Hoshimi Miyabi heard her cell phone beep quietly on the garden table as she sprinted past.
Was it Wise?
Miyabi almost stopped to check, almost slowed her pace- but she shoved the temptation aside and refocused on her running. She zoomed past the table at a full sprint, her mind refocused on her exercise routine. She forgot the ringing phone, forgot Wise, and drowned out the world in her litany: Endurance and strength to wield the body. The body to wield the sword. The sword to slay the evil.
A day of discipline began with a morning of discipline. Mother had said so, and father continued to say so. Her three hours of exercises would end in exactly five minutes. Then she would bathe and get ready for breakfast. By 9:30 am, Miyabi needed to complete breakfast and get into the family car to go to headquarters where she was to arrive by 10; just like on every non-crisis day that was not preceded by a crisis day.
The routine of daily life.
Miyabi sprinted along the trail she had long since worn into the earth of the Hoshimi Estate's acre of gardens. It was a snaking path that she'd developed on a whim, cutting through bamboo, over the various little pond bridges, past flowers and trees and little wooden fountains that filled with water and fell to stones with soft, zen-inducing clacks.
The acreage was a veritable living museum of preserved ancient gardening traditions and was rumored to be a literal utopia of various semi-metaphysical philosophies of landscaping feng-shui. But the outside world could only drool over the occasional photo of the Hoshimi gardens found in puff magazine pieces about Miyabi's father. The place itself existed as a Void Hunter's private training ground and: No, there were no tours- and No, you could not come in to have a look. It was absurd to even think to ask.
Absurdity was becoming more common in the world, in Miyabi's opinion. The biggest example? There was an entire political faction in the city that argued to preserve Hollow Zero! Protect it! As a valuable clean energy source, of all things! Like mice snuggling with a cat to keep warm, they are!
Miyabi literally did not command the vocabulary to describe how she felt about such people and such arguments- but she had surges of emotion in her heart that made her fists clench and her teeth grind together. Something deep within Miyabi wanted to tear all such people apart, burn their houses down around them, have them hold their dying loved ones in their hands so they could, in that poignant moment, comprehend their own absurdity. And the chance to deliver such a lesson…
Heroes are not born to destroy, Miyabi.
Miyabi's foot didn't quite find the path. She stumbled mid-stride. The rhythm of her breathing shattered as she gasped in shock. In her years of running this route, she'd never once misstepped- till now.
That was so awesome, Miyabi! You should have seen the faces of all those people in there!
Miyabi recovered and ran on, redoubling her effort. She could not stumble. She must not stop. There were people to protect, and that was accomplished by killing the enemy. Maybe heroes were not born to destroy, but maybe, Void Hunter Miyabi was.
Miyabi sprinted past the reed mounds and arrived back at the garden table, her starting point. Her heart was pumping steadily, as it should be- none of the wanton excitement she had experienced yesterday on her truncated date with Wise the Proxy. She checked her athletic watch. She'd finished two seconds faster than yesterday.
…?
Two whole seconds?!
She stopped in her tracks and rechecked her start time. No mistake. She'd shaved off two seconds. In a single day! Miyabi always pushed herself to be a bit faster every day, and she was usually happy with two-hundredths of a second in improvement. And now… two entire seconds faster than she'd ever completed the run in all her life?!
Had she eaten something different? No. Slept differently? No. Nothing in her life was different. Except. Except the time she had spent yesterday with Wise. Was that it? But how could a brief two hours in Lumina Square have any impact on her morning run?
In this pondering over these mystery seconds and their source, Miyabi had entirely forgotten about her cell phone's quiet signal. She picked it up, checking for any sign of a Hollow crisis. It was just a text. Nothing official.
…who was it from?
Miyabi's heart suddenly thundered in her chest quickly. A text from Wise! She pressed the phone to her bosom, the sweat-chilled fabric of her workout top pressing to her breastbone. She looked around subconsciously as she clutched it. Was anyone nearby? Were any of her handlers watching her?
…why did that matter? She answered the phone all the time! She was the chief of a H.A.N.D. section! Was she not?!
Well… the figure-head chief, in all honesty. Tsukishiro Yanagi was the de-facto administrator and leader of Section Six in every aspect except in field operations. Miyabi was chief and Yanagi deputy chief because the H.A.N.D. brass wanted the prestige of having a Void Hunter at the helm. And that only so they could petition the government for more funding. Miyabi knew it. Yanagi knew it, too- and probably had known much sooner than Miyabi. But as neither of them were in the job for glory or money, they made do with no complaints. Let the brass play politics- there were hollows to destroy… who held the title of chief and deputy chief was immaterial.
Miyabi took a deep breath and flipped open her phone like an adult woman who had zero reason to hide her activity from her father's lap dogs. Because that's who-! And what-! She was! Right? Right!
She opened Wise's text.
Wise: I dreamed of you..
For the second time in as many days, Miyabi's heart shot into her throat. Her pulse thundered and she worried that she might have made an audible sort of squeaking noise. She again checked the surrounding greenery and saw no one. She was alone, thank goodness.
She took a deep, calming breath- employing one of the techniques of her martial training to control her heartbeat and keep herself calm during battle. Another deep breath. She read the text again.
Wise: I dreamed of you..
But- what did that mean, exactly? Surely it was a good sign that Wise was dreaming of her. That meant he was thinking of her, right? Obviously. But… people dreamed all sorts of things. Including some very… very steamy things. Miyabi had experienced steamy dreams occasionally these last few years; and recently, much more intensely so as the warmth of spring intensified. So, it was logical that other people would have steamy dreams, too….
But could Wise? Have had? A steamy dream about her?!
Thudthudthudthudthud!
A deep breath.
Miyabi thought she was being a fool and quashed the sudden vague fantasies that resembled romantic movies she'd seen. Surely Wise's dreams were not so perverse as her own! Because he was a nice and respectable person! But either way, it meant that…
She noticed the 'Message Read' symbol on the text history. Oh no! Wise would know she'd now seen his text! She had to respond, didn't she!? Was he getting worried about why she wasn't responding? Would he think she didn't care?! She had to type something!
But what?! What did it mean: he dreamed of her?! Well… that was a good thing... right? And a good thing was meant as a compliment, right? Yes! A compliment! Miyabi knew how to respond to compliments!
She typed a response and hit send.
Miyabi: Thank you.
The text-status symbol danced, and then it went 'read'. Wise had read it immediately. Miyabi bit her lip.
Oh no! Was it enough? Would Wise be offended if she only said that? After all, you thanked people even for gifts you didn't actually want. Would Wise think she didn't want the knowledge of his dreams? Honestly, now… she did. What was the dream? Was it steamy? And if so, what did she do with him in the dream?
Should she ask that?
No! That would be too forward. Dreams were private things. Just because Wise said he had a dream didn't mean she could ask about it, right? And it probably wasn't even a steamy one, anyway! Oh, she was just being silly.
Miyabi took a deep breath. If she could face down rabid fans, politicians with ulterior motives, and incompetent service people, she could figure this out. The obvious thing to do was to just ask Wise. He was understanding and kind. If she wasn't responding properly, he would smile that sheepish smile of his and advise her on what was proper.
Miyabi added another message.
Miyabi: Should I say thank you?
Miyabi hit send. But… if Wise's message was meant as a compliment, wasn't she supposed to reciprocate? She should say she dreamed of him? But she didn't. She didn't dream of anything at all last night- or if she did, she didn't remember it now. Would it hurt Wise's feelings if she didn't dream of him? But should she also be honest? This was the start of… of a relationship… wasn't it? People said honesty was the best way to exist in a relationship. So it was her duty to tell Wise the truth, too.
Miyabi typed another message: I didn't dream of you. But the half-instant before she hit send, Wise's response arrived:
Wise: So I'd like to meet up today
Miyabi: I didn't dream of you.
Ice hit Miyabi's gut. Oh no! That looked like a refusal now! That's not what she intended! Oh no! Oh no!
Miyabi: But I'd also like to see you
Miyabi: Is there somewhere you'd like to go?
Miyabi took deep breaths, again employing the calming technique. What was she doing? This was just texts with another person. She texted people all the time! Well.. she texted Yanagi a few times a week. But that was pretty much it. Her father didn't text. And friends… well… they were busy and she was busy. Who had time to text? Even Wise probably needed to move on to other-
Wise: How about a stroll by the sea?
A stroll by the sea? Walking beside Wise as the salty air blew in from the coast? The sound of waves hissing and gulls calling? That did-
"Lady Hoshimi?" called a voice. It was one of her maids.
"Ye- yes?!" shouted back Miyabi, tearing her eyes away from her phone.
"My lady! Your bath!" called back the voice.
Miyabi blinked and checked the time. 845! She was late! She should be getting OUT of the bath by now! Oh! She needed to get moving!
Miyabi: Thanks.
Miyabi shut her phone and took a step towards the house, then stopped. Wait. She'd just said thanks! That didn't give Wise an answer! Miyabi reopened her phone frantically.
Miyabi: I also want to go to the seaside.
Wise: Then let's take a walk along the seaside in Port Elpis today.
Wise: Just tell me when you are free.
Miyabi's heart thudded into her throat again as she closed her phone and began jogging towards the house and her bath. Today?! Today! Today she was going to have a second date with Wise in as many days!
As she jogged, and without noticing the fact herself, Miyabi actually skipped for the first time in nearly ten years.
"Chief, are you making up imaginary enemies again?"
Miyabi blinked and realized she was staring at a book and not seeing it. She looked up to find Yanagi's tall, voluptuous form looming, and there was a look of exasperated concern on her face. Miyabi closed the book. It was a bestiary of known ethereal varieties, and Miyabi remembered she'd nearly memorized this one already.
"No," said Miybai, setting the book down on her nearly empty desk.
Her desk was always empty, because a desk was for office work, and Miyabi was nearly useless at such tasks. Yanagi had spent so much time correcting and revising Miyabi's early efforts at administrative duties that now Yanagi simply took all the work for herself and only came to Miyabi for a signature or the occasional decision.
"I was thinking about a man," confessed Miyabi, who had been daydreaming about how she herself would appear in Wise's dreams- steamy and non-steamy versions.
Yanagi stiffened, a serious frown suddenly on her face, and she pushed her glasses up her nose, the office's harsh fluorescent light causing them to gleam silver for a moment.
"Then, Chief… we need tea! And red bean buns!"
"Yes," said Miyabi. "Let's go to the cafe."
"Right!" said Yanagi.
There was nothing to do in the office, anyway. The aftermath of the big operation at the companion hollow near Port Elpis, the cover-up surrounding Bringer, and all of that was still reverberating through H.A.N.D. command. Committees were being formed, and response committees by PubSec and the New Eridu City Administration wer being formed. Pundits were yapping on the television, the radio, and the internet. And, of course: T.O.P.S. and the press were circling it all like gulls about a plate of french fries.
Miyabi hated all of it, and she had delivered a rare directive to her people: Say nothing and stay out of the circus. The drivel of politics was the main reason she hated it, but another reason was that it distracted the entire practical mechanism that was H.A.N.D. and the anti-Hollow branches of the military and PubSec. No new operations. No new attacks on the hollows. Nothing would happen for at least a month! Because everyone needed to yap and yap about what may or may not have happened in the last one. Who cares?! Whatever happened, happened. And when it came to slaying ethereals and traitors, there was no reason to stop moving forward and making more things happen!
Yanagi spoke on her cell phone as they walked from their office to the H.A.N.D. campus cafe. She was giving empty, say-nothing answers to some PubSec lieutenant who was obviously fishing for some irregularity to use to shift blame for the entire embarrassing Bringer situation on Section 6. The man was hunting for a promotion, and he must have said something particularly offensive because Yanagi suddenly stopped in her tracks and her empty hand clenched into a fist.
"No. I will not speculate about your wild fantasies, Lieutenant Toyoma. You have made me quite angry and I am going to disconnect this call."
Yanagi's thumb jammed on the disconnect button with uncharacteristic force, then she immediately began calling another number.
"Hello? Yes, this is Deputy Chief Tsukishiro Yanagi, of Section Six. Yes. I have a personnel recommendation for your Outer Rim hollow survey next week? Yes. Lieutenant Taki Toyoma of PubSec Precinct 2. No. No. Just cite the Conscription Law and send them a RC-Form. They can't say no. Right. Thank you, Angela. Bye."
Miyabi waited while Yanagi closed her phone and took a few calming breaths. The deputy chief was not a vengeful person by nature, at least not in Miyabi's estimation; but Yanagi had advised Miyabi that in office politics: one was sometimes forced to dole out consequences to those who displeased you, otherwise they would walk all over you again and again.
"Don't those outer rim surveys take three weeks?" said Miyabi.
"Yes, I believe they do," said Yanagi, turning back to Miyabi and her faux professional smile was plastered back onto her face. "And when the participants come back, they have renewed appreciation for plumbing and hot showers."
She was mad. Very mad. That made Miyabi morbidly curious. "What did he ask?"
Yanagi took a deep breath, looked around them, and then leaned in. "He insinuated that you and Inspector Bringer were involved in an illicit relationship! Obviously with the angle of making it all out to be some lover's spat!"
Miyabi blinked. "How would that explain anything?"
Yanagi's long legs began moving again. "It wouldn't! But people would be more interested in the scandal than the event, and your face would be all over the news instead of the officials who promoted and sponsored Bringer! You would be the story! The beautiful Void Hunter who led a good man astray, or something preposterous!"
"Beautiful?" said Miyabi. Wise had said she was cute, and that he smiled when he looked at her. And now Yanagi said she was beautiful.
Yanagi gave her a look over her shoulder. It was the silly-question look, which meant that Yanagi was saying that Miyabi was beautiful. But of course she would say so. She was a friend. A friend could not say otherwise.
Meanwhile, Wise was…
Miyabi tried her best to describe what Wise was as she drank tea and ate sweet buns with Yanagi at the little indoor cafe. Based on Yanagi's probing questions, Miyabi suspected that she was not doing a very good job of it. Regardless, Yanagi seemed to be enjoying witnessing the effort.
"He found me in the crowd and led me out," said Miyabi.
"Really? How did he do that?" said Yanagi.
"He took my hand and held it," said Miyabi.
"Aaand… How did it feel?"
"It was smooth. And soft. I liked it."
Yanagi smiled. But when Miyabi explained how she had hit the baseball into the side of the building, Yanagi frowned.
"That was you, Chief? I saw that building on the news this morning. People are blaming some unknown bear thiren…"
And then it was time to tell Yanagi about Wise's texts this morning. "Here. Look. He texted me today, too."
Miyabi pushed her phone towards Yanagi who eagerly picked it up, adjusted her glasses, and frowned critically as she began reading.
"Dreamed of you?!" said Yanagi. "What does that mean? What kind of dream?"
Miyabi tried to suppress her disappointment. So Yanagi had no idea, either. "I don't know. I suppose will ask him."
"Well," said Yanagi, sliding back the phone and regaining her tea cup. "Well. Were it anyone else, I would not like that text to you this morning. He dreamed of you? Who says that to someone who is not their girlfriend? But… that Proxy isn't exactly a stranger, is he? We've gotten out of a few tough situations thanks to him…"
"Yes," said Miyabi, her mind recalling the moment when Wise helped her resheathe her rebellious sword. If he hadn't been there? If he hadn't done that?...
"And he doesn't seem the type to advertise that he's having lewd thoughts about you…" said Yanagi, more to herself. "So the dream is probably innocent, and the text, too."
"Lewd thoughts?" said Miyabi. "You mean like a steamy dream?"
Yanagi froze and looked at her for a moment in silence, a small blush on her cheeks. "Yes, chief. Like a steamy dream."
"Yes, I considered that possibility, also," said Miyabi, proud that she had arrived at the same conclusion as the genius Yanagi.
"And that didn't give you pause? That he maybe was… having steamy dreams of you?"
"No. No pause," said Miyabi, trying to recall her own emotions from this morning. Her heart had thumped in excitement. "More the opposite effect, I think."
"W- what!? Chief!"
"What?" said Miyabi, perplexed. Why did Yanagi seem so shocked?
"Oh," Yanagi seemed to see something in Miyabi's expression and blushed, looked thoughtful, and backed off in her chair. She drank her tea thoughtfully and watched as Miyabi drank from her own cup, too.
A silence stretched between them.
"When will you see him again?" said Yanagi, finally.
"Today. After work," said Miyabi. "I just need to sit at that desk for a few more hours."
Yanagi pursed her lips and her eyes traveled around the cafe for a moment. "How much leave do you have saved up, Chief?"
Leave? Time off? Miyabi wasn't sure. She didn't really pay any attention to that sort of thing. "I don't know. Why?"
"Well," said Yanagi. "We both know there won't be any operations for a while, and there is nothing at all to do today. Why not use your leave and go to the seaside? Relax for once. Live life. Enjoy some self-care."
Miyabi blinked at the concept. Relax? Self-care? Don't be at work…? What if there was a hollow crisis?
Well: she was probably closer to the more volatile companion hollows at Port Elpis than she was here at H.A.N.D. headquarters… so in a way, being at the seaside put her in a more efficient action-response location. And there wasn't really anything for her to do at her desk, anyway. And- well-
…why not?
"All right, Yanagi," said Miyabi. "I'll do that."
She took out her phone and began typing a message to Wise.
"Chief. What do you plan to wear? On this seaside date?" said Yanagi.
Miyabi paused her typing and looked at Yanagi's concerned expression. "The clothing you picked out for me for yesterday, I suppose. It's still clean. I can just wear it again."
"Chief!"
"What?"
"No!"