“Kubo, what a smart man you are, you learn so well, don’t you?” she laughs. “I do hope you all don’t mind if I join you all for some tea and that all-so-wonderful udon I heard you speak about.” She sits beside Kubo. Her demeanor is as if she was simply a friend of theirs. Their collective hearts beat with fear.

“You… you’re Miss Bones, huh?” Usagi grits her teeth.

“In the flesh, held up by the bones beneath.” She closes her eyes, smiling. “Do we maybe partake in a prime jasmine tea? Is it not your favorite brew, Kubo?” she asks, using his fake name.

“Yes, jasmine is my favorite. Don’t expect to flatter me with remembering a simple thing.” He knows he has to sway this conversation the best he can. Though he also knows how fruitless that will be, she is well-aware of such tactics with her broken, brilliant mind.

“I only ask to share with you, I want something with that light taste.” She sets down a vial in front of her. “You know how I enjoy light things, traveling, for example. Things can be quite heavy if you don’t, wouldn’t you all agree?”

They’re all confused by the sudden vial on the table.

“You’re not going to do that. You’re making it too obvious. I know that’s not how you work,” Kubo says.

“My, aren’t you sharper then you used to be? You’re right. It’s not my place to do that. In fact, I wasn’t supposed to be here at all. Maybe I let that slip my mind.” She keeps smiling.

“However, I wanted to see the ones who will kill us all,” she says. “You all appear to me normal on the outside, but it’s on the inside what matters, is it not? Trust me when I say I’m not a shallow girl at all. I can see it in those eyes. What lovely souls.”

“Don’t you dare talk down to us like that,” Usagi says. Her furrowed brow reveals her discontent and unwavering bravery, even in the face of danger.

“Mmm, my apologies. You’re absolutely right. You’re all the resistance Remnants, aren’t you? That’s practically celebrity status when it comes to us, considering there are no more who fight for your cause. No more heroes, you all would say, yes?”

“We’re not only heroes. We’ll be the winners,” Usagi snaps.

“I agree with Usagi,” Ishimoto throws in. “I’ve heard you’re not merely insane; you have a brain that is golden as well. That’s a dangerous combination. People like you are the reason we have weapons of mass destruction. You, too, must believe what you do is for the good of mankind.”

“Oh my, my, my! I love your comparison! You must have drawn on it also because my boss is the one who also holds the power of the sun like humans do. The only difference is he holds the true raw power of it. The one only a Remnant can. But my, what a smart boy you are. You can almost make me swoon with that intellect.” She smirks, staring into his eyes. They’re cold and full of life but almost not her own.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Yes, he is smart! But don’t be staring at him like that, I don’t trust you looking at any of us like that!” Keiko says.

There’s a tapping on the table. Her fingers sound like sharp knives clacking against silverware. It doesn’t go unnoticed by any. Takei implores, setting her own hands on the table, fearing that she may soon have to use her Remnant despite her calm.

“Calm, breathe gentle, don’t be afraid, little healer,” Miss Bones says. “You are a better healer than me. My healing has side effects, but yours does not, little bird.” She raises up and grabs her charm, making Usagi jump. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

“Usagi, it’s all right.” Takei calms her. “Like Kubo said, if she wanted to, she could have.” The glistening smile of Miss Bones’s teeth is enough to send a shiver down her spine. Her confidence is clear, and she herself knows what she is capable of compared to everyone else in the room. If they tried to fight her, even all together, it would end badly. Takei sees the best course of action is to let her do what she wants.

“You have the touch of a healer, and your hands are soothing and soft to the touch. It’s like a dreamy pillow, and it is so suitable for you, I would say. Though, there is something I noticed. Something I wonder if many people see.” She taps at her index finger. “Broken bones. Now, how did that happen, dear?”

“They’re not broken anymore. They healed a long time ago.” She says.

“That is true, but with every healing, it covers like snow. One layer, another, another, it all piles up whenever you heal. Nothing is the same as it was when it first began.”

Takei takes a moment. She says nothing.

“I understand. Some wounds are hard to bring up, aren’t they? No need to do so. I only wished to see the great healer up close.” She lets go. The way she stares at them becomes more apparent; she looks at each of their charms as if to gauge them before her eyes meet with Angel. A silent stare.

“You. You’re lacking a charm, yet you have a choker on. Are you perhaps a follower of Mr. Nuke Happy?” She smiles.

“No. I am not. It is simply a fashion statement.”

“A very particular one at that, I’ll admit. I would take it someone with such company wouldn’t fall into it even more, but there is one striking thing about you I notice more than anyone else. You have such beautiful eyes.” Her hooded eyes show only slightly the color of them. A pale blue, the kind of a salted lake on a hot summer day.

“My eyes. Are mine. Do not stare if you’d be so kind.”

“Oh, I love you all, all so brave in the face of danger. People like you are the same as the heroes who fought us before. Especially the one who gave me the most trouble. He went by the name of Ogata. It’s hard to tell if it was his real name, but do you all know his Remnant, hmm?” she questions.

“His Remnant. He had a charm like that of a boar. He was deadly when it came to close to close combat, and his ability to go headfirst into battle was an unmatched feature of his,” answered Ishimoto.

“Right you are. It is why he tore my bones clean from their cartilage when he struck me in the ribs.” She lifts up her shirt enough to see a puncture in her rib cage. “Poor old me had his tusk lunged right up in there, narrowly collapsed my lungs right then and there if I didn’t use my own secret weapon,” she says, putting it back down.

“You went too far killing him. There was nothing left of him. A dirty trick by a dirty woman.” Kubo sneers.

“A dirty woman, you say?” Her face grows more serious.

“Did you call me a dirty woman, Kubo?”

“I did.” His body shifts, staring into her soul. “A wretched one at that.”

There is a silence between the two. Everyone is afraid of what will happen. There is nothing but dead air.