For a short time, Michiru's thought process continuously went back and forth. On one hand, mild joy filled her when Bansai agreed to have a conversation with her this evening. The other hand, though, was the fact that she couldn't tell Mika. No way could she do it without her sister insisting she'd stay home.
Mika arrived back shortly after Michiru finished messaging Bansai. While she still told her twin the reason for her lack of sleep, the only fragment of her nightmare she mentioned were the cadavers of their parents. Mika was fine with the brief answer. She'd heard this nightmare many times before, so Michiru not going into more detail wasn't a huge deal.
When the sun set in the horizon for the evening, Michiru slid her feet in her sandals.
"You're going on a walk at night again?" Mika asked, folding her arms over her chest.
Michiru let out a sigh. "Yes, but at least it's not that late at night."
Mika pursed her lips; soon saying, "That's true…"
"Mika, I'm an adult. I know what I'm doing."
Michiru scolded herself, Yeah, says the woman who unintentionally sent Bansai a text, all because I was too impatient to wait until my vision cleared up.
Gradually loosening her arms, Mika faltered, "All right, I won't stop you. Just be careful."
A smile played on Michiru's lips. "I know. I'll be back in a little while." With that, she exited her home, shutting the door behind her.
Michiru said nothing throughout her personal trail towards the boat Bansai mentioned. The most she did was check and mutter the address he texted. As soon as her destination got closer, her body somehow heated as the sound of her heart beating thumped in her eardrums.
She thought back on one of the messages from Bansai.
"'I believe this is a great opportunity.'"
Lowering a brow, Michiru wondered, So Bansai planned on messaging me, anyway? If so, then it seems I overreacted.
Not much longer went by before spotting the boat. A faint light illuminated the room inside.
"He must be here already," Michiru guessed, speaking for the first time since leaving her house. "Well...here I go."
She forced every fiber of her legs to go forward, ordering herself multiple times to not halt until fully arriving. The woman quickened her pace the moment one foot of hers' pressed against the board between the concrete and the edge of the small boat.
Before she was aware, her figure stood in front of a pair of doors. Michiru strained to ease her nerves, but her body apparently refused to cooperate with her mind. In fact, her focus shifted towards her frozen body rather than her upcoming meeting with Bansai.
Am I seriously nervous to the point of being as still as a tree?!
"Come in."
The calm, masculine voice from inside snapped her from her muddled state. Shaking her head, Michiru tugged the tips of her fingers into the handle before pushing to the other side. There, she witnessed the musician across the room, legs crossed. Her lips curved downwards when spotting the headphones still over his ears.
How did he hear me? Were my footsteps tense?
The second time she shook her head did she take two steps into the boat before shutting the door behind. Sounds of metal strings plucked by a tool filled Michiru's ears, the tip of one of them twitching.
It's been a while since I last listened to a shamisen being played.
A subconscious smile tugged on her features as she slipped her feet from the footwear.
"I take it you enjoy this music."
Bansai's assumption brought her out of her brief and light trance.
Blinking multiple times and holding her usual crooked smile, Michiru admitted while scratching the back of her head, "I do. It has a rather beautiful sound."
Pausing, she asked herself, Did I say that out loud? I mean, the music really is beautiful, but I'm here...well, unintentionally here to talk to Bansai.
The woman took a few more steps before kneeling on the floor, her legs underneath her bottom.
"Say…" Michiru started, taking little time to make out her first question, "...you haven't told your crew about you seeing me, have you?"
"I don't bring up irrelevant information towards the Kiheitai," He said, sliding his fingers on the strings as the bachi brushed them as well.
Michiru was sure her whole body went white while a heavy aura rested on her head.
He's saying I'm irrelevant?
"That's good, I guess," She replied, sensing the color filling back.
"However, we're not discussing the Kiheitai." Bansai went to change the conversation, "You brought up your sister worrying about you not returning home at a certain time. Twice, I daresay."
"Yes," Michiru stuttered. "What's this about?"
"You're an adult, is that not correct?"
"Of course I'm an adult!" She responded, shooting him a hard glare. "I'm twenty-six, as a matter of fact!"
"Then how come she insists on you being home on curfew?"
Crossing her arms, the woman questioned back, "Why do you ask such a thing? Doesn't your crew go out late at night?"
"We go out to space often, so we're needed back in the ship on certain days."
"Eh, point taken," She admitted, placing an index finger on her chin.
"Furthermore, didn't I say we weren't bringing the Kiheitai up?"
Once more, Michiru's answer came out in a stammer. "Sorry."
"Now, about your sister," He reminded her.
Sighing—not because of defeat, but due to thinking it had nothing to do with Bansai—Michiru explained, "She's terrified of going outside at night. Not that I blame her, though; people can be very vulnerable when they go out in the middle of the night. She, no, both she and I fear someone will suddenly appear out of thin air and kill us...like what happened to my parents."
"You and your sister were orphans?"
"Yes. I usually don't like talking about this, but I don't know how else to avoid it…"
Bansai nodded. "Go on."
She took a deep breath; as her pulses relaxed, Michiru brought up the incident from twenty years ago.
"Mika and I were brought in by an elderly man, who a decade after taught me how to use shuriken. Mika didn't feel comfortable using any weapons, and since she prefers to stay inside anyway, he was all right with it. He passed away a little while ago."
"I see. Have you considered finding The Body Part Killer?"
"If you're talking about me avenging my parents, then no. How would I do that if I don't know what he looks like? Besides, I think I'd be paralyzed if I met him in person. If that were to happen, he would possibly end up killing Mika and I."
"Valid reasoning," He said. "Although you are capable of fighting, from what it sounds like, you can't stand the sight of individual body parts."
"Well, that's mostly true. It's more the inside of said body part I can't stand seeing. Same with big gashes. The person who killed my parents, in hindsight, only amplified it."
"I suppose I can empathize. It sometimes gets rather gruesome, I daresay." Bansai then went to ask, "Did you not want your sister knowing you were meeting me, because of what I do?"
"Yeah," She responded, for once with no trace of hesitation in her expression or tone. "Nine times out of ten, I keep my interactions with wanted people brief." Straightening her fingers, she swiped them to the other side.
Bringing his fingers to a halt on his strings, Bansai arched a brow. "So I'm going to guess I'm the lone exception?"
Michiru couldn't figure out the reason, but her face heated, red tinting across her cheeks. Averting her gaze from the musician, she replied while making an effort to take deep breaths, "I don't have any other way of saying this, but yes."
"Why is that?" The tone in his voice perked up, at least as much as Michiru could decipher.
"When I think of a criminal, the last thing that comes to mind is some weirdo talking about peoples' 'songs'..." When Bansai resumed his play of the instrument, the woman finished without a second thought, "...while playing amazing music on his shamisen."
Catching on to her finished sentence, the heat went from her face down to her collarbones. Making it worse for her were her ears picking up the sound of a refrained chuckle.
"Pardon my rudeness," He said after a clear of his throat. "Are those the reasons you're more lax when you're around me?"
"Well…" The ambiance surrounding her thickened...again.
Gah, stop heating and body, stop tensing!
A response popped in her mind at last. Snapping her eyes wide, she voiced the answer out, "You're the most interesting, albeit peculiar, criminal I've met. I would even go as far as saying you're not like others."
"You're saying I'm not a 'typical' criminal? If so, then your parents misguided you, I daresay."
A few strands of hair stuck out from her scalp. At the same time, droplets of sweat poured down her face, and the warm weather still lingering in the early evening didn't help.
I guess that's not completely false. My parents did tell me to not trust others.
"The last time we met, you fainted after finding out I was simultaneously Tsunpo."
Michiru forced a weak chuckle. "Right."
"Do you happen to be a fan of Otsu-dono?"
"Actually," She said, using all five fingers of one hand to scratch her cheek, "I enjoy her music...ironically."
"I'm not surprised," He replied. "That's a common criticism."
A frown plastered on her features. "I dunno if I'd call that criticism."
"By the way," He started. "...are you aware of the reason I'm asking you all these questions?"
"Uh…because you're too invested in my 'song'?" Michiru guessed.
"While it is related to your tune, your assumption on how much I'm into your song is quite off."
"Then what exactly is it?" While awaiting his answer, her fingernails dug into her palms. She subconsciously swallowed a thick ball of saliva.
"Your song is a rather...intriguing one. Do you recall me telling you that your song sounded like classical with intense drumming?"
"Yeah."
"I daresay it has become apparent that while your overall genre is classical, how it's played significantly changes. The enforced drumming comes into play when you're fighting. Bringing up your sister, on the other hand, brought it to a much moodier song. When you're not doing either of them, it's as peppy as a dance party."
Michiru contemplated his description. What's he saying? Since he said it's intriguing, does he see it as a good thing?
She parted her lips in preparation to speak out, only to lose her chance when Bansai shifted the topic.
"I have one more inquiry for you."
"Eh?"
"The text message you sent earlier today was never meant to be sent to me, is that true?"
Michiru's lips pursed, muffling her unintended gasp.
Oh crap.
"I don't get where you're coming from." Immediate regret filled her mind, nearly to the point of overwhelming her. The redness spread across her features once more as blood pumped in her veins, bringing heat on her whole body to overstay its welcome.
Without a word, Bansai rested his shamisen on the floor before thrusting himself up. Since the general boat wasn't large, it took less than five steps for the criminal to be a mere foot in front of Michiru.
Blinking multiple times, she mentally asked, Did I somehow anger him?
His features remained tranquil, possibly contradicting her guess. Not that trying to predict it would matter anyway, for sweat started soaking the collars of her yukata.
Bending his legs, he ended up mirroring the way Michiru sat. She bit into her lower lip, not daring herself to let out another word.
"Michiru."
His tone grew stern the second her name left his mouth, in contrast to his otherwise relaxed expression.
"What?" The continuing stutter made the woman almost want to kick herself.
Bansai continued, "I would not approve of you pretending not to understand what I'm asking. The first text you sent to me read, and I quote, 'I need to talk to you; forgot to do it beforehand. You think we can do that when you're back?'" He emphasized the last three words, bringing Michiru to avert her gaze away from him.
"I want you to look at me. Look at me, and tell me the truth."
Slowly but surely, Michiru returned her focus on her. When staring into his shades, she spotted one eye of his' through it. Though she couldn't make out the color of it due to the limited lighting from the single lantern, what she did catch was the eye narrowing at her.
Don't let embarrassment get the better of you, Michiru ordered herself, just answer him.
"It was for Mika."
"Yet you still agreed to meet with me?"
"I'd feel terrible to decline."
"Then did you make this decision because you would've felt guilty otherwise?"
"That's what I initially thought, but after thinking on what you said about us not making conversation last time and knowing the fact we can't see each other in person too often…" She paused, but the corners of her lips curved up. It wasn't much, yet enough for Bansai to spot it.
"I chose to go through with it."
"Hm, you seem to be more interested in me than I realized, I daresay."
Michiru shifted a shoulder while replying, "I don't have a rebuttal for that."
After scooting back a tad, she lowered her upper body until her forehead made contact with the flooring.
Placing her hands in front of her head, Michiru started, "Kawakami-san, I want to apologize for lying to you. It was never my intention to lie, believe me. I thought if I tried to act as normal as possible in spite of my mistake, I'd save myself from a ton of humiliation."
Arching a brow, Bansai inquired, "Is sweating profusely and constantly holding broken smiles your definition of 'normal'? If that isn't the case, then you're not doing the greatest job at hiding how on edge you're currently being."
Although she held a slight frown at his blunt assumption, Michiru said, "I'm not denying that either. I even get that sometimes."
"Please sit up straight. There's no need for you to apologize anymore."
While raising from the tatami floor, Michiru tugged a few thick locks from her sight.
"Do you feel the same about lying to your sister?" Though Michiru didn't recall mentioning this, she disregarded it by shifting her gaze to her lap and holding a weak smile.
"I do. I couldn't even bring myself to tell her your name. She's that worried about my safety."
At first, only quietness filled the room. However, this time, Michiru's body didn't tense up or even consider the moment painfully awkward.
"Do you ever plan on telling her?"
It was her turn to raise a brow. "Do you want me to?"
"I'm not saying that."
"Then why do you keep asking about whether or not I decide to tell my sister?"
"Lying is, to an extent, similar to betraying. Even more so when it comes to a family member, I daresay."
Clenching her fists and furrowing her brows, Michiru replied, "So you're saying I'm betraying her?" She didn't let him respond, for a feeble chuckle parted her lips. "Well...it actually does feel like it."
Bansai produced a near silent hum with his lips shut. After a pregnant pause between the two, he declared, "I believe we're done here."
"Does this mean I can go?"
"Yes, although there's one more thing I need to address."
Michiru suppressed a groan, asking in her head, What is it this time?
"The Kiheitai will be going back into space tomorrow and we won't return to Edo for some time."
Her muscles relaxed a bit while she held back a sigh of relief. This has nothing to do with me. I'm glad, but…
"So we can only text for communication?"
"Correct."
"I see…" She trailed off before finally pushing herself from the floor. "Well, I'll be taking my leave." After a quick tilt of her body, Michiru turned towards the entrance, soon heading for the area her sandals were at.
Eventually, she exited the boat, leaving Bansai alone.
Staring at the door she shut, he thought, The longer she lies to her sister, the bigger the consequences she might face.
To be continued...