“Where are you going?” she asked, leaning forward and peering into my eyes.
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Less peering than glaring.
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“N-nowhere special,” I said, feeling a bead of sweat roll down my neck. This was not how my sister usually acted. She was a lot more intense today.
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Nagi grabbed my hand. It was so sudden that it startled me.
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“Wh-what?”
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“Nice calluses,” she said, stroking the back of my hand. “You practicing karate?”
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“Um, y-yeah. A little. I’d been slacking off for a while, so...”
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I stammered.
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“You’re pretty strong,” she said, like she was accusing me of something.
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“Oh, not really...”
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“Sakakibara-sensei warned you about the danger of being strong. Get cocky, and you’ll get creamed.”
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Sakakibara-sensei was my karate shishou, and an old friend of Nagi’s deceased father.
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“Yeah, I remember. He said that so many times I still hear it in my sleep.”
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“But do you really understand it?” She moved her face right up against mine. My sister’s a beautiful girl, and we aren’t actually related, so when those red lips came towards me... But the atmosphere around us was about as unerotic as you could get. The air was chilly, and it left me shivering.
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“Y-yeah,” I gulped, nodding. I felt like a frog transfixed in a snake’s glare.
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“Then. . .okay,” and at last, she let me go.
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I fumbled as I tied my laces, and staggered out the door.
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On my back, where she’d touched me, there was a wet patch of sweat, like I’d been standing next to a fire.
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(They say girls are scary, but Nagi-neesan’s freaking terrify-ing!)
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I shivered again, lowered my head, and plunged into the chilly April wind.
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Like always, Orihata had arrived first, and she was sitting there, waiting for me. No matter how fast I tried to get there, she was always there first. This wasn’t the unexpected part, though.
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No, today, there was someone else sitting next to her. Not across from her, mind you. No, the shop was empty. This person was next to her, and it was another girl.
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“Oh, is that your boyfriend? Ha ha! Right, he is handsome,”
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the new girl said, looking at me, then grinning at Orihata. I disliked her instantly.
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“Masaki, this...” Orihata stammered. She couldn’t figure out what to tell me.
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“Friend of yours?” I asked her, carefully avoiding eye contact with the other girl.
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“From school. . .my sempai.”
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“Kinukawa Kotoe,” she said, standing up and holding out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Taniguchi Masaki-kun.”
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“Yeah...” I said, reluctantly shaking her hand.
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She giggled. “Boy, you sure don’t hesitate to take a girl’s hand, do you? Must be experienced. Will make things easier for Orihata-san someday, hunh?” She said, lewdly. It wasn’t like she was making fun of me; it was more like she was trying to provoke me.
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“Who are you?”
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“Orihata-san’s friend. Just like you.”
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"...?"
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She released my hand and slapped me on the shoulder. “Right, Boogiepop-san?”
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I looked at Orihata. She gave me a tiny nod. “Kinukawa-san knows everything.”
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“Orihata-san told me all about it. I knew I had to help,” ‘Kinukawa-san’ said brightly.
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This wasn’t exactly working for me. “What do you want?”
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“You don’t need a reason to do the right thing,” she said rea-sonably, but the phrase, in this case, was just screwy.
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"............" I silently picked up the check. “Uh, Orihata, come with me for a minute.”
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“Oh, I don’t mean to get in your way,” Kinukawa laughed.
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Sullenly, I said, “I’ll pay for this, so take your time.”
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Then I took Orihata’s hand and pulled her out of the seat.
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We left the shop, and Kinukawa waved at us through the window. I walked quickly away, and hid beneath the bridge.
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“Um, Masaki. . .” Orihata tried to say.
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I interrupted her. “What did she do to you?”
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“Nothing.
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“Who the hell does she think she is? Did she threaten you?”
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“Nothing like that, really,” Orihata said, looking distressed.
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I backed down. “Then what? She doesn’t look like a friend at all.”
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"............"
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“If you’re in some sort of trouble, I could...” I began, hands clenching into fists.
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“No!” Orihata cried, turning pale, and grabbing my hand.
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I took a deep breath. My sister’s voice floated through my head, “Get cocky, and you’ll get creamed.”
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“O-okay then. . .sorry. But at least tell me why that girl knows about Boogiepop,” I asked, staring at her.
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She avoided my gaze, staring at the ground. She looked like she was searching for a lie, which pissed me off.
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“Where? At school?” Masaki asked. The edge in his tone made it clear he didn’t believe her.
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“In my apartment. She’s my landlord’s daughter.”
✦ ✦ ✦
This was true, but she couldn’t tell him that her personality had been changed by Spooky E.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What?” Masaki asked, surprised. This rang a bell. He growled, “There was a sign saying Kinukawa Enterprises...” He had been to Aya’s apartment building several times, and seen the sign next to the door. “So what does she want?”
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“Well...”
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Yesterday, she had received orders from Spooky E, saying that a girl named Kinukawa Kotoe would be coming over, and Aya should do whatever she said. Kotoe had shown up at Aya’s apartment shortly after.
✦ ✦ ✦
The moment she laid eyes on her, Aya knew Spooky E had spent quite a lot of time working on her. Her expression was exactly like Spooky E’s, but was less his arms and legs, and more like an independently functioning copy.
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“It’s a good thing you live in Kinukawa Kotoe’s territory,”
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what should have been Kotoe herself said, laughing. “We’re gonna use this as a base while we hunt down the Imaginator.”
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"The Imaginator...?"
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“You don’t need to know. But there will be a few men coming by, so let them in, do whatever they ask you to.”
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Aya stiffened at this. She was sure “whatever” covered a lot more than cooking.
✦ ✦ ✦
"B-but then Masaki will..."
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“Like I said, you’re almost finished with that boy. Time to cut him loose. Or are you still going on about how you don’t want him to hate you?”
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“Th-the Towa Organization t-told me not to be h-hated by anyone, so...”
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“The Towa Organization? You still think you’re working for them?”
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Kotoe shoved Aya hard. She fell over backwards.
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Kotoe then kicked her in the cheek. Aya couldn’t dodge at all, and cut the inside of her mouth, blood spilling out from between her lips. Kotoe continued to hurt Aya, and Aya never resisted.
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Had Kotoe had any free will left, she would have undoubtedly shrieked, “Stop!” in Aya’s place. But no one there was capable of stopping the violence.
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“The Towa Organization forgot about you years ago! You are nothing but a tool for me-for Spooky E, to use how I see fit!”
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“Yes...”
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“And where the hell do you get off, getting all picky about men now?! Can you even count how many men, you’ve taken since you left the institution?”
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“No...”
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“All on the pretext of some experiment to see if normal and synthetic humans could crossbreed-but you never managed to get knocked up, did you? Which means you’re just a useless whore!”
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“Yes...”
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“All the successes I’ve had and I get no luck at all! Why should a failure like you get to have all the fun? You piece of shit! You little bitch!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Rage that had nothing to do with Kotoe’s body, but everything to do with the knowledge and personality overwriting hers, came pouring out.
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But all the expressionless Aya did was answer mechanically,
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“Yes...”
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The beating continued a little while longer, but at last Kotoe grew out of breath, and she stopped.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hmph! Get up and make me some food. Kinukawa Kotoe’s body has moved too much and is demanding nutrition.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Yes...”
✦ ✦ ✦
Swaying, Aya got to her feet.
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She took her own convenience store bento and put it in the almost unused built-in microwave. Standing there, waiting for it to warm up, Aya’s eyes were vacant. But her lips were faintly trembling. Not from fear, but rather because she was whispering something under her breath. So quietly that no one else could hear, so quietly the sound did not even reach her own ears, over and over:
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“I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki, I must save Masaki.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was like pouring salt directly into her wounds.
✦ ✦ ✦
But she couldn’t tell Masaki any of this.