- 26 -

A frantic rattle echoed through the small room. Lilith turned to find the door's handle shaking nearly as bad as she was. It must be Pandora, but why would she be in such a hurry to get inside? If anything, the door would have opened faster had she taken her time, a fact proved by Lilith having time to think it before the door swung open.

Pandora stood sweaty and panting in the doorway. She wheezed out, "Is it true?" between heavy breaths.

The words, Yes, I'm a youkai, flooded Lilith's head, but she swallowed them back down before they could fall out. If Pandora knew, then she had known for two days now. Besides, she wouldn't ask about that directly. This had to be about her encounter with the youkai.

Lilith stared down into her lap. "Who told you?"

Pandora's hand pressed down over her own, squeezing it gently. The hunter's palm was hard and rough but the warmth was calming.

"What are—"

"You must have been so scared," Pandora said. "Tell me what happened."

Lilith hesitated, then told her everything. Pandora's thumb stroked her skin as she spoke. There was a comfort in the action that Lilith wanted to hold onto. Like a weight lifted from her heart. She had to remind herself that it was all a trick. At least, it could be a trick, so until she knew for sure she would treat it like one.

"I'm sorry." Pandora's voice carried an air of melancholy that caught Lilith off guard.

"You don't need to be."

Pandora wrapped her arms around Lilith and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I don't want to be, but you almost died. If that gorilla hadn't been there—"

Lilith pushed herself free. The whole thing was stupid. Why was Pandora so worried about someone like her, anyway? Maybe she really didn't know.

"None of that is your fault."

Lilith wanted to add, I can take care of myself, but didn't think it was true, so instead she said, "I can't expect you to be there every time I get myself into trouble."

Pandora fell silent. "What if I could be?" she finally said. "At least in spirit. Where's your pistol?"

Lilith's eyes flicked to the bedside table but she didn't let her head turn. Why was Pandora asking?

She knows I'm a youkai and wants to be sure I can't defend myself before she executes me. Lilith fought back the paranoia. No, why would she act so concerned that a youkai nearly killed me if she wanted me dead?

"Do you need it for something?"

Pandora crossed the room and slipped her bag across her shoulder, then grabbed her shotgun. "No, but you'll need it. It's time for me to keep my promise."

Lilith didn't know what Pandora had planned and didn't want to find out. She was tired, frightened, and stressed out. All she wanted was to go back to sleep. Lilith prepared to refuse the request, but something occurred to her. The source of that fatigue, fear, and stress was her uncertainty around Pandora.

So far, helping the hunter look through a bunch of books for monster trivia hadn't gotten her any closer to the answer she sought. But maybe this was the chance she needed to find out what the hunter knew. The opportunity to talk about something other than work.

Lilith grabbed the gun from the bedside table. "What do you have in mind?"

"Target practice."

Pandora led Lilith out of the room and up to the second-class deck. The sun had retreated fully past the earth's edge, but the deck was still well-lit with moonlight. Pandora turned and headed for the rear of the ship. Lilith stopped a moment while the day's events played themselves again in her head. She took a deep breath and rushed to catch up with Pandora.

"I want to go to where the attack happened," Pandora said, "but I understand if that's upsetting for you." She stopped abruptly at a thick rope that stretched across the deck. One end was tied to a door nob and the other to the exterior railing. The security team must have hung it to keep passengers away from the attack site.

Pandora placed a hand on the rope, then met Lilith's gaze. "If you don't want to go, tell me. I won't force you. Maybe we can find somewhere else that might work."

"You have a reason, right."

"Guns are weapons. All they're designed for is killing. It's one thing to shoot a..." Pandora trailed off. "I just think it'll be the safest spot to fire live rounds. But it's your choice."

Lilith crouched and slipped below the rope. Pandora smiled, then lifted the line to pass underneath as well. They were around 150 feet from the end of the deck. A place where only a few hours prior someone had lost their life. Lilith took a deep breath and took a step. There was a tug at her arm and Lilith looked down to find Pandora had taken her by the hand.

"You can change your mind whenever you want. If we get there and it's too much for you just squeeze my hand and we'll leave."

Lilith looked away but nodded in agreement. Why exactly did she suspect this woman knew her secret? Pandora had done it again; gone out of her way to worry about Lilith even though she was cold to everyone else. Just like the first time they met, just like their first night together, just like always. Nothing had changed between them these last two days, yet she continued to force herself to suspect Pandora.

Lilith let the hunter pull her along until they reached the open space at the rear of the ship. It was empty. Whoever had roped off the area must have also moved the body to the ship's morgue. Even the blood had been mopped up.

Lilith's anxiety fell away from her in a sharp breath. Despite agreeing to come along she was still apprehensive. Maybe that was why Pandora's hand felt so good in hers. The comfort brought by knowing she was only one squeeze away from being whisked away to safety; the way she had been when they first met.

"This is perfect," Pandora said. Excitement sounded clear in her voice. "No passengers around to bother us, and we can safely shoot towards the water." She released Lilith's hand and pulled the bag from her shoulder. Lilith scooted closer to watch her dig through the bag's contents. Pandora pulled a notebook free and began to flip through its pages.

"What do you have there?"

"Ah ha." Pandora stopped flipping, then ripped the top page free of the binding. "We'll need a target."

Pandora held up the page and Lilith shuttered. It was a perfect rendition of the youkai that had attacked her a few short hours ago. While the prospect of shooting the thing excited her, it seemed like a waste of Pandora's artwork.

"But that must have taken you forever to draw. It looks just like it."

"Nah, the real thing is way taller."

Pandora set the page down, then pinned it with her knee so it wouldn't blow away. She returned the notebook to the bag, then dug through until she found a strip of gauze pinned into a tight roll with metal clips.

"This should work." Pandora held one end of the gauze and flung the rest over a support beam for the first-class deck above. Once it had fallen back down, she looped it under the railing overlooking the sea. She tied the two ends together to form a loop. The result was a vertical strip of bandage running floor to ceiling that Pandora fastened her target to with the metal bandage clips.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Unlike the first-class observation deck, second-class didn't get a large open space. Most of their deck was a thin strip around the ship's edges; closer in form to a balcony minus the overhang. Shooting towards the sea you wouldn't be able to get back much further than point-blank range. Not much use for target practice. There was an open area at the stern that spanned the ship's full width, but without the deck above there was nothing to hang the target from. Only the transition between the two spaces met their needs.

"I see now why it had to be here," Lilith said.

"You're sure it doesn't bother you?"

"So, what should I do?"

Pandora rested a hand on Lilith's back and led her around fifteen feet away from the target. "This should be a good distance to start with. Once you get the hang of it we can try from further back. Is the gun loaded?"

"I put the long part back into the handle?"

"The long part is called the magazine. Here, grip the gun in your right hand and hold it out in front of you. But don't put your finger on the trigger yet."

Lilith raised the gun as instructed, then an arm reached over her shoulder toward the weapon. She shrunk back in surprise. If Pandora noticed, she didn't mention it. Instead, she ran a finger along the top of the pistol.

"This is called the slide. Pull it back with your left hand then release it."

Pandora spoke directly into Lilith's ear. The gentle blow of the hunter's breath as she spoke made Lilith's heart beat faster. She hesitated for a second, then pulled back the slide.

"Now you're ready to fire. Give it a shot."

Lilith pushed the weapon forward and slid her finger over the trigger. As she applied pressure her hand began to shake. She pressed her eyes closed and turned her head anticipating the bang. It came sudden but violent. The force of the gunshot knocked her arm up to the sky as if she were asking God to soothe the stinging of her palm.

"Did I hit it?"

Lilith's ears were still ringing but she was able to make out Pandora saying, "If you opened your eyes you could see if you hit it."

Lilith peeked through one eye and glanced at the target. The drawing of the bird grinned at her unharmed.

"You're never going to hit anything if you're afraid of the gun," Pandora said. "But I understand. I was the same way my first time."

"You were?"

"Yeah. I was terrible. Renna used to joke that I'd be able to fly if only I jumped and tried to hit the ground." Pandora's hand traced a path up Lilith's arm until it rested over her hand; a warm comfort on her skin. "Take your finger off the trigger for a minute. I'm going to adjust your form." Pandora guided Lilith's arm until the handgun was pointed roughly at the target again.

"How long did it take you to learn?"

"You never stop learning, but it was six months before Renna considered me good enough to join a hunt."

Lilith jumped when Pandora took her left hand and raised it to the gun. The cold of the winter air disappeared, replaced by the hunter's warm embrace.

"You won't be running into danger on purpose, so unless you want me to train you as a hunter I don't think we'll need the full six months."

Lilith could feel Pandora's chest press into her back with each breath. Feel the trace of each finger as they moved across her arms. "S-six months... That must have been hard."

"It seemed that way at the time but in the years since I've dreamed of being able to go back and train with her again. I still remember the day she said I was ready. She gifted me her revolver to commemorate the achievement."

Lilith watched Pandora's hand retreat behind her back. The spot on her skin it had formerly occupied was left feeling empty and cold. When Pandora's hand reentered her vision, it held a gleaming revolver. Moonlight caught on a word engraved into the barrel.

"Tomorrow?" Lilith asked.

"Before I met Renna I had no future, so I named her gift Tomorrow. The engraving came later."

"That's... That's really sweet." When Lilith looked up, Pandora's face had flushed red.

"You locked your elbows last time." She looked anywhere but toward Lilith as she returned Tomorrow to its holster. Slowly her arm wrapped back around Lilith and began to adjust her stance. "That's not necessarily wrong, but try bending your elbows slightly. Your arms will work like a spring to help absorb the recoil."

Lilith raised the gun toward the drawing across the deck.

"Take a deep breath in then pull the trigger. And try not to look away this time."

The gun jumped up in a burst of light and sound, but not nearly as high as the first time. The sting in her hand was about the same, though. As was the effect on the target. Another complete miss.

The gentle touch of Pandora's embrace returned. "This time try closing your left eye. Focus your right eye on the target, then bring the gun up to meet your vision." Pandora pressed a finger against the back of the gun. "You want to place the rear sights around your target. Like looking at it through a little window. Then tilt the barrel up until the front sight eclipses it entirely."

Lilith waited for Pandora to give her posture a few final adjustments then took aim. She framed the bird within the small V-shaped notch then adjusted the gun until the drawing was completely hidden behind the front sight. She pulled in a deep breath, then pulled the trigger. The gun burst to life and fifteen feet away a small hole appeared in the paper.

"I did it!" Lilith pressed herself back into Pandora and flashed a wide smile.

"One more, only without my help this time," Pandora said, stepping away.

Lilith had expected praise. She deflated a bit as Pandora moved back, almost as if the woman had been literally holding her up. She felt hollow.

But Pandora's right, I still have to do it myself.

Lilith turned back to the target and drew her gun. She sighted in and took a deep breath. Pandora's praise was on the line; a prize she didn't even know she wanted. There was a loud crack. Before the gunsmoke could clear a hand pressed itself into her hair and began to rustle it back and forth.

"Hey cut it out!" she shouted, but she couldn't stop the smile that pulled itself up to her cheeks. She had fired the gun and a fresh hole had appeared dead center on the bird's head. That was reason enough to be happy, but it felt even better that she wasn't the only one excited.

"Great shot, Lilith! The target itself was already smaller than the real thing's head. To still put it between his eyes... You might have talent."

"Should I do it again?"

"No. If we use all the ammo there won't be anything left if you need it." Pandora's hand pulled back from Lilith's hair and reached for the strap over her shoulder. "Wanna try shooting my shotgun?"

Lilith nodded.

The shotgun was much heavier than the pistol. It felt more dangerous. Whether rational or not, the thought made Lilith give the weapon extra respect.

"You'll need to reload it first. Flip the lever by your right thumb."

The gun fell open as Lilith clicked the latch. A spent shell from Pandora's last fight launched out of the breech and spiraled over her shoulder. The shell alone had taken her by surprise, so when the mechanical loading system snapped into place Lilith nearly dropped the gun.

Definitely more dangerous.

"Sorry, I should have warned you about that," Pandora said. "If you just pull the barrel back into place the gun will be set to fire."

Lilith fumbled a bit but managed to ready the weapon. Pandora reached around and guided the stock into Lilith's shoulder.

"This one is going to kick harder. Make sure your feet are far enough apart to keep your balance."

With that last bit of advice, the hunter stepped back and left Lilith to figure out the rest firsthand. She raised the weapon toward the target and pressed an eye closed. The shotgun's sights were a slightly different shape, but the function was the same. Lilith lined everything up, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

Despite the warning, the recoil knocked Lilith from her feet. As she fell, she watched shreds of paper carried off into the wind like snowflakes. Euphoria overtook her. Instead of the ground, she crashed back into Pandora, whose arms wrapped around her waist to hold her up.

The hunter wore a tight frown. "Are you okay?"

Lilith answered with laughter. She had made a fool of herself, but she couldn't remember ever having this much fun. Pandora's concern faded and a warm smile grew on her lips. They were painted a bright pink. She would have thought the makeup would dull them, but they still held a glossy shine. They looked soft. Lilith's heart pounded as she stared up at those lips.

Pandora closed her eyes and leaned in. Lilith rose to meet her.

"What the hell are you doing back here?"

Pandora jumped. She looked like she had seen a ghost. Actually, Lilith couldn't imagine Pandora being afraid of a ghost. She looked like someone else who had seen a ghost.

Lilith pulled herself to her feet and greeted the new arrival. "Hello, Allister."

"Your roommate's here too?"

"You know she was attacked earlier," Pandora said. "I'm not going to leave her defenseless. I was teaching her how to shoot."

Allister pressed his hand to his temple.

"The passengers are frightened as it is, you can't just fire your weapons for no reason. I started over as soon as I heard the gunshots, but no less than seven passengers stopped me hysterical that there was another attack happening."

Pandora slipped the strap of her shotgun over her shoulder. "I don't know those passengers; I know Lilith."

The sentiment was endlessly cold, but somehow it made Lilith happy. Maybe Pandora really does care about me. For a moment it almost seemed like we were about to...

Lilith shook her head, trying to knock the thought loose. She must have put her name in the protagonist's spot one too many times; she was imagining things.

"Besides," Pandora continued, "the passengers wouldn't need to be afraid if the ship wasn't transporting youkai in the first place.

Lilith froze. "What? You brought that thing aboard on purpose?"

"Not under my advisory," Allister said, nodding at Lilith before turning his gaze to Pandora. "And how do you know about that?"

"I claimed it was true and you admitted it."

Allister let out an audible burst of air.

"But I suspected as much when the man heading up the ships security force was obviously a trained hunter."

"Congratulations, you got me. But instead of talking about it I think showing you would be better. Now that you're a proper member of this hunt I'd like you to visit the cargo hold as well as the first attack site."

Pandora let out a sigh. "Fine. We were done here anyway. Are you coming Lilith, or should I walk you back to the room."

Lilith was caught off guard by the sudden mention of her name. She had spaced out and once again found herself fixated on Pandora. On her long dark hair; her piercing blue eye.

Mesmerized by her soft pink lips.

"I... Want to come with you."