An Old Acquaintance
After stepping out of Nebula's Itabashi branch, Kasumi and her friends hurriedly make their way over to her car which is still parked at the right side of the large open field car park. The redhead unlocks her car and opens the right back door for Anri and Shirley. After Shirley got into the car first, she and Anri carefully place Celty down on the middle backseat before the bespectacled woman places herself beside the headless rider on her right. Mikado gets into the back of the car as well and squeezes against his girlfriend as they both share the right backseat, carefully not hurting Celty in the process. Kasumi closes the door for them before getting into the driver seat.
"Um, hello." Mikado greeted awkwardly and waved his hand at Celty as he uncomfortably sat between Anri and the door. "I'm Mikado Ryugamine."
As Kida gets into the front passenger seat, Celty types a message on her phone and shows it to Mikado. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Celty Sturluson."
After Kasumi and Kida close the doors beside them, the redhead places her hands on the steering wheel and winced as she tries to resist the pain coming from the wound on her upper left arm. She looks over her left shoulder and asked everyone present in her car, "Okay, so…anyone have any ideas where we can take Celty to? She already said we can't take her to the hospital."
Kida cups his chin and says, "Well, I played a lot of video games and seen many TV shows to know this, but whenever a member of the yakuza gets injured after a fight, they don't go to a public hospital to get themselves patched up. They go to some private doctor who isn't affiliated with the government to help them. So why don't we take Celty to one of those private doctors then?"
"Great idea." Kasumi momentarily smiled at him before her face quickly distorted into a scowl. "If you know anyone of them."
"Yeah, I don't know any." Kida replied in defeat as he leans back on his seat. "Not to mention any human being will naturally freak out if they learn they're going to help some headless being from another world."
"Wait, she's headless?" Mikado asked incredulously as he and Celty turned their heads to each other. Knowing that he had already witnessed her and Takashi using their powers in front of him, the headless rider willingly lifts the visor of her helmet up to reveal only the black smoke emanating from her neck, causing Mikado to gasp and widen his eyes.
"Yeah, we made that reaction too." Shirley said to Mikado. "Although Kida was more…dramatic."
Celty soon brings the visor back down and Mikado groans as he leans back on his seat and throws his head back. "Boy, this day just keeps getting more surreal."
"Look guys, if we don't find someone who can help Celty soon, she is going to die on us." Kasumi reminded everyone in the car. They all stayed silent and pondered for the next few seconds.
"Actually, there is one person I can think of who happened to be an expert in biology and medical science." Anri said, causing everyone else to turn to her. "Maybe he can help Celty."
"What if he freaks out when he sees she has no head?" Shirley asked concernedly.
"Trust me, he won't. I'm sure he'll be very fascinated with Celty." Anri replied as she turned to the headless rider.
Celty types a message on her phone in response. "I don't like how you put it…but I guess we don't have much of a choice right now."
Kasumi contemplated for a moment. It is true that any normal human would scream in sheer terror upon seeing a headless being, as proven by Kida earlier today. However, Celty is losing blood every second, and if they cannot bring her to any hospital in their world, what other choice do they have but to turn to whoever Anri is suggesting? She looked back at Anri and nodded.
"Okay. I'm not sure about this, but I trust you enough to take Celty to whoever you're talking about." The redhead paused for a moment to look at Kida, Shirley, and Mikado, who all nodded in unanimous approval. "So, who exactly is this expert?"
Anri arches a brow at her friend and asked, "Would you be interested in meeting Kishitani-sensei?"
Upon hearing the name, Kasumi dropped her jaw and fell silent for a few moments.
"Ooooohhhh no!" Kasumi replied hysterically as she turns back to the front of her car. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! Of all the people in this world, why do you have to bring HIM up?!"
"Who else is able to patch up a gash on the back?" Anri asked.
"Anyone!" Kasumi yelled back while staring at Anri's reflection in the rear-view mirror.
"Anyone who wouldn't freak out seeing a headless being and revealing their existence to the rest of the world?"
"I'm sure there are others out there in this city!"
"Kishitani-sensei taught us anatomy and dissected countless dead animals in front of us back in school. Why would you think he is not capable for the job?"
"I…I just…How do you think he would react seeing me again after six years?"
"Really, Kasumi? I am so disappointed in you." Anri frowns and shakes her head.
"Why?"
"You were able to make up with every student and teacher at the funeral parlor today but not Kishitani-sensei? Shirley and I should take back everything we said about you back at the café."
"Oh, come on, Anri!" Kasumi snapped as she turns back to the bespectacled woman.
While Kasumi and Anri continued with their argument, Mikado asked Shirley in confusion, "Um, who is this Kishitani-sensei?"
"A science teacher who used to work back in our senior high school and taught in the same class as Kasumi and Anri. Let's just say he and Kasumi did not part ways on the best of terms." Shirley winced at him.
"Look, I'm just not ready for this." Kasumi continued arguing with Anri.
"In case you have short-term memory loss, a serial killer who can control human minds is still on the loose, and you want to risk more innocent lives out there by not having the guts to face your past?!"
"I'm aware of that, but-"
"But what?! We almost got killed back there! I was forced to hit my boyfriend with a freaking fire extinguisher for goodness' sake!" Anri yelled. Mikado groaned miserably as he turned his head away in shame.
"There's a good reason why of all the people in school, he is the one I'm not ready to face yet!"
"And what exact-"
Unable to tolerate their conversation any longer, Celty lifts the visor of her helmet again to blow out huge amounts of black smoke between Kasumi and Anri like a dragon letting out a breath of fire, startling the two women and everyone else in the car.
As Kida and Mikado open the windows beside them to let the smoke out, Celty closes the visor and shows everyone her latest message on her phone. "We can either continue fighting with each other until I bleed to death or focus on the task at hand by bringing me to this Kishitani-sensei and continue our hunt for Saika and her accomplice. Your call."
Kasumi lets out a heavy sigh before she looks back to the front and bows her head apologetically to everyone behind her through the rear-view mirror. "I'm sorry, everyone. Let's go see Kishitani-sensei."
"Wait, what about her bike?" Kida asked as he looks out the car window and sees Celty's motorcycle still parked near the entrance of the facility. As everyone else looks at the vehicle, Celty snaps her fingers. To the surprise of the humans, the motorcycle suddenly makes a 180-degree turn, drives its way through the car park and over to the left side of Kasumi's car.
"Whoa." Mikado managed to say as the motorcycle parked itself beside them.
"I suggest one of you take a seat on Shooter to not blow my cover." Celty played her latest message on her phone.
"Shooter?" Kasumi asked, still staring at the motorcycle.
"That's the name of my companion. And don't worry. He won't bite."
Mikado sighs again. "Like I said, this day just keeps getting more surreal."
After Shirley volunteers to ride on Shooter, Celty used her black smoke to create a helmet over the orange-haired woman's head, and she reassures her that she does not need to do any actual driving while her companion keeps her safe on its seat. As Shirley gets out of the car and walks over to the motorcycle, Celty shifts herself over to the left backseat while Anri gives the address and postal code of Kishitani's home to Kasumi, who types it on her phone. After placing her phone on the mount in front of her, Kasumi and her friends quickly drive their way out of the car park and away from Nebula's Itabashi branch before any police and emergency vehicles arrive.
The ride back to Toshima ward was mostly quiet. After driving into a tunnel, Kasumi takes a moment to look at her passengers through the rear-view mirror. She noticed while Anri placed her hand on Celty's right shoulder to make sure the demihuman does not pass out, she never made any eye contact with Mikado as she is still trying to recover from the traumatizing experience she had with her brainwashed boyfriend. Neither did Mikado himself as he is still overwhelmed with shame and guilt over what he was about to do to her back in the office.
Wanting to break the awkward silence inside her car, Kasumi looked back at the road and explained to everyone, "I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm hesitant to see Kishitani-sensei again. Well, of all the teachers in senior high, it was Kishitani whom I've hurt the most during my years as an out-of-control teenager. And it was understandable why his feelings were easily hurt, because he was one of the youngest teachers in school at the time. I mocked him during his lecture…vandalized his work while he wasn't looking…even threw away his lunchbox out the window on one occasion. But what I did to really break his spirit was far worse than any of that." Kasumi paused as she took a gulp. "One day during lunch break, I was sitting at a table with no one else around me to talk to. That was when he showed up and offered me a book that can help improve my mental and social issues as a gift. I was outraged by his gift at the time. So, I responded by tearing the pages of the book right in front of him. And when I was done, I told him right in front of his face that…" Kasumi paused again to sigh. "He was a 'phony sap'…for trying to help me and anyone else. And just like that…he quietly walked away…and the next day…the principal told us he left the school. That was the real reason why he did so." She breathed heavily as she tried her best to fight back the urge to cry. "I can still remember how he looked the last time I ever saw him. He was so sad and heartbroken. I have hurt most of the students and teachers in senior high in some way…but Kishitani had the worst…and I was awful."
Kasumi glanced up at the rear-view mirror with tearstained eyes to see Mikado, Anri and Celty all staring silently at her after she finished her explanation. She also turns her head to Kida who gave the same reaction to her as he sat quietly at his seat. The redhead sighed grimly as she looked back at the road again with her heart filled with deep regret. Celty later looks down on her phone, taps her fingers on the screen and shows it to the driver.
"What is it, Celty?" Kasumi asked, feeling too ashamed to make eye contact with her and the other passengers.
"You have to remember what Miyamizu-sama would say to you." Shirley's voice spoke up from Celty's phone, much to the surprise of Kasumi as she glanced back at it through the rear-view mirror.
"Shirley?"
"Look to your right."
Kasumi did as she was told and sees Shirley driving Shooter over to the right side of her vehicle. As she looked back at her friend through the window, Shirley lifts her visor to show her eyes to her.
"I've been hearing you this whole time through the helmet Celty made for me. Tell me, what would Miyamizu-sama do if she was in your position?" Shirley asked.
Kasumi looked back at the road in front of her again as she pondered. And it did not take long for her to remember the story Hitoha had told her about herself and her family when she first arrived at her new family shrine in Tokyo six years ago.
"Miyamizu-sama lost her hometown and family shrine to Comet Tiamat eleven years ago. But despite her age, the tragedy that befell Itomori, and her unfamiliarity with urban life in Tokyo, she still looked after her two granddaughters who heavily relied on her and went out to find a new shrine in Ikebukuro to keep the spirit and traditions of her former home alive. So, if she was here right now, she would say to me…Nothing is impossible to accomplish. Her family has suffered way more than I have. But if they can move forward with their lives, no matter how big the obstacle is…so can I."
"And you can, because you also have us." Kasumi heard Shirley's reply through Celty's phone.
"No matter what happens when we meet Kishitani, we are here for you." Anri added. Kasumi glanced at the rear-view mirror once more to see Celty nodding her head to her in approval and the warm smiles plastered across the faces of Anri and Mikado. Kasumi briefly turned her head to Kida who gave a silent nod to her. And finally, she turned to her right to see Shirley again. Although her lips are hidden behind the helmet, the redhead could see the warmth in Shirley's eyes as she gave her a quick thumbs-up.
As she turns her head back to the road in front of her, Kasumi wipes her eyes and managed to crack a wan smile.
"Thank you, all of you." Kasumi said. Unbeknownst to her and the others though, Kida turns his head away and stares blankly through the window beside him as he gently strokes his yellow scarf, not wanting anyone to see the look of doubt and sorrow on his face.
It would take another three minutes for Kasumi and her friends to reach Kishitani's home. When they find themselves nearing an apartment building located in the Toshima neighborhood of Kami-ikebukuro, they park their vehicles in a nearby public parking lot. Kida goes over to the pay station to pay for the lots they and Shirley have occupied while Mikado and Anri helped Celty get out of the car. Shirley also gets off the backseat of Shooter and removes her helmet from her head. To her surprise, the helmet dissipates into thin air in her hands. As Kasumi closes the doors of her car, Celty wraps her arms around the shoulders of Anri and Mikado, and she gestures Shooter to stay put in the parking lot until they come back. Shooter briefly tilts its front wheel side to side in response, causing Anri, Kasumi, Shirley, and Mikado to chuckle.
"Alright, let's go." Anri said solemnly to her friends.
Everyone makes their way to the apartment building located at the opposite side of the road and parking lot, with Anri and Mikado carefully carrying Celty by her arms, and Kasumi, Shirley and Kida following them from behind. When they arrived at the bottom of the building, they went over to the nearest elevator and Kasumi pressed the button for her friends. Everyone soon noticed the smoke over Celty's back wound and around Kasumi's upper left arm have dematerialized.
"It must be the result of her wound draining her energy." Shirley said to everyone.
"We don't have much time." Kasumi replied. After the Englishwoman nodded to her in response, Kasumi turned to Anri as everyone waited for the elevator to arrive. "So Anri, how do you still manage to keep in touch with Kishitani-sensei?"
"I already got a hold of Kishitani's phone number since the start of our second year in senior high." Anri replied. "I would occasionally call him up to help remind me of what we learnt in biology class today. I felt sad when the principal broke the news that he left the school…after what you did."
"I'm sorry." Kasumi said grimly.
"So, I called him up later that night to check up on him, and he allowed me to keep his phone number. And since then, he and I would still talk to each other from time to time as friends." Anri said.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner that you still got hold of him?" Kasumi asked.
"Well, you do have the tendency to overreact." Anri shrugged.
"That's true." Kasumi chuckled as everyone looked back to the elevator, just in time to see it arriving at the bottom floor.
Once they all got inside, Anri said the floor number where Kishitani lives, and Kasumi pressed the right button. As the doors closed in front of them, everyone stood idly inside the elevator until they arrived at the right floor.
Inside a four-room home located at the eleventh floor of the apartment building, a 32-year-old man with dark brown neck length hair and dressed in a white collar shirt, black tie, white lab coat and black pants is engaged in a conversation with his latest client through a video call on his laptop.
"Listen dickhead, you better take this seriously because I have a flight to catch in ten days from now, and they say you are the best there is!" His client shouted at the dark brown-haired man who has his arms folded on his desk.
"I understand, Mr. Horie. But I already told you many times. I have an appointment with another client this Sunday-"
"Screw that client! What's more important?! Me who can bring in millions of dollars to our economy, or some child who hasn't done anything for society yet?! Heck, I can give you ten times what his parents-"
DING DONG!
The man widens his eyes when he heard the doorbell rang. He turns his head to the direction of his home entrance and adjusts his glasses, causing his client to yell angrily, "Mr. Kishitani, look at me when I'm talking to you!"
"I'm sorry, but I'm sure you can wait for just a single minute, right? I'll be back soon." Kishitani flashes a quick smirk at Mr. Horie before lowering the volume of his laptop.
"Mr. Kishitani! Come back here…" As the man's frantic voice trails off, Kishitani gets up from his office chair and lets out a sigh of relief as he makes his way out of his work room.
"Hard-nosed businessmen." Kishitani muttered under his breath. He hastily walks past the living and dining areas of his home as the doorbell rang for the second time. "I'm coming!"
When he reaches the door, he turns the knob and opens it to reveal six people standing behind the gate and outside his home.
"Hello, Kishitani-san!" Anri greeted warmly as everyone except Celty bow their heads to him.
"Oh!" Kishitani blurted out before a smile took form on his face. "Why hello there, Sonohara-san! What a surprise to see you here!" He chuckled at the sight of his former student before looking bewildered at the woman in the black suit whom she and Mikado are carrying by her arms. "And um…Who is this?"
"It's a long story, but she needs medical attention right now. Can you please help us?" Anri pleaded.
"Really? She's hurt? Well, come inside!" Kishitani said concernedly as he quickly unlocks the gate and moves aside to allow his visitors to enter his home. While Anri and Mikado hurriedly brought Celty over to the sofa in the living area, with Kida and Shirley following them from behind, Kasumi on the other hand slowly stepped into the home and stared at her former teacher. Her arms are currently folded, and her face is filled with guilt and shame as soon as she and Kishitani laid eyes at each other.
"H-Hello…Kishitani-sensei." Kasumi greeted with unmistakable embarrassment.
Kishitani quietly gave a solemn nod to Kasumi. "Hello…Kinomoto-san. It's been a while."
The two stared at each other in awkward silence for a few more seconds before Kasumi hurriedly walked over to the others who had gently placed Celty down on the sofa without hurting her back. Kishitani quickly locks the gate and closes the door before joining them.
"Okay." Kishitani claps his hands to get everyone's attention as he approaches them. "What seems to be the problem here?"
"Sir, if you are an expert in medical science as my girlfriend claims, are you able to perform a surgery for a back wound?" Mikado asked Kishitani anxiously.
"A back wound, eh? Lemme see." Kishitani said before walking over to the back of his sofa. Kida and Shirley moved aside to allow the white lab coat-wearing man see the large wound across Celty's back. He leans forward and adjusts his glasses as he commented, "Oh my, this cut does look pretty severe. But not to worry. It looks like I can still fix it."
Kasumi, Kida, Anri, Mikado and Shirley smile and sigh in relief.
"But ma'am, can you please explain to me how you got yourself such a gruesome injury in the first place?" Kishitani asked Celty as he stands straight back up. "I have to know what kind of accident would cause this."
"Oh, about that…" Kasumi said nervously as she places her hands behind her back. "She cannot speak to you."
"Oh? Is she mute?" Kishitani asked.
"No, Kishitani-san. She is…something special." Anri said with a shrug and a lopsided smirk.
"Special? How?" The man asked his former student. Anri places her hands on the sides of Celty's helmet, but the demihuman stops her by grabbing the girl's lower arms. As Anri looked at her in confusion, Celty shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Kasumi asked as she walked up to her. The demihuman turned to her and lowered her head. "You're concerned of revealing your true identity to another human of our world, aren't you?" Celty nodded in response. With a weak smile, Kasumi placed her hand on her right shoulder and said reassuringly, "Please, you must let him know. He can help you. Do it for your sake."
Celty glanced at Kasumi for a moment before looking back at Anri. She released her lower arms and the bespectacled woman smiled back at her. As Kasumi backs away, Anri removes the helmet, revealing the black smoke emanating from the top of Celty's neck. In response, Kishitani widens his eyes and drops his jaw as he backs away.
"Yes, it's true. She has no head." Kasumi said to her former teacher.
"Kishitani-san…" Shirley tried to explain as she and her friends see the sheer look of awe on the man's face. "I know this is a lot to take in…but if you let us explain-"
"This…is…AMAZING!" Kishitani whooped excitedly as a huge smile now takes form on his face. Kasumi, Kida, Shirley, Mikado and Celty who look over her shoulder, all stare back at the man in bewilderment.
"Told you so." Anri said to her friends with a smile.
"I mean…I never thought it's possible! A living human without a head?!" Kishitani cried happily with his hands placed on both sides of his head before flailing them into the air. "This is incredible!"
"Well, technically-" Kida tried to say, but cuts himself off as Kishitani scampers over to Celty like an overly excited child.
"Please ma'am! You must tell me where you are from and how are you born like this?!" Kishitani said with his hands on the back of the sofa and his face close to her neck, causing Celty to flinch uncomfortably.
"Umm," Mikado said. "Maybe she can explain to you while or after you perform a sur-"
"Surgery on her back wound?! Of course!" Kishitani cried cheerfully at Mikado before looking back at Celty. "I'll certainly do that for you. But first…" Everyone watched as the man whirls about and runs back into his work room. As they wait idly in the living area, they could hear him frantically yelling at whoever he might be talking to. "Sorry Mr. Horie, but I suddenly have a job to do, and I will never work for someone who is inhuman enough to not care about the lives of others anyway! Goodbye and good riddance!"
After closing his video call and laptop, Kishitani lets out a huge sigh before calmly walking out of the work room and into the living area again. He looks up at his visitors with a wide smile and his hands placed firmly behind his back.
"Now then, let's bring our patient to the guest bedroom, shall we?"
Kasumi and her friends did as they were told by bringing Celty into the second bedroom of Kishitani's home. When they step inside, they immediately see two beds placed at both sides of the room, and a small workstation at the other end of it, which consists of a cupboard, a freezer, a small table, and a desk filled with many types of medical and lab equipment.
Kishitani instructs them to have Celty lie prone on the right bed, which is more a massage bed with a hole for a person to plant their face through. Of course, since Celty does not have one, that will not be necessary. Once the demihuman is place facing downwards, Kasumi helped remove the helmet from Celty and placed it aside on the floor. But doing so caused the redhead to wince in pain as she finally remembered her own wound on her upper left arm. After Kasumi tells Kishitani to patch up her wound as well, the man agreed to help and asked her to sit on the other bed while he attends to the demihuman first. He also told Kida, Shirley, Anri and Mikado to wait outside in the living area at the meantime and freely grab some food and drinks from the kitchen whenever they are hungry and thirsty. Kasumi's friends thank Kishitani and bow to him in gratitude before leaving the room.
"So, Kinomoto-san, would you care to explain to me how your friend got herself such a gruesome wound in the first place?" Kishitani asked the redhead as he looked back at her with his hands tucked in the pockets of his coat.
"Well, she got slashed by her own scythe while we were fighting someone." Kasumi said.
"A scythe? Really?" Kishitani widens his eyes.
"Yeah, it's true. You can't see it now though because she hid it…in…um…actually, where does your scythe really go to after you make it disappear, Celty?" Kasumi asked her demihuman friend. While still lying on her bed, Celty takes out her phone and types a message to the two humans.
"I can answer all your questions if you can just attend to my wound already."
"Alright, sure." Kishitani chuckled as Celty put her phone away. "I look forward to studying your body anyway. No funny thoughts."
As Celty hangs her neck, Kishitani begins his work by walking over to his desk. He places an empty syringe, a bag of cotton, a bottle of alcohol, a pair of tweezers, a pair of small scissors, a few adhesive bandages, a needle, and a spool of thread onto a clean metal tray. After placing the tray on the smaller table, he drags it and his office chair over to Celty and places them beside her bed. Kasumi sat and watched idly as Kishitani sits down on his chair and pours some alcohol onto a piece of cotton. He picked the cotton up with his tweezers and began using it to clean the wound on Celty's back, causing the demihuman to flinch involuntarily. Kishitani advised her to stay still, and Kasumi told her to relax. About a minute and a half later, the man is done cleaning her wound. Kishitani places the cotton and his tweezers aside on the tray before now grabbing the needle and the thread from the spool. He carefully inserts the thread through the tiny hole of the needle. Kishitani ties a knot and advises Celty to stay still again. He slowly pierces the needle into her skin and starts sewing up her wound. The man could feel the demihuman breathing heavily as he worked.
"Anyways, it's interesting to know that you are still getting into fights, Kinomoto." Kishitani said with his eyes still fixated on Celty.
"Wha, no! It's not what you think!" Kasumi cried before calming down. "This isn't like some random fight I used to have back in school. The lives of innocent people are at stake here."
"Is that so? Care to explain to me the whole context?" Kishitani inquired. The man paused for a moment as Celty gave a thumbs-up to Kasumi. The redhead nodded back to her.
"Very well then." Kasumi looked back at her former teacher. "Here goes."
Meanwhile, Kida and Mikado are watching the news on television while sitting next to each other on the sofa in the living area. At the other side of the room, Anri and Shirley are searching around the kitchen to see what they can find. The bespectacled woman found some raw meat and vegetables inside the freezer while Shirley discovered an electronic hotpot inside one of the cabinets above the sink and stove. She places it aside on the counter before grabbing some cutlery and other cooking equipment from the drawer.
"The police are still investigating the causes of the deaths of three security guards found inside the Nebula office in Itabashi Ward, though it seems very likely to be suicide. And although some Nebula employees have called them about violence erupting inside the building, they bizarrely have no memories of what happened during that hour to corroborate their report."
As the television showed various images of the surviving Nebula employees sitting at their cubicles in the office rooms or standing at the sides of the corridors while being attended by healthcare workers or police officers, Kida and Mikado saw a brief four-second video clip of Walker, Erika and Kyohei being questioned by two detectives. The black-haired man smiled in relief as he learns that his co-workers are alright.
"We are also told the investigators are currently looking through all camera recordings in the facility but have found no evidence of any form of violence so far. We'll keep you updated as this story develops. Over in Osaka…"
Kida lowers the volume and places the remote aside on the glass table in front of them before leaning back on the sofa and letting out a heavy sigh.
"God damn it. Not only did we got our asses kicked by Saika and her accomplice back there, but we also fail to prevent the deaths of three people who were only doing their jobs." Kida muttered. He lowers his head in frustration and gently strokes his fingers across his scarf again. "I could not save them. I'm a failure."
"Hey, don't say that." Mikado said to him. "At least you and the others are still able to save everyone else, including me. Arigatou."
"You don't understand…" Kida said grimly as he closed his eyes. "I just…wanted to prove I can never make the same mistake again. But I can't…"
Mikado stared silently at him for a second before leaning back on the sofa as well.
"I don't know what you went through…but I'm glad to know I'm not the only one having a rough time right now." Mikado murmured.
"Who isn't?" Kida shrugged, and the two men chuckled.
"Hey guys, care to help us?" Shirley called out to them as she and Anri stood behind the dining table. Kida and Mikado turned to the kitchen to see the two women now wore aprons over their clothes and have placed many types of food and ingredients on the dining table, including a lettuce, a sweet corn, two carrots, two eggs, a large cube of tofu placed on a saucer, two bowls of shiitake and enoki mushrooms, and two separate metal trays which consists of a large piece of beef and two whole fish. "We need some extra hands to prepare dinner for everyone."
"Okay, sure." Kida responded as he got up from the sofa. However, after taking a few steps, he turns around and notices Mikado still sitting glumly on the sofa. Knowing what happened between him and Anri, Kida walks over to him and places his hand on his right shoulder.
"You know, you should try talking to her while you have the chance." Kida said solemnly as Mikado looked up at him. "You'll regret it if you choose not to."
Mikado glanced at Anri who had started work on cutting the large piece of beef into small and thin slices. He sighed inwardly before nodding to Kida and finally getting up from the sofa.
When the two men arrived at the kitchen, Shirley hands each of them an apron and they both put them on. After cleaning their hands at the sink, they began assisting the two women. Kida helps peel the leaves of the lettuce while Shirley slices the tofu with a knife into smaller cubes. Anri and Mikado stand next to each other as they help cut the fish and beef into small and thin slices.
The couple stayed silent for a moment until Mikado let out a sigh.
"Listen…" Mikado spoke up with his eyes still focused on the beef. "Anri…about what happened…I really had no idea that I was going to hurt you while I was under Saika's control."
"It's okay." Anri replied softly with her eyes fixated on the fish. "I know that."
"Still…to think that I tried to hurt you…the woman I loved the most…" Mikado sniffed and places his knife down on the table as tears start forming in his eyes. "I can never forgive myself if I've actually killed you back there…I'm sorry…"
To his surprise, he felt a hand placed gently on his left shoulder. Mikado turned his head to his left to see Anri smiling weakly at him as she too paused her work.
"What matters more is the present. And right now…" Anri plants a kiss on Mikado's left cheek. "I'm just glad we're both alive and well."
Mikado smiled back at Anri before wiping away the tears from his eyes. He gently plants a kiss of his own on Anri's right cheek, and after staring at each other for a few seconds, they both chuckled with glee.
"Sorry I'm not making gyoza dumplings for you tonight." Anri said as she and Mikado picked up their knives.
"It's alright. At least I'm having the opportunity to cook alongside you." Mikado said to her with a smirk.
Kida watched the couple with a wan smile as the couple resumed cutting the food together. He sighs inwardly as he continued peeling the leaves of the lettuce in his hand.
Just as Kasumi finished explaining what had happened from her first meeting with Celty at the funeral parlor to their encounter with Saika and her accomplice in Nebula's office in Itabashi, Ksihitani finished sewing up the wound on the demihuman's back. He carefully cuts the end of the thread with his pair of small scissors and places it and the needle aside on the tray.
"There's one more thing I have to do though. Hold still." Kishitani pours some alcohol onto another piece of cotton and carefully wipes the area of Celty's skin below her wound. He later picks up his syringe, injects it into the area where he had wiped, and extracts a small amount of blood from her body. "I can tell you have lost a lot of blood from a wound like that. But if you are from another world, I must make sure your blood is compatible to the human blood of our world."
Kishitani soon removes the syringe from her body and quickly pastes a small adhesive bandage over the tiny hole he made.
"It's all done. You can slowly get up now." Kishitani said to Celty. The headless rider slowly gets herself up from her bed and into a sitting position. As she faces him, she takes out her phone to type a message.
"Thank you." Celty played her message before bowing her neck to Kishitani.
"You're welcome." Kishitani bowed his head back to her before getting up from his chair and walking over to his work desk. "I hope you don't mind waiting a little longer before I can finally attend to you, Kinomoto."
"No worries. Take your time." Kasumi replied as she and Celty watch Kishitani sit at his desk and grab a small glass tray.
"By the way, Kasumi, the description of the man who worked with this Saika that you gave me, it sounds a lot like a former employee I used to know." Kishitani said as he plants a small drop of Celty's blood onto the tray and carefully places it under his microscope. "Sounds like a certain…Takashi Nasujima to me."
"You know this man?" Kasumi asked with her eyes widened. And although she cannot show her expression, Celty was intrigued too when she heard the name of Saika's accomplice for the first time.
"That's right." Kishitani said as he begins examining the DNA inside Celty's blood.
"Wait…if this man was a former employee of Nebula, and you know him…does this mean you once worked for Nebula too?" Kasumi inquired.
"Once?" Kishitani chuckled. "Last I checked, I'm still working there."
"You worked at Nebula now?"
"Yup, because Nebula is my family business. My father is the current CEO, while I'm one of the members of the board."
"Trying to continue the legacy, I see." Celty played her latest message.
"Whoa, so your previous job as a science teacher was just a steppingstone in trying to take over your dad's company in the future?" Kasumi asked.
"You're absolutely right, Kinomoto." Kishitani gave a thumbs-up to his former student while still looking through his microscope. "There's no rush for greatness after all, right?"
"Please tell us more about Takashi Nasujima. How much do you know him?" Celty played another message on her phone.
"Well, the last time I ever met him was during a board meeting about a month ago, where me, my father and the rest of the board, which includes Kyouta Tsukiyama and Hayato Toda, to discuss his fate within the company." Kishitani said.
"What was Takashi's job within the company?" Kasumi asked.
"He used to be the second-in-command of Kyouta Tsukiyama, the head of the manufacturing department. And from what I heard, he also occasionally drives him and Hayato Toda home from work. He seems like someone who is truly dedicated to his work and the company. That is until about two months ago, while Tsukiyama was away on a business trip in France, Takashi was put in charge of the mass production of one of our latest vaccines, the Ginrei VI."
"Ginrei VI? I've heard about it on the news." Kasumi said. "It was a failed vaccine that nearly cost the lives of five people."
"That's right." Kishitani said as he casually gets up from his chair and walks over to the freezer. He opens it up to reveal multiple bags of fresh blood stored neatly inside. "These incidents forced us to recall all our vaccines from every hospital in Kanto and its neighboring regions, which cost us over a billion yen. It turns out the wrong components were added into the vaccine during its production stage, and since Takashi oversaw the department that day, he received the blame for the incidents."
After grabbing a bag of blood, he closes the freezer and walks back to his work desk to grab some tubes. As he walks back to Celty, he continued, "So the following day, while Takashi was standing at the other end of the room, my father and the entire board had a lengthy discussion to decide what to do with him." He paused as he grabs a metal stand, drags it over to the side of Celty's bed and hangs the bag of blood on it. He looked back at Kasumi and finished his explanation, "And in the end, we unanimously decide to fire him."
"No wonder why he had every intention to kill two members of Nebula's board of directors. Nothing but petty revenge." Kasumi said as Kishitani sits down on his chair and faces Celty.
"I never thought he would go that far. I knew he had problems, but not like this." Kishitani said as he lifts the right sleeve of Celty's suit. After cleaning an area of her right lower arm with a piece of cotton filled with alcohol, he puts it away and looks back at the headless rider. "This might sting a bit."
Celty gave him a nod. Kishitani gently wraps his hand around Celty's right wrist and injects a small tube into the area where he cleaned. The demihuman flinched involuntarily as she felt the pain surging through her body for a few moments. Once the tube is injected deep enough into her body, Kishitani grabs one end of a long and narrow tube into it. He gets up from his chair and inserts the other end of the long tube into the bag of blood. As Celty breathed heavily while recovering from the pain, the blood from the bag began flowing through the tube and into her body.
"There. You'll be fine now." Kishitani said to Celty. The demihuman bows her neck to him in gratitude. The man bows his head back to her before turning to Kasumi and dragging the small table full of his medical equipment with him.
"Now then, it's your turn." Kishitani said to his former student.
"Right." Kasumi nodded as she moved to her left, allowing her former teacher to sit beside her on her bed. He fills up another piece of cotton with alcohol and starts cleaning the wound on her upper left arm. "We have to stop Takashi. Just because he had a grudge towards everyone in Nebula for what happened to him doesn't mean he has the right to kill innocent people in the process." She gulped for a moment. "Innocent people like Suzu."
"But you and your friends were almost killed by him and Saika back in the office. Why do you still want to risk your life fighting someone who has powers beyond our imagination?" Kishitani asked.
Celty types on her phone and plays her message to him, "Because as a shrine maiden, she wants to bring peace to Suzu and her father."
"Yeah…but there is more than that." Kasumi said, staring blankly at the floor. "It's also because I want to do what I couldn't do for you and everyone else in school that I've hurt. To prove that I am no longer the same wild, hot-headed punk who goes on a blind rage in front of everyone. To prove that I am now a worthwhile human being. To prove that I am better and stronger than I was before."
Kishitani places his cotton down on the metal tray and replies to Kasumi, "Well…you already have proven that to me by saving the lives of Celty and my fellow Nebula employees."
Kasumi turns her head to Kishitani and sees the warm smile plastered across his face. "You're doing a good job at it so far, Kinomoto. I'm proud of you."
Kasumi sighs and gives a weak smile to her former teacher. She bows her head and said, "Thank you so much for all the help and information you provided us, Kishitani-san."
"Please…" Kishitani briefly shakes his head as Kasumi looked back at him. "Call me Shinra."
After Shinra finished sewing up Kasumi's wound, they and Celty step out of the room together, although the demihuman is advised by the doctor to drag the stand that is carrying her blood bag alongside her at all times.
When Kida, Anri, Mikado and Shirley see them making their way over to the living and dining areas, they exclaimed to them in unison, "Ta-dah!"
Kasumi, Celty and Shinra all look surprised to see their friends, as well as the food, drinks, and the electronic hotpot that they have neatly laid out on the dining table.
"Whoa." Shinra chuckled. "I see you were all waiting to have dinner with us. That's generous of you."
"That's right." Anri nodded. "Since our planned karaoke night has been cancelled, Shirley and I thought of making up for it by having a hotpot dinner tonight."
"A hotpot night!" Shirley cheered as she clapped her hands.
"Want to join us?" Mikado asked, gesturing Kasumi, Celty and Shinra to the food on the table.
Kasumi chuckled and gave a broad smile to her friends. "Why would we say no?"
"After all that work, I definitely need a good dinner to chow down anyways!" Shinra said excitedly.
Celty types a quick message on her phone and shows it to everyone. "What are waiting for? Let's get to it."
"Whoa Celty, unfortunately due to your current condition, you shouldn't eat too much." Shinra said cautiously to her.
Celty types another quick message and shows it to the doctor. "Are you underestimating me as a demihuman?"
"N-no, of course not." Shinra chuckled nervously as the demihuman does not sound happy with her latest message. "It's just…"
Shinra cuts himself off when he sees Celty typing another message to him. She shows her phone to him when she is done. "If you allow me to join them, I can share with you all more about my kind."
The doctor gasps and widens his eyes before crying ecstatically at the headless rider, "Of course I will!"
Throughout the rest of the night, Kasumi, Kida, Anri, Mikado, Shirley, Celty and Shinra all sat around the table and ate their dinner together while enjoying each other's company. Although Kida stayed silent as he sat beside Kasumi and ate his food, he enjoyed listening to his red-haired friend sharing some stories of her life with everyone else around them. In return, Celty explained more about her kind and her world, as well as how her demihuman biology works to her new human allies, much to the interest and delight of Shinra who sat between her and Kasumi.
Needless to say, not only was it an enjoyable dinner for everyone, but also a well-deserved break from their mission to save the city.
Sovereign: I would like to thank Darth Necron and LayLay lives for reviewing this story. Thank you!