CHAPTER 28: PREPARATION
Astetra was a gorgeous city, steeped in rich history with centuries old buildings standing proudly beside newer structures that were an order of magnitude younger. The streets were lined with restaurants, cafes and shops where each tried to be more eye-catching than the other despite their limited frontage. It was beautiful and bustling and Kyoko looked around, trying her best to soak it all in.
Well, that was all she could do because she was horribly, horribly lost.
Let the record show that Kyoko Mogami was absolutely hopeless when it came to cities that were not planned using a grid system. She was fairly certain she had gone in one very confusing circle when she passed the same pet accessories store three times. The signs on the streets seemed clear enough with arrows pointing in the direction of the Academy but when she approached an intersection of five streets and all the sign said was to turn left, she knew she was in trouble. Swallowing her foolish pride, she gave up and entered the store to ask for directions.
It was on a hill, for goodness sake, she thought it would be fairly easy to navigate her way towards where the grouping of large, imposing buildings sat prominently above the city. Apparently, according to the shopkeeper's instructions, she made a left turn when she should have made a right. Upon making the correct turn, she found that the street gradually curved back around to the left and started uphill. While she was grateful to finally be heading the right direction, she still grumbled about poor city planning the entire way.
The Academy's buildings were not the oldest in the city, but were certainly built to blend in with them with skillfully carved stonework and wrought iron. Kyoko's legs burned from the steepness of the final incline, but she soon forgot about it upon reaching her destination at long last. The Academy grounds, or campus as it was called there, were smaller than the one she was used to but what it lacked in expanse it made up for in height. Thankfully, this made finding the right building much easier.
Of course being anywhere near an Academy was a surefire way of making Kyoko uneasy. There were too many unpleasant memories that were instantly called to mind. Despite being more aware of her own Ability, she felt even less like she belonged there. Then again, she did not want to belong there either.
The receptionist on the ground floor had given her adequate directions before pointing her towards the elevators and sending her to the seventh floor, telling her to turn right after five doors and left after ten and the office she was looking for would be at the end of the hallway. She found the hall without any further difficulty and stood before a door that had a brass nameplate immediately to its right bearing the name Kuu Hizuri. While she told herself that she was just taking a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, there was no amount of breathing that could possibly prepare her for what she was about to do.
Two brief knocks were answered with curt instructions from a faraway voice to enter and she found herself inside the office. The interior was far more spacious than the small door seemed to imply. She stood in what looked to be a waiting room. On either side, doorways led to separate rooms. The doorway to her left was darkened. The one to her right was bathed in bright yellow light and she almost moved towards it before propriety stopped her in her tracks. Instead, she took a seat on one of the overstuffed armchairs in the central room and waited.
A loud sigh came from the lit room. "When I said you could come in, I meant you could come all the way in."
Kyoko jumped from her seat and walked over as quickly as she could without running. Her advance was halted the minute she laid eyes on the man sitting at the desk at the far end of the room. It was as if someone had a remote control and took the teenaged cognitive version of Kuon she met and fast forwarded by about thirty-plus years. His hair was cut shorter and kept neater and his eyes bore the appropriate world-weariness of someone his age, but there was no way anyone could ever claim that the two men were not father and son.
The deep frown that appeared on his face disrupted her musing and her first instinct was to apologize.
"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt if you were busy."
If he acknowledged her apology, it never registered on his face. He looked over at something on his desk before looking back at her.
"You're the girl Kotetsu sent?
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
She wanted to avoid volunteering too much information right away so she stayed quiet after answering his question, waiting for him to engage her.
"He said you're trying to gather additional information on a research paper I wrote to help a student of his," He seemed to be reading directly from a sheet of paper on his desk.
"That's correct."
"… Care to give a little more detail on that?"
"Well," she paused to clear her throat. "As you know his main goal with his students is to help them fully realize their potential, but he's having some difficulties with one in particular. His theory is that it might be related to the experiment you conducted where the subjects' abilities were amplified by the presence of another so he sent me in hopes that you'd have some additional insight to provide based on what you learned or observed."
Kyoko practiced this script with Kotetsu multiple times before she left until he was satisfied that she could answer any probing questions confidently. But the probing questions never came. Instead he shuffled around the papers on his desk before pulling a scrap free and writing on it. He wordlessly held it out to her and she slowly approached him to take it.
"That's the range of dates and the identification number we used for that project. The files are kept in the room on the opposite end of the waiting area," he explained, pointing his pen towards the entrance to his office. "Be sure to put everything back in the order in which you found it."
Kyoko looked between the paper and the man for far longer than either of them deemed appropriate. She could see the way his brow knitted in irritated confusion and she wondered if hers looked the same. Having already lost a day to travel, she knew she would need the same amount of time to return, thus her ten-day excursion was, in reality, little more than a week.
"With all due respect, sir, my time here is limited and I am not well versed in studies related to Augmenteds," she did her best to be both firm and polite. "So, if you were hoping to give me this in order to limit your interaction with me, I must inform you that this will only cause me to ask you more questions, not less."
"If Kotetsu really need this information, then he should have come here himself instead of sending his assistant."
Whether he was talking to himself or to her, she was unable to confirm, but the way he growled that last word instantly riled her up. The hand holding the paper began to tremble and she lowered it out of sight. She stood up straighter, assuming a rigid and unyielding posture as she stared the man down at his desk.
"It would appear that you and Mr. Uesugi have very differing opinions of what it means to be a friend," she sneered. "I thought you, of all people, would have been more sympathetic."
Kuu dropped the pen he was holding, then folded his hands on the desk and leaned forward to peer at her with narrowed eyes.
"And just what do you presume to know of me that would ever give you such an idea?"
She suppressed a reflexive desire to splutter and backpedal before her anger caused her to say something else that would give her away. As it was, she had already said too much. That mistake cost her the offensive lead in their exchange. So she had to try a different tactic; redirection and exiting the conversation as quickly as possible.
"Since Mr. Uesugi claimed the two of you are friends, I assumed you were supportive of his work and the many people it benefits. I see now that both he and I were wrong. I shall have to suggest that he re-evaluate your relationship," she deliberately tilted her chin up so she could look down her nose at him. "And perhaps relegate you to 'professional acquaintance.' I will take up no more of your time and do my best to follow this paltry trail of breadcrumbs you've given me."
To her, that seemed to be a good place to end things, so she made a quick spin on her heel and marched out of his office. Crossing the waiting room, she entered the darkened room she noticed earlier and spent several seconds searching for the light switch. Once the room was lit, she had to admit she was shocked to find it neat and fairly well organized. Judging by the state of Kuu's desk, she was almost afraid of what she would encounter in that room, so it was a pleasant surprise.
Cardboard boxes lined the ceiling-high shelves to her left and right, each with dates and numbers written in a mostly legible scrawl of marker along the narrow end. She managed to find the one she was looking for relatively easily and grunted under its weight while hauling it over to the long table in the center of the room. Making use of the abandoned notepad and pen she discovered on the table, she wrote a list of the folders she found inside the box and what they were labeled to contain. From there, she marked which ones might have the most relevant information so she could start with them before moving on to the others.
Several hours in, she was on her third folder and her mind was reeling from the amount of information she was cramming into it. Her wrist developed a cramp over an hour prior from writing so many notes, none of which—she was certain—would make much sense to her the following day. The sound of shuffling feet snapped her head up and she looked towards the door. Kuu stood there wearing a leather bag slung over one shoulder and a blank look slung onto his face.
"We're done for the day," his voice was as flat as his expression. "I'm closing up the office."
"… alright."
Kyoko was unsure as to whether or not her mouth was trying to protest or apologize, but they seemed to cancel each other out. Thus, she silently followed him out of the office and endured an equally awkward and soundless elevator ride.
The receptionist in the lobby on the ground floor was kind enough to agree to store her luggage in a closet so that she avoided having to carry it with her throughout the building. She expressed her thanks to the person when collecting it on her way out. Upon turning to walk away, a thought stopped her and she turned back towards the large, semi-circular desk to ask for recommendations on nearby lodging. Just when the receptionist offered to provide a copy of a listing they had on hand, someone interjected.
"That won't be necessary. She's staying with me."
Kyoko's head turned slowly to find Kuu standing next to her at the desk. "I—what?"
"Your accommodations have already been arranged," He sighed as if she was taking years off his life by just standing beside him. "Kotetsu would have my head when he found out you stayed by yourself."
She almost laughed at the fact that there was no 'if' in his statement. He clearly knew Kotetsu well enough to know that there was almost nothing you could keep from that man. Thus, she mumbled her appreciation to both him and the receptionist and walked behind him out of the building without further conversation. Under normal circumstances, she would have balked at entering a car with a man she never met before. However, she at least knew enough about the man by proxy for most of her usual worries to be allayed. Despite his taciturn demeanor, she could tell that he meant her no harm.
The city disappeared rather quickly once they made it past the crush of traffic that congested the streets and the car sped along a relatively quiet road lined mostly with trees and houses. Kyoko stared out the window, noticing that each new house that appeared was larger than the one before and set further apart from its neighbor. One particular house was set much further back from the road, with two floors and a red door and small pond sitting placidly between it and the road upon which a small rowboat rocked back and forth in the breeze. She marveled at how picturesque it was, her eyes following it until it disappeared from sight, when Kuu's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"I'll make you a deal," he paused to reconsider his words before continuing. "Or a challenge, rather."
Kyoko hummed in curiosity, dragging her eyes away from the roadside scenery to look at the man beside her.
"If you can figure out why I didn't continue. If you realize what I realized, I'll tell you whatever you want to know about what wasn't included in the research paper."
So Kotetsu had been correct. There was something deeper to his reason for his choice to pursue a different hypothesis. While she was eager to accept his terms, she tried to feign indifference.
"And if I don't figure it out?" she probed.
"Then you are welcome to tell Kotetsu I was an uncooperative ass."
She turned back towards the window so that he was unable to see the smile on her face.
"Then I accept."
A series of right and left turns brought them to the driveway of the very house Kyoko had been admiring earlier during the drive. Now that she thought back on it, she remembered never seeing a turnoff for it from the main road itself despite the fact that the front of the house clearly faced it. She followed Kuu from the car and through a door that led them into a mudroom that doubled as a laundry.
Mimicking the motions of her host, she toed off her shoes and placed them in the first empty spot she could find on the small rack beside the door and hung up her jacket. When she went to pick up the luggage she rolled in with her, a sharp look from Kuu and a shake of his head told her to leave it where it was. Seeing as she was in his home as a guest, she immediately complied.
Leaving the mudroom, they entered into a kitchen the likes of which Kyoko had never seen before. It was larger than anything she could have imagined and outfitted with a number of impressively clean and shined pieces of equipment. It was also warm and filled with the scent of something cooking. Only after she had time to take all of that in did she notice the woman standing near the sink with her hip leaning against the counter and drying her hands in a towel.
To say she was beautiful almost felt as if it was doing a disservice to her. The soiled apron she wore and the low ponytail into which she had pulled her long blonde hair did nothing to distract from that. The moment she laid eyes on Kuu, a smile broke out across her face and she flung her arms wide to greet the man.
Kyoko's stomach twisted at the sight of that smile. She knew it all too well as she had seen it before on the face of her son. The teenaged version of himself that lived in his mind smiled at her just like that before tackling her with a hug. It was odd feeling this way. Usually smiles were sources of joy, not gut-wrenching sadness and longing.
Caught in her own emotions, she missed whatever words were exchanged between husband and wife. Her attention was only caught when she heard him introduce her by her assumed name. Looking towards the woman, she nodded and shook the hand that was offered to her, an automatic humble thanks springing to her lips.
"It's wonderful to meet you Natsu, you may call me Julie," the woman was still smiling and Kyoko almost wanted to shield herself from the brightness of it.
This was the first time she ever experienced a feeling of discomfort when lying to someone about her name. She had done it countless times in countless situations since leaving the Academy that the lie rolled off her tongue as naturally as breathing. Her chest never felt tight with anxiety like it did then but she did her best to ignore it. The best way she could find to justify it was that she was doing them all a favor as it protected both herself and their son.
Dinner was a quiet affair. Julie, to her credit, only asked a few questions that she was able to answer easily enough without stuttering or searching for an evasive answer. Kuu stayed mostly silent with the exception of complimenting his wife on the dinner she prepared. Kyoko followed suit with her most convincing agreement after surreptitiously hiding in her napkin the long twig of whatever herb got caught in her teeth from her most recent bite.
Kuu collected the dishes from everyone at the table once they were finished eating and promptly exited the room for the kitchen leaving Kyoko alone with Julie. The urge to shift uncomfortably in her chair was overwhelming and the good manners that were ingrained in her from her youth were the only things keeping her from doing it. Julie got up from her seat and clasped her hands in front of her. Kyoko was only a beat behind her, trying to quietly push her chair back under the table once she was on her feet.
"Well, I'm sure you're exhausted from traveling and having to deal with that man," she nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "Would you like me to show you where your room will be?"
"If it's not too much trouble," Kyoko avoided agreeing with whatever comment Julie was trying to make about her husband. That was not a trap she would willingly spring.
She retraced her steps back to the mudroom, collected her luggage and let the older woman lead her through the house. They walked down a small corridor past two doors that appeared to open into an office and a powder room respectively. When they entered the grand living room, Julie stopped walking in front of the fireplace and turned to her, looking apologetic.
"I'm sorry if my husband has been less than a welcoming host."
"It's fine, really," she assured. "I'm the one imposing after all."
"Oh you're not imposing at all. It's been quite a long time since we've had anyone as a guest in our house," Julie solemnly pointed to the many photos displayed on the low mantel shelf. "Not since our son left us many years ago."
Her eyes flitted over the many framed photos, decidedly determined to not linger on any one of them for too long. It was all she could do to barely glance at the face of the person she'd tried for weeks to forget, so staring for any length of time was certainly out of the question. Each appearance of his youthful face felt like tiny stabs at her heart and the dinner in her stomach felt heavier and heavier as the seconds ticked by. Eventually, her eyes wandered back to Julie's and she noticed the frown of loss on her face.
"Oh, I—I'm sorry."
She winced a little at her words but those were the only ones she could offer. Saying anything further could be misconstrued as unnecessarily placating and asking any questions would seem insensitive. So, she played it safe and kept it simple.
"You know, most people don't shy away from asking me what happened to him," Julie pointed out.
Kyoko could only offer a timid shake of her head. "It sounded very personal and I thought it would be rude."
Julie only nodded with a sad smile and continued guiding Kyoko to her room. It was a personal matter for Kyoko as well, not that she could say that. She was grateful for the days that she barely remembered his name, much less his face, but they came far too infrequently. Most days, such as this one, served only to remind her of him at every turn. For the duration of her time in Astetra, she resigned herself to the knowledge that this would continue to be the case.
Meeting Lory outside of his office was a rare occurrence. The man seemed to live there when he wasn't at home doting over his only granddaughter. As such, Ren was understandably surprised when the man extended a casual dinner invitation for that evening. He accepted with the least amount of gawking he could manage.
The restaurant was fairly empty when he arrived, save for a few tables occupied near the large window beside the front entrance. He found the Chief Inquisitor sitting in the farthest back corner with a glass of some deathly crimson liquid on the table in front of him. This alone was enough to tell him that this was not to be any ordinary dinner. The way the man's features seemed to be pinched towards the center of his face was certainly not helping.
Obligatory pleasantries were exchanged and their conversation was light over the course of their meal. Ren waited with exceptional patience for the the sound of the proverbial other shoe dropping. It was not until the plates had been cleared that Chief Takarada pulled a folded sheet of paper and pushed it across the table towards him with two fingers. Ren picked it up, frowning with a lack of understanding, and opened it to read the contents.
The paragraphs at the top deepened the frown on his face, but that was nothing compared to when he reached the list of names at the bottom. He imagined he must have been pulling a rather exaggerated grimace by then. Ren read the entire thing twice before putting it back down on the table. Looking up at the ceiling, he ran a hand over his face before scraping angry nails several times through his own scalp. Once he attained some semblance of calm, he looked at Lory again.
"Why are you sharing this with me?"
"Because I want you to be prepared," Lory's unwavering stare bore through him as he spoke. "I don't want you blindsided in the event that they ask you to perform an extraction on me."
Ren sat back in his chair, his fingers flirting dangerously with the sharp edge of the paper on the table. His head began to shake all on its own and, once he was aware of it, he kept shaking it. Thoughts piled upon thoughts in his mind and they got higher and higher until they swayed and teetered precariously, threatening to topple over. The one thought that formed the foundation, bearing the weight of all the others, was that he would never allow that to happen.
"Then they'll have to be prepared to arrest me and lose their strongest Inquisitor," his hand clenched the paper in a tight grip, wrinkling it's previously unmarred surface. "Because I'm not going to do it."
IT'S BEEN SEVEN MONTHS, OMG. When I first started writing fics I had the misguided dream that I would never be that author who goes months without updating. Well, what do you know, life and sometimes just yourself in general eventually does get in the way. I hope this meager offering is at least a decent start towards making up for my unintended hiatus.
The best part about social distancing right now is that it's completely obliterated any excuse I might have for not writing, which is great news for you! I'll see you here again soon-ish!
AUTHOR OUT!
