43 Usagi Days / Ruby-Colored Days, Pt 4

- 43.1 -

"… Annie."

Anemone waved, awkwardly. "'Sup." She was holding two pudding cups in her hand.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Konbini run. Onee-chan wanted some pudding, and we'd run out, so … yeah. What about you?"

"Same. I-I mean, not pudding. Just—" She gestured to her items.

"Oh. Well … You look … good."

Ruby, rolling eyes: "Yeah, sure."

They stood there for a while, neither sure of what to say.

The clerk cleared his throat. "… Miss?"

Ruby turned back around. "Oh, right!" She brought her face up to the retinal scanner, which scanned her eyes and automatically deducted the necessary credits from her account.

After the clerk bagged up Ruby's items and handed her the plastic bag, it was Anemone's turn to cash out. The clerk scanned the two pudding cups, but before Anemone went to pay, she grabbed two cans of iced coffee. "And these, as well, please."

Ruby watched Anemone pay for her items, unsure whether or not she should just leave.

After Anemone was done, she held up the two coffee cans.

"… Join me for a drink? My treat."

- 43.2 -

Ruby and Anemone sat on a bench in the central atrium. Above them the holographic sky twinkled with fake stars. Fake constellations. They sipped their canned coffee, quietly.

… Had it always been this awkward between them?

How did they used to interact with each other? Ruby couldn't remember. It wasn't something she had to think about—it had always been effortless. Back then, before Ithaca, they simply … were.

… So why was it so different now?

Ruby, not knowing what to say: "I … just got back from Violet and Ivy's."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Still the number one Kart Racer in all of Ithaca."

Anemone chuckled. "As expected of Ruby Hanasaki. Number one driver in … all the world, probably."

"Ha. Yeah."

(Wow. Thrilling conversation, Ruby. You haven't seen Annie in how long, and this is all you got?)

Ruby: "… How's the arm?"

Anemone seemed confused at first, like she didn't know what Ruby was referring to. Then, a flicker of recognition, once she understood. "Oh! The … cat scratch. Yeah, that's all fine now. See? Look. Not even a scar."

They never really talked about that day. Anemone, inches away from death's door. The Usagis, driving around the outskirts of the Old Capital, not even sure what they were looking for. The vaguest hint of a map, from a manual that, for all they knew, was decades out of date.

But somebody down in Ithaca had been keeping an eye on them. Monitoring them as they drove desperately around the hidden entrance. Watching as they laid Anemone out on the ground, trying to keep her conscious as best they could. And somebody down here had recognized Anemone's face.

Anemone took a sip of coffee, and then said, "… It was all thanks to Onee-chan. She's the reason we're all down here. She's the reason … I'm still alive."

They didn't speak for a long time after that. Ruby had finished her coffee already—no more idle sips to help fill the awkward silence.

It was during that uncomfortable lull that Ruby made up her mind. She had been considering it for a while now, but for whatever reason, it was that moment, sitting there in the atrium with Anemone, that it clicked.

Ruby knew what she had to do.

"Annie … I'm heading back out there. It's time for me to leave."

- 43.3 -

Anemone blinked. "You mean like a day-pass? Yeah, that's fine—you've done that plenty of times—"

Ruby: "No. I mean … For good."

Silence from Anemone.

The empty coffee can crumpled slightly in Ruby's grip. "I … I can't anymore. I hate it here, Annie. I either can't sleep, or I sleep all day. My stomach hurts all the time, I get random cramps. I'm too tired to do anything. I can barely think. I … I have to get out. And not just on a day-pass. I can't be here anymore."

Anemone: "… You can't come back, you know."

Ruby: "I know."

Anemone didn't say anything for a long time. Then: "… Okay."

"… 'Okay'?"

"Yeah. I mean, if that's what you really want."

Huh. Ruby hadn't expected that. No argument. No trying to convince her to stay. … She wasn't sure why, but she felt a bit disappointed.

They talked about a few more things after that. Ruby couldn't remember about what exactly, afterwards. Anemone's sister got a new promotion. Their sink was acting up. She'd gone bowling with Ivy and Violet last week sometime (… without inviting Ruby, apparently). The anime she'd been watching. Books she'd been reading. … Whatever.

Anemone stood up. "Well. Onee-chan's probably wondering where I am. I better get back. … We should chat more often, Rubes. I mean—for sure, before you leave."

"… Yeah."

Anemone snapped her fingers, as if having come up with a brilliant idea. "Hey, I know! Why don't we hold a going-away party for you? At our place! I'll talk to Onee-chan, it'll be great. Would you like that?"

"… Yeah. That sounds … great."

Anemone smiled. "Okay. Let me know when you got all the paperwork filled out. We'll figure something out."

And then she walked away, tossing her empty can into the recycling bin along the way.

Ruby sat there on the bench, for a little longer.

And then she, too, returned to her apartment.

- 43.4 -

The next two weeks flew by.

Gone were the days of sleeping in for the full day. Ruby finally cleaned out her apartment. No more instant noodles, no more soda. (Okay … maybe just one can at night. As a treat.) She started showering again.

She met up more and more with Violet and Ivy. They went out for walks around the atrium. She swam with Ivy. She helped Violet with her baking. She played video games with Lucy, and spent time with her. She ate dinner with them, and talked about the good old days. The Usagi days.

Meanwhile, she filled out her application for permanent transfer out of the compound. There was a bit more paperwork than expected, probably because of the Usagi. (Even though it belonged to her in the first place …)

But soon she was done, and sent her application off—down into the rabbit-hole of R.A.B.B.I.T. bureaucracy, to be processed by whatever shadow committee was responsible for these decisions.

- 43.5 -

Anemone lived in the residence wing reserved for the quote-unquote, "higher brass" individuals, and their families.

It was all because Anemone's older sister was married to some … co-director, or some other impressive-sounding, high-ranking title. (Ruby didn't care enough to learn about all the military-style hierarchical details.) Ruby had never actually met the guy.

Normally, people like Ruby, Ivy and Violet didn't have access to those areas, but just for the party they were issued a clearance pass.

It was the first time Ruby had set foot in the upper-class residence wing. She walked there with Ivy, Violet and Lucy. (Violet: "Fancy hallways." Ivy: "What do you think this carpet's made of?" Lucy: "Smells … nice.")

The four of them showed up at Anemone's sister's door, and Anemone opened up to let them in.

Inside it was bigger than both Ruby and Ivy's apartments combined. There was a large, spacious area for entertaining guests, a dining table, and a kitchen that was itself bigger than Ruby's entire apartment.

There were snacks and drinks laid out, and balloons tied up around the room. A printed-out banner reading "Farewell, Ruby!!!" hung on the wall.

The party was … fine. Ruby spent most of it with Ivy and Violet, and Lucy.

(Ruby: "… so I sent it down the, heh-heh, 'rabbit-hole' of R.A.B.B.I.T. bureaucracy. Get it?"

Ivy: "Yeah, I get it Rubes, it's just … not that funny.")

As for Anemone … they spoke a few times, mostly in passing. A bit of awkward small talk. Polite smiles. That was about it.

(Anemone: "More Dr Fizzy-Pop? I know you love the stuff."

Ruby: "I'm, uh—I'm actually trying to quit.")

At the end of the night, Anemone's sister suggested she take their picture.

The five of them—Ruby, Ivy, Violet, Anemone, Lucy—bunched up close together under Ruby's farewell banner, and were blinded by the flash of the camera as Anemone's sister took the shot.

A round of hugs and thank-you's followed.

And then the party was over.

- 43.6 -

Finally, the time came for her to leave.

Ruby didn't want to make it a big deal. The party had been enough of a sendoff, and she wanted to slip away quietly. So, she chose to leave in the middle of the night.

She had already arranged for the Usagi to be loaded onto the funicular platform ahead of time, and now, with nothing more than a duffel bag of clothes, she was ready to head to the surface. She gave the thumbs-up to the operator standing by.

But then—

"RUBY!!!!!"

Ivy came running up to the funicular platform. Violet trailed behind, pushing Lucy in a wheelchair.

Ivy, panting: "I can't believe you! You were just going to leave without saying goodbye!?"

Ruby, rubbing the back of her head, guiltily: "I mean—the party was already kind of enough … And Lucy! … You shouldn't be out so late. You should be resting."

"Lucy … want to … say bye."

Violet frowned. "You really should have told us."

"… Sorry," muttered Ruby.

They shared one last group hug. Ivy and Violet suggested several convoluted plans so they could see each other (Violet: "How about this. We'll get day-passes every second Thursday, and we'll be outside, near the old department store outside, and then …"), but Ruby simply smiled and said, "See ya when I see ya."

The other girls, teary-eyed, nodded and repeated, "See ya when we see ya."

- 43.7 -

At the top of the funicular, two armed R.A.B.B.I.T. wardens were guarding the ramp that lead up to the hidden entrance above ground.

They had always made Ruby uneasy. The way their helmets covered up their eyes, leaving just their expressionless mouths visible. She's never seen any one of them show anything other than a grim, tight-lipped line.

They all carried their standard-issue pulse rifles, everywhere they went. The weapon didn't exist outside of Ithaca—a new sort of firearm, all designed and manufactured in-house within the facility. Ruby had never seen one fire before, but apparently they didn't shoot regular bullets; they fired some kind of energy burst.

"Retinal scan," said one of the wardens, holding up a portable scanner.

Ruby pressed her face up to the machine. She looked into the lens, and a beam of light scanned her eyes.

After a brief pause, the machine came back with a sharp, harsh-sounding beep. The warden pulled the machine back, read the results, and showed it to his partner, who nodded in acknowledgement.

Warden: "It doesn't look like you're approved to exit the compound, Ms Hanasaki."

Ruby: "What? No, there's some mistake. I got all the necessary documents—"

The warden raised an open palm. "Ma'am, if you don't have any business at the front gates, I'm going to have to ask you to turn around."

Ruby: "There's gotta be some mistake. Can you run the scan again? Please?"

The warden shook his head.

Ruby: "Okay, well, I'm going to leave here, one way or another. You can't stop me from—"

The warden placed a hand on his pulse rifle, a warning. He said, "The compound's regulations are perfectly clear, ma'am. Without proper authorization, you are not permitted to exit the compound. Now please return to the main atrium."

Ruby stared at the warden's hand, his finger resting on the trigger.

She gritted her teeth, and then slowly turned around. The funicular rumbled back to life, and began its long, five-kilometer descent back to the atrium.

- 43.8 -

When Ruby awoke the next day, having returned to her apartment and collapsed in bed after being turned away at the Ithaca entrance, she was absolutely thrilled—delighted, even—to find that the electronic lock on her door wouldn't let her out.

She was trapped.