Aiko.

The air was cold. Clouds loomed in the sky now, threatening to let snow fall. We sat in silence for a long time with only the creaking of the swing's chains to fill the space between us. My mind was spinning with tonight's events. I looked over to him, watching his only hand grip the chain to keep balance. He blended in to the darkness in the body suit, his skin a ghostly unreal color in comparison.

"Are you cold?" I asked. "Lightheaded?"

He shook his head. He didn't look at me.

I looked away from him and back to the sky. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

He didn't respond again.

"The file said your name was Nagisa." I was desperate to hear anything other than the creaking of the swing. "That's a nice name."

"That's not my name," he finally spoke.

I looked over to him, surprised. "Oh? They were wrong?"

"No. I don't want that name anymore."

My brows furrowed. "How long were you in there for?"

"A year, I guess. The weather is the same, but then again we were on an island when they arrested us."

A year, huh… "What would you like to be called then?"

He shrugged, and then winced.

"Whatever you want," I said, almost too earnestly. "Will be your new name. If that's what makes you comfortable."

"You can be nice all you want," he scoffed. "You still made this happen to me."

"I know," I replied and looked to him, trying my best to hold eye contact. "I'm sorry."

"What do you want, anyway?" He glared at me from his seat, and my resolve faltered.

"We want to know where you were picked up and why," I replied, looking away. "You'll be asked a lot of questions later."

"'We', huh…"

"Aiko?" A soft voice hissed out from the darkness, and I stood from the swing.

I could make out Botan's silhouette from the streetlights a couple yards away. I waved to her, and she picked up the pace.

"Sorry it took so long to get here," she said, breathing staggered. "Slower to travel in a physical body."

"It's fine," I replied and then gestured to the boy. "Hurry and get him out of here. Natsume will show up soon. I have a few loose ends to tie up."

"We'll see you back at the temple?" She gave me a worried glance as she guided the boy towards her.

"Probably," I said, hiking the bag up on my shoulder. "Oh, here. Take this with you."

I slid it off and she took it hastily. With quick goodbyes, she disappeared just in time. The familiar black Pullman limousine rolled to a stop at the curb a few minutes later. Leaving the park, the temperature seemed to jump a good ten degrees when I entered the back door.

Natsume didn't wait for me to settle in. She grabbed me by the collar and yanked me in, shoving me into the seat next to her. The car rolled into motion, and my stomach churned at the sudden movements.

"This whole thing is stupid! Doesn't make a lick of sense!" she snapped. That seemed to be the theme of the night, but I didn't have it in me to retort. "Since when do you and Hitomi go on dates in the interrogation rooms?"

I refrained from letting my eyes move to the ebony haired girl who sat across from us.

"She mentioned once how she had a quick way to finish things." I let the fear show in my voice. Story wouldn't be believable if I didn't play the part, right? With a staggered breath, I continued. "I figured if I found a way to stomach it at first, it'd get easier quicker…"

She snarled like she didn't believe it, but sat back in her seat with a huff. "Whatever. Of course something you two decide to do ends this badly."

"How are you feeling, Aiko?" Hayashi asked. The calmness in her voice jarred me, ramped up my paranoia. She knew something. I prayed it was something else—that I was obvious enough about my trauma all this time. I'd tell the whole world if it meant the rest of this night went smooth.

"I…" I breathed and let my eyes drop to the floor of the limo. "I don't know… I don't know."

"Yeah, well the fact you're not bawling your eyes out proves you're getting better at this," Natsume yawned. My breath caught in my throat. "Let's go get the body."

"What are we doing with it?" I asked, unable to move my gaze. The sight of the floor was comfortable—both physically and emotionally. The floor wasn't going to turn on me, wasn't going to out me. It wasn't going to hurt me.

"Well, he's still human, so we can't dispose of him like we do the produce. We have to handle this as if it were a real murder."

A real murder.

"So the cops…"

"No, don't worry about that. Working for our sector like this, they disappeared off the face of the Earth when they were hired." She rested her head in her hand as she leaned against the door. "Still, a body turning up in the public realm? Last thing we want is to raise suspicion of a body with absolutely no records." She smiled to herself, almost excited. "I've always wanted to do something like this, though."

I frowned, my brows furrowing. "Like what? You've dumped plenty bodies, I'm sure…"

"Get away with murder." The smile never left her lips. "I'm almost jealous you're the one who committed it."

A sharp pang under my left breast left me breathless. Did she not think of everything she'd done up until now murder?

"How are we doing this?" Fukui asked. I finally pulled my eyes from the safe spot on the floor and let them land on her. She sat away from Hayashi at the other end of the car, arms crossed over her chest.

Natsume smirked. "To get away with murder, you need one main thing… No body. No remains."

"So, what? Are we cremating him?" Fukui cocked an eyebrow.

"No, though that would be an option, I suppose…" Hayashi said thoughtfully. "I asked my father to put in a favor. A crematorium wasn't an option, unfortunately."

"If we speed to the dealership, we'll make it in time," Natsume called from her seat, and the engine revved.

The lights outside the windows flashed by faster. Idle chatter of other potential disposal methods flew around the back of the limo as we drove back to the dealership. Words blurred together until there was nothing but static; the comforting floor only changed in lighting. Suddenly, the body, wrapped in some sort of black plastic, was thrown in the car at my feet.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared down at it.

"Where are we taking him?" I asked finally, after what must have been a couple minutes. I tore my eyes from him to look at Natsume.

"There's a bridge being built in the next prefecture over," Natsume replied, lying down on the seat across from me. She took up the entire row, forcing Hayashi and Fukui to sit next to me. She lay on her back as she tucked her arms behind her head. "Since this is your and Hitomi's problem, the two of you are dumping him."

"Dumping him where?"

"My father pulled some strings," Hayashi said, resting her hand on my shoulder. "Since the bridge is being built off the exit of a busy highway, they usually work at night. So, we had to get them to take a break."

I stared at her, unsure.

"You'll throw him into one of the pillar structures that holds up the bridge," she explained. I steadied myself as I almost fainted at the thought. "And begin pouring the cement mixture in."

"I don't know how to work those machines," I gasped, my head pounding at the thought. "Besides, someone's bound to see us and—"

"The cement truck will be left in perfect position," Natsume cut me off. "All you have to do its flick a few switches to turn it on and lower the mixer."

"That means I'm the one dumping the body, I guess," Fukui grumbled.

Natsume looked over to her with a blank expression. "Can't manage to fuck that up, can you?"

Fukui said nothing, clamping her lips shut and looking out the window.

"I don't know who you decided to go in there for anyway," Natsume huffed as she began rolling over, as if she was going to take a nap. Tucking a bent arm under her head for support, she continued. "We've only recently picked up strays. The tournament was pushed back, so there's none new."

"That's why," Fukui said. "Pick off some deadweight. If they haven't talked in a year, they won't talk now."

"At least you did something right tonight. We need to make room for April."

For some reason, a few pieces fell into place. The dark tournament, the file Koenma sent me, the "one year" Nagisa had been locked up, his file… I stared at the back of Natsume's head, letting what I knew connect.

It had been so obvious.

"We also have to hire for April." Natsume sucked her teeth at the thought, voice soft and tired. "All that damn paperwork…"

How had I let it slip past me?

Silence followed Natsume's complaint, and the car ride was uncomfortable. As if it wasn't already… Hayashi was enjoying the view of the highway speeding past us out the window as Natsume fell asleep. With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and leaned forward to let my forehead rest on my knees.

Next thing I knew, I was being pulled out of the car.

"Wake. Up!" Fukui hissed. "Let's get this shit over with."

I stumbled to my feet as she pulled me out of the limo, and she reached past me again to grab at the plastic. It was heavier than I thought it would be—that made it all the worse. There was a body in here. I was getting rid of a body.

Someone I killed.

My hands lost all feeling and the bag slipped from my grip and fell to my feet. Fukui snapped some more obscenities at me and I scrambled to work my arms. Heaving him up, we moved him across the gravel. Natsume and Hayashi remained in the car a couple dozen meters back. I looked around the empty construction zone. All the lights were out. The portable offices' lights were too. Some cars remained nearby, but they were empty. It made no sense—construction like this near a busy highway was done at night. Where was everybody?

"They're on break, remember?" Fukui said, watching my wandering eyes. "Conveniently planned by Ami's dad."

…Right. Hayashi's father was the head lawyer of a popular firm. "Someone owed him, I take it."

"Were you not listening in there?" Fukui breathed, heaving the body up as her grip was slipping. She looked over her shoulder again to make sure there was nothing to trip over as she walked backwards. "Everyone owes someone."

We moved past machinery and tools and came upon the unfinished bridge. Unfinished? More like hardly started. Setting the bag down, I squinted over the cliff to see how they were building it. The moonlight from the clear sky shone upon the water, offering sight of some foundations already planted in the shallow end of the river. The well caps already had their containers around them, ready for us to pour cement in. There were a couple of them, pairs placed next to each other, spread another dozen or so meters apart.

"Are you sure we can just fill this and it'll all be okay?" I asked, overlooking the dark river. "What if it messes up the architecture?"

"It'll be fine. We're not filling it up all the way," Fukui reassured me. "We'll have to toss him. Ideally, we'll aim well and he'll fall in. If we don't, we'll have to climb down and do it from there."

"I should start filling it up," I said, looking behind me to the cement mixer that was still churning. "I'll fill it up about halfway and then stop it so we can toss him in."

She nodded and then spoke in a quiet voice surely for herself. "And then finish filling it."

I nodded regardless before heading to the open door of the cement mixer. Climbing into the abandoned, still left running, truck, I eyed the controls. Closing the door behind me, I looked in one of the side mirrors to see Fukui waving to me, towards herself.

I looked for the gears and shifted the truck into reverse. I'd never driven a car before, let alone construction machinery, but it seemed close enough to a car on the road. They drove on the road occasionally, after all… I eased on the brake as it slowly started rolling towards her. She held her hand up to signal me to stop.

Shifting into park, I eyed the controls. It took a while before I was able to figure them out. I stepped out to find the funnel-like guide had already been laid out. It wouldn't reach the foundation. There was probably something we were missing. There had to be an easier way than this… My dad worked construction but I never learned how to do anything of this.

"Open the latch so it'll pour," Fukui said, nodding to the top of the mixer. "I'll move it and aim it."

I walked to the back of the truck and eyed one of the control panels perched underneath the funnel guide. Flipping a couple switches, I figured out the gist of it. Cement slid out slowly and I grabbed the funnel to help aim. We watched as it fell below. It wasn't too deep a cliff, but still… After a couple more nudges it fell perfectly into the container. Fukui went to the truck to grab for some kind of shovel to help it move faster.

After it was a quarter of the ways full, we lifted the body bag. On a quiet count of three, we threw it off the cliff. We held our breath as we watched it fall—luckily into the container. We quickly shoveled more out of the funnel until it was nearing full. Closing it off, we guided the funnel back up, shortening its length. I stood at the edge of the cliff, looking at the darkness below, where the cement had a dull shine.

I looked to the other side of the river, letting it sink in. I couldn't come back here—I probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Luckily, I had no idea where we were. I wanted to keep it that way.

"Let's go," Fukui called, and I looked over my shoulder to find her climbing out of the truck. She'd moved it back to where it was. "Quit crying. Save it for the car."

My dirty, stiff hand moved to touch my wet cheek. My fingers smeared the drying cement along my face. I didn't have it in me to try cleaning myself. Swallowing a lump in my throat, I nodded.

Maya.

He was immediately taken to Yukina. Miyuki, Shizuru, and I cleared the room we were in to give the two some privacy. She couldn't close the wound, it was far too large, but she could help the process—speed it up some, dull the pain for a while.

After what Botan told me, I couldn't pry my ears from the thin paper door.

"Wh—why is he missing an arm?" I breathed, wide-eyed after Botan closed the shoji door behind her.

She frowned, eyes cast to the ground in shame. "They cut it off."

My mouth flew to my hand to hide the gasp. "So, then what happened at—"

"No, Maya." Botan shook her head. "Aiko and Fukui… they cut it off."

I stared at her, unable to blink.

They talked softly, if at all. I worried they knew I was eavesdropping, but I made sure to hide my presence best I could.

"You're not subtle." I jumped out of my skin and scampered away from the door, across the hall. Turning to see who it was, I found Miyuki with her hands on her hips.

"Well, can you hear them?" I felt myself pouting and tried to reel it back in.

She nodded to the edge of the open hallway and sat on the ledge of the floor. My bare feet brushed against the dirt below as I sat next to her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to concentrate better.

"What, are we all trying to eavesdrop here?" Shizuru's whisper was next, and she sat on the other side of Miyuki.

"Shhh!"

"Both of you, shut up," Miyuki grumbled, furrowing her brows. "They started talking."

"About?" I asked.

There was a pregnant pause, and I watched Miyuki's face for a while. Her eyes drifted around under her lids, placing each voice and word.

"She's asking where he's from," Miyuki whispered. "He brought up the fact that she's a rare breed."

"Kind of an ugly choice of words there," Shizuru noted.

Miyuki nodded. "Could have been worded better, but that's how she's seen in Makai."

I shared a glance with Shizuru before looking back at Miyuki. She concentrated on the conversation in the room, so much so that she was neglecting to tell us anything. Though her facial expressions changed at some points, she didn't fill us in. I was about to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, but another pair of footsteps caught my attention.

Looking over my shoulder, I found a familiar silhouette at the end of the open hallway.

"Aiko…" Shizuru mumbled, eyes softening at the sight of the dirty girl as she came into view.

Her face seemed to be smeared in dirt, leftover from what she couldn't entirely clean off.

Botan's voice rang in my head again, and I stared at the drained, otherwise emotionless face she wore. She ignored us, or didn't see us—impossible, really, as we stuck out in the hallway—as she continued to the room.

"Where's Botan?" she asked, stopping in front of the common room Yukina was in with the boy.

"With Genkai, I think," Shizuru replied.

"I need her to call Koenma," she said, still staring at the door.

"Yukina is in there," I found myself speaking. I didn't think I was, since she didn't respond in any way, but Miyuki did.

"She's with the boy you brought."

Aiko grunted softly before finally moving. Her eyes drifted from the door to the other end of the hall, where Botan could be seen.

"Genkai said you could stay here from now on." Botan gave a small smile, but Aiko barely acknowledged it.

"I need you to call Koenma."

"Why are you staying here from now on, Aiko?" Shizuru's voice was overpowering but soft. Next thing any of us knew, she was towering over the in-shock teen.

"I need to talk to Koenma," was Aiko's only reply.

"What happened?" Miyuki was next, up from her spot on the floor.

Aiko didn't respond, instead giving a tired sigh and another glance to the door.

"How will you get to school every day?" Shizuru continued. "Getting from here to Meiou will be hell."

Aiko ignored her senior and looked to Botan again. "I need you to call Koenma."

"Oi." Shizuru stood in front of Botan, blocking her from Aiko's line of sight. "I know you know. You can't give up on school, even during all this."

Aiko didn't bother to reply, move, or even think, so it seemed. She just stood there, eyes moving back to their comfortable position on the door.

"I'll…Right," Botan supplied quietly as she hurried down the hall.

Shizuru's eyes still bored into Aiko, who seemed to care more about the shoji door's thin pattern than anything else.

"Something happened, didn't it, Aiko?" Shizuru tried again, but she was still unresponsive. "I won't let it get in the way for you. This will end one day, and I won't let you ruin your life the way others have. When winter break ends, you'll stay with me."

Then, Aiko's gaze met Shizuru's for the first time that night.

"I'm not Kazuma," she said curtly before wrapping her fingers around the handle of the door and sliding it open. She stared down at the armless boy—with a soft green skin tone and small horns on his forehead—who met her gaze with a tired one of his own. "Get some sleep. We'll ask you questions in the morning."

Koenma.

Suzume accompanied me to Genkai's. I had seen it all earlier: watched her throw the body over the cliff. What was going through her head now, though, was beyond me. I would have guessed she would shut down for a while. Instead, I had a feeling she was scheming up something else.

Or… perhaps not.

When we reached the living room, I found her staring at the table. No acknowledgement to my presence—not when I entered the room, nor when I sat across from her. Suzume had disappeared from the room, leaving the two of us inside. After about a minute, I cleared my throat.

Her brows twitched and then creased slightly before she looked up to find me across from her. Still, she didn't say anything. It was as if she wanted me to speak first.

So, I did. "I take it the mission didn't go as smooth as expected?"

She didn't even glare—just gave me a blank look. "You saw, didn't you?"

"Where's the prisoner?"

"Resting. He went through a lot tonight," she said. "We can interrogate him in the morning."

"Then why am I not here, if not to be briefed on information?"

"I need a portal opened to Makai," she replied calmly. "I need to speak to Yusuke, Hiei, and Kurama."

"You what?!" Along with my shock came the crashing from the shoji door across the room. We looked to the chaos, finding Genkai's current tenants fallen atop each other in a scrambled mess.

"Aiko, are you insane?" Maya snapped, but Aiko ignored her friend.

"Kurama will be back soon, after the break," I assured her. "Whatever you need to tell him can be said then—"

"He can't relay messages to Yusuke or Hiei," she countered. "They're enemies, technically. Anything Kurama worked for will go down the drain if caught. Not to mention I'm sure it will compromise his family's safety. Plus, anything I say to him will be heard."

"But you going to Makai—"

"Keeps things less suspicious," she cut me off again. "If you deliver messages, everyone will know something's wrong."

"Aiko, I don't know how bad Makai is but I'm pretty sure you're not suited to go—"

Miyuki cut Maya off, sitting herself upright to let Maya crawl out from under her. "She's right, Aiko. A human? A human girl? You're a walking target."

"Trust me, Koenma," she said, voice unwavering. It worried me, how calm she was about whatever plan she drudged up. "You don't want word of this getting out. It will start a war."

"Not to mention your ki will attract every youkai in a ten kilometer radius," Shizuru said, brushing herself off as she straightened herself. She leaned against the door's threshold.

"War between who?" I pressed.

"Makai will rise against Ningenkai and Reikai," she replied, ignoring Shizuru. "Once they find out what the dark tournament is really used for."

"Which is?" Everyone was waiting.

"To capture youkai."

There was a pregnant pause before Maya blurted out: "That makes no sense—what's the point?"

"I'm not sure yet," she admitted, eyes closing as she lowered her head. "But it does make sense. Natsume practically admitted that's what it's for. The whole structure of the dark tournament is full of holes—you know that well, don't you?" She opened her eyes to give me a cold stare.

I did, but my jaw was set shut.

"Perhaps to keep Reikai in power. Give them a reason to keep the barrier up," she mused slowly, eyes still trained on the table. "But the question is—"

"Why Ningenkai is bothering to help," Shizuru finished. "What's in it for us?"

At that thought, Botan perked up and ran from the open doorway. Aiko nodded.

"Wealth?" Maya pointed out. "Those girls are filthy rich, aren't they?"

"Perhaps," Aiko replied. "On the surface."

"You think there's something else?" Shizuru pressed.

"I have no proof, but something's off," Aiko conceded. "There's something about the talismans that bothers me."

"They're there to ensure people can't feel the sheer amount of youki in the area," I replied.

"There's more than just those down there, and you know that. And tonight when I…" she trailed off, her mouth hanging open slightly as her eyes, still stuck to the table, widened slightly. After a moment, she closed her mouth and tried again. "I saw the talisman suck up the ki, like it stored it."

"So the souls will never be sentenced," Suzume spoke.

Aiko nodded. "If the arrests are lawful, there should be no reason to keep their souls from Reikai."

"To avoid having to do even more paperwork for the sheer amount of youkai that would come through." Though I wasn't on board with her thinking, she was instilling the idea in me too. Yue's file was beginning to make much more sense.

"Then wouldn't Barrier Reg be improving and tightening security to avoid that?" she pressed, somehow further losing emotion in voice. "Wouldn't they work to stop the Dark Tournament from being held again? Instead, they're planning on hiring more workers for the season again, to do the paperwork you all supposedly hate so much."

I stared down at the exhausted teenager, piecing together what she gave me.

"It doesn't add up," she continued. "I don't know why it's like this, but none of it makes sense."

"They're clever, using talismans in such ways." I looked over to the doorway to find Suzume chuckling to herself. "Aiko, do you know what they do with the talismans when they're through with them?"

Aiko shook her head as Botan came back into the room, holding a disposable camera. "Before you leave, Lord Koenma! Here's the camera Aiko used."

"The talismans store the ki, meaning the souls are alive in that paper," Suzume continued. I almost forgot she was knowledgeable in this area of spirituality. "To destroy the talisman would ensure the soul is never formed again."

"Like…it's trapped in there?" Maya gaped.

"It is not how it is a body," she explained. "When the body is destroyed, the soul can leave it. The talisman that was created, I would be willing to wager, was made specifically as a trap. It gives the holder complete control over the ki." She crossed her arms over her chest; her finger tapped her bicep thoughtfully. "If you wanted to free the souls without destroying them, it would take a lot of practiced work. You couldn't merely destroy it. Some souls are talented at leaving their vessels at will, and I bet these were created to prevent that."

"But what for?" Aiko asked despite not even looking to her.

Suzume shook her head. "The creator had an intention in mind. I'm not sure what it could have been, but I know it was done to completely trap the ki."

"Energy doesn't just disappear," Shizuru noted. "It merely transfers to another source, if anything."

Suzume nodded. "It's broken now; it's not a person's essence anymore, per se. It's been damaged and is unfixable. It will float around as entropy, perhaps. In the world, as a fragment of an identity with no sentience, only slightly different from the energy around it. A broken life."

Maya's expression dropped in shock. "Why would someone do that? Create something like that?"

"To further their end goal," Aiko replied, glaring back up at me. "Prepare a portal for me."

I paused, pretending to think it over. There was no real harm in sending her, only issues regarding the possibility of her well being. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"A couple days," she replied.

"That gives me enough time to make you a talisman," Suzume said. Aiko's eyes landed on one of the girl's for the first time that night.

"Don't encourage her!" Maya chided.

"For what?" Aiko asked.

"Like Shizuru said, you will be a walking target in Makai," she replied. "I can do nothing about your scent as a human, but I can at least repress the ki you emit naturally."

"Yeah, and leave her defenseless," Miyuki sighed, resting her head in her hand.

"No," Suzume said. "Of course, your ki will be reduced, but that won't render it trapped."

"Make me whatever you can," Aiko replied, standing up and brushing the dust off her bottom.

"You can't go alone!" Maya stood sharply. "I'll go with you."

"You're not going to Makai," she replied, not even looking back as she began heading out. Without so much as bothering to tell me any other way that we were finished for now, at that.

"Then let me," Miyuki offered, standing up as well.

"Any of us, Aiko," Shizuru stepped up as well. "You know you can't go alone."

"I'm not taking any of you," Aiko replied simply, hand reaching for the handle.

"Then let me be of assistance, Aiko." Another voice, one that hadn't spoken at all that night amongst our group, took us by surprise.

All eyes flung to the door where they fell in through. There, Yukina appeared. Even Aiko acknowledged her existence.

"I know Makai well," Yukina continued. "And I would like to be of assistance from now on."

"You already are, Yukina," Shizuru replied hastily.

Aiko eyed the ice maiden without much thought. "Sorry, Yukina. As much as your guidance would help, you can't defend yourself out there."

Instead of dejection, the ice maiden gave a smile—a calm one. One that reminded me far too much of her brother.

"I figured. It's okay, Aiko. I was going to ask to be trained under Genkai as well. I would like to help the cause."

Five pairs of eyes stared widely at her, while Aiko remained unfazed. Had she not known Yukina's nature, I would have let the indifference pass. But the teenager had been working with the maiden for months now. Instead, she regarded her with the same expression.

"Talk to Genkai, then," Aiko replied, turning back to the door to slide it open. She left the room, letting her quiet voice settle as the final word. "Glad to have you on the team."

Everyone stood in silence, shock, as Yukina then left down the hall as well—towards Genkai's room. After what felt like minutes of silence, a few pairs of eyes landed on me.

"She won't go alone," I assured them quietly, standing from my spot at the table. I knew I'd have to give him a call. He would throw a fit, but she was right. He couldn't talk to Yusuke and Hiei, and her message had to be delivered somehow. "I know she won't."

Aiko.

"I'm sorry; I can't talk for long." I kept my voice low, trying to eavesdrop on Yukina in the next room. She wanted to convince him to talk to me. That I was able to be trusted—at least for this. "I just… I just wanted to talk."

"The mission was a success, wasn't it?" It was embarrassing how calm his voice made me feel. I pulled my legs closer to my chest as I rested my chin on my knees, relishing in it. "You're alive, after all."

"Yeah… there was a hiccup but… I got him here to Genkai's. So no matter what, we can move forward."

There was a pause before he asked: "Do you want to talk about it?"

I paused too, feeling my throat tighten at the thought. "Maybe… maybe when you get back." He drew in a breath, faint though it was, I could hear. I cut him off before he could push. "Have you been studying the sign language book?"

He was taken back, but figured I was rerouting the conversation to avoid that night. He wasn't wrong. At least, not entirely. I leaned back against the soft tatami mat, thankful for the comfort and even just a place to stay. My loose hair sprawled about the floor and the finished pictures of the files I had taken that lay next to me.

"I have. Is there a reason why?" he asked.

"You'll need it soon," I replied, looking over to the shoji door that connected this small living room to the next.

"For what?"

The door slid open and Yukina appeared from the other side. She looked down at me with a similar gaze as last night. "He's willing to speak with you in the room."

"Sorry, Kurama," I spoke hurriedly as I sat upright. "I have to go."

He knew something was up, if not for the horrible timing. "Aiko—"

"Thank you, Kurama." I ended the call before I could hear him reply. God knows I would have wanted to stay on the line longer to hear him.

Gathering the photos, I headed to the next room. Yukina had returned to her seat across from Nagisa, leaving a small cushion next to her for me. Setting the photos on the table, I tucked my legs under me as I settled on the cushion.

"Are you literate?" I asked.

His face scrunched in confusion.

"Can you read?" I tried again.

"Yeah," he replied, curtly.

I handed him a photo, and he took it from me with his only hand. The action burned the back of my eyes, traveled to the bridge of my nose. I bit back the tears.

My voice hardened, turned stiff. "Do you recall ever being referred to as Nagisa before you were imprisoned?"

He skimmed words on the photo. "Yes."

"Do you recall the day you were arrested?"

"Not the exact date, no."

"Do you recall the month you were arrested?"

"It was cold, but there was no snow. Another youkai said it snowed up north. The dates on the match lineups said it was December."

"Do you recall where you were at the time you were arrested?"

"I was on the island where they held the Dark Tournament."

"Do you recall when you were arrested in relation to when the tournament ended?"

"It was the day the tournament ended."

"Do you recall being given an explanation on why you were arrested?"

"There was a group of us. We were rounded up. If any explanation was given, I didn't hear it."

"What do you recall after being arrested?"

"We were shipped to the mainland and put in large vans. Next thing I remember is being in the holding room."

"Was that the room I found you in?"

"Yes."

"Did any official talk to you after that?"

"Yes. They told me I was violating some regulation, that I wasn't an E class, and so shouldn't be wandering in this realm."

"When you purchased tickets to attend the dark tournament, were there rules given to you?"

"No."

"Do you recall who sold you the tickets?"

"Some old youkai back in Makai."

"So it's safe to say the distribution in the tickets comes with no rules?" I said, mainly to myself as I looked back down at the photos and flipped through them again. Then, I looked back at him again. "Did anyone on the island talk about needing to leave early, like it was a regulation?"

"Aside from personal things I overheard? No."

I paused, looking back down at the photo I held. "It says you're roughly thirty years old."

"Sounds about right."

Guess youkai's aged differently. He looked a couple years younger than me—nine, ten, maybe. I was willing to put money on the fact it was different for each kind of youkai, too.

"So far, his file is matching his memory," Yukina pointed out. I refrained from scowling.

"You've never seen your files before I handed them to you, right?"

"Nope."

"What are the chances you found one whose papers match their story?" Yukina sighed, holding her face in her hand.

"They picked us up in front of the portal," he said suddenly, dragging our attention back to him. "We were leaving when they rounded us up."

The words were quiet but left my mouth before I could think twice: "Good enough for me."

"Not one of us committed a war crime," he said, catching my attention. I glanced to Yukina, who shook her head.

"Who said you did?" I asked.

"One of the youkai in the holding room with us," he replied. "Said he heard rumors about how you're picked up by the luck of the draw and it's reasoned as war crimes."

That word sparked another question for me. "Have you ever eaten a human?"

"We were in Raizen's territory," he replied. "At least, the people I went to the tournament with were."

Yukina explained it to me easily. "Raizen is known for his stance on not eating humans."

"Even if the others in the group rounded up had eaten humans before, it wasn't while on the island," he continued. "Officials watching your every move? Reikai officials on standby? Not how you want to spend your time on the island."

"Have you ever been to the island before?" He shook his head in reply.

I looked back down to the photos. "Looks like Raizen's territory will be the easiest to move through."

Both pairs of eyes bored into me. I tensed at the realization, how cold and detached I was. It couldn't be helped… I didn't want to touch him, and I was sure he didn't want me to. That comfort could come from someone else, and rightfully so. I glanced up, meeting his gaze, and found he didn't seem to particularly care.

It was Yukina, whose gaze bored into me faintly. A soft side-eye. A resentment that I wouldn't take her along? It was enough, she had to admit, that I even agreed to let her join. It was more than enough that Genkai even agreed to train her. What more did she want from me?

We stepped outside of the room, into the open hallway, and I closed the door behind me softly.

"Was it something I said?" I asked.

"No. From what I've seen on the television, you embody the cop persona quite well."

"Then what's with the side-eye?"

Yukina shook her head before reaching out her hands. Cupping my face gently, she tilted her head a tad. "Don't let this eat at you."

She wanted an apology. I couldn't meet her gaze anymore, and my eyes dropped heavily to the floor.

"It's not that easy."

"It never is, Aiko." Her thumb rubbed my cheeks, beckoning the tears. "But you know it's the right thing to do. The least you can do."

It wasn't that easy; she didn't know the whole story from that night. Tears spilled over my cheeks as my face burned, the salt water leaving a chill in its wake.

"I've seen it all before," she said softly. "People just doing what they needed to get by, and ending up ruined—a different person."

I gritted my teeth to bite back the confession. If anyone else knew, it would be all the more real. The more people that knew, the realer it was. She saw the frustration in my face—in the furrow of my brows, the open gritting of my teeth, the hitched breathing that passed by white, strained lips.

"I already apologized. He didn't want to hear it from me. It doesn't change what I did. What I let happen."

"It doesn't," she agreed. "You can't take it back, and you never will, but the least you can do is admit your fault. And you did. Now you need to ask what you can do for him."

For some reason, the words slipped out in a heavy rush. "I killed someone."

Strained and pitched though they were, they reached her ears as I found myself crumpling to the floor. Her gentle hands found themselves resting on my back as she knelt in front of me. As the sobs heaved out, a sharp pain in my chest with each inhale, I waited for her to say something—anything.

She never did.