Hitokiri Orange Road
Chapter 6.
Kyosuke spent the rest of the night with Ayukawa.
They waited in the darkness sitting side by side. His arm throbbed fiercely as the adrenaline slowly seeped from his system. He tried to make small talk, but his voice sounded thin to his own ears. The pain drained utterly him, but kept rest at arm's length.
Ayukawa ignored him. The young woman counted to sixty under her breath and then flicked her butane lighter. She stared into the fire intently. As the flicks of fire counted the minutes, he noticed her breaths grow shorter and sharper. Sweat sheened her brow. Her hand grew clumsy with the lighter. Ayukawa only made a vague sound when he asked if she were OK. She counted to thirty flicks before rousing Kyosuke to go.
Ayukawa scouted the alleyway, before they slipped into night. Kyosuke stumbled on his feet, but she waited patiently for him. They followed darkened alleyways and darted across the street. Ayukawa half hauled him over a wire fence. She gave a small curse as a her overcoat ripped. She waved away his apology. Several streets later, they saw flashlight beams from several blocks away. The fugitives slipped between a pair of warehouses and ducked among barrels of scrap until the searchers left.
Their circuitous path headed out of town. Cracked asphalt gave way to spongy soil and waist deep grass. Each step sucked softy at their shoes. The moon had climbed near its peak when they encountered a long wire fence. The fence ran along a rail yard littered with cars. Ayukawa found a cut in the fence several hundred yards down and led Kyosuke into the deep shadows.
Kyosuke's former coworkers had mentioned a tin town literally on the wrong side of the tracks. They had described it as a rough place, far rougher than the Disco Moebius that Kyosuke had dared to frequent. According to their stories, it was full of knife fights, professional flesh, bloody cock fights, and raw moonshine. He gave a swallow as they passed through the railyard and reentered the weeds.
The ground dropped off sharply. They crested a hill to see orange flames in the distance. The descent was treacherous by moonlight. He tripped several times, but Ayukawa kept him from falling. Her expression was hard to read in the half-light, but it was gentler than the delinquent on the hill of rubble. Their eyes met several times, but she quickly looked away. Kyosuke wondered if there was someone else.
A shaggy mutt announced their arrival with frenzied barking; Ayukawa let the it sniff her. The dog seemed to recognize her. An old woman whistled for the dog. Ayukawa followed it between a tent and a tin shack to a bonfire where several tents were pitched. The girl spoke to the crone before signaling for him to come over. Ayukawa maneuvered him by his shoulders next to a campfire. The toothless woman reminded him of the witch in Snow White. Only Ayukawa's touch stopped him from screaming and bolting when the old woman approached him with a long, pointed knife.
The crone skillfully sliced away the makeshift splints. He winced when her fingers probed the damaged bone. It had been properly set. She redressed the arm with sturdier splints and gave him a pair of white pills. Kyosuke looked at them suspiciously.
"It's just ibuprofen," Ayukawa explained.
He dry swallowed the pills. As he reached for his wallet, Ayukawa stayed his hand and insisted on paying.
She led him to a clearing bounded by four railcars. Vendors had set their stalls in the abandoned cars and in the square between. Several fires blazed around makeshift seats. There were a few occupants who seemed to be hobos or ragged laborers. There were orange armbands scattered in the crowd. They glanced at up, but turned back to their mugs. It was quieter than Kyosuke expected.
Kyosuke remembered an incident on his side, when his sister Kurumi had gone missing for a day. The other Ayukawa had devoted friends who were rough around the edges. He suspected that this Ayukawa had more allies, since she continued to associate with gangs.
Akukawa bought two glass bottles, and they took a seat at a discarded cable spool. She popped the tops of the bottles with an opener on her key chain. Kyosuke sniffed at the unlabeled bottle, which smelled of sweet licorice and herbs. He took a sip. The tangy aftertaste felt good on his tongue.
"Root beer," Ayukawa said. "It's an American drink. What did you think it was? Alcohol? There's no way that I'm buying drinks for a kid like you."
He responded with a brief smile.
"Truth is, I can't really hold it that well," Kyosuke admitted. "Aren't you afraid of cops or those gangsters?" he asked in an undertone.
"No, they won't come out here," Ayukawa said. "The police collect their own 'taxes' from here and so as long as they get that, they don't bother. And the Townies here wouldn't tolerate another claim on there turf. The Red Swallowtails tried to stake a claim, so Mari won't show herself here. Are you worried about them?"
"I'm wor-" Kyosuke caught himself. "This may be too forward, but I'm worried for you."
Ayukawa held off her answer by taking a long drink. Her long hair hid her expression. She studied her scruffy companion. His hair was matted and his face smudged with debris. He hunched over his broken arm. Kyosuke did not seem strong, swift, or bold, but there was a slightly awkward air that made her want to trust him. Whether it was his face, bearing, or countryside Tohoku accent, she wasn't sure.
"Thank you for worrying," Ayukawa answered simply. "But worrying won't do much good.
"In any case, you've got two choices tonight. We can take our chances by heading back into the city. I'm sure that I could find someone to put you up for the night. Or you can either stick by me and pull an all-nighter."
"Staying up sounds just fine to me," Kyosuke said. He felt plucky after the pain killer had begun to take affect. "Do I smell corn?"
The night was well past half-spent. Away from the city lights, stars shined scattered across the broad black sky. The moon hung pale and small. They bought corn on the cob, which proved to be an difficult meal for Kyosuke. Madoka lent him a hand, though she took the opportunity to jerk the ear away from his teeth more than once. They chased the food down with mugs of bitter tea. In the early morning, an old vendor loaned Madoka a large army blanket. She hung the scratchy wool loosely over their shoulders. A busker came to play and was accompanied by a mongrel and a distant nightingale. A small crowd gathered to request American songs. Kyosuke recognized several Beetles and other tunes.
Kyosuke dozed several times, but so did Ayukawa. The cold reddened her face and cheeks. She nestled against him shoulder. Kyosuke felt like a child, tuckered out from playing all day. He watched her and sat beside her until the dawn rose early, pale, and far too soon.
The previous night felt like a dream when Kyosuke awoke in the bouncing back of a pick-up truck. An old man woke him up in front of a clinic. Kyosuke thanked them and offered them a bill from his pocket. He refused. He ended up bowing to the departing truck as it noisily drove away. The boy chalked up the unexpected kindness to Ayukawa's magic.
From the moment that Kyosuke had caught Ayukawa's red hat, he felt as if anything were possible with her. There was no chance, only fortune. He tried to hold onto the feeling tightly.
Kyosuke slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. The quick motion jarred his arm. He hissed at the pain, but refused to let it slow him. He carefully opened the dirty glass door to the clinic. The darkened lobby and cracked tiling were the same. Several stained partitions divided the space. A lone figure sat at a flimsy folding table. The nurse on duty had a tomboyish haircut under her cap.
Kyosuke caught her in the middle of a tremendous yawn. The girl clamped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. She scanned his disheveled appearance from head to toe and them back to the top of his messy head.
"Good morning," Kyosuke said. "I wondered if you had any aspirin to spare. And if I could use your restroom."
"Sure," Akane said cautiously. She did not take her eyes off of him.
The young woman busied herself behind a partition. She reappeared with a pair of pills and a small cup of water. Kyosuke thanked her for the pills and then used the restroom. It was no cleaner than last time. He used the restroom and thought about changing into his uniform, but thought better of it. When he reentered the lobby, Akane examined his arm and concluded that he needed a cast.
"Have you been fighting? Actually, never mind, it's probably better if I didn't know," she concluded wearily.
"No, I didn't fight," Kyosuke said. "I was attacked and ran."
"Did it have to do with Ayukawa?" Akane asked as she unbound his arm. She grimaced at the ugly bruise on his arm.
"Well, I went to meet her," Kyosuke answered. "She saved me."
"You'd be safer away from her," Akane advised.
"How do you know that?" Kyosuke demanded. "She may look tough, but there's so much more to her than that."
Akane kept silent. She gently washed his arm clean. The boy felt awkward after raising his voice at her. As she concentrated, her determined face seemed far more mature and feminine. The warm plaster-soaked bandages soothed the throbbing in his arm. For the second time that day, he felt like a child being cared for. She caught his look as she finished her task.
"What is it?" she asked.
"N-nothing," he stammered. "Thank you very much."
"It was only my duty, Comrade," she replied wearily. "We're going to be late for school. You're all set."
"Are headed out?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered.
"Then I can walk with you."
"You don't need to wait," she said. "I have to fill out the log book."
"I don't mind waiting," Kyosuke answered. It was partly politeness, but he also wanted to find out the younger Tendo's connection to Ayukawa. "But if you don't want to walk with me, I understand."
"No, I don't mind," she said. "It'll be a few minutes."
Akane filled out the log efficiently and then disappeared to change into her dark gray uniform. They were late, but neither could walk quickly.
Kyosuke asked her about her household. She had two sisters. Nabiki was older. The eldest sister Kasumi had passed away. Her father followed soon after his favorite daughter. Their mother had died when Akane was small. Kyosuke told her that his mother had also passed away when he was little. He could barely remember his mother's face. As for the rest of his family, he told her that he did not know about the whereabouts of his father or twin sisters.
To make conversation, Kyosuke told her that he had been reassigned to another job from the processing plant. She asked about his armband. They stopped for him to pull it up his right arm. She helped him pin it in place.
"You're really nice," he said.
She seemed surprised by his comment and hurried ahead. He had to walk briskly to keep up. When he caught up, the school clock tower came in sight. Akane did not leave him behind, but kept up the pace.
"If we hurry, we can make it to homeroom."
Kyosuke nodded. They entered and mounted the stairs as the bell tolled. The door slid open to a stunned class, when they entered one after another. All eyes were trained on them. Ayukawa's eyes flashed from Kyosuke to Akane and then flicked away to the window.
"I thought that air was unusually fresh," the teacher said to Kyosuke. "Mz. Tendo you should remember that attendance rules are far stricter. Now, please take your seat. Your sister would keep better company."
He headed to his seat and sank in gratefully. Akane had refused to take her seat. Her body was locked rigid, and her eyes shined with raw emotion.
"Excuse me?" Akane demanded.
"Mz. Tendo, please take your seat," the teacher asked. "We'll talk about it after class."
"My sister was a kind and good person. I can't believe that you would say something like that," her voice broke on the words.
"Mz. Tendo, please calm down."
Akane spun around and dashed out the door. The door slammed loudly in the silence, rebounding from the excess force. Kyosuke hesitated. Murmurs rushed in to fill the silence. The whispers pushed him to his decision; the class would talk in any case. He rushed through the opening.
She ran quickly. He glimpsed a corner of her gray skirt turn the corner. The hallways were empty. Kyosuke grit his teeth against the pain in his arm as he started up the stairs. He burst through the metal door and froze at the sight of the familiar rooftop. He half-expected Hikaru to be waiting for him. He would have even welcome Yuusaku's glaring face and growled threats.
Kyosuke shook away the nostalgic images. He focused on finding the distraught girl. The roof was abandoned. He found her on top of the stair. The girl sat with her arms wrapped around her knees. Kyosuke mounted the ladder with a grim determination. He managed to climb by pulling himself up with in Power in place of his damaged arm. He surged up and over the last rung, and surprised Akane by catapulting several feet in the air before crashing onto the bulkhead. The jolt to his arm left him shaken.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Akane snapped. She hastily wiped away her tears. There were heavy bags beneath her eyes. Her anger ebbed when she saw his green face. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," Kyosuke lied. He struggled into a sitting position against a humming fan. Akane sat at a diagonal to him, leaning against another machine.
"Why are you up here?" she asked. "How did you get up here?"
"You just dashed out of the classroom, so I thought that something was really wrong," he said, ignoring her question. "How are you?"
"I'm fine now," Akane said.
"I wonder how he got to be a teacher," Kyosuke groused. "He's always picking on me."
"I'm not sure why he bullies you, but I can't believe that he would say that. It was wholly inappropriate for class. I can't believe that he brought Kasumi into it. He was her favorite teacher."
"Was she the one in the picture at your house?" Kyosuke received a small nod in response. "She looked so gentle."
"Yes, she was," Akane mumbled. She clasped her knees again.
They let the humming machines fill up the minutes.
"It's getting cold," Kyosuke mentioned. He rose and gave her a hand up."Let's get back."
"I should go down first, in case you fall," Akane offered.
"I'll be fine."
The descent was easier. As he reached the bottom, he was startled by Ayukawa's voice. She pressed her fingers to his lips to silence him.
"Quiet," Ayukawa whispered fiercely. "We've got to get out of here. They're here. The people from the Program are here."