III. Medicine

What she felt was nothing. What she heard was silence. What she saw was darkness. Numb, deaf, and blind, she tried to open her mouth, but her voice, too, was gone, and, holding out unseen hands, or, at least, she thought she was, Misaya put her first foot forward, at least, thought she did, beginning her walk for what seemed like hours until finally coming across what appeared to be a light in the distance. As she came closer to it, she got the sense that she was being pushed against, and, now standing before it, discovered to be from an open door of some kind, was looking at a shadow in the shape of a person on the other side. That was when she realised she was no longer lost to the world, and that her sense of touch and sound had returned, along with her sight. If they had even really disappeared in the first place.

She could see her hands again, and reached one of them toward the light as the shadow did the same. When their fingertips touched, wisps of black shed from its body, as something cool seeped from her own, colliding with that from the shadow's. Vapors of red. She recoiled, wondering if she were dreaming, she continued to stare at the shadow on the other side, and then thought how real it all was.

Recoiling her hand, the red vapors that seemed to harmless blaze from her skin, she looked down, seeing a black sludge, what she must have felt pushing against her, and, waded back to door of light. Daring to the same again, she touched palms with the shadow, and, this time, to her surprise, it thrust through and, before she knew it, had consumed her and tightened around her forearm. Saying something indistinguishable, its other hand touched her face, combing her hair to either side, parting the strays. Uttering something else, it smiled, then let go and dissolved into the light.

Its touch had been warm, its smile bright, and, just like that, Misaya found herself someplace entirely different. A landscape, split in two distinct halves. On one side it was flat and barren, full of burning trees, with ash falling to the ground and smoke rising to the sky underneath a crimson moon, like the one in her nightmare. While, on the other, were snowy hills dotted with pillars of ice, showered by bouts of rain from dark clouds underneath a cobalt sun, which she hadn't ever seen before now.

From both halves, a strong wind blew, and she turned her back towards them, half in the heat and half in the cold, as she faced the same door of light as before. Cautiously trudging toward it, she reluctantly reached out her hand again, and, this time, it vanished through a mist. Then, without warning, a thousand other voices, intermingled and speaking as one, assaulted her and she jumped back. The contact had only been for a split-second, but she'd heard so much. So much pain, so much misery, so much torment, was waiting beyond and, about to step further away, the wind howled, threatening to rupture her ears as she was drawn back against her will, scrawny arms and shrivelled hands reaching for a chance to pull her in as a face, deformed from many years of anguish, appeared in their midst, spewing words of rage.

I made you what you are!

Shaking her head, she fought against the wind. With all her strength, she tore free, falling back onto a bed of cinder as everything changed again. Coals cooked her backside as she screamed in silence and, seeing a hand reach down from a violent sky, tried to rise, her body burning. She tried to reach it, as her soul began to evaporate.

—§•φ•§—

Misaya jerked awake, breathing heavily and staring wide-eyed at her hand clutching a blanket. What was t—ah. She grimaced, having risen too quickly, feeling a headache coming on. A spoon hovered under her nose. What was…? She clumsily knocked it aside in a fruitless attempt to get up. She felt so woozy.

"I've given you a sedative, hon. So don't move too much."

The spoon was back. The voice told her to open her mouth as a strong fragrance of cauliflower overwhelmed her senses, and she swallowed, tasting meat and vegetables as they travelled down her throat, now going from the spoon to the fingers that held it, eyes narrowed. A woman? They went up black sleeve to the cross dangling around her neck. Who?

"This is just temporary," the woman said, wiping the spoon with a cloth and setting it down on the small, circular table beside her, along with a bowl of what Misaya assumed to be soup. What she'd just sampled.

The bottles of medicine she'd saved were also there, three in total and, shivering off the floating feeling of the sedative as best she could, it was cold. Hugging the blanket a bit closer, peering around at her surroundings more closely, she discovered they were in a well-lit room that smelled of candle wax.

The woman began pouring a cup of water. "I apologise for not using something more accommodating, but it's all I could do to keep people from asking questions."

And, thoughts becoming more coherent as the seconds passed, Misaya noticed something. She felt no pain, and doubted a simple sedative would numb it, no matter how strong the dosage. The medicine—was it still in her system? As the cup was offered she drank it, eying the woman again. Where had she seen her before?

"When I asked for you to get a re-fill, I didn't expect this."

"Mrs… Ike…?"

The school nurse nodded. "And, I didn't expect to be treating you for another bump," she then said. Misaya took note of the freshly wrapped bandages around her head. "You'll have to thank Izumi for that."

Her brows scrunched together. Izumi? She couldn't remember meeting anyone with that name. Unless it was someone from her class, but, that was impossible, and she snickered, tossing the thought of one of her classmates actually helping her from her mind. So, if it wasn't someone in her class then who else could it be?

Mrs. Ike chuckled at her confusion, "Ms. Tsukuda, hon. She carried you all the way here."

Ms. Tsukuda did? She looked around again. And where was… here… exactly? She heard the sound of bells, signifying the end of Mass. The church outside the school? Was that why she hadn't recognised Mrs. Ike right away? She stared at the older woman in a never before seen black and white outfit, as she removed the cap she wore, silver hair falling over her shoulders, and proceeded to place it on her own head with a sincere smile. Dressed like that? A nun? Furthermore, taking the cap off, Misaya frowned. Why were they in the church?

"You never attended so you wouldn't know," Mrs. Ike put a hand to her breast. "but, I'm the pastor here," she revealed. "Sort of like the leader to this church." One of the candles flickered, wax nearly melted toward the base, and she went over to check, continuing to talk, "As for Izumi, well, let's just say she's also affiliated. In a… special kind of way." Satisfied that everything would be fine, she came back over, "Though, the girl can't mend a cracked skull for the life of her, so she's filling in for me this morning, since I'm here with you. Truth be told, she's better at bashing them together."

Bashing them together? Just what did she do? Misaya pictured Ms. Tsukuda, garbed as a nun, clunking two troublesome students' heads together with a resounding crunch. She grinned a bit, at the thought of it.

Mrs. Ike gave another chuckle. "No, hon, not what you're thinking of. The kind of work Izumi does inv—" She was about to say more when the door behind opened and closed abruptly. "Actually, why don't I let her speak for herself?"

Both of them turned to Ms. Tsukuda resting against the door, gazing up at the ceiling and mumbled something about the Mass. When Mrs. Ike cleared her throat, she jumped to her feet and bonked her head on a statue of Jesus above, cursing as she rubbed the spot, not bothering to fix a now slanted idol of worship. That is, until Mrs. Ike snapped at her to do so, which she begrudgingly did.

As soon as she finished straightening His son, Mrs. Ike spoke again, "Misaya is awake, Izumi."

"Already? Ow." Ms. Tsukuda yanked her own cap from her head and threw it to the floor, hair in disarray. "Goddammit!"

Mrs. Ike shook her head. "See for yourself."

She leaned around the older woman and blinked twice, again mumbled something. This time, about some kind of animal, before she brightened up with a big smile, giving a little wave. "Morning, Misaya!" Why was she being so cheerful? Was she that happy to see her? "You're probably wondering why you're here and, well," she snatched up one of the bottles from the table, "I want to talk about this." The medicine? What did she want to know?

Mrs. Ike told them she'd come back later, having to get back now that Ms. Tsukuda was here and Mass was over and, soon as she did, Ms. Tsukuda took off her robe and tied it around her waist, now sporting a white tanktop rank with sweat as she quickly fixed her mess into a ponytail, plopped down beside her like before, fanned herself, and it was only after Misaya looked about ready to gag, not when her nostrils had flared or when her eyes had begun to water, that the woman took notice of her own stink and scooted back.

"Oh, sorry, am I making you uncomfortable again?" Not that it mattered. Misaya could still smell her body odor. "Sacraments aren't my thing," the woman confessed, pouring a cup for herself and downing it in one gulp, setting it down and turning to her, "Anyway, about the medicine," she sniffed, "I can see you found more of it." She held up the bottle she'd previously snatched, swishing it back and forth before setting it, too, down on the table. "Quite the accomplishment. I was wondering when you'd do something about your father's experiments. Took you long enough, I mean..."

Misaya stopped paying attention right then and there, looking down at her hands. Closing and reopening them. Lost in her own thoughts. Her strength, teeth, complexion—the colour of her eyes—were all a result that medicine that her father had made by performing experiments…on what? She had no clue, but, then, those instruments on the table… had been for those experiments? What about the books? Those too?

"... 'cause, you know, it's not everyday you get an offer from a Templar, and I…"

A Templar? What the hell was that supposed to be?

"... I mean… I know you're a magus and all, stubborn bastards, the lot of 'em, but..."

Magus? What? She blinked. What was that? A kind of lingo she'd never heard of, known only to her generation or something? Like some kind of delinquent? Not to say that she wasn't, by definition, one, but what the fuck? Listening to this woman go on about how she and Mrs. Ike had been watching her and her father for awhile, and that the medicine Mrs. Ike had given her the yesterday wasn't, in fact, something her father prepared for her—which it was obvious he wouldn't do such a thing—all of what she said was starting to piss her off.

And, as Ms. Tsukuda said something about happening to "procure" it one day, strongly hinting at breaking and entering their house—however she'd managed that shit—and kept "in the hopes" that she'd take matters into her own hands some day soon, that time being the only time when she and Mrs. Ike would spring into action, crossing her arms with a smug look on her face at her great plan, or whatever the fuck she was going on about, Misaya was now seriously considering punching her lights out because she thought the woman was here to find out more about the medicine, like she was, not prattling like some gossiping bitch in the girl's bathroom.

Before she went into another long spiel about something called Thaumaturgy, whatever kind of science that was, Misaya exploded, "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

At her outburst, Ms. Tsukuda stopped mid-explanation, mouth agape in awe, "You actually… spoke…" Was it really that mindblowing? "Ahem. So, what you're saying is… You don't know what school of magecraft your father has been using in his experiments in his years of research with the undead to create this? With some dark form of Alchemy? I know your father was a member of Atlas before, and picked up a few things at..."

She held up the bottle again, going on about something else she had no clue as to what. The only she did know was she'd said undead, and the undead meant... Focusing her eyes on the bottle Ms. Tsukuda now shook, Misaya mulled over the thought. Then, the red liquid, was it really...? She went from it back to her, and glowered. Was she ever going to shut up? As the woman was about to launch into yet other rambling of her father's past and whatever cults or secret societies he used to be a part of, Misaya didn't want to hear anything of it. She could care less about the bastard. "I told you, I don't know anything about it!" she repeated. "So fuck off!"

Ms. Tsukuda halted mid-flow, an awkward silence ensued, and then she just sat there, red faced for a moment, before speaking up again, "Ah... I... You really don't know anything?"

She shook her head, looking to the side with a grumble, "Unless I missed something whenever he beat me, then no."

"Oh. I thought you knew, and was under impression you were aware of it all along! That's why I let you take your father's medicine, thinking you must have found a way to counteract it, seeing as how you're showing no... adverse effects... I mean, how else can you... still... be alive...?"

She shrugged, "Hell if I know." Looking back over, she nodded at the bottle still in her hands, "So... what is that? You said something about the undead, or whatever, right? Then, is it really... human... blood...?" she said in almost a whisper.

The woman gave her a long look before answering. "Yes, and no. It is blood, but not human blood. I don't know what kind, I'm afraid, which is why I—"

Misaya's forehead wrinkled, and she cut the woman off before she could continue, "What... kind then? Animal?" She jerked at the firecracker that ignited on the back of her neck, bending forward. The pain. It was back. The medicine had finally left her system!

She heard Ms. Tsukuda say something under her breath, then, "That's what I was just getting to, if you'd let me finish. Listen when I try to explain these things," she chided, raising a finger, wagging it back and forth, "See, this is exactly why your grades are so terrible… Misaya? Misaya?! What's—!"

Clutching at her chest as an explosion ripped through her muscles, sparks scorching her veins, she bit her lip so hard blood trickled. No, it was stronger. Hot tears streaming down her cheeks, she gagged and spat, falling from the bed. Hitting the table as she crashed to the floor, knocking it over, heaving, she vomited, heart pounding in her ears. Scrambling for one of the bottles of medicine, she downed the whole thing before Ms. Tsukuda could stop her and, as the pain went away completely again, she huffed in sweat-drenched relief. Glad, for once, that her father was alive.

Ms. Tsukuda helped her up. "Misaya, are you ok? Here, sit down."

As she did, licking her lips of what was left, it was the only time she ever would be.

Ms. Tsukuda crouched eye level. "I see. So that's why you survived." Putting a hand on her shoulder, she now held the empty bottle. "His own daughter." She bowed her head, and in what barely qualified as a whisper, said, "I'm so sorry that he's done this to you." Tears welled as she looked back up, smiled sympathetically, and, wiping her eyes, rose to her feet. She then left the room, her whole demeanor clouded many shades darker. Though, the only thing that truly registered in Misaya's mind was the haunted look on her face right before.

Were her eyes red right now, too? Flexing her arm, she recalled when she'd managed to overpower her father, a bear of a man, just enough to escape his grip. All the medicine's doing. Did this mean that she turned into some kind of monster after taking it? Well, whatever she was, her father was the cause, and she hopped from the bed as Ms. Tsukuda re-entered.

"Sit back down," the woman barked, as she began to dial a number on a phone. "I'm going to take care of this before it gets any worse." Phone now held to ear, she waited for someone to pick up on the other end, "Knight Commander? This is Izumi. I'm moving in on Reiroukan." Whoever this "Knight Commander" was answered on the other line, and Ms. Tsukuda glanced in her direction before answering back, "No, he hasn't administered his vials to any of the inhabitants." A pause as the Knight Commander spoke again. "No, I'm certain… Yes, if I find any, I'll let you know."

When she ended the call, Misaya spoke up, "Let me go with you."

Ms. Tsukuda gave her another long look. "I can't."

"Why not? I want to be there when you stop him."

At that, Ms. Tsukuda crossed her arms, "It isn't safe. Plus, you're in no condition to move. Now, sit back down before you hurt yourself." And those around you, her expression seemed to add.

"But I—" Eyes downcast, she grit her teeth, clenching her fists, "I..."

Ms. Tsukuda softened, retracting her decision, "If I do, promise you won't do anything brash?"

"Yeah, I promise."

After Ms. Tsukuda nodded her approval and then turned, telling her that she was going to inform Mrs. Ike of the current situation, leaving the room again, Misaya cracked a grin, shattering the empty bottle the woman had left on the table with a fist, having finally been given the chance to get back at him for all her years' worth. If she was a monster, then her father was to be her prey, and she yearned to take a chunk of his flesh.