Reconstruction
By: Aviantei
Chapter Five
Recount
When considering the situation, Hitomi and Eri were a duo predestined to get lost, even if they were walking a mere few blocks. There was nothing that could be done about the situation; even when they had someone leading them, the women could get lost in a crowd without ever being separated from each other. It was almost an unnatural ability, and the only solution Nezuto was able to come up with to fix the damned issue was to attach one of them to a leash. They would stick together on their own.
Not that something like that was even an option. He was an escort, not an animal walker for crying out loud! That wasn't saying the two were animals either, because that was just in bad taste, even for someone like him.
"Although humans are technically mammals, so they're animals, too, right…? What am I saying, that doesn't make it okay!"
The point of the matter was that Nezuto was in no way surprised to find that they had gotten lost. Eri's politeness and Hitomi's stubbornness answered for why they hadn't contacted him to ask for help. The only question he had left was one they couldn't answer. Furthermore, his own distracted shouting had attracted their attention.
They were both looking at him, a quartet of hazel and pale green. Hitomi stood in place, and Eri urged her sister on with that cat toy of hers. Hitomi sighed, and the two walked towards the mouth of the alley Nezuto had just come from.
"Lost again, I see," he said.
Hitomi scowled. "Hello, Urumana-san," she said, tone not matching up with her expression. It was almost cute how she was afraid of the wrath of Eri's stuffed animal. The fact that the older woman was significantly shorter and politer looking than the street punk looking Hitomi just made the dynamic funnier. "And you guessed right; we're lost."
Nezuto repressed his laugh to a chuckle. "I don't know why I expect anything else out of you two." He shook his head. "Are you two trying to find someplace to have lunch?" This time Eri was the one to shake her head. "Already ate, huh? So where exactly are you heading? I'm done with other work for now, so I can pick up my job with you guys again."
Hitomi muttered something that sounded something like "flaky bastard" which resulted in a stuffed cat paw to the ribs. The hit may have had more force than Nezuto thought, because the girl was rubbing her side wincing. "We're heading back to HOMRA," she said, voice tinged with mild pain. "That hurt, Nee-san…" Eri didn't look the least bit apologetic.
It's almost like she's saying that it was deserved…
"Wait, so you're telling me you went out to get some food and then couldn't find your way back?" Nezuto realized. Eri nodded, her expression serene. The guide was forced to try and speak properly through laughter. "Haha, honestly? That takes some—ahahaha—real skill right there! Pfft, I can't believe people like you actually exist!"
"Oh shut it!" Hitomi shouted. The teenager's fists were clenched, and Nezuto took a few deep breaths. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be punched today. Eri placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder, but Nezuto was certain he could still get clocked at any minute. "You're our escort, asshole, try to act professional, will ya?!"
Once the laughter stopped, said escort wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized. "If that's the case, then this 'professional' is under the impression that I should escort you to back to HOMRA in order to avoid any more mishaps." Eri nodded her approval. "We can even stop by a store for an icepack for that bruised side of yours, Hitomi-san."
The teenager scoffed and dropped her arm from her side. "Like hell," she said. "I ain't so weak as to need an ice pack over a tiny little hit like this. I'm probably made of sturdier stuff than you are, Urumana, so just keep your mouth shut!" Hitomi crossed her arms over her chest, and Nezuto pretended like he didn't see the faint blush forming on her cheeks.
Did he mention the part where he really wasn't in the mood to be hit today?
Nezuto bowed, flourishing a hand in the direction he intended to start off on. "Well then, my ladies, if you would care to follow me," he said before turning around to lead. The sound of footsteps let him know they were following. Already his senses were telling him to use routes that he consciously knew wouldn't be too crowded at this time of day. At least it would be easy enough to find them again.
His sense of direction kept leading Nezuto back to them. And his sense of direction always took him where he needed to go.
"Although… I just don't get it…What exactly do these two have to do with what I'm looking for…?"
Like always, his questions fell into the air without being answered.
Hitomi's first impression of HOMRA was that she didn't fit in. Not amongst the people—if anyone could fit in with a gang of street punks it would be her, even with her social issues. But the bar was dimly lit and elegant, the wood a beautiful dark brown, and the bottles on the back wall giving off a muted rainbow. Eri seemed to blend into the scenery, like it was exactly where she belonged. Hitomi could hardly imagine a single street punk even stepping foot inside, let alone using it as their base.
That disbelief also created the vast denial that the man running the bar was in charge. Not moving away from the door, Hitomi looked to Eri for guidance.
'Kusanagi-san,' the older girl spelled out with her hands, pointing towards the bar.
"Kusanagi-san," Hitomi repeated, causing the man to smile. He was handsome enough, but for some reason was wearing sunglasses in the already dark bar. She vaguely wondered if his hair was naturally blonde or dyed.
Her stomach did a backflip that had nothing to do with his looks.
"Ah, Eri-chan!" Kusanagi exclaimed. His casual referral caused a short burst of annoyance to Hitomi. They had just met this morning! "I didn't expect you to respond so early. I see you brought an interpreter along this time. That'll make conversation much easier."
"I'm her sister," Hitomi said, almost in defense. She could feel the animosity make her voice sound harsh. It always seemed to happen. "Fuba Hitomi. I'm looking for Nii-san, too."
Eri released one of her silent sighs and gave the other girl an encouraging smile.
Whether or not Hitomi's rudeness bothered him, Kusanagi didn't seem to mind. "In that case, come and sit down," he said, gesturing to the barstools in front of him. "The same order as earlier, Eri-chan?" The woman nodded. A small table menu was placed in Hitomi's hands as she sat down. "And you, mademoiselle?"
Just reading the menu made her feel out of place. The teenager was fairly certain she couldn't legally order most of the drinks, and she didn't know what the rest of them were. Eri clicked her fingers, snapping her sister to attention.
'Just tell him you're underage,' Eri told her. 'Order a soda or something. Don't stress about it. He really is nice.'
A nice gang boss. That was convincing.
Kusanagi waited patiently for the interpretation. "Sorry, I'm fifteen," Hitomi said, placing the menu back on the counter. It stood up on its own. "I'll take an iced tea, though." She imagined the carbonation of a soda would only make her nervousness worse. At least she didn't shake when it happened, just couldn't speak. It wasn't that bad at least.
"Oui, mademoiselle," Kusanagi said. Hitomi knew the words were French but not much else. The bartender turned his back to begin preparations. "Now, as I mentioned in my email, there are some things I'd like to discuss with the two of you concerning our agreement."
Hitomi sat sideways on her stool face Eri. It was all up to her sister now. "'That's fine, we had some things we had questions about, too,'" Hitomi spoke in her place. Just like Eri had said; this was the same as practice. The whole process was oddly relaxing.
"Well in that case, ladies first." Eri shook her head.
"'I'm certain what you have to say is more important. If—' Slow down, Nee-san, I can't read that fast," Hitomi complained. Eri slowed her pace and restarted the sentence. "Oh, 'what you have to ask may just clear up some of our questions as well.'"
Hitomi hadn't considered that as an option. But Eri was more than just polite; she was smart. She knew how to read people in all sorts of ways Hitomi didn't.
Kusanagi placed Hitomi's glass of tea in front of her. "If you insist… After all, how am I supposed to refuse the request of a beautiful lady?" He was flirting with Eri. Right in front of her younger sister, too! Asshole! Part of Hitomi's nervousness was replaced with a dull anger. Screw the plan, if this fucker so much as looked at her the wrong way—
"Feel free to answer in any order you wish." Hitomi tried to unclench her fists as Kusanagi talked. Eri didn't notice, trying to simulate a normal conversation by looking at the bartender. "We would we like to know why you're looking for this young man and what you intend to do when you find him. And I'm personally curious as to why two 'sisters' have different last names. That is, if you don't mind me asking."
Ah, damn, that one was my fault… Hitomi gave an apologetic smile and shrug. Eri signed out 'It's okay,' before continuing to address Kusanagi.
"'Some of those answers mix together. Is that alright?'" Hitomi watched Kusanagi closely. He only nodded. "'We're looking for Ruyaki because he suddenly disappeared.'" Hitomi had said his given name before realizing how foreign it sounded on her tongue. "'We're not certain if the one in the video is the Ruyaki we're looking for in terms of personality, but that's definitely his body.'"
Kusanagi didn't react, but for Hitomi, it was becoming hard to imitate Eri's usual calm tone. Even thinking about the video made Hitomi want to scream.
It was all a lie, what was recorded. It had to be.
"'I was dating him,'" Eri admitted, slightly blushing. It took Hitomi a few seconds to actually say the words. She had to disconnect herself from what was being said; otherwise it would affect her too much. The words had no meaning. It was practice. "'Ah, he was a bit younger than me. We met when I was still in school. He wanted to teach kids with disabilities, so we bonded over sign language. Ruyaki was the one who introduced me to Hitomi-chan."
Eri was shortening things up to avoid reminiscing too much, but she still had a wistful look on her face. Hitomi forced herself to stare down the woman's hands to help focus in the present. When Kusanagi handed Eri her drink, Hitomi chose to fill the silence.
"He was my brother." Lie. "He didn't act strange at all before he disappeared." Lie. "It just happened." Lie. All lies. It was too easy. Much easier talking to strangers when you didn't have to be honest.
"Nii-san and Nee-san were together so long that I started to treat her like my sister," Hitomi said.
That was the truth.
Eri smiled as put her glass down. Hitomi couldn't tell what she was thinking. But Eri had never had a problem with the lies before. The older woman more than likely understood from the perspective of someone that could not speak outside of normal means. Eri needed sign language and Mie-chan to have a voice at all just like Hitomi needed lies to have a voice around others.
"Well that certainly makes sense," Kusanagi said. "At least it does to someone like me. Carry on."
Hitomi took a deep breath to prepare herself. "Go ahead, Nee-san."
The door slammed open. Eri jumped, scattering the beginnings of her sentence. Kusanagi twitched. Hitomi was standing in an instant, body shifting into a defensive stance as she faced the doorway.
The boy—young man? He was so short Hitomi couldn't tell his age—seemed a bit distressed, but serious enough nonetheless. He was wearing green shorts and a white t-shirt, a red jacket wrapped around his waist. A black beanie covered most of his red hair, and a skateboard was tucked under his arm. It took a moment to jog her memory, but Hitomi could recognize him.
"You're that asshole that ran into us outside the ramen shop!"
"Kusanagi-san, is everyone alright?!"
The two teenagers shouted at the same time, causing Eri and Kusanagi to wince in equal unison. Hitomi relaxed a bit; if he referred to the bartender that way, the new arrival was more than likely not a threat. Even so, she was still irritated after the incident at the ramen shop—even if he had apologized, couldn't he look where he was going?
"Yata-chan, what's the matter?" Kusanagi said, looking concerned. Hitomi snickered and mentally filed the nickname for her own use. "As you can see, Anna, our guests, and I are fine. Did something happen?"
"There was report of another blackout on the news," "Yata-chan" explained, his tone more serious than Hitomi would have imagined. "But it wasn't just a blackout this time, though. A woman was found on a building, hurt. Said it looked like electric damage. It definitely sounds like a Strain." He paused and lowered his voice. "It was nearby so I got worried and ran back."
"Well, we didn't see anything." Kusanagi smiled and went to get something from under the bar. "If it's a Strain, though, SCEPTER4's going to be in the area. Things will get complicated, but I still think we should take a look around before they get here. I'd prefer them not causing trouble so close to home." When the bartender stood up straight, he offered a bottle of water to Yata-chan. The other male crossed the bar to get it.
"What's a 'Strain'?" Hitomi asked, not recognizing the English term, just barely not mispronouncing it. Yata-chan looked at her as if noticing the two women for the first time. Even though he had been standing beside them to claim the bottle of water, the boy still jumped back, knocking into one of the stools behind him, face even more red than before.
Wh-what's he so embarrassed for? It's not like I did anything! No wait, he's staring at me… Don't tell me he likes me!
Completely misreading the situation, Hitomi felt her own face heat up as well. Without realizing that she was wrong, the teenager began to think too hard, embarrassing herself into being as mute as her sister. The male teenager spluttered over his words, not being able to get anything else out as well.
Kusanagi and Eri sighed in mutual exasperation. Although their reasons may have been different, they could have also been the same. Hitomi was aware of the situation, but words refused to come out of her throat. Hoping it would help her recover, she took a drink from her ice tea glass.
It didn't work.
"Well, as you can see, Yata-chan, we're all alright," Kusanagi repeated. Face still red, the boy nodded at his leader. "Well you were the one that brought up the question in the first place, so it'll be good to have you here when I ask. Eri-chan, Hitomi-chan, just what exactly do you two intend to do when we find this 'Ruyaki'?"
Hitomi couldn't retort to the casual honorific, let alone yell at Kusanagi for not treating her brother's name with any respect. Even if she was getting angry about it, the words really weren't coming out. It was unusual, considering anger, if anything else failed, was able to open her mouth again in most situations. She smiled back at Eri, shaking her head.
Sorry, Nee-chan, I'm really done for…
Eri placed her glass back on the counter, looking uncomfortable herself. She picked Mie-chan up, squeezing the toy between her fingers. Both Kusanagi and Yata-chan were staring, waiting for an answer. For the other girl's sake, Hitomi tried her best to speak and failed again.
"I guess it can't be helped."
Eri's voice was calm, reassuring beyond anything else. Hitomi smiled as she listened, feeling her nerves start to settle down. Both Kusanagi and Yata-chan started in surprise, which was understandable. As far as they were concerned, Eri was mute—part of Hitomi keeping Mie-chan while the older first made contact with HOMRA was to reduce the chance of them finding the truth on accident.
"What the hell?!" Yata-chan shouted, although it was more out of surprise than anger. Hitomi felt a bit miffed that he had regained the ability to speak first. "You said she was mute, right, Kusanagi-san?!"
"Calm down, Yata-chan, you're being rude," Kusanagi reprimanded. "Considering the fact that she still hasn't opened her mouth yet, even though we supposedly heard her speak, there's something else going on here. Would you care to explain, Eri-chan?"
Eri nodded. "This is Mie-chan," she said, holding up the plush cat in question. Kusanagi kept a straight face, but Yata-chan seemed absolutely dumbfounded.
"Huh?"
"I've only had him for the past few months. Hitomi-chan made him for me," Eri said without hesitating. Yata didn't seem to know which of the two women to gawk at. A light dust of color made it to Hitomi's cheeks. "Well, Ruyaki helped her with some of the craftsmanship, but the important part is what goes inside.
"Hitomi's really good with technology. I really don't understand much of the science, and she's a bit out of commission right now, so you'll have to settle for the minor details. Part of Mie-chan's makeup is based off of brain monitoring technology. All of the brain's actions come from signals from chemicals. By reading these chemicals our body does what we want it to do.
"Mie-chan reads those signals through highly specialized sensors. It's experimental, and highly advanced since it doesn't need to be hooked up to my brain. He can't do much else, but he can give me a voice… and that's all I can really ask for…" Eri hugged the toy to her chest, smiling, a few tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Hitomi reached out and took one of her sister's hands.
Kusanagi nodded a few times. Yata seemed just as confused as before. "That's really amazing," the older of the two said. "I never would have suspected that such a thing could already even exist. Hitomi-chan, you're very talented for your age."
Hitomi ignored the compliment, not looking at the person who had delivered it. Her hand squeezed against Eri's. "Kusanagi-san, Yata-san, weren't you asking about what we wanted to do once we found Ruyaki?"
"That's right," Kusanagi said. Yata gave a fierce nod. His expression was almost dangerous in its determination. "We'll still help you, despite your answer. Just know that our interests may conflict. Compromise will more than likely be required."
"That's fine. Thank you," Eri said. She frowned, sadness reflected in her words. "You've all seen the video. You're the ones that broadcasted it after all. The way the killer was acting… that's not how Ruyaki is. It's so different from the way he acts that I'd say it wasn't him if he hadn't disappeared. I… I don't think that it was really him!"
Through Mie-chan, Eri's voice cracked. It amplified what little noise was coming from her real throat. It was a sound of holding in tears.
"I—no, we want to know what happened," Eri continued. "Ruyaki meant a lot to both Hitomi and me. He was really all we had left. So we want answers. The only real way to get those is to ask him. To find out why he changed so much and left us. And if he doesn't want anything to do with us…"
"We want a chance to say goodbye," Hitomi finished. Her voice could barely pass a whisper, but it was still something. "That's all we want. So Kusanagi-san, Yata-san, please—" Hitomi squeezed her fingers against Eri's again, and they spoke together:
"Please help us."
Yata seemed to be suppressing some emotion of his own, so he only looked to Kusanagi for input. The bartender gave an almost awkward smile. "I thought I already said we would still help you no matter your reasons," he assured. "Not to mention that your reasons are justified. We'd be monsters to turn you down after all that."
Kusanagi pulled an ashtray from under the bar on the counter and placed a cigarette in his mouth. Hitomi, assuming that it was okay, pulled her own pack out of her pocket. She flicked her wrist and took the foremost cigarette between her lips. Kusanagi procured a lighter to set its end alight.
The drag Hitomi was able to take was terribly relaxing.
"I told you my age; are you sure you should be letting a minor smoke, Kusanagi?" she asked with a smirk. It was good to have her voice back.
Kusanagi only shook his head, exhaling a thin line of smoke that widened with his smile. "I started smoking only a little bit later than you," he said. "It'd be silly to call you out on it. But that's not really the point here."
The final sentence established a terse silence. Eri smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Even Mie-chan appeared to be sad in the woman's arms. "I'll take it that our interests actually do conflict, Kusanagi-san?"
The bartender's smile dropped a bit but not completely. "Only in one respect, but I think we can definitely deal with it." He tapped his cigarette on the edge of the ashtray. "Before I say anything, you need to understand that the person that was killed in the video was one of our members."
Eri winced, and Hitomi felt her stomach flip over. Even with Kusanagi's careful wording, it was still unsettling to hear that her brother had been responsible for someone's death.
No. "It's not him," Hitomi forced out. "Something had to have happened. Nii-san would never kill anyone."
Yata scoffed beside her. "Then explain why Totsuka-san's dead," he said. Hitomi felt her teeth grind into the end of her cigarette. If she wasn't careful, she would probably bite the filter in half. "If that's not your brother then who is it?"
"Not now, Yata," Kusanagi said, dropping off the friendly honorific. The teenager backed up a bit but didn't stop glaring. "They said part of their reason was to find that out, right?" Yata folded his arms across his chest, expression nearing a pout. It didn't make Hitomi any less angry at him. Eri placed a soothing hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"Assuming that the killer and the brother are different," Kusanagi continued, "managing this will be easy. Worst case scenario, the two are the same. In that event, we will let you two talk with him first. However, after that, you'll understand if we choose to take him into our own hands."
"So what will you do then?" Hitomi asked. Eri grimaced.
"We'll interrogate him. We're searching for answers, too, after all. And once we get them—"
"We'll kill him," Yata said, radiating anger. "I'll kill him. I'll kill him as many times as it takes. I'll make him pay for what he did to Totsuka-san. For what he did to all of us. We've all suffered and he needs to pay for every ounce of it."
"Even at the price for making others feel the same thing?" Hitomi snarled. "It hurt you because he was one of your members, right? Almost like family? Well he's my brother and Nee-san's boyfriend. You'll just be hurting us the same as you, right?! Fuck that! If you do that then you'll be no fucking different!"
"What the hell was that, bitch?!" Yata stood up, stepping towards her. "Don't pretend like you understand anything that happened to us!"
Hitomi let out a bark of a laugh, putting out her half-smoked cigarette. "You wanna go, Yata-chan?" She stood up as well, retaining her height advantage over the boy. Getting into a fight would blow off way more steam than a smoke. "Then let's fuckin' go!"
"Before you two start to destroy my bar," Kusanagi interrupted, "why don't you put your energy into doing something useful?"
Um, cliffhanger I guess?
Thanks to Sleepyface for your review! I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long for an update!
I really enjoy writing Nezuto. And Hitomi. And Hitomi's point of view. And Hitomi and Yata in the same room. The latter is terribly fun and I can't get enough of it~.
I'm not really sure of when the next chapter of this will come out. I haven't worked much on this story much lately, but I'd like to correct that since I enjoy writing it. If you want news, feel free to check out the links on my profile to my blog thing where I talk about writer things on occasion.
Next time, Eri, Hitomi, and Misaki put their energy into something useful, checking in with Minenai, and a trip to Ashinaka Gakuen! Please look forward to it!
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