Yuoshichi returned home to chaos. He went to check on Kira’s condition and received a detailed report from Dr. Takimi. Then he went to see his wife. The sound of his shouts echoed through the entire house. Koushi could hear the yelling, but not what Yuoshichi was saying. Even after several hours under the doctor’s care, Kira was still unconscious.
Koushi stuck close to Dr. Takimi and asked how she could have done such a terrible thing to Hinako. Dr. Takimi insisted that she wasn’t to blame. She turned pale and went back to monitoring Kira’s condition.
In the end, there was nothing else for Koushi to do but walk around the city and look for Hinako and Kanata. Spring was almost over, but the nights were cold.
Since the weather was poor, Koushi worried that Hinako had collapsed somewhere with a fever. He remembered Hinako attacking Hibana with a little shudder. If she wasn’t sick, she might be attacking other people in the city. Koushi didn’t even want to think about that possibility. Kanata will find her. I’m sure of it.
Koushi rounded the corner, muttering comforting words to himself. He was heading toward his family’s old house. He’d looked around the area several times since yesterday morning. He tried to be inconspicuous as he searched and found it wasn’t too difficult; very few people were outside in this cold weather. He didn’t find Hinako anywhere.
Koushi tried to get inside the house, but found the door locked. When he was a little shorter and lived here, he used to shake the window that had a loose lock and then unlock it from the inside. Failing that, he would get Hinako’s or his mother’s attention and have one of them let him inside. Unfortunately, Hinako wasn’t here, and neither was their mother.
Perhaps Hinako had returned to the estate. With his thoughts running wild, Koushi ran back to Okibi Estate, crossing several canals along the way. The Central Archives and the Academy were along his path, along with a residential area where only the wealthiest people in the city lived. The sun set and the street lights snapped on as he walked/ran back to the estate.
As Koushi rounded the corner to head north towards the gate, he nearly collided with someone. He was briefly dazzled by the portable lantern the person was carrying. It was getting dark, but it wasn’t dark enough for anyone to require an extra light yet.
Koushi braced himself, expecting to be accosted by a policeman or night watchman. Thefts were on the rise in this area and security had been beefed up from dusk until dawn. But it wasn’t a policeman. The man was an Academy professor who wore a black uniform over his rail-thin body and a set of thick, heavy glasses. Professor Hitou. Some of his more unkind students nicknamed him Skeleton.
Koushi never expected to run into Professor Hitou here. He’d given Koushi the clue he’d needed to discover the hand-bound book in the Central Archives. Maybe he lived nearby. Professor Hitou squinted, then came closer to Koushi. “Oh, hello Koushi! I was surprised—I’m glad you’re not a thief.” He smiled. “Are you on your way back from the library? You’re as studious as ever.”
“Um, yeah,” Koushi said.
“Us professors hold study sessions in the evenings sometimes. Professor Kohachi, a literature teacher, is coming to your house as a tutor, I hear. But I don’t like what he teaches. He’s insisting that some old texts say an artificial satellite is floating in space and is coming back to earth. The Millennium Comet, or some such nonsense, would you believe? Oh, but I shouldn’t say negative things about other teachers to students.”
“Y-yes sir, that’s true.” Koushi had no idea what to say. It would be troublesome if Professor Hitou asked him too many questions about why he was out on the street at this hour.
“And where are you on your way to? Have you got a study session to attend?”
“No, sir, I was just heading home. I’m not a student at the Academy anymore.”
Professor Hitou shrugged, then shivered in the cold night air. He tilted his head in surprise, holding his blinding lantern up to Koushi’s face.
“But the Okibi family has hired an extremely capable tutor for you, right? Setting our ideological differences aside, Professor Kohachi is quite a capable teacher. None of the professors at the Academy know where he lives at the moment—it’s a topic of gossip among us.”
“Oh. Well. I mean, Professor Kohachi is tutoring me and Miss Kira, and I think he stays on-site. I don’t know for sure.” Koushi tried to change the subject of the conversation. Now was not the best time to give vague answers.
Unfortunately, his ambiguous attitude as he bowed his head and tried to finish the conversation early made him look rather suspicious.
Professor Hitou peered at Koushi’s face. In the harsh light of the lantern, all his bones were visible under the skin of his face. He really did look like a skeleton. “Hm. Enough of all that. I told you before, didn’t I? If you’re ever in trouble, always talk to an adult you can rely on. You can even talk to me, if you want.”
Koushi took a deep breath, straightened his back, and then bowed his head to the teacher. “Thank you very much. Um, it’s almost dinner time, so I’ll be heading back. It was nice to see you, Professor Hitou. Please excuse me.”
Professor Hitou straightened up, causing his long hair to blow like cemetery grass in the wind. “Oh, I see. Sorry for taking up your time. Well then, be careful. You should head straight home. People say this area has been pretty dangerous lately.”
Koushi said he would, then watched Professor Hitou walk away down the street, holding his lantern in front of him. There was still no sign of Hinako.
The sea beyond the city sparkled in the faint light of sunset: blue, purple, and red. It looked like there were embers burning on the surface of the water. The night deepened around Koushi, bringing with it the smell of the factories and the sea. Koushi took a deep breath and headed back to Okibi Estate. He searched for Hinako more thoroughly around the house, but found no sign of her anywhere.
Koushi ate a simple dinner in the dining room by himself. After, he called on Yuoshichi, who was in his study. He wanted Yuoshichi to open up the basement workshop for him. It felt like it had been a long time since he had been in the basement. The bottles of lightning fuel lined up along the wall had been taken away for Roroku to bury; only three of the original thirteen were left. Yuoshichi said they were being kept to help maintain consistent power in the capital after this was all over. It was hard to imagine that these three bottles alone would be enough. The entire government was about to collapse.
Koushi put some lightning fuel into an egg-shaped bottle and used it to light the basement. No other lights were turned on.
He took off the bag he had been carrying on his shoulder while wandering around the city. Much of his research and many notebooks were stacked neatly on the workbench. His legs, sore from all the walking he’d done since yesterday, were tense and sore. Kira was still in her room and hadn’t awakened. Hibana had also shut herself in her own room. After her violent exchange with her husband, Hibana hadn’t shown her face, and Yuoshichi hadn’t visited her or Kira since yesterday. He had a lot of work to do and kept on doing it as he usually would have done.
As Koushi looked over his notes, he felt strangely empty inside. Hinako’s absence hadn’t been remarked on. It was almost as if Hinako had never been in this house to begin with.
Koushi grabbed the papers and notebooks scattered on the workbench with both hands. He tore and crumpled paper into pieces and threw them into the egg-shaped bottle of lightning fuel. The golden liquid inside burned the papers to nothing in a matter of seconds and left no residue behind. He ripped the illustration of the Fallen Beast into little pieces.
As he looked at the illustration, Koushi remembered handing a bottle full of lightning fuel to Touko.
“All right. Take this as well. I’m not giving it to you as a ‘thank you,’ mind. I just think it might cause more trouble where I’m going.”
“I-I can’t take something like this. Is it, uh, like the Tree People said? About welcoming fires?”
“I’m not sure what they meant by that, either.”
Were lightning fuel and the Tree People’s welcoming fires related? He still didn’t know. How had Touko known that the letter his mother left behind said that lightning fuel would be used as a welcoming fire?
‘Face the fire started by lightning and take it in your hands as a welcoming flame.’
Had Touko heard that from Koushi’s father? No, that wasn’t it. They hadn’t had a chance to talk; his father had saved her from a Fire Fiend and then died.
He ripped up his copy of the illustration of the Millennium Comet next.
Was I wrong? Where did I go wrong? I should never have come to this house. But what choice did I have?
The torn pieces of paper fluttered to the floor before he could tip them into the bottle of lightning fuel. The lightning fuel in its egg-shaped container cast steady light on his surroundings and made Koushi feel marginally calmer.
He reached for the bag he had dropped near the corner of his workbench. Inside were a small flashlight and the notebook he always carried. And also—he saw this when he shifted the rest of his things out of the way—a stuffed bird shoved carelessly into the bag.
Koushi didn’t hesitate to place the tiny stuffed animal into the container of lightning fuel. The flightless bird with its amber eyes spun around in the lightning fuel for a while before melting and disappearing.
Just as Koushi was about to tear up his notebook, he stopped himself. He was breathing hard and very agitated. He shouldn’t destroy this; his mother’s letter was hidden inside it. He’d promised himself to show that letter to Hinako one day. The servant Kureha had handed it to him at a banquet held to honor Fire Hunters in the capital. The letter was water-stained, but legible.
Koushi had concealed the letter between two pieces of notebook paper that he’d pasted together to make an envelope. He opened the envelope he’d made and revealed the letter. Koushi opened the wrinkled paper, his fingers trembling, afraid that the poor-quality paper would crumble if he were careless with it.
Holding it up to the light, Koushi examined the letter closely and noticed that in a corner, there was a tiny addition, written in faint handwriting that was even messier than his mother’s.
It said, sorry. The letters were faded and just barely legible.
Koushi’s heart beat faster. He crawled on his hands and knees, searching for the pieces of paper that had fallen onto the floor.
Among the white fragments were notes and letters. Many of them. All of them said the same thing: Sorry.
Koushi fell to the floor, covered in scraps of paper. He felt like someone had just hit him in the head with a shovel. He forgot to breathe for a long moment as he took in all these messages written in unsure handwriting. Hinako had written these even though she was still practicing how to write.
When had Hinako come to the basement? When Kanata had returned, Hinako had asked Yuoshichi to let the dog stay in her room. Yuoshichi had agreed and taken her and the dog to her room—unsupervised, save for Kanata. Was that when it had happened? Yuoshichi hadn’t told him.
Of course Yuoshichi hadn’t told him. Koushi didn’t trust Yuoshichi at the best of times; it shouldn’t be surprising that the feeling was mutual.
Did you see, Hinako? What I was doing… what I was working on?
How had he missed this? It was true that he was away from the estate a lot to do research and, lately, to inspect work in the factories. How long had Yuoshichi been taking Hinako down to the workshop? And what could she possibly gain from that? Hinako was young and sickly and barely knew how to read. The complex calculations he performed would be nothing but gibberish to her. Or was all of that a lie?
No; Hinako wouldn’t lie to him if she could help it, but Yuoshichi would. He was using her like he was using Koushi. She’d tried to warn him by putting little notes in his research notebooks and on copies of his maps and illustrations. He wondered if Hinako had been tasked with performing experiments like him. It made a certain kind of sense, considering how much she’d changed. But now… well, she’d attacked Hibana. Whatever the changes of the experiments she’d been involved in were, everything she had done so far was to the Okibi family’s detriment. What was she trying to do?
Koushi raised his head and looked around at the basement. The walls were made of rough-hewn stone. A light enclosed in an iron bracket that resembled a birdcage hung overhead, but it wasn’t lit. There was a vent in between the ceiling and the wall that was too small for him to fit through… but not too small for Hinako, perhaps.
Koushi moved his desk chair, stood on it, and felt around the inside of the vent. A stone in one place slipped and moved easily. It was about to fall to the other side, but he caught it, picked up the stone and peered over. There was a pitch-black, narrow space surrounded by metal sheeting. As he’d thought, Hinako would be able to fit through the gap. Judging from its location, there was an entrance hidden somewhere in Yuoshichi’s study.
“Where did everyone go? Why did the servants suddenly disappear? Is this about Hinako? Tell me!” Kira had said, just before her collapse. Had she known what was going on? How long had Hinako been sneaking down here, reading his notes? Had she spied on him from the vent?
The stone in his hand fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Shit. Why didn’t I notice? What was Hinako thinking? What did Yuoshichi tell her? Koushi should have protected Hinako from all of this. Yuoshichi had scooped her up without Koushi knowing. This explained why Hinako was so suspicious of most of the people in the house. Koushi had been so distracted by her improving health—trying to keep her from dying—that he’d completely missed that she was being exploited just like he was.
Kanata had known. The dog wasn’t here, but Koushi felt like the dog’s eyes were on him. On the day Kanata had returned, Hinako had quietly leaned against his stomach and listened to his heartbeat. That was because she could only depend on Kanata. She couldn’t even confide in Koushi, her brother, about what was happening to her—what she was being made to do.
Overwhelming shame made Koushi’s shoulders fall. He felt more alone than he ever had in his entire life. And he deserved that. He’d failed to protect Hinako. His actions and lack of attention had pushed her away.
Koushi slammed his forehead against the rough edge of the stone wall again and again.
***
“Asafuyou is illegal, isn’t it?”
Koushi had left the basement earlier and was working in Yuoshichi’s study. Yuoshichi came in to check on him. Koushi asked his question as Yuoshichi turned away.
Yuoshichi’s looming shadow moved slowly towards the writing desk facing the window, illuminated by the evening light. He didn’t speak.
“Did you know that Hibana has it?” Koushi asked.
Yuoshichi didn’t respond to the question again. Still, Koushi felt like he had to ask.
“Hinako and I are outsiders. I know we can’t complain about the way we’re treated, no matter what Hinako has been doing.. But Kira…”
Slowly, very slowly, Yuoshichi lowered his bulk into a chair across from Koushi. Yuoshichi outweighed him by a factor of three. There was a metal paperweight on the writing desk. There were also scissors and other office tools, including a letter opener that could be used as a knife.
Increased wealth and power simultaneously increased Yuoshichi’s enemies. If Koushi enraged the man in front of him—if he riled up Yuoshichi like Hibana had been riled up yesterday—he could be killed easily. Koushi knew that, but still asked his questions.
“Kira is your daughter. Why does she have to suffer like this? And why are you hiding your plan from your family in the first place?”
Yuoshichi’s closed fist slammed into the desk. His shadow fell over Koushi like a mountain. “Don’t think you understand what’s going on here, Koushi,” he said. “You don’t.” His face had no expression. He was looking past Koushi, staring at the corner close to a vent.
“Where did the missing servants go? What did you make Hinako do? Why are you hiding things from your family? My father left the capital without saying a word, so I understand that everyone can have secrets. But this family isn’t normal.”
Yuoshichi’s fleshy hand settled over Koushi’s shoulder. When he spoke, he was angry. He sounded exhausted. “I’m sorry, boy. Sorry that things had to come to this. The servants are searching the city for your sister. I promise that she will be found.”
That wasn’t an answer to any of Koushi’s questions. He wanted to know about the vent, and how Hinako had gotten wrapped up in Yuoshichi’s schemes. What had he said to her to make her play along? Had Yuoshichi used her to spy on him?
“I didn’t know what kind of drug my wife used until today,” Yuoshichi said. “Most people don’t know this, but she was born in poverty. In poor areas, asafuyou is illegal like everywhere else, but it’s also used as off-label medicine to calm nervous disorders. Hibana suffered terribly as a child and young woman, and she’s been using the drug to calm herself. I never expected her to use it on her own child, no matter how rebelliously Kira was acting.”
Yuoshichi sighed, then ran a hand through his mustache. There were shadows under his eyes. He looked at Koushi again.
Koushi’s heart sank in his chest. He shook his head, shuddered, then tried asking his questions again. “You haven’t answered my questions—not really. What happened to the missing servants? Kira confronted her mother because she wanted to know.”
Yuoshichi shrugged. “There’s not a simple answer to that. Some servants retired or changed jobs of their own volition. Some asked for leave to look after sick or elderly relatives. Some of the other large factory owners won’t let someone go after they’re hired, but it’s always been my policy to respect my workforce. And I told Kira all of that before. I have no idea why she became so agitated.”
Koushi had to grit his teeth to stop his jaw from trembling. If Kira were here, she would accuse her father of lying. Koushi was fairly certain that he was. He wouldn’t have come up with such a plausible set of lies unless he was concealing something worse—something terrible.
Outside the window, the night was pitch black. Time had passed in the blink of an eye since yesterday. Koushi thanked Yuoshichi for his time, then bowed and left the study.
Servants were constantly coming in and going out of Kira’s room. Koushi tried to check up on Kira but was soundly rebuffed by the human wall of servants all around her and her chambers. He didn’t even know if she’d regained consciousness yet or not. Dr. Takimi had been assigned a guest room and was staying at the house to treat Hibana, who was also resting in her rooms.
As Koushi headed to the room that had been assigned to him on the second floor, he felt more and more depressed. He wanted to do something, anything. When he and his sister had first arrived at this estate, Koushi had thought that they were finally saved. Koushi had the opportunity to use lightning fuel, which had been left behind by his enigmatic father. He wanted to help protect the capital from Spiders and the Guardian Gods, and he wanted to keep Hinako safe even more. After his mother’s funeral, he’d feared that Hinako would join her in a nearby grave, and soon.
Hinako was a child, just a child—and he hadn’t been able to protect her. He hadn’t been able to do anything at all, really.
Koushi stood in the middle of the staircase for awhile. He felt like the shape of his life was unraveling before his eyes. The world as he knew it was over. Kira falling—fainting under the influence of asafuyou—played before his eyes on repeat. He recalled the Tree People underground, the scents of old dust and mold choking his breath. Even now, he couldn’t get that smell out of his mind.
“You look better, but also sad,” Roroku said. “What’s up?”
Koushi turned and found the Fire Hunter on the stairs behind him. Mizore stood outside the entrance, tail wagging slightly. Koushi thought that Mizore looked particularly fleet-footed today. He envied that. He would like to run away, fast like the dog could. But he couldn’t.
“Is Yuoshichi in his study?” Roroku asked. “I need to report something as soon as possible.”
Before Koushi could respond, Dr. Takimi descended the staircase.
“Oh, the Fire Hunter!” Dr. Takimi greeted Roroku. “Are you here to discuss your project? Please feel free to go up.”
With that taken care of, Dr. Takimi approached Koushi and said in a quieter voice, “You should know that Miss Kira has regained consciousness. She is almost entirely recovered and should have no lasting ill effects. I believe she will be well enough to resume her usual activities in four or five days. Until then, I would ask that you not visit her. She’s had quite a shock.” Behind her thin-rimmed glasses, the young doctor’s eyes were bloodshot with fatigue. “Well, I’ll go get something to eat now. I’ll be in the dining room if you need anything.” She left, bowing her head and then going down the stairs.
Roroku’s eyes followed Dr. Takimi as she walked away. “I see you’ve got some troubles here. What happened to your dog, anyway?”
Koushi didn’t really want to tell Roroku anything… but there was no one else to tell things to, with Kira recovering and Hinako and Kanata gone. He clutched the banister with one hand and his aching head in the other. All traces of the previous conflict in the house—needles, thread, Kira’s vomit—had been swept away without a trace. The order imposed on the house was incongruously wrong. His hands shook and he couldn’t still them.
“Hey, are you okay? C’mon, lean on me if you need to,” Roroku said. He grabbed Koushi’s arm and supported him as he stood up straighter.
“Thanks,” Koushi said. “And… sorry.”
Roroku patted him on the back with far more force than necessary and half-followed, half-pushed him down the stairs and out the front doors of the estate. The golden flowers that Koushi remembered had wilted from rain and cold. Green stalks were left behind, gleaming and lush.
Mizore stayed still without even a tail wag, even when they saw Roroku. Roroku didn’t call his dog. He walked around the front yard of the house to the side of the entrance that faced the back courtyard. This was a slightly smaller entrance used mainly by servants. There were several kinds stunted evergreen trees planted in the area. The trees’ damp shade made the night feel darker.
“I’ve got a key now thanks to recent activities, but the dog seems to think the best place is outside the front door,” Roroku said. “It’s attracted some attention, that behavior. Like master like dog, I suppose.”
A gravel path ran from the front gate to the back door. Large moss-covered stones were placed along the path. The ground was warm and damp from the recent heavy rain. Above the gate, a street lamp shone in the gathering darkness.
Roroku sat down on one of the stones along the path and started nibbling at a snack he took out of a pocket. Koushi recognized the snack; it was cheap, mainly made of barley and sugar. It could be bought at any food stand or pharmacy around the city.
“Ugh. I need a break, but I can’t stay long. I have some urgent business to attend to.” He handed Koushi another barley snack. Koushi took it, and Roroku frowned past his shoulder. “I have to get going. A Fire Fiend got into the factory area.”
Blood trickled from Koushi’s ear. “But… I thought the Spiders were what we needed to worry about. Aren’t there two more days before the attack?”
“Yeah. The Spiders haven’t shown themselves officially yet, but Fire Fiends keep popping up closer and closer and need to be hunted down. You never told me where your dog went. Isn’t it your dad’s?”
Koushi gritted his teeth to suppress his swirling thoughts. He sat down on a stone near Roroku. The moss clinging to the stone was still wet. He grimaced, then said, “My father died in the forest. Only his dog returned… but the dog left yesterday, along with my sister Hinako.”
Koushi tried to sort out his own confusion by telling Roroku what had happened yesterday, but he wasn’t sure if he’d done a good job of it. He wasn’t very good at cleaning up messes.
Roroku chewed his barley snack as Koushi related everything that had happened to Kira, Hinako and Kanata. By the time Koushi finished speaking, he was leaning forward thoughtfully with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in one palm. He raised an eyebrow.
“Sounds like a big deal,” Roroku said, stroking his chin. “Your sister must have been weak to start with. I have no idea why she went all super-powered like that. But the Guardian Gods healed you, didn’t they? Maybe they did the same to her—and more.”
Koushi shook his head. A short but sharp pain ran through his temples. “I don’t know what was done to her. I want to know that more than anything.”
As he spoke, he wondered why he was telling Roroku all this. He’d involved Roroku in his problems because he thought Roroku would make a good ally against the Spiders; that didn’t mean Roroku would or should care about his family problems. He was like a little kid crying to an adult for help and didn’t like it. He bowed his head.
Roroku was oblivious to Koushi’s internal self-pity and simply stared at him.
“It was a good idea to have the dog chase her. I’m sure the dog will find her and protect her. But what could have caused your sister to do this? Boy, has anything changed since you came to this house? I mean, significant changes in your living situation?”
“What?”
“Think about it.”
Koushi frowned, holding his half-eaten barley snack one-handed. “Our living situation? You mean food, a place to sleep, clothes… mine and Hinako’s.” He muttered to himself for a moment, then said, “Medicine. That’s the change. Hinako started getting better medicine when she came here.”
But surely medicine hadn’t changed Hinako in such fundamental ways? Hinako had trusted Dr. Takimi from the beginning, and Kira had said she was a good doctor. Perhaps Dr. Takimi had given Hinako some strange medicine without even knowing? Would Dr. Takimi, who seemed honest, make such a mistake? Or perhaps Yuoshichi had threatened her, or offered her money. No, if that was the case, then why was Yuoshichi himself surprised? He wasn’t a great actor, and Hinako’s attack on Hibana and her disappearance distressed him. Koushi didn’t think he was faking his distress or surprise.
“Is that it?” Roroku asked. “What about the lady of the house? I heard she uses asafuyou. Nasty stuff, that. And what about the younger one, what’s her name—Kira?”
“Kira…”
Koushi dropped what remained of his barley snack and stood up quick as lightning. Dr. Takimi was also treating Kira. After dinner, she’d headed to the dining room. He could see Kira now. He might never get a better chance.
Koushi ran into the house through the back door without saying anything else to Roroku. He sprinted up the stairs. Kira’s room was located at the end of the hallway on the opposite side from the room that Koushi had been assigned. He headed straight for her door. A servant carrying a water pitcher and another servant carrying laundry were passing by.
The laundry-carrying servant noticed Koushi and said, “Oh! If you want to see Miss Kira, the doctor said she still needs more rest and that you shouldn’t—”
Koushi didn’t stay still to hear the rest. He brushed past the servant and slipped into Kira’s room.
When he entered, he found the blinds tightly closed and Kira not in her bed. She sat crouched in a corner close to her wardrobe, sobbing. A lamp on Kira’s desk cast soft light on the floor. Kira’s forehead was pressed to the wall, her usually neat hair disheveled and falling loose down her back. She was wearing the same nightgown she’d been in when she collapsed. Her hands tapped the wall and made grabbing motions, like she was trying to hold onto something Koushi couldn’t see.
“Kira…” Koushi wanted to say more, but thought better of it. He didn’t want to agitate her and made her throw up again.
Kira responded to her name. She turned slowly. Her eyes widened as she recognized him. “Oh! You must not be too angry with my mother…” she said hoarsely. Her eyes were bloodshot and sunken into her pale face.
Kira staggered to her feet, came over to Koushi and clung to him.
“It was my fault,” she said. “Don’t blame my mother. It’s not her fault. Don’t be angry.” Kira continued to plead quietly, her eyes unfocused. Koushi wasn’t sure if she was addressing her pleas to him, her father or her mother.
The servant Koushi had seen entered the room behind him and said, “Please leave. You are disturbing Miss Kira.”
Before the servant could intervene, Koushi collapsed to the ground next to Kira. Kira held his arm and didn’t let go.
“Don’t be mad, I’m sorry, please don’t be mad…”
The servant grabbed Koushi by the shoulders. Kira struggled to follow Koushi and regain her feet. She wasn’t very successful. Stretching revealed bruises all over her arms and legs, probably from her bumping into things all over the room.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Kira. I’m sorry,” Koushi said. He’d been a fool to think he could help her now. He couldn’t help anyone. He wanted to comfort her, but there was no way to do that. Her bruises stood out starkly on her white shoulders. She clutched at her legs through her nightshirt, rocking back and forth and gritting her teeth.
The servant looked just as confused as Koushi did about what to do to help.
What was I thinking? Protecting Hinako and Kira, the capital, using lightning fuel… I couldn’t even protect them from things that were happening right in front of me. A wave of overpowering frustration and despair crested over him. Crying here wouldn’t help anything, so he held himself still. His thoughts were cold and comfortless.
Kira reached out and touched his clenched fist. She was looking at him, her eyes focusing despite the effects of asafuyou. Her eyes were open wide and her expression was confused. It was as if she’d never seen him before. “Sorry?” she asked. “Why are you sorry?”
“Please leave,” the servant repeated.
Koushi didn’t resist this time. Kira’s hand slid to the floor as Koushi moved his own hand away. Kira remained in the same position, gazing intently into the space where Koushi had stood before. Another servant entered the room and placed a shawl over her shoulders.
Koushi took off his glasses and rubbed them violently clean, then rubbed his eyes. The servant accompanied him to the hallway and lingered until they were sure Koushi wouldn’t try to disturb Kira again.
“I’m sorry for going in,” Koushi said to the servant. “I was worried about Miss Kira. That’s all.”
The servant didn’t say anything to blame or censure Koushi, but he had a look of pain on his face and refused to look him in the eyes.
“Earlier, Dr. Takimi said that she would be well in four or five days. Is she taking any medicine to help her recovery?” Koushi asked.
The gray-uniformed servant appeared confused by the question. “No. We’ve been instructed to give her water frequently. No medicine.”
“Oh. And the water comes from the estate? It’s what we all drink?”
The servant nodded.
“Thanks for telling me.” He rubbed his eyes again and tried to suppress the blush creeping into his cheeks. Investigating was not his strong suit. He wanted to ask what the servant’s name was. Kira would probably know.
Before Koushi could ask, a broken voice came from the room directly opposite, saying, “Kira… Kira…”
Hibana was calling for her daughter. Her voice drew Koushi’s attention. The servant standing next to him turned toward Hibana’s door.
Hibana let out a low cry like a sob. The sound made chills go up Koushi’s spine.
“Kira, I’m sorry…” Her voice was muffled, as if she were slumped over or lying down.
Why had Hibana dosed Kira with such an awful drug? And why had Kira confronted her mother so strongly? Was this how normal mothers and daughters acted? Koushi didn’t think so. It troubled him that Kira and her mother were saying the same things in their sickness, but weren’t actually able to apologize to one another.
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