"Alright, all I need now is your Library card." Said the receptionist.
Vesta handed her a university card and thanked her. Vesta walked back to me as the screen door opened, letting us enter the library. A long wooden corridor led us deeper inside.
"The Revolving Bookery, my first time here," I said.
"Really?"
"Ya, honestly, I just order books online. The 'Revolving' aspect of this place really puts me off."
"Honestly, I think it's the best part."
We reached the end and looked inside. The inside was a long, jutting column as wide as a soccer stadium, with books from the ground to the ceiling. Each row of bookshelves had a small balcony to walk on, there were no ladders or stairs. People flying on tiles slowly drifted this way and that. A person who was sitting on a flying chair threw his book off to the side. Just before it hit the ground, the book opened and began flapping onto its bookshelf. In the centre was a mighty tree, it was so tall that I couldn't see the top. It went above and beyond the roof. Its leaves were golden, and the bark a bright and healthy brown. But that wasn't the real gimmick. Much like a rotary combination lock, the shelves could be shifted side to side. It's said that if you can figure out the combination, a great secret will be revealed.
"Yep, too much nonsense. How does anyone get anything done in a place this busy?"
"I mean, I can read just fine." She stepped on a tile and began floating.
"YOU are not normal. I mean, who brings such a massive bag on a mission like this?" I chuckled as I pointed at her backpack.
"I'm just being prepared."
"If u say so. So, where do you think we'll find our wolf?"
"Biology is on the 30th floor."
"Ah, that should be a good start."
"Not quite."
"Huh?" I asked.
"That girl's probably been through a lot, so she's most likely cagy, especially in hostile territory. She doesn't look fit at all, so she's no fighter unless she's got some overpowered miso ability. She will probably be out hiding somewhere close to the bio section, and then watch for any suspicious characters, then she will get her book and read it somewhere else. She's smart, so she won't want to be too far away from bio, that way she can catch anyone looking for her. Now what would be the best...*mutter *mutter *mutter."
"Hey, look, there she is." I pointed to our upper left.
"Huh?" Vesta turned, and lo and behold, out in the middle of the Biology section under the banner for Phytology. She sat cross-legged in a Headhunter's uniform, a wolf fur skin and dog footprints ran from her neck to her shorts and down her leg.
"She's not even disguised." Said Vesta irritably.
"Meep, let's hide somewhere and tail her."
"Y-yah."
Hours passed as she happily read through her book, occasionally she'd take notes and sing a little jingle. Eventually, she looked at her watch and flew down, heading for the exit.
"Vesta, she's moving."
"Right."
We flew after her as she walked out of the Bookery and to the bus station. We hopped on through the back door and waited to see when she'd get off. An hour passed as we reached the industrial region of the island. She got off and we gave chase, following her to what seemed like an old ship manufacturing factory. The building was dark and damp, and the smell of sea and rust permeated the air. As we walked, the skeletons of ships moaned and hummed. Turning the ambience into malevolence. The sun was finally going down, and slowly the light that poked through the discarded ships dimmed away. She walked to the end of the factory and reached a little room, isolated from the walls of the factory, like a little indoor house.
"Looks like she's turning in. We should probably do the same, at least until we get confirmation from Hisashi." I said.
"Ya."
We climbed one of the old ships and sat in the captain's cabin. The room was dark but still somehow clean. We had a perfect view of the house, so this seemed like the perfect hiding place. I shivered from the cold and curled up into a ball.
"Here." She handed me a small blanket.
"Where did u...?"
"Backpack, baby." She laughed. "But wait, there's more."
"No," I said dramatically.
She pulled out two flasks and handed one to me. Inside was hot chocolate.
"But wait." She said again. "There's more."
"No," I repeated.
She twisted the bottom of the flask, and out popped cookies. "Okay, I admit it. Backpack was a good idea." I said.
We sat for some time, enjoying the hot chocolate and cookies. As I finished mine, she turned to me and offered hers. I shook my head, but she insisted, "You should eat plenty if you want to grow strong, besides. I can tell you haven't eaten anything."
"Fine, thank you." I finished the food and sat there enjoying the warmth of the hot chocolate bubbling in my stomach.
"Liam."
"Ya?"
"We will likely end up killing her, she will fight, scream, and even beg. She won't go quietly. Are you sure you want to be part of this?"
"Ya. I do."
"...so who was your first?"
"My first kill? Honestly, I don't know which it would even be. Was it my training partner that I accidentally turned into sludge? Is it my cousin who I killed back when my power first manifested?" I stopped to think, "No..... no I don't think those will do, I think the one that's truly relevant here... would be the one I target. Do you know the name Frederick Peters?"
"Ya, he was all over the news. Apparently, he had killed some big-time rich guy who owned most of the industrial District."
"Ya, Verdas Sasaki, Aikonah's dad."
"...oh..."
"There was once a time when you couldn't go anywhere without hearing someone praise that name. Aiko and Julie's father, a great man. Truly...Mr Sasaki was like a second father to me, but of course, back then, Aiko still loved me. He worked in every labour-intensive sector, like construction, waste management, and engineering. "It's to make people's lives better!" he'd say. And he would, he put in measures to make people's lives easier. Shorter hours, free food, higher pay. The impoverished loved him like their own. One in particular became a friend. Frederick Peters, a man who had run out of luck. Sick, homeless, and alone with three little girls to feed, he was a walking corpse. Apparently he had a son, but the guy abandoned them. So, of course, Mr Sasaki took pity on him. He paid his hospital bills, gave him a job in construction, and paid him well. He even invited his kids for dinner a few times, never met them, but I heard that they were good kids. At the time, my mother was pushing Aiko and me together. An obvious political setup, but honestly, I didn't care. Aiko was beautiful, strong, and confident. But.... nothing lasts forever. One day during a check-up, Mr Sasaki caught Frederick stealing money. Wrong place.....worse time. Everyone, especially Aiko, was devastated when we found out that he had stabbed him and stolen three million yen. Aiko wanted blood, Julie wanted to grieve, I....I wanted to keep my girlfriend's hands clean." I gripped my blanket as the memory of the day flashed by. "I paid someone to track him down for me... and cornered him."
"How the hell did it take the cops this long to find you...you slippery bastard," I said. Sasaki sat there cowering in the corner of the alleyway. The darkness of the night obscured our surroundings, but I could see him perfectly. The sky screamed violently as it attempted to wash away my rage...it failed.
"Please. I have a family." He begged.
"SO DID SHE!! S....so did she.....why....why did you kill him?" I said, choking back tears. "HE GAVE YOU EVERYTHING. A job, money, authority, and respect. He gave you all of that....and you...y....you still killed him."
"My daughter, she's sick. I needed the money to treat her. It... it was an accident, I swear."
"Fifty... times, you stabbed him...f....fifty times. Enough, I won't let your filth stain Aiko. I'm turning you in."
"I can't let you do that." He got up and lunged for a metal rod.
"H-HEY, DON'T!" I jumped to grab the rod, the adrenaline and desperation forced me to think of one thing. Send it away! I missed and grabbed his arm, as I touched him, my powers kicked in. I had to force my energy elsewhere, somewhere safe. The feet
POP!
We both fell to the ground, my heart playing a beat of fear, pounding like a madman. The water-soaked ground ran crimson, evidence of my crime spreading like wildfire. The pounding wouldn't stop, at best it was a consistent high-pitched shrill....wait...shrill? Hearts don't do that, so what's making that noise? I looked up and saw his mouth open, shrieking like a banshee. But why? What happened? I looked to the ground. The blood flows ever so quickly to me. I followed the trail and saw it, like a water balloon filled with blood and viscera. His legs were... Eâœ"e√yWÏ€e√3!
"No no no NO! I DIDN'T MEAN IT I SWEAR, I...I!"
I didn't control it well enough; only his chest remained.
"I....c.... can't....die...m....my daughter's... they'll starve without me... please...save...me. I....I..."
Tear drips trinkled from his eyes as he took his last breath. I needed help, so I called my grandfather. He disposed of the corpse, but now I'm indebted to him.
Vesta touched my hand and whispered to me, "It's not your fault, Liam."
"I tried to find his daughter's but...b...but." Tears ran down my face as my heart felt pressure.
"It's okay, you were young, Liam. You went through something traumatic, but you are still here. Stand strong and keep fighting. We will reach tomorrow."
I took a deep breath and calmed down. "Aiko won't forgive me for killing him, she feels that I robbed her of justice. It's been six years since that day. I had no choice; if she actually went and killed him, she'd never be the same. I just wanted him arrested...why'd he fight back?"
"Survival, Liam." As she said that, my phone vibrated.
"A text?" She asked.
"Ya, Hisashi. Seems the information is credible....looks like..." I took a deep breath. "Looks like she dies." I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my gas mask, placing it over my face as I resolved myself to what I was about to do. "Let's go, Vesta."
"Right." She already had her mask on. She put on a long black coat, almost like a doctor's coat. Inside were hundreds of small curvy knives... Kukri. She tied her hair back and looked towards me, her eyes shimmered, something was different, blood lust? "Let's catch ourselves a traitor, hmm?"
I dropped a disk as we jumped out of the ship and headed down towards the small house. We hid under one of the windows and peered in. The lights were off and we could see the girl sleeping on a couch. Most of her body was covered, but I could just make out her hair. Vesta took out a small knife and cut her finger. As blood trickled down, she touched the edge of the window, the blood snaked in and curled up to yank the window's lock to open it. We pulled the window out and stepped in quietly. Vesta took out a knife and walked towards the sleeping girl. I took a deep breath and watched carefully. I looked at her hair, pitch black...it was kinda pretty up close... wait... didn't she have highlights? Panic ran through my body as I turned around to see a light flash towards us. I tackled Vesta to the group as a bullet blasted the wall where her head used to be.
"Good save."
"No problem." I got up, teleported outside, and took cover, my eyes darting around looking for where the muzzle flash originated. Another shot whizzed past my head. (There you are) Up in the rafters on a walkway. Too high for a single disk throw. I took out another disk and curved shot it as it reached up high, I teleported to it and threw another one towards her. The disk flew towards her face, and I zipped to it. My hand stretched out, ready to turn her to sludge. Then I looked at her, her eyes were wide open. Her legs bruised, and she clutched her gun to her chest...she was terrified. Pure horror on her face. As I began to hesitate, she whipped her gun around and smacked me across the face, sending me tumbling. She accidentally dropped her gun and ran like the wind. Hyperventilating as she stumbled over junk. I got up and gave chase, trying my best not to look down. The girl dove onto a ladder and started making her way down, sliding smoothly as she did. I tossed a disk close to the ground and teleported to her location. She spun around and kicked me in the stomach. (H-how, how did she know I'd be there?) She pulled out a gun and aimed for my head, "I'M NOT GOING BACK, YOU HEAR ME!" she yelled frantically. Just before she fired, I teleported back to the rafters. She unloaded a few rounds towards me, but I ducked. She booked it for the exit as I got up and continued to chase her. (She only has 5 shots left.) I rummage my back pocket for disks (three discs...and I already burnt the others away. I'll have to make them count, I through one at her and prepared to teleport. As I charged energy through my spine and anchored myself to the disk, she immediately turned around and aimed her gun...right where my head would have been. (She can predict my movements) Adrenaline washed over my body like a tsunami (okay then, how about something you can't predict?)
A burning heat washed through my spine as electricity surged through my body. (Good, break apart all of your atoms, space them all out. But hold your form) Ash spread from my body as I slowly became mist-like. The weight of my body was gone, but my strength was still there. I jumped into the air and blitzed in front of her before she could react. I pivoted and drove my fist into her stomach, hitting her diaphragm and knocking the wind out of her. She fell to the floor, gasping for air as I stepped forward, switching off hyper mode.
"Don't bother fighting, you won't be able to run for a while." I took a deep breath as I stepped forward, my heart raced, and I couldn't feel the blood rushing through my fingers like needles. (The transformation must still be affecting me...ya, that's it) As I reached out to touch her face...to end her life, she looked up at me. Tears, "Go ahead and kill me. I won't betray Lady Berkah. I didn't before, and I won't do it now." She shook like a leaf, terror in her voice and vulnerable...but...but she spoke with conviction. This isn't something a traitor would say. I breathed a sigh of relief and knelt next to her. "So you didn't betray your boss then?"
"Of course I didn't, sh-shouldn't you know that... aren't you working for the guys who captured me?"
Looks like Hisashi got it wrong, "Hey... let's make a trade." She was still wary of me, but she listened intently, and before long, I had explained my situation.
"So...what do you say?" I asked, "I'll be alone, and completely at your mercy. That should be proof enough of my trustworthiness."
".....deal."