Interlude (14.5)

Sweet Dreams

"Holy shit, dude."

"Are you alright?"

"I will be… don't worry about it."

"Take your time, then."

"Thanks."

I support my own weight with both hands against the wall, as the mere weight of the water falling on me is nearly enough to make my knees bend. Keeping the bits and pieces of the story I already knew from previous conversations in mind, I had already imagined Triton and the rest had grown up in a battlefield, but even with that I was unprepared to hear the entirety of the story that unfolded before my friend hit even his teen years.

Both of us stay in silence for a while as I digest everything I learned just now. Now I understand everything a bit better: why Kyo was there for me after Inori was treated, why Tsugumi is so good in dealing with other people, why Ayase was furious at me after my careless actions, why Kenji snapped and got captured, why Argo looks so gloomy, and why Tsutsugami Gai shows such an imposing air of leadership when he is in action.

Hell, this is insane, but I must accept it and bear the fact I could do nothing to spare Triton the experience of being submerged into the life of a killer. The only consolation I have to compensate for this feeling of impotence is the fact that I willingly jumped into the same train he has been riding for so long; I am now as much of a murder as he was forced to be, which enables us to see eye to eye once more.

Okay, I'm calming down. Breathe, Shu, breathe! Count to ten and all that shit.

"Well, I can't say much other than I'm here for you now."

It took me a couple of minutes, but I am now composed enough to resume our talk. However, Triton himself is the one who takes time to answer this time, making me wonder what's going on inside his head.

"What's wrong?"

Hesitating is unlike him, so I press the issue at hand.

"It just struck me that my reaction of seeing you join our forces was rejoicing. Somehow, until this moment I had entirely failed to see that I dragged you into the world I decided to hide from you before."

Ah, I get it now. Like Inori, part of him must regret having put my peaceful days to an end. I can imagine Triton not wanting to involve me into his troubles, given how his perception of me is linked to the normal life he had before the Apocalypse Virus fucked everything up.

"That's only natural, isn't it? I did join the conflict by my own volition, having rescued Inori while knowing full well Sephirah would have my head for it. It was clear from the start that I was looking for trouble; all you did was giving me a little push."

Triton drops the serious mood, laughing lightly at my reply.

"You adapt very quickly to what's new to you; Darwin would be proud."

Natural selection, huh? I do have the Void Genome in me, so I guess that can't be denied.

"Speaking of Inori, you didn't mention how you got to know her. What's the story?"

I notice Triton omitted an important part of his past, and so I ask, but Triton immediately falls silent after I do.

"Did I step into a mine?"

I express my worry, seeing how my friend is reluctant to tell me about the girl in question.

"Yes, you did. Speaking about Inori's origins is a very delicate thing, even for most of the other members of the Funeral Parlor. The only ones who know about it besides me are Ayase and the rest, as well as Shibungi and Ogumo."

This is news to me. I had always had a feeling that something about Inori was unusual, but having Triton directly telling me that her past is a taboo subject makes me understand that there is way more about her than I had initially thought.

"You'd be better off not asking anyone about it just yet. I will explain everything to you when the time is right, but that is not now."

God damn it, being told this only makes my curiosity itch even harder, but something tells me I should believe in Triton's judgment and stay in the dark until he says otherwise.

Agh, this is difficult.

"I won't press on the matter, then, but what if Inori herself tells me?"

But I do point out a likely scenario, taking into consideration Inori's poor ability in discerning between what she should and shouldn't say. I can't openly ask her not to talk about her past, since I would feel like a douchebag, so the risk of her spilling the beans will be existent unless Triton does something about it himself.

"Then you will know before I'd have liked you to; as simple as that. I will not interfere with Inori's decisions about how she wants to lead her relationship with you, after all."

Ah, Triton is way too considerate, giving us personal space even when I snatched the girl from him. But he did tell me not to dwell in feeling sorry for him, so I'll just accept his cooperation without complaints.

"Thanks. I appreciate it, really."

Yet I do voice my gratitude; it's the least I can do.

"Don't mention it; I just wish for the best for her."

Agh, see? He does have feelings for her. No, Shu, enough! Stop feeling guilty about it.

"You're too good, mate."

I tell the truth, finding myself obliged to say it.

"Of course I am."

Hahaha, this cocky bastard.

Our talk dies with that and we shut the water off, since we have spent far more time showering than we'd have normally needed. We fetch a pair of towels to dry us, and then proceed to put on our sets of clean clothes. Amusingly, both are identical uniforms.

"You sleep with that on?"

I ask him, assuming he is heading to rest now since it's still the middle of the night.

"Same goes to you, where's your pajamas?"

Ah, he got me.

"Dirty; I didn't get chance to do the laundry last time."

I lie – I didn't even look for them.

"Ah, really? I recall Tsugumi telling me she had taken care of that for you."

Shit.

"And she forgot to wash yours?"

I retort hastily, trying to fight back after being caught red-handed.

"I always sleep with these."

Fuck this shit.

We leave the bath house and head towards our respective rooms, but Triton breaks the silence again before we part ways.

"Get proper rest tonight, Shu. Your training will commence tomorrow, so you'd better be in good shape to keep up."

Hey, that's fun. I've never undergone any sort of combat training before, unless videogames count. This sounds exciting… I wonder what Gai has in mind.

"What will I be doing?"

My curiosity gets the best of me once more. I am weak of mind, I admit.

"Tsugumi will evaluate your physical condition, Argo will teach you close quarters combat, Inori will be in charge of handgun training, Ogumo will show you about assault rifles and heavy weaponry, and finally you'll have a mock fight with your supervisor."

It sounds good to me. The day will be busy, and there is no way in hell I can possibly learn all I must before I can do something in conventional combat, but at least having an idea of the basics should be better than nothing. However, something does worry me.

"Isn't it too early for a mock fight? If I face anyone without drawing a Void out, I'll be done for in a matter of seconds."

Gai laughs at my question for some reason.

"Oh, but you will have a couple of Voids with you. Your opponent is Ayase."

"WHAT!? FIGHTING AYASE MEANS SHE'LL BE PILOTING HER -"

"Sleep tight."

He walks into his room and shuts the door before me, leaving me alone in the corridor as I am forced to search for the jaw I dropped somewhere on the floor. I've seen that girl's Endlave in battle before, where she held ground against attacks from every flank on her own. Merely suggesting the idea of facing her solo is making me shiver.

Lord, have mercy upon me.