her mind reeled, stuck in a cycle of increasingly absurd what-ifs.
What if the Shadows attacked and I'm too late to help?
What if it wasn't Rei who texted me, but instead an alien overlord pretending to be her to lure me into a trap?
Ami raced up the steep stone steps, just in case, and reached the landing out of breath. Above the shrine entrance, thin strips of folded paper swayed from their posts. Wards of protection. Not for the first time, Ami wondered if they worked as well against magical creatures as they did spirits. She hoped they did.
Inside, Rei crouched before a stone statue, her long sable hair spilling onto the floor. A smoldering stick of incense jutted out from between clasped hands. Ami hesitated, not wanting to interrupt the prayer, but it was too late. Annoyance flitted across Rei's face as she gave a small sigh and sat back on her heels.
Ami struck the alien overlord theory from her list of fears.
"I came as soon as I could. Is everything alright?"
"It's best if we discuss in private," Rei said to Ami, then turning her head called, "Koji?" At her command, a doe-eyed boy hurried from where he had been sweeping and offered a hand. Rei accepted readily, leaning her weight into his small frame for leverage to stand. Ami averted her gaze, pretending to be enraptured by a nearby altar. Of course, it was simply a sign of respect to help your elders, she thought. Even if they didn't really need it. But the thought of her friend being an elder did little to ease her worry.
Once to her feet, she smoothed her clothes and rattled a list of instructions for tending the shrine and any potential guests in her absence. The boy's eyes grew wide as saucers.
Rei clasped his shoulder. "You'll do fine."
"Y-yes ma'am. I'll do my best." The boy bowed, nose nearly scraping the floor.
Tucked away in the back was a room that served as an office furnished with a desk, chairs, and a computer that looked to be a decade old. The contemporary decor clashed with the traditional motifs of the temple to disorienting effect, like stepping out of one era and into the next. Rei pushed aside the stacks of papers and books cluttering the desk to clear space and pulled up a chair. The space was cramped with barely enough room for one person to maneuver, but she would make due.
"Do you remember a couple months back, when the Shadows first appeared?" Rei asked.
Ami nodded. The Shadow resurgence abruptly ended a decade of peace with renewed chaos and bloodshed. Hardly a night passed that she didn't relive the event in her dreams or while she lie waking.
"A few days later, a swarm attacked the Shrine in broad daylight. A bus-load of tourists had just arrived, so I had no choice but to fight. It was fine," she added, seeing the concern on Ami's face. "They seemed focused on me, so I lured them into the forest. No one even saw the mythical Mars make an appearance."
"They came back?"
Rei shrugged. "I just assumed they never left."
After the first incident, their intel found no trace of their energy signature. If they had been an active threat this whole time, there was no telling how much harm they had spread. They might even have made it out of Tokyo by now. Ami made a mental note to cross reference news sites when she got back for any mention of strange sightings.
"I'm glad you're okay. Everyone is on high alert after the incident with Usagi and we haven't had ample time to study the Shadow species characteristics and capabilities—"
"That's sort of why I asked you to come," Rei cut in. "On their own, they're not particularly strong creatures, but as a group, they can be tricky. One of them got me during the fight and—" She pulled up the sleeve of her robe, exposing a mess of gauze and cotton wrapping trailing the length of her arm. A palm-sized yellowish stain blossomed through the fabric, marking the wound. "I guess you could say I'm a bit rusty."
Ami unwrapped the bandages gingerly, exposing an angry purple gash that radiated heat. At the edges, the skin was raised and inflamed. She swallowed deliberately, forcing her face to remain neutral. With a small pen light, she examined the inside and was relieved to find no evidence of sepsis. She had seen her fair share of gore in her time as a Senshi—and even more in her time as a doctor—but she had never quite learned to stomach seeing her friends hurt. She suspected she never would.
"It started out as a minor cut," Rei said, voice slicing through the silence. "It's not getting better."
"It's infected, but nothing that can't be resolved with a course of antibiotics and clean dressings." Ami produced a set of small vials and needles from her bag. Of all the possible outcomes, this was straightforward, predictable. A plan of care she had executed hundreds of times before.
"Cut the crap. I know it's not normal." Rei turned her head and gritted her teeth as the needle bit into her skin.
"Infections are common. Especially the older you get," Ami said, regretting it instantly. They were older now, it was true, but it was likely a matter of improper cleaning and care that caused the wound to fester.
"I might heal slower than when I was a kid, but a small jab like this? Our magic—" Rei gripped the edge of her seat with her free hand, her whole body tense as Ami dabbed at the exposed flesh. "I'll gather a sample and run some tests."
"And if your test comes back normal, what then? This isn't just a cut. Something has shifted; I can feel it. Can you test for that?"
Ami said nothing, her hands systematically working the motions of her task.
The bandage wound slowly around Rei's forearm, passed between Ami's hands in a precise cadence. Vague prophetic declarations contained no scientific merit, no theory to be explored and verified—or disproven—, and yet she had learned over the years that it was unwise to ignore the priestess' divinations. Even if the delivery was a touch dramatic.
In the end, she swabbed a sample of the infected fluid and placed it in a sterile bag to take back to the lab. Pointless or no, all hypotheses must be tested.
"Once the infection clears, we can stitch it up. Until then, we'll need to repack it once every few days or so."
"You mean I have to do this again?"
Ami gave a faint smile. "Unfortunately. You'll be happy to know that I got my hands on a new type of collagen bio-mesh…" Rei raised an eyebrow. "Basically, it speeds up your body's natural ability to heal."
Rei flexed her arm, wincing as the movement tugged the raw skin. "Are you worried?" The question sounded light, nonchalant. Ami knew it was anything but.
She fingered the zipper of her bag. Her workload had tripled as a result of the visit, which was equal measures energizing and overwhelming. But at least now she had a lead. Somewhere in the endless slog of analyzing data, she was sure to find a solution.
"I'm confident that whatever happens, we can handle it," she said finally.
Outside the wind gained intensity, sending gusts that set the Shrine bells in an erratic symphony. Koji scrambled to shut the sliding doors as a rush of leaves rained down on the freshly swept floors. The two girls stood side-by-side on the steps, watching the dirt and leaves and petals in disarray by some invisible force.
"Thank you," Rei said, her gaze firmly fixated on the ground in front of her feet.
"Oh, no need to thank me," Ami said. "It's the least I can do. Call me if you need anything?"
Rei nodded, and the pair said their goodbyes. During the walk back, Ami repeated the list of tasks she assigned herself, lest she forget.