Vol 4.
Ch. 14
Casting Stones May Lead to New Revelations
"Time to die," Juubi crowed.
It all happened so fast.
But Alu's eyes shot open wide, as she felt a pulsating sensation from where she was trapped inside of her own mind.
This feeling was crushing.
This feeling was terrible.
This feeling was familiar.
Dread pooled into her like a leak in a pipe that had sprung free. How could she remedy this situation? This foreboding sensation in her very nerves forced her eyes to finally open. She let out a small gasp of horror and surprise.
Warm. Something warm. That familiar sensation of something warm on her hand. Where had she felt this similar feeling? Oh right—
She recalled the look on Doppo Kunikida's face as her powerful fist had gone through his stomach.
Jolted back by the feeling of her hand pulling itself free of the stomach it was lodged in, her vision for the first time took in the scene around her. She was on a ship, in what appeared to be captain's quarters, but in front of her, slumped with a wide-eyed smile on his face, was none other than Fyodor Dostoevsky.
"!?-" Alu shuddered with horror, looking at her hand and then back at the man, just smiling, though he had severe bleeding to his abdomen.
"Wonderful…" Fyodor painfully replied, "To see…a demon… so close…" He sounded like a giddy school boy who had found something unique to marvel at in the grass.
His eyes fluttered for a moment and by all rights he should have been dead. Alu trembled. No, what was going on? Juubi had done this—she knew letting him out was not without risks but she hadn't saved Chuuya just to take another life in his place! Alu felt angry.
If I didn't do this, he would continue to be a threat, Juubi hummed in what felt like Alu's ear. Alu grit her teeth, looking at her hand and then Fyodor. How much time had passed? No matter.
I told you, this is not how I do things. Alu knelt near Fyodor. Fyodor looked at her with just his eyes, as his head was too heavy to move in his current state.
"Oh? Pity isn't becoming," he hummed weakly, "You going to save me…? How predictable…"
"I'm not doing this for you," Alu said sharply.
"Of course," Fyodor hummed, "You're doing this to fulfill this sense of 'justice' stemming from your own guilt of powerlessness," he coughed up some more blood and Alu was quiet. Fyodor and Juubi both had valid points. She was doing this for her own sense of justice. Yeah, she was being selfish. But.
But.
"I don't kill," Alu said, voice trembling but fierce. "That's my bushido."
Fyodor paused, and he just grinned past the blood on his lips as Alu wordlessly put her hand against his wound. Juubi… why did you attack him knowing I would just stop it?
Juubi didn't reply. Alu figured that was fine, she wasn't in the mood to talk right now.
Alu's spiritual will was the only thing that could actually force Juubi back by force. And Alu had it going at full throttle. Alu's body was shifted back to her own figure but her hair gleamed with silver highlights on the tips of her hair. Her eyes were a gold color with a rosy tint. She had her own set of fangs. Her nails were sharper. Juubi, lend me your power!
No response.
Alu was done being polite.
Juubi, I demand you give your power to me to heal him!
Still no response.
Alu really hated when Juubi was a stubborn piece of shit like this sometimes. There weren't any words to fix this and she knew that a conversation with Juubi would just end up with him still thinking he was right in the end, and to be honest, Fyodor was a threat. It was better for this to happen, right? No…No she couldn't think like that!
"I don't want you to die!" She said, her voice tight, as she pressed her hands to Fyodor's wound. Alu's eyes flickered. She was getting something—a memory? She actually didn't go searching in people's thoughts that often. But it was like this memory latched itself to her touch.
Fyodor eyed her, but if he had anything to say, it was slowly being lost to the ebbing feeling on his tongue and eyes. He felt cold. He felt warm only where she touched. But he remembered something, oddly, in that moment, lying there.
A little boy in the cold Russian snow, crying next to a limp unmoving figure in the snow. The nearest town was still a day away and there was nothing but forest around them. The little boy tried to push the limp figure but the figure didn't move. A flower of red bloomed from under the limp figure. A gunshot wound was apparent in their leg.
"Nana!"
"Ugh," the figure finally groaned, cracking open a snow-covered eyelid. "Listen…Fyodor…"
"Get up, please!" The child trembled not from the cold but the terror of losing his only remaining family member.
"I can't anymore," the figure said softly, "but you can. You must live…you must find…your purpose…be a good…boy…grow into …a good man…I am… going to God…I won't be able to be with you anymore…I'm sorry…" The child, Fyodor, shook his head, dizzy. But his father, affectionately called 'nana' in Russian, drew his last breath, closing his eyes.
"How can you be smiling…?" His tiny voice shook in the cold air. "Why…?"
The little boy cried.
"Why, God? If you're good and just…why? Why take everything from me?" The little boy let out a scream that didn't sound human. He didn't care who heard it. Let the world hear it. Let them know his anguish. And his pain.
If he'd been born with a different ability, would he have even been able to save his father? That was a question that always haunted Fyodor. They had been hunted down because Fyodor from a young age had a unique ability that could kill from touch. But his ability had certain triggers and didn't always activate from just being touched. The Russian military got wind of his "gift" and tried to recruit him to train him for war. His father, a scholar and teacher, had refused. He didn't want his son to only know war and murder.
As a result, they were being hunted by the highest authority and had fled to the more rural parts of Russia to live away from the military.
But, always running came with a cost.
And Fyodor learned that he had already been paying it since the day he'd been born.
Funny, that this memory chose to surface now of all times. Was it because she looked pitiful as he had been once upon a time? Fyodor felt the black coming over his eyes. But he didn't fear death. He honestly didn't care what happened to himself. God is good. God will light the way. This was the mantra he remembered so well from long ago. It was what he told himself to keep going. He found his eyes closing of their own accord. He knew he was a sinner like the rest of those on this earth. Perhaps he was a bigger sinner because he was selfish. He had no desire to see God. The only people he wanted to see were his mother and father again.
Alu wouldn't let him die. If Juubi wasn't going to listen, then she had no choice. Alu began to growl, and she closed her eyes shut tight. Juubi, I'm taking your power! With spiritual force, Juubi growled, feeling his power being taken from him, and flowing through the girl. He sulked, but he knew since she was going this far that it wasn't worth it to rebuttal. Besides, he'd made his point, he was smug.
Alu felt the healing power flow through her fingertips and she healed Fyodor.
Alu was silent as she did so. That memory, no, those memories of Fyodor's past had been unexpected. But it had revealed something to her. Fyodor both loved and hated this world. While she didn't know what his long-term intentions were, she felt that being hunted for what you could do with no regard for what you wanted, was something she could relate to. Wordlessly, once he was healed, she stepped away, and her eyes fell on the hat now lying on the floor near his desk.
She left Fyodor, lying on the floor, and picked it up. There was a lot she could say. She could try to reason with him for information on Gide. She could try to get him to be good by relaying what she learned. She could ask him for information on Ryou and Yari, but that wasn't going to be enough. She'd eventually find them on her own, she was certain. She could try to understand Fyodor a bit better now and tell him that she'd work with him after all. But she found she didn't do any of this. There wasn't anything to actually say to express everything she was feeling. She wanted to tell him he wasn't alone, most of all. She didn't forgive him for putting Sakura in danger, but… she at least understood his detachment from people a little better now.
Nothing she could put into words would necessarily make up for Juubi's attempt on his life. Nothing would be good enough to acknowledge all the pain he'd been in and how he'd grown up, bitter and vengeful. Nothing she could say could heal this man. There was nothing she could do.
Well, no… there was one thing.
Fyodor made no move to get up or come towards her. Alu sensed that Nikolai and that other odd man were on their way to their boss right now. Her eyes flickered. There was no more reason for her to stay on this ship. "I'm sorry," she said softly, to Fyodor.
She gave him just a simple, small sad smile. Then she left.
The sound of footsteps made Fyodor return from his reverie. Why was that girl apologizing? She had the upper hand. She could have just merely killed him. She could have tried to negotiate for information on those kids or Gide. Why would she apologize for having the upper hand? Instead, she'd just apologized and healed him. What an odd girl. Fyodor found himself chuckling to himself, a bit dazed and manic.
Nikolai gasped, popping his head around the corner. "Whoa! Hey! What happened here? We came as fast as we could, all things considered!"
"Master!" Ivan gasped, and he knelt near Fyodor, seeing the blood and the mess of the room. Juubi had wrecked the room.
"Took you two long enough," Fyodor said finally, waving off Ivan's touch. He slowly got to his feet but he was still weak from blood loss and almost fell over. Ivan quickly let Fyodor lean on him, and he kept smiling as always, but there was concern in his tone.
"Master, lie down—are you still hurt? I'll have to examine you." He sounded business-like but Fyodor shook his head.
"I just had an interesting conversation with a demon," he said, with a small sneer, smiling at the other two.
"What? Are you serious?" Nikolai's eyes bugged out. "I knew something was odd!"
Fyodor looked at him like he had an extra head. "?"
"Ivan and myself were trying to get to you sooner, but it felt like we were just running in circles on the ship! We couldn't get close no matter how hard we tried!" Nikolai explained.
"It must have been that demon's doing," Fyodor hummed. "Intriguing…"
Ivan looked concerned despite the smile on his face. "What is the plan now?"
"Let's just wait…and see," Fyodor hummed, sitting on the bed with Ivan's help. He was fully healed but he knew his body would need at least a week after the hit it took from Juubi.
"Want us to exterminate the demon for you?" Nikolai hummed, eager for some slaughter.
"No," Fyodor said sharply, and he surprised even himself with how quickly he had responded. Normally, he didn't care how the job got done but this was different. This felt…personal.
"I'll decide how to slay this demon," he said simply, smirking confidently at the others.
"What do you mean, you lost her?" Mori's patient tone carried an air of exasperation. Chuuya grimaced.
He was in a nice hotel somewhere in Osaka, and he could only imagine that it was the cocky fox bastard who had placed him here after knocking him out. When Chuuya finally came to, it was nighttime! The girl was nowhere to be seen and Chuuya knew he had to report to Mori after all the missed calls on his phone.
"I'm sorry, sir," Chuuya said, knowing that wasn't going to excuse him. He had informed Mori of what had happened up until now with Fyodor. He knew he had to confess as to the real reason they got separated though. Lying wasn't something in Chuuya's nature that he believed in. "I am the reason…we got separated."
"I figured that much out when you said she knocked you out," Mori said on the other end, a bit of a sarcastic quip.
Chuuya pursed his lips. Mori rarely got angry with him, but he was definitely irritated. Was this girl really so important? Of course she had to be. A card like her in the deck of the Port Mafia would lead to infinite power and influence. Chuuya understood Mori's intentions for this girl but he did have to wonder what it was that girl, herself, wanted. "What I mean is…" Chuuya took a deep breath. He could handle the Boss's anger. He just hated that his personal problems had gotten in the way. Chuuya had a feeling that the fox demon man had gone to get the hat like he said he would…but he hadn't taken Chuuya with him to do so which angered Chuuya. "Sir, you know the…importance of the hat you gave me when I joined…?"
There was a pause on the other end. Mori sighed. "Yes? I knew you held some attachment for the traitor so I allowed you to have his hat…"
"That hat was left behind," Chuuya admitted. "I wanted to go back for it…but I was stopped…forcibly," he confessed, guilty.
There was a momentary silence and then another deep sigh. "Do you know where that girl is now?"
"No," Chuuya confessed. "I have a feeling she returned to that ship alone, however," he admitted.
"Tch, there's not much to be done." Mori's voice was cold and calculating. Chuuya knew he was angry. "For now, return here. I won't lose you over a memento from the past," he said, curtly.
Chuuya bit his lower lip. He knew his life was more valuable than a hat. But… not one to disobey, however, Chuuya merely consented. "Understood. I'll return tonight," he said.
"Good. If you do run into that girl, so be it—but otherwise return here," Mori said serious.
Chuuya sighed and went to his back pocket to pull out his wallet to ascertain his route back to Yokohama. A few seconds passed. He grimaced. "Uh, that may be a slight problem," he said, finally.
"What do you mean?" Mori asked, patient.
"My wallet is gone," Chuuya admitted.
There was a silence and the sound of Elise-Chan laughing at Chuuya's expense on the other end. "I can't believe you got robbed!"
"Elise-Chan, that's not actually funny," Mori sighed, "Very well, I'll send someone to go get you. Where are you staying?"
"Uh…" Chuuya looked around and gave the address to Mori based on some advertising on a table near the tv in the hotel room.
"Good, stay there."
Chuuya felt the phone click and it was clear the boss had hung up. Chuuya bit his lower lip. He knew he had to get back to Yokohama. He hated that he had misplaced that important hat. He wore it because usually it would stay on his head even with force applied to his body. He wore it enough times in battle that it rarely moved from his person. Yet, it had somehow separated from him during the encounter with that child—Ryou.
Chuuya was angry at himself for having his guard not be enough against that child. He slammed a fist into the wall, angry, to vent some and gasped when he saw it form a crater from his knuckles. "Shit," he gasped, taken aback. He hadn't meant to damage anything.
No, Chuuya knew the only thing he could do at this point was leave the situation with the hat behind. However, he had a feeling that the girl would come back to him—or at least the snarky fox man using her body would. They had a deal after all. Not that, Chuuya expected him to uphold his end. Chuuya ran a hand through his hair with exasperation. He couldn't shake this feeling…something was troubling him and it wasn't the hat. That girl was still near…his eyes flickered.
She knew he was a clone. Yet, she had defended him—a mere stranger— earlier when Fyodor had been taunting him about his past. Chuuya had only made her cry. Chuuya felt a bit like a right asshole. He knew he deserved the punch he got from the fox man, Juubi. However, a part of him didn't feel right about just leaving that girl at the mercy of that Russian man. Even if she did have the advantage of that fox demon that could come to her aid.
"Tch, dammit," he said angrily, holding his head. He didn't want to disobey Mori's orders to return. But he couldn't just leave that girl behind either! He grit his teeth. He'd deal with the consequences later. For now, he knew what he had to do.
Alu looked up at the night sky. The cicadas were going off around her. She had tried to wash off her bloody hand in the stream she was crouched near, away from the subjective city lights. She was still in the borders of Osaka, but she didn't want to be near people right now. With the current state her clothes were in it was more likely she'd get picked up by the police as a suspicious person.
She sighed a small mushroom cloud sigh as she fervently tried to just use the water to clean her hand off. She didn't like the smell of blood and the fact it was on her was making her stomach churn. Great, I don't have money and my jacket sleeve is pretty much bust I'm sure, she thought to herself.
An image flashed to her mind—courtesy of Juubi who she was still not talking to at the moment. However, an image flashed to her and she blinked. She checked her back pocket. Her eyes widened with shock. "Juubi!" She spluttered, blushing with embarrassment. She held in her hand a plain black wallet, but inside was a driver's license assigned to Chuuya Nakahara—and that meant this was his wallet.
Juubi had just stolen a dangerous mafioso's wallet.
~end Volume 4~
A/N: Stay tuned for Vol. 5 coming soon to a near you.
