Chapter 9
"Maybe I don't want to go with you."
Nona sighed. For all his decent work as an Arbiter, Ginti really was a genuinely grumpy guy. She had only ever seen him smile out of sadism. Frankly, his somewhat psychopathic traits often caused her concern for his guests.
Ginti was also incredibly, inexplicably stubborn.
She stepped towards him, arms folded as she looked up at his face. "Well guess what," She began, "you're coming. If not because I'm your superior, then because you said you would support me in the rebellion." Ginti swallowed and averted his gaze, teeth grit. "Yeah but - just going out and getting involved with unorthodox methods - it's risky. And I actually do not want Oculus to dismantle me."
Moving away again, Nona felt confident enough to turn her back on him. "Come along." Soon, seconds later, she heard another set of footsteps besides her own leaving the bar.
She allowed herself a private smile. "Good boy."
Castra was eager to get it over and done with; who knew where the old man had surveillance over them. He did seem to always know where Nona was, after all.
Let him find out, Nona kept repeating internally. I will not hide.
Swivelling around in her chair, the mortician gave a pleased grin around the popsicle she was sucking, and crossed her legs. She removed the popsicle. "Ah, so this is the guinea pig. Hello, Ginti."
The redhead frowned. "Guinea - ?" He looked to Nona for answers, but when none came, he focused back on Castra. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
"Oh, I'm just a fellow Arbiter. I'm a veritable Morticia, you might say."
"I would say Atropos*," Mumbled the shorter Arbitress.
Castra ignored her remark. "Anyway, we would like you to help us with something, Ginti. Quite an important thing."
Ginti remained suspicious.
Glancing around the room, he took in its murky allure of crimson and violet tones. The screens before Castra were the only lights to provide a contrast to all the soft hues.
He briefly wondered why this place was so afraid of decent lighting, before his eyes caught sight of a box in the corner of the room. It resembled a simplified phone box, with wires and circuit boards for panelling. The door hung ajar, and he noted the presence of no less than four deadbolts on the outside.
"Yes, about that," Nona began, "we'd like you to get in it."
Akise understood the concept of a lie-in all too well. It seemed that the physical and mental stress he had recently been under had taken its toll as he rested.
He awoke at 11AM when his mother rapped her knuckles on his door. Rolling over and letting out a deep breath, he felt lighter than air for all of two seconds before the weight of his existence collapsed onto his chest once more.
It felt as if he had a bus resting on his ribcage, slowly squeezing the life out of him.
He had resolved the quarrel between himself and Chiaki. His mother was only staying for another day and she was comfortable.
But something was not right.
Getting up, Akise stretched, felt his spine crack, felt his muscles contract and then relax. He picked up his phone to find two texts.
Hey, thanks for the dinner. I hope you're feeling alright now. x
It was from Chiaki. Akise was momentarily confused about the little 'x' before remembering that that was the digital representation of a kiss. He sincerely hoped it was only a friendly or sympathetic gesture.
The other was sent from Hokkaido Academy Office.
Mr Nakamori,
Your half-pay leave from work has lasted a week. If you are in need of a longer absence, please contact Mrs Murakami, head mistress. Please note that leave must be suitably justified, via medical reports, proof of a grievance etc.
Regards,
Hokkaido Academy Office
And now a new problem had arisen.
Akise locked his phone, deciding to deal with it tomorrow. Tomorrow, he concluded, would be that day that he would quit. He wasn't even certain if teachers could quite their positions, but this new attitude about teaching was not going to change.
The locked phone screen faded to black, and Akise could see his reflection clearly. His dark hair, mussed, wild, was getting longer. His lips were dry and cracked; he licked them.
His eyes, glacial blue, stared right back at him. Akise was familiar with the notion that the eyes were the windows to the soul, but his own eyes appeared as brick walls.
Nona was keeping something from him. He knew it. He did not know why, but he felt that he had a right to know about his own life. Actually, Akise knew that he had that right, and it truly infuriated him to not understand what was happening.
Hot, itchy frustration took hold of him. He would have his phone call with Nona tomorrow: that would be the opportune time to interrogate her for information.
Opening his bedroom door, he saw that his mother was already in the kitchen, having slept in herself, preparing some light breakfast.
Already dressed, she turned to face him, a gentle smile on her face. "Good morning."
"Good morning," He muttered, slumping onto a stool by the kitchen island. A cup of coffee was placed before him and he grumbled a 'thank you'.
Haruko frowned. "Why are you behaving like such a grump?"
"I am not entirely sure. Please accept my apologies." Akise put the cup to his lips, sipped, than cringed as he realised what the liquid was. "I'm afraid I no longer like coffee, Mother."
His mother blinked in surprise. "Really? ….Ah well, people's tastes change as they age, I suppose." She hesitated over the sink, planning to wash the rest of the dishes despite her son's protests. "About what you said last night -"
"It was all true, Mother," Akise stated, "I will not pretend."
At this, Haruko simply nodded, more to herself than anyone else. Then, with renewed spirit, he clapped her soapy hands together, creating a spray of bubbles. "Right, get dressed, I am determined to go shopping today."
"W-what?"
"You're going to show me around town, dear."
"But you already know this -"
"Come on, make your mother's day! I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to spend a day out with my little boy."
Tipping the coffee down the drain, he handed his mother the mug to wash. "A day trip in return for the dishes being washed?"
Haruko swatted his arm. "Cheeky."
"I'm not getting in there."
"Get in the box, Ginti."
He tilted his head in a way that conveyed a suppressed want to make this situation violent. Nona tilted her head the other way, daring him to defy her.
"Please, sweetie," Castra purred, standing and gracefully moving over to him. Nona had never realised just how tall the mortician was, until her long, dark-skinned legs were on show, ending in deadly-looking stilettos.
She was even taller than the redheaded Arbiter, who, upon her advance, became increasingly defensive. "What does the box do?"
Castra looked through long eyelashes down at him. "It's not so much the box, as what's in the box."
"This will be a huge advance to our rebellion, Ginti," Nona added. "Don't you want to be the one that kick-starts this party?"
Ginti's shoulders sagged. "Will it hurt." It was a rather childish-sounding question, phrased as a cynical sentence.
Nona cocked an eyebrow and Castra let out a little giggle. "Doubtful, honey." She caught Ginti's eye and winked at him. "It's more fun when it hurts a little bit, though, isn't it?"
Unable to take any more overt flirting, Ginti stepped towards the box. He entered it; Castra locked all four deadbolts.
"There are several cuffs on the far wall of the box," Nona informed him, "at the wrists, neck, waist, knees and ankles. Step back into them." Ginti did as instructed, and felt the aforementioned cuffs grip parts of his body. He began to perspire.
The vice around his neck was rather firm, threatening to remove his air supply. Ginti held on, determined not to show weakness.
"Wow, he's brave," Commented Castra, meeting Nona's eyes.
There were whirring and beeping sounds coming from the circuit boards. Suddenly, Ginti felt something move directly behind his head. A sharp, thin object pierced the base of his skull, borrowing in. While it was true that Arbiters could feel pain, it was a muted version of it - muffled, even. Therefore, Ginti was not in agony, so much as a state of deep discomfort. He winced and hissed as he felt it bore through bone.
Castra moved over to the box and rapped her nails against the glass. "Almost done, love."
The needle-like object inside Ginti's head deposited its cargo before retracting in the span of a millisecond. The whole process had taken only one minute.
Unlocking the door, Castra opened it, and Ginti stumbled through into the room. His tanned skin was covered in a thin layer of perspiration.
Rubbing the back of his head profusely, Ginti locked his fiery gaze onto Nona. "What the hell was that?"
"An implant. Sort of like a microchip," She explained nonchalantly. "Think of it as an imitation of the human amygdala, seeing as we don't have them. It contains chemicals and hormones, plus other neurotransmitters to help Arbiters feel emotions as humans do. The implant takes about three minutes to activate itself." Nona tilted her head. "Enjoy your last moments of emotional detachment, Ginti, things are about to get shaken up."
The redhead quirked an eyebrow in anticipation.
The seconds counted down.
"This implant will begin to work by finding your emotional baseline. Once it has, everything will settle," Nona continued to inform him, as he felt his pulse once again begin to gallop.
"Decim went through exactly the same process," Added Castra.
"Ginti you will feel practically every emotion known to man in about ten seconds, and it's going to hurt," Nona swallowed. "I'm sorry."
Ginti had planned to reply - he had already assembled a cocky retort in his mind. However, an emotional grenade set itself off inside his head before he had the chance to voice it.
Confusion. Anger, burning fury. Crippling despair. Blossoming joy. Disgusting nausea. Unbearable, paralysing pain.
Even after he had collapsed on the floor, Ginti didn't stop screaming.
Monday had rolled around fast.
The second week after his change; the second week of his now unrecognisable life.
As he made a light dinner, Akise pondered over the events of yesterday: going shopping and sightseeing with his mother, then accompanying her to the train station and saying goodbye.
He also recalled the events of today, which had consisted of calling up his superiors and relieving himself of his job.
It had been a tricky process to say the least. It was indeed true that usually, teacher could not quit their positions of responsibility, however Akise had made his own case.
"I might not be mentally stable to continue teaching."
A shocked Mrs Murasaki had replied - or rather demanded - that he provide conclusive proof to his instability. Akise had subsequently arranged a psychological evaluation at the local hospital.
It was tomorrow.
And he could not be more terrified of the results.
Nona rang the number from the phone in Ginti's bar. Ginti himself was on the sofa opposite the counter, unconscious. When he had been screaming, Nona had attempted to paralyse him in the hope of detaching any sensation of pain, but it soon became apparent that his ailment was psychological, not physiological.
It was mesmerising, how much of an effect emotions had upon the physical form.
Now, receiver held to her ear, Nona waited.
Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep -
"Hello, Nakamori residence."
"Decim, it's Nona," Her eyes were downcast. "I have something important to tell you."
Decim listened intently as Nona explained her revolution to him. It was a welcome distraction to the confusing realm in which he now lived.
"And for what reason is it necessary for me to know this?"
"I might need your help."
Decim frowned. "...You may not have realised, Miss Nona, but I am in a completely different world from the Arbiters."
"Was that a joke?" Nona scoffed. "Look, if need be, I could fix the wiring in this place to that you would be able to speak directly with Oculus. You could stop him."
"I doubt that my words will overcome him. But...I could try. Nona, there is something which I urgently need to ask you."
Here it comes. As she'd suspected, it hadn't taken him long to figure it out. Nona couldn't imagine how he must be feeling. "Yes, Decim?"
Decim sighed. "Have you been completely honest with me?"
Her reply, whilst strained, was not hesitant. "No."
"I have been interacting with Chiaki, and I have discovered our past. But it doesn't feel like my past. I still cannot understand what has happened to me - please, Nona, please will you explain to me?" Taut, unstable anticipation welled inside Decim, and with it, the fear of betrayal.
Biting her lip, conflicted, Nona blurted, "I can't, Decim, I...I have to go. There are...complications on my end -"
"But none on mine?" Decim restrained himself from sounding incredulous, but only just. "This has overwhelmed my life, my relationships with others, my job - I have an appointment with a therapist tomorrow! Something is very wrong, and I must know what it is -"
"Decim if you ever trusted me, you need to believe me right now when I say that actually, you don't need to know what happened to you. You are so incredibly fortunate to experience real life; forget your past, and focus on the present. Focus on...who you are now. Life your life. Do you understand?"
Heart racing, Decim forced himself to lessen his iron grip on the receiver. He swallowed. "...Yes, Ma'am."
"Are you sure you really want that?" Chiaki had asked, after Akise had inquired about her ice-skating hobby.
"Yes," He had replied. "We should go skating some time. I would like to see you skate." That had made her smile, and Akise knew that smile so well. It always brightened his day.
"It's not a date, then," She concluded. "Let's make plans soon."
Akise had the feeling that a skating session would be far more therapeutic than this actual therapy session.
Now, he paced his apartment, stomach churning. Perhaps Nona did have a point. Reflecting on all the things he had done, and all he wanted to do, and all he was looking forward to, Akise conceded that at least for one more night, he did not need to know just what had happened to him.
Seating herself on the furniture beside Ginti's resting form, Nona rested her head in her palms. A revolution. A leadership. An opponent. And an ex-Arbiter.
Sometimes, she really did consider just locking herself away in her colosseum, but then she would have no purpose. She needed a purpose; Nona, like Decim, believed that life, even non-human life, exists because of purpose.
Hers was to lead the Arbiters into a new age; Decim's was to learn how to be human.
After a few silent minutes, Nona sensed movement. Looking down, she saw that Ginti's eyes were moving beneath the lids, and his fingers twitched. Slowly, the redheaded Arbiter regained conscience.
Sitting up gently, Ginti supported his head with one calloused hand. "Ugh….my head," He winced.
"Welcome back." Standing up, Nona fetched him a pint from the bar. "You look like you need this." Scowling up at her, Ginti snatched the pint and downed it within seconds. When he had finished, the room filled with a pregnant stillness.
Eventually, Nona forced herself to speak. "So, Ginti...How do you feel?"
Taking a deep breath, Ginti folded his fingers around his clenched palms.
"Alive."
* Atropos is one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. She is the Fate who cuts the thread of life. Morticia is a reference to a goddess who revels in death.
A/N: Reviews amuse me!