Chapter 4
Sumire had been right. Their train car had stopped just outside a decent sized town. They only had to climb a hill before seeing the town spread below them in neat chaos. She led him through the town, which it surprised him that it appeared to be as if she knew the place by heart. Sumire, just like Shiori did, handled the talking and leading. All Ikuro could do was follow closely behind carefully observing the street signs and buildings around him.
Quickly arriving at the center of town Sumire checked into a hotel just down the street of the main shopping district. Where she got the money from, he didn't ask in front of the service. However, he made sure to keep it at the back of his mind to ask her about it once he had the chance. He assumed that once they got to the hotel room she would tell him everything. Instead she shoved him into the bathroom with an order to shower.
"I'll be right back!" she called in a chipper tone. And then she whisked out the door. Ikuro stood rejected again. When it was obvious she was gone he resigned to her order and returned to the bathroom.
Sumire reached the shopping district in a matter of minutes. Leaving Ikuro alone for too long would be bad. One reason was they still weren't safe. Her hands in her pockets, she lightly poked the wad of cash. Judas had funded their assassins well. While the woman assassin had held a fair amount of cash it was the leader who was the jackpot. Most of the bills were hundreds and fifties. There were smaller bills as well, but not as many. A quick count outside of the hotel room had told her that between the two assassins she had almost five thousand dollars. This much money was guaranteed to last her and Ikuro for quite some time.
She didn't bother with looking around at the city's landscape. It wasn't necessary. It was only a distraction. And if someone did try to sneak up on her she would sense it. Of course, she realized, that wasn't the real problem. Her abilities had grown much stronger over the past eight years. It was what helped her find Ikuro in the first place. But unless it was a flash forward into the future, the farther she was away from him the weaker she could sense him. Yet another reason to get this done as quickly as possible.
Ducking into the nearest store that was aimed for her age group, she whisked through the racks. I don't know what his size is. After a short argument with herself she made her best educated guess snagging a few shirts and pants even going so far as to fetch Ikuro new underwear.
She was about to pay when she caught onto the whispers in the store. Not necessarily spoken aloud, yet heard all the same. Taking a few steps back she finally saw herself in the mirror. Sucking in a breath Sumire could understand why the people in the store were curious about her. Although the blood was long dried, the dark splotches covering her clothes and body still were noticeably red. A scabbed wound marked her face and cuts and holes were scattered through her clothes. The teen's eyes shifted to the clerk she had been about to see. The man stared right back. Offering a weak and awkward smile she spun on her toes and rushed back to the female section of the store.
This was considerably easier as she knew her size and her style. Still at a restrained run she returned to the checkout. Sumire bounced impatiently as the man attempted to strike up a conversation.
"Hello, how are you today?"
"Fine, thanks," her eyes flickered to the wall clock above the man's head. She had already wasted almost fifteen minutes on this. Most of it was just getting to the shopping district. It was possible Ikuro was out of the shower by now, and with only a set of more flammable than usual clothes to wear.
"Can I introduce you-" he began again.
"No."
"Are you sure? It would-"
"No! Sorry, but I have no interest in any sort of offers you have. And I'm in a bit of a rush. Could you kindly just scan these as quickly as possible?" her tone was clipped, and a touched annoyed. The man remained silent for most of the rest of the transaction.
"Are you alright?" he tried once more.
"Yes." The clerk finally understood that she wasn't going to engage him in conversation. Sumire was pleased that he finally got the message. He rang her up and she paid. Snatching the bag away from him she smiled.
"Thanks! Have a nice day!" and then she bolted from the store. Once outside she picked up her speed until it almost killed her when she ran out in the street in front of cars. Even then she didn't slow. Instead she slid over the hood of the car and kept running. It's impressive that he can fit that many swears into one sentence and still be coherent.
Only pausing for a moment at another store to buy shoes and socks, Sumire ran to the hotel. The chance of Judas catching them was growing with each second she spent on this. Her errands needed to be completed and they needed to leave right away.
Entering from the side door of the hotel Sumire took the stairs two at a time back to the room on the second floor. She had left the keys in the room with Ikuro. If anything had happened to herself, or she lost the keys, it would be almost as bad as giving turn by turn directions.
"Ikuro," she knocked on the door. "It's Sumire. Can you let me in?"
There was silence but she could sense him on the other side of the door. After a few seconds of silence she heard the chain lock slid out and the dead bolt unlock. At least he was taking that much precaution, she mused. The door opened a slit and she could see Ikuro peering though.
"Um, I'm not…"
"Oh for heaven's sake," she rolled her eyes, "I know that. You can hardly put on those other clothes can you? Just go into the bathroom. I'll hand you some clothes that I bought. Try them on, 'kay? I don't know if they will fit though. Now will you let me through?" she raised an eyebrow at him. Coloring slightly he stepped away from the door and into the bathroom. She pushed her way into the room and tossed her burden on the bed. Pawing through the bag she pulled out all she had bought for him. She held up a few of the shirts. Realizing she hadn't the faintest idea on what he liked, she rolled the shirts, pants and bag of underwear into a ball and knocked on the bathroom door. Ikuro opened it and she shoved the clothes through.
"I didn't know your size. So if they don't fit, we can probably stop at another store. Also, I don't know what you like, so I just grabbed average stuff. Just get dressed. We still aren't safe," she returned to the bag of clothes. Laying them out on the bed she looked over what else she had purchased. Then Sumire looked at herself in the mirror. It would be best for her to shower, but she didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. Instead she stripped off the sweater, crossed the room and opened the window, tossing the article of clothing out. A wet towel to her face would get her through to the next town. Until then, she would have to deal.
Ikuro had showered and been waiting for Sumire for what felt like forever. He had been shocked and disgusted at how much blood had been rinsed from his hair. Thankfully, his hair was rather dark and the blood hadn't been visible. Sumire had had enough trouble trying to get a room looking as she did. The girl didn't need help from him. When she had returned, he had almost just invited her right in. But then he realized he was only in a towel. He would have felt awkward. He still felt awkward. Did Sumire really expect to stay the night here? She had gone the cheaper route and only reserved a room with one bed.
As he thought back on that, he browsed what she had brought him. Everything looked as if it would fit him. It had been kind of her to do this right away instead of forcing him to walk with her. Ikuro wouldn't complain if the clothes didn't fit.
Settling on what to wear he donned a black T shirt with the graphic of an orange dragon and a pair of blue jeans. Everything else he folded nicely and carried them back to the bedroom.
"Good," Sumire took the clothes from him and shoved them in a bag. "These may be too big, try them on," she tossed him a pair of gray tennis shoes and socks. Inspecting the size he noticed that they would fit well.
"Well, you guessed right on these too. They're the right size."
Sumire gave a self important smirk. "Of course they are. Why would I doubt my abilities?" she shrugged and pushed by him to the bathroom. The sink ran and he heard her muttering into something. He peered in the opened door as she gingerly cleaned the area around her cut then scrubbed the rest of her face. Slicking her hair back with water Sumire turned off the water and squeezed by him again.
"Go on!" she flapped her hands at him. "Put the shoes on. We got to keep moving."
"But," Ikuro's brow wrinkled, "Aren't we staying here for the night?"
"No. This is just to throw Judas off our trail. And to get you cleaned up. Now hurry up. I don't want to stick around here much longer." Ikuro struggled with his shoes as Sumire flitted around the room. She took his old clothes and tossed them through an open window. His ruined shoes followed. He noticed that she was no longer wearing that sweater. Instead it was a gray short sleeve shirt with a black and red vine rose pattern at the base mostly concentrated to the lower left side. He supposed that her bloody sweatshirt had gone through the window as well.
As soon as his shoes were tied she grabbed his elbow and towed him to the door. The bag swung in her hand as she shoved him through the door. She left the keys in the room.
"The side door, this way," Sumire led the way down the hall and to a flight of stairs at the end. Ikuro began wrapping his head around her plan. She wanted to leave a false trail for Judas to watch while they left unnoticed by anyone who saw them. Cleaned up, they looked as the everyday people. It was simple and clever. Made sense too even if it did seem to be a lot of extra work involved. Sumire took the lead again when they exited the building. She followed side roads and alley ways.
"Where are you getting all of this, Sumire?" Ikuro asked as she turned into yet another alley that lead to a back street between apartment buildings.
"From the people around me," she tapped the side of her head. "I can read the city in their minds. Collectively it creates an extremely detailed map that allows me to go through the city as if I've lived here all my life. Nice trick, huh?"
"Uh huh…" Ikuro trailed off. If it got them out of the city he really shouldn't complain.
Thanks to her stolen map, it only took them a few minutes to escape the city. They headed down the road, thumbs crooked up for passing cars. For almost an hour the pair kept walking as car after car passed them by. At long last a truck pulled up beside them. The driver rolled down the passenger window.
"Where you two headed?" the grubby looking man asked. A well chewed cigar twitched in his mouth. It appeared as if he was covered in a layer of grime and his scraggly beard and unkempt hair didn't instill any trust. Even a foot away from the truck Ikuro could smell the cigarettes and alcohol leaking out from the vehicle. Speaking of, the silver beast was dented and rusted so much Ikuro was surprised it hadn't limped up. Sumire, despite all the smells stepped up and leaned in the door.
"We are just heading to the next town. My brother and I had our car stolen while shopping back there," she jerked her head towards the town they'd left. "Willing to give us a lift?"
"Sure! Climb in the back," he threw his thumb over his shoulder as he placed the truck in park. Widely grinning Sumire turned to Ikuro and gestured for him to go first. Using the wheel as a stepping stool Ikuro climbed into the bed of the truck. Turning to help Sumire he discovered her already in and settling down. She gave a thumbs up to the driver and he returned the truck to drive. With a shuddering jolt the truck gradually picked up speed. Soon Ikuro's hair was completely dry and his face was a bit more tortured at the constant abuse of his whipping hair. Sumire only chuckled at his misfortune as she had all her hair gathered in a nice braid still.
The two sat in silence for the next half an hour, other than Sumire's laughs at Ikuro's expense. But all too soon the truck pulled to a stop and Sumire hopped out, followed closely by Ikuro.
"Thanks mister. You helped us out a lot. Have a good day!" and promptly left with little else to say. Ikuro scrambled after her, not wishing to lose sight of his companion. Sumire seemed to have relaxed a lot by just entering this new city. It appeared that she just needed to get away from the train and the rest of Judas. He wondered how long she would allow them to stay. Perhaps this was just another stop in her plan of escape.
"I'm glad that you are here," Sumire's voice cut through his thoughts. "I probably would have just walked instead of hitching a ride with that guy." Ikuro's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?" He tilted his head down to look at her. Sumire rolled her eyes.
"He wasn't exactly clean cut. I've hitched hiked before, but I try to get the people who actually look non-psychopathic. It just makes my travel a lot less stressful. Granted, I could easily dispatch him, but that would eventually attract the attention of Judas. I don't like doing that," she smiled at a passerby, nodding her head. Ikuro could only watch in confusment. One minute she seemed as her old self, others she seemed like another person. And she had so many different sides to herself he wondered what her true personality was. She flip-flopped so easily it was hard to keep up.
"Hey Ikuro! This place will work out just fine." Ikuro looked forward. Somehow he had fallen behind Sumire. She was up ahead pointing at the hotel sign above her head. Politely waiting, she stayed still only long enough for him to meet up with her. Then she pushed through the door leading him inside. Following on her heels, he took a little more time to observe the hotel. Although it wasn't high end, it was certainly clean enough. The pasty colored walls were trimmed with a dark blue. Sailboats and other water themed pictures trailed along the walls. The wooden floor was covered in dark blue rugs that both contrasted and complimented the walls nicely. The front desk was the same pasty color as the walls topped with a gray marble slab. A young woman worked behind the desk busy with something. So busy she didn't notice as Sumire approached.
"Excuse me," she rang the little bell resting on the granite. The young lady's head snapped up, her eyes were wide.
"Oh, hello," her cheeks colored, "I apologize. What do you need?"
"A room. Just for the night for two people," Sumire reached into her pocket. "How much will that cost?"
The clerk was furiously clacking away on her computer as she answered. "It will come out to a total of ninety one dollars and eighty three cents." Below the woman's field of vision Sumire quickly flipped through her stolen money and withdrew a hundred.
"Okay," she reached over the counter to give the bill to the woman. "I don't need the change. What room will we be in?" The woman blinked at the large currency. Quickly she went through the steps to make sure that it was authentic. Once the clerk was satisfied that the bill was genuine, she typed on the computer again. Rising, she grabbed a key behind herself and laid it on the marble.
"Your room will be three forty seven. Check out is at noon, dinner is open right now until eight. Room service's number is on the phone in your room. The bar is open from ten to two in the morning. Will you please sign," she rested a waiver next to the key and pointed to several lines, "Here, here and here?" the clerk handed a pen to Sumire. With a sweet smile, Sumire signed, slid the waiver and pen back and snatched up the key.
"Thank you very much."
"Yes, and please enjoy your stay with us."
"Let's go," she prodded Ikuro in the side and set off for the stairs.
*This last one went really fast. Don't know why, just did.
~Well aren't you special.~
*So here's the next chapter. I should avoid work more often. It's great on my creative juices. Baoh written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. R&R.
Soul~Skip
