~A Fool's Paradise~
Author:
Danaeyl Panthernopaeus.
I don't know how long we were waiting. The seconds felt like minutes, and the minutes left like hours.
Ginji found some chalk somewhere, and we played a few games of tic-tac-toe. It helped relieve some of the boredom. But when the chalk became too small to use, it came back with a vengeance.
After what seemed like an eternity, Kazuki entered the Infinity Fortress. He looked as though nothing had happened to him. He allowed Ginji to fling himself at him. He had no problem with being touched, again.
As much of a touching reunion as it was, we had somewhere to be. Once the job was complete, they could get all touchy-feely. "Come on. I think we've been delayed long enough."
Kazuki glared at me, as he set Ginji on the ground. I could read the words that were going through his head with that expression. Most of them weren't very nice. It made me realise that I've never heard Kazuki swear. I wondered what it would sound like if he did.
We started walking. Kazuki was a pace ahead of us, and I kept an eye on Ginji. I knew it wouldn't be long before he got distracted, and ran off in some random direction. I was tired of losing him every time we entered this hellhole.
There were some people around. Most of them ignored us. Some stared, most likely eyeing us up to see if they could steal whatever valuables we had on us. I would like to see them try. I know Ginji and I didn't have anything on us. Kazuki was a different story.
There were some children that ran around in the streets. They looked as though they were playing. For all I know, they could have been. There weren't any squeals of delight. In fact, they were silent. A few of the adults spoke to each other. They mentioned nothing important.
Some of the conversation I overheard, they spoke about the strange deaths. Apparently something called 'the Cleaners' had their work cut out for them. I had no idea what 'the Cleaners' were, but I got the feeling I would find out soon enough. With a name like that, it was only a matter of time before we ran into someone from that gang, or whatever it was meant to be.
Behind the visible people, there were others lurking in the shadows. If I had been a normal person, that would have made me a little nervous. Thankfully, none of us were normal. We had something in us that made us weird, and that was probably why we all got along fine inside the Infinity Fortress.
I watched as a teenager walked towards us. The head was down, and seemed to be a million miles away. He brushed past me, turning his head slightly. I saw a mark on his throat, and raised an eyebrow.
He mumbled some sort of apology. I stopped. I watched him go. There was something strange about him. Ginji tilted his head, saying something about the streets always having teenagers on them. I knew that. I wasn't expecting something familiar about that particular teen.
Kazuki chuckled. "You better check your pockets, Midou."
I frowned. I patted myself down. My eyes shot open. I turned towards the teen. He paused outside of an alley, smirking before he stepped through. I ran towards him. There was no way I was going to let him get away with pick-pocketing my cigarettes. They were all I had to last me until I got more. And I may have stolen them, too.
"Ban-chan!" Ginji called after me.
I don't know if he was following me. I doubted that Kazuki would allow him to. They would probably find me once they had spoken to MakubeX. Yes, I knew how stupid it was to run off in the Infinity Fortress. But I wasn't going to deal with computer boy without my smokes.
I turned up the alley. My eyes scanned the area. There had to be some clue as to where that little bastard had gone. I couldn't him see anywhere. There wasn't any way up the walls, unless the kid was Spiderman in disguise.
The air behind me shifted, and I spun around. As expected, there was nothing there. There was a titter, again behind me. Before I knew it, I was turned a full three-sixty, trying to find that kid. Every time I moved, it was like he moved with me.
I raised an eyebrow. Was I chasing my shadow? That wasn't likely. In the Infinity Fortress, though, it could be. I tilted my head slightly. There was whispering. It was raspy, as though it was my shadow attempting to communicate with me.
"Jagan master," it said. I could feel it moving around me. Something wasn't right with this. It didn't sound like a teenager's voice. "He was only the decoy. We know you can't live without your precious cigarettes. We only want to talk to you."
"And I'm pretty sure that's what Hitler said to the Jews." I waited as patiently as I could for the rebuttal. When I received none, I sighed. "What does whatever you're about to say have to with me?"
The teenager landed on a dumpster. His head was still lowered, and his pale hair glinted in the sun. He remained in the crouching position, not moving and barely breathing. I didn't know what to make of that, so I ignored it. I wanted answers from the fuckass voice.
"We want the Prince of Terror to stay away from the Beltline."
"Who the fuck is this Prince of Terror that everyone is going on about?" I was tired of hearing that cocky name, and not knowing who it belonged to.
"Kazuki no Ito."
The teenager's head snapped up. My eyes widened when I saw the scars over what would have been an attractive face. The right eye was permanently shut due to the extensive wounds. The lips look constantly cracked, and I had to wonder how in the world that kid survived.
Even though I felt pity for what the kid had gone through, it didn't stop me from finding the whole situation amusing. They had to be insane if they thought that Kazuki had done that sort of damage to someone.
I knew that Kazuki had the ability to defend himself. But I knew for a fact that he was incapable of killing someone. Not unless he had a really good reason. And I mean a really good reason.
"You…you people seriously think that itomaki was capable of doing that?" I burst out laughing. I couldn't see Kazuki doing that, even if his life did depend on it. "You people have got your lines crossed."
The teen's green eye narrowed. He leapt off the dumpster, and I had to admit, he was extremely spry. Almost catlike. "That bastard killed my sister," he hissed.
I laughed harder. I couldn't see Kazuki doing anything they had mentioned – especially killing a girl. It had to be a copycat. Kazuki wasn't the only one that used strings. He was the only with hair like that, though. For all I know, it could have been Akabane. Scalpels make thin incisions, also.
"Seriously, itomaki couldn't have done it. He's too even-tempered, and delicate to be this 'Prince of Terror'." I took back my cigarettes. "Well, this was a nice talk. It was the best laugh I've had in years. But I really should get going."
I walked out of the alley, and paused. I looked over my shoulder. "Steal my smokes again, kid and I'll gut you where you stand."
If Kazuki had done what he did to that kid's face, I doubt that gutting him would make any difference. I walked towards where Ginji and Kazuki had been, before I ran off after my only salvation from murder. I needed my nicotine, and I didn't care what anyone else said about it.
Was it possible for them to mistake Kazuki for someone else? I had to wonder exactly what itomaki was capable of. I couldn't see him killing someone's sister just for the sheer fun of it. That sounds more like something Jackal would do. Of course, I didn't know Kazuki as well as Ginji did. But Ginji wouldn't still be friends with him, if he was a murderer.
I wasn't going to mention it, to anyone. I did want to know why Kazuki had been lying. He knew the Prince of Terror. Why didn't he just admit to it? Maybe he wouldn't in front of Ginji. That seemed like something he would do. He probably didn't want Ginji to know about his 'secret life'.
I sighed, and pushed my glasses up my nose. Already this mission was beginning to annoy me. I was learning more about Kazuki than I ever wanted to. Still, just because we tolerated each other – or we used to – didn't mean that I couldn't buddy up to him, and find what was going on.
As I walked in the general direction we had been heading, I thought about Kazuki's 'nickname'. The Prince of Terror. I had no idea how someone as delicate looking as Kazuki could be given such a title.
This mission suddenly got a lot less annoying.
I still thought that the creepy voice and that kid were wrong about Kazuki. It would be interesting to see if they were right. If Kazuki did that to the kid's face…It would seem like he had a lot of issues he needed to work out. Isn't that what Kakei was for, though? Why did I feel the need to play psychiatrist?
I looked at the packet of cigarettes in my hand. The white packaging had yellow stains tainting it. It wasn't soaked any longer. It was still pretty damp, though. Which meant the little cancer sticks were useless to me, at this point in time.
I winced slightly as the cut on my cheek throbbed. I placed my hand over it, and looked around. Something wasn't right. I was being followed. It wasn't a rookie, either. They were only releasing a little of their presence. I didn't have time to deal with this. I didn't want to lead whoever it was to Ginji and the rest.
I lowered my hand, staring at it. It was bleeding again. Being inside the Infinity Fortress wasn't doing a damn thing for my healing.
I wandered over to a building. The windows were broken, which was a given, considering my location. There were a few shards stuck inside the wood. I tried to get as a good as possible in the dirty glass.
The presence was directly behind me. I pretended that I didn't feel it. That changed when there was a tut. I glanced over my shoulder, not in least surprised to see Kagami standing there. I raised an eyebrow.
"What are you doing here? And don't give me that 'observing' bull." I turned, not trusting the blond.
Kagami smiled. The gesture that was identical to Jackal's. "I am doing my job, Mister GetBacker. What are you doing here? I thought the Fresh Blood Joker's party was last night."
I glared. I hated it when they played coy. It was…I don't know. It just infuriated me. "You're not doing a very good job if you don't know why I'm here," I answered with a smirk.
Kagami's smile didn't waver; I didn't expect it to. He was completely unflappable. So much like Jackal. My glare darkened as Kagami reached out. He ran a finger over my cheek. He looked at my blood on his finger, with the same smile.
"You were here last night. This should have healed," he mused. It almost seemed as though he was talking to himself. "How strange. How did you acquire it?"
"What business is it of yours?" I demanded, slipping a hand into the pocket of my pants.
"I am only curious. It isn't often those with wounds stay like that for so long here." Kagami lost his smile. "Fuuchouin Kazuki?"
I snickered. "As if itomaki could leave a mark on me."
"It would seem he did more than that." Kagami smiled again, and stepped back. I was grateful to have my personal space to myself.
Kagami's words rolled around my head. What could he have meant by that? All Kazuki did was leave a mark on me. A mark that was refusing to heal. Even my natural healing process wasn't doing a damned thing for it.
"What the hell is that meant to mean?"
Kagami raised an eyebrow. "It seems as though he confuses you, too. You are asking yourself questions about him, right?"
Kagami was hitting a little too close to home. What was it to him if I had questions about Kazuki? In reality, what person didn't have questions about Kazuki? There wasn't much known about him. Well, I don't know much about him. It seemed that it was changing.
Either way, I didn't have to stand there and deal with it.
"Whatever," I said. "I have some place to be."
"I hope you enjoy your time with the Prince of Terror. Some of the officials in Babylon City are very intrigued with him."
I froze. If the Prince of Terror was Kazuki, god only knew what the freaks in Babylon City would do if they captured him. I raised an eyebrow, and carried on. That was a big if, anyway.
I rounded a corner, and saw Kazuki standing there. He was staring up at the Beltline. He probably saw something there that I couldn't. He had the same strange expression on his face from when I had returned his wallet. And again, he looked at me with those eyes.
The emotions that swirled in the chocolate depths were unknown to me. I didn't know what was going through his strange mind. I was certain that I saw confusion, and inquiry. It almost seemed as though he had questions, and didn't know who to ask.
I walked a pace past him, and stopped.
"Where's Ginji?"
"With MakubeX and the others. I knew that sending him out to take you to us would have been useless."
I half smirked. Not even I could understand how Ginji continued to get himself lost in this place. I didn't know much about it, but my sense of direction wasn't as bad Ginji's to begin with.
I turned around, just as Kazuki jumped out of the way. I stared at the kunai that were buried in the wall. Whoever had thrown them had a really good arm. I wondered if they had thought about trying out for football.
"Kazuki no Ito!"
I twisted my upper body as a kunai was thrown at me. I didn't appreciate being attacked because I was with the person they had a grudge against. And when I thought about, the people of the Infinity Fortress weren't known for their mental stability, or thinking.
I winced as the cut gave a painful throb. I had no idea what was going with Kazuki's eye, but I wished my body wasn't linked with it.
"Itomaki," I snapped. "What the hell is happening?"
Kazuki didn't look at me. His eyes were fixated on the teen with the scarred face. The boy stood several feet from the threadspinner. It was like a quick draw contest. The air between them was strained. Each was waiting for the other to make the first move.
My eyes widened slightly as the teenager threw a kunai. Kazuki dodged it, and faster than a blink, he was in front of the kid. His fist connected with the face, and his knee to the gut. The kid fell to the ground, gasping for air.
A figure wrapped in a dirty brown cloak shuffled past me. It walked up to Kazuki, and looked down at the teenager.
"I told you. You are not ready to take on the Prince of Terror," an old voice croaked.
I could feel a headache coming on. I hadn't been inside the Infinity Fortress for an hour, and already shit was hitting the fan. I had no idea why I was even remotely shocked about this, anymore.
I looked around as more people came out of the shadows. They looked slightly deranged. Again, it wasn't anything unnatural for that place. As a unit, they stopped and surrounded the four of us.
The kid slowly staggered to his feet. Kazuki stepped back, standing beside the person in the cloak. He glared at Kazuki, but was smart enough not to make another attack on him.
"This isn't over, Kazuki no Ito," the kid warned.
"I never expected it to be," Kazuki said gently, though his voice held no emotion in it.
The kid's eye narrowed. He reached behind his back. My previous thoughts about the kid being smart went out of my head. I knew that if he kept pushing, Kazuki would probably kill him. If not Kazuki, then I would.
Stupidity should not be allowed to live. There was the fear that it may breed.
"Don't even think about it!" an unfamiliar voice shouted from a rooftop.
The kid's head shot up, and the old person turned slightly. The teen lowered his hand, and curled back his lip in distaste. He glared at Kazuki, and then at me, before he turned and walked off. The old person hung back, almost as though it was unsure of what to do.
"The next time you face him, Prince of Terror, it will be your last day on earth."
The others that had stepped out of the shadows melted back into them, as the old crone hobbled down the street after the teenager.
The person that had shouted landed in the street. She had her hands on her hips as she watched them leave. When she faced Kazuki, she had a giant grin on her face. Her blue eyes sparkled in a way that was a little scary.
"That was close! I thought I would have to clean up another body today."
"Another?" Kazuki repeated, as he took in the girl's appearance.
She had short, spiky black hair that framed her face. Her outfit consisted of a black vest over a white, long sleeved shirt, black jeans and black boots. She didn't look as though she was from Lower Town, but she wasn't as flashy as someone from Babylon City. That left the Beltline.
The girl nodded. "I'm one of the few people that clean up after fights. We can't have dead bodies laying around, and spreading disease. You know, despite what people think about this place, there are those that care."
"I didn't realise that the Cleaners employed people so young," Kazuki stated. His voice had an underlying tone of thoughtfulness. I knew something was going around inside that mind of his.
"Things have changed a great deal, especially in Lower Town, when the Volts dismembered and the Thunder Emperor left. Everyone does what they can to survive." The girl lowered her eyes.
"You don't look old enough to know about the Thunder Emperor and the Volts."
"I'm a lot older than I seem. I'll be twenty-two very soon." She grinned about the fact that she was all grown up.
Touching, I thought to myself as I place a cigarette between my lips. Couldn't we talk about this after we have completed the job? I knew that it was part of who Kazuki was, to get as much information as he could. It didn't change the fact that I was bored.
"I hope the next time we meet, the circumstances will be different." Kazuki bowed politely, and turned to me.
My eyes drifted over to the girl. She was staring blankly at the back of Kazuki. She must have noticed my gaze, because she suddenly grinned at me. She waved, and ran down an alley. What a strange person.
Kazuki passed me, and I followed him.
"Who are the Cleaners?" I asked, deciding to let my curiosity get the better of me.
"They're a small group of people that incinerate the bodies of the dead. As she said, leaving dead bodies around would cause a lot more disease. I think the people here are suffering enough."
"Why were you surprised they hired her?"
Kazuki turned his head, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "The Cleaners are run by normal people. People who happened to enter the Infinity Fortress, and decided not to leave. They hold the moral of not wanting to expose young people to too much death. Even after all these years, they still hold onto that."
"Isn't that sweet," I said sarcastically.
It was sweet that they didn't want to expose youth to death. It didn't change the fact that it was the Infinity Fortress, and therefore it was impossible for youngsters to not know about the deaths around them. Most of the children probably had a play in some of them.
Kazuki didn't say anything further, and faced forwards.
I thought back to his speed. In all honesty, I had no idea he could move that quickly. I figured that I would be seeing Kazuki doing a lot of stuff that I didn't think was possible for him. Of course, if he killed someone, then I might start to worry about him a little.
As that struck me, I thought back to being attacked. "Do you know who those people were?"
A soft gasp left Kazuki's mouth. I figured he thought I would have forgotten. I almost had.
"No," Kazuki answered.
I didn't believe him. He knew who they were. So why wasn't he telling me? I decided to head towards another subject. "Are you this Prince of Terror that everyone keeps talking about?"
"Once upon a time, I was."
I grabbed Kazuki's shoulder. He glared at me, took hold of my wrist, and got ready to flip me. My right hand wrapped around Kazuki's neck. I pinned him to a wall. I was getting annoyed with his anger towards me.
"Stop it, itomaki," I growled. "I'm getting tired of you, and of your mood swings!"
Kazuki narrowed his eyes. I felt his leg twitch. I didn't want to end up on my back, again. I forced his legs apart, and pressed my hips to his. I wasn't going to let Kazuki get the upper hand. Not again.
"And I want to know why this won't heal!" I turned my head slightly. "And what is up with your eye? What the hell is wrong with you? What did I ever do to you?"
We glared at each other. I didn't know how long Kazuki would be able to hold out. If he didn't speak soon, I would refer to torture to get what I wanted. That wasn't beneath me. I guess, in a sense, I was a little like Kazuki. There were certain things I wanted to know. Only I wasn't like Kazuki, who would probably sneak around for it. I would rip it from someone, if I needed to.
"Are you two fighting?"
I looked down the street. Ginji was standing there, along with Emishi. Emishi had an eyebrow raised, and a smirk on his face. I got the feeling I knew what was going through his mind.
My eyes moved to Ginji. "We'll be back in a few minutes, Ginji. We won't be long."
Ginji tilted his head. I knew he wanted to ask if there was something else that was going on. I wasn't in the mood to explain our strange position. I had no doubt that when Kazuki and I got there, I would have to fend off Kakei. Ginji wouldn't say anything, but I doubted the same could be said for Emishi.
Ginji nodded. Emishi laughed as they walked off. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes. I had more important things to worry about.
"And what is Syl Pharmaceuticals?"
Kazuki struggled against me. I was expecting it, and squeezed his tender throat a little more. He stopped trying to get free. With the way I had him pinned, getting free wasn't going to be an option. If I saw him reach for one of his bells, I could render him useless in seconds.
"Just give me the answers I want."
"Are you done?" Kazuki inquired. "I'm not going to give you anything. You wouldn't understand half of it, anyway."
"You will, itomaki, or I'll make sure no one hears your pretty singing voice again." My fingers twitched.
Kazuki lowered his eyes, and I felt something wet land on my wrist. "You wouldn't understand," he whispered. His grip on my left wrist loosened slightly.
In all honesty, I had no idea what to do. I could handle someone if they were attacking me. If they cried, it was something different. What was I meant to do? I wasn't one for these sappy things! Maybe I shouldn't have sent Ginji away.
I removed my hand from Kazuki's throat. Having the pressure there probably wasn't helping his breathing. As soon as I did, the tears dried up, and Kazuki glared at me. I had no idea he could cry on demand.
He shoved me away. "Honestly, Midou, you really shouldn't let someone take advantage of you like that." He smirked and walked on.
I stared after him. Usually when Ginji cried, it didn't affect me. So why had it when Kazuki did? What made him different from Ginji? I cursed my mind, and walked after Kazuki.
It was obvious that I was over-thinking this whole situation.
We arrived seven minutes later. I ignored the cocky grin on Emishi's face. I got the feeling that Kakei was trying to insert his needles into my body, with his mind, as he checked Kazuki, who kept telling his friend that he was fine. I stood beside Ginji, who was beside MakubeX, as computer boy typed away.
"So what are these deaths?" I asked.
MakubeX stopped typing. He glanced at Sakura. "Could we have a minute alone, Sakura?"
Sakura nodded, got to her feet, and left the room. When we were alone, MakubeX pulled up a video. I raised an eyebrow as I watched. A man walked down the street, minding his own business. It was pretty boring, until the man coughed up blood.
The man eventually died, after something that looked like an internal organ was coughed up. I was actually speechless. I had no idea what to make of it. I had never heard of anyone coughing up a full organ. Of course, it could have been a clump of lung, or something like that.
"These are the strange deaths. They've been happening all around Lower Town. I can't think of a single reason as to why."
Syl Pharmaceuticals entered my mind, again, along with Ren's words. "I don't even know why they call themselves a pharmacy." While the file said that Syl had nothing to do with this, I knew they had a playing hand. They were holding cards. All we had to do was figure out which ones they were.
"Do you have any thoughts on the matter, Ginji-san?" MakubeX looked up at the former ruler.
Ginji shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't."
Kazuki stood beside me. "Could you replay it, please?"
I frowned. "You want to see that again?"
"I thought I saw something," Kazuki answered casually.
"Yeah, trust me; you did see someone coughing themselves to death." I didn't care what anyone said; I lit the smoke that was between my lips.
Kazuki shook his head. His bells chimed quietly. "No, not the man. There was something else." The video was replayed. "There, pause it."
The video was paused as the man coughed up the first amount of blood. Kazuki lent forward, squinting. It seemed as though he was trying to read something. I waited patiently.
"There it is." He pointed to the screen. "Does that look familiar to anyone?"
The three of us squinted, as well. I had no idea what he was talking about. I searched the image, and finally spotted what Kazuki was talking about. I couldn't believe I had missed it. Naturally, my eyes weren't in tune with simple things like that. Kazuki would be looking for the slightest sign of any threads.
But it was there. Attached to man's neck was a wire. It was amazing that Kazuki had seen it. If I had watched it several times, I probably still wouldn't have seen it. Ginji was still trying to see what we saw.
"Oh, wow! Good eye, Kazu-chan."
Kazuki smiled at Ginji. "You would have seen it, eventually. Doesn't that look like your Wire Doll technology, MakubeX?"
"It does; but it couldn't be. I destroyed all of that." MakubeX enhanced the image. "I don't know how someone could find the information I had on it. I erased everything about it."
"But you always leave an impression of it on the hard drive," I said. "You probably should have destroyed that, instead of the information."
MakubeX stared at me. I figured they forgot that I had a brain, and liked to use it. He nodded, concurring with me. It seemed so obvious, when someone said it out loud. I was surprised that MakubeX hadn't thought of it. He was the one that was meant to be good with computers.
MakubeX frowned slightly. I got the feeling that he was formulating a plan. I knew he would come up with something. If it was the Wire Doll system, which was something used during the IL recovery, then MakubeX should know how to disable it.
Not unless they changed the coding that MakubeX had used. I was assuming that was highly likely. They had decided to reuse something that almost everyone was familiar with. They would have to protect it, somehow.
And while I didn't know much about the Wire Doll system, I was fairly certain that using it to control a person's body like that wasn't part of the initial programme. And if it wasn't, how were they using that to kill someone? How was it possible? How could they tap into a person's nervous system, to begin with, much less into their lungs?
"I know what I should have done. Unfortunately, I didn't do that. And I don't recall a breach on the system. I would have known if someone tried to get in." MakubeX pulled a knee to his chest, staring at the screen.
"What if someone didn't come in from the outside?" Kazuki volunteered. That got my attention. Threadspinner was onto something. "What if they used your computer to copy the information they needed?"
MakubeX shook his head. "I never leave my computers. What if I do and someone is attacked?"
"You're one of the new Volts," I said. "When do you go out and socialise with the people of this city?"
MakubeX opened his mouth, but closed it almost instantly. I seemed to have had a point there. I smirked, as MakubeX flipped through the data in his mind. How long had these deaths started appearing? If they had a super genius with them, it wouldn't have taken long before the system was operational.
"I think the last time we all went out – and I mean all of us – was five weeks ago. Usually Juubei and Emishi do the walk-throughs, making sure everything is peaceful. There really isn't any need for all of us to be out there." MakubeX lowered his eyes. "But that doesn't explain anything. I mean, I would have powered down my computers, or at least password protected them."
"Passwords are made to be broken, MakubeX-kun. Just like rules," Kazuki added before I could. "I already know what your password is. Anyone that knows you, or has studied your habits knows what your password is."
"Then what is it, itomaki?" I demanded.
It was annoying that Kazuki already knew what computer boy's password is. Of course, it didn't occur to me that Kazuki had known MakubeX years longer than I. I guess I was beginning to turn everything with the threadspool into a pissing match. It couldn't be helped.
Kazuki stared at me blankly, ignoring the inquiring eyes on him. He bent and whispered into MakubeX's ear. He didn't take his eyes off mine, and for some reason, I wanted bury his face into a wall. I had no idea where that urge came from. I blamed it on the fact that Kazuki was being annoyingly weird.
"That's right. I think I'll have to change that. It's probably out in the open, by now." MakubeX sighed.
"Do you have any idea what the LI is?" I asked, finally taking my eyes off of Kazuki.
MakubeX shook his head. I should have known that it wasn't going to be that easy. "I only know that it's a data file, and that it was stolen, as well. I don't know what data it contains, or where they're keeping it."
"Do you know what 'Kuroshi' is?" Ginji inquired, finally speaking up.
Again, MakubeX shook his head. "They aren't mentioned anywhere. I only know what I've heard from people on the street. They're into experiments, and that they're located on the Beltline."
I pushed my glasses up my nose. "Well, I guess we had better get a move on. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting."
Ginji frowned slightly. "Do you really think they're waiting for us, Ban-chan?"
I snickered. "Of course they're waiting for us. When have we ever entered this damn place, and taken the bad guy by surprise?"
Ginji opened his mouth to answer, but closed it. I knew I was right about that; everyone knew I was right. Of course, some of them didn't want to believe that. I left the room, and then the building. I stood outside, staring up at the blue sky.
Why would our client want a data file? What kind of data was in the file? And what sort of experiments were Kuroshi doing? Naturally, it had to be human experiments. God forbid they used rats, or some other sort of vermin.
I rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes. We were going to be stuck inside the Infinity Fortress for a while. No-one seemed to know the location of anything we were after. And then there was the fact that Kazuki was being hunted by some street gang. This mission was likely to be more difficult that the recovery of anything else.
"Ban-chan?"
I opened my eyes, and looked into Ginji's concerned ones. "What's up, Ginji?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say. There was something that he seemed unsure to ask.
"Is everything okay between you and Kazu-chan?" he asked slowly, preparing himself for the punch he was expecting.
I sighed, and closed my eyes again. "Maybe you should be asking itomaki about it, and not me."
Ginji shifted slightly. "The air between the two of you seems…tense. And when we found you, you were in that strange position. And there's the fact that Kazuki changes whenever you're around him. I tried asking Juubei about it, but he didn't say anything."
I frowned. The strain between Kazuki and I was really getting to Ginji. I never really thought it would be that bad. Maybe because I never paid much attention to it. I should have known, though. Ginji always wanted nothing more than to have us all get along.
But I still didn't know what I had done to Kazuki. And until he told me, I wasn't going to apologise. That was up to him. He was the one that was harbouring some kind of grudge against me.
"Look, Ginji," I started, cracking an eye and watching him. "Whatever is happening between me and itomaki is between us. We'll sort it out, eventually."
Ginji didn't seem please with that answer, and I honestly didn't blame him. He was dying to know what was happening between us. I would gladly tell, if I knew. Until then, he was going to have deal with that answer. Let's face it, Kazuki couldn't stay mad at me forever, over something I didn't know about. Right?
I silently groaned at that idea. For all I knew, Kazuki probably held grudges against everyone. He was just making his dislike for me more well known.
I flashed a confident smile at Ginji. His eyes flickered over to the cut on my cheek. I had been thinking about asking Kakei about it. But he would know it was from Kazuki, and then he would demand to know what I had done to make his sweet itomaki attack someone. And who really needs the drama?
I shook my head. I wasn't going to tell Ginji about it. "It's bleeding," he said.
I touched my cheek. Yeah, it was bleeding again. I was surprised that I didn't feel the blood. "Is there a band-aid or something?"
"You could ask Juubei about it. He might know a technique to heal it."
I shook my head again. "No, I don't want Juubei to know about it. He'll probably go crazy."
Ginji tilted his head. "What makes you say that? How did you get it?"
Ginji really couldn't see it? He couldn't see that it was made from Kazuki's strings? I turned around, searching the building for a window I could use as a mirror. There had to be a reason why Ginji hadn't made the connection.
I found a window. It didn't help that every time I tried to clean it down, it didn't make a difference. After five minutes of wiping, I finally had a clear patch that I could look at. I turned my head. My eyes widened at the sight of the cut. At least I found out why it was constantly bleeding.
It was morphing.
End Chapter III.
I do apologise for how long it took me to update.
And because I have not done much work on Chapter 4, it will likely not be posted until after the New Year.
So with that in mind, please have a safe holiday season, and a great New Year.