Sat. back and very late, I know. Sorry for the lateness, but there was nothing I could do. Woders of wonders though, I got my hard drive of my original laptop to work today, which means I have my first chapters of everything I recently wrote. Yes! Anyway, Aido "announced" to the school that he and Kaitlin were going out and there seems to be another E-Shifter hanging around. What's gonna happen? I don't know, so why are you still reading the a/n note unless you want the disclaimer. In that case, I own nothing familiar.
Chapter Thirteen: Between Bad Dreams and Feeding a Lost Cat
Angelica
So, the school announced that since the cheery blossom season started on time with the Spring Dance that the students could have the rest of the month and a half off instead of starting classes after that one week. Thank you, Japanese people for loving cherry blossoms so much that you gave students a long holiday for it and call it Spring Break.* Thank you so very much. The day has been pretty sunny so far, making it a typical spring weekend. After what happened on Saturday, everyone's been kind of shut up in their rooms, myself included. I've been lying in bed listening to the activities outside my window for a couple of hours now and its way past lunch.
Even after contemplating for a number of hours last night, I can't really figure out what is up with this new E-Shifter wandering around. Ana doesn't even know if he's still in the area. He just kind of disappeared off the radar. After a bad dream, I still couldn't come up with any logical action for us or for him. Usually, after a bad dream I have an incredible clear sense and use that while I can. Even if it's an unpleasant way to reach that type of clear thinking, I wouldn't trade it, despite this being one of the few times it has failed.
For once, I really don't know what to do. Sarah and I hacked the Hunters' files the last night right after we got back. Whoever this guy is, he's done a good job keeping off the Hunters' files. That or the Hunters know we hack their files and took out all of his information to try to catch us and this guy is an agent of theirs. He could also not know about the Hunters at all. What a miracle and curse for him. If we have a chance to meet him in friendly or non-friendly terms, I can at least search his mind for the information and Sarah can check to see if he's lying for the Hunters. There isn't really anything left to do, but wait and stay a little more alert. Now, the questions are: Do I feel like getting up and doing something, check on the girls, or sleep more? A knock comes from my door, temporarily answering my questions. I get up from my bed, not really caring about how the covers are situated and ask who it is.
"It's Rena."
I open the door and move to the side to let her in.
"Is everything okay?" I ask, sitting on my unmade bed. It's still a bit warm, much to my satisfaction.
"Yeah, I just need some help sorting something that's been on my mind the last couple of days," she mutters, taking a seat on the unmade mattress.
"Then it's not about what happened yesterday."
"No, it's something that happened nearly a month ago, but I can't really separate my thoughts and Kait is sleeping. I don't even know where Sarah is and Ana is…hiding, I think, from Kiryuu." She sighs, rubbing her eyes, which are swollen from lack of sleep. "You see, Aido wasn't the only one to give a gift on Valentine's Day. I didn't know what to do and I still kind of don't."
"So what? Did you get a gift or did you give someone else something?"
"I got something."
I wait for her to continue as she fidgets with her hands under her thighs and her eyes on her lap.
"Y'know Aido's cousin Kain?"
"The tall, quiet redhead guy?" I respond, quirking my head to the side, "They don't even look related…maybe you can say that from the hairstyle, but that doesn't really count."
"If you think those two being related is weird, you'll get a headache outta this," she mutters, slipping her hand down her shirt and pulling something up.
A silver necklace with a swirled blue jewel held by a silver circle. It doesn't look cheap, but that's not what's important. Her expression is. Rena's face is stretched with worry but also has underlying warmth to it and that heat isn't completely from embarrassment.
"I take it…Kain gave that to you on V-Day?" I ask, glancing at my blonde friend. She dips her head a little more, telling me I'm right. Despite her poster, I can't help but grin.
"So…you're worried about what could happen between the two of you and the interference on both sides?" I guess with a shrug.
"Give or take," she says and leans against the wall.
Naturally, I can understand the severity of the situation. I knew that if I were in her place, I would be thinking what to do as well. Well, there is only one real thing that is important at the moment in this situation. At least it is for me to understand and give advice.
"Do you know what your feelings are to him?"
Rena's soft face winces in the shaded afternoon light. She knew I would ask this question and that I would be blunt. She told once that my way of questioning is a sanction and blight all at once.
"That's the other issue. I don't think I can answer that without it being fifty-fifty for and against. I even made a pros and cons list in my head and it came out pretty even."
"All I can tell you, then," I reply with a shrug, "is to sort yourself out and I don't mean by being objective about it. Don't think about us or our survival. That has nothing to do with what your feelings are to him. Don't worry about our reactions either. Figure out what you feel and we can try this line of questioning again."
"You know that I can't think without being objective," she mummers back, looking at my window. "We're doing it right now and not even meaning to. The consequences don't even need to be said and I'm just as worried about Kaitlin and Aido as I am about my own situation. That's not even mentioning Ana and Kiryuu."
"You think something's going on between her and Kiryuu?"
I've been wondering that myself, but I left it alone. I know when not to push Ana's buttons and I wasn't going to say anything to the girls, unless it was important.
"They might not see it, but I can sense something between them besides annoyance. Since they met, they've been wary of each other but, at the same time, attracted to each other. I've never met someone so like her past self. Besides, you've seen how she goes out of her way to talk to him about certain other things."
"True, but that isn't something we can worry over," I say with a small wave of my hand to make it seem like I'm dismissing the matter. "What do you think about Kain? I mean, can you see yourself with him and mean it in a sincere way?"
"I don't know. Of course I can see myself with him in some sincere sense, but what person can't? He seems a bit too perfect, like everyone else in the Night Class. That's why so many people here have infatuations or die-hard crushes. I don't want to make a stupid move on a crush that could easily waft away."
"Not mentioning the possibility of rejection or being used for amusement," I conclude pessimistically, "I don't know what to tell you expect what I've already told you. Do you want to talk to the others about it?"
"No," she replies in a drawn sigh, "I feel bad enough talking to you about this when we have so many other important things going on. It seems so trivial."
"It's not if it's important enough for you to talk to someone," I respond and get up to sit next to her, "and you are in no way doing something wrong or stupid by talking about it. Thank you for letting me help you out."
She beams with a large tinge of sadness and confusion, but there is some clarity in her mind somewhere. Rena hugs me and I squeeze her back and give a small smile. She invites me to go into town with her, but I choose to pass and to let her be with her thoughts. She really doesn't want to be left with them, but she has to be in order to find the answers she wants. I've decided to find food, check the files one more time, and go to the Hall for some stress relief. I'll need it after looking into the Hunters' files and have the heavily possibility of not finding anything useful.
I hate being right sometimes. The files were clean again. An angry sigh releases from my lungs. This is bull. Aren't I supposed to be the one that knows almost everything? I use my key to unlock the Hall and lock it again when I enter. The windows let in a great deal of light from the late afternoon. There's no real need for the lights, then. I drop my gym bag gently on the floor. It does have some clothes in it, but it's mainly for show to hide Hermes' Howl. I can't really holster it in a t-shirt and sweat pants without the gun showing.
Surprisingly, the uniforms do a great job at hiding our weapons. The jackets do most of the work on that. I take ten minutes or so to stretch and warm up. My fighting style is a bit unique out of the five of us. Each of us has our own quirks to fighting, but my style is a little more…literally, down to earth. I spread my knees to a wide stance and pull my fists close to my face like boxing. Begin.
My fist hurtles in the air, and my leg moves with a heavy step. My fighting style, though I do have flexibility, is grounded and heavy. I don't like being moved if I don't move myself. My pace is steady as I knock down invisible assailants. Turning left, my knee slams into the gut of this imaginary person. Swipes, blocks, hooks, jabs, kicks and all other sorts of attacks fling out of my system. Out of all of us, I have the best stamina for long term fighting, but at running. Long distance is no problem, but sprinting is another. I hate running suicides and really do feel like I'm committing it.
I twist one leg up and use the momentum to throw the other in the air. In turn, that momentum again throws up my first leg. As I'm coming out of the spin, I haul my arm over and slam it downwards. I stop an inch from the floor and see a small glimmer of dust move. We need to clean this place before the party. I straighten and being to relax to release my energy. Just as I feel my breath change in my lungs, something happens and I freeze.
Someone is watching. The sense that eyes are drilling into the back of my head is a disgustingly familiar one. So they won't know that I noticed them, I being my cool down. The real questions that I'm worried about are what if they saw me practice and who are they. To seek them out would only draw suspicion, if I'm even right. Perhaps the person noticed that this is a fighting area and that I'm either a student or instructor for it. I suppose it's time for me to try and act like a normal student. Gathering my things, I decide to look for Ana. I continue my way to the Sun Dorms without looking around me or behind me. Once I enter the building, the feeling of eyes drifts off some, but I keep my steady pace. First thing in order to keep this person off is a shower.
I enter my room, fish out some new clothes and bring them with me to my bathroom. A sigh escapes my lungs. I really don't enjoy being watched by anyone. It makes me uncomfortable. After showering, I quickly dress and take in a steadying breath. Time to find Ana. I don't really want to alarm them, but I can at least check to see what it is that's following me.
Since there was no one at my room before me, it might not be serious or I could be wrong about someone trailing me. I come to Ana and Sarah's room and knock on the door. Ana answers it, still in her sleep clothes and Sarah in bed reading a book. Lazy bones. Perhaps Ana didn't have to run from the silver haired guy after all and Rena just wanted to talk to me. Shit, the window is opened.
"Hey, Angelica," Ana greets, luckily in English, "I kind of didn't expect you today."
"I figured I'd drop by and say hello. I've also got to ask you about a past homework assignment for Kaze."
It would be better to keep all our conversations in English as a first layer of defense. Keeping it coded would be the second incase whatever this is can understand English.
"Sure, we could probably help," Sarah says closing her book, "Which one is it."
"First, can we close the window? My allergies are acting up a bit today," I lie and take a seat on Ana's bed.
A small flicker passes on their faces. I'm sure that anyone else wouldn't really be able to notice it.
"Sure. I'm sorry they're buggin' you today," Ana says and shuts the window and bolts it.
"Keep face," I respond and lean on the wall, "I just came back from the Hall and felt someone following me. I'm not sure if this person saw me practicing, but they didn't see any energy. I came here to ask Ana if she felt anything."
Ana looks thoughtful for a moment, whether for keeping face or actually. She also leans on the windowsill to block vision. I hope this person doesn't have a sniper rifle or anything like that.
"I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary. If there's someone or something following you, it'll be either a human or an animal. I'm sorry I can't really help with that."
"I might be able to help," Sarah says, fingering a blue lock of hair, "If we can get to a pretty isolated area, I could sense them out with empathy. Although, even that will be tricky. Getting away from students is one thing, but we won't really be able to get away from animals. It would take a great deal of time for that and I'm not really sure what we're looking for."
"Hmm, then I'm not sure what to do," I respond.
Having this statement from me twice in one day is bad for my health. Uncertainty is something I loathe.
"Go ask Kaitlin, where ever she is," Sarah suggests with a shrug, "She might be able to sense something that we can't. If not, ask Rena. Whoever this is can't hide from us so easily."
"That's true. Where is our little love smitten friend anyway?"
"In the courtyard," Ana replies, "but I don't really know where Rena is."
"In town. She told me she was going earlier today."
"Hope she's okay," the tall girl mumbles.
"We can call her to check on her."
"I'll do that. You go find Kaitlin and hope you won't get scarred by her and Aido doing something," Ana says, shooing me out the door, "and good luck with your homework thing. Sorry we couldn't help."
"Yeah, thanks anyway. Maybe Kait has something for me instead. Oh, hey, did Kiryuu come by to bug you today? Rena said she couldn't find you earlier."
"Yeah, that pain in the ass still won't leave me alone. I had to hide in the hallway until he left this morning after we ate breakfast."
"Are you every going to talk to him?"
"Nope, just annoy the hell outta him," she responds with an evil grin.
All I can do is shake my head and begin my expedition on finding Kaitlin. She would be the better one to find for this mess. I take my time heading to the courtyard and talk to a few club member. Some have some questions about the party and I answer what I know. It's better to let this guy think I at least look normal. I pat one of them on the shoulder as he thanks me for telling him we don't care what music is played. I do eventually make it to the main courtyard. Where is this girl at? After looking for five minutes, I start to get annoyed. This area, though large, doesn't have that many people in it. I'm considering yelling out to her in English. After looking around again, I see her sitting under a tree with a book on her lap and a potato chip nearly to her mouth. Now the problem is talking outside. I guess I can just transfer my thoughts to her instead. Thank whatever created me for telepathy. How do people live without it?
"Hey, I've been looking for you."
She looks up at me with the chip half stuck between her lips. Her mouth widens and gulps down the fried food.
"What's up?"
"Nothing really, just some pain from Kaze that needs to be remedied," I answer, taking a seat next to her, "It's a homework problem."
"He can't leave us alone when we're on break?" she mutters flatly.
"Nope. Speaking of leaving alone, where's the walking ice cube?"
"Sleeping probably," she says with a carefree voice, despite her face turning red, "So, what can I help you with?"
"Well, I'm trying to find out a particular fact and I can't find it for the life of me," I lie, "Because I didn't have this fact, Kaze blew up on me through the comments on the homework and told me to redo it."
I rest part of my hand next to hers to discreetly touch it. I transfer the thoughts that I'm being followed by something and she would be the best to help so far.
"That assignment, the only about the emperor's failed takeover plan?" she questions, "Wouldn't Ana know it?"
"I just came from her and she couldn't find it either. Kaze didn't tell her to redo it, though. He must hate me or the fact that I'm taller than him and black."
She laughs and says, "The most classic excuses in the world: I'm blonde, it's because I'm white or Mexican or black."
"Hey, we're in Japan. Tall black people are just as strange to them as blonde haired and blue eyed girls are."
"True. How long have you been working on this?"
"Well, I went to the Hall for some stress release and realized that I hadn't worked on it at all and he wants it tomorrow. Perfect timing, right? I've been trying to find that damn fact since."
"Yeesh, what a pain," she says, rubbing the back of her head and begins to glance around, "I can't do anything without a book."
'Or being close to whatever is following you,' she relays mentally, 'all we can do is hope that this thing has some kind of abilities.'
"I know," she says snapping her fingers, "Rena would have it. I know she spent forever looking for it and kindly gave it to me, so I don't really remember where or what it was. Do you know where she is?"
"In town. I think Ana was going to call her for something though, so she might be back soon," I respond and lean on the tree.
"Guess we'll have to wait for her then," she says and opens her book again, "Or we could look for it or go find her."
'Is it still following you?'
'Yeah, it never left.'
"Maybe we could f―"
A ringtone plays from my jean pocket and I pull out my old Nokia. Huh, it's Rena.
"Speak of the devil," I say into the phone, "We were just talking about you."
"Really? That's weird. Anyway, I found this shop where we could get dresses for the dance."
"Hey, do you think you could answer a question for me then?"
"Yeah, but when you get here," she replies with a small urgent tone, "They're having a sale and half the store is already cleared out. Ana and Sarah are already on their way. Do you know where Kaitlin is?"
"With me. Alright, we'll be there soon."
"Okay, and be careful."
"You too. 'Bye."
"What's up now?" Kaitlin asks.
"Dress shopping now," I say getting up, and offer her a hand up.
'She may think it better that we all look at once,' I think.
"Cool," she replies and stuffs her chips and book into a small backpack that is more for show than actual use.
We head out, my gut still twisting uncomfortably and now I think Kaitlin notices our guest as well. I really don't want a fight, but at least we won't be on campus to do it. The last thing we need is another rule or two violated and the possibility of us being out on our asses to rise again. It takes us about fifteen minutes to get there just walking and the little stalker hasn't lost interesting in, well, stalking. The smaller question is whether this…current enigma will continue to follow us through the busy streets. Once we hit the main shopping area, the feeling in my guts fads to a bare minimum. There is also the possibility that due to so many people around me (it's busy here), I could have lost feeling of them. We eventually see Rena waiting outside a dress shop. The shop's name translates as Red Lace on the Blue Dress. Give or take, anyway.
"They have some cute stuff in here," she says, pointing to the store behind her, "I think we can find everything we need here."
"How far out do you think Ana and Sarah are?" I ask, looking up at the decorated sign.
"Well, she called me just as I got into the store, so they should be here soon," Rena responds, "Do you want to wait out here for them?"
"May as well," Kait says, "We certainly wouldn't of found this place if you weren't here."
"Alright. Angelica, Ana said something about you needing help with one of Kaze's assignments?"
"Yeah, there's a fact for the last assignment on the emperor that I can't find," I relay with an annoyed sigh, "He basically bitched me out for it in his comments and told me to redo the whole thing."
"Which fact was that?"
"Who assassinated him and the name of the faction that did it," I reply with a shrug, "I tried to find it, but it wasn't in my notes and I couldn't find it in my book."
"That's because it's not in the chapter we studied," Rena says with a small smile, "He pulled a trick question on us, or just b. us. It's in two chapters ahead, in the first two pages."
"…That's just stupid," I say flatly.
"Yup, but that's Kaze," Kaitlin says with a shrug, "What do you expect?"
I shake my head and we talk about setting up for the party for our club students. After a few minutes, Ana and Sarah arrive and we all head into the shop. I breathe a small sigh of relief. We are lead by Rena to some dress racks.
"Well, today certainly has been interesting," I mutter.
"Report," Ana says, looking at a dark green dress.
"The tailing has continued as far as I can tell," I reply to the order, "I lost a bit of the feeling once we hit town, but I still have it."
"I didn't pick up on anything unusual or abilities, but that's not really saying much since I need to be close to a person to pick up anything," Kait says, tilting her head at a red dress, "And this thing is ugly."
"I kept my senses opened, but didn't see anything either," Rena says in a soft voice.
"I didn't pick up on anything, considering all the emotions I had to pick apart in town," Sarah comments looking at a purple dress.
"My radar is clean," Ana mutters, "I don't understand."
"That makes two of us. My gut hasn't been wrong before, but it seems like I've gone crazy or something," I say, glaring at a yellow dress.
"No, you're not losing it," Kaitlin says, "You just seem to be more in tune with feeling people following you besides Ana."
"We'll just have to find a way to make this area a little more isolated," Rena offers.
"Perhaps on the way back, I could walk by myself and y'all can follow way behind me to see if there is someone between us," I recommend, "It may work."
"I don't want to leave to you to fend for yourself," Ana starts while a shoot a glare at her, "but I know you can. That sounds like a good plan, so we'll do it."
We putter around the store pointlessly for a while, commenting on some clothes and shoes and other random sparkly things that go with dresses. There are just so many things for one simple occasion. But since I wasn't exposed to this sort of thing, it wouldn't make that much sense. Oh well. After about half an hour, I tell them I'm going back to the school to work on my "homework". They say bye and they'll see me at dinner.
With a steady sigh, I walk out of the small town with my hands in my pockets and my head kind of hanging low. Now I'm just getting pissed. Who is it that's following me? I keep my pace while rubbing the back of my neck. I get about halfway to the school when the feeling of the thing following me speeds up. What? A patch of woods bursts with flying leaves and twigs. I bring up my arms to block the shower and come face to face with a male.
He stops for a moment, looking at me with wide eyes as I am to him. His clothes are stained and have worn spots on some parts. I can't really tell his skin tone since he's so dirt ridden. Wow, that's a lot of dirt then. His olive brown eyes lock onto my own black ones. Is…is he the one following me? He seems so frightened. A sound comes from the same wooded area and his head snaps back to look at him. Without another thought, the male runs off with incredible speed. What…just happened? Who was that? Should I…go after him? How in the hell did he avoid us?!
"Angelica!"
Rena runs up to me from the place where that guy came from.
"What happened?" she asks, a little breathy.
"I…think I just ran into my stalker," I reply and look to where he ran off, "but…I think he might have been the other E-Shifter that Ana found the other day. He looked like shit and like he hadn't had a decent meal in God knows how long."
"How do you know?" she asks just as the others come out of the wooded area. They must have taking different angles to pin this guy down.
"Do you remember the feeling of meeting one another back then? It was the same as that and I think he noticed it too."
"Noticed what?" Sarah asks, "What'd we miss?"
"Angelica thinks the E-Shifter we found the other day was following her," Rena says, "By her look, if the Hunters came in right after this guy, she wouldn't notice them."
That's true. I feel like the small push from a squirrel would easily knock me to my ass. The others talk about what they want to do and for once I don't pay attention. Seeing this other one in the flesh…has really hit me hard. I want to find this guy desperately now and I want to know that, even with my girls, I'm not alone. I want some reassurance in the world and now that more has been dangled in front of me, I need it even more. All these thoughts are selfish, but when there isn't that many of one's species out wandering about, one tends to latch on to whatever they can find.
"Are you alright?"
Ana looks at the same direction I am and glances once at me. My lips twitch in a smile.
"Just shell shocked," I respond, "and I'm sorry for not really paying attention to what was said."
"We aren't going to pursue him. He needs to come to us on his own terms and time," she says, crossing her arms, "If he does, we'll find out just what his intentions are. If they're neutral or positive, we'll offer our help. If they're negative, we destroy him right there."
I wince at the last statement. No doubt the others, including Ana, don't want to harm this guy in anyway. It's the first E-Shifter we found outside of the Hunters and the only male as well. These two facts are incredible by themselves, let alone looking at the odds in the population of, I don't know, the world.
"Sounds like fun," I mutter.
"Tell me about it," she mutters back.
The golden moon begins to run from the frothy pink rays on the other side of the horizon. The stars are becoming invisible again and the nocturnal creature clock out for the day. Pretty soon, the daytime ones will makes sounds, alerting the world that their jobs have started. I, on the other hand, had a nightmare. It was a pretty bad one. This one was bad enough to take away my clear mind after it. I'm unsure what caused it, but I hated the effect. There seems to be more of them affecting me now. I'm using my desk chair in front of the opened window. My elbows lean on the sill as I wait for the sun to rise or my exhaustion to take over. So far, the sun is winning. Though, I do wonder if my little stalker is still awake. He's been in the tree area, I think, since I came back. After all, I had "homework" to do.
I checked the Hunters' files again earlier, but in a different area. I decided to look under the reconnaissance mission documents. Sadly, since I used the databank so much recently, I won't be able to hack the system for at least a month. It'll cause too much suspicion. The only thing about E-Shifters in there was about us and no new or old or recent commands on the E-Shifters. Perhaps I should talk to this guy. If I show him I'm at least willing to be friendly at first, he may talk. Then again, I could make this more difficult if he attacks me. Ana didn't specify on how to engage this rogue E-Shifter. If he does attack, I'll just have to call them on my phone and pursue this guy until I pin him in some form. It's risky and stupid, but goddamnit, this is unfair! I rarely complain about life giving us shit, but this is a warranted time! So, that's it. I'm gonna say something. …Anytime now…where the hell is my voice? Or my guts for that matter? I clear my throat and take a deep breath.
"Are you going to say anything, or just hang out in the tree all night?" I comment, resting my head in one hand, "I know you're probably hungry."
Silence answers me, excluding the shift of night creature sounds to the day creature sounds. I huff.
"I have some food stashed in here if you want some."
Hell, I don't even know if this guy speaks English. I rummage under my bed for a moment and find a closed water bottle. I close my eyes and try to locate him, which doesn't work. Damn.
"Hey, I'm tossing some water to you," I say in Japanese instead and toss the bottle into the tree branches.
I don't hear it crash down below and I grin. So he understands Japanese or an owl caught the bottle with its head.
"If you want some food, I don't mind sharing," I say to him, "I promise I mean no harm. Believe me; I'm just as surprised as you are."
I wait for some long amount of minutes. I'm unsure if it's only thirty or an hour, but the sun is coming up faster now. Soon, the tree is shaking slightly with weight. The dark brown hair appears like a shadow in the branches and those same olive brown eyes look at me with caution, fear and curiosity.
"Good morning, I guess," I greet with a grin, "Nice to see you when you're not almost running into me."
He doesn't respond and stays still in the tree, ready to bounce off in any direction.
"I would ask why you were following me, but I guess I don't really need to know the answer to that," I continue. Not yet, anyway.
Usually, I don't do most of the talking. I reach for a bag of chips and toss them to the guy in the tree. A guy in the tree. This would seem so much stranger if I didn't already have strange experiences. He studies the bag, glancing up at me every second until he opens them and gingerly sticks his hand in. He takes out one chip and examines it, still glancing at me and takes a slow bite. After not choking on poison or keeling over, he quickly devours the rest of the contents.
"Got a name?" I ask, "Or do I just call you the random stalker guy?"
"…Inacio," he mummers in a deep voice.
Portuguese? What in the hell is a Portuguese guy doing in Japan? That explains why he doesn't understand English.
"You're from Portugal?"
"…Y-yes," he replies, holding the flat bag like it was glass.
"Then you don't know English, huh?" I mummer more to myself, but he nods anyway.
"How...how did you know I was from Portugal?"
"You're name," I respond with a shrug, "Your name basically means Ignite in English."
"Do you know Portuguese?"
He sounds kind of hopeful.
"I can read it better than anything else," I say with a shake of my head, "How long have you been on your own?"
"…Since I was six."
Ouch. Yeah, that always sucks.
"You were never picked up by anyone? Not even for your…special feats?"
A risky question, but I have to ask.
"No, I thought…I thought God punished me for some reason and did it by forcing me to be alone," he says, getting more comfortable on the branch, "I have found no one and everything I touch dies. This tree is only alive because I'm concentrating so much right now."
I nod and let this information sink in. I wish Sarah was here to see if he's lying.
"How do you touch people and not kill them?" he whispers.
"Years of training," I reply with a sad smirk, "I even learned to sleep without hurting things and I can repress my ability so much that I can even have people touch me through clothes."
We all used to have that issue. Even with clothes, we could still shift on contact. Ana only recently forced herself to do that when sleeping. That was about five years ago.
"There are more of…me?"
"Yes. Trust me when I say that we're just as surprised as you are."
"…God isn't…"
"Not that I know of. By the way, my name's Angelica."
His head shoots up, his longish brown hair flopping with him. Shear surprise laces his features and I just grin at him.
"You can't just call me that girl all the time, y'know. It get's weird after a while."
"I-I-I think I should g-go," he sputters and stand.
"If you want to talk again tonight, I'll be here. Good night, Inacio."
He glances at me and beings his shaky climb down the tree.
I told the girls what happened and they were, needless to say, completely hyper. Even Ana showed some exuberant emotion in her own way. She paced the entire time all of us talked and kept running her hands through her bangs. That's her way of talking really fast like Sarah was, just in her mind. We decided not to mess with what we already have going and I'm supposed to find out whether he knows anything or not. It'll be interesting. At dinner, I snuck some of my own food out for Inacio. It feels like I'm feeding a stray cat or something. I put the small pile of rolls and fruit on my desk and open my window. I have no idea when he'll be here or if he'll be here, so I'm just going to go to sleep. It's around ten at night anyway. After some adjusting movements on my bed, I feel myself drift to sleep.
Bullets rocket from their shells to the targets that spurt red. Another magazine slams into the sliver firearm and takes down more noisy targets. The entire mansion is in chaos with children crying from their beds and others trying not to in hiding spots. Parents, siblings, friends and other loved ones bloody the floor where the small seven-year-old walks. She uses both hands while firing a substantial silver firearm.
The little child walks up the stairs, undaunted by the height of them and the bodies lying down them. To her, they're the usual décor. A tall person walks behind her, surveying her massacre with no response. A wounded man stands in front of her and her tall caretaker. He screams something at her, his eyes full of tears, but is shot in the head. His brain matter flings on his son behind him. The child didn't have time to scream or acknowledge his father's flesh. A bullet was in his throat. The girl and tall cloaked person continue down the hall, smearing with death it in no way adjectives or similes can describe.
"You missed one," he said, pointing at the end of the hall.
The small child complies and walks to the end where the walls and screaming fades. I see the little girl in the mirror while I hold Hermes' Howl. She raises it with both hands as I do. The red stands off her black skin. I hear the hammer click―
I jolt up with my gun up without the safety pointed at what I thought was the mirror. Jesus, not another one. I slip the safety back and put Hermes underneath my pillow. That one wasn't a figment of my imagination. That was an actual memory. Whoever my "guardian" was that night did make me shoot the mirror. I bury my face in my hands and breathe my ragged lungs out. I rub my face for a moment and stare into the empty space before me. This shit sucks.
"An-Angelica?"
My head snaps up and to the window.
"Hey, Inacio," I respond and get up.
My arm twinges for a moment. I must have hit the wall or something. I sit in my chair in front of the window where Inacio waits like a scared animal.
"You…seem as though you did not sleep well," he comments.
I must look horrible.
"Yeah, I don't get sleep that often and when I do, it's not always pleasant," I say with a sheepish smile, "I do have some more food for you, though, if you want it. I got it from the cafeteria here."
I get up to get the food and show it to him. He examines it with calm eyes and asks me to toss an apple to him. I do so and place the rest on the sill. I need to get close enough to him to see if he knows anything about the Hunters. He cautiously ate the apple and I nudge the pile of food on a napkin closer to the edge of the sill.
"Angelica, why are you doing this?"
It's odd that he pronounces the "g" in my name like a soft "h", but it would fit with his accent.
"We're the same," I say in an obvious voice and shrug, "I'm sure if our situations were switched, you'd do the same thing for me and I'd be asking the same questions."
He nods and holds the apple core.
"Look, I understand if you say no to this, and I don't blame you," I begin and hope he won't take this the wrong way, "but I don't mind if you come in here. I know it takes a good deal of effort to not drain that tree."
"Y-you would trust me so easily?"
Not really. My weapon'll just be closer to me and I want to find out more about you.
"Right now, I trust you as much as you trust me," I reply in honesty, "I know that you are only coming here because we're the same, but that doesn't mean that you trust me on that alone. I trust you enough to talk to you, but have no doubt that I'm on my guard as you are. I know why you always keep one leg bent, even when sitting on the branch."
He looks at me with a surprised face, his round eyes widening and somewhat thick lips pursing. I smile at him in a soft way.
"I've been told I can be a bit blunt and rough with my words," I say in an apologetic voice.
"No, no, I…ah―appreciate it."
Seems that talking in Japanese this late is not good for him.
"It's your choice."
He sits for a moment, thinking about what I've said. I don't think I'll get close to him tonight. He shakes his head no and I tie the food in the napkin and toss it to him. I ask if he has anything he wants to talk about and he shakes his head again. I bid him good night and watch him slowly climb down the tree with one arm carefully wrapped around the small pieces of food. I close my window and try to sleep without murder in my mind.
a/n: Hey, I made it down here! Anyway the (*) was saying that the whole cherry blossom business is true. I have a friend in Japan who is going to school there for a full year and she got off for a month and a half, so it's not some convenient plot happening where they get more time…though it is useful. Man, I wish I could go to Japan.