Gaussian Distribution
Chapter 2 – Part 1: Unrest in Numbers
April 2nd, West Amatsu Border, Kei's Residence, 02:14PM
Yuu didn't waste any time to open Kei's package at the kitchen table after she requested the Shrine Guards to leave. It wasn't simply out of curiosity. I must know everything about him. She sat down with Kei, took a butter knife from the table rack and sliced through the wax seal that bound the parchment. She paused to look at Kei's profile, expecting a reaction. Nothing. Yuu went on, slashing the sides to reveal the contents.
"I don't mind you opening my package, Yuu…" Kei said as he grabbed his publisher's arm. "…but, at least let me do it myself!"
A playful smirk was visible on Yuu's face. You're hiding something as well? She then transferred the knife to her free hand and aimed for Kei's arm. "Let go of me. Or if you want to get stabbed, just say so. I'll slash your wrists so you can never write again." Yuu said, threatening the playwright. After Kei freed her arm, she wedged the knife on the table, and took a handful of scrolls inside the parchment.
Yuu scanned the scrolls for any information she might be unaware off. Seeing that most of the scroll's message contained excerpts from the White Dryad, she decided to call it quits. How boring. She then took the last scroll she could find, and scanned the first few lines. A request letter?
"What's the matter, Yuu? Did you find something?" Kei could only ask. Despite his repeated pleas, Yuu certainly had no intention to tell him any of the package's contents until she knew it firsthand.
After reading the entire set of documents, Yuu mindlessly threw them aside for Kei's perusal. She scanned the rest of the parchment, hoping to find anything that is out of place. She tried cutting a layer of the packaging, revealing an ornate dagger carefully hidden on the side. "I guess the Commander is really serious, Kei." she said.
"I wonder what's gotten into our commander..." Kei sighed as soon as he finished reading the scrolls thrown at him. "… and now he's actually requesting me to join a search team! I mean, what in the world is he thinking?"
Yuu stood up and pointed at a certain sentence on the entire letter. "Context, Kei. THAT is very important." she reminded the playwright, and watched him read the entire letter again. "The commander wants you to join him in his search for his missing personnel."
"And he actually believes that my novel is actually some kind of fortune-telling device?" Kei commented with a frown. He then stared the dagger that came along with the package, and slapped himself at the face. I'm not dreaming, am I?
Yuu started cleaning up the mess she made, placing the scrolls exactly as she found them unbound. Kei remained silent, contemplating whether to answer to this request as soon as possible, or simply ignore it. "If you want to go, then do it." Yuu told him bluntly.
"I'm getting paid for this, right?" Kei asked before leaving the kitchen table. Yuu didn't answer. She took the wedged butter knife on the table and scratched the surface with two letters.
"You can't stop me like that, Yuu. You know that very well." Kei muttered.
Fine. Yuu marched off the dining hall without another word, and went up the staircase. Even after living with Kei for five years, she never understood his inability to control his impulses. He always gets what he wants… unless I severely refuse.
Yuu could only wonder why she even took the initiative to stay in his house. Kei was twenty-six years older than her. Aside from being nineteen herself, no lady on their right mind would actually live with a guy that age unless the said lady was either the man's daughter, adopted, or… My goodness… did I just waste my talents?
She shook her head, extinguishing the thought.
The young publisher decided to lock herself up inside Kei's room. He's not going to use it, for now. She scanned the entire area. Surprisingly, the playwright's workstation was clean and devoid of any clutter. Yuu expected trash bags strewn all over the place, but it appeared to her that even Kei has some basic sensibilities in him. She walked towards his desk, and flipped the first few pages of his planned sequel for the White Dryad.
THIS NOVEL IS DEDICATED TO YUU, MY BELOVED PUBLISHER.
Yuu read the line one more time, startled that the playwright had the guts to write down such things. She would normally tear a page she disliked, but she couldn't even look at the page any longer. The words burned in her thoughts. Beloved. She knew that Kei wouldn't use such words to sway her heart in order for her to grant him a favor. It was uncalled for, and she could always ask him to retract what he wrote before she allowed any lines of the final draft can get published.
Upon hearing a familiar tune coming from a wind chime, Yuu hurriedly took a look outside the room's window and searched for Kei. He's actually leaving?
As if by reflex, Kei turned around and glanced by his room's window.
"Don't be late for dinner!" Yuu screamed at the playwright on the ground below. She then dashed out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the door. Upon seeing Kei still outside, she ran up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That's the appetizer!"
April 2nd, Grand Shrine Wish Hall, 01:03PM
Upon realizing that Hanabi was trembling in fear, Gin immediately dispersed her energy and made her ethereal sword vanish. She inched a few steps back, unable to look her childhood friend at the eye. Gin couldn't blame her, though. Anyone would freak out at the sight of a sword appearing out of thin air. Ever since her husband's untimely death, Gin became phobic of weapons that didn't belong to her. Her immediate reaction was always the same- pull out her own weapon to defend herself and her son. This occasion didn't make any difference for Gin at all.
"Please don't do that again! You almost gave me a heat attack!" Hanabi uttered as she held her chest, trying to stop a tightening sensation coming from within her.
Gin apologized immediately by kneeling and bowing on the floor to show her utmost respect. Hanabi accepted her apology, as long as she met her condition to explain everything. "I know you're going to tell me to calm down… but after seeing that… I cannot rest until I know everything, Gin."
Gin wasted no time in revealing the sword's name and capabilities, in exchange for Hanabi's silence.
Tyrfing. This was the name of the sword Gin always carried with her, for it was actually one of the cursed blades of Midgard. She managed to acquire the sword from an unknown being seven years ago, while she was still pregnant with Redschtly. As fate would have it, the same sword actually became the vessel for her late husband's soul.
Typically, a sentient being who owned any of the cursed blades would actually ask for the recipient's soul as a fee. In Gin's case however, the said being actually gave Tyrfing for free, and simply instructed that she should never run away from her fate, but overcome it instead.
Gin tried her best to hold back her tears, as memories of her husband flooded her mind. She leaned on Hanabi's shoulder, and was likewise comforted by the maiden. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Gin. I never knew that such a tragedy befell you back then…" she said as she rubbed her friend's back.
The thirty year-old widow calmed down after a few moments, and revealed that she was still planning in reviving her husband by any means possible. "It's difficult for Redschtly to live without a father…" she said. She then took in a deep breath to relax.
Gin then focused on the talking sword that Hanabi stuck on the floor a few moments earlier. "What exactly is this thing? I believe it's your turn to explain."
After leaning comfortably on one of the hall's wooden posts, Gin watched her friend take the said sword out of the floor and hide it carefully on the crevice where she took it out in the first place.
"Honestly, that sword isn't mine." Hanabi revealed.
Gin frowned. Isn't that a violation of the owner's rights? But she knew that Hanabi loved sharp things… anything that actually cut, puncture, and rip. Swords are no exception for her. "Who owns it, then?" she asked.
"I'm not exactly the person you should ask… your father actually has… umm…"
Gin waited patiently until Hanabi was able to tell her a personal account of an event that happened a few months ago. I wonder what dad knew about this issue... She managed to learn from Hanabi the disappearance of a certain Shrine Guard, leaving no other clues except a few personal journal entries and his sword.
Naturally, anyone would ask for the missing person's name, but Hanabi declined to reveal any information. Gin simply interpreted this as an order from the commander himself. She understood that this kind of sensitive information will not be released to the public without proper dissemination procedures. Just like the guild.
Gin was thankful to at least know this much information from the get-go. What made things better for her was Hanabi's revelation of Eiji's involvement in attempting to solve the missing guard's case. The said tour guide's typical route whenever he had to tour visitors and foreigners were searched everyday upon his recommendation, in order to speed things up.
However, things weren't that simple. The shrine guard never showed up. Gullible citizens actually invented stories and evidences to support a belief of theirs that the said shrine guard had been devoured by the mountain spirits… much to the disdain of the other guards.
Even more gullible citizens actually managed to get hold of an alleged copy of the guard's diary and found some references to a certain bestseller.
"According to the commander himself, the said notes actually contained lines from the White Dryad." Hanabi said, making Gin frown.
"I'm really sorry, Hanabi… but I have never heard of this 'White Dryad' that you're talking about."
Hanabi attempted to explain the plot in her own words.
Gin apparently just heard the most surreal and used plot ever conceived by a bestselling novelist. Twisting wishes for personal satisfaction? Now that's something…
Gin actually wanted to lengthen their discussion, but felt that she already had to leave. She can actually hear her son shouting from behind the Wishing Hall, as if the boy was fighting with someone older than him.
April 2nd, Subaru's (CLOSED) Veterinary Clinic, 04:07PM
"DON'T… move."
Ayase couldn't take the pain any longer. She tried her best to stop herself from screaming for around an hour already. The room she was in was only lit by a single night lamp, and the veterinarian that was stitching her battle wounds continued working silently, oblivious to the agony she had been experiencing all this time. She twitched as the last surgical thread was knotted and cut clean near her damaged skin. A few moments later, the veterinarian applied an ointment in the surrounding area where Ayase's wounds were, and wrapped it in clean gauze. Thank goodness it's finally over.
Her strained eyes stared at the ceiling as she leaned on the backboard of her operating table, trying to take all the pain in. Physically. Emotionally. Help me…
"Is this how you treat your patients, Subaru?" Ayase screamed after her minor surgery. She glanced at her arms and legs. Though she can't actually see through the bandages that covered her body, she knew how ugly she just became. It isn't my fault.
"You sure have enough energy to talk that much, my lovely patient." Subaru, the veterinarian, said. "You actually have no right to complain, though. You came here a few days ago, all messed-up and bleeding like a broken water hose. Be grateful. I just fixed you up just like you requested. Shrine guards like you are decorated with medals if they die on the battlefield right?… but you chose to run away! Isn't that DISAPPOINTING?"
"I told you to treat my wounds, Subaru… not play with my body!"
The veterinarian chuckled. "Ayase… MY darling… sweet… Ayase. You do know that I AM a doctor, right? And if so… you do KNOW that I KNOW best what to DO when you cut yourself silly, RIGHT? And so… you do KNOW that it is my specialty to treat ANIMALS and not FILTHY human beings, right? So… if you do point out that a human being is ALSO an animal… then you will get THE treatment an animal deserves!"
The wounded female trembled at the veterinarian's words. "You're asking me to be grateful, after what you did to me?" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She then felt a strong hand clamp her jaw and pound her head on the operating table. The shock traveled down her spine, paralyzing her for a moment. Help!
"Don't you remember? I told you that I'll treat your wounds PROPERLY! And so, I DID! However, I ran out of sedatives to remove YOUR pain! Don't YOU get it? I ran OUT of anesthesia! You CAME at the WORST possible TIME! And you KNOW what came into my mind? PLEASURE overrides PAIN! Whatever situation it may be, that LAW can NEVER be broken! And you KNOW what I DID? I just RIPPED your CLOTHES off, made you yelp like a DOG and beg for mercy, AND…"
"STOP!" Ayase tried to retaliate. Jintetsu…wherever you are… please help me.