Silence In Numbers: File One, page 30
Hitomi smiled at her. “I can do that. I’m a good friend, and you deserve the support. My life’s been pretty easy,” she said a little guiltily.
“That’s good,” Katsumi replied honestly.
“Well, it’s just… I feel like it makes it harder for me to understand, help, or relate to people like you. People that have actually been through the intense things you have.”
Ayane smiled. “You shouldn’t be worrying about that with us, Hitomi. No one will ever relate to the two of us on more than one or two things; no one will ever really understand us. Sumi and I figured that out a long time ago.”
Katsumi nodded. “And honestly that’s for the best. Neither of us would be happier if you’d gone through anything like that. Personally I’m glad you haven’t because you don’t deserve it.”
“Neither of you deserve it.”
“No one deserves a bad childhood, because children are innocent. So I’m happy when I meet anyone who had a good one. And I enjoy seeing people who have had happy lives. I am beyond grateful to have a sister who understands everything, down to the tiniest detail, about me and my life,” Katsumi said as her arm hugged Ayane, who gave her a smile. “But do you honestly think I wouldn’t give anything to have spared her from it?”
Hitomi shook her head. “No, I guess you would. I see your point, I just assumed… Well, misery loves company, you know?”
“Sometimes. But seeing someone else miserable doesn’t make you feel any better about it. Seeing someone happy does. For me, anyway. I’ve met a lot of people who tried not to talk about happy memories or good times with their parents around me because they thought I’d just be jealous and angry.” Katsumi smirked. “If I’m honest, yes… Maybe I’m a little jealous sometimes. How can I not be? But hearing the stories of others’ happiness is what makes me want to protect them.”
Hitomi studied her. “You’re good people. The rare kind.”
Katsumi smiled. “It feels good to hear that. It’s Ayane’s fault.”
Ayane looked at her. “Fault? I prefer the term ‘achievement’.”
“However you wanna say it.” Katsumi looked from her to Hitomi. “Not everything was bad, you know. Our mother was amazing. I sometimes wonder how she would’ve felt had she known what he did, but I’m glad she didn’t. And even after all of that I have a lot of good memories. If I’d lost Ayane as well…” Katsumi shook her head. “Then, I can guarantee, even if I did somehow survive, I wouldn’t be this person. I’d be gone, really; no positive emotions or good feelings. No sense of justice or moral code. No happiness. Just a lot of hate and chaos.”
Ayane hugged her, bringing back her older sister’s smile. She met it with one of her own, speaking in a voice that suggested she was thinking back on fond memories. “We had a lot of happiness. It wasn’t just survival.” She looked at Hitomi. “I know it sounds bad sometimes because we can get kind of negative, but honestly I wouldn’t trade my memories with Sumi for anything. We played in snow, we took trips, we celebrated holidays. And it’s hard not to feel good when I think about how we still do all of those things, and we always will.”
Hitomi sighed. “I’m glad you had each other for all of that. I’m glad you still do. And I’m glad I got to meet both of you.” She smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t care what your father says. You’re both so worthwhile, so… worth knowing. I feel blessed just to be able to know you.”
Katsumi smiled. “And you said you’d have a hard time helping.”
Ayane nodded. “I know, it’s like she doesn’t know how much words like that mean to us.”
“I’m glad they mean something,” Hitomi said with a soft laugh. “I doubt I can do anything to help you fight, at least not yet. But I swear I’ll do everything I can to help you keep your reasons for fighting.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Victoria moved to her computer as it announced someone was contacting her. She smiled as she saw the name, taking a seat and pressing a button under her desk that activated a device M had made for her, one that switched all surveillance and bugs to a loop, giving her privacy. She then tapped the screen on the wall, which showed the two women she’d been hoping to hear from. “Hello, girls,” she said with a fond smile.
Katsumi and Ayane were standing and both snapped off a salute. “General,” they said in unison. “We were told you hoped to hear from us,” Katsumi added.
Victoria grinned. “I appreciate the formalities, but none of us are in uniform. And take a seat, weren’t you injured?”
Katsumi looked a bit sheepish as she and Ayane both sat on her couch. “Unfortunately. It’s rather minor though-“
Ayane snorted. “Relatively, but still something to be in bed over.” The blue-haired girl grinned and looked at Victoria. “Oh, General,” she said in a sing-song voice, “Could you order my sister to get bed rest?”
The dark-haired woman leaned forward, steepling her fingers. “Captain Samakura, are you ignoring your health again?”
The older sister sighed. “Not ignoring, General Gray, just… I’m just busy, that’s all.”
“You’d be a lot less busy in the grave.”
“…I get your point,” Katsumi said, “But you know how much I hate that.”
“You aren’t as effective injured. You should take that into account.” Victoria leaned back, her expression growing serious. “I heard what happened. I can’t believe he’s still causing me trouble.”
Ayane sighed. “It’s just our luck he’s mixed up in all of this. He’s made everything more complicated, again.”
Victoria’s expression grew dark. “I’ve always tried to be a professional, but if I was ever able to get my hands on that man, I’d take my time making him die.”
Katsumi smirked. “It’s not like you to harbor personal vendettas, General.”
“I have a few weaknesses,” she replied with a smile. “Do you need any help down there?”
“Keep an ear open,” Katsumi stated firmly.
“Understood. So how are the others? How is Lawrence?”
“Tall,” Ayane answered. “Really, very tall, and big.”
Victoria grinned. “That’s exactly what I was asking about, Ayane, thank you.”
The girl beamed. “Not a problem!”
“I suppose that means nothing has changed since he was under my command with you two.”
“Not a lot,” Katsumi said, and then smirked. “Well, he’s a lot quicker about following my orders these days.”
Victoria chuckled. “Of course. I remember the complaints I got when I sent you to Central America; ‘a twenty-year-old officer, are you insane?!’” She smiled at Ayane. “It didn’t get any better when her seventeen-year-old sister showed up at the same time as the new medic.”
Ayane grinned. “I wasn’t trying to help you.”
“That much was obvious. My word, the arguments I got from you two when I tried to split you up…”
Katsumi smirked and folded her arms. “Well you should’ve known better.”
“I know now, believe me. M was wiser than I was, he didn’t even try.”
“It was part of the deal,” Katsumi reminded her. “Though… I do miss being under your command,” she admitted.
“Both of us do,” Ayane added with a nod.
Victoria smiled softly. “And I miss having you. You’d think seven years would be long enough, but sometimes you just don’t want to let someone go.”
“If it helps, ma’am, we’re still under you in all but title,” Katsumi said. “We’d follow any order you gave without hesitation.”
“I value that, but my only order is to contact me more. Maybe even visit.”
Ayane tilted her head with a smile. “We can do that. Both of those. Maybe we should visit after this demon thing is over?”
“I would love that,” she replied with a smile. “Keep yourselves safe so it may come to pass. I don’t like the dangerous situation you’re in; it feels wrong.”
“As does yours,” Katsumi responded. “M said he’s suspicious about what’s going on up there.”
“As he should be,” Victoria sighed. “I don’t know what they’re planning but I don’t trust it.” She held up a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m being careful. I know how to play the politics, even if I hate it.”
“It’s always better when it’s a straight fight, isn’t it, General?”
Victoria smiled. “At least it’s easier that way. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the way things are going… Whatever is happening, it’s happening in the shadows. We can only hope it comes to light and doesn’t simply stab us in the back.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Date: April 10, 2068
Time: 1:32 AM
Location: Culsor Apartment Building, Apartment 6711
Tonight was not a good night for Katsumi. Oh, it started perfectly – Ayane was in bed at home, still feeling well enough to not go back to the hospital. The talk with Victoria continued for two hours with the three reminiscing about good times. She was even feeling better, able to stand and walk around on her own. However, she slept fitfully despite Ayane’s presence, disjointed dreams overtaking her consciousness.
She awoke an hour and a half past midnight with cold sweat and clammy hands. The nightmares were odd as she couldn’t quite make sense of them. She glanced at Ayane and sighed, thankful that at least she hadn’t woken her up. She carefully slipped out of the bed and got up, making her way into the bathroom. She ran the sink quietly, splashing water on her face to wake herself up a bit. A flicker of movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye; something she saw in the mirror. There was nothing there, though; a trick on her eyes by her mind, paranoia caused by her nightmares.
Still, Katsumi hadn’t lived as long as she did by waving anything off as paranoia. She grew more alert and cautious, examining the mirror and turning to examine the bathroom behind her. She always checked these things out even if it was most likely nothing, especially with her sister in the house. A sudden noise of pots or pans clanking together in the kitchen – just a small one – jerked her attention in that direction. She exited the bathroom but found Ayane still asleep. She considered waking her in case there was someone in the place, but if it was just her imagination then waking her would only cause her to worry. She picked her pistol up off the nightstand; it was always kept loaded and with a round chambered when she slept.
She crept slowly into the kitchen area, which was small and only separated from the living room / bedroom by one wall. Katsumi’s place really only had three rooms, so there wasn’t a place for anyone to hide. Nothing was in the kitchen, but a couple of the lower cabinets were open, as if someone had been looking for something. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt the air grow cooler. Her grip on her pistol tightened as her eyes darted around the small kitchen. The most likely explanation was paranormal; strange dreams, spotting things in the corner of the eye, a sense of paranoia, odd physical occurrences and cold air were all signs of a spiritual presence, which could be as deadly as a living intruder.
Something brushed her calf; a light, faint touch, followed by a strong grip on her leg. She spun around and aimed the pistol down. Her lavender eyes locked onto brown ones and the pistol dropped, bouncing impotently on the tiled floor.
“Do you know what I’m going to do, Miss Samakura?”
“Don’t…”
“I’m going to give a little show.”
Katsumi dropped to her knees, staring into the eyes of the young boy who died in the Square, the final victim of Jerne Kintashi. Why his ghost had chosen to seek her out she didn’t know; he simply stared at her. “Why?” she asked softly. “Why are you here?”
The young boy just continued to watch her. How old was he? She guessed he was five or six at most; she wondered how much he knew about her. Enough to come here, but why? Katsumi could feel herself shaking as the nightmares reorganized themselves in her mind, finally making sense. Her guilt was released in full force as she reached out slowly, laying a hand on the boy’s head. “I was… late,” she said quietly. “It took me too long. I’m trying… Really trying to do better, but I can’t… bring you back,” she finished as she looked away.
The boy stepped forward and she felt him press against her, felt his small arms hug her. Her eyes widened and she looked down at him, slowly bringing her own arms up to embrace him as the tears finally escaped her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He stepped back after a few moments and beamed at her. He hopped backwards as if playing a game of tag, laughing and waving before he started running and disappeared. “Katsumi?” Ayane said softly as she stepped around the corner, spotting her older sister on her knees with tears running down her cheeks. She carefully knelt beside her, brushing her hair from her face. “What happened?”
Katsumi looked at her, smiling despite the tears. “It looks like… forgiveness is possible, after all.”
Chapter 15: Showtime
Date: April 13, 2068
Time: 9:15 PM
Location: SIN HQ, Tokyo, Japan
Things were going well. Katsumi was actually smiling as she took on a backlog of paperwork for once. The city was quiet, with no serious troubles anywhere. Her injuries had healed fairly quickly once she’d listened to Ayane and rested for a couple days. They’d been doing some work with Hitomi, mostly getting her used to what she was and the extra sense she’d never known she had; she was progressing rapidly. And finally (and most importantly to Katsumi), Ayane was spending her last night at the hospital. Tomorrow Katsumi would be going to purchase their new home. If she relapsed, they would deal with it then, but for now everything was looking good.
Which was exactly the time for things to start going wrong. It started as simply as anything could: a single text to Katsumi’s phone. She flipped it open to examine it, expecting something from her sister.
Good evening, Captain. I thought we’d have a little fun tonight; a game. Who doesn’t like games? So here are the rules for tonight’s game: I’ve learned about two attacks that are just about to happen, a personal one at the South Ashfield Hospital (oh my, isn’t that an important location?) and a much bigger one starting at the Garrus Limited Building. That second one is going to kill quite a few innocent people, but the first attack will kill one not-so-innocent person. I wonder how you’ll handle this? Let the game begin! – Σ
Katsumi was already up and running out into the light rain that was just beginning as she held her phone to her ear, calling M as she sent the message to him. “Get the entire team mobilized, and get them to Garrus Limited! I’m on my way to the hospital!” She grit her teeth, yelling over the link to her sister. Ayane, WAKE UP, NOW. Someone’s coming after you!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WAKE UP, NOW. Someone’s coming after you!
Ayane sat up, blinking awake. Huh…? The door to her room opened quietly and a masked soldier wearing Blood Angel colors stepped in, raising a rifle. Ayane rolled off the bed as he opened fire and shredded the sheets and pillow. She hit the floor on her knees and narrowed her eyes, shooting her hand under the mattress and withdrawing the katana hidden there, the one that had been a gift from Katsumi years ago. She gripped the blue sheath tightly, standing to her feet after the firing stopped, her eyes a hard glare as she unsheathed the blade.
The soldier blinked in surprise, taking a moment to stare. Is… that a sword?, he thought. He was going to question the worth of such a weapon in this age, but questioning anything became something of a problem as his head split horizontally just below his eyes despite his full-cover helmet. Blood sprayed outwards as the top half of his skull hit the floor, followed by his convulsing body.
His ally saw the blood and pressed against the wall for cover, firing at the doorway to catch the girl when she came out, but she didn’t. Instead severe pain shot through his side when the sword was driven through the wall beside him, piercing his hip. He cried out in agony and the girl took the chance to step around the doorway. She used her sheath to knock the rifle from his hands before she grabbed his head, pulling him painfully off of the blade. The last thing he saw was his head being shoved back towards the blade that still jutted from the wall.
Ayane stepped back into her room, yanking her katana from the wall. I’m alright, Sumi, thanks to your warning, she said over the link as she flicked the blood from her blade before sliding it back into its sheath. She then took the pistol from under her pillow before stepping back out. She looked back and forth down the hallway, deciding on a direction before four more soldiers appeared at the end of the hallway. She ran two steps and flipped over the desk in front of her room as they opened fire. She sadly noticed the nurse that worked outside of her room lay dead behind the desk; she’d always been kind, and had always allowed Katsumi in outside of normal visiting hours – she’d been a friend. Her sadness fed her rage as she grabbed the rolling chair, shoving it across the hallway. The soldiers opened fire at the movement and Ayane sprinted around the corner, returning fire with her pistol. They were too slow to adjust and two of them went down to bullets before their aim tracked her.
She spun to the side away from the bullets, ran two steps up the wall and flipped to the other wall, gaining distance the whole time before she launched herself off the wall towards them, drawing her sword in the air. As she spun past the remaining two soldiers her blade took the head from one. She landed and turned, dodging a burst of fire from the last one and removing his hand with her katana before she flipped it around and drove it up under his chin and through his head. She yanked it free, letting his body drop as she took off down the stairs. Another soldier was coming up the stairs and opened fire but she flipped over the rail, firing down into him as she went, then landed behind him and continued running as he fell.
