Reconstruction

By: Aviantei

Chapter Thirteen

Refuel

"Ah! Welcome home, Kuronosuke!"

The smell of fried rice was the most prominent thing, given that the store was in full dinner swing. One of the tables had been commandeered by Neko, who was close to meowing loudly in an attempt to catch his attention. Yatogami Kuroh smiled and took his seat by her. Looking at the crowd, he was glad to have the day off. "You shouldn't be so loud," he chided, knowing the little good it would actually do.

"Nya! Find anything good today?" Neko responded as if she hadn't heard him at all. "I looked alllll over downtown again, but I didn't see anything."

Kuroh felt his spirits drop at that, even as the chef placed a plate in front of him. Given that Kuroh and Neko's former residence with Shiro wasn't really an option anymore, the owner had been kind enough to give them a place to stay, on the condition that Kuroh helped work in the kitchens. It wasn't a bad arrangement, and it gave Neko the option to look around in her cat form throughout the day, but it couldn't make up for the fact that, despite it being a month, there hadn't been a sign of Shiro.

Or, rather, Adolf K Weisman, the Silver King.

No. Even still, he's Shiro. Neko had thought the same, so they were still on the lookout for their friend.

"I found a potential lead," he said, keeping his voice as calm as possible. Neko stood up, meowing loudly, and Kuroh had to tug on the cat's arm to get her to sit properly. "Listen, I don't know what good it will do, but we're going to need external help. I have an offer, but we need money, and what I make here isn't enough." Even though the owner had been kind enough to give Kuroh pay on top of housing and food, it was meager, and nowhere near enough to pay for what they needed.

Neko had a contemplative look on her face, eyebrows scrunched together. "Hm, humans are so weird. Shiro said we needed that money stuff for snacks, too. Ah, but Shiro's worth a lot more than snacks, so it must take a whoooole lot!" Kuroh supposed it didn't really matter what means Neko used to reach that conclusion so long as she understood. "So what're we gonna do, Kuronosuke?"

He could see it by just looking at her; Neko wanted to see Shiro again, but she was worried they wouldn't be able to do it. "We have three days, starting tomorrow," he said. "On the third day, we don't have any choice but to show the money or find another way. But we're not giving up even if we fail. I won't stop until we see him again." Kuroh smiled, hoping it was reassuring. "So let's think about it. Show we're worthy of being his clansmen."

Neko's eyes regained their sparkle. "Right!" she chirped. "Neko will work hard by making sure to eat lots!" As if to show her resolve, Neko devoured her plate within seconds, raising her hand with her voice. "Hey, Myaster! Could I have some more please!"

Unable to hide his soft chuckle, Kuroh turned to his own dinner, clapping his hands together in a small prayer. "Itadakimasu."

Himura Nigei found that coming back to dinner made by Fukune was probably the best pick me up he could ask for. Covered with bruises and aches from getting his ass handed to him by Fushimi was plenty of reason to warrant a pick me up, and he managed to wake up and wander to the dining room to the smell of Fukune's home cooking.

I have no words for this other than a blessing.

Dinner with Yggdrasil was a funny thing. Growing up, Nigei had gone through the whole deal of sit-down dinners, right-on-the-dot-seven-PM every night. The Green Clan, on the other hand, took a completely casual approach, a la their king. Their dining room was more like a small café, a few small tables here and there, a buffet set up on one end, and preparations for food really only started once at least three people had complained about being hungry. It was a completely different scenario, but Nigei loved it.

"Hey, Himura, you're up and running!"

"Pff, Togami's gonna be pissed she wasn't the first one to wake up."

"Guess Fushimi sure is something, huh? To keep a monster like that down."

"Nigei!" Nigei gave polite nods to his clansmen, but really the person he wanted to talk to was Arita. They were closest in terms of friends, and Nigei worked on filling his plate as his friend came by. "Listen, I'm sorry about that. I'm not really combat ready, so I couldn't do anything. Man, I'm the worst…"

Nigei shook his head, despite his muscles' protests. You're just going to have to get over me moving like a normal person. "Dude, it's okay," he said, conflicted over just which entre he should chose. Unable to, he picked up a small portion of both. "You came along as communication and support. None of us expected you to hop into combat."

"Yeah, I know…" Arita sighed, but showed off his own plate, already filled. "Come on, let's get some food in your stomach. You won't get better otherwise."

Nigei had to agree with that. Besides, he wanted to dig into Fukune's food composed of pure bliss. He scanned the room, finding Fukune seated at the back of the room, Tarashi half asleep and picking at his food. Arita seemed to notice his gaze, and Nigei shook his head. Making Arita sit with Tarashi for Nigei's own personal feelings was just rude. "Forget it, man," he said, to his friend's visible relief. "Let's just stay by the food. I'm starving."

They found the closest table. Really, even with just three people missing, the room started to feel a bit empty, but that was probably because there were so few of them. It was part of the reason they were so busy trying to find new members. Not that recruitment was an easy task.

"Man, what are we gonna do about this?" Arita asked, managing to look depressed even as he bit into his share of sukiyaki. His own mouth full, Nigei raised an eyebrow. "I mean, we have a lot to deal with, don't we? I know Fukune-san and Tarashi-san are acting the same as they always do, but we're not gonna have much luck if the Red and Blue Clans are getting at each other's throats like that again."

Nigei grimaced at the reminder of his own still healing bruises. Fushimi hadn't been messing around when he took them down. "Yeah, this is gonna suck." Considering that Yggdrasil's abilities weren't as nearly as useful in combat as the other clans', he wasn't looking forward to a brawl like what had happened at Ashinaka Gakuen not too long ago. "Still, we're not useless, you know. Once I'm all good and full, I'm gonna get to work on seeing just what's going down."

Arita's eyes lit up a bit. "You're gonna hack something? Who are you going after?"

"You make it sound like I'm just going to target one of them."

"Hoo, damn, Himura, you're so cool!"

Nigei chuckled a bit, even as he looked away. Arita's enthusiasm was a bit too much for him sometimes; it was embarrassing to get praised so much in public. "It's nothing too impressive. As a hacker, I have a long way to go." No matter how much he learned, he always felt like he was falling behind. "But I'll put what I can to good use. Just you wait; I'll bring back some good intel for sure."

Despite Nigei's best efforts, Arita was still looking at him like some starstruck idiot. "Like I said: you're so freaking cool."

Nigei scowled, even though he didn't mean it. "Just shut up and eat before I tell Fukune-san you don't like her cooking."

"I'm eating; I'm eating!"

As a dormitory school, Ashinaka Gakuen's cafeteria was open for all mealtimes, but Kukuri had always enjoyed cooking her own meals. Usually, she'd share with her friends, or get together to make a group hotpot, but she had decided to eat on her own today. The encounter with Fujioka earlier in the day had left her feeling uneasy, and she wanted some time to try and get her thoughts in line.

So, she'd decided to cook.

Changed into her casual clothes of a long-sleeved top and comfortable sweatpants, Kukuri worked on unloading the necessary ingredients from the fridge to the countertop. Thanks to the limited space in her room, she couldn't store too much, and she'd need to go grocery shopping soon, but she had more than enough to make a simple dinner with leftovers for the next day.

She tried to lose herself in the rhythm of preparation, of washing and chopping the vegetables. She also set up the rice in its cooker, though she had to stop herself from overloading the portion size. She would be the only one that would end up eating this, so she didn't need to go overboard; even though she knew that, her hands moved almost on instinct to make more.

I'm doing it again.

Kukuri gritted her teeth and focused on the task at hand. There it was again, that feeling that she was missing something, brought on by her dreams. Even though she knew they were just figments of her imagination, she felt like the people from her dreams should have been there, sharing this space with her. Just thinking about it made her feel unbearably lonely.

Despite her internal struggles, Kukuri managed to successfully make her stir fry and sit down at her small study table in the middle of her room. She almost mechanically moved her chopsticks from bowl to mouth; it wasn't that the food tasted bad, just that she felt like she lost her appetite.

Why do I feel so uneasy after talking to Fujioka-san? No, no, it wasn't Fujioka-san, it was…

The name from the memorial in the woods came to mind, and Kukuri could feel the throb of a headache start to come on. Sighing, she pulled herself up to get a drink and some painkillers, and she noticed her PDA lit up on the countertop where she'd left it. Sumika had messaged her, asking for tips on their homework, and Kukuri typed out a response. Once she hit send, she didn't put her PDA down.

I don't know why, but I feel like that memorial has something to do with my dreams. I'm probably just imagining it, but…

By all circumstances, she should just let it go. It wouldn't do any good to start digging up information when she wasn't even sure it was relevant. But on the other hand, she couldn't just let it go, because there was a chance that maybe it was all real.

That maybe she was missing something important.

Her fingers shaking, Kukuri pulled up her web browser and slowly typed in the characters for Suoh Mikoto.

Seri had never been a huge fan of riding in taxis, but sometimes you just had to make exceptions. The experience was more mentally trying than usual thanks to the long and frustrating day she'd had, but there wasn't time to rest. A critical witness in the Strain case she was in charge of tracking had vanished into thin air, and she was running out of leads along with patience.

Besides, where she was going, she couldn't take a SCEPTER4 vehicle.

The cab finally pulled to a halt, and Seri paid the driver, stepping out of the vehicle without waiting for her change. Though she'd changed out of her uniform, she always felt out of place coming to the HOMRA bar. She was counting on intel that most of the Red Clan was out investigating to come here. Even so, there were risks, especially with what had happened to Suoh Mikoto less than a month ago.

Chasing away the thoughts that were still plaguing her mind, Seri kept a cool expression as she opened the door to the bar. With the sun setting outside, the artificial lighting inside seemed almost too bright for a moment, even though the atmosphere was still relaxed. After giving a quick sweep of the area, it seemed that Kushina Anna wasn't present, which worked out in her favor.

"Are you just planning on standing in the doorway, Seri-chan?" Izumo asked from behind the counter, not even looking the slightest bit perturbed that the second-in-command of HOMRA's biggest rival had just walked in. He never did, and yet it surprised Seri every time how he could just act so casual about it. Izumo waved her in and turned around, working on fixing up a drink from the bar. "Just because you didn't let me know you were coming doesn't mean I can't be a good host. What'll you have?"

Seri shook her head, even as she crossed the floor and sat atop a barstool. "Nothing today. I can't stay for long." She didn't bother to add how Izumo shouldn't have even let her in the door. She didn't have as much to do with the fate of the former Red King as Munakata did, yet guilt still twisted at her stomach. Izumo paused mid retrieval of a glass but filled it up with ice anyway. Honestly, Seri thought, but she tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice. "If you're willing, I'd like to ask you for some information."

Seri produced her PDA, which projected a holographic image of the missing victim of the Strain attack. Since it came from some security footage, it wasn't the best quality, but it was easy to make out the woman's pale green hair and sharp facial features. Izumo finished up Seri's drink and flawlessly slid it onto the counter before lowering his sunglasses to give the image a thorough look over.

"Should I know this girl?" he asked after a few moments. Disappointment crept up on Seri that she'd miscalculated, but she didn't let it get to her. There was a reason she'd gotten the ridiculous moniker of "Ice Queen," and her poker face was part of that. Izumo straightened up, an apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry, Seri-chan, but I don't recognize her. She's never come around the bar at the very least."

"I see." Seri dispelled the hologram, putting on a faint smile. "I thought you might know something since one of your own decided to investigate the place where she was attacked by a Strain and got into a tussle with one of ours. Considering your current position, it would be odd if you didn't know something about it, yes?"

She'd intentionally brought up Izumo's assumed leadership in an attempt to through him off, but Izumo simply shrugged. "Well, I didn't expect it to turn into a scuffle when I sent those kids out there, but I do happen to know a bit of what you're talking about. But you see, we have some interest in that, too." Lowering himself to eye level, Izumo folded his arms and widened his smile. "How about you tell me what the little incident over there was about, and we'll call it even."

Sitting in her room, Hisa took slow bites of her dinner. It, like everything else in the place she'd been taken, was deceptively normal. She had a complete meal of rice, soup, and fish, and they'd even brought her some strawberry Calpico to drink. The liquid inside its bottle was a pale pink not unlike the rest of the décor in her room, fit with enough frills and squishy plush toys to make a pastel paradise. The only thing that seemed out of place was the hole she'd worked into the wall, which connected to the next room over.

The room where Anso was.

In many ways, Anso was just like Hisa was. They were both young, roughly elementary school age. They were also both captives, subject to rough experiments that were beyond painful. It was because of those experiments that she hadn't heard a word from Anso since that afternoon; he'd come back from his "sessions" completely passed out. He hadn't even woken up for dinner.

It's just boring sitting in here all by myself, though…

Hisa pouted as she took her next bite of rice. She'd been so excited to have someone else to talk to, and now she wouldn't even get the chance before being carted off for the evening. Based on the state Anso had come back in, it wouldn't be a pleasant night, either—not that it ever was. She'd been hoping for a real conversation before she went. No matter how much her captors surrounded her with stuffed toys, it wasn't the same as real company.

Hisa stared down the wall as she ate, her ears pricked for the slightest noise to let her know her neighbor was awake. But nothing happened as she ate through her entire dinner in silence, and the first sound to enter the room was not from Anso, but from the door opening.

In the door stood a man with purple hair tied back in a ponytail, oval glasses sitting on his nose, and a camera hanging from his neck. Based on what the doctor had said, his name was something like Fujioka. He held up a cup of pudding, along with a plastic spoon. "Looks like you finished your dinner, hime-sama. How about some dessert?"

Hisa didn't say anything, but she accepted the pudding anyways. Fujioka only chuckled. The pudding was chocolate and overwhelmingly sweet, but it was going to be the best thing she could find in the day. Once she'd all but licked the cup clean, Fujioka chuckled, even snapping a picture of the process before taking Hisa by the hand.

"Such a good girl, hime-sama. Let's keep that attitude up for Sugawara-chan, shall we?"

Hisa didn't bother to say anything. It wouldn't matter. She just nodded her head and followed as the door to her room slammed shut behind them.

[Author's Notes]

Chapter thirteen: In which several meals are had across the city.

I'm very much ready for Thanksgiving break and the upcoming holidays in general.

The next chapter will release in December for my fic anniversary celebration, so please look forward to it!

-Avi

[11.18.2019]