Reconstruction

By: Aviantei

Chapter Eighteen

Recap

Masaka Shinichiro and Minenai had known each other the longest out of their entire little Strain collective—having been well acquainted long before they'd even become Strains. They'd met in middle school, both of them as awkward as possible, whenever he'd tried to flirt a little too hard and she had decked him in the face whenever he wouldn't back off her friend. Shinichiro had never seen all that much sense in chivalry, so he'd punched back, and they'd ended up in a scuffle that had caused a scene in the school hall and had landed them both on classroom cleaning duty together for the next month.

"I'm not apologizing," Minenai had said, whenever the teacher had tried to get them both to write letters of apology to each other, "to someone who doesn't know how to listen when he's told no."

Shinichiro had thought about it for a while, realized he had been in the wrong, and had apologized to both Minenai and her friend for being impossible, though it took several weeks of their punishment cleaning to do so. Minenai had refused to write her apology letter until the end, but Shinichiro had written his and vouched for her to the teachers, since he had been at fault. The situation had worked out in the end—and then it took them ending up on the same team in the sports festival several months later to talk again and realize they could get along well, and then they were stuck with each other, not that either of them minded. They even ended up at the same high school together.

Whenever Shinichiro had first manifested his powers, long before he understood the term Strain, Minenai had been who he'd gone to first, and she'd stuck with him, not even flinching. Whenever he'd managed to make some dumb decisions and got on the wrong side of SCEPTER4, she'd run away with him. And whenever she'd manifested her own power, she'd smiled and said—

"See? We're the same now."

Minenai was not smiling now.

She didn't smile as much anymore, Shinichiro couldn't help but notice—but he also couldn't blame her for it. Their group had a lot to put up with, between wrangling in all their different personalities, making sure everyone's powers were stable, plus keeping out of the way of SCEPTER4 whenever they could manage it—which wasn't often at all. Right now, with Minenai having almost ended up on their radar, she was even more tense than usual, so maybe he shouldn't have interrupted her evening of relaxation, but it had been so long since they'd just talked, the two of them.

Shinichiro found himself missing the old days more and more.

He cracked open his can of beer, taking a swig while he waited for a response. If Minenai didn't want to talk to him, he wouldn't press the issue—he'd learned that lesson a long time ago. But he couldn't help but hope she'd say yes, since it wasn't often that they got time to themselves, not with the twins and Ayumu running around.

What's up with me? I'm starting to sound like an exhausted parent. If I'm gonna do that, I at least want to be exhausted over my own kids, not this ragtag group. Which was nonsense, because they were family just the same, but the sentiment was still there, nonetheless.

Minenai sighed, heading out of the kitchen as she cracked open her own beer, leaving the refrigerator door to close on its own behind her. "Come on. If you're gonna yack at me, I at least want to get some fresh air while I'm at it. God, how much have I been cramped up in one place lately…"

Her disgruntled mutterings continued into the living area, and Shinichiro's lips twitched into a smile as he followed. The sliding door skidded as she pulled it open, and the cold air from outside made his face scrunch up in discomfort, but it was nice after sticking inside so Minenai wouldn't be noticed after her escape from the hospital.

Their little patio was pretty well decorated, thanks to Yoshiro's efforts. There was a nice faux-glass table with plenty of chairs for all of them and then some, so they'd always have enough for whoever else may join them in the future. The result was that none of the furniture matched, but that suited their group just fine.

Minenai didn't seem to have any interest in sitting, though, going to lean on the railing. Their flat was pretty high up in the building, which gave them an amazing view of Shizume City, especially when it was all lit up like this. Even at the late hour, there was a sea of neon before them, something and somebody always moving. It was that sort of energy that had kept Shinichiro here, though it might have been easier to run away if he wanted to really stay safe. Minenai loved it, too, he could see that in the softening of her expression as she looked out over the lights, taking the occasional sip from her beer in the process, and Shinichiro just focused on his breathing for a while, reminding him that he was still there—all of him was still there.

"Considering that you're our leader, you sure are shit at talking to people when you say that you're going to."

Shinichiro chuckled, his breath turning into a visible puff of air. The coldness had already started to numb the tip of his nose, but he didn't even dare think of retreating inside. "You looked like you were enjoying yourself so much that I didn't want to interrupt."

"Get on with it, Shinichiro."

Well, if she insisted. "I wanted to check how likely it was that you would run off tonight searching for that kid you've been looking out for is all." Minenai paused mid swig from her beer can, her eyes flickering over to him. "Considering that you've decided to have a drink instead, I guess I was worrying for nothing, huh?"

Because that had been what he was worried most about: Minenai running off and doing her own thing, like she always ended up doing. The Strain kid she'd been trying to help out seemed to hesitate a lot when it came to being around others—and then he'd ended up hurting her, putting her (unnecessarily) in the hospital. That no doubt was something that would damage his confidence, and the quickest way to correct that would be to show him that she was unscathed thanks to her powers.

So, yeah, Minenai running off wouldn't be that strange of an occurrence.

"Glad to see you have such faith in me, Shinichiro," Minenai said, a sarcastic edge to her voice. But it was just for a moment, and her tone softened with the next words she spoke. "Even I know not to make so much of a mess after all this. As much as I'd want to run off and find Sparky, I don't want to risk getting caught again."

After all, SCEPTER4 had to have noticed the blackouts that just so happened to coincide with the so-called Sparky's appearance. They must've suspected a Strain—why else would they try to contact Minenai at the hospital? She was their best possible lead, plus her hair color and general style made her rather distinctive. She'd have to be reckless to an extreme degree to run out and about right now, given everything.

"Excuse me for thinking so, but subtlety hasn't always been in your nature," Shinichiro said, earning himself another glare. This one didn't have as much power as usual, though, so that was fine. "But, yes, you're right. I know that you don't want to put anyone at risk. I just couldn't help but worry about it, since I know you don't like letting things slide like this."

Minenai stared back out at the city, and Shinichiro followed her gaze. As much as they were looking at the same scenery, he couldn't help but feel like they were seeing very different things. "I don't like it. I want to help him. But I know running off now will just make everyone worry, so I'll stay put. At least for a little while."

Shinichiro chuckled, but it sounded hollow, even to him. "Sorry to ask you to do something so difficult, Minenai. I just don't want to cause an even bigger mess." He ran a hand through his hair, feeling way more exhausted than he should, even when accounting for the late hour. "While you were out, there was an attack on Shizume General Hospital. They're trying to cover it up, but it was a Clan conflict, so things are turning into even more of a mess than they already are."

All in all, Shinichiro had a limited knowledge about the Clans. The basics that were essential for them were knowing what SCEPTER4 was up to and understanding how Timeless Palace sometimes played into the equation. The good news was that the latter didn't interfere in much, so their little group didn't fuss much. Knowing about SCEPTER4 in turn meant that they understood a bit about their rival Clan HOMRA, but the Reds weren't anywhere near as dangerous to Strains, either. It was just the Blues that were, which was ridiculous from Shinichiro's perspective.

A lot of us aren't even doing anything bad. We're just trying to survive and live like normal people. Yeah, I've done some dumbass shit, but not everyone's like that. The Sato twins were a prime example, considering that they were just kids. And yet awakening powers that they didn't even ask for was enough to make them count as criminals, according to some superpowered hack's perception of justive.

The usual puckering of her lips showed that Minenai was processing the information—and the scowl that followed meant that she didn't like the conclusion that she'd arrived at one bit. "Do you think they were fighting over me, then?"

"I don't know," Shinichiro said, because he didn't. All he'd known for sure was that something had happened, and that was thanks to Ayumu's connectivity. SCEPTER4 wasn't making any public statements, and Ayumu had gone to sleep before anything had been updated in their system that she could hack into. Everything was turning into a goddamn disaster that just got worse and worse by the second, and not knowing was going to make things even harder to operate safely. "What I wanted to talk to you about was staying in the next few days, is all."

Minenai's face twisted in displeasure, which she tried to hide by downing the rest of her beer. Shinichiro offered her his half-drank can, but she refused it, instead digging into her pocket for her pack of cigarettes. Shinichiro pulled out his lighter and offered the flame to her, which she accepted. "Fine," she said, the word more smoke than anything else. "I don't like it, but I get it. Even if Ayu clears out all the stuff on film, I'm sure they still have me on some medical record or whatever, so I'll be a shut-in for a few days. Keep the homebodies company."

Shinichiro flipped the lighter open and shut, though he was unnecessarily exposing his hands to the cold. "I appreciate it a lot, Minenai."

"But—" Shinichiro didn't interrupt, giving Minenai his full attention. Then again, even if she hadn't demanded that of him, he still would be willing to give it. "I want someone to go look for Sparky. I don't care if it's you or Momoko or whoever, but someone should go. The kid doesn't deserve to be alone right now."

None of us deserve to be alone, she didn't say, but Shinichiro knew she was thinking it, so he nodded, juggling the lighter and beer can into one hand so he could place the other to his chest, over his heart.

"We'll talk about it in the morning with everyone, then. I'm sure someone will be willing to help." He'd do it on his own if he had to, but it was still good to keep everyone involved. Since Momoko had met Sparky before, too, she'd be the best bet, anyways. "We're not going to leave this alone, Minenai, especially not with some Clan clusterfuck going on. We'll help him out. I promise."

Minenai nodded, her eyes fluttering shut. She looked at peace for the first time in a while, and, though Shinichiro knew it wouldn't last long, it was still something small that he could appreciate.

We not ever be able to hold onto this feeling for the rest of our lives, but we can take it where we can get it, at least.

Shinichiro drained the rest of his beer can and let the drink settle in his stomach before looking up to the sky and watching the moon crawl across the night.

Neko could sleep through anything, Kuroh had noticed. A substantial amount of clattering from the restaurant downstairs? Not even a twitch. Middle of the day? Sunbeams seemed to be the best place to take a nap. And whenever worry and anxiety stirred in Kuroh's mind and kept him staring at the ceiling into the late of the night, Neko would still rest, sleeping off her worries like a child who'd had an exhausting day.

Kuroh did not begrudge her for this whatsoever. In fact, he was glad that she could manage something like that, since it helped keep her cheerful and relaxed, which in turn was a relief for him. If Neko were also panicking about everything at the same time, Kuroh would be much worse off than he was already, which wouldn't help them find Shiro whatsoever.

Still, he did wish he could have some of that undaunted, relaxed attitude for a little while. In the weeks since the Ashinaka Gakuen Incident and Shiro's disappearance, his own worry had risen to such a level that he found sleeping difficult, even when listening to his Sensei's poetry. Even working in the kitchen, as he did to earn some of his keep for taking up space in the restaurant's attic, wasn't giving him the same sort of satisfaction as it had before.

Realizing that he had been failing to fall asleep for at least the past two hours, Kuroh sighed and extracted himself from the blankets, taking care not to make much noise. Even if Neko could sleep through anything, he didn't want to disturb her. She rolled over and muttered something in her sleep about food, but otherwise didn't stir as Kuroh slipped out of their temporary room to go for the roof.

Amongst the sprawling and towering city, the restaurant building was only a few stories tall, and it was easily dwarfed by the buildings around it. Kuroh didn't mind; he wasn't looking for much of a view, anyways. Instead, he had brought his sword along with him, hoping that some exercise would be enough to wear him out into tiredness for at least a few hours of sleep before the next day began.

He started with the basics, repeating the score sword swings with a regular ease. While such an act was like meditation for him, the thoughts that had been swirling around before came back in full force. Urumana's deadline was coming up, and Kuroh didn't know what they were going to do if they lost that potential lead. There wasn't much else he could think of, save for waiting for Shiro to come back on his own, but that seemed wrong, too.

I trust that Shiro will come back, but just sitting around and doing nothing… Switching from a downwards swing to a horizontal slash, Kuroh tried to reset his mind, but he couldn't. He'd already lost one King, and that had been difficult. And with Shiro—it was harder, because Shiro hadn't just been Kuroh's King, but he had also been his friend.

I don't want to lose you. Even if all of my running around accomplishes nothing but passing time until you decide to come back to us, then that's fine by me. I just want—

He wanted those peaceful, happy days of eating together back, and someone else might have called that dream paltry, and maybe even more so once you considered what you could accomplish with the power of a Clan behind you, let alone that of the Silver King's prowess. But for Kuroh, there was value in such things, in enjoying a meal together, with Shiro's compliments and Neko falling into a happy, stomach-full nap afterwards, both of them with smiles on their faces.

Tomorrow, Kuroh vowed, still swinging his sword, I'll pull together the money for Urumana-san's fee tomorrow.

It hurts.

What was "it"?

Everything.

After so much experience with this sort of thing, one might think that the pain would stop mattering, that she'd be used to it by now. But she wasn't, no matter how many days and weeks and months of experiments added up. She didn't even resist, but it was still awful. Even worse, she didn't know what they were doing. Oh, she tried to see, tried to understand, but the pretty doctor would smile, then her vision always clouded over before she could tell anything, and then her eyes were screwed shut in pain, and then she stopped being able to think whatsoever, so it didn't matter.

All she knew for certain was that whenever it was all over, even after the lingering pain faded away, her chest would always feel empty, to the point that she couldn't even appreciate the luxury that she was showered in: the nice clothes, the stuffed animals, the delicious food.

"After all, you are our precious princess," Fujioka-san always said, like it was obvious, like it excused anything. But she didn't argue, because she'd long ago lost the ability to care, even if she could acknowledge the pain of everything else.

And so, returned to her room once again, Hisa sighed into the darkness, hoping that tomorrow she could at least talk with Anso before one of them disappeared for good.

[Author's Notes]

And so we have wrapped up another day in this timeline. Just in time for the anniversary posting shenanigans. Recon has now claimed the Christmas slot, lol.

Since all my fics are updating, be sure to swing by the next few weeks to see what's in store. Also be sure to check out Muse (whose third season has started today) and walk steady (who will continue it's bi-weekly updates into 2022.

Happy holidays, and I'll see you for the next chap next year. Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[12.25.2021]