The Watchful Eye

Shindo stood at her front door, eyes darkened as if he’d seen something he didn’t want to. He stepped inside without a word from Himeno.
“I’m getting some crazy deja vu right now,” Himeno remarked, shutting the door.

“This is serious.” He spoke. He pulled a cigar and a lighter from his pocket. He sparked the lighter a few times, but the fire kept dying out.

“Damn it!” He tossed the lighter aside. “You need to leave Japan, and now. Take whatever you can carry and leave tonight.” He spoke frantically.

“What? Why?”

“Whatever you’re hiding, they will find it. Hell, they may have already found it.”

“What are you talking about?”
“They know the monsters still alive, and they know you know where it is. It’ll only be a matter of time before they find it. No one hides from the Watchful Eye.”

“Can you stop rambling for just a second and tell me what’s going on? What the hell is a ‘watchful eye?”
Shindo walked past her and plopped down on the bed.

“The Watchful Eye, they’re a spy organization operating mostly out of America. The Takeba group has ties with them. Linda knows that the monster is alive; she’s hired them to find its location. Given their track record, it’s only a matter of time before they gather enough information and detain the monster. Once they do, you and anyone who helped harbor the creature will likely be executed alongside it.”

Himeno listened to his every word, silently, letting out a heavy sigh once he’d finished.

“I see.” She spoke calmly.

“What are you waiting for? There’s no time to waste!”

“And how do you know so much about this?”
Her words caught him off guard.

“Because I’ve been temporarily assigned to their squad.” He paused for a moment, eyes meeting hers with sadness, “I haven’t been honest with you these last few years. I was assigned to be your supervisor for the specific purpose of ensuring you never stepped out of line. That’s always been my job, even before you came here. Linda would always stick me with the trouble-makers, and one by one, I watched them all die. When you told me your plan about killing the head of the group all those years ago, I planned on telling Linda immediately, but something stopped me.”

“Does she know?” She asked.

“Know what?”

“That you’re here, telling me all this?”

“No, I made sure I wasn’t being followed.”

“Good, then you should leave.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I’m not sure.” She paused, a look of curiosity on her face, “Why are you doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Protecting me. Why are you doing it?”

Shindo fell to silence, eyes now evading Himeno's. “That’s not what’s important right now.” He stood abruptly, “I hope that by tomorrow you’re far away from Japan.” He brushed past her, opening the door and stepping out onto the patio. He stood there for a few seconds, turning back and mustering up the courage to say something before shaking his head.

“You’re my partner.” He said.

“Huh?”

“You asked why I keep protecting you, it’s cause you’re my partner, and I’m tired of watching my partners die.”