K: Tales of Midnight
Chapter Eight: Esprit de Corps
"Get that needle away from me!"
"Will you please stop shouting?!"
"Put that needle down and I won't have to!"
"I am trying to help you!"
"With a syringe in your hand?! I don't think so!"
"It will only take a moment!"
"Is that's supposed to comfort me?!"
Fushimi trailed the Blue King through the infirmary of Scepter 4, the sounds of raised voices resonating through the building. Fushimi recognized one of them as Lieutenant Awashima's, her perpetually haughty tone abnormally warped with agitation, reaching nearly to the level of being completely unhinged.
The second one he knew to be the voice of Rei Kiyoka, though he'd never heard her yelling quite so loudly, so unlike the cool, composed Rei Kiyoka he'd come to know and loathe. She held her same demeanor of rebuke, only this time, it sounded like a tantrum, which oddly gave Fushimi the impression that for once, he was listening to a person who was somewhat vaguely human – a very loud, annoying human, but a human nonetheless.
"Listen, you," they heard Awashima snipe. "I came here to monitor your progress. It's not like I have to be here, you know!"
"No one's stopping you from leaving!" Kiyoka shot back angrily. "So why don't you do us both a favor and get the hell out of here! The door's over there!" She pointed as the Captain and Fushimi both appeared inside the doorway. Instantly, her sunken features morphed from icy rage to consolation at the sight of Munakata.
"Well it's about damn time," she said to him.
The Blue King blinked a pleasant grin and strolled into the room.
Lieutenant Awashima took a step in his direction. "Captain. Thank you for coming."
"Can I leave you anywhere without you causing a stir?" He asked, seemingly to both of them, though neither one seemed bold enough to clarify.
The room was large, clean and open to the sun, which streamed in through large windows on the side. Kiyoka sat upright inside an iron-wrought hospital bed, propped against a set of crisp white pillows.
Stepping from the hallway, Fushimi couldn't help but notice that she looked a trifle thinner than before. Her large, slanted eyes were bloodshot, her already bony arms more scrawny than he'd remembered. For a moment, he found himself wondering how such slender arms could have ever wielded so spectacularly the grand rapier he'd seen her thrashing out at him whenever he was near.
Not surprisingly, she'd foregone the doctors' orders of wearing a hospital gown and went in her usual black, though her clothing seemed to fit her somewhat loosely now, her dress appearing one size too big, her collarbone protruding through the forestry of pitch-black veins that crept along her chest and neck, giving her a skeletal appearance that was fairly disconcerting.
She had that well-known look of an addict suffering from withdrawal, yet an air of overwhelming power radiated out of her, squashing any notion that the Rei Kiyoka capable of anything was gone. However sickly she appeared, Fushimi had the distinct feeling, moreover, the certainty, that in this woman, there was grit more overbearing and impressive than he'd ventured to give her credit for before – not that he'd start mentioning it now.
The Captain sat beside her, accepting her extended hand, the blackened veins that riddled hers a contrast to his own. He hardly cared, lacing both hands around hers, smiling down at her. "How goes the treatment?" He asked.
Behind him, Awashima loomed, syringe in hand and looking stern. "Going well," she said.
"Not well at all," Kiyoka answered simultaneously. The two then shared a calculating glare, each one challenging the other.
Kiyoka broke off first, turning to the Captain. "That woman is trying to kill me," she confided in a not-so-covert voice.
"Need I remind you, Kiyo, of what might happen in your current state, should you be left alone?" He kindly pressed her.
"You know full well, Reisi. I'm the last person who needs reminding. Or have you forgotten everything I – Ahh!" She cut off in a wince, doubling over in a sudden jolt of pain, and nearly toppled off the bed.
Munakata caught her arm, as though he were expecting it, and laid her back again, taking her face gently in his hand and stroking her tense features through the pain.
Kiyoka lay there, eyes sealed tightly, clenching both her fist into the bed sheets and trying not to breathe. Then it passed. Slowly, she relaxed her brow, sighing every muscle into the pillows.
"This is nothing," she struggled out at last. "I can handle it."
"As convincing as that is," he said, running fingers down her cheek, "forgive me if I take some extra precautions to ensure that is the case."
"If she would have only listened to me in the first place and accepted my treatment plan, she would not continue to be in so much pain," Awashima pointed out, strolling up beside the bed.
Kiyoka made an instant recoil, eyeing the syringe. "You touch me with that thing, and I'll –"
"You'll what?" Awashima challenged, and without a pause, she snatched Rei Kiyoka's head, jerked it back, and, with help from Munakata to hold her down, she administered the contents of the syringe, the needle piercing clean into the veins in Kiyoka's neck.
Kiyoka gave a painful shriek, exerting all her effort first to escape it, then to endure it. Even Fushimi had the rare urge to intervene, only stopping himself at Munakata's words spoken to him earlier in the Underworld. You see, I happen to love her, he had told Fushimi, which was enough to give him pause, struggling then to endure as well, the agony she felt.
When it was finished, Kiyoka pried herself away from Awashima. Even the Captain, she evaded, tears lining her eyes as she slunk back into the corner of the bed, breathing uncontrollably and absolutely terrified.
Fushimi thought this was relatively unlike her. Maybe she hates needles, he speculated. After all that time getting pricked with them, I guess I thought she'd be used to them by now. But maybe it's the opposite. Maybe every time she sees one, all those memories come flooding back. As he looked at her, he saw the proof ignited in her eyes, that look of terror leaking out of them, like she was seeing something else – not Reisi, not Awashima, not Fushimi or the bed, the room, the sunlight streaming in. She wasn't there at all, in fact. She was somewhere else, reliving something awful that had sprung back into life, threatening to take her back and trap her in the past, never to return and never, ever to be free.
The past is a funny thing, he realized, thinking of his own cruel history, the way his past kept popping up again just when he'd thought that he'd forgotten it. And every time it did, he was reminded of its hold on him, making him believe that he would never overcome it, that he would never move forward, and that he, too, would never be free. No wonder she's scared, he concluded.
Kiyoka lay curled up within her corner of the bed, staring into space. The Captain made to reach for her, though she retreated instantly, shooting him a wounded look. It was only for an instant, though. Then her features changed. Her breathing slowed and normalized as hurt transformed to something else awakening inside her. She seemed at once determined, staring into Munakata's eyes like she was searching for something – for strength perhaps, a lifeline she could cling to, a way to overcome the trauma that had dominated more than just that moment but a thousand others, millions, in the course of her existence. And now, to look away would only cause that line to snap.
That's how she does it, thought Fushimi. She learned to survive in the labs. That's plain enough. But the Captain… She gets her strength to live from him.
"Did it honestly have to be a needle?" she whispered out, her voice cracked, but firm. "You couldn't make it a pill or something?"
"You're welcome," The Lieutenant blinked imperiously.
"I never asked for your help," she objected, darting off a hateful glance to Awashima.
"You passed out three more times since I came in here," Awashima added icily, her face now red with growing indignation. "If you'd have been alone – "
"I would have been fine!" Kiyoka shot back, her confidence rebuilding. "If only you'd have stopped nagging me with stupid questions on Imperium every single moment I wasn't passed out and actually done your research, you'd know that – "
"I was trying to learn how better to treat you!"
"What do you think that's for?" She asked, pointing a shaky, blackened finger to the vials of Imperium on the table. "That's the only thing that can! Besides, you're not a doctor!"
"I may not be a doctor but I've done extensive research on the subject and I believe that – "
"Oh, here we go." Kiyoka sighed, drooping her head against the pillows.
Awashima began to fume. Hands thrust angrily on her hips, she roared out, "If you'd quit acting so unreasonable, just maybe – !"
Munakata laughed, silencing them both. "I didn't think you'd get on quite so well, but I do see I was wrong."
Fushimi looked on dubiously. "This is getting along?" He asked, bewildered.
"I admit, I'm quite pleased," the Captain grinned. Then, turning to the Lieutenant, he said, "I imagine you've learned something in your 'extensive research,' Ms. Awashima?"
"If you can really call what she did 'research,'" Kiyoka said, deliberately not under her breath.
"Indeed I have, Captain," the Lieutenant answered over her, and, glaring at Kiyoka, added, "despite the circumstances."
"Is that so? Well, then, by all means, please convey your report, Lieutenant," he said, prompting her and Fushimi to sit. Awashima did so while Fushimi, having spent the entirety of their conversation in the safety of the doorway, sauntered in at last and took a seat, leaning on his saber with a mix of gloom and boredom. And with that, Awashima began.
"When you had informed me, Captain, of the poison that this Hirasaka Douhan had administered to Miss Rei previously, I was naturally anxious to discover its origin so that I might develop an antidote to counteract it. To this end, I ran a sample of Miss Rei's blood while she was unconscious – "
" – You did what?!" Kiyoka howled, cutting her off.
" – and found incredibly high levels of Imperium," she went on, eyes closed in a long blink as she did her best to ignore Kiyoka's words. "Far superior to what would have ordinarily been the result of her occasional doses of Imperium that she was administered while under the charge of Hisui Nagare."
Kiyoka's eyes narrowed. "You needed a blood sample to figure that out?"
Awashima rolled her eyes. "Allow me to clarify. What I found was Imperium and only Imperium in your blood. But what made that discovery particularly unique was just how much Imperium I found. The dosage you received was most likely increased by about two hundred percent compared to your normal dose."
Fushimi knit his brow. "Meaning…what?"
The Lieutenant gave a sigh, as though no one in the world aside from the presently (and moreover frustratingly) silent Munakata were actually capable of following her thought process. "What I managed to discover was that Miss Rei was not actually poisoned – at least, that was not the intent, despite the apparent outcome."
"You mean she wasn't really dying?" Fushimi clarified.
"Um, excuse me," Kiyoka intervened, offended. "Why don't you try massively over-injecting yourself with a very real and actually poisonous drug," she clarified, glaring at the Lieutenant, "and then see how you fare. It's called an 'overdose,' genius. Look it up."
Fushimi knelt back, draping his right arm across the chair back. "You're fun today," he noted. "So if she wasn't poisoned by Nagare for betraying him, then what?" He asked, addressing his superiors.
There was a weighted silence, as though the answer lingered in the air, only he couldn't seem to see it, until…
"Uh-oh," Kiyoka uttered suddenly, a look of dread spread wide across her face. Glancing to the Lieutenant, all defiance disappeared. "He only wanted me to think he was trying to kill me."
"Precisely," Awashima answered, a look of satisfaction on her face. Finally somebody was beginning to grasp what she had managed to uncover ages ago.
"If that's true," Fushimi ventured, "then that would explain why Hirasaka said, 'We've all a part to play in Hisui's game.' According to him, you're still playing yours," he said to Kiyoka.
The Captain set an elbow on his knee, stroking his chin. "It would appear that he had hoped to give you cause to return to whomever sent you to him in the first place. In order to sufficiently frighten you into doing so, he needed to make you believe that you were dying. The most plausible option, therefore, would have been to formulate a mass influx of your power – one that extended beyond the bounds of your control and so giving you the impression that you had been poisoned."
"But to what end?" The Lieutenant asked, crossing her arms. "Why keep her alive just to send her back to his enemy?" This time, it was Kiyoka who shot the Lieutenant a defensive glare. "He must have known already that if it wasn't Scepter 4 who sent her there in the first place, we would surely be the ones to ultimately treat the effects of the drug inside her system."
"I believe you may be on to something," Munakata replied. "Hisui would be aware that we would need the proper tools in order to sufficiently treat her, and those tools may only be acquired by Scepter 4 under my authority. Naturally, then, it is I and I alone who possess such means."
"And Hisui hopes to profit from those means, is that it?" Fushimi asked.
"It would make sense," Kiyoka supplied, her wheels noticeably turning. "The only Imperium stock Nagare has access to is through second-hand means. To try and create another successful case, he'd need truckloads of it, plus access to subjects already undergoing the Imperium Procedure –"
"Which he had until we managed to free them this morning," supplied the Lieutenant.
"Exactly. And now that I've left him, too, and destroyed his access to the serum, he wouldn't want to waste valuable time going back to square one. Most likely he'll try and find other labs that contain Imperium, the serum and the test subjects he needs in order to complete the Imperium Procedure as well as the replication process."
"Wait, hold on," Fushimi waved a hand to stop her. "Why is he trying to create a serum that can give people supernatural powers if he can just use the Kawaguchi Algorithm to give them his aura?"
"Nagare doesn't want to give the world his powers," Kiyoka explained. "He wants to find a way to give the world the power that's created from the serum, which is a much stronger power that isn't bound to any king but that's specific to each person's genetic makeup. That's what the serum does – or that's what the proper serum without the explosive side effects does," she specified, extending both her hands by way of a gesture to herself. "Nagare managed to create such a serum that syncs itself with an individual's DNA to create an entirely unique power that goes beyond that of ordinary aura wielders. Just think of my power but with no limitations, no side-effects, and most of all, no way to stop it. Then think of every person on the planet having access to that power."
"Okay, so serum – bad," Fushimi concluded. "Imperium – also bad. And right now Nagare has access to neither of these – nor to any qualified lab rats. However…"
"He probably thought that if he had a way to get straight to the source..." Kiyoka looked at the Captain, her words trailing off.
Awashima sat up to attention. "If that's the case, then you are in danger, Sir. We should – "
"I'd like to see how things play out," The Captain said, raising a palm in the air. "Now that we have sufficiently managed to relieve Hisui of his means of achieving his rather ambitious goals, I believe his next step would be fairly interesting to witness, don't you?"
"But Reisi –" Kiyoka began.
"Is that truly the smart thing to do?" The Lieutenant said at the same time, and the two shared yet another glance, each one stunned by their mutual reaction and subsequent agreement.
Leaning toward the Captain, Fushimi chimed in. "Sir, what's your angle?"
The Blue King turned a cunning eye to him. "Assuming Hisui's goal is to bestow the world with the supernatural capabilities derived from the serum, he will doubtless be on the lookout for another source – now that his has recently been depleted."
"Sounds logical. Anyone got any ideas on where he'd find some?"
"As it happens," Kiyoka offered, "That was one of my objectives when I first went undercover." The others looked to her as both she and the Captain shared a nod.
"Since Nagare's only source of the Imperium drug was and is through alternate means, I would work to help him find reputable sources from among the underground organizations that he could draw from. There are actually quite a lot. When we would find one, we would raid it for supplies. Afterward, Reisi would infiltrate it and shut it down. It worked out pretty well. Nagare's got such a high ego, he didn't care what happened to the facilities once he was through with them, so it's not like he would have noticed as, one-by-one, they were exterminated, their test subjects freed, and their labs completely wiped."
"But what of the test subjects that Nagare commandeered for his own lab?" Fushimi intervened.
This time, Munakata answered. "As word of our involvement would have invariably altered Hisui's plans, Scepter 4 could not risk issuing the first move. Thus, our actions were limited to cleaning up the mess in Hisui's wake. That is why I arranged a rescue mission for those that were abducted over the course of his crusade. It was Miss Rei, here, who ultimately discovered the location of those prisoners, at which point, we spared no time in bringing them to safety."
"After you got all the other information you needed," Fushimi clarified. "I bet they thanked you for that."
"I am not here to be thanked," returned the Captain honestly.
"It was because of Reisi that countless lives have been spared the fate that not only I faced, but the fate of others who were not so lucky to have survived as I had," Kiyoka pointed out. "Organizations – or at least the smaller ones – were permanently shut down, their leaders apprehended by Scepter 4 and their prisoners returned to their families or provided with new ones after receiving medical treatment right here," she said, motioning to the infirmary surrounding them.
"The more prominent organizations, however, we had to be more crafty with. That's why Nagare never hit the larger corporations, and in turn, neither did we. Nagare knew that by hitting the smaller ones that only had one location to strike, he obviously wouldn't incur any backlash from the organizations themselves. The larger companies with many facilities, however, was considered too big of a risk."
"Until now," Fushimi guessed.
"He must have planned for this," the Lieutenant added. "Possibly as a fail safe at first if anything went wrong."
"It would explain why it all seems preconceived," Fushimi noted.
"He understood the risks beforehand, therefore all he had to do was work the play in his favor so that he had the most to gain if ever he was in a position to take more drastic measures."
"Like tackling a massive conglomerate."
"Most likely, that's his plan, yes," Kiyoka nodded. "We shut down our fair share of smaller labs, so even if he wanted to hit up another one (or several, for that matter), there aren't very many left, and none of them are conveniently located. Knowing his situation at the moment, he needs something convenient – and fast. At this point, he probably thinks it's worth the risk of any repercussions on the part of the target, especially if he can piggyback a larger, well-supplied force –"
"Like Scepter 4," Awashima added.
Fushimi rubbed his chin, thinking. "Then all we have to do is pick a target and wait for him to show up," he said. "Then we can turn the tables on him."
"By using the ointment to attack the bigger fly," Munakata smiled to himself.
Fushimi looked to him, startled, a sudden not-so-icy feeling creeping up inside him. "That's right," he said, slightly hesitant.
"But even so," The Lieutenant intervened, "we cannot count on Nagare to make a move only when we offer him one. There is still the possibility that he may attempt to infiltrate another source on his own, in which case, we should work on monitoring Jungle's movements, their attacks, take some of their operatives in for questioning and gather as much intel as we can. If there are further test subjects in danger and stockpiles of Imperium and potentially the serum out there for him to target, we need to be prepared in order to stop him."
"We can try hacking Jungle's system," Fushimi offered, sliding a covert glance to Kiyoka. Her emerald eyes bore into slits, a hidden smile lingering behind them.
The Lieutenant shook her head. "We've attempted it before without success."
"Somehow, I think we have a better chance of succeeding this time," he said, now looking straight at Kiyoka, though as her smile showed itself, he quickly blinked away. "Captain, with your permission, I'd like to try. If we can get into their network, we might be able to confirm Nagare's next move, whether it's to follow our lead or to go rogue on some other medical facility – or both, or something totally different."
The Blue King nodded promptly. "Granted. Both you and Kiyo will head up that assignment."
Fushimi perked his head up to attention. "You mean… together?" Why did this not occurred to him before? Moreover, why would he care?
"Naturally," replied the Captain. "It will give you two some time to get better acquainted. And I dare say that if I leave Kiyo alone with nothing to do, I may have a one-woman uprising on my hands."
Kiyoka answered flatly. "Gee, you make me sound like such a fun person to be around. As if being a human time bomb wasn't enough for everyone."
"At least a bomb can be disarmed," the Captain said by way of a comeback. "In most cases, that is."
Kiyoka rolled her eyes. "Lovely. I'll just follow Sashimi around until I blow, then, shall I?"
"Wait, what?" Fushimi asked. "I'm not going to -"
"It will not come to that," the Captain interrupted him. "Besides, I have already instructed Ms. Awashima, here, to concoct an antidote, which you just now received."
"An antidote?" Both Kiyoka and Fushimi said at once, startling both to look at one another, then the Captain, then Awashima, who merely crossed her arms and sighed.
"That's what I was attempting to tell you all the while you were shouting at me," she said haughtily. "That blood sample I took from you earlier –"
"Which I'm never going to forgive you for," Kiyoka stopped her. "Extracting blood from an unconscious victim is plain wrong."
"Would you have let me take it, had you been awake?"
"Of course not," Kiyoka emphasized, inciting yet another sigh from Seri Awashima.
"Precisely. Which is why I stand by my decision. And as it happened, I was able to use that sample to compose an antidote – albeit a temporary one until I can conduct more thorough research. This formula contains the same stabilizers present in Imperium, though without the inducers, which are doubtless far more detrimental to your health. You will no longer experience the effects of an overly-heightened power and the withdrawal that comes after it. Your powers will normalize, but only if you take the antidote regularly."
"So, what you're saying is: you're essentially trading one addictive drug for another," Fushimi posed, and Kiyoka sent an instant, outstretched hand in his direction, as if to say, Finally! Someone else who agrees that this is stupid!
"The point I believe Ms. Awashima is trying to make," the Captain intervened, taking Kiyoka's hand again, "is that while you are weaning yourself off of Imperium and begin a less lethal medication, we may work on a way to release you from the need to rely on any drug to balance out your powers in the future."
"I promise, Kiyoka. You will be free. But it will take time. You must trust that we –" he broke off, peering to Fushimi, Awashima, then back to her, "that all of us are here to work together, to help you. If we can find a way to do that, we can find a way to help others as well."
Kiyoka stared, doing all she could to keep her frown, her lips pursed in a failed attempt to mask the hidden smile underneath. It didn't take. Her frown was quickly vanquished with a laughing sigh. "That isn't fair," she said, peering down and fingering his hand in hers. "You know just how to win me over. Every single time." Glancing up to look at him, the pallor of her face was all but gone. "What do you want me to do?"
"For now," he said, "nothing whatsoever."
Kiyoka tipped her features in a quizzical expression. "Nothing? Wouldn't you rather me be out there?" She asked, nodding her head toward the window. "I can still be your eyes and ears on the outside."
"How?" Fushimi asked. "Your cover's blown."
"Not all my contacts were Jungle operatives," she explained. "And not all of my work was for Nagare, either."
"Oh, that's nice to hear," he said, his tone sardonic. "So you've got an entire resume of jobs just like the one you had with Nagare."
"Yeah, actually it looks a lot like yours," she smiled wickedly, much to his dismay. "But if you must know, I created it in order to back up my cover. I couldn't just show up out of the blue and expect Nagare to notice me right off the bat without any experience with which to prove myself. That would have been too obvious. I needed to build a background that was believable – a sort of reputation he wouldn't have questioned. The Underworld was the easiest place to do that. Over time, my business grew, as did my reputation, and ultimately, that's where I conducted most of my affairs, even after I started working for Nagare. I could go back and there and collect information while Sashimi –"
"Stop calling me that, damn it," he objected with a cringe.
"While Mister I'm-Too-Sensitive-To-Nicknames," she emphasized, "stays here and hacks into Jungle."
Fushimi paused his growing urge to spar with her to offer her a look of grand bewilderment. Of the two, she was the one better qualified to hack into Jungle's system – for obvious reasons.
"I have no doubt of your abilities, Kiyo," the Captain assured her, jumping in before Fushimi had a chance to speak his piece. "However, for the plan I have in mind, I should like you to remain here. For all intents and purposes, you are gravely ill and in desperate need of more medicine, which I will endeavor to acquire – with your aid," he added, nodding to both Awashima and Fushimi. "Together, we may just have a chance to bring order to this situation, and, with any hope, to the world as well."
Chapter Nine: Infiltration