AZUSA was dragged through the forest to a log cabin located in the middle of a small clearing.
“Go in,” the man said. He opened the door and pushed her inside. He followed her inside, locked the door behind him, and disappeared into the living room, leaving her alone in the mudroom.
Everything happened in a daze—Azusa still didn’t understand what was going on. She was under the impression he was going to drag her back to the mansion, but apparently that wasn’t what he had in mind.
A few minutes passed before he came back with a bath towel. He plopped it on her head and rubbed it back and forth over her hair. She felt like a dog he was trying to dry off after a bath.
“Wh-What are you doing?!” Azusa shouted.
“You’ll make a mess if you come inside as dirty as you are.”
“Huh?”
“You’re dripping blood.”
Azusa’s hair dripped with the blood of the zombie-like man who was beheaded in front of her.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I’ll be done soon. Be patient until I’m finished,” he said and continued rubbing the blood off. Azusa nodded in response to the comment that didn’t give her any room to refuse. Once he finished wiping up most of the blood he picked her up.
“Uh? Hey? What are you doing now?!”
“…”
Azusa wildly swung her arms and kicked, but the man said nothing as he opened a nearby door and went inside with her in his arms. Once inside, he put her down.
“Come into the living room when you’re done. Don’t run away,” he warned gruffly and shut the door behind him. Azusa listened as his footsteps faded into the distance.
“This is…a bathroom?”
Azusa took in what was undeniably a large bathroom. There was a sink, toilet, and bathtub farther in the room. Clean bath towels and a dress sat on top of the washing machine in the bathroom.
“I guess he wants me to wash up?”
She grabbed one of the white towels and realized just how dirty she was when it reddened at her touch. Surprised, she walked in front of the sink mirror to check herself over.
“Wow, I look like a horror movie survivor.” She giggled at the insanity of it all.
Dirt and mud covered her from head to toe from the triple axel fall she took earlier in the forest. The mud was saturated with the blood spurted all over her by the beheaded zombie. Twigs and leaves were tangled in her knotted hair. If she were to sum her appearance up in one word, she was filthy. To put it in two words, she was extremely filthy. She couldn’t help feeling pathetic when she realized the reason the man had such a puzzled frown on his face when they reunited in the forest was because of how unsightly she was.
“First, a shower.”
Azusa didn’t know who the man was or his name, but she decided to unreservedly take advantage of his generosity.
✦ ✦ ✦
“SORRY for the wait?” Azusa said tilting her head a little.
Saying, “I’m done with my shower,” or “Thanks for letting me shower first,” didn’t seem right considering the situation. So she went with a generic reply that still didn’t sit well with her.
She had changed into the white dress placed on the washing machine and stood frozen in the doorway to the living room. She had no idea what to do next. She restlessly glanced around the room. The red-eyed man looked up from the book he was reading and gestured for her to sit on the couch across from his recliner. She entered the room and sat directly across from him.
“Um, thank you for letting me shower. And for the change of clothes,” Azusa formally thanked him and bowed her head.
“You are welcome. Were you hurt anywhere?” he asked, nonchalantly picking up a cup of coffee from the table between them and taking a sip.
“No. I’m fine.”
“I see.” The man shut the book and faced Azusa. “Azusa Saito, why are you here? If I’m not mistaken, Ichi should be guarding you right now. Am I wrong?”
“You aren’t wrong. Um…well…”
Here it is! I knew I’d get asked this question! Cold sweat trickled down Azusa’s back as she got the feeling her treatment from now on would depend on how she answered this question. She doubted he would believe her if she told him a blue butterfly told her that her father was being judged at a court of inquiry or that she fell into a forest when she opened a door in the kitchen. While she didn’t think he would believe her story, she couldn’t come up with a good lie either.
“Um, you may not believe me, but…” Azusa decided to tell him everything that happened, without lying about any of it. She would just have to think of how to handle the situation differently when he didn’t believe her.
✦ ✦ ✦
“THAT was a trap set for you by the Blues,” the man stated matter-of-factly.
Azusa had a hunch that was the case. She had gradually regained her cool during her shower and started thinking everything was a scheme set up by the Blue Coven she kept hearing about.
“They probably found a way to control the F to make it capture you.”
“That was an F?” The pieces seemed to be coming together. But there was one more thing she still had to make clear. “Um, is my dad going to be judged at a court of inquiry?”
“…What will you do when you know the answer?” The man’s answer practically affirmed her suspicion.
Azusa slammed her hands on the table and leaned forward. “What is going to happen to my dad?!”
“That isn’t something we get to decide. His sentence will be determined by the Red Coven’s Patriarch and the council at the court of inquiry.”
“It’s possible for him to be killed then?”
“It’s not unlikely.”
“…!” Azusa stood to run out of the room. He grabbed her arm to stop her.
“What can you do by going there? Do you even know where court is being held?”
“I’ll look for it!”
“Do you think I’d let you go? We’d be the ones inconvenienced if you put yourself in the same position again. Besides, aren’t you scared there’s a chance you might face another F?”
“I’m not scared!” Azusa lied.
Her legs felt like jelly when she remembered being nearly bitten by the zombie. But she was far more scared of losing her father.
“He’s the only family I have!” she yelled. He still wouldn’t let go of her arm.
“……”
“……”
Time passed slowly as they glared at each other in silence. Neither of them showed any signs of backing down.
“Then would it be okay if you came with me?” Azusa asked, breaking the silence.
“Huh?”
“You guys are scared I’ll leave your protection and fall into the Blue Coven’s hands, right? In that case, please show me the way there! You know where they are holding the court of inquiry.” They continued glaring. “Am I wrong?”
“I can avoid the trouble of doing that by stopping you with force.”
“I will just keep running away. Wouldn’t it be less trouble to show me the way this once than having to keep recapturing me every time?”
Azusa knew full-well if she were caught here, she would never be able to run away again. They would strengthen their security. Not to mention the only reason she got away was because the Blue Coven set everything up for her—she couldn’t have escaped on her own. Even so, she flashed a fearless smile at him.
“What are you going to do at the court of inquiry? You have no right or power to determine what his sentence will be.”
“You can look forward to what I have in mind. I believe I will put on a good show for you,” she bluffed. She had a general idea of what she would do at the court of inquiry, but the likelihood of it succeeding was unknown.
The man stared at her in silence. Several seconds later he sighed in resignation. “Get ready to go. We’ll leave in ten minutes.”
“Thank you!” Azusa gripped the man’s hand and swung it up and down. For a moment her attitude made him do a double take, but his expressionless mask quickly returned.
“Please show me the way there! Um…Mr. Red-eyes?”
“…It’s Kouya. Kouya Doumeki.”
“Kouya! Please wait a few minutes. I’ll get ready right away!”
Kouya watched Azusa happily run off to get ready with an unreadable expression.