The room was covered in dust.
Dust everywhere. In the corners. On the shelves.
Everywhere.
It was like the room had been abandoned for years.
And yet...there were a bunch of boxes sitting in the middle of the floor, right next to what looked like a pile of books.
A small box.
With an odd expression, Mira picked it up. She didn't want to touch it. Not because she thought the box might explode. But rather because of the eerie feeling it gave her. Like the box was suddenly staring back at her from its contents.
Still, she reached into the box.
Inside, was a small, blue doll.
"Why are we going back through this neighborhood?" Mira grumbled to herself as Kyouma drove the car. "This is so stupid. You could have gone around and you know it."
Kyouma glanced at her in the rearview mirror. "If you can do better, go ahead and walk."
"We both know neither of us wants that."
Kyouma chuckled. "Okay."
Mira tapped her fingers on the seat as she made a mental list of all the things she wanted to do once all this Coil business was over.
She was sure Kyouma would be able to take care of himself. It wasn't like he'd even asked her for help. He probably figured that since she was his girlfriend, she should be willing to wait for him while he handled everything. Truth be told, he didn't need anyone's help. And neither did most people. No one ever needed anyone else's help. So why couldn't they just get along without it? Why was everything dependent on her and Kyouma?
"Oh yeah," Mira said finally. "I forgot to ask you something."
"What?"
"Did you see that blue doll? The one with the hair sticking straight up?"
"No, I was too busy getting thrown around by a ghost. I must have missed it. Why?"
"Oh, no reason?"
Kyouma nodded slowly. "That doll. I don't know if you're crazy. Or if I am for believing you. For all I know you bots don't even have dreams."
"So you think I'm imagining it?" Mira asked.
"Perhaps. But might as well check out this shop you keep going on about."
They drove through town. Past shops. Past houses. Through the neighborhood with the house. From the looks of things the rest of the neighborhood had caught wind of what had happened and were in the process of moving out. Not that Mira could blame them. Who knows how far a curse could spread.
"You know," Mira said, "with all these people being scared, we can make a nice little profit as a ghost extermination business. We'll even split the money fifty-fifty."
"No thank you."
"Why not?"
"We aren't allowed back there," Kyouma said. "Remember?"
"But we have to go back!"
"In time. Plus, who knows. That thing could be haunted. Just like everything else."
Mira sighed, touching the necklace around her neck. Still no sign of it coming off. "Fine."
The two of them arrived at the doll shop.
"We have arrived Madam-whatever-your-last-name-is," Kyouma said sarcastically.
Mira smiled, stepping out of the car. "Why thank you butler."
"By the way..." Kyouma added, turning to look at her. "Whatever you do. Don't touch anything."
Mira tilted her head. "Huh?"
"Don't huh me. I don't want anything coming out of the shadows to beat me again."
"All right. But how much trouble can we get in a doll shop?"
"There's no 'we'. Every time I take you somewhere it goes bad for me."
Mira shrugged. "Not my fault. I'm popular obviously."
Kyouma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Anyway, just don't touch anything."
"Right. Right. Okay. Fine. I won't touch anything. But you don't really believe everything is my fault, right?"
"Of course. You know this isn't even the worst part of being with me."
"Really? What is?"
"My sense of humor."
Mira shook her head. "I hate you."
Kyouma smiled. "Good."
Mira laughed and then headed inside, shutting the door behind her. Once she got past all the dolls on display, she entered a hallway. A hallway with an open doorway leading to a large room.
It was a mess.
Clothes were scattered everywhere. Broken toys. Empty bottles. Pieces of broken glass. The place looked like a graveyard for dolls.
And sitting atop the counter was a box.
A very familiar box.
"Hey, Kyouma!" Mira called out.
Kyouma turned.
"How many times do I have to say it?"
"I didn't touch anything! I swear!"
Kyouma nodded. "But for how long will that last?" He followed her through the room to the counter. "So it does exist."
"Can I help you with something?" A voice asked from behind them.
Mira spun around.
"I'm sorry," Mira said. "Is this doll shop yours?"
The woman standing before them wore a dark red business suit and had short brown hair. She was pretty, though her smile seemed forced. "It is as you say. I own this place. My name is Madame Fumiko."
"Is that your doll?" Mira asked.
"What doll?" The woman replied.
"That doll on the counter."
"Oh, that. No, it isn't mine."
"Then whose is it?"
"I don't know. It was in my workshop a few weeks back when I came in for work. I couldn't just leave the poor thing alone. So I brought her to the back to hopefully restore her to a more fitting state."
"Forgive us, Madame," Kyouma said, bowing. "We weren't trying to interrupt you. We were only curious about what kind of doll it was."
Madame Fumiko smiled. "She's a cute one isn't she. And smart too. She's been asking if she can come home with you."
"She has?" Mira asked.
"She certainly has. Her name is Satsuki. And since arriving. She's been asking for you."
"Me?"
"Yes. Why do you think me mad?"
Kyouma leaned against a wall. "Of course. Who wouldn't when hearing you talking of speaking with dolls."
"Kyouma-"
"I agree with him," the doll said. "That is certainly off from the expectations."
They all turned towards the counter.
"What the hell," Kyouma said.
"Who are you?" Mira demanded.
The doll extended her arms toward Mira. They were covered in what appeared to be black leather straps holding a canvas dress over her torso.
"I am Satsuki. Welcome to the Doll Kingdom. Please accept my invitation."
"You expect me to believe that?" Mira scoffed.
"Believe what you will." Satsuki bowed. "But if you must speak about me, please call me Satsuki."
Mira shook her head. "I'm going insane."
"Now do you believe me?" Madame Fumiko asked, sipping on a mug she produced from a coaster. "To be honest. I'm glad you lot showed up. I was starting to think I was losing it too."
Kyouma pushed Mira behind him and started moving towards the door.
"Why did you call me here Satsuki?" Mira asked from behind Kyouma.
"I didn't exactly bring you here. Someone simply made me entice you to come."
"Who did?" Mira repeated. "Who wanted me to come?"
Satsuki nodded. "Someone did. Someone who should be of no concern to you."
"And why is that?"
"Because you're not going to be meeting before it is time. You and I are going to be spending quite some time together."
Mira tensed. "No, I don't think so. We'll be leaving now."
"Wait!" Madame Fumiko shouted, emerging from the side of the counter.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"We've wasted enough time here. Now get out of our way."
"Not without talking to Miss Satsuki," Madame Fumiko said.
"Well you can forget about that, Madame. As far as I'm concerned, I never want to see you or that creepy doll again. Now get out of our way or I'll knock you down." Kyouma frowned looking down at the smaller woman.
"Don't threaten me, young man," Madame Fumiko said, pulling out a pistol.
Kyouma sighed and moved to kick the pistol out of her hand.
Except he didn't. Madame Fumiko used the pistol to block his kick and send him back into the shelves.
"Kyouma?!" Mira cried.
Kyouma grunted, dusting himself off. "You have my attention."
"It's not too late to change your mind," Satsuki said. "But if you wish to learn more about how dangerous Fumiko can be for your health. Please do continue."
"Like hell I will now. If you have a problem with Mira, then you and I are going to settle it right here. Right now."
"An expected reply from such a brute." Satsuki motioned to Madame Fumiko, who stepped on Kyouma's back.
The woman continued on and picked up Satsuki. "Follow me."
She led them through the shop then outside, across the street to a large building with an equally large sign reading: CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. Once inside they climbed the stairs to the second floor. The stairwell was dark and quiet. A few other doors led off from the corridor, but Madame Fumiko continued on. Finally, she opened a door and led the three of them into the room ahead.
In contrast to the rest of the decrepit building, the main room had soft lighting and the walls were lined with shelves holding bookshelves. It looked like a small library.
Madame Fumiko turned around. "Please take a seat. I'll prepare some tea."
The three sat facing each other. And Madame Fumiko entered the kitchen.
Once the door closed, Satsuki spoke once more. "I hope you will consider my offer, Mr. Kyouma. I would hate to see you hurt anyone you love due to misunderstandings. You know, I could help you prevent that."
"Get to the point, Satsuki," Kyouma snapped.
"Fine, fine. I know someone who has something that belongs to you."
"I don't care. Get to the fucking point."
Satsuki smiled. "Just as I thought. You really shouldn't let anger cloud your judgment. Or in this case, your hearing."
The door to the kitchen burst open. Madame Fumiko came running back into the room carrying a tray laden with cups and teapots. She placed the tray down on the table before sitting down.
"So I hear you're looking for the Numbers." Satsuki said, sipping tea. A detail Kyouma was uncomfortable with noticing. "And your latest attempt at finding one of these Coils led to a nasty altercation with a ghost. Not too far from here."
"I don't believe in ghosts. What does that have to do with anything? I told you to get to the damn point."
"Right. And what I meant by that is that I know exactly where you can find the Number you seek."
"How did you—"
"A very simple thing actually," Satsuki said. "There's someone who knows everything there is to know about all the Numbers. All the Coils. All the Coils in the world. Someone I knew many years ago. That person also happens to be aware of all sorts of things."
"That's doublespeak doll. Get to the point before I lose my patience." Kyouma stated.
Next to him, Mira happily partook of the tea. Carefree as always.
"Yes, yes, I understand. But I must warn you, you should expect a fight. Because when it comes to someone as powerful as this person, there's nothing that can be done to stop them. My friend is a force to be reckoned with."
Kyouma studied Satsuki. He didn't trust her and wasn't sure why he even bothered to listen to her. After all, she could have been the one to arrange the attack on those girl's home. "I didn't ask for a disclaimer. I came for information."
"Really? I guess you really don't know much about this person after all." Satsuki took a sip of tea. "My friend is the most important person in the world, post discovery of Dimension W. In a sense, he is humanity itself."
"What?" Kyouma asked.
"Think about it. This person created the Numbers. They are the foundation upon which the universe stands. Without them, the universe wouldn't exist. And without them, humans have no future."
"You're talking nonsense. There's plenty of people alive today. Coils are just a crutch that enables people to be lazy."
"No, no. I mean real humans, the ones descended from the first human race. The kind of humans that lived thousands of years ago. Those who walked the earth before the Coils were discovered. Before the numbers were brought forth. Just think about how different the world would be if they still existed."
"I'm not interested in history lessons. I came to you for answers, not to entertain your fantasies. We are leaving now." Kyouma stood up.
"Oh, you can't. Not now. When we've just gotten to the good parts."
A red dot appeared on Madame Fumiko's chest. Followed by two more. And then twelve more illuminating Mira's skirt.
"My My, what is that?" Madame Fumiko asked.
"Get down!" Kyouma shoved Mira to the floor, kicking over the table as a hail of machine gun fire shredded through the air.
He watched as Madame Fumiko's body was riddled with holes, her last breath being used to push Satsuki at him.
Lying on top of him, Satsuki looked up, her eyes gleaming. "It seems Fumiko has a taste for machine guns."
"Stuff it" Kyouma said, peering over the couch. He could make out a Helo hovering outside, barrels smoking from its last burst. Just what he needed, more people with military grade weapons and a hard on for indiscriminately showing it off.
Madame Fumiko coughed. Her flesh falling away from her bones.
Kyouma watched as she slowly faded in front of his eyes.
"Do you want to see the Numbers or not?" Satsuki asked. "Get moving!"
Kyouma threw Mira over his shoulder and stuffed the doll in her hands. Then bolted out the door from which they came. He ran down the street, dodging bullets that struck the ground just inches from his feet.
The Helo began to circle overhead, firing its cannons.
"Come on!" Kyouma yelled, sprinting faster. He tossed Mira with the damned doll into the car and jumped into the driver's seat. He revved the engine, racing down the road.
Tires squealed. And then another explosion. An unfortunate truck had exploded behind him; a casualty of wrong place, wrong time. The car sped up, leaving a trail of rubber behind it.
They reached the freeway. A few cars shot past. But the Helo stayed on their trail. Seemingly unconcerned about collateral damage.
"My, my! What a nice little ride, dearie. I love this thing. It's so much fun. Just look at it go. Don't you agree, darling?" Satsuki crawled over the backseat and climbed into the passenger's side.
Kyouma glowered. "If I wasn't busy. I'd teach you just how much fun I can be."
Satsuki laughed. "How about I give you a demonstration?"
"What are you talking about, doll?"
"Just watch." Satsuki reached into her coat pocket and pulled out some small objects. She tossed them out the window.
In the distance, a huge explosion rocked the freeway. A perfect arc of smoke rose up from where the blast originated.
"Whoops! That didn't quite work right," Satsuki said. She looked up as the Helo flew through the smoke, not hindered in the slightest. "Now let's try that again. And see if we can't bring them down."
Satsuki tossed more of her weird grenades out the window. The Helo veered aside as the explosions rocked the air around it, but then swung back toward their vehicle.
"Crap!" Kyouma slammed on the brakes. The car skidded across the road, bouncing off the guardrail.
The Helo moved closer. Its nose pointed straight at the vehicle.
"There you go!" Satsuki clapped her hands together.
A thin line of flame shot up from the ground in front of the car. Kyouma watched as the Helo rolled backward through the flames and struck the ground.
"Whew! Thank goodness that worked."
Satsuki slid back onto the seat and grinned like a child who'd just gotten away with something naughty. "Let's get out of here."