Chapter 4: Flames
It was her first trip back to Japan in well over a year now. It was even longer since her last time in Tokyo. Mariko Fudo sighed plaintively as she absconded from the private jet that had flown her from Hyde Field to Tokyo Haneda Airport. It was every bit as busy as to be expected; she never particularly liked the chaos of the urban landscape. People milled to and from terminals all around her as she moved forward. The noise of tannoy speakers, baggage claimaints and machinery filled the air, stifling her thoughts. Disembarking off a plane into this chaos was like being transfixed by a deep sleep; then awaking to a stampede of Elephants. Accompanying her a few feet behind followed two imposing men in grey suits; her public minders. They were there to ensure that she went exactly where she was expected to go; to ensure she followed her summons to the letter. At the moment, that meant going straight through the airport terminal to a certain black car. No pit stop, no bathroom break, no duty free shopping. Not that her current occupation afforded her very much time for such frivolities. She navigated through the disorientating maze of commuters, holiday goers and returnees until finally reaching the exit. If nothing else, she was grateful for some quiet once she made it out onto the street, where the only noise was the odd car passing by. One of her minders walked ahead of her to the conspicuous waiting vehicle, opened the back door, and gestured for her to sit. In there already sat a stoic blonde of mixed race parentage. She got in beside Lan Asuka, the women who had asked her to come to Tokyo. The woman who had also forced her away from Japan in the first place to continue her work for the Human Alliance. Once she had settled, the car began its journey. Her minders would be using their own car to follow.
"I'm glad to see that you made it safely, Mariko," Asuka said, starting with the formalities, "I take it you've read the briefing report I sent?"
"Of course," Mariko confirmed, "I wouldn't be a lot of good to you if I hadn't." Mariko now having the chance, scanned Asuka up and down. The COO however was as difficult to read as ever. "Was there anything I should know that wasn't covered?" Mariko asked. Asuka shook her head.
"No, I was thorough." Asuka sighed, looking outside the window at first, and then turning her head back to Mariko. "I wish we knew more about the context of how the girl survived an inferno that overtook an entire apartment complex." Mariko knew miracles rarely happen, and if there was an explanation, it was likely due to the mutation phenomena; something she had spent great swathes of her adult life researching.
"Well," Mariko began, "We've observed that by far the most quantifiable and reliable triggers of the mutation syndrome are deep-rooted survival instincts. Much like what you put my daughter through." She kept her voice steady, but even two months removed from the night her daughter was forced to awaken, those events incensed her. Hearing about it second hand hadn't made it any easier to swallow. They had put Jun into a cage with a beast that would have killed her without a thought; there was no guarantees Jun would have survived. But she had to stifle such anger for now. Now was not the time for that.
"That's true," Asuka agreed, "And I believe her mutation is certainly helping her heal. What her maximum capacities are will be interesting to find out," Asuka posited, "However she still has burns over seventy percent of her body and her vocal cords have been as far as we can tell, irrevocably damaged. She has no ability to speak any more." Mariko shook her head, mostly at the horror of it all.
"An injured child even with such a handicap would still need the help and support of a proper upbringer," she pointed out. "I don't see how she could receive that if you plan to keep her locked in a cage to observe her like an animal." Mariko couldn't help the contempt creeping into her voice.
"I don't want that child to be a devil beast, Mariko," Asuka snapped, "I just think it's far too probable she is, and if she is, we need to assess the threat she potentially represents. The best thing you can do for her is to find that out, and hopefully we can then meet her needs."
"Keep her under control, you mean," Mariko said grudgingly. Asuka shrugged,
"My responsibility is the protection of the human race at large. Whatever you think of me, I don't care, I don't have time to," Asuka glared. Her face almost immediately softened as she changed the subject. "In any case, I assume you plan to meet your daughter during this trip?"
"Yes," Mariko confirmed. Asuka paused thoughtfully for a moment.
"What do you plan to tell her?" she asked. Mariko leaned her head back, seeking answers inside herself she wasn't sure were even there.
"There is no point in keeping it a secret any more, right? She knows what she is now, she'll find out just how much I knew about it eventually. I would rather tell her face-to-face." Mariko held her breath, hoping that she wasn't about to be denied the confession she felt she now had to make. She sighed in relief silently when Asuka nodded.
"Fine, that's your own business. Just remember not to discuss any classified material. If Jun becomes a liability, we might be forced to remove her," Asuka said coldly. "I also wouldn't overestimate my own worth, if I were you." Mariko felt a shiver down her spine. Lan Asuka could be socially approachable, but when discussions turned to matters of HA security, those eyes went cloudy and it felt like she was capable of anything.
"If your position really makes you think in such callous terms," Mariko replied, "I can't say I envy you."
"This is not a threat we will end through kindness," Asuka stated, tilting her head forward again dismissively. Mariko didn't want to voice agreement with her, but it was harder than she cared to admit to disagree.
Mariko stared out the window as the rocky grey of the Ministry of Defence's perimeter wall. Segmented at varying heights creating a horizontal beam pattern, the apex of the barrier was painted mint green. Disconcertingly, the structures within the site were built out of the same stone as the wall, with the same mint green colour marking the roofs. The only difference were the presence of long rows of bullet resistant glass; and the presence of red and white struts emanating from the roof. Jutting out to the sky and looming over the base was a thirty-or-forty meter radio tower, black and covered at the top by sattelite dishes. She knew this was where Japan's military might was concentrated; but if she was being brought here, it also meant the Human Alliance, an extraterritorial body had staked its claim within. Mariko felt discomfort with that; not due to national pride or anything like that, but the knowledge of the power the HA similarly weilded over in D.C.. The organisation didn't exist prior to her original abscondance, and when she was forced back into the fold; things had changed. This so called Human Alliance had eyes and ears everywhere; and whispering tongues near the ears of many in the US and Japanese Governments. It all scared the hell out of her. It did not help that Jillian Bates headed the operation; there was a lot of bad blood there. It was probably a merciful thing that for most of her work, Mariko laboured deep in the Samuelson facility away from the political branch of the organisation. Mariko did her best to stifle all of these concerns as she was assisted out of the car by Asuka after they had passed the front gate and parked. Mariko followed Asuka and her secretary up the wide grey steps. Of course, there were numerous sentries and checks, documents to be handed over. But all of it was handled efficiently. Within ten minutes, Asuka was leading the way to the on-grounds Medical college, the building that had been converted for use by the HA researchers in Japan. Asuka continued the briefing as they approached the building.
"The girl is under almost constant supervision by nurses. She's cared for, in the sense that a child should be," Asuka did her best to sound reassuring, "But I want you to remember that we haven't brought you here to play mother, Mariko. You have more experience than anyone in interacting with children displaying the symptoms of the mutation. We need to know how to neutralise the potential threat." They passed through the reception of the medical college as Asuka spoke.
"I raised Jun to be normal," Mariko let as much frustration in her tone as she dared, "If you hadn't intervened, she may never even have transformed; she may never have known what was within her."
"I know you watched some of the video footage we captured, particularly when she triggered her mass increase," Asuka taunted, "Did she still remind you of the little, harmless girl you raised?" Mariko couldn't find a response. "Did you fear her?" Asuka pressed. Mariko sighed.
"I fear for her, I fear what you might make her become. Don't you realise that forcing her into these battles might destabilise her?"
"Of course, Mariko; I realise that. But that's not the point. You're evading giving your real thoughts underneath, projecting the choices that Jun will now make onto me. I appreciate that what we put her through was traumatic, but she was going to awaken; we all know that's inevitable; and without our guidance, she may have lost her humanity entirely," Asuka explained pointedly, "This all worked out for the best."
"You only care about her humanity in so far as she can be a useful tool to you," Mariko snapped back.
"Yes, she indeed is an asset," Asuka acknowledged. " And be sure to remember that, Mariko. If you do anything to compromise her, there will be consequences." That cold, frightening tone had returned. It was worse give Asuka used her first name, not out of friendly familiarity. More I know every move you make familiarity. Mariko realised she was pushing her luck if she kept on the subject of her daughter, so she decided to change subject back to why she was brought here.
"True, I might have the most experience in dealing with young subjects, but I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm not entirely sure how to proceed. I can't give you any kind of definite plan." Asuka nodded.
"I realise that. I'm going to put my trust in your intuition. Do what you need to do. We have a two-way mirror setup. She'll be under constant observation as you work."
"I'll do everything I can, for the child's sake," Mariko declared, wishing she was as confident as she made herself sound. They were now in the wards; the room the subject was being kept in couldn't be far now.
Mariko entered the room in which her subject was being kept. The walls were an inoffensive mauve, there was a table next to the child's bed that could be swivelled and its height adjusted so she could eat from it, and there were some toys strewn about the floor; some fluffy toys and lettered blocks. She didn't know if the child had touched them or not though. The girl's name was Remi, and she laid in bed, her entire body swathed in heavy bandages. In fact only one eye and a lock of hair was exposed; and her mouth. Mariko couldn't even begin to conceive the pain that the child must have suffered, and that was before Remi would become aware of her own surroundings again. According to the nurses that she spoke to before entering, the girl didn't really display much in the way of self awareness. She was conscious, but apparently chose not to respond to stimuli. Mariko sat on the chair next to the bed and considered her options. There wasn't much she could do until the child started responding, so that had to be the first step.
"Remi, can you hear my voice. If you can, can you blink three times?" The child ignored her. "I only want to help, Remi. My name is Mariko, and I'll be spending time with you throughout your recovery. Even if you won't say anything to me, I hope you might at least listen." Again she paused for a response, and again, there was none. Remi didn't even turn her eye towards Mariko. "I brought some stories; ones I really liked when I was a child," Mariko carried on, "I read them to my own daughter, when she was little. It's almost enough to make me feel a little old now." Remi still gave no response. However Mariko believed she was listening; or at least she had to hope so. And so began reading to Remi the stories she had brought. They were an eclectic mix of both Japanese and Western fables. It was hard to say just what the girl would respond to, and so she tried everything from the story of the ugly duckling; perhaps her unwillingness to respond stemmed from insecurities about her outer appearance, to a rousing tale of the golden boy, Kintaro, perhaps in that excitement might cause her to respond. And indeed, the girl did start beginning to show a degree of attention towards her voice. It was definitely a start. As she finished reading, Mariko was satisfied. "Well now, it is getting late and I'm only allowed so much time with you. But I will come see you again tomorrow, and probably every day for the next while." She packed up her books in her handbag and left. She had another call to make today, one that she looked forward to a great deal less than even seeing Remi.
Mariko arrived in Nakano by bus, getting off around the corner from the apartment block her daughter lived in. The sun was setting and the sky had taken on a reddish hue, which didn't do much for her mood. Right now the suburban structure in front of her felt intimidating, just an unfeeling stone block that contained her lies and guilt within. With trepidation she pushed the call button on the outside buzzer.
"Hello, Fudo residence?" Came the familiar voice of her daughter through the speaker.
"Hi Jun, it's me," Mariko informed after a moments hesitation.
"Mother? " Jun responded with some surprise in her voice, Okay, come on up." The buzzer sounded, allowing Mariko to enter. She walked upstairs and met Jun at the door of her apartment.
"You usually call, is there something wrong?" Jun asked her with concern in her voice. It was unlike her mother to just drop in unannounced like this.
"Yes, Jun. Yes, there is. Can we go sit down? I have something to tell you," Mariko admitted. Jun looked concerned, clearly wondering why her mother's tone was so unexpectedly dour.
"All right," Jun held the door open allowing Mariko to enter. They both walked into Jun's living room, and Jun sat down. Mariko found herself far too agitated to do so, and instead looked outside the window.
"What is it?" Jun asked again, "You're scaring me, mother." Mariko paced a few steps, before finally letting it all out.
"I know, Jun. I know what you are, and what you've been doing these past weeks." Jun was stunned silent for a moment,.
"No... no you can't mean..." Jun looked pale at Mariko's proclamation. It was the last thing she expected.
"They showed me tapes of what happened at the dock. Jun." This revelation caused Jun to shoot up to her feet, shaking. But she didn't say anything. Mariko continued. "I worked at the Samuelson Labs before you were born. My original doctorate, before I did medicine was in genetics. We researched this phenomena, Jun. But I left them just after you were born. However, you've already probably realised that the people involved don't take such desertions lightly." She let the point hang in the air, and was interrupted before she could continue.
"I can't, can't believe any of this! What the hell is this, Mother," Jun yelled. Jun felt her anxiety building up, so she sat down again and breathed in and out. Mariko couldn't even look her daughter in the eyes.
"The reason they know what you are is because they found me, just after you movied to Tokyo. They forced me to tell them about you. They were going to take you much sooner than this; but I made a bargain. I agreed to go work for them again at Samuelson, and the agreement was they would keep an eye on you, but they wouldn't directly interfere with your life. At least that agreement stood for as long as the mutation phenomena wasn't accelerating. That's not the case anymore."
"How long, how long did you know?" Jun asked, quivering.
"Only for sure, that day you were bitten by that bat. You almost transformed then. I used a tranquilizer to suppress it. That only worked because you were so young, you couldn't easily resist it." Jun swallowed, absorbing this revelation.
"So this whole time, you knew; and you kept it from me." Jun stood back up, wilting in her gait. It was clear that she didn't know what to think, didn't know what to do. There was an undercurrent of rage, but she suppressed it.
"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want you to risk losing your humanity. I had no idea if you'd be able to understand it."
"And you think what happened was better!" Jun yelled, and picked up the closest thing she could get her hands on, which was a glass ornament of her display cabinet; she threw it parallel to her mother, not aiming for her, and hitting the wall. Mariko winced.
"No, of course not. But by that time, they wouldn't let me tell you. If I tried, they made it quite clear that both of us are expendable." Jun relaxed a little, her anger turning cold.
"So tell me, what did you see in those tapes? What kind of monster am I?" Jun snarled. Mariko attempted to move closer to Jun, but Jun backed off silently declaring that she was not welcome too.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know I've hurt you," Mariko apologised, tears streaming down her cheeks. Jun simply glared at her whitheringly.
"No, you've not hurt me by this. You hurt me when you wouldn't support me. I wanted to come here, I wanted to be a model, and I wanted to be self-supporting. And I know you thought I would just give up and come back. That hurt. What you've done is show that I can't trust you. I can't trust my own mother. How on earth could you hide something like this from me," Jun's anger caused her body to rock, she almost triggered her transformation.
"Stop, please stop," Mariko cried. Jun relented. Her breathing slowed, and she turned away from her mother.
"You're frightened of it. Frightened of me. You don't trust me either. Just go. I don't want to look at you right now." Mariko felt knives cut deep inside. Her daughter was right. She was so ashamed of it; but she couldn't deny it.
"All right," Mariko sighed sadly, "I'm in Tokyo because Lan Asuka summoned me. You know how to reach me, I'll probably be going back to Washington once they're finished with me here."
"Did grandfather know?" Jun asked without turning round as Mariko started to leave. Mariko turned to answer
"He did, but please don't think badly of him. I convinced him to keep it secret, because it's what I felt was best at the time." No, her father had more faith in his granddaughter. He always had said, that if she had great power she would never be cruel with it. And she doubted her own daughter, doubted the truth in that. How wretched a parent was she? But unlike either of them, she had seen more of what such beings were capable of. The fear stemmed from her scientific rationality; and she couldn't bring herself to discount it even with her own daughter. Jun didn't reply or turn around. Mariko left knowing the relationship between her and her daughter was probably irreparable.
The following day, Mariko attended her second visit to Remi. She felt more at ease here even if the child did not show much more in the way of life. Remi was paying a degree of attention to Mariko's voice as she read her further fairytales, and so there was hope for progress. There was an unexpected knock at the door, causing Mariko to stop reading in the middle of the Godmother scene of Cinderella.
"It seems that we have an unexpected visitor Remi, just wait a few moments and I'll see who it is." She answered the door to find two of Remi's nurses waiting, both of whom held what looked to be numerous gift wrapped boxes, and some bouquets of flowers. They were Emi and Natsuko; Mariko had made small talk with them earlier to learn a bit more about Remi's routine.
"Hello, these are all from well-wishers, it took us a little time to collect them and bring them here, but we thought Remi deserved to receive these," Emi, the portly one of the two said, "It didn't seem fair to exclude her from receiving the same support other children recieve within her situation."
"And you managed to clear this with Lan Asuka?" Mariko asked sceptically, she had no misgivings herself, but it would surprise her if that woman would allow something like this.
"Well, we spoke with her secretary, that raven haired woman," the bright and bubbly Natsuko answered, "She checked with Miss Asuka and gave us permission." Mariko bowed in appreciation.
"I have to say I'm a little surprised, but it's very thoughtful of you to do this for her. You have my thanks on her behalf."
"Don't mention it, that poor child deserves much more than we've been able to give her," Emi responded brightly, and Mariko let them in the room, where they began arranging the gifts and flowers.
"It's going to be a while before she would physically be ready to enjoy any of these things, but they are there for her as she recovers. We hope that seeing them here will brighten her spirits," Natsuko said, "And I hope it helps speed her recovery."
"You're right, that does make a lot of sense," Mariko agreed. Mariko turned to Remi to explain to her the good news, only to see that the child sat fully upright, and appeared to be gazing towards one of the nurses who was arranging flowers upon a shelf.
"Remi, is something wrong?" Mariko walked to her side, but she got no response. However she had never seen such an intense look in the girl's eye before this. She felt incredibly uneasy for some reason, and attempted to place a hand on Remi's shoulder; however when she touched it, she felt a painful burning sensation and pulled her hand away.
"Remi..." It then all happened in an instant; the flowers that Emi was handling caught on fire, burning her hands and causing her to stumble back in shock. She screamed in agony as she fell to the floor, her hands still alight.
"Quick, get the fire extinguisher!" Natsuko yelled at Mariko, which was enough to snap Mariko out of her malaise; she grabbed a fire extinguisher set up on the wall and after a few seconds of working out how to operate it, quickly shot its contents upon the nurses hands. As she was doing so, the smoke alarm in the room went off, and several men barged in, all armed.
"What happened?" The man in front asked anxiously, as he gestured to one of the others to take the fire extinguisher from Mariko and use it to put out the rest of the flames.
"I'm not... not sure. Somehow the flowers caught on fire," Mariko explained, feeling stupefied.
"I'd say if this happened anywhere else, you were crazy, but around here it sounds like par for the course. The COO should be here any minute. We'll make sure the nurses are tended to." Mariko watched helplessly as Natsuko and Emi were led away, Emi's hands in a horrible state. She must have stood there in a trance for several moments, when Lan Asuka showed up. She asked the guard if the situation was contained; instructed the nurses be taken straight into medical care, and then she pulled Mariko out of the room by her arm.
"We have recorded footage of everything that just happened," Asuka exclaimed, "And we're going to watch it and figure out just what in the hell that was."
Mariko and Asuka both sat watching the footage on repeat in dingy room next door, hastily set up with the needed equipment. This was the observation room used to keep watch on Remi through a two-way mirror.
"I think we can both agree that the flowers spontaneously combusting of their own volition is very unlikely," Asuka suggested wryly. Mariko nodded in agreement.
"I can't disagree. The flowers in question were a mixed bouquet of daffodils and tulips. Warm coloured flowers," Mariko sighed, "Colours that would remind her of the flames."
"That gaze, she was certainly the most lucid we've seen her up to this point. Also, you said that she felt hot to the touch ?" Asuka stood up, but kept her eyes on Remi who right now was simply lying on her bed.
"She did, and it wasn't symptoms of fever, that kind of fever would kill a six-year-old child, and quickly," Mariko confirmed.
"Then as I see it, the evidence heavily suggests both the cause of that blaze, and the nature of this child's circumstances are connected. Whether she intended it or not, she has already severely burned a person. And she may have caused the deaths of the people at that apartment block, including her own parents," Asuka concluded solemnly.
"We'll just have to keep her further isolated, but I'm still willing to try and work with her." Asuka stared at her thoughtfully.
"It's one thing that you were willing to risk the danger of looking after your own daughter, however I don't know if I'm comfortable with exposing you to such an unpredictable risk." Mariko shrugged.
"I appreciate your concern. I even believe it's genuine; but it's your call to make. I'm simply willing to try and help the child." Asuka looked at the monitor, her expression glum.
"I don't think this is going to end well. We have to upgrade her threat status. At least we know the nature of that threat; I can make sure we're prepared to respond in the event of fire. Can maybe set up some extra safeguards, an hypoxic system might be prudent. Until we have something set up I would prefer you not have any interaction with her," Asuka nodded to one of the observers who had been sitting quietly in the background; he got up and left the room to presumably start making the arrangements. "Also, we will bring in Jun, and brief her. Her job is to handle threats that otherwise present lethal risks, and from the data we've gathered from some of the tests that we've ran on her, she is very resistant to fire."
"Resistant isn't the same thing as immune," Mariko snapped. Asuka folded her arms.
"No, it isn't. If her job was easy, we would ask a pitiful human to do it, but she is far more capable of looking after herself." Then Asuka leaned over Mariko and set that heartless gaze upon her. "Heed my words, Mariko, do not interfere with her duties. By all means, support her, but do not start trying to put doubts in her head. We can ill afford it." Mariko's shoulders drooped. She felt so powerless, having no real say in what happened to her own daughter. She was merely grateful when Asuka was finished, and freed her from that chilling countenance.
Jun responded to her summoning the following morning. As was often the case, she had to cancel a gig on Yuasa and the Agency. Kogare brought her by car; and she was escorted by two soldiers deeper into the Ministry of Defense' grounds. She tried to make polite conversation with them, and though they did not quite ignore her exactly, they made it quite clear they were not very willing to talk. Kogare also wasn't willing to discuss the nature of this particular engagement outwith Headquarters Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be a typical meeting, at least insofar as whatever qualified from the kind of things she did now. The destination was the JSDF Medical College, that due to the modified signage, seemed to have been converted into some kind of research facility. It wasn't her first time in the building; this was where she woke up after that fateful night. It was also where she'd had several samples taken at Asuka's insistence. She had been brought to a part of the building that she had never entered before however, and she noted with some discomfort that it was like a ward of sorts, with steel bars on the doors more fitting of a prison. The doors themselves looked to be fortified replacements made recently. Eventually they ran into Asuka standing out in one of the corridors, and she dismissed the guards.
"You're here, good. Come in." Asuka held the door open for her, and she entered to find the room occupied by Major Yamazaki, her mother, and another two men in white coats who were working with complex looking monitoring equipment. Jun found herself feeling distinctly uncomfortable, remembering when she had been brought here whilst unconcious. Who knows what they had done to her during that time.
"If you've been following the news at all about a week ago, you would have head about a large apartment complex in Ikebukoro that was destroyed in a blaze?" Asuka asked.
"I did hear about that, what about it?" Jun replied. Asuka walked over to a featureless wall on one side of the room, and using a remote that she held in her hand, panels on the wall opened up to reveal a glass view into the next room. Jun moved towards it to allow herself to peer inside. What she saw was a completely bleached chamber, pristine sterile white. There was a single bed with more unusual looking medical equipment placed at the side. Even these objects were completely white, and laying on the bed, looking incredibly tiny and isolated, was the glimmer of a child's eye.
"That's Remi Takashima. She was the only survivor of the incident. We have reason to believe she was also the instigator," Asuka explained coldly.
"You think she's a mutant?" The idea of such a young child being cursed like she was made Jun feel barren in the pit of her stomach. Asuka nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes. We have evidence, I'll show you a recording from yesterday during a session between your mother and her." Asuka walked over to another table with a disk player of some kind and a monitor. Jun watched the scene with the nurses play out. Jun wished greatly otherwise, but seeing Remi's reaction at the moment the burst of flames happened surrounding the flowers; it was clear she'd made it happen somehow.
"She's so, so young. She can't understand what she is. Or what she's done," Jun sighed, "Her parents were the first to die, weren't they?" Asuka nodded. Jun looked once again at the seemingly sedate little girl.
"This is why you were summoned here, mother?" She directed at Mariko. Her mother had stood stiff as a board this whole time, but Jun's address loosened her stance.
"Yes, they consider me the only real expert they have for… situations like these."
"And so what's expected of me?" Jun turned to Asuka. Asuka looked to Remi and then back to Jun, her face hard to read.
"The nature of this child's mutation is, for now hard to gauge. And anything could potentially set her off. We've done our best to minimise any possibility of that, but in the end, the only trigger she might need is simply within her own mind," Asuka explained.
"The intensity of the fire she caused in Ikebukoro was unnatural. The speed with which it consumed the building was unprecedented. It took the full engagement of all of the local areas fire services to contain it, and to stop it from spreading. I fear however, that the capacity for destruction that child has is greater than anything we've seen before. Greater, than even you," walked forward and stated Yamazaki, not hiding his contempt. Jun glared at him, but she could understand his position as much as she didn't want to admit it.
"You talk as if it's inevitable. Is that child's only future to burn everything around her?" Jun asked torturously, her thoughts centring around herself as much as Remi.
"I want to try to avoid that," Mariko answered, "Despite the danger, I still want to help her. I plan to continue seeing her." Jun looked at Mariko, uncertain of what she felt. However looking at Remi again stifled her bitterness.
"I think I get it now. You can help her, I have to believe that, mother." Asuka looked at both of them, not showing the same optimism.
"It's going to be impractical for us to maintain a total level of alertness twenty four-seven around this child. But the next few days are likely the most critical ones. As such, I've made arrangements for you to stay on the grounds; we freed up room for you in the training barracks. I've had the head of your agency informed, not in detail but he understands he will have to do without you for a few days. It's up to you however you handle that with your agent or anybody else. You'll have a room next to one another," Asuka gestured over to the Major, "Yamazaki will escort you both. The staff of the barracks have been instructed to provide you with anything reasonable you need, but of course you're expected to recognise base protocol. Especially you, Jun. I can do without the headaches that having a devil beast wandering the JSDF base would cause," Asuka said the last part in a similar tone one might use with a naughty child getting up to mischief. Jun found it extremely patronising.
"Can I least expect them not to point their guns at me?" Jun said resentfully.
"They won't as long as you do as you're told," Yamazaki answered stonily.
Before any of this, Jun was fairly sure she had never wanted to claw someone's face off. But a rather small part of her felt it quite acutely towards two of the people in the immediate vicinity. She was also still not very comfortable with being around her mother, uncertain of how to feel about being kept in the dark almost her whole life. She looked again through mirror towards Remi. A child helpless against what was happening to her. Jun sighed.
"I'll be ready for anything, I won't let anything happen to you if things do get out of hand," she told her mother, as sincere as she ever was. Mariko simply nodded, knowing that such a thing was without question.
It didn't take very long of being forced to stay within an unfriendly, unfamiliar building, for Jun to get considerably agitated. They had provided her with everything she needed, including access to a private shower, but essentially she wasn't even free to go outside the room without an escort. She had called Yuasa, telling him that she was suffering from a bout of flu. It was a weak lie but it was the only thing she could think of. She had attempted to stave off boredom by using the TV they brought in for her, or by requesting some reading material. It reached the point that she was actually grateful when they asked her to go to the lab for more tests. So far they hadn't asked her to transform; at some point they would need her to do that so she can be the proper guinea pig they want her to be, but they had many things to poke and prod her for first. It was likely being in this state where the offer of any company was something she would jump at without hesitation, that when her mother knocked on her door and asked to speak with her, she readily accepted.
"I... I wanted to check up on how you were doing;" Mariko said, as Jun let her in, "I'm somewhat used to the human alliance's hospitality, but I imagine it must be unpleasant for you." Jun walked back over to her bed and laid down.
"I'm going quite stir crazy. Although, I suppose it could be worse. If my whole stay here is this uneventful, it's far better than the alternative." Mariko sat down on one of the chairs in the room and nodded.
"That's true. Also you probably want to hear how Remi is doing?" She waited for Jun to nod. "I've seen her twice since you arrived here, and she seems to be doing a lot better. I don't know if her healing factor could repair the damage to her vocal chords, but such a thing wouldn't be a big disadvantage to her I believe, many children with that inability have normal, happy lives." Jun looked out the window, at the training grounds outside. Drills were taking place as several recruits ran laps on an oval track; despite the fact it was starting to get dark.
"The question is, can a child with the ability to set things on fire live a happy, normal life?" Jun turned back to her mother, with mild hostility in her voice. Not that the hostility was really directed at her mother or what her mother had said. It was just that even if the child learned to control her power, she would be an object of curiosity for the rest of her life.
"No, probably not." Mariko agreed, "Which was why I tried to keep it from you. I wanted to try and give you a normal life, and that would be the best way to ensure your happiness. That was my belief." Jun shrugged.
"It didn't work out, did it? You might as well tell me, having seen some of the things that I can do, how you feel about it," Jun sighed wistfully, trying to prepare herself for the response. Mariko shifted the chair in closer to the bed, and reached over to touch her daughter placing an affectionate hand on her shoulder.. This time, Jun didn't recoil.
"You have terrifying power, there is no real arguing with the point. But Asuka did approach you, with the idea that you would help them save people. She was the one wanted that, and she fought for it in the face of her superiors. She clearly doesn't feel you're a lost cause."
"That doesn't mean that they can't just cut their losses later," Jun said resentfully. Mariko nodded, as she stood up and got herself a drink of water from the sink using one of the paper cups. She passed one to Jun, who took a swig as well."
"You don't trust them," Mariko observed as she sat back down, "I guess I can't argue with that because I don't exactly trust them either." Jun emptied the cup and squeezed it in her hand.
"I'm simply their executioner," she voiced in frustration, "I murder the people that they deem unfit to live. How do we know they're just animals? Having to find out what they are themselves must break something inside them. They could be helped for all we know." Mariko looks away awkwardly.
"Based on everything I've seen, I don't think that assumption is correct though it pains me to say it." Jun for a moment looked hurt. Mariko quickly backtracked. "But please don't take that to mean I don't think any of them are capable of being like you, of retaining their humanity and sanity. However, when the body undergoes such drastic changes, the mind changes as well. Human beings have certain instincts, and sometimes those instincts do go against the concept of higher thinking. Even without such violent physiological changes, the mind itself can create monsters anyway. That just makes it even likelier that with the added biological alterations, that they will conform to far more animalistic instincts. If they crave meat, they will simply kill and eat whatever.. whoever they choose."
"Like Kairi Hosuga," Jun replied morosely, "I imagine that you probably have heard about her." Mariko nodded,
"As well as Aoi Kurosaki. I've met her once, she's in Washington at the moment; they're trying to figure out what to do with her."
"Do you think she could become a threat?" Jun asked uneasilly. Mariko sighed sadly.
"Possibly. Kurosaki's issues seem deep rooted in her personality. She seems very bitter about how her life has worked out and I worry that may push her to places she shouldn't go," Mariko explained. It was mostly the same thoughts Jun had on the matter after meeting Aoi again.
"That's what I worry about too, it was clear to me from talking to her she still harbours so much resentment, and not just towards me," Jun remarked glumly. She felt she had had a hand in making Aoi the way she was, and her mother quickly caught on by the look on her face. "I know you blame yourself for the accident," Mariko pointed out, "It was never your fault, Jun. It was unfortunate. Kurosaki will decide for herself, what becomes of her." Jun didn't respond, still clearly troubled. Mariko realised it was time to change the subject.
"And what happened with your friend, Kazumi?" She asked.
"I felt the only right thing to do was to tell her to forget about me." Jun stammered, uncertain of her own belief in that. Mariko nodded and carressed her daughter's arm. She was aware that Kazumi was a light in Jun's life and doing that must have been incredibly hard. Jun didn't make connections with other people easilly, as introverted as she was.
"I understand completely, although in a strange way I don't know if it's the right choice," Mariko observed, "You really need people around you Jun, people who care about you. Even if you can't bring herself to tell her about any of this, and you probably shouldn't, she could still be there for you." Jun shook her head.
"I can't be her friend when I have all of this hanging over me. I... if I were here I'd be terrified of me if I saw what I... what I am. I have vague memories of what happened out on the docks. I just saw the soldiers around me as helpless toys. I almost crushed the man in the truck I stepped on; I just didn't care." Mariko didn't really know what to say to that. She sighed.
"I'd like to be there for you from now on and help you through all this. But Jillian Bates isn't going to allow that." Jun tilted her head quizzicaly, had she heard that name before?
"Jillian Bates? Who is she?" she asked.
"She's actually Lan's mother, and the head of the entire HA," Mariko began, "And to be perfectly honest with you, Lan is the most compassionate of the two. I know what that sounds like," Mariko waved her arm, smiling at Jun's obvious disbelief, "But she didn't have to let you keep any life outside of what they have you do. She has gone out of her way to allow you some room. You're only here for now because they have a pretty good reason for it, once the all clear is given things will go back to where they were."
"I still hate her," Jun said matter-of-factly.
"That's also completely understandable," Mariko chortled, feeling at least a little better for the first time since she arrived. Mariko moved to hug Jun, and this time Jun allowed it."I'm sorry, for all this." Jun sighed.
"You didn't seem to have any control over any of it, I understand. I still need some time before things go back to how they were between us, and I don't know if they can ever really be the same again." Mariko sat back.
"I can understand that," Mariko agreed, "But I'm behind you now. I love you, everything I've done is because of that. Please believe that Grandfather had faith in you, the last time we spoke, he said no matter what happened to your body, inside you would always be his beloved grandaughter." Mariko stood up. "I let myself doubt that; and for that I am sorry." She bowed in formal apology. Jun realised it was an apology she could accept, and she was glad for it.
"I think I can understand at least why you wanted to protect me from it when I was still a child," Jun said, "Remi is too young to understand what she is. She shouldn't have to go through this, it's not fair. I hope you can find a way to save her."
"I'll do everything I can," Mariko replied resolutely.
It was after midnight when soldiers roused both Mariko and Jun. They followed those same soldiers across the grounds. Sirens resounded as they approached, and it seemed the entire based was being mobilised. Asuka and Kogare stood outside the Medical College nearby a military fire engine. Surrounding them were a group of firemen, in the midst of preparing to enter a major blaze. Weilding axes and hand-extinguishers, wearing fireproof haz-mats and gas masks, it was clear the situation was serious, but Jun couldn't see any signs of any fire.
"What's happening?" Jun asked Asuka as they approached.
"Remi is up and moving around. So far, she's been screaming for her mother," Asuka explained.
"Have you detected the DBT reaction yet?" Mariko asked. Jun realised that Kogare was holding a strange device, one she had seen a few times before.
"Not yet," Kogare answered.
"What are you talking about, Mother?" Jun asked.
"To keep it simple, we can detect if someone actually transforms for a distance, there's a biological flare up involving the body's metabolism. If it's not detected on that scanner, then right now Remi is just still herself." Mariko then turned to Asuka. "Yet you decided to mobilise the base? You really aren't taking any chances are you?" Mariko replied bitterly.
"With her we can't really afford to now can we?" Asuka snapped back. "I don't want any human beings in contact with her whilst she is agitated."
"Then we'll both go in," Mariko suggested.
"What did I just say?" Asuka glared at her.
"You have fireproof hazmat suits on standby, give us those and let us try to save her." Jun, standing just behind Mariko, placed a hand on her mother's shoulder.
"Mother, Asuka's right, I don't think you should go in with me. If something sets her off, I'll handle it somehow, but I don't want anybody else at risk, especially you."
An explosion emanated from within the facility, everybody directly outside the entrance felt a blast of hot air. Smoke quickly started pouring out of the building, and the military firefighters got to scanner in Kogare's hand screamed positive, it's harsh beeps feeling like the stabbing of a knife.
"It's too late, Mariko," Asuka yelled authoritatively, "Jun, we'll get you that hazmat suit, but you're not going in until we get the blaze under control. It's too risky otherwise and I'm not prepared to lose you." Mariko slumped to her knees.
"So it's like this, we never even had a chance." Jun knelt beside her to try and comfort her.
"I'm sorry, I really am mother."
"And now they want you to go and kill her," Mariko sighed, sorrow and anger lacing her voice.
"I won't, if I don't have to," Jun looked for a moment at Asuka and then back to her mother. "I may fight these things at Asuka's word, but I only kill if they leave me no other alternative," Jun argued, almost as much for her own benefit as her mother's. Mariko stared into her eyes, then nodded her belief what her daughter had said.
Jun entered the building several minutes later, fully garbed in fireproof material. Hotspots had broken out throughout the structure, and although Remi had set off all the different safeguards positioned immediately around her room, they hadn't been enough to contain her. Several firefighters passed her by heading for the far more sane option of leaving the building rather than progressing further inside it. It was difficult to hear anything other than the destruction rampant around her, but she felt somehow beneath that she was hearing the laughter of a child. Were her ears deceiving her? Finally she exited the stairwell when her instincts told her that she was getting close, and passed through a set of double doors. Her welcome was the sight of two men being burned alive as fiery chemical containers dropped upon them. Not only could Remi generate fire, but she appeared able to manipulate solid objects with her will alone. Jun used the fire extinguisher she brought with her instinctively on the men, but no response would have been quick enough; the severity of the heat and the sheer shock had already burned them from head to toe and neither were breathing any more. Jun took a moment to absorb the grisly scene. Human lives were so easilly snuffed out but the beings born of this mutation. How could she hope to fight this if it spread as much as the HA clearly feared it would? She braced herself uncertain of what she was about to see; the laughing was much easier to hear now, but so were vocalised cries.
"Mama. Mama? Where are you Mama?" Those cries rended her heart; they were not the cries of someone who understood anything about what they were doing. She cautiously headed towards the voice, and gasped when she finally saw her quarry; it was sentient fire, fire that had somehow against all laws of chemistry and physics taken a humanoid shape. Within the flames she could make out something solid and possibly organic inside; the flames were like a shell or an exoskeleton around it.
"Remi! Remi! You have to stop this! You're hurting people!" Jun shouted through the mouthpiece of her hazmat suit, however if Remi understood her she didn't show it. Instead the fire beast headed right towards her, and blasted white hot flames. Jun braced herself, but even the fireproof suit she wore was little match for the intensity of the heat. As she felt the heat threaten to melt the material itself, she initiated her transformation, and quickly tore off the suit.
"Remi, please, please, you have to listen to me!" Jun continued shouting, uncertain of what to do. This wasn't like any of her previous battles, before now her beast side had found it shamefully easy to just rip and tear; that strategy wasn't going to do much good here. No, for once it was less her bestial instincts and more her desire to save a victim that motivated her, but given that being the case, she felt woefully inadequate. She didn't even know if Remi perceived her as a threat or not, because though it directed flames towards her, for all she knew the child inside was simply reacting to her environment. Only when Jun found herself trapped in a corner and literally bathed in flames did a possibility occur to her; she could do something no other being could do. She felt the intense heat, but somehow her body had an unnatural resistance to it. Almost certainly not an unlimited resistance, but she was the only being who could brave those flames and try to reach whatever was inside them.
"Remi, it's Mama; Mama is here," she yelled as she did her best to move forward, feeling the searing on her skin, knowing that she was pushing her body even further than ever before, until she was within arms reach of the organic body at the source.
"Mama? Mama..." It said as Jun slowly reached her arms around it.
"Everything is going to be all right now, Mama is here." For a moment, Remi accepted the embrace, and seem to be calming; the heat lessened in its intensity, the flame started to die down.
"Mama... Mama," her voice continued, and Jun realised the true nature of the cries; realisation. And anquish beyond human understanding.
"No, no Remi please no!" Jun cried as she watched the organism begin to break apart piece by piece, before her own arms crushed what was left leaving little more than embers on the floor. Jun stared at her ash covered arms, as tears dripped down her cheeks. Then she unleashed her own sorrow in an anguished wail. Instinctively as her body was still incredibly hot, she broke apart a nearby waterpipe; steam rising from her body she cooled off. By the time she was found, she was sitting naked in a pool of water, still crying out Remi's name.
Jun hurried through Haneda Airport's twelfth terminal, knowing she was cutting it close; her mother's plane was scheduled to leave in twenty minutes. It would have been sensible to cancel her morning gig; it was not like Yuasa wasn't used to it by now, but she was determined not to do that to him when the reason wasn't HA work. She wanted to see her mother off as she left to go back to the States, to try and part with her on a better note. Just as the gate was called she found her mother sitting in the waiting area ready to embark.
"Mother, glad I made it," she panted. Mariko stood up and hugged her.
"I wasn't sure if you were going to see me off or not, but I'm glad you did," Mariko said as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. "If it were up to me, I'd stay with you now, but they're not giving me a choice." Jun nodded.
"There's not much we can do," she said resignedly. Mariko sighed.
"There will be more Remi Takashima's. I wish I could say anything else but, there will be."
"And the best way to help them is by understanding their condition," Jun realised,
"It's not going to be me and it's not going to be the military that help people like her, it has to be people like you, working to understand what they are going through. I understand why you have to go."
"Oh Jun," Mariko embraced her, "I'll be thinking about you, always. I've told Asuka to give you a way to contact me in Washington if you need to, please, don't suffer alone; call me." Jun nodded.
"I understand. I'll get in touch."
"And remember your Grandfather. No matter how dire the situation gets, you always have a choice, and you always have a home to go back to." Mariko continued, "Never let them dictate what you are." Jun looked around the hustle and bustle of the terminal, seeing so much humanity surrounding her actually made her feel somewhat comfortable when she said
"I won't. I promise." They kissed one last time and spoke their farewells as Mariko boarded the plane. She was followed by two men in dark suits that the pair of them had done their best to ignore during their exchange.
And Jun knew that she had her own shadows, that kept a more tasteful distance. Their presence was always known to her, because of the chemical scent of their firearms. The plight of Remi Takashima hadn't left her mind since it happened, several days before. She wondered, if she had transformed when she was a child suddenly, would she have killed everyone around her? As she made her way back, retracing her steps, holiday goers and long range commuters milling around her, she looked around at them, going about their lives. She didn't know. It was what frightened her the most.