p class="MsoNormal"It wasn't that Haruko hadn't snuck out past curfew before. It was one of those things everyone did; still punishable by death, naturally, but almost impossible to enforce, especially with knowledge of the security cameras. It just had been a while./p
p class="MsoNormal"Those nights, in the humid, English air, sneaking away from Oba-chan as much as Kira, didn't cross Haruko's mind too often, but they were all she was thinking about as she dashed in between alleyways, following the address./p
p class="MsoNormal"Tokyo was very different than England at night. It was deader only because it was more alive during the day./p
p class="MsoNormal"She could have not gone. Haruko had considered that, for a moment, that evening, as Kira's eyes watched her chop vegetables. But to not go would be certain death; going would only be likely death. And Haruko knew where all the security cameras were./p
p class="MsoNormal"Besides, if it was what she thought it was, she could always report it to the SLA./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko headed down the alleyways, the posters shrouded by dark. It was along the same route as the SLA's office, but further along the same path, in the old warehouse district, by the docks./p
p class="MsoNormal"She had never been here during the day, but, now that it was night, she couldn't help but wonder what they looked like in the day. They almost imposed a second horizon against the night sky—one with boxy, artificial shapes. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"A lone yellow light shone down from the top of one of the warehouses, showing it was number forty-five. The address was for sixty-three, so Haruko counted eighteen warehouses, hoping the number system was logical./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was, and the eighteenth warehouse was lit with a yellow, oily light from inside./p
p class="MsoNormal"The interior was set up like an office, with a large plywood desk facing some chairs, ripped and covered in mold. Several kerosene lamps were set up around the space, casting two figures in silhouette./p
p class="MsoNormal"If the man wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. So, this must be the meeting he was talking about./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hello?" Haruko asked the dark interior of the warehouse./p
p class="MsoNormal"Both figures turned around to look her in the eye. "Haruko," the man said. "Please, have a seat."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She sat down in the chair closest to her, an armchair with a large slash through the seat that revealed the yellowish, stuffed interior. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Aoi," the other figure, a woman said. She had a well-shaped figure, with two intense eyes behind a rather large nose./p
p class="MsoNormal""You can call me Michika," the man said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko committed their names to memory. Names were power, and to give someone a name was to limit their power. People used to summon demons by saying their name. But, by the same token, it was how they were exorcised. "Haruko," Haruko said, wondering if he had already told the woman—Aoi—her real name. "Why did you bring me here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""How long have you worked at the hotel?" Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal""Seven years," Haruko said. "If you wanted to interrogate me, you could have done that there."/p
p class="MsoNormal""So, since you were very young," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko shook her head. "I was a teenager; I wasn't that young." And how terrible those years were, before anyone took her seriously./p
p class="MsoNormal""How old are you?" Aoi asked, a note of sarcasm in her voice./p
p class="MsoNormal""Twenty-six, this month," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""A Scorpio," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko had no idea what that meant, but she nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""The people there trust you, like you," Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal"They occasionally complained that she worked them too hard, but, "generally, yes."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And your clients do," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""There's a meeting there, next week," Michika said. "It would be good to have someone on the inside. And someone with your condition," he nodded at the space above her head./p
p class="MsoNormal""What kind of meeting?" Haruko asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""One of the nations of the world is sending their ambassador to meet with Kira," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""And why do you want me to be there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi looked at Michika. Michika looked at Aoi./p
p class="MsoNormal""Did you …" Aoi paused. "Did you … not tell her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika shook his head. "It wasn't safe," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal""We're the resistance," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko made a big show of turning her head to the right and left, looking at the wide expanse of unfilled warehouse space. "Really?" she said. "This is the whole resistance?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""As far as you're concerned, yes," Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko thought about laughing at that. It wouldn't be a good idea, she decided. Michika still knew her real name./p
p class="MsoNormal""There are other cells," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""And you're resisting …" Haruko paused for a moment, letting the ridiculousness of her words settle in around them. "Kira," she finished./p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika and Aoi looked at each other. "Yes," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's suicide," Haruko said. "You work for the SLA—you should know. What's your plan, anyway?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Our plan?" Aoi said. She walked towards Haruko, every edge of her body outlined by the kerosene light. "You're going to listen in on that meeting, tell us what they're—"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I think she means our goal, Aoi," Michika said and sighed. "You poor kids—you don't know anything but this world."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And this world is a perfectly fine one," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""You don't really believe that," Michika said. "People used to be able to go where they wanted, do what they wanted, say what they wanted. Sure, there was infighting and disagreements and people did things they weren't supposed to—but," he sighed. "We were free."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Is that really something you're willing to die for?" Haruko said. "Those lofty ideals. Are they worth your life?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika walked right up to Haruko, so close it almost made her flinch. He tilted his head both ways, so that the vibrant red showed up behind his irises. "I think you've forgotten," he said. "I don't have much time left. I've given up enough of my lifespan for a worse cause already."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko shook her head, not letting herself be intimidated. "Which one did you join first?" she asked. "The resistance, or the SLA?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""SLA," he said, taking a few steps backwards. "I was once an opportunist, like yourself, but I've always been resistance in my heart." He paused. "I've been taking the frivolous missions for a long time, hoping to find someone like yourself. I assumed it would be someone transgender—" he shrugged./p
p class="MsoNormal""Someone who's name doesn't match their name," Aoi said. "Who can't be killed except for by the red-eyes."/p
p class="MsoNormal""We're going to figure out what the ambassador is planning, and then work from there," Michika said. "Most likely, he will have some kind of access to Kira, and that's something we could use."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Use to do what?" Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi shrugged. "Kill him, hopefully."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A moment passed in complete silence./p
p class="MsoNormal""Kill … Kira?" Haruko said. "Do you even know if that's possible? If he can kill people at will—"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Michika said. "But I've been working on this cause for a long time—much longer than either of you two kids—and we're going to make progress on it."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Haruko said. "You're going to die."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Someday, yes," Michika said. "But everybody dies someday." He paused. "You know when we used to say that, we assumed it applied to people who were old and have already accomplished a lot in their life. Nowadays, by 'someday' we mean tomorrow."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And you will die tomorrow," Haruko said. "If you keep this up." She paused, wondering if she should remind him of this fact. "You know I'm an informant. And that I have no problem reporting people."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi grimaced at that, her normally pretty features becoming ugly./p
p class="MsoNormal""I know," Michika said. "But whose word do you think they'll believe? A lowly informant, or mine?" he said./p
p class="MsoNormal""The idea of a red-eyes being a member of the resistance is pretty far-fetched," Haruko said. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Precisely because it's far-fetched," Michika said. "Many lower-level operatives have been killed over the years."/p
p class="MsoNormal"At those words, Haruko's mind was filled with screaming, yelling in English, the sight of blood on the floor, Oba-chan's lifeless—/p
p class="MsoNormal""But they would never go after someone as high as myself. Above suspicion, and so, beneath it." He smiled./p
p class="MsoNormal""Now we have two SLA members," Aoi said. "I guess this is a good thing."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And what do you think killing Kira will accomplish?" Haruko asked. "Do you think everything will just go back to normal, afterwards?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika nodded. "It would be nice to know what different national leaders are planning on doing. That was the organization system of the world, before Kira came along, and it will be afterwards."/p
p class="MsoNormal""How do you know someone won't take his place?" Haruko asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Because there never was one before him," Aoi said. "He's the only one who has ever existed, so there's no reason to suspect another will." She paused. "And if one does, we'll kill him too."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko leaned back in her chair, trying to put all of the pieces together. It all depended on whether or not Kira's power was transferrable, but that wasn't something any of them could know at that point./p
p class="MsoNormal""It's not the man we have the problem with," Aoi continued. "It's the idea. That any of us could be killed at will, for any reason." She paused. "And that the power to do so rests in the hands of a genocidal, egotisitical, hubristic, selfish, self-proclaimed God, who's as focused on getting people to worship him as he is trying to end crime."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko flinched at the harsh words./p
p class="MsoNormal""I bet you've never heard anyone say that before," Aoi said. "But that's the power that being here …" she gestured around the warehouse space, "gives me. Power that should be mine, anyway."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't know," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""You think she should be killed for saying that?" Michika asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Haruko said. "I can't say I disagree with what you're saying, but …" she paused. "I just don't think it's worth my life."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And what were you planning on pursuing beforehand?" Aoi asked. "Working your way up in the hotel business? Always living under the eyes of the posters and the security cameras? Now you can be apart of something bigger."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You don't have to be willing to die for it," Michika said. "I will kill you if you don't help us. So you only have to want to live."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko nodded. "When's the meeting?" she asked./p
p class="MsoNormal"Those nights, in the humid, English air, sneaking away from Oba-chan as much as Kira, didn't cross Haruko's mind too often, but they were all she was thinking about as she dashed in between alleyways, following the address./p
p class="MsoNormal"Tokyo was very different than England at night. It was deader only because it was more alive during the day./p
p class="MsoNormal"She could have not gone. Haruko had considered that, for a moment, that evening, as Kira's eyes watched her chop vegetables. But to not go would be certain death; going would only be likely death. And Haruko knew where all the security cameras were./p
p class="MsoNormal"Besides, if it was what she thought it was, she could always report it to the SLA./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko headed down the alleyways, the posters shrouded by dark. It was along the same route as the SLA's office, but further along the same path, in the old warehouse district, by the docks./p
p class="MsoNormal"She had never been here during the day, but, now that it was night, she couldn't help but wonder what they looked like in the day. They almost imposed a second horizon against the night sky—one with boxy, artificial shapes. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"A lone yellow light shone down from the top of one of the warehouses, showing it was number forty-five. The address was for sixty-three, so Haruko counted eighteen warehouses, hoping the number system was logical./p
p class="MsoNormal"It was, and the eighteenth warehouse was lit with a yellow, oily light from inside./p
p class="MsoNormal"The interior was set up like an office, with a large plywood desk facing some chairs, ripped and covered in mold. Several kerosene lamps were set up around the space, casting two figures in silhouette./p
p class="MsoNormal"If the man wanted to kill her, he would have done so already. So, this must be the meeting he was talking about./p
p class="MsoNormal""Hello?" Haruko asked the dark interior of the warehouse./p
p class="MsoNormal"Both figures turned around to look her in the eye. "Haruko," the man said. "Please, have a seat."/p
p class="MsoNormal"She sat down in the chair closest to her, an armchair with a large slash through the seat that revealed the yellowish, stuffed interior. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal""I'm Aoi," the other figure, a woman said. She had a well-shaped figure, with two intense eyes behind a rather large nose./p
p class="MsoNormal""You can call me Michika," the man said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko committed their names to memory. Names were power, and to give someone a name was to limit their power. People used to summon demons by saying their name. But, by the same token, it was how they were exorcised. "Haruko," Haruko said, wondering if he had already told the woman—Aoi—her real name. "Why did you bring me here?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""How long have you worked at the hotel?" Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal""Seven years," Haruko said. "If you wanted to interrogate me, you could have done that there."/p
p class="MsoNormal""So, since you were very young," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko shook her head. "I was a teenager; I wasn't that young." And how terrible those years were, before anyone took her seriously./p
p class="MsoNormal""How old are you?" Aoi asked, a note of sarcasm in her voice./p
p class="MsoNormal""Twenty-six, this month," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""A Scorpio," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko had no idea what that meant, but she nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""The people there trust you, like you," Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal"They occasionally complained that she worked them too hard, but, "generally, yes."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And your clients do," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko nodded./p
p class="MsoNormal""There's a meeting there, next week," Michika said. "It would be good to have someone on the inside. And someone with your condition," he nodded at the space above her head./p
p class="MsoNormal""What kind of meeting?" Haruko asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""One of the nations of the world is sending their ambassador to meet with Kira," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""And why do you want me to be there?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi looked at Michika. Michika looked at Aoi./p
p class="MsoNormal""Did you …" Aoi paused. "Did you … not tell her?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika shook his head. "It wasn't safe," he said./p
p class="MsoNormal""We're the resistance," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko made a big show of turning her head to the right and left, looking at the wide expanse of unfilled warehouse space. "Really?" she said. "This is the whole resistance?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""As far as you're concerned, yes," Michika said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko thought about laughing at that. It wouldn't be a good idea, she decided. Michika still knew her real name./p
p class="MsoNormal""There are other cells," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""And you're resisting …" Haruko paused for a moment, letting the ridiculousness of her words settle in around them. "Kira," she finished./p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika and Aoi looked at each other. "Yes," Aoi said./p
p class="MsoNormal""That's suicide," Haruko said. "You work for the SLA—you should know. What's your plan, anyway?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Our plan?" Aoi said. She walked towards Haruko, every edge of her body outlined by the kerosene light. "You're going to listen in on that meeting, tell us what they're—"/p
p class="MsoNormal""I think she means our goal, Aoi," Michika said and sighed. "You poor kids—you don't know anything but this world."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And this world is a perfectly fine one," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""You don't really believe that," Michika said. "People used to be able to go where they wanted, do what they wanted, say what they wanted. Sure, there was infighting and disagreements and people did things they weren't supposed to—but," he sighed. "We were free."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Is that really something you're willing to die for?" Haruko said. "Those lofty ideals. Are they worth your life?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika walked right up to Haruko, so close it almost made her flinch. He tilted his head both ways, so that the vibrant red showed up behind his irises. "I think you've forgotten," he said. "I don't have much time left. I've given up enough of my lifespan for a worse cause already."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko shook her head, not letting herself be intimidated. "Which one did you join first?" she asked. "The resistance, or the SLA?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""SLA," he said, taking a few steps backwards. "I was once an opportunist, like yourself, but I've always been resistance in my heart." He paused. "I've been taking the frivolous missions for a long time, hoping to find someone like yourself. I assumed it would be someone transgender—" he shrugged./p
p class="MsoNormal""Someone who's name doesn't match their name," Aoi said. "Who can't be killed except for by the red-eyes."/p
p class="MsoNormal""We're going to figure out what the ambassador is planning, and then work from there," Michika said. "Most likely, he will have some kind of access to Kira, and that's something we could use."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Use to do what?" Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi shrugged. "Kill him, hopefully."/p
p class="MsoNormal"A moment passed in complete silence./p
p class="MsoNormal""Kill … Kira?" Haruko said. "Do you even know if that's possible? If he can kill people at will—"/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Michika said. "But I've been working on this cause for a long time—much longer than either of you two kids—and we're going to make progress on it."/p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Haruko said. "You're going to die."/p
p class="MsoNormal""Someday, yes," Michika said. "But everybody dies someday." He paused. "You know when we used to say that, we assumed it applied to people who were old and have already accomplished a lot in their life. Nowadays, by 'someday' we mean tomorrow."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And you will die tomorrow," Haruko said. "If you keep this up." She paused, wondering if she should remind him of this fact. "You know I'm an informant. And that I have no problem reporting people."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Aoi grimaced at that, her normally pretty features becoming ugly./p
p class="MsoNormal""I know," Michika said. "But whose word do you think they'll believe? A lowly informant, or mine?" he said./p
p class="MsoNormal""The idea of a red-eyes being a member of the resistance is pretty far-fetched," Haruko said. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"/p
p class="MsoNormal""Precisely because it's far-fetched," Michika said. "Many lower-level operatives have been killed over the years."/p
p class="MsoNormal"At those words, Haruko's mind was filled with screaming, yelling in English, the sight of blood on the floor, Oba-chan's lifeless—/p
p class="MsoNormal""But they would never go after someone as high as myself. Above suspicion, and so, beneath it." He smiled./p
p class="MsoNormal""Now we have two SLA members," Aoi said. "I guess this is a good thing."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And what do you think killing Kira will accomplish?" Haruko asked. "Do you think everything will just go back to normal, afterwards?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Michika nodded. "It would be nice to know what different national leaders are planning on doing. That was the organization system of the world, before Kira came along, and it will be afterwards."/p
p class="MsoNormal""How do you know someone won't take his place?" Haruko asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""Because there never was one before him," Aoi said. "He's the only one who has ever existed, so there's no reason to suspect another will." She paused. "And if one does, we'll kill him too."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko leaned back in her chair, trying to put all of the pieces together. It all depended on whether or not Kira's power was transferrable, but that wasn't something any of them could know at that point./p
p class="MsoNormal""It's not the man we have the problem with," Aoi continued. "It's the idea. That any of us could be killed at will, for any reason." She paused. "And that the power to do so rests in the hands of a genocidal, egotisitical, hubristic, selfish, self-proclaimed God, who's as focused on getting people to worship him as he is trying to end crime."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko flinched at the harsh words./p
p class="MsoNormal""I bet you've never heard anyone say that before," Aoi said. "But that's the power that being here …" she gestured around the warehouse space, "gives me. Power that should be mine, anyway."/p
p class="MsoNormal""I don't know," Haruko said./p
p class="MsoNormal""You think she should be killed for saying that?" Michika asked./p
p class="MsoNormal""No," Haruko said. "I can't say I disagree with what you're saying, but …" she paused. "I just don't think it's worth my life."/p
p class="MsoNormal""And what were you planning on pursuing beforehand?" Aoi asked. "Working your way up in the hotel business? Always living under the eyes of the posters and the security cameras? Now you can be apart of something bigger."/p
p class="MsoNormal""You don't have to be willing to die for it," Michika said. "I will kill you if you don't help us. So you only have to want to live."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Haruko nodded. "When's the meeting?" she asked./p