Kohaku
My legs lie stiff in the saloon, uncomfortably awkward in one place. I gaze out the window, feeding down the nausea with the passing buildings. The car is quiet and quick across the road, accelerating the heaviness in my stomach.
The woman silently drives. She doesn't even bother looking at me.
Goosebumps race across my skin from the cold sweat and warm air in the car, but I keep my arms limp. I think of Sango, and it immediately becomes bitter and guilty in my mouth.
The woman turns into an empty parking lot next. She stops in the first slot and roughly turns the keys. The engine coughs, then dies down.
"Get out," the woman quietly orders and, without waiting for my reaction, steps out of the car. I wordlessly push the handle. My neck, numb from staying in one position, dully aches, and I feel a chill pass my spine from the fresh air. The woman is already by my side. She's blinking from the bright sun, and when she looks at me, just for a moment, I feel that it's more of curiosity than scrutiny.
"Let's go, Kohaku."
I silently nod and follow her to the stairs. Listening to the muted echo of our footsteps, palm scratching over the rust filaments on the railing, I wonder what's going to happen. They might punish Sango. My shoulders scrunch up, and I stare into the slots between the steps. Below are the black garbage bags and grey pavement.
I step on the flight and glance to the side. A dozen of equally beige doors stretch in the front. I inadvertently stop, trying not to let the suppressed panic to crack.
The woman, confidently walking before me, pauses and glances over her shoulder.
"Something wrong?"
I swallow and shake my head. She raises her eyebrows.
"Come over here. We've arrived."
I nod and walk towards her. My mind is absolutely blank and soaked at the same time. The woman watches me as I come up to her, then turns away and knocks on the door in front of her. My eyes slide over to the room number. 307. I don't know why it mattered.
The lock roughly jerks on the other side, and the door creaks open. The fear shivering inside slightly pauses, giving way to confusion. My forehead creases, recognizing the face but forgetting the name.
"I-I thought you were with the police," I quietly and uncertainly say. The woman on the opposite side of the door gives me a long, examining look, and I can't tell if it's displeasure or sadness. She shakes her head and steps to the side.
"Thank you, Asuka." Her voice is a little low, soft, but ringing. I glance over my shoulder and watch in surprise how the woman leading me politely bows.
"I'll be in the car, Kikyo-san."
Kikyo. I whirl my head over to the woman, but she's not looking at me.
"I'm in you debt, Asuka."
Asuka bows again, but turns around and quietly closes the door. Kikyo immediately locks it, then sighs and gives me a sideways look. I freeze, trying not to look suspicious. Her eyes narrow.
"Take a seat." The woman gestures towards the room down the hallway. "I'll get you something to drink."
I hurriedly open my mouth to thank her, but cough; there's a ball of phlegm and saliva in my throat.
"Sorry," I hoarsely make out, covering my face with my elbow. I notice a glimmer of sympathy as she glances over her shoulder. Eyes rooted to the floor, I tug off my sneakers and tuck them to the wall in embarrassment. Awkwardly stepping on half of my sole, trying to produce the least noise possible, I stumble after her.
It was only one room, with two small beds, and a small desk with a microwave and a coffee maker. However, most of the desk was occupied by a large computer and keyboard, folders neatly slipped underneath. The shutters were tightly sealed, and the room was illuminated by a mated lamp.
"Kohaku."
I flinch from surprise and almost painfully turn my head. Kikyo-san stands in front of me, stretching out a paper cup of water.
"I'm sorry I have no tea," her voice softens. "And you seem too agitated for coffee."
"No, it's alright," I try to smile as I tip the cup towards my lips. The edge instantly becomes wet, but I'm overwhelmed by the refreshing coldness of the water. It's hard to drink, pushing past the lump in my throat, but I force myself to keep going. A stream of water misses my mouth and runs down my chin, dripping onto the T-shirt.
"Kohaku."
Not stopping drinking, I tilt my eyes towards Kikyo-san. Her eyes are serious and... disapproving.
"Relax, Kohaku."
My hand begins to shake. Not tearing my eyes away from Kikyo-san, I mechanically lower the cup, feeling how the water, caught in between the motion, streams from my mouth. For an instant, Kikyo-san hesitates, then carefully reaches forward. Her fingers close on mine.
"I'm not with the bureau or the police." She delicately pries the cup out of my grasp. All this time, she is keeping eye contact, and I feel how she's reading me: quickly, thoroughly, but not... forcefully. Suddenly, I want to run and hug her, simply because she's the closest person and not a stranger given she knows everything. Holding back the tears of weariness and frustration, I curl up my fists and straighten up.
"That woman... the woman who brought me here said that she's from the NPASB." My voice treacherously quivers, and I dig in my nails, burning from humiliation. Kikyo-san's eyes slightly narrow, but she doesn't look away.
"She is. Both Asuka and her sister help me, and both are the bureau's agents. However, I'm not." Kikyo-san tilts her head. Her fingers, holding the cup by the very edge, absently rotate it.
"Can you believe that?"
I'm silent for a moment. Then, I look at the door, disappearing in the hallway, and it tightens in my chest.
"Are you holding me?"
Out of the corner of my vision, I see her shake her head.
"No. You're welcome to leave."
The tears, brimming at the edge, quietly slip down, one by one. I bite my lip and nudge the nails further, but the tears continue falling.
"But can I stay?" I stifle the whisper into something inaudible. I hear the paper cup softly touch the desk. Kikyo-san walks past me to a built-in wardrobe and tugs out a white towel and bathrobe.
"In that case, take a shower and get some sleep." The corners of her lips rise. Not feeling the fabric, I take them from her.
It's a small and kind smile.
I wake up from the dryness in my mouth. My head feels swollen and cotton, and the nose is stuffed with the invisible dust from the sheets. My stomach dully rumbles from hunger. Shakily leaning against my arm, I sit up and blink.
Immersed in papers, Kikyo-san is sitting behind the table, back to me. At the sound of the rustling blankets, she glimpses over her shoulder. Her face softens, and she stands up and walks over to me. I inadvertently pull in my legs closer as she sits on the edge of the bed next to me.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah." My face feels crumpled from sleep, but the mind is indeed clearer. "How long did I sleep?"
"Only an hour. Are you hungry?"
For a moment, I panic, not wanting to admit my hunger and trying to suppress the grumbling in my stomach.
"I-I have sandwiches packed in my bag," I blurt out in a rush. I burn red when I see Kikyo-san smirk, just barely lifting the tips of her lips. However, she complies with my food choice as she disappears in the hallway and comes back with my backpack. She hands it over, and I, avoiding all eye contact, dig up the half-eaten sandwich.
Clumsily fumbling with the wrap and biting into the bread at the same time, I try not to gag from the smushed taste of vegetables and wheat, along with the plastic that accidentally got in. Swallowing the almost unchewed lump of food, I give Kikyo-san a sideways glance. The woman was absently observing the wall when I was eating, but when she felt my stare, she looked expectantly at me. I flush again and stare at my hands, sweatily gripping the sandwich.
"How did you find me?"
"Sango told me how much was in your piggy bank." Her finger thoughtfully traces out some lines on the sheets, as if drawing a map. "There's only one train line out of Osaki to the suburbs. I estimated how much your savings would take you." Not noticing my growing horror, she softly smiled to herself. "Honestly, from there it was just luck. I'd figured you'd try to get some money or take a break... I checked the first grocery shop that appeared on the main road." She absently smoothes the nonexistent marks with her palm. "The owner told me about you and how you stole his bike. He was laughing, mostly."
I feel hot and suffocated, and with nothing else to do, bite into the sandwich. My teeth graze the pillows of my fingers.
"He said you can keep it." Kikyo-san looks at me. "Asuka brought it a while ago."
A long silence hangs in the room. I feel as if a truck rode over me, while Kikyo is wordlessly observing me. I know it's my turn to speak, but all thoughts and worries stumble over each other, crumbling apart and resulting in an absolutely blank mind. The bread melts in my hands from the heat, but I don't want to take another bite, understanding that it will be even more awkward. Slowly, I force myself to look calm and look at the woman. Her impenetrable expression almost trips me up.
"If you were able to find me that quickly, won't that mean that the NPASB will find me even quicker?" I quietly ask. Kikyo-san sighs, and her expression becomes tired.
"I hope not. Currently, there's an agent for each neighboring region. Asuka managed to claim this one, but I don't know how long that'll stand."
"So... what will you do?"
She doesn't answer right away, and cold sweat breaks out on my forehead.
"Sorry," I try to chuckle and break the tension but what comes out is a dry, whimpering cough. "I'm probably not supposed to know."
Kikyo-san gives me a long, sad gaze, then suddenly moves up so that her legs are on the bed. Crossing them, she slouches, looking somewhere past my shoulder.
"I'll tell you everything I know."
I slowly take a bite, trying to make myself occupied, but in fact I am unsettled. Her eyes flicker to my face.
"Feel free to interrupt."
I nod, and Kikyo-san sighs. Heavily.
"At the NPASB, it's called the Shikon Jewel."
"Jewel?" I repeat in surprise. The name is unusual. Kikyo-san shrugs.
"Even though shards are manufactured individually, the idea was that if all of them are connected with each other, they'll form a spherical structure." She shakes her head. "That's all theory, though."
It suddenly hits me. "Because they're scattered, right?" I quickly say, straightening out. A ghosted expression passes over her features, but Kikyo-san smiles, hiding whatever she was feeling at those words.
"Yes. An accident occurred four years ago which is why many of the shards are now missing."
"Accident?"
"The test subject who had the majority of the shards escaped."
"There's someone else with the shards?" I forget about the sandwich, but my hope stills when I see the anger on her face.
"Hitomi Kagewaki. He was a UN army officer in Cambodia but was taken by the tribunal for war crimes."
I know I shouldn't ask, but the twisted and disturbing curiosity pushes me forward.
"What kind of crimes?" I quietly say. Kikyo-san tenses and looks away.
"Perfidy and taking hostages. There was also an accusation of using child soldiers, but they couldn't find the only witness."
I stare at my lap, ignoring the goosebumps that run up my arms.
"By that time, the bureau was nearly ten years in shard production and needed someone to test them out on." Kikyo-san rubs her forehead, covering her scowl. "They struck an undercover deal with the military. Instead of giving Hitomi the lifetime imprisonment he deserves, the army shipped him to our department."
I agitatedly fiddle with the plastic wrap.
"Isn't that... well, not legal?"
"Of course."
Her apathetic remark finishes with a heavy and long silence. Not knowing how to respond, I fiddle with the corner of the plastic. Kikyo-san examines her interlocked fingers.
"Right now he goes by Naraku," she finally - quietly - adds.
I accidentally pull the corner too much, and it jerks off the wrap with a short pop. Awkwardly wringing the torn piece of plastic in my palm, I stare at the woman across me.
"Naraku-san? Him?"
For the first time, Kikyo-san is avoiding my eyes. Her head is turned towards the left, and her eyes slip over the wardrobe.
"When you went with the unit to inspect Kugutsu Kaito, were you... knocked out by any chance?"
My hand flies to the back of my head, and the skull begins to automatically ache.
"I'm not sure." My fingers spasmodically grip on the hair. "I remember standing at the entrance. Then... everything went black."
"I assume you were hit by either Juuromaru or Kageromaru." Even though she's not looking at me, I can feel the sympathy in her words. "They used to serve under Naraku in Cambodia. Now, they're his hitmen. Back then, Naraku most likely figured out that Kugutsu had a shard at the same time as the cops. He probably wanted to frame the cops for the disappearance of the shard, but you slightly changed his plans."
"How so?" I scoot up closer, trying to see her face. My heart is loudly beating against my chest. It was hard to formulate clearly, placing the man that helped me with a military criminal who, judging by what Kikyo-san was saying, wanted the shards just as badly as everyone else.
"Why didn't he extract the shard while I was still in his custody? Surely he could've..." I stumble, feeling hollow. "Dispose of me without anyone knowing?"
A warm hand touches my ankle, and I pull in my shoulders into my neck.
"You're right, he could've," Kikyo-san gently says. I'm silent, and my shoulders rise even higher.
After a while, I relax my shoulders, allowing the soft assurance from her hand to reach my mind. Kikyo-san slightly smiles and moves away, placing the hand back on her lap.
"I think he has some ulterior motive which is why he's letting you slip."
"But can't the NPASB let me slip as well?" I frantically ask, the desperation appearing out of nowhere. My eyes dart away, thoroughly embarrassed.
"I mean..." I stare at the shutters. It's completely dark in between them. Sunset must have passed a long time ago. "They're not touching Naraku-san, even though he has way more shards than I do."
There's regret and defeat on her face.
"They're waiting for him to collect all the shards."
So that's how it is. I absently nod. The plastic lies limp inside my hand.
"I see."
Not looking at her, I messily tuck the unfinished sandwich into the backpack. The piece that I tore off is still in my other hand, and I begin blankly folding it side to side.
"Could you tell me more about the shards?"
"You already know that they're artificial-created parasites that boost the immunity system." Her voice is emotionless. "However, because the experiment was disrupted, the shards are... unfinished." She mirthlessly smirks. "Almost terribly so. Once inserted into a host, they cannot function without it, and extraction is fatal. That's just one of its effects."
Despite her hard words, I gradually calm back down. Maybe it was her voice or the methodical folding of the plastic wrap.
"What are others?"
"The shard often causes health side-effects after initial insertion, especially if it was in strong physical contact."
"Physical contact?..." I tilt my head, not understanding.
"Say you have a shard in your neck." My cheeks burn, but I nod. "If you hit or injure your neck, the shard may start making you nauseous or something."
"Hold on," I hurriedly sit up, sorting through my patched memory. "When I hit my neck..."
The coffee maker loudly buzzes. Kikyo-san tosses her legs off the bed and walks over to the table.
"I already thought about it. It's when Kanna hit the nonexistent fly on your neck, probably on Naraku's orders. My best guess is that he wanted the police to start examining your case."
I suddenly need the sandwich again. Anything to make myself move and distracted. The rich smell of coffee drifts around the room. Kikyo-san, cup in her hand, walks over to the shutters and lightly pushes one down. Watching her, I remember when I first met her. I think she was even dressed the same as now. And all this time, something different, something different from the police, Naraku, and Sango.
"You... you want to help me, Kikyo-san?"
Her finger lifts off the shutter, and it flutters up. She looks over her shoulder.
"I'll try."
Something calming.
A/N: Hello folks! Guess what, the perspective is changing next chapter! (even though litle Kohaku is sooo adorable to write...) Let me know your thoughts on this because a lot of stuff got cleared up... not everything, but of course I can't give away everything in one chapter ;)
Thank you for reading, folks! You're the best.