{4}Sarabande.
There was something foul lurking through the streets.
Saya had been hearing the rumors since she returned to Omoru's, finally recovering from the weak condition she had been discovered in. She was still a little too thin, but she could now eat almost as much as a normal person - now managing to keep it all down - and kept a decent sleeping schedule, unlike the unorthodox one she kept at Julia's office, what with her constant exhaustion.
She was now exercising on a regular basis, conditioning her body back to the fit, strong being it had once been. It was tedious and she found herself coming home to only eat and drop into her bed. But in her mind it was worth it. And now with the rumors of nasty creatures on the streets, she knew she would have to get tougher quick.
It would undoubtedly be Chiropterans.
In her mind, going back to what she had said to Hagi, it was something for her to fight, therefore her way of justifying Hagi staying by her side. And he seldom did leave her side. On her early morning walks, he was behind her like a shadow. When she was at the nearby gym, working herself into a drenched sweat, he sat outside the building like a watchdog. It was a little daunting at first, but after hearing those rumors, she was sure that he was concerned she would be attacked, still underweight and too weak.
It was so annoying, though, being so weak. It made her angry, in a way. Not at the kids who caused it, but just at the fact that it happened and now she had to actually worry about being unable to fight for herself.
She still went to Julia's once a week for her transfusions and a check up. She was steadily gaining all her weight back and at this point, she could fight if she had to. Her arms were no longer thin and wiry like before. After some tips from Julia and tweak in her diet, she left the office, surprised to see Hagi not there. She looked around, slightly surprised, but then she realized what he was doing.
Of course he was giving her space. He had apologized numerous times a few days before about being by her constantly. She had waved it off and said, "I understand, Hagi. It's fine."
And now, only ten pounds away from her natural weight, she would undoubtedly be able to walk home alone without any problems. It was only two in the afternoon and the sidewalks were sprawling with people. If she were to be attacked, well, the chiropterans weren't foolish enough to do it during broad daylight. But still, she clutched convulsively at the knife in her skirt pocket.
But eventually, she eased up and found herself circling a few blocks, stalling. The weather felt so good against her skin, the wind whipping through her long hair - spring was comfortable.
Then suddenly, "Oh my god! It's her!"
Saya whirled around, hand flying to her knife. In front of her was a teenage boy around twelve. His dark brown hair was dirty, his brown eyes tired and red, though still shocked. His clothes were ragged, a beaten back pack on his shoulder. He was suddenly flanked by a little girl around eight, also clothed in ripped fabric, and an older girl around fourteen, who had ridiculously shiny black hair, contrasting to her worn attire.
"Who?" The little girl asked, staring at me with tired blue eyes.
"You mean that girl we found a while back?" The older girl demanded, eyes searching Saya with unrelenting intensity.
Their voices recalled a memory. A memory that had been replaying since the frightening night she had pulled herself out of her ruined cocoon. These were the kids who had done it. The older girl that scrutinized her seemed to suddenly realize it was her. Her dark eyes went wide and her mouth opened in shock.
Saya, herself, was utterly speechless. Though she had decided that she didn't hate these people, she felt a twinge of anger towards them and their ignorance. Surely if someone were to stumble across something they didn't understand, they would just leave it be. But by looking at the girl, Saya could tell what kind of person she was; she had risked Saya's life, just to show the other two how brave and right she was.
"You're the alien," The little girl said, not in horror, but in awe. "The one from the thing Ayumi cut open."
"She doesn't look like an alien to me," The boy scoffed, closely inspecting Saya's facial features.
Finally, the anger surfaced and Saya found herself glaring at this blasé children.
Apparently her glare was more frightening than she had imagined. The three backed away slightly. Someone bumped against her shoulder and she realized they were still standing in the middle of the sidewalk, their concentration now broken by the complaints of passersby.
"Come with me," Saya said as calmly as she could manage. She went down the closest alleyway, the other three - too curious to stay away, to cautious to stay too close - followed her as they went between two department stores. The alley led to the next street where Saya was aware of her favorite park. It wasn't a playground, like most parks, so children were not of abundance here.
She led the way to a bench, deep within the park's confines, and allowed the three to sit before her. She would not sit; she was far too anxious to know about them and what they had said that registered as important in her memory, but too obscured to be recalled now.
The boy and the little girl fidgeted in their seats, cheeks red with shame, but the older girl, Ayumi, sat between them, eyes alight with curiosity and, unfortunately, attitude.
"Now," Saya began, trying to calm her breathing, "tell me exactly what you were thinking when you decided to cut open the only thing that supplied me with the proper nutrients for another twenty years of sleep."
Ayumi's eyes went slightly wide. "What are you?"
"That is not necessary to the situation at hand," Saya snapped. She felt uneasy, frustrated, and over-eager all at once. It was like being in the same place as a murderer. "Let's just say that the cocoon, which you so zealously destroyed, was my life line. I am supposed to stay in that cocoon for thirty years. It has only been ten."
Three large eyes stared at her incredulously.
"So I was forced to abandon that cocoon, my body already drained of nutrients and muscle," She went on. She knew that she might've been giving too much information, but she wanted these children to understand the result of what they had started. "You were the cause of my starvation, and the fact that for the last month, I've been struggling to gain back twenty lost pounds and another twenty pounds of muscle I once had. You practically cut off my lifeline, therefore resulting in numerous blood transfusions and nutrient transfusions."
Their eyes seemed to be getting even wider.
"So, please, for the sake of my own curiosity, explain to me why you felt it necessary to tamper with things you don't understand," She finished, beginning to feel like a nagging mother. By the look on even Ayumi's face, they were definitely feeling quite guilty.
And after a moment of deliberation, it was the boy who spoke first.
"We were scared," He said in an honest, nearly shaking voice. Ayumi slapped him on the arm, hissing.
"She doesn't need to know a thing about us," Ayumi nearly snarled.
The boy ignored her. "We were scared. We had just had a run in with a horrible monster. We went into the grave to get out of the rain and hide from it. When we saw your cocoon, we thought it was something to do with them. We thought the cocoon was like an egg-sack for those monsters."
"Look," Ayumi said in a flustered voice, "we didn't know we were starving you, okay? We're just trying to stay alive. We are constantly on the run and being followed by those creatures." She paused, very obviously gathering her dignity. "We're sorry."
Saya didn't exactly know what to say. Their story…well, she obviously believed them. It was slightly ironic that they thought her cocoon was holding a Chiropteran, when it really was. But some compassionate part of her rose from the murky depths of her human emotions, and she was suddenly sympathetic to their plight.
"You forgive us, right, Miss?" The little girl cajoled, tears in her eyes.
"Of course," Saya muttered. She turned to Ayumi. "What do these creatures look like?"
The girl opened her mouth to speak, but the boy spoke first. "They're real tall when they stand up on their hind legs, but when they run, they're on four legs. They got these glowing, yellow eyes with slits, and these weird looking snouts. Huge teeth, long tongues that hang out of their mouths, and big ears." He paused to give a generic, Halloween-ghost-story shiver. "And they feed on human blood."
"Oh, Riku, they do not!" Ayumi scolded him. Riku; the name struck a nerve, even though Saya knew it was a common name. And even the brightness in the boy's eyes reminded her heavily of her Riku, the one she loved so dearly, but doomed to eternal life. The one her sister took.
"That's just what I heard from some boys by the docks!" Riku defended, eyes still bright and nearly glowing.
"And you believe them?" Ayumi asked incredulously.
And they continued to bicker. Saya, who had been bent over so she was eye-level with the three kids, straightened and looked nervously around. There were a few people walking through the park, the token old hermit sitting on another bench, surrounded by birds, tossing bits of bread out for them. She hadn't noticed the two had gone silent, until Ayumi spoke, the low tenor of her voice softer than before.
"What are those creature?" She asked, eyes drilling into Saya's.
"Chiropterans," Saya replied, her lips barely moving.
"Chiropterans," Ayumi repeated. "I've heard that name before. On the streets."
"Are you going to get rid of them, miss?" The little girl asked, eyes huge and imploring.
"What's your name?" Saya asked, smiling and crouching in front of the girl.
"Ai," She chimed.
"Yes, Ai-chan, I'm going to get rid of them," Saya said, forcing a smile. Ai smiled in return.
With a glance at her watch, Saya straightened up once more, the smile fading as she remembered she really needed to return to Omoru's. The sounds of the park, which had been innocent and normal, now seemed blurred and twisted to Saya's ears, what with the now confirmed existence of Chiropteran in Okinawa.
"What's your name?" Riku asked.
"Saya," She replied, snapping out of her alert surveillance of the park. "Do me a favor."
"What?" All three said together, in a way only siblings could.
"Stay off the streets at night, avoid alleyways at all times, and find somewhere safe to sleep for the next week," She commanded.
"Why?" Ayumi demanded cautiously. It was Riku's turn to slap her on the leg.
"You idiot!" He said in an exasperated tone. "To avoid the Chiropterans!"
"I have to go," Saya said shortly, cutting off Ayumi's retort.
"What if we need you? What if the monsters find us anyway?" Ai said, sounding close to tears.
"Don't worry," Saya promised, trying to smile, but coming up short - if probably looked like a grimace. "I'll find you if it comes to that."
Then she left them. She found her way easily out of the park, navigating familiarly through the city. She would've felt as if things were back to normal, had she not been so aware of every movement, every sound, and every voice on the streets. The three kids were endearing, despite what they had done. She supposed that now she had gotten almost back to normal, she wasn't as angry now as she would've been a month ago.
It was nearing three o'clock, time passing unusually faster than it had been in a long time. She took the shortest route possible to Omoru's, and slipped inside the cool building.
"Hey, Saya," Came Kai's usual, happy call. He saw her face and his smile disappeared. She barely noticed Hagi standing by the stairs, leaning against the wall, staring out the window. She collapsed onto a stool, feeling utterly exhausted, as Kai brought her a glass of water. "What's wrong?"
"I ran into the kids who ripped open my cocoon," Saya replied after chugging the water; it had been hotter outside than she realized.
"You what?" Kai's was loud and disbelieving.
"It's okay, Kai," Saya shook her head. "They're just some homeless, frightened kids. They thought my cocoon was a Chiropteran egg-sack or something."
Kai apparently couldn't help but chuckle.
"And then they told me about what's on the streets," Saya said gravely. "About what they were hiding from the night they came into the grave."
"Chiropteran, then?" Kai immediately went back into his serious mode.
Saya nodded. "After their description, without a doubt."
"So, what are you going to do?" He inquired, leaning his chin on his hand.
"What else?" Saya replied. "Get rid of them."
Two things happened simultaneously. Kai started first, saying, "Oh, no you wont!" and then a firm hand gripped her arm and she turned to see Hagi staring her down with unfathomable eyes.
"You're no where near ready for that," Hagi said darkly, the end of his sentence blending into more of Kai's disapproving words.
"Are you out of your mind?" He continued.
Saya waited, half amused, half annoyed, for Kai to shut up and Hagi to let go of her. When those things happened, she sighed. "Well, at least you two approve." She shook her head and slid off the stool, trying to disguise her stumble as klutziness and not weakness. "Look, I don't really have a choice. I'm not going to make you go out there by yourself," She looked pointedly at Hagi, "and I'm not going to let you go out there with your guns." Kai scowled when she looked at him.
"You're still too weak, Saya," Hagi insisted quietly.
"Yeah, what he said," Kai added, glaring at her.
"Well, with the twins having disappeared, these Chiropteran are small fish in comparison," Saya reasoned, now knowing she had the upper hand. "I can't let these things run rampant on Okinawa, and I have to start somewhere."
They both continued to stare at her dubiously.
"You know I have a point," She sighed.
"And I think I speak for both of us when I say I'm trying to ignore it," Kai frowned, crossing his arms. One look at Hagi told he was right.
For some reason, she was becoming easily frustrated today. With a half sigh, half growl, she started towards the stairs, saying angrily over her shoulder, "When you guys are done acting like children, let me know. Either way, I'm still going out tonight."
She made her way up the stairs, found her door in the darkness of the windowless hallway, and slammed it unnecessarily. Sure, she was acting childish, as she sauntered across the room to her bed, where she collapsed, but she did have a point. Their overprotective demeanor was going to get them nowhere. Before she went to sleep, she wasn't a frail, little girl whom everyone fussed over. Now, because of a little hibernation mishap, everyone wanted to keep her indoors and out of the world.