Agent Matt: Academy of Shadows
Chapter 8: Shadow of truth
The clinic was a long white rectangle building with several floors. It was in a dusty part on the outskirts of Hinamizawa. It was strangely surrounded by a wire fence with barbed razor wire on top. The car park was deserted as matt helped a hobbling Alice into the car park towards the front entrance. Suddenly a girl called out behind them. As matt looked round he saw a girl with long pale green hair and green eyes running over to him. She was wearing a yellow shirt with a slight black turtle neck, a tied white sweatshirt around her waist, blue jeans and brown shoes. She also seemed to have a brown holster carrying an airsoft gun under her left arm. She was a year older than him and had a well developed body. He sometimes wondered if Alice was jealous of her classmate because of her figure.
"Hey...Mion, right?" he said to her. She nodded. "Thanks for your help yesterday."
"No problem." She said smiling. Her smile soon disappeared as she saw who he was with. Matt looked at her glaring eyes and suddenly said to break the tension.
"I'm helping her to see the doctor; she sprained her ankle by falling off her horse." He said as he struggled to keep her up.
"Do you need some help?" she offered.
"If you wouldn't mind." Matt said casually. As Mion came round the other side she said to matt as they lifted her off the ground.
"Don't be silly, it's like I said "When someone needs help the whole village would come to help." Alice scoffed. She thought all this talk about helping people was just a ploy. Mion ignored this, she was glad to help someone like matt. If only she knew the truth. They walked through the reception and matt felt the cold sterile air that lingered in the building. As soon as they sat her down in the waiting area, a nurse in a white starch outfit and blonde hair came out of her office.
"Hello Alice." She said kindly. "What trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" By the sounds of things Alice was accident prone if the nurse knew her that well and the comment "this time?" was made. Even though she was professional she tried to be friendly.
"I fell off my horse, Nurse Takano" she said avoiding eye contact, almost like she was embarrassed. A rich girl that owns a lot of horses that keeps falling off them.
"Okay we'll get you bandaged up and we'll call your parents, but first I'm going to need your name." She said when she looked at matt. This was one of the moments matt dreaded, did he tell her the truth and Alice knows who he really is or did keep to the cover story and have the person he was becoming friends with to hate him. He took a breath. He made his decision.
"My name is Matt...Hiroku. I'm Alice's younger brother." Mion was standing in shock to discover this for herself. The boy she helped was the younger brother to the Hiroku family, she felt betrayed.
"Okay. Thank you, we'll contact your parents and tell them where you are." As the door closed matt turned to face Mion to discover she was already heading for the door. She slammed the door wide opened, like she was angry with the door for not opening fast enough. Matt chased after her; he wanted to tell her truth. As he went back into the afternoon sun, he felt the heat hit him instantly, like it wanted to slow him down but he kept pushing forward he had to catch Mion who was already half way across the deserted car park. The sand was swirling around in the light breeze, matt shouted to her.
"Mion, Wait!" he didn't know why she stopped when he called out to her but he saw that anger was in her eyes. "Give me a chance to explain things." He said, his mouth was going dry but he had to tell her the truth.
"You lied to me." She shouted. "I can't believe I thought of you as my friend." She seemed hurt by this truth, matt stepped a little closer he didn't know how much closer he could get. He didn't know if that gun was just for show or to be used he didn't dare risk it.
"Please," he pleaded. "Give me a chance to explain myself." Mion stared at him like an insect under a magnifying glass, he felt like he was for a tense moment. He thought the sun was trying to cook him.
"Alright," she said "But I want the truth." Matt took a deep breath and moved closer so that he didn't have to shout. For what he was about to say he didn't want anyone to overhear him.
"Okay, my name is Matt Ishida. I come from Tomoeda, I was sent here by the Japanese Intelligence Network Sector 7. JIN 7 for short. I'm a teenage spy working undercover to get into a school in the Alps, France." The expression on Mion's face was becoming angrier and less friendly the more matt explained. "Apparently two deaths are connected by this academy, that's why I have to pretend to be Alice's younger brother." She looked down at the dusty car park and said in a low hush tone.
"I don't believe it."
"I know, it's a lot to take in. Even I didn't believe it when they told me my dad was-"
"I don't believe, I gave you a chance to explain yourself and you continue to lie to me." She screamed. Matt didn't believe it himself, he tells someone the truth and they don't believe him.
"I'm telling you the truth, I swear." Mion started to walk away. "Wait, Mion!"
"Don't follow me." She rasped. Matt stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her voice. "Matt Ishida or Hiroku, you're a liar all the same. I don't want to see you again." She then showed him her gun. "If you ever approach me again, I won't think twice about using it." Then she stormed off, disappearing into the setting sun. Matt watched her leave; he lost his only friend here. He walked back inside and he waited for Alice to come out. When she did the chauffer driver turned up and helped her into the limo. Matt climbed in the back with her; it was uncomfortable for both of them. She had to lie across the back seats, and the seats left were the ones opposite her. She didn't look at him, or even acknowledge he was even there. Matt just hoped the morning could come quicker, because tomorrow was the day he was leaving for ombre Académie, Shadow Academy. The faster away he was from all this, the better, he thought.