Chapter 7: Like Angels, Pinned Down and Abused
"I'm rather disappointed in the results, doctor." A voice muttered in the dim light. "I was expecting you to take care of this problem before things reached this stage."
Darkness had long reached the eighth floor of the Kirihara Group's Headquarters, but its vice president continued to mill over a troubling file that she had received hours ago. She immediately contacted the responsible party.
"I promise Ms. Kirihara, that we will get it resolved." A man's voice replied.
Yui Kirihara stood up from behind her mahogany desk. "You were paid well enough for this not to happen, Dr. Vincent." Yui told him, standing in front of the giant telephone-styled video screen. The screen flickered, and wind momentarily interrupted the connection.
"Yes, I understand that."
Yui picked up the file and slammed it back on the desk. "Then why did you not check this before she was allowed to escape?!?"
The elder gentleman sighed. "We had not planned on her early escape, nor had we planned on Mibu's involvement. But I promise that we deal with the fertility issue as soon as possible."
"We don't need more of them. Fix this."
"We will deal with this as soon as possible. You have Tokigawa General's word on this. I promise you that I will personally handle this." Vincent assured her.
Yui held up the file again. A picture of Keiko was paper clipped to the upper left corner, and the word "FERTILE" was stamped over the typed areas in green ink. "I don't want a promise; I want you to fix this!"
"Understood." He told her flatly.
The screen flickered off and the room went dark.
*
I'm so tired. Keiko's mind told her. I'm tired and dirty, and I want to go home now.
Rain had begun to fall gently as Keiko looked over her reflection in a store front window. Her short kimono was even shorter, having been shredded on the hem by an out-of-control dog. A good portion of it was spotted in blood, and ripped in short lines, the markings of victims clawing at her for release, and then in lust. Her obi was in better shape, but it was still spotted with dried blood. Dried blood was in her hair, and on her legs, and a few of the most recent scratches were still bleeding. Mud filled in the few spots that blood had left untouched.
She wandered into the ally behind the store. "I'm such a mess." She told her self aloud. She still had the urges, having not yet come to the end of the Blood day, but she was too tired to act on any of them. She ended up in the area where the store's side alley met the block's alleyway. "I'm ready to go home now."
A feeling of discomfort swept over her. Who's there? She wondered.
She listened, but heard nothing.
A shadow moved and Keiko held up her sword. "Who's there?" She whispered.
Hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, trying to pin her. She turned the katana upside down, and brought it up under her armpit in a stabbing motion. A small crack was heard, and the assailant let go.
Keiko turned around and watched Kyosuke take a full step backwards, then a half step sideways, before falling to the pavement on his side unconscious.
Kyosuke…I…what did I…? Her mind stuttered.
Her surroundings seemed blurry, and she just stared at him for a moment.
Something cold was still in her hands and she stared at what they were holding. The handle of the katana had snapped off in her hands, and a piece of paper that had been folded up inside the handle floated to the ground. She stared at the writing on the paper, but could not comprehend it –
A sacrifice has been made to a power of much larger size,
When angels scream, and devils die, the greater power will arise.
She threw the handle at a first floor window and it shattered.
Keiko's mind then shattered. Her fangs and wings disappeared, and she reverted to her current latent state. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't find the noise to do so. She instead put her arms around her self and knelt on the ground. She watched the blood start to pool in areas, and fill in cracks in the sidewalk.
"I…I killed him…I..." She stuttered aloud.
She blinked several times and some of her confusion cleared. She crawled over to him and looked at the embedded sword blade. Keiko tugged on it gently, but it refused to move. Securing his back against her leg, she pulled on it with both hands, bring it the rest of the way through his chest and out. She moved her leg in the process and the motion knocked him onto his back. He gasped and opened his eyes.
Kyosuke put one hand to the wound, and the other on Keiko's hand. "It's…it's okay…I'll be…okay…"
Realizing she was still holding onto the blade, she tossed it aside and unwound her obi from her waist. She folded it up into a square and pressed it into his wound. He grimaced, but put his hand firmly on top of hers.
"Did Shiro send you? Why are you here?" She asked him quietly.
He coughed. "No. I came after he told me…things…"
I'm gonna kill him when I get home. How dare he encourage him to come out here. She thought bitterly.
"It's…not his…fault. I came on my own." He told her with a little assurance.
The blood had begun to pool quiet deeply around them, and the smell of it was becoming putrid. She put an arm under him and tried to pull him up to a sitting position to keep him from lying in it mess, he shut his eyes and gasped several times in response. He was dead weight, and rather heavy for Keiko to hold onto, but she tried anyway.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Someone's coming…"
She couldn't hear anything. "No one's coming, it's alright." She told him, pulling his cape tightly around him.
He put his head against her shoulder and passed out again.
She held onto him and looked around them. "No one's here. I don't hear anything." She whispered.
A shadow moved on the edge of her field of vision.
There. Right there. Keiko heard Kyosuke say.
"But…" She looked at him, and realized he was still unconscious.
Cold steel pressed against Keiko's neck. "No." She whispered.
The sound of an IV dart-gun (1) was heard firing and Keiko's vision blurred.
She half turned to look at the new assailant. "You…you…I'll kill you…you..." She stuttered quietly.
It fired again and Keiko lost consciousness.
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(1) A line of hand-held gun-shaped devices used to administer medication. Instead of a barrel they hold a vial of the drug to be administered, and are especially important in high-risk situations because they can administer the drug in record-time. They were developed by the Kirihara's 'medicinal research and production line' for Tokigawa General Hospital.
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Chapter 8: …And to Meek or Strong
I still don't see what I'm getting out of this. Shiro wondered. Except more headaches.
His dinner companion giggled. "Well…I can't get into places you can't, and I even have special clearance with the Hospital."
Shiro removed a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it. "I can get into anywhere I need to on my own. That's not much of a deal for me, especially since I'm risking more than myself here; I have people to protect."
The young woman rocked in her chair. "I swear I can be a help! I'm a very respectable nurse, if nothing else."
Shiro set the cigarette in a glass ashtray on the table and picked up his coffee cup. "That might come in handy. But I still don't understand why you're so adamant about all of this, Ms Nakahara."
She sighed. "Call me Komugi, please."
"Okay, Komugi, what kind of compensation are we talking? As you can guess we don't exactly make good money doing this.
"Oh you don't have to worry about paying me; I've decided to work for love, and not money. Isn't that romantic?"
Shiro choked on his coffee.
The pigtailed nurse looked at him with concern. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
He coughed several times "No…no, it's not that. It's…"
She looked at her watch. "I have to go and take care of something, where should I meet you later?"
Shiro resumed smoking. "You still have the address I gave you?"
She rummaged through her small pink satchel. "Yep! I found it." She told him pulling out a scrap of yellow paper.
"Stop by when you're ready to move, alright?"
"Okay!" she told him jumping up from the table. "I'll see you guys later!"
"Have a good evening, Komugi."
"Bye!" she told him, walking out of the bar.
Shiro leaned back in his chair. She way too chipper about all of this. And Keiko's gonna kill me. He realized.
He paid for his overpriced meal and left.
*
Oh look at the pretty white clouds. Keiko mused. They're so white and…huh?
Keiko blinked and her vision cleared. She lay on her back on a tiled floor. And the white clouds that floated around her were not clouds at all, but clumping smoke puffs. She put a hand up and waved at them, and they slowly moved around in the air.
I'm tired…tired…She thought. And I wanna take a shower! Wahaha!
She yawned and tried to sit up, but found it unusually difficult. She attempted to say "the hell?" but nothing but a squeak came out.
She put a hand to her throat. Rat-bastards! They pumped helium in the room… She realized.
Keiko used the wall as a brace and pulled herself up to a sitting position. The changing of position distorted the clouds and her mind, and blood rushed to her brain. She was able to get a good view of the room, though. Three of the walls were cinderblock, painted an institutional yellow, and had vents towards the top that pumped out the white clouds. The fourth, the wall that faced the hallway, was heavy-duty glass. It kept the prisoner from having any privacy.
She tried to say "bad idea Mum, this ain't gonna hold me" but she simply squeaked again. Bracing herself against the bricks, she pulled herself to a standing position, allowing her to see above the helium clouds which tended to hover near the floor.
There we go… She thought. It's a little clearer up here. Oh man, this just sucks. I've got no weapon, no wings, and no easy way out. I obviously can't bite my way out of here, so my fangs are pointless here. And…I wonder what they did with Kyosuke? Her mind seemed to want to wander away.
She stumbled towards the center of the room and faced the glass wall. Gotta get out here first. Gotta get outta here first.
Too weak to stand up straight, she took a stance that looked far too similar to Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Unfortunately as soon as she felt ready, her balance shifted and the room seemed to tilt.
She pointed at the glass wall. Hey! Stop movin' so I can break ya into little pieces!
She shook her head and things seemed to clear. She put her right arm behind her, gathered some energy and formed a ball of distorted air in her hand.
Keiko tried to say "Sonic Ball," but squeaked instead.
She took a step and threw it, but her right knee caved and she went down to the floor. The ball took off and smacked into a side wall. Much like an out-of-control volleyball, it bounced from wall to floor to wall, finally smacking into her. It disintegrated upon impacting with her head.
She grabbed her head. Goddamit!
Fed up with her luck, Keiko struggled to her feet and threw a second ball as soon as she could stand properly. It didn't have nearly the same punch the first one did, but it made it threw the glass wall, bringing it down in a curtain of shattered glass. Some of the helium was sucked out of the room, and it filtered into the hallway.
I gotcha! She announced in her head, just before falling back on her rear.
Keiko then took notice of the fact that the helium was no longer being pumped out of the vents and the room was clearing. She coughed and regained some of her voice, but continued to sit on the floor.
"I'll just wait until things clear up."
She blinked. Wait…uhh…is that a good idea? Her brain mused.
"Maybe I shouldn't sit around. I mean, I know I could deal with whoever shows but…"
Why isn't my brain working? What is it I'm forgetting? She thought, scratched her head.
"Where's Kyosuke?"
She blinked. Wow…what did they do to me? How could I forget that so soon? She wondered, standing up finally.
Keiko walked over to where the wall had been and looked down the hallway. There were several over rooms like this one on the floor, and she'd have to check them all.
This isn't what I thought it was. This looks like Tokigawa General, but it's not. This must be the so-called Iso Ward at the KG's Headquarters. I've never been to this area. She realized.
Keiko stepped into the hall, and was surprised no one had come yet. They must have a bigger security issue than this Ward. She thought
She scratched her head. Now if I had him and I was my mother, where would I have put him? And it couldn't be somewhere my nosey daughter wouldn't look…no wait…WOULD look so I could catch her too…right? Wait, what would I want with a mutant to begin with...?
"What she is looking for? Runa, right? And if they're after the Flickers…and…" She said aloud. "Oh hell, I don't know!" She put her hands on her hips. "Hmm. If it were me, I'd want to know what makes him tick."
That's it. The Dissection Lab's in the second basement. I knew I'd figure it out. But… She thought.
"…I have no idea how to get there."
Keiko heard a rustling towards the right. "I guess I'll go where ever that isn't"
Keiko took off running down the hallway, hoping that the elevator was in this wing.
*
"Okay this is getting old; all of the floors look the same." Keiko whispered aloud, wandering the first basement. "Why can't the elevators connect more than one floor? This is stupid." To make matters worse, it was dark in this area, no one was using this floor and the lights had been shut off.
She tripped over a box on the floor and fell. "Damn."
Keiko looked in the box and found a flashlight. Lucky me. She thought.
She clicked its power switch, but it wouldn't light up. Out of anger she threw it against the wall, and stood up. "This is stupid. What am I doing?"
She walked another few feet and realized it was a dead end.
"DAMNIT!" She screamed, and then covered her mouth.
Oops. That was kinda loud. She realized.
But her tempter hadn't cooled, she stomped her foot, and the floor cracked.
"That's it. It's a faux floor. And that's why I can't find the elevator, it must be on an earlier floor and I missed it. It doesn't stop at this floor, because they're really isn't one. I suppose that means I'll have to make my grand entrance through the ceiling."
She created another ball of power above her head, but slowly brought her other hand down on top of it, causing it to flatten out. She whipped her hands away and the discus dropped like a dead weight through the floor.
Keiko looked down through the hole, and the floor below looked not unlike the floor above. She took a step and fell through the hole, landing hard on the floor below.
This is the right floor. I can smell blood. She realized. But I don't see the lab. And…where the door? There's no entrance in this room!
"This is some store room that's been sealed off." Keiko told herself. "But it's close; I can smell…eww…formaldehyde…gross." She sniffed.
She walked to the one wall and put a hand on it. She couldn't feel anything on the other side. She moved to the wall to her left and put a hand on the ceiling. That's the outdoors. I can feel lots of people moving around…the movement…cars…no, not it. She realized.
Keiko tried the wall opposite the first one. She shook her head. "Openness. There's just another empty room on this side." She tried the fourth wall. Well, it's either this one, or I'm in the wrong building. She decided.
When she put her hand on the wall, she noticed a noise enter her head. "It's white noise…like on a video screen without a picture. I don't get that. But this must be it, it's warm and I can sense people moving. The smell is really bad here too. But…" She put a hand to her chin. "How am I going to get though this one? This is a real wall, it's solid." She knocked on the wall. "Yep. Solid. My sonic power won't go though this wall."
Keiko noticed a box of gun shells. "Maybe I can make a lot of tiny holes instead of one big one." She shook her head. "I would have to have just as much energy to do that."
There was a bookcase on the wall and she considered it for a moment. "Don't tell me that that's doing what I think its doing." She pushed on the steal bookcase from the side and it moved a few inches.
"Son of a…man, I'm stupid. This thing's been in front of the door." Keiko finished pushing the bookcase out of the way and looked at the door. It looked like it hadn't been open in years. She kicked it, but instead of falling to the side, it fell forwards out of the door frame, and she heard is crash to the floor.
The hell? She thought.
She stuck half of her body through the door and looked down. The entire room was done in a black-and-white checked pattern, and it disturbed her vision. Finding herself dizzy again, Keiko lost her footing and fell to the floor, landing on top of the fallen door.
"Ugh…" She muttered, looking up and around in confusion. "This is the Dissection Lab? Nasty vision-trick stuff.
She stood and rubbed her head. As she did, she heard a woman scream.
Keiko saw the dissection tank and as she has assumed, they had Kyosuke tied down in it. She took a step forward and felt something hit her.
She looked up and screamed. "Bitch! Who shot me? Huh?" She looked at the wound, and it was minimal considering the wounds she already had.
The confusion cleared at Keiko adjusted to the room. Towards her left was a row of yellow tinted glass windows and a door to the left of them. Her assailant was not in the room, and the lab's control center seemed abandoned.
She walked over to the hemispherical tank on the floor. Several small instruments were sticking out of Kyosuke's chest and it appeared that some ad hoc surgery had been going on when Keiko bust in. She pounded on the glass.
"Solid again. Now what?"
Keiko wound up and slammed a fist at the tank. Not even a crack.
Her frustration was suddenly too much and she felt herself let go and transform. "I…I'm gonna lose it…"
She leaned back and built up her third Sonic Ball of the night and prepared to bury it in the tank, but she was being held back by something. I…I might hurt him… She realized.
"I'll be worse if I don't do something now." She said aloud. She also took notice of the reappearance of a woman in the lab area. "I'll just aim away. So don't say I didn't try."
She buried the ball in the side of tank and the glass areas smashed apart. Unfortunately she forgot to shield herself, and she was suddenly awash in glass shards and the yellowish fluid in the tank. She stumped back a step, overwhelmed by the stench of blood.
Kyosuke gasped and came to, and looked at her. He pulled out the several small tools that the lab techs had left stuck in his chest and tossed them to the floor. He ripped open the belt hold him down and climbed out of the chair, took a step and stumbled to the floor; Keiko tried to help him up but he pushed her away.
"Hey! Come on, what's the deal?" She told him, finding a touch of anger creeping into her voice.
He ignored her comment and got to his feet. "You need to go. You shouldn't be seeing this. I can't protect you here. There's no one to protect you here." He told her, stumbling slightly.
You shouldn't see me like this. He thought. I look so weak. I can't even protect myself like this.
"Excuse me? You're the one who needs to be protected! Look at yourself!" She told him, pointing accusingly.
He went down on one knee and panted. "I have something to do. You need to go now. I will be along when I'm done." He tried to keep his tone from sounding angry, but his injuries were putting a strain on his emotions, and he came off harsh.
Keiko stared at him, and she realized what was going on. "You want me gone all of a sudden? What, don't like the idea of having to be helped by someone else? Or is it just me? You don't want me help…you don't trust me to help you…do you?"
He shot her a look but stayed quiet.
"You…you selfish bastard! After all I went through to find you. And this is how you repay me! " She yelled at him.
He got to his feet and turned to her. "I don't need you…you…to protect me…help me."
She shook her head, realizing she was lost. "I…I don't understand. You only want my help some of the time? What about in the bathroom, you wanted me then?"
"That was before I knew who you were." He told her, holding his side.
"You came for me when I was out of control." She told him, starting to slip into confusion.
"Shiro asked me to." He lied to her. "I lied to you about it earlier."
Keiko turned away from him. "I see." She said softly.
Why does it feel like whatever I had believed about you is going out the window all of a sudden? She wondered.
"Go home now." He told her sternly. "This isn't a place for you. You're too weak to be here."
I don't want to be mean, but I've got no choice. She just doesn't understand; I can't protect her here. If she gets hurt or gets attacked, I can't help her. I don't want that. Maybe I am being selfish, but she'll be safe. Isn't that the important part? Why doesn't she want that? Why does she want to put herself at risk for this…for someone like me? I don't need her protection. Sure, once in a while I need a hand, but…but…she shouldn't be involved in this. This is my battle, she doesn't belong here. He thought as he left the lab.
Keiko lost it for a moment. She turned and slammed a fist into the tank's chair, knocking the headrest into the far wall. When she turned back around, she found he was gone.
I'm not weak! I'm not…I don't need you to protect me… She thought, sinking to her knees.
Her eyes burned. "Fine! Go and play hero, see if I care." She said aloud, sadly.
She picked up one of the surgical instruments and looked it over. She squeezed her hand and the blade broke off. Her hand started to bleed, but she couldn't feel the pain.
"I'm not weak…I'm not…"
She looked at the blade. If I could concentrate I could be as powerful as I want. Maybe this is for the best. It'll be better if we aren't involved. She decided.
She stood and tossed the broken scalpel to the side. "Yeah, it'll be better this way."
She headed out of the lab through the door, and began to look for the elevator to the ground level. Stepping out into street in front of the building, she realized it was already daylight.
Keiko looked back at the building. "Fine. I don't need you either, Mr. Date. Have fun playing hero. Just don't expect me to help you when you fall down." She told herself, starting the long walk home.
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Chapter 9: Perverted by the Sentimental, Part 1
Keiko slowly opened the door to the apartment and stuck her head in. As she had anticipated, Shiro was asleep at the kitchen table, having tried to wait up for her. He had his head buried in his arms., and was snoring lightly. She walked over to him and shook him gently. "Shiro? Hey, wake up."
He picked his head up and looked up. "Hey doll, you okay?" He asked, half-asleep. He scratched his head and stretched in his seat.
She gave a sigh. "I'm alive. I feel like crap, but I'm alive. Then again, that still doesn't say much for me, considering."
He stood and patted her on the shoulder. "As long as you're not hurt badly. Are you going to shower?"
"Yeah, in a minute." She told him, walking over to the couch. She scowled at what she saw. "Why is there a girl sleeping on our couch?"
"That's the girl from the graveyard, remember?"
She looked at him. "Yeah. So?"
Shiro removed the tea pot from the stove and started to fill it at the sink. "Well, she asked if she could team up with us; she's a rather good nurse according to her records, plus she has a healing ability. And I guess she has a thing for Kyosuke. That was her original reason for coming to me." He looked inside the tea pot and then looked back up at her. "Where is he, anyway?"
She crossed her arms across her chest, angrily. "Who cares?"
He put the pot on the stove and turned it on. "Umm, did something happen, doll?" He asked, slightly confused.
She stormed off to her room, and slammed the door behind her.
The noise jerked the pink-haired nurse from her sleep. "Wow, that was loud!" She said, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it?"
Shiro looked at his watch. "8:14."
Komugi flopped back down on the couch. "Too early!"
Shiro removed four mugs from the cupboard. "Yeah, I suppose so." He told her rather emotionless.
"Why didn't Kyosuke come back with her? Didn't you say he went after her?" she asked Shiro.
He removed four teabags from a canister next to the stove. "They're probably fighting. It's pretty obvious they have some major issues to work through." He told her with a sigh.
Komugi sat up on the couch and looked over to him. "Does that mean he's not really taken?" She asked. There was an obvious sparkle of interest in her eyes.
Shiro shook her head. "I wouldn't get in Keiko's way. She can be adamant about what she wants. She gets it, simply put."
Komugi's heart sank. "Lovers' quarrel?"
"Yep."
"But what's wrong with them? Some of the stuff you said makes it seem like they were made for each other." She asked, getting up from the couch. She sat down at the table, and Shiro joined her.
"I don't think a dead man makes very good lover, that's what I think." He told her, leaning back in his chair.
She was perplexed. "Huh?"
He shook her head. "A story for another time. "
"Oh. Okay. So like they just don't know how to connect?" She asked, a bit unsure of what the real situation entailed.
The tea pot whistled.
Shiro stood. "I'd say that's pretty much on the money. I think they really do have the potential to be great together. And not only on a sexual level, if they were more in sync with one another, they'd be formidable opponents out in the battle field as well."
Komugi smiled. "Aww, that's so sweet! Luckless lovers trying to shift through life's confusion to find one another!"
Keiko stormed out of her room and into the bathroom. She cared a short, dark purple cheongsam and three-inch heels that matched. "It is not romantic! It's stupid. Love is for fools and men suck! And I don't care where he is! He doesn't have to come home for all I care!" She told them before slamming the door shut.
Shiro smirked. "Then why did you get out one of your better dresses, doll-face? I don't think you're trying to impress your new roommate."
Komugi giggled.
They heard something smack into the bathroom door from the inside. It hit the floor with a small thud.
Shiro finished mixing up the tea and handed a mug to Komugi. He sat back down with his own mug. "I wonder if I shouldn't be helping them with this. If for no other reason, than to save the doors."
She sipped her tea and nodded.
There was a rattle at the front door and Kyosuke entered the apartment. He wasn't faring much better than he had been a few hours earlier. He had a visible limp, and he held his side.
Shiro and Komugi got up from the table to help him. "You doin' alright?" Shiro asked him.
"I'll be fine; I just need to sit down for a few minutes." He replied with a slight strain.
Shiro helped support him, and sat him down where he had been sitting. He moved his mug to the sit to the right. "You want some tea?"
"Um, yeah, alright." Kyosuke told him, with a deep breath.
Komugi's sparkle had returned "You look terrible! What happened?" She asked with concern.
Shiro sat a mug of tea in front of him, and he stared at it for a moment before trying it. "We were captured by the Kirihara. We were taken to Headquarters, which is…" His voice was suddenly strained. "…more like a horrid fun house than an office complex."
Shiro sat down at the table. "Are your wounds severe?"
He simply grimaced and took a sip of his tea.
"This is Komugi Nakahara." Shiro continued. "She's decided to aid our cause. She a decent nurse, so I think she can probably do something about the wounds."
He rubbed his side. "They'll heal on their own."
Komugi stood and pretended to scold him. "If nothing else we have to wrap them. You'll get an infection otherwise." She walked over to a cardboard box sitting near the couch and rummaged through it. She finally pulled put a ball a medical gauze, a sealed package of small cloth pads, and a tube of antibacterial cream. "Besides, open wounds are a major turn-off!" She told Kyosuke with a giggle.
He shifted in his chair and scowled at her. "Turning people on' is not a major concern of mine."
Komugi sighed. "Man, you two are hopeless, aren't you?"
Shiro laughed. "That's what I say!"
This time Shiro got the scowl, and he laughed at Kyosuke in return.
"But man…seriously…" Shiro started, between sips of his tea. "What did you say? I thought the whole point of going after her was to prove yourself to her. And not proving you're a bastard, I mean."
He leaned back in his chair. "I have nothing to prove."
Komugi returned to the table with what she had found in the box, setting them to the side. "I think it's more like 'I don't have to prove myself to her.'"
Kyosuke did not respond.
"But…" Shiro said. "Unless you told her you hate her, I can't believe she'd do a full 'three-sixty' on you."
Kyosuke's face softened and Shiro took note of the change. "It's for the best." He told them. "She shouldn't be involved, and we shouldn't be involved. It's too much of a risk. I can't put the Flickers and my sister at risk because I have the urge to…' His voice trailed off.
Shiro choked on his tea. "If you tell me you told her you hate her, I swear I will get involved here."
He felt his eyes burning again. "I told her she was weak and that she shouldn't be involved."
Shiro coughed and sputtered for a moment.
Komugi shook her head. "I bet there's something else. She way too mad for it to be something so simple."
Kyosuke sunk down in his chair. "I told her that you sent me to go after her when she was out of control."
Shiro suddenly jerked his mug, throwing the remainder of its contents on Kyosuke. "You ass, now she's going to blame me." He told him, standing up to rinse out his mug.
Kyosuke grimaced. "I'm sorry, Shiro. But…it's too dangerous to get her involved in my problems. I…I don't want to see her get hurt."
Komugi suddenly stood. "Aha! The truth comes out! This is about you trying to protect her!" She paused. "Aww! How romantic! The gallant, yet weary, knight wanting to protect the fair maiden"
Shiro walked back to the table, shaking his head. "Too bad the maiden could probably kick the knight's ass. And this isn't really about that. You told me you're driven by some 'unseen force' to protect the Flickers, right?"
He looked up at him. "Yes."
Shiro smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't you see? You're treating her like one of the Flickers, aren't you? But you don't have to! She's more than strong enough to stand next to you in the battlefield, and not behind you."
Kyosuke stood, and ignored Shiro's comment. "Ms. Nakahara, can you take care wrapping my wounds now?"
She giggled and pointed to him. "You're trying to change the subject!"
He sighed and looked down. "Yes."
Shiro took Kyosuke's half-empty mug from the table and took it to the sink. Now I get it. He thought, washing the mug. He doesn't know how NOT to protect her, and that drives her nuts. It's not that he doesn't care; he cares so much he's afraid she'll get hurt, and he's become overprotective. And since he's wounded, I bet she tried to help him, but he's so 'in tune' with 'playing hero' to save the Flickers, he pushed her away. There's the romance you were looking for Komugi. A strange romance, but a connection none the less.
He dried the mug off. Then there's nothing anyone can do, except be there when they look for advice. And maybe a little situation setting-up. He realized. They'll have to do this on their own. But they'll be better for it, I'm sure. But he's going to have to stop thinking of her as a Flicker he needs to save, and as his… He then realized he didn't know what she could be to him.
He looked over to the couch. Komugi had had him remove his cape and she was wrapping a large wound in the upper area of his chest. He heard the water in the bathroom shut off. "Keiko's gonna love this." Shiro whispered sarcastically to himself.. "I'm dead. Between her thinking I sent him to find her, and the fact that I told Komugi to help him with his wounds, she's gonna kill me."
The bathroom door rattled and. Keiko walked out carrying her ruined white kimono and underwear. She tossed the clothes into a chair at the kitchen table. She would dispose of them at the incinerator when she got a chance.
Komugi piped up when she saw her. "Wow, that's a really nice dress! I'm jealous; tell me where you got it! I want one like it1"
Shiro nodded. "That is one of the nicer ones, doll. You wear it well. Don't you agree, Kyosuke?" He asked him, trying to force him into niceness.
He looked at her for a moment, and then turned away without an answer.
Shiro and Komugi both frowned at him.
He's just being dumb. Komugi thought. She's so wearing that for him, and he doesn't even notice! Boys are so dumb!
Keiko joined Shiro in the kitchen, feeling rejected without a pleasant response from him. Her anger had evaporated, but it had been replaced with an air of sullenness and dejectedness.
Shiro poured hot water from the tea pot over the tea bag in her mug. He looked at her with concern. "Are you feeling better? You look much better, if that's anything."
She steeped her tea bag. "I feel as good physically as to be expected, considering how I feel emotionally."
Oh doll, I wish I could help you. But I can't…you two have to do this on your own. He thought. It's the only way you'll appreciate it.
She took a sip of the tea , gagged on it, and then poured it out. "You know I don't like black tea,Shiro. Why did you make that for me?"
Shiro sighed, realizing his mistake. "I'm sorry, doll. It slipped my mind. Things have been chaotic around here, sorry."
Keiko looked over to the couch, ignoring Shiro's tea comment. "He wouldn't let me touch him, but he'll let someone he barely knows wrap his wounds."
Shiro tried to play it calm. "I'm sure he has his reason, doll-face."
She felt her eyes start to burn. "I don't care. It's…"
"Unfair?" He asked her.
She turned away from him. "Yes."
"Doll, there's something I need to tell you."
Her hopes rose for a moment. "Yeah, Shiro?"
"Joseph said one of the waitresses called in sick, and asked if you would work some bar hours. He said he'll pay you regular wages. He kinda hinted that it might be the best was to make sure you don't lose your regular dig, considering you ditched on him last Wednesday. He was a bit adamant about it."
Her heart sank. "I see.
"Just wear what you have on, but take your lounge cheongsam with you."
"Alright. Are you coming down tonight?" She asked quietly.
"Doll, have I ever missed one of your shows?" He asked her with a smile. He put a hand on her shoulder, trying to inspire some joy in her.
She smiled slightly. "No."
"Go grab your stuff and we'll see you tonight, okay?"
She scowled at him. "We?"
"Yeah, all of us. Komugi says she's been dying to go to 'The Blue Moon'."
"Oh." She said, with a slight sigh.
"Should I tell him not to come?" He asked with concern.
"I don't care what he does!" She said a bit too loudly. Kyosuke and Komugi looked over to them. A glimmer of sadness graced his face for a moment, and then disappeared.
She walked out of the kitchen and back to her room. She removed her full-length black cheongsam from the back of the door, and folded it over her arm. She grabbed her small shoulder purse from her bed, and returned to the main room. She then rejoined Shiro in the kitchen.
Shiro handed her her door keys and put a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be there, I promise." He whispered in her ear. "We'll see you tonight."
She lifted his hand from her shoulder. "Don't make him come if he doesn't want to. I wouldn't want to be accused of trying to have a normal life or anything." She told him, walking out. She shut the door and Shiro was left standing there, feeling a tad gloomy.
Ah this sucks…He realized. Totally sucks…
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