CHAPTER 36
Miki Hiiragi always considered herself to be a strong woman and, after raising four girls, she was convinced that there was nothing that could dent or shake her morale or resolve. Kagami already proved that theory wrong with her own self-destruction, but at this point, her oldest twin was far from Miki's mind. The newest example showcasing the mother's weakness was her own inability to control her tears as they fell liberally as Tsukasa continued to throw up in the toilet bowl in her hospital bedroom.
The withdraw from the Satan's Blood drug was ravaging Tsukasa with no mercy. For nearly a full twenty-four hours, Tsukasa wished she would just die. The pain was indescribable and unfortunately for her, there was nothing the doctors could do for her. The drug in her system was unlike anything they have ever encountered before, especially with Tsukasa being its only living survivor. All the other meetings with this drug were held in the morgue so not knowing what to give her for detox, Tsukasa had no choice but to let it get out of her cold turkey. The results brought Miki to her knees once again.
"I know…I know it hurts, baby. Be strong, honey, be strong." Miki whispered as she held Tsukasa's short hair back as she continued to heave into the toilet. Tsukasa's body was drenched in cold sweat and she shivered uncontrollably. Her crying was what tore Miki apart the most, seeing her youngest child in such agonizing pain and there was nothing she could do about it.
Inori and Tadao Hiiragi could only watch helplessly from the open door as Tsukasa continued to spew her empty stomach and cry in pain. Every now and then, the dry heaves would stop long enough for Tsukasa to scream how much it hurt inside her. Inori, in a retro gesture, held her father's hand as they watched and supported Tsukasa. Inori found it difficult to control her own anger, especially when Tsukasa screamed that it felt like all her insides were being rung out like a dishrag over a sink. Kagami and Yuka Miyakawa were responsible for Tsukasa's state. Seeing her sister in so much pain after all she wanted to do was help Kagami made Inori want to grab a gun and declare war on the Aku District and all who resided there.
Seeing the reports and rerun footage from the police of their raid on Teasers wasn't enough to quell her anger, especially when it was confirmed that Yuka Miyakawa was able to give them the slip. Yui Narumi, in her own uncharacteristically gesture, took it upon herself to include the Hiiragi residence and their shrine in her daily patrols. She didn't know the extent of Kagami's involvement with this raging psychopath, but she had been a police officer long enough to know the patterns of criminals. She kept them informed of her daily routines, but even though the Hiiragi's were grateful for her dedication, it still didn't take away the sting of justice being delayed for them.
The brittle strength in Tsukasa's hands securing the rim of the bowl finally gave way and she fell to the side. She collapsed onto the cold tile floor and Miki rushed in. She called Tsukasa's name, who was still conscious, but was completely drained of energy. Tadao stepped in and helped Miki lift their daughter up and carry her back to the bed. Inori uncovered the bed and her parents helped their youngest into the bed. Inori covered her sister again and took a warm washcloth and began to dab the cold sweat off her weak sister's forehead. A nurse came in for a status update, but it was still the same as yesterday. The withdraw was torturing her and whether or not it would be over soon was still up for debate. The only thing the hospital could do was change the bandage on Tsukasa's arm as the infected tattoo continued to heal and give her a fresh robe as hers was damped in sweat.
Inori sat by her sister and continued to hold her hand as Tsukasa continued to pant. She even scooched closer, puckered her lips, and gently blew a cool breeze on Tsukasa's burning head. Though she didn't have the strength to speak, Inori could still see that Tsukasa appreciated the gesture by the gentle, broken smile struggling to form on her lips.
"Tadao…what are we going to do about that…thing…on her arm?" Miki winced at the sound of it and could taste the bile as the word left her mouth.
He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "We'll worry about that when all of this garbage is out of her system. For now, we just need to focus on her getting better."
Miki nodded gently, trying to mop up her tears as she pictured how Tsukasa's life was going to be from now on. Her twin sister and best friend was gone and played a role in destroying their family, she was held captive and tortured by that animal, and tattooed by her like common livestock, and worst of all, she now had a dead person hanging over her head through no fault of her own. If all of that wasn't enough, now all she could do was sit back and suffer from this drug planted in her as it made its way out of her system. Miki sighed at how many sessions with Dr. Kishimoto it was going to take to bring Tsukasa back to a forced reformed definition of the word "normal" before all was said and done.
As she stood and nestled against her husband, a knock came at the door. They turned and saw Yutaka Kobayakawa alongside her cousin of Konata Izumi, but when they saw who they had with them, it made the family smile. Even Tsukasa felt a bit of her strength return when she saw her friends, especially the soft and gentle flow of pink hair drifting from the top of Miyuki Takara as she sat in her wheelchair being pushed by Konata.
"Sorry if we're interrupting," Yutaka began, "but we heard Tsukasa-san was feeling ill and we wanted to stop by and say hi."
"That's very nice of you three. Please come in." Tadao said gently upon seeing how Tsukasa's spark began to return.
Yutaka walked in and Konata pushed Miyuki. She still wore the bandage over her eye but if it weren't for it, her smile and gentle embrace would've told anyone who knew her that she was the same old Miyuki and that she was never attacked by Kagami.
"Hello, Tsukasa-san." Miyuki said and slowly stood. "May I give you a hug?"
Tsukasa found the strength to sit up and nod with a weak smile. "Pa-Pwease…"
The two girls embraced and the Hiiragi's were very grateful that their daughter had such good friends. Miyuki let go of Tsukasa and said, "I know it hurts, but don't worry, Tsukasa-san. It will pass."
"I…I hope so. I…I've never fa-felt pain la-like this." Tsukasa weakly replied. "Ha…how are ya-you feeling?"
Miyuki smiled. "The doctor's said I'll be able to leave tomorrow but don't worry, we'll still visit you for as long as you're here."
"Thank you," Tsukasa whispered.
As Miyuki continued to talk to Tsukasa, Yutaka looked at her cousin and still stared at the features on Konata that she first took notice of during breakfast before they came here. The skin below Konata's green eyes were dark and sagging, as if she didn't get much sleep. She was also yawning quite a bit on the train ride over. She decided to ask her about it, though that wasn't all she wanted to talk to her cousin about.
"You okay, Konata? You don't look like you slept very well last night." Yutaka said.
It took a second for Konata to respond. Her fatigue was great and if it weren't for her cousin's voice registering in her mind, she probably would've dozed off standing up with her hands still on Miyuki's wheelchairs.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I uh, didn't get much sleep last night," Konata said, trying to hide the fact that she spent all night in the Aku District looking for Kagami. It was an unsuccessful venture and the operation had to be terminated early last night, especially when Konata was nearly discovered by police twice. She still could've sworn she saw her cousin's patrol car and the cracking gunfire nearby was enough to spook her as well. It still didn't change the fact that she still planned on trekking back into that wasteland until the job was done. She lied to Yutaka: "You know me. Once I get on a gaming roll, I just can't stop."
Yutaka hummed incredulously. "That's funny, because I didn't hear you last night. I even remember getting up to use the bathroom last night and I didn't hear anything coming from your room."
Konata stammered and struggled for a cover. "Oh uh, I it-I had my headphones plugged in. It was one of those first person shooters and felt like cranking it up. You know, to make it more real, and I didn't want to wake up the house with my epic warfighting skills."
The blue-haired girl finished with a forced giggle and turned away. Yutaka hummed again and narrowed her eyes at Konata. She turned away and decided now wasn't the time to call her cousin out. Yutaka knew she wasn't playing any games last night, but she still planned on asking Konata why she snuck into the house through the front door before dawn this morning. Just not now. For now, she continued to have a pleasant visit with Tsukasa.
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"And as you can see, this may be a studio, but the amount of square feet you get for this model is way above average for such a model." The middle-aged landlord said as he let Kagami Hiiragi look around the small apartment. "I can see you're rather young so this would make an excellent place for an aspiring college student and I can let you have it for 35,000 yen a month plus a 10,000 yen deposit."
Kagami was able to hide her sarcastic huff as she heard that last part. College wasn't going to be in her future. Not for a long time, if ever at this point, but that didn't matter to her anymore. Only her baby mattered and she kept that little being inside her in mind as she analyzed the apartment. There was no doubt that this was one of the nicer ones within her price range. It was pretty spacious for a studio apartment with one bathroom and a small kitchenette area. The apartment was also in a nicer part of town, not too far from Saitama's city limits and was still well within good schools and plenty of prospective employment opportunities.
"Out of curiosity, are there any children that live in this building?" Kagami asked and held her breath.
The landlord scratched his head. "No. This is a building more for single people and a lot of college students. Truth be told, I don't really rent to people with families. It's nothing personal, just supply and demand. There's a demand for a building where people like it quiet, so I supply them with said building."
Kagami closed her eyes and sighed. She should've known and even saw it coming to a certain extent. Why would this apartment be like the others? Of course all the affordable apartment buildings were the ramshackle ones near or in the Aku District, but Kagami would die before she would go back there and even believed that would be best for her baby as well. It wasn't fair and it enabled Kagami to see the bigger picture of the real world and its constant roundabout cycles of below average lifestyles. Single mothers with kids could only afford the crumby buildings in the crumby neighborhoods, where their kids were more likely to get into trouble in the streets and fall into crowds like Ryuji and Yuka.
"Oh…I see…" Kagami said gloomily.
The landlord cocked his head until he figured it out. "Oh…you're…you're pregnant…aren't you?"
Kagami nodded.
"I see." He said, his tone changing from enthusiastic salesman to annoyed spectator. "Well if that's the case, I don't think this place will be the right fit for you. I'm sorry."
Kagami leered and turned to walk out. She muttered something under her breath but the landlord didn't hear, nor did he really care. He danced this routine before and was bored with it. Maybe hearing Kagami's full story from her graduation, to her sister's and best friend's death that led her to his doorstep would've swayed him but she wouldn't use her mistakes to validate her worth to him. She was still hell-bent on fixing everything on her own. After all, she was going to be the only adult and role model in this child's life so she had to do more than just talk the talk.
When her fourth apartment hopping session with just as much disappointment, Kagami stood on a street corner and sighed. She stroked her stomach tenderly and feeling the growing baby's warmth was enough to make her smile again. Whispering sweet words to it, she assured her child that mommy was going to figure it out for both of them. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small notebook and pen.
She flipped it open and crossed out the fourth address. Three more addresses of apartment buildings and phone numbers of their landlords sat below the blackened four and Kagami readied herself to call the next landlord until she felt her stomach growl. She decided it was time to take a break and head back to her motel, but not before she would stop at the grocery store. No more fast food or getting by on instant ramen. From now on, she was going to cook everything herself and prepare healthy meals for herself and her child.
Though she had limited culinary skills that paled in comparison to Tsukasa's, she was going to do the best with the limited amount she knew. She stopped at the store and immediately jetted for the produce section, bypassing the candy section where her favorite pockey just happened to be on sale that day. The novelty goodies didn't even catch her attention as she already thought about what she wanted to eat for dinner. Money was tight after finding that better motel that had to act like an apartment for the time being until she could secure a permanent residence. The cost of her medications to keep her and her child healthy were also starting to thin the stack of cash she had as her final run as a prostitute. That was another thing on her mind; finding gainful employment.
Her employment and housing situation could wait, she told herself as she picked up a head of lettuce and packed it in her cart. The most important thing at the moment was making sure her baby was going to get the proper food and medication they both needed. Kagami never thought she would admit it to herself (nor find herself in the situation to admit such facts), but she was very happy. For the first time in quite a while, she was very happy and she had this baby to thank for it. Her mother was right when she said that the joys and wonders of being a mother were indescribable and that's what it was. To know that there was something inside her that depended on her for everything was a very humbling concept.
The things that a strong young woman like herself once took for granted: the ability to find food on her own, the ability to protect herself in danger, the ability to think for herself. All of those things she now had to be in control of for she was going to be a parent. Parent. The word still made Kagami shiver as she would in a cold night. She was able to admit to herself that yes, she was scared of becoming a mother. However, there was one thing that scared her even more and that served as her motivator to fix the damage she had done already. That was failing another person who depended on her for protection and guidance in the world.
All and all, Kagami made off with a pretty decent bounty. She was thinking of a baked chicken breast with mixed vegetables and a side salad with a few assorted pieces of fruits for dessert. She paid the cashier the money and carried her bags out of the store.
"You hungry, baby?" She asked her womb as she walked down the sidewalk. "I hope you are, because mommy is going to make you a healthy and nutritious dinner for the both of us."
Kagami was still feeling good about herself and her prospects with this child, even when she rounded the corner that would take her down a new direction in her life, even though it looked just like any other street on the outskirts of Saitama. When she saw the dark blue van parked on the side of the road, her old instincts planted into her during her tenure in the Aku District resurfaced. It was the only vehicle on the street and Kagami suddenly realized she was all alone. She kept her eyes cast at the ground and began to hasten her pace and she could feel her heart start to palpitate as she passed the blue van.
The temptation to glance into the driver's window was strong but she was able to keep her face down. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but there was something about that van that seemed suspicious to her. Maybe it was the lingering post traumatic memories of a hell storm of bullets nearly tearing her to shreds at Teasers that one night, the night she was first introduced to death and the twisted mind of Yuka Miyakawa. Regardless, she saw the crosswalk ahead and knew her motel was on that block.
As she neared the corner, two big men a few years older than her stepped into her path. She held in her surprised shriek and looked up at them. They each had poorly groomed facial hair, piercings in their eyebrows, earrings, and wore loose, baggy clothes.
"Hey there, sweetheart. What are you up to today?" One of them asked rudely.
Kagami tightened the grip on her groceries. Her first thought was that she had fucked one or both of these guys at some point in her career and now they were looking to solicit her again. They definitely seemed like the lowlife types who would sneak around the Aku District looking for a quick bang.
"I was just going home." Kagami replied quickly and tried to brush past them.
They stood together, blocking her path. The other said: "What's the hurry? My friend and I were just on our way to a party and were hoping to have a pretty little thing such as yourself escort us there."
Kagami narrowed her eyebrows at him and prepared herself for the situation to go downhill. "Why don't one of you two shit-tards put makeup and a wig on the other? You'll definitely be turning a few heads when you get there. So fuck off and leave me alone."
Kagami cleverly side-stepped them and was about to make it past them. The two boys frowned at her and one stepped forward. He grabbed Kagami by the shoulder, who then quickly acted. She swung one of her grocery bags around and smacked him in the head, tearing the bag and exploding the food everywhere and he lost his grip. Kagami seized the opportunity and bolted as the other chased her.
As Kagami dashed for the crosswalk, she realized she had walked into a trap when the sound of the van's engine vroomed and the tires screamed across the macadam. Kagami ran into the street but only made it halfway until the blue van screeched to a halt and the sliding door ripped open. Two more boys dressed similarly to the ones chasing her jumped out and grabbed her.
Kagami screamed as they grabbed her arms and hoisted her up. The other two boys secured her legs and carried her to the van and threw her in.
"Hey what the fuck is going on?! Let me go! Please let me go!" Kagami screamed and the second set of boys jumped in and pinned her down. They tied her legs and wrists together as she continued to plea for mercy. "Don't do this! Please stop! Please don't hurt me!"
"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" One of them yelled and slipped a hood over Kagami's head, throwing her into darkness. "Our boss wants to have a word with you. This is payback for our brothers!"
"Wait, wait! I'm pregnant! Please don't hurt me! I'm pregnant!" Kagami screamed as reality hit home. This had to do with that shootout at Teasers and that reality became more violent when she heard guns cocking in the darkness.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the gangster she hit with the groceries snapped. "Like we haven't heard that one before. We know you're one of Yuka Miyakawa's girls so shut up or we'll kill you."
The van was thrown into another gear and it began speeding away. Kagami once again couldn't keep herself composed and she started to cry once again. She would never be free of Yuka Miyakawa or her crimes.
