Chapter Twenty-four

Rei returned to awareness to find a crook in his back and Natalia curled up around his pillow, her nose buried into it. He smiled, finding the tough woman’s surprisingly innocent posture endearingly cute. His smile turned quickly to a frown as his memories of their conversation the night before returned.

He stood and quietly padded to his door. Opening it he slid his head out, into the communal dormitory that made up the majority of the old public works facility, looking for one of Natalia’s people. He found one of the Sirens. He couldn’t recall her name, camped outside and as luck would have it, awake.

“Hey! I told Natalia I’d look over her… because… um…” He stuttered, awkwardly. He didn’t know how to bring up what he needed and began rethinking his idea to talk to his sister.

“She had nightmares about what our so-called superiors called training, and you promised to keep an eye on her and to protect her from her nightmares. Now you’re wrestling internally with what she described them doing to her.” The woman said with a gentle smile. “You find yourself bothered by the story so much, that you are afraid you’ll seem bothered by Natalia, which isn’t the case, so you want to find your sister to talk to her about it before Natalia wakes up.”

“That’s not fair, you know.” Rei grumbled.

The albino’s smile deepened. “True, but it’s all on the surface of your mind, and you were talking yourself out of leaving. It’s a good idea for you to go, especially since your sister is a medical doctor, so go. I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”

The Siren began to slide past him but paused. She leaned forward and sniffed Rei, only to wrinkle her brow in consternation.

“What was that about?” Rei asked, perplexed.

She shrugged. “Saki and Natalia both think you smell good, but Kitsune senses, particularly scent, don’t always translate over to Siren’s perceptions well. I just don’t get it.” She concluded, walking the rest of the way into Rei’s room, and shutting the door between them.

Rei shook his head and started into the crowd filling what used to be just his place, muttering “Weird.” He wrestled his way through the mass, asking several people along the way if they had seen his sister, and finally getting steered towards the small infirmary that, by the same administrative miracle as had saved the facility it’s self, still had a few beds and shelving units.

He slid inside, finding his sister examining the soul male Kitsune survivor among the former InSec team. “Okay Shido, are you still in pain, or are the medications helping?” Rei heard her ask.

“Yeah, no… I’m fine. Well, except for the shattered arm, of course. And the dizziness kind of sucks. My vision’s kind of blurry too.”

“Good.” Said Kay, mouth covering her smile as she looked down at the medication blitzed man.

“Hey, Kay? Do you have a few minutes to spare?” Rei called out, fully entering the infirmary.

“Unless you’re hurt, no.” She replied, not bothering to look away from her examination of Shido’s splinted arm. Kitsune, thanks to being able to manipulate just about any living tissue in their own body, recovered from injuries in a fraction of the time it took a Human, which made long term solutions like casts more hassle than help.

“Actually, it’s about Natalia.” Rei stated. “She… um… She had a nightmare, one that caused her to get bruised up pretty badly.”

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“Did she hit a wall or something?” Kay asked, finally looking up.

“No. They just… formed.”

“Oh. That nightmare!” Shido chirped up. “Fuck. She was finally getting over those, we thought.”

“She’s done this before?” Both Kay and Rei said at the same time. Rei hadn’t completely believed that Natalia’s recent nightmare wasn’t a strange event, even with what had happened to cause them. Shido’s confirmation sent a shiver up his spine.

“Yeah, unfortunately. Ever since they gave her that ‘Advanced Officer’s Training’” Shido sneered, making air quotes as he spoke.

“Training?” Kay leaned back; brow wrinkled. “What kind of training could possibly leave mental scars that bad?”

“They raped her, Kay.” Rei sighed, looking away from her expression of horror and clenching his fists. His voice managed to stay steady. “They did it multiple times, tying her down when she fought back. When they were done, they’d show her the videos they were taking, and critique…. They’d lie to her, and then do it all over again.”

Kay’s hand came to her mouth as she gasped, her eyes wide in horror. She looked at Shido who nodded.

“They called it resistance training. Some bullshit about making her resistant to interrogation.”

Kay closed her eyes, whispering “Oh my god.”

“She said it lasted about a month.” Rei growled, his nails digging into the palms of his hand. “Then they just sent her back to her team, without any counseling or anything.”

“She’s had nightmares ever since, for years now. They had been growing less frequent and had stopped completely just recently. We thought she was finally over them.”

“It was probably what happened to her… your team that caused it.” Kay admitted. “Emotional trauma of one type frequently calls up trauma that might be well buried at the same time. Even when they’re unrelated.”

“I don’t know anything about that.” Rei stated. “I just want to help her! I don’t know how to do that either, since she can barely stand for a male to touch her.”

“Outside of the team, and Rei, he’s understating the issue.” Shido said grimly. “She once broke another officer’s arm because he surprised her by putting a hand on her shoulder. I’m frankly surprised your brother there isn’t in traction yet.”

Rei just sneered at the injured man, while Kay pursed her lips in thought. “That’s probably the Kizuna at work.” She commented after a moment.

“What the heck is a Kizuna?” Shido demanded.

Rei and Kay both looked at Shido, amazed he hadn’t noticed it. “Their mating bond. You must be able to smell the change in Natalia.”

“What does Talia smelling funny have to do with sex?”

“Not sex. Mating.” Kay corrected him, staring. “Rei and Natalia are a soul bonded, a mated couple.”

“Thanks sis.” Rei grumbled but was ignored by the other two.

“Good Job!” Shido congratulated him. “How did you manage to marry my sister without me knowing?” He paused looking either confused or just dazed. “And does she know?”

“He didn’t do anything, Shido. It just happens.” Kay said, frowning. “Do you mean to tell me you don’t know about Kizuna? They’re not married… yet.”

“No?”

Kay opened her mouth, to explain further, when Alexander stuck his head in the door. “Kay, we need you for a strategy session.”

“In a few minutes, Alexander. We’re a little busy here.”

“We need to do this now… Ack!” The albino barely dodged a plastic pitcher, thrown by Shido.

“She said she’s busy snowman, so bugger off.”

“I’ll tell them you’ll be along in a few.” The psychic said, disappearing behind a closing door.

Kay sighed and moved the bed tray and its arsenal of throwable items, away from Shido. “Does Natalia or Saki know about mating?”

“Well, there is the breeding program.” Shido admitted.

“The what?”

Rei winced, having let that part slip his mind. “InSec scheduled breeding for its troops. The Kitsune ones at least.”

“Siren too. Hell, if you want to make it past Captain, even humans have to be married.” Shido agreed.

“Natalia told me… she was also being ordered to report for that.” Rei added.

Kay sighed. “I’m not going to explain this twice. I’ll grab Natalia and Saki later and bring them here so all five of us can go over Kitsune sexual education. Just what I need on top of everything else.”

“Sorry Kay.”

“It’s alright, Rei, you needed to tell me. If Natalia is suffering like you describe she’s going to go nuts sorting out her physical and emotional responses to you.”

“Then why do you want me and Saki there? We aren’t bonded to anyone.”

“Because it happens to a reasonably high number of Kitsune couples, eventually. Now, I want you to rest Shido.” Kay instructed, and walked towards Rei and the door. “You, I need to come with me. We’re going to need someone who knows the lay of the land for this meeting, and that pretty much means you right now. Alexander hasn’t managed to contact his other surface agents. We’ll have to find a new place to hide, and a safe way to get there.”

“Since InSec knows about us now, do you really think we’ll have a chance?”

“I hope so.”

Neither noticed the thoughtful look that crossed Shido’s face as they left.