Chapter 21 - Shards (cont.)

Hitomi stood. “This body needs to use the toilet. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Keiko rose as well. “I need to go too.”

And so we were left there with the undulating, gray features of Ogawa sliding through the windows. Akiko leaned around me to glance at Jamie’s lump of cloth and plushie. She cautiously reached around me, but Jamie set the lump in his lap and Akiko darted back. Jamie didn’t notice, he just told me, “Those two are getting a bit too friendly. I should remind Nathan that she’s the enemy.”

I rubbed my hands together. Akiko watched me. I had to wonder, if I was fire-related, then why was Akiko so interested in my warmth?

I thought back to the dark place. The warmth inside surged out of me then and formed those patches of light. It fit with what Hitomi said. I could influence flame. And the dark creature ate it up.

I stared at Akiko, and she stared back. I laid a hand on her shoulder and focused heat and warmth. My palm suddenly felt hot. Akiko squirmed in place and huddled close to me. She seemed eager to take every bit of warmth.

I kept going 'til I heard Hitomi scream, “STOP!”

My focus on the flame halted, like a blast of wind snuffing out a candle. Hitomi stood with her hands slowly dripping but drying in the air. Keiko rushed from far behind to catch up.

Jamie answered for me, “What was that?”

“I wasn’t talking to you. Arisu, don’t waste energy on that creature. It’s nothing but a bottomless pit. It only takes endlessly.”

Jamie waved a few fingers and contested, “And what about last night when ‘it’ couldn’t eat any more for dinner?” I felt bothered by their mutual usage of ‘it’, despite the fact I knew Jamie was taunting her from his inflection of the word.

Hitomi leaned her head back. Keiko stood beside her and held her wet hands together.

“Clearly, a human imposition.”

Jamie shook the lump a little. “Meaning?”

Hitomi sat across from us again. Keiko sat on the same side but a little further away than before. “It had never physically eaten anything. Spirit and influence-eating is different. In fact… maybe.” She clenched her mouth and stared towards the floor. Keiko leaned over with a concerned look.

Jamie didn’t share the same concern. He huffed and asked, “What? Something you don’t know, oh perfect planner of the universe?”

Her eyes flew up. “There are things which I cannot comprehend in this body. The same goes for each of you. But what bewilders me the most is how Arisu did what she did to that thing over there.” I twitched a little as she pointed to Akiko.

Jamie shrugged. “I thought you’d know more than us about turning people into girls…”

Hitomi waved her hands. “People are a different matter. They can be influenced many ways. But this… just imagine…” She searched a moment. “Imagine a virus suddenly becoming a human being. It’s just impossible.”

Jamie set his eyes on Akiko then turned them back to Hitomi. “Clearly… it wasn’t because she’s right there. What do you have to say to that?”

She stared at the floor a moment with a bit of air curling around Nana’s hair. The train slowed and she looked up.

“This is our stop.”

[https://i.imgur.com/52qTtcT.jpg]

-----

Hitomi kept to herself once we exited the train. Keiko tried to trade smiles with her, but she looked away.

Jamie kept a grin for himself as we took the stairs, he mashed the fabric lump under one arm. Akiko went slow, stumbling a little at first.

The foot traffic was the same as before. Only a few people were out and they hustled, as though in their own little worlds.

The library was darkened inside, but the door opened when I pulled on it. Akiko peered in through the window. Jamie stood in front of me and said to Hitomi, “I don’t want you going inside to cloud anyone’s mind.”

Hitomi turned away and leaned against the wall without protest. A gust curled at her face. Keiko clenched her hands a few times as Jamie beckoned her inward, made a little step, but said, “I’m sorry, I have to stay with her.”

“Why?” Jamie mashed his feet into the ground.

“I just… I dunno. She seems so lonely. I can relate to that feeling. And it seems like I owe her…”

Jamie clenched his fists. “Those are just her tricks!”

“Are they really? Do you know that?”

Jamie aimed his finger. “She stole everything from us. Our families, our lives, and more. She owes us.”

Keiko pulled on her collar and said softly, “I just want to help. I don’t want to see her suffer.”

Jamie shook his head. “You can’t have it both ways…”

Keiko took a deep breath. “I will stay with her 'til you get back. Make sure Shiori is okay.” She stepped to the other side of Hitomi. She moved like a slow wave, seeming to flow with each step. I blinked and held my breath. Jamie blew another snort and pressed ahead of me through the doorway.

Inside, the main lights were off. The only illumination was the sullen static gloom from the skylights in the ceiling. Akiko seemed captivated by it all. I found Shiori hefting an armful of books onto a counter. The wind from outside howled through the front doors. She took a long breath and glanced over at us.

It didn’t take long to realize she didn’t remember us either.

“I’m afraid we’re pretty much closed due to the approaching storm. All the computers are down anyway, so I can’t check anything out for you.”

Jamie walked up to her. “Don’t you recognize us?”

She adjusted the stack of books and slipped her bulging, lavender purse over her shoulder. “Excuse me? Umm. Were you ladies in here earlier? …Sorry, it’s been a hectic day.”

Jamie whirled around, swatted at the air around us, and muttered, “I swear I’ll knock her out or worse…” Akiko glanced at Jamie a second before going back to marveling at the dark interior.

Shioriko looked ever more bewildered. I approached her and asked, “Do you remember what you did yesterday for lunch?”

She gave me a few blinks before hesitantly saying, “I went down to a sushi bar a little ways from here with some people I knew. I… wait… I remember getting upset, but I can’t recall about what.”

Jamie turned back. “Look at us. Could we be the people you had lunch with yesterday?”

A pained expression dug into her face. “Umm… well. You two somewhat… I dunno. I’m really sorry. My co-worker Mei-chan says I can be so absent-minded sometimes.”

Jamie shook his head. “It’s not because of you. Someone is doing this to you. They are trying to control your thoughts.”

Shioriko pulled her purse closer and looked over the three of us. “Wha? You mean I can’t remember because… someone is controlling me?”

Jamie nodded. “She’s the same person who turned you into a girl in the first place.”

Shioriko gasped and asked quietly, “...How do you know that?”

Jamie’s eyes gleamed like bright, brown gems. “You told us yourself.”

She fidgeted and frowned. “Hmm. I have these weird feelings. It’s like playing tug of war against myself. I somehow understand and yet, it’s like something is missing.”

Jamie touched her shoulder. “As I said, someone is affecting your mind.”

She nodded a little. “You said… ‘she’. Do you know who is doing this?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Jamie smiled. “Better than that. I can show you her.”

-----

Keiko and Hitomi were in the same place. I caught the last snippet of a word from Keiko expressed to Hitomi before they both fell silent. Shioriko locked the doors behind her.

Jamie led Shioriko to Hitomi and said, “This is who is responsible for everything. She’s responsible for what happened to you, to this world, and this storm as well.”

Shiori looked at her and asked only, “Is what she said true?”

Hitomi sighed, flicked her eyes at Jamie, and said, “I don’t know what purpose this serves… but yes, what she says is reasonably-accurate.”

I didn’t know what to expect next. Shioriko bowed her head and asked, “Why?”

Hitomi glanced at Jamie and said, “What happened to you was just a side effect of changing this world. And I did that to be reunited with my sisters.” She spoke quickly. It seemed obvious to me she didn’t have much regard for Shiori, who clenched her fists and lowered her head. Akiko leaned closer to Shiori.

“What did you do to me?”

Hitomi let her arms go slack and looked Shioriko over. “I did very little to you directly. Today, when you were unaware, I clouded a few of your memory connections to my sisters so as to simplify my task ahead. Otherwise, I gave you a good life to keep you happy.”

Shioriko’s head dashed up. “And what is my life to you?!?”

“A tool to achieve my goals…”

The slap that followed seemed to echo throughout the entire city center, as though all other sounds had fallen silent. Hitomi’s cheek welled up bright red.

Shioriko’s eyes looked glossy. “I am not… your tool.” Keiko stepped away from Hitomi and closer to Shioriko.

Hitomi touched a hand to the red side of her cheek and laid out her other hand. “So, is that all?”

She shook her head. Shioriko’s glossy eyes looked a little moist. “I exist… and my existence is my own and no one else’s…” She coughed a little and finally said, “And...that is all. I’m going home.”

Jamie dashed in front of her. “Wha… wait. That’s it? Come on, together we could take her!”

Shioriko looked back at us. “I’m a person of words. I said my piece.”

Jamie shook his head. “So, that’s just… it?”

“I’m sorry I can’t remember any of you. I wish I could do more, but I need to get home before the weather gets really bad.”

Jamie jerked his free arm at Hitomi, and the fabric lump nearly fell. “But she’s causing this storm! If we can stop her, then we stop it!”

A strong gust pressed at Shioriko. She gave a deep bow. “I’m sorry… I have to go. Please take care!” She rushed off, waving behind her. Hitomi braced the back of Nana’s head with her free hand.

Jamie ran at Hitomi and tackled her to the ground. I could hear Nana’s head 'thump' hard. Jamie yelled over and over, “I TOLD YOU TO STOP!”

Keiko rushed over and pulled her off of Hitomi. Jamie pushed at Keiko, and I stepped between them. Akiko watched with wide eyes. It seemed as though she was enjoying the conflict.

Once we’d separated and everyone had caught their breath, I turned around to check on Hitomi. She was unconscious, likely from the hard impact.

I lifted her up and snapped my fingers in front of her a few times. Nana’s head just lolled around. Jamie huffed, “Good. We won’t have her controlling everything for a while.”

As soon as he spoke, the winds suddenly peaked and whipped around us like a dam of air had broken loose. Trees bent horizontally. A few upper windows shattered. Air blasts flowed across everything and seemed to take the last of the color with them.

We leaned against the wall, and I dragged Hitomi with me. Akiko looked up with her hair whipping around and fingers clutching her mouth in anticipation. Jamie’s hair clamps held, and Keiko’s blue locks leapt everywhere like a wall of spray off the ocean.

Just when the tempest seemed ready to rend the entire city apart, Hitomi brought Nana’s head up and looked at me. Moments later, the beastly weather died off and all fell still. Some color even returned as a patch of sky above glowed.

I helped Hitomi up, and she dusted herself off. She didn’t look at Jamie, but she said, “Want to call my bluff again? That was my fail-safe. The unattended pot.”

Akiko gave a look of disappointment mixed with something else I couldn’t quite discern. Keiko coughed a little and fixed her hair. Jamie’s body stood slack. He gave no expression.

Hitomi took a long inhale and stepped on the curb. “One last place to go. We should take a cab. That way we'll be back at Mecchen just in time.”

Keiko clutched a bit of her hair with her hand. She still kept a distance from Hitomi. She asked, “In time for what?”

With a wave of her hand, a cab pulled to the curb. She held open the door and answered, “For my recipe to be done.”

The lump slipped from Jamie’s limp arm and he barely caught it with a gasp. He looked at the lump and stretched it out. The cloth was badly wrinkled, and the plush Yumeko’s face was flat. Jamie looked at it a moment, quickly slipped the sweater back on, and clutched the plushie close to his heart.

He got inside without protest and the rest of us followed.

-----

The cab driver took Hitomi’s swiftly-spoken directions that ended with “hanpa” and raced down a side street. He didn’t make any effort to talk to us or take his eyes off the road. His face and presence seemed entirely generic.

Jamie leaned on the window and I pressed up against him with Akiko clinging to my right. Keiko and Hitomi took what was left of the other side.

We made so many changes in direction that I lost track of which street we were on. Jamie rubbed a bit of sweater sleeve with his fingers. I set my hand on his shoulder. His head dipped back against the seat cushion.

“What’s the use?” I could barely hear the question escape his lips. I rubbed his shoulder once. Akiko sniffed at and pressed her face against a soft patch of seat. Hitomi whispered something to Keiko, who leaned a bit towards Akiko but didn’t move. Hitomi whispered again.

I cleared my throat and asked Hitomi, “So, what’s going to happen to Shioriko and everyone else after your ‘recipe’ is complete? Will everything be as it was ‘before’ for them as well?”

Keiko watched Hitomi, who traced a finger along the glass of the window. “I can’t tell you what is going to happen to everyone because this is my first time doing something like this. My teacher gave me ideas of what might happen.”

Akiko curled up on a small patch of seat and edged over till her head was using my leg as a cushion. Hitomi’s gaze hardened on her.

“Are you talking about Toki?”

Hitomi shook her head. “My first teacher only held me back. My true teacher freed my full potential, and I reached beyond even her expectations.” She gave a smile.

“Who?”

She traced the crease between the window and the door. “You’ll remember her soon enough.”

The cab hit a bump. Jamie caught a bit of residual bounce and brought his arms back to his chest. He sighed. “Does your ‘true teacher’ by any chance wear a black robe and carry a glowing, red sword?”

Hitomi smiled again. “No, but I have seen those movies. We used to watch so many together.”

Jamie gazed out the window. “Whatever…”

The cab slowed. Hitomi tapped on the seat and announced, “We’re here.”