Chapter 5
Sumire unlocked the room and ushered Ikuro ahead of herself. Once inside she proceeded to lock up the room and close the curtains. The room was reasonably sized. A bathroom was just inside the door and held a shower, sink and toilet. The essentials I suppose, Ikuro thought. The two full beds were perfectly made with exact matches of bedding. A pair of pillows rested against each of the simply engraved head boards. The ends of the beds jutted a little farther than the wall of the bathroom and there wasn't much room to speak of between walls and mattresses. There was a lamp next to a phone on the bedside table between the beds. The builders had also placed lights above each of the beds, individually controlled. And finally in the floor lighting was a tall lamp next to a plush chair. Not a bad deal for what we paid, Ikuro noted. Sumire was speaking to him.
"No opening the curtains, don't unlock the door and don't go anywhere without me or without telling me. Okay?" she turned to him. Sumire stood tense, her eyes flicking around the room quickly. Ikuro nodded, settling on the first bed. It gave out a loud squeal and Sumire nearly jumped a foot in the air.
"Easy Sumire," he rose and set a hand on her shoulder. He could hear her heart pounding. The girl's shoulders rose and fell as she took a few calming breathes.
"You're right. I'm being irrational and much too jumpy. I need to relax," she brushed his hand off and went to turn on the lights. "It's going to get dark soon. And if I'm going to be telling you this story, I'd rather not mess with proper lighting or getting hungry in the middle of the story," she crawled over the bed and to the phone.
"What do you want to eat?" she asked, picking up the device and dialing the number for room service.
Within forty minutes there was a knock on the door. After Sumire confirmed that it was room service, she let them in and the man set up the cart. As soon as they left, Ikuro didn't waste any time in digging in. Sitting on the first bed he began devouring a fish. Sumire sat on the opposite bed picking at her plate of vegetables.
"Where do you want me to start?" she asked. The girl sounded a little depressed, tired even. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he cleared his throat.
"How about you start at the beginning? I was told it's been seven years since I disappeared. You say eight. Why?"
"Give or take a month you've been gone for seven years and eight months. I just say eight years because it's closer to that than seven. Makes sense?" Ikuro nodded to this.
"Alright, what about when I-" he paused. Could he even call it his death? He didn't really die. "After I attacked Judas?"
"I went and lived with granny and grandpa."
"Really?" Ikuro perked up. He remembered the elderly couple that had helped the two of them. It had been kind of them to take her in. "How are they?"
"They're dead," her voice was flat, a solid mask on her face. Ikuro flinched. He didn't really want to ask, but he felt as if he had to.
"How?"
"Grandpa died when Judas found me. It was only a few months after your… disappearance. Granny died a year later from a heart attack. I couldn't get her to a doctor in time," her tone never wavered as she relayed this information.
"And I suppose your pet…"
"Notsuo? Shot right off my shoulder."
Ikuro chewed his lip. This was horrible of him, making her tell him of the deaths of everyone that she had for support. And where was I? Sleeping at the bottom of the ocean. Still, he had more questions.
"Um, Sumire…?" The girl gave him a tired smile.
"People die Ikuro. Natural or unnatural, they die. There is nothing I can do about that. The fact that I have an organization such as Judas after me means that those around me are in more danger. Death is a natural order of life. Fighting against it is foolish. I grieve, and I move on. Otherwise I will just fall. I'm fine if you want to continue."
Taking a deep breath, Ikuro thought carefully about his next question.
"Okay, finish telling me about the months after my disappearance."
"Well, I went and lived with granny and grandpa. For the next few months, everything was fine. It was as if Judas had totally forgotten about me. I had been okay with that. And granny and grandpa were great at accepting my shyness of social contact. They even got me a private tutor so I could continue my schooling. But then one day, I got a vision of Judas, or at least a man that they had sent after me. He came to the house that evening. I didn't even sense him. I should have. But granny let him in the house. When he tried to remove me by force, grandpa took offense to it. Judas' man shot him point blank. He didn't even give grandpa a chance." Here, Ikuro expected some sort of reaction from Sumire. Nothing. She still spoke with the same reporting tone. Her voice didn't rise or fall with what she said. No emotions registered in her body. She sounded like an average person giving the weather to a random stranger. Not even anger marred her perfect mask. Sumire kept talking despite Ikuro's wandering mind.
"Granny, surprisingly, was the one who came to my rescue that time. She got grandpa's shotgun and shot the man. She didn't kill him, but she gave me a chance to escape. The two of us and Notsuo ran to the town. I knew we couldn't stay there long, so we kept moving. I think it was my continuous pushing for us to keep moving was bad for her health. I don't even remember the town we were in when she suffered from the attack. By the time I was able to get her to the hospital, it was too late. She had already passed." Here Sumire took a deep breath. Her tight shoulders relaxed a bit, the fisted hands unfolded.
"Anyway," she sighed as if it was a normal catch up conversation between old friends. "I kept moving. I didn't know if I could trust anyone anymore. I just had to keep moving. Unfortunately a life of hiding isn't cheap. I still had to eat. I started thieving. Got me in a lot of trouble before I learned I could one up everyone by using my powers. Things worked pretty well for a while. But I still managed to attract Judas' attention. They have eyes everywhere. So I have spent most of the past years running and hiding from them."
"I see," he wanted to learn more about what she had done, but perhaps another time. "How did you find me?"
"The week after your disappearance I had a vision that you would awaken when I turned seventeen. Then a couple days ago I had a vision of you on a fishing boat and a flash of the harbor you would land in. Nothing more than that. I scanned the news stations for any information about a body found in the ocean. When I did find out that you were found I was already on my way to the town you'd be in. That's when it got difficult," she chuckled, playing with her hair, upbraiding and re-braiding it.. At least she's showing emotion now, Ikuro kept a close eye on his friend, taking note of every twitch, trying to read her emotions.
"I knew you'd be in a hospital, I just didn't know which one. So there was a lot of questioning and back tracking. But then I got a sense of you. I followed that, sometimes it got stronger and sometimes weaker. And every time I couldn't sense you I panicked that I wouldn't be able to find you. I got to the station just as it was pulling out. I almost missed you Ikuro. I was that close to losing you again. Thankfully, I was able to jump onto the last car."
"But," he thought about the train ride. Even if she was in the last car, she would have been able to approach him early on. Reveal herself. Help him fight the assassins from the beginning.
"But why didn't I show myself?" Ikuro nodded at her self-directed question. "Well, I knew there were other people there, but Judas has done something. I can no longer sense the intent of their people."
"Wouldn't that point out immediately who is of Judas?"
"You'd think, but someone's intent is only readable with strong emotions and they have to truly mean it."
"How do you mean?"
"Many people say 'I'm so angry I'm going to kill him'. But very few really mean it. To read the intent of someone they have to feel the emotions strongly."
"Um," Ikuro's eyes rolled back as he attempted to understand what she was talking about. "Can you explain again?"
Sumire's mouth tugged into a smirk. "Basically normal, everyday, and mundane feelings aren't felt as any sort of intent. The emotion has to be strong enough and consume the person's mind. Fury, passion, love, lust and sadness are the most common emotions in which can create intent. But that's not the only thing that contributes. The intent to kill, for example, is often brought on by those emotions. Many times, however, the killing intent will disperse as the person comes down from that high emotional state. Those who don't are the men and women who will commit crimes. Understand?" she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Sumire's eyes never left his face.
"Starting to," Ikuro responded slowly. That self praising smirk again and Sumire continued.
"Only those who feel an emotion with enough force, those are the people who I can read the intents of. Everyone else is below the radar because the emotions they are feeling right than are no different than any other day," she took a breath. "Well?"
"I understand. But why did you still not come to talk to me?"
"Two things: I didn't know if the others were or were not of Judas, and if you were perfectly safe and content, than me revealing myself would only bring Judas to you. Believe me; I wanted to run in there. I wanted to talk to you. But the fact that I could just end up bringing the Judas organization down on you stopped me."
Ikuro thought on her reasoning. It was sound. Judas would find him eventually. But they were already tailing her closely while he had just been resurrected. She had been thinking of his safety from Judas. Not that it had really mattered in the end. Judas had been watching him from the very start. The moment Ikuro touched dry land, they knew. How do they know all this? He looked at Sumire. Her eyes still hadn't shifted. They were soft and compassionate. For a moment, Ikuro wondered if this was another skin of her's. Something to slip on when needed and discarded when used. He wondered who the real Sumire was. The soldier, the strategist, the liar, the logical, or was this understanding young woman before him the real personality? Ikuro resolved to find out. But he had more questions.
"Alright, what about when they tried, and succeeded, I might add, to kill me. Why didn't you jump in at the first gunshot?" he startled himself by sounding accusing. That wasn't what he meant. The male only wanted to know why she hadn't come to his aid at the very beginning. Sumire shrugged, not seeming to mind the tone he had used.
"You would have killed me."
Ikuro's eyes grew wide. This was something he really didn't understand. "I- I-," he found himself getting angry at her words.
"I would not!" Ikuro burst to his feet with a roar. Sumire's eyes still rested where he had been. She hadn't flinched. The girl barely even blinked at his reaction. Not looking at his face, she asked,
"Ikuro, what is the first instinct of the Baoh parasite?"
His fury swiftly dispelled with that question. Quieting down, Ikuro returned to his seated position. Sumire pinned him in a fierce, but somehow still kind, look.
"What is the first instinct of the Baoh parasite?"
Meekly came his reply. "The Baoh parasite's first instinct is to protect itself. That's why it grants the host all these abilities," he stared down at his arms, deliberately avoiding Sumire's intense glare. She seized his jaw and brought his head up to look her in the eyes. Gone was the compassion. Instead it was coldness and fire.
"And who," her voice was steel, a commanding officer talking to a private, "Is the first target of the Baoh?"
He tried to look away but Sumire tightened her hold, her ragged nails forming indents in his skin. Shifting his eyes, Ikuro meet her gaze.
"The Baoh attacks those with the intent to murder."
Sumire's stare softened again and she instead cupped his cheek. "I was ready to kill, Ikuro. I wanted to go in and watch the blood spill from their bodies. I wanted to cut them apart, burn them to ash and let them scatter to the wind. And I would have Ikuro. But your Baoh would have killed me. I had to sit out. I had to watch as that woman attack you. I saw your brain disintegrate and your skull shatter. I didn't get involved until the woman was going to light you on fire."
"All because Baoh would have killed you before you helped me," Ikuro added what she had left out. Sumire only nodded.
"The only thing that the parasite knows is how to see threat level. Not a threat to who or what, only that there is a threat. That is enough for it to take over. In a room of those five," Ikuro's shoulders folded as he thought of Shiori. Sumire placed her other hand on his cheek to keep him looking at her. "In a room of those five, I would have died first." Ikuro sparked upon an idea.
"But I didn't." Sumire frowned, confused by the bright eyes and change of composure. Ikuro continued, "The last assassin died after I reawakened. It's true. You absolutely reeked of murderous intent. The assassin didn't though. Baoh wanted to kill you, I know. But I stopped it. I have control of it Sumire," Ikuro spoke excitedly. Sumire looked less than impressed though.
"I still wouldn't rely on that too much. You forget that I have seen you fight as Baoh. There is no mercy and there is no holding back. I don't know if the Baoh will allow that to happen again or if it was a onetime thing." Her words fell hard, squashing whatever benefit he had to offer about Baoh. He knew she was right. Thinking that he would be able to completely control the parasite was foolish. Although he hadn't allowed it to kill Sumire, he wasn't sure that he could do it again. But he would try.
"Sumire?" he spoke quietly. Sumire once again watched him with that kind look. "How did you know that Shiori was with Judas?" Sumire's face fell, her eyes dropping to her folded hands.
"I didn't," the whisper was so soft, Ikuro almost missed it. Almost. His head popped up and it was his turn to glare at her.
"What do you mean, 'I didn't'?" he demanded. Unlike him though, Sumire raised her head to look at him directly.
"It means that I didn't know who or what she was. Simple as that," her eyes challenged him to get mad again. When he didn't she continued. "Just like the others, I couldn't sense intent in her. But I wasn't going to allow her to get near you until I could get some form of read off of her. If she was who you thought she was then I would have left her alone. But I doubted her because Judas wouldn't have allowed a civilian get close to you without interfering somehow. This led me to believe she was you cousin, but manipulated, or she was a Judas operative."
"Is that why you didn't attack right away until she had brought out a gun?" he asked, shamed once again by how she thought everything through. Sumire nodded.
"I didn't want to hurt her unless it was necessary. And threatening you and me openly was a definite threat. I'm sorry that I had to do it, but it was to protect you."
"I understand Sumire. And there's no need to apologize to me. I had been foolish to trust her completely. Especially with the situation that I'm in." The girl across from him allowed a wry smile.
"What else do you want to know?"
"I want to learn more about your powers. What can you do?"
"Oh…." A pensive look settled. "This is something I haven't ever had to explain before. Um, well, I can sense the intent of people. I've already told you that. I can sense people as well and I can read their minds as well." This information unsettled him a little.
"Can you elaborate?"
"Okay, I don't really mean that I can always hear thoughts. And really, just like my visions, they are more pictures than anything. And I have to really focus. It isn't a normal part of my abilities. I had to build and refine it. And it still is rather spotty sometimes. Don't worry. Your brain is perfectly safe. I won't be reading it unless it is necessary," she assured him. Still not believing her, Ikuro continued.
"Then how do you explain responding to my questions on the train? I never asked them," he said this with triumph. The girl in front of him smiled pityingly.
"You are hardly a master of the poker face. Your body language told me everything. Not to mention, if it was me, then I would want to ask the same questions. Are you content with that?"
She had so easily disarmed and dismantled his winning point, so he flapped his hand for her to continue.
"Good. Sensing people is just what it sounds like. But I still actually have to focus on the area or the person I'm looking for. Otherwise it just lies dormant. My range is rather limited too. Maybe a mile or so. But just inside that mile cut off, it still is very slight. The strength in which I sense a person depends on how close I am to them. Getting closer to them also makes it easier to pinpoint their location, but one wrong turn and I can lose them again. Like earlier today when I was tracking you."
"I see," Ikuro nodded. It put his mind to ease that she didn't know everything that went through his mind and where he was at all times. If she did, it would be like having Judas compacted into one person. All knowing and forever watching. Sumire relaxed back onto her hands.
"What else do you want to know?" she asked, clearly content with story time.
Ikuro quizzed her until the small hours of the morning. He questioned her on powers, important events that he missed, more about Judas, what she had learned about them and where she had gone and more. Eventually, he happened to glance at the alarm on the table. Four o'clock?! It can't be that early already. But as he stared at the clock lead creeped into his limbs. His eyelids fluttered.
"It is rather late. Or early, is the correct term," Sumire was stretching. "We need to sleep," she shoved the cart filled of cold and barely touched food into the hall and flicked off the over head light. The lamps above the beds and on the bedside table cast weird shadows on and around the furniture. Sumire flopped onto the second bed, lazily kicking off shoes. Not bothering with sleeping under the blankets, the girl rolled herself in the comforter. She reached up and turned off the light above her own head. Worming farther into her cocoon, she sighed happily.
"Good night Ikuro. Don't worry about getting up at a certain time. We should be alright for today. Tomorrow, we will set out again." And nothing else came from the little female. In mere moments her breathing deepened to sleep. Ikuro stayed sitting for a while before switching off the rest of the lights and sliding under the covers of his own bed.
Although he had a long and rather chaotic day, Ikuro found it difficult to fall asleep. When he had first awoken on the boat he had been filled with an all consuming rage. His vision was bloody, his mind filled with ways to dispatch the men who had just saved him. The next minutes had been spent shaking uncontrollably in suppressing his desire to destroy. The only reason Ikuro could think of was that he had been furious when he attacked Judas. Perhaps even after his 'death' the fury had remained in the back of his mind, festering the whole time. I never asked what happened at Judas. I still don't remember what I did there. How did she escape? He rolled to his side, staring at the back of Sumire. And what's the complete story of what happened after? Since the girl's cocoon offered no answers Ikuro once again flipped to his back.
His mind drifted back to the boat. Ikuro hadn't stopped seeing red until several minutes passed. The captain and his crew had wisely kept their distance during that time. Though, their reasoning might have been along the lines of staying away from the walking dead. Yama had been the first to approach him with a few quick snacks scrounged from the cabinets. They had been stale, but Ikuro ate them with gusto. A seven year fast, even if he was in stasis, had left him famished. The captain had let him know that they were heading back for harbor, but other than those two none of the other crew spoke to him. Again, that had made sense to him. And even when Yama finally checked Ikuro into the hospital, the other man was still very much wary of Ikuro. Much of the hospital staff and patients had shocked at his entrance as well, wearing rags for clothes and the aura of death did that to a man. But after the initial shock the staff had treated him like any other patient. After the physical that registered him as fit, other than an abnormal salt level, they had placed him in a room alone. The food they provided was wolfed down in seconds. A nurse had been kind enough to bring him seconds, and then thirds, for him to eat.
Ikuro had then spent his time fantasizing about Sumire, whether or not she had escaped safely. His head turn to the cocoon again. Of course, escaping safely and staying safe are totally different things. I can't believe I didn't think about whether or not she had remained away from Judas. Ikuro sighed. He doubted he would get answers from her anytime soon on that topic. And he didn't want to press it. Dredging up all the bad memories in one day was not something he could handle. Sumire… He didn't know what to think of Sumire. She seemed to be somewhat like her old self, but then there were little moments where she would seem completely emotionless. Was she just coping by detaching herself from the emotions and who they pertained to? The ceiling didn't produce any answers still and he rolled his back to Sumire and slowly descended to sleep.
Sumire could hear Ikuro shifting around in the bed next to her. She continued feigning her sleep. The girl would not drift off so easily. There was still too much to be worried about. Judas was after them. Leaving first thing after they woke up would be the smartest thing to do. Heading out of the towns and into the countryside would also be the next best thing. Ikuro may not like it, but camping outside away from civilization was their safest option. Granted, it would still be dangerous. But it would be less so since she would be able to sense any person who attempted to sneak up on her.
She curled away when Ikuro's sigh cut through the silence. He was still awake. Sumire was tempted to talk to him again, but the two of them needed sleep. It had been a trying day. For her, despite the deaths, it had been a victory. She had found Ikuro again. And he was still with her. Unchanged from how she had first met him. His naivety was refreshing to her, a long overdue look on the world. The girl wondered what would have been different if he had awakened earlier. Or what if grandpa and granny had lived. Sumire drew the blanket over her head. No need to think of that anymore. I have moved on. She remained tucked under the comforter until she began getting light headed from the carbon dioxide. Sticking her face out of the cocoon, her eyes slit open and she twisted to look at Ikuro. His back was turned to her. It appeared that he was falling asleep. Something that I need to do, she acknowledged. The clock read just after five. The planning can wait after I sleep. It won't do Ikuro any good if I'm running empty. Sumire nestled into the comforter again. Sleep came quickly to the girl.
Ikuro woke a little after noon to the sound of running water. The bed next to him was vacant. She made the bed? Why? There are maids who do that. He returned to lying on his back when he noticed a paper on the ceiling. What in the world…? He stood carefully on the plush bed and plucked the note from the ceiling. How did she get this there without waking me? Bouncing down to a seated position he read the note quickly.
Ikuro,
Make the bed like I have done to mine. We aren't registered in this hotel. Not anymore at least. The maids don't know that there is anyone in this room and I plan to keep it that way. Our registration has been 'lost' by the clerk. Clean whatever mess we have made. Don't go wandering around. Being seen by two people is enough for me. We will be heading out as soon as possible. Be ready to leave when I am.
What did she do to get rid of our booking? Ikuro flipped the paper several times to make sure there was nothing else. He read over the note again and his eyes rested on a sentence. "Don't wander around". Ikuro's face grew warm. What do you mean don't wander around? I'm not going to stick around while she's in the shower! The water cut off at that moment. Panicked, Ikuro dropped the paper and dove under his covers. It was a few moments before he heard the door open.
"What are you doing?!" as the blankets were ripped off he burrowed his head under the pillows. "I know I said you could sleep Ikuro, but we need to get moving. Go change quick. I'll take care of your bed." Ikuro peeked out from under the pillows. Sumire glared daggers down at him. Her hair was wrapped in a white towel provided by the hotel. She wore a green shirt with a smudged black and white panda on it. On closer inspection, the green background had bamboo trees in it. A pair of blue jeans and her boots remained a staple of her outfit. Her gloves were also there, only tucked into her pocket at the moment.
"Move!" she barked, shoving him off the bed. He dropped into the gap between the wall and the bed. Since it was a tight fit, he had to wriggle and twist his way out on his side. By the time he emerged Sumire was already halfway done with remaking his bed. Stumbling to the bathroom, he washed his face and cleaned his teeth with the products provided. The bag of clothes was in there. Of course, why would I think that she'd get dressed in the room itself? Continuing with cleaning himself up, Ikuro replaced his shirt with a solid dull orange polo. He stuffed his worn shirt into the bag and returned to the bedroom with it. The bed was made and Sumire was impatiently pacing. She looked up, eyes glinting with annoyance.
"There you are!" she snagged the bag and used that to tow him along to the door. Opening it a sliver, she peered out, before opening it more to look up and down the hall. He heard her breath, "Perfect," then withdrew back into the room. Gathering the wet towels from the bathroom she slipped out the door jerking her head at him to follow. He complied, closing the door behind them. She sped down the hall and dropped the towels in an unattended maid cart. Without pause she passed through the door to the stairs. Ikuro trotted to keep up with the girl. It was clear she didn't want to spend any more time here.
Nothing was said until Sumire had them safely away from the city. She paused for a moment looking back at the city and Ikuro. Spinning on her heel, she turned her back to civilization.
"Ikuro! We are going off grid!" she announced and cheerfully skipped away.
*I have nothing to say really. But please R&R. Let me know what you think. That's all. I own nothing of Baoh. It was written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.
~She's not in the mood of talking right now.~
Soul~Skip
