A Less-than-Safe Haven

“Your tail is coming in nicely!” Kira said, angling her head to project over Arata’s shoulder. The confined acoustics of the stairwell amplified her voice – already next to his ear – and the stricken boy winced.

“Almost where I want it, too. A few centimeters longer; a touch more thickness, something to really sink your fingers into; and it’ll be perfect.” Kira watched it swing serpent-like from a ragged hole in the back of Allie’s sweatpants large enough to catch a glimpse of undergarments. Stripes of blue, pink and white stood out against the wrinkled grey.

Narrow enough for only a single person, the three proceeded down the stairs in a line, Allie thumping along leading the pack on her crutches. The air grew warmer with every step, opening up into the second den that night, albeit one that didn’t set Kira on edge for fear of her own safety.

The difference between the upper level and here was night and day. Squash and overstuffed sofas, burgeoning with pillows and piles of thick blankets. More blankets hung on wires closer to the walls, slightly damp to the touch. Plastic cubes were stacked along the wall full of folded clothing articles. Shelves holding bottles in a plethora of designs and colors: glass bottles, rectangular water bottles, bottles with marbles, collapsible bottles without, opaque malleable bottles with nozzles for sucking, and others that screwed on. Floorboards had been removed for coolers to sit half in the floor, labels marking them for food or drink. An alchemical lantern hung from the ceiling – a dark orb of iron from which orange light peered out behind a molded grate.

A cauldron stirred itself in the corner on its own, ladle rotating around and around clockwise, with a comfortable-looking rolling chair layered in further pillows and fabrics up to its neck rest Allie collapsed into, leaning her crutches against the table the cauldron rested upon. “Make yourselves at home,” she said. “Refreshments are where they always are.” Arata crashed onto one couch face first. Kira kneaded the blankets of the other for any surprises before she sat.

Giving her cauldron a quick sniff, Allie set the ladle stirring in the opposite direction. In the greater light the changes to her nose were visible: the skin was stained dark, and had adopted a rougher texture that glistened slightly. “Lot of commotion coming through the gutters tonight.”

“Not our fault,” Arata moaned through the blankets.

“Well, some might be now.” Kira folded her hands together in her lap, but that didn’t stop them from shaking. She eyed the assortment of bottles. “Do you have anything for calming?”

“You’re in luck. Granny Tsubone next door wanted a batch for her kids as a ‘crossing the finish line’ sort of celebration for finishing school, so I’ll soon have a ton.” Allie plucked a green glass number from a collection beside her and laded in an amount from the cauldron. “Should take the edge off as is. Give me an hour and I’ll have some more at full potency,” she added, stopping the bottle up with a cork. “Catch!”

Kira shot out her hand, the bottle thunking dully against her palm, and slid it within Arata’s reach – only for him to wave it away. He lifted his face to reveal a grimace. “Give me a minute. Anything going down risks coming back up.”

“Please don’t ruin my good blankets. I’m still waiting for the rest to dry.” Allie dumped a silvery powder into the cauldron, filling the room with the deep organic scent of strawberries.

Mouth watering through her scowl, Kira took the bottle back and downed half the potion in two gulps. It tasted of chalk and left a slimy film on her tongue. “That was our whole purpose for coming here.” She slid the bottle over again. “So drink or I’m letting you walk on home alone.”

“No love for me?" Allie tried her best to sound hurt. "That stings, Kira. Stings real bad."

Kira responded with a sigh. “Sorry. It’s been a long night, and the day ahead gets longer by the second. I’m sticky, I smell, we almost burned a building down, and I’ve probably made more than a few enemies, all before one of the most important interviews of my life.” She thought about mentioning the vision too, but decided against it. With so little context it would only create more questions, and Arata was in no condition to attempt fruitful discussion.

Allie turned from her work, one eyebrow raised. “School?”

“School.”

“I’m being abandoned, if anyone cares,” came Arata’s muffled voice from the pillow.

“Drink the potion and shut up. It’ll help us all.” Already a soothing glow warmed her belly, relaxing the anxiety that plagued her hands. “But at least my financial concerns are out of the way.”

“I can see that,” Allie said, an eye to the case at Kira’s feet. “So, come on, fill me in on the heist. Sanpaku was only able to give me the barest descriptions. Mass hysteria is always an interest piquer. So are medical services nonstop transporting wounded through the streets.”

Images of the Shinjuku violence dredged themselves up in Kira’s mind: the man whose mind she broke into eating himself alive; the gunfire; the head lolling from its shoulders. She shivered. “Bunch of car accidents downtown during our attack.”

“More than that, I’ve heard. Whatever wasn’t your fault blacked out chunks of the city and beyond. But you must have made the Don happy, or else you wouldn’t be here with his money.”

Kira shuffled her legs in front of the case.

Groaning louder than he’d done before, Arata rolled off the couch, head in his hands. “I need to go upstairs for a bit. I think this heat is aggravating whatever’s messing me up bad.” He rose to his feet, and was striding up the stairs before anyone could get a word in, leaving the other two alone.

“Do whatever helps,” Allie said after him. She pointed to Kira’s bottle. “Need a refill?”

“No, I think I’m done. Just wanted enough to settle my stomach.

“I’ll bet. Lighting isn’t doing you many favors, but – and no offense – you look like death. I’ve got plenty of snacks if a potion won’t suffice.” She rolled herself over to the cooler marked “Food” in the corner, opening the trunk to the sound of creaking plastic. Haze rolled off the piles of ice keeping her goods fresh. “I’ve got cookies, couple different fruits, some vegetables and pastes if you’d prefer –”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“Ice cream, takoyaki I can warm up, taiyaki with meat, taiyaki with custard –”

“I said I’m fine.” Her stomach growled even as she said it.

“Seriously, I’ve got a wide selection here. The juice I’ve been downing gives me the biggest chocolate cravings so I’ve been needing to keep stocked.” Allie pulled out a trio of colorfully wrapped bars. “Take your pick.”

“Does it dull your hearing too?

“No, but it has made my eyes bigger and stronger, all around improving them for seeing you with, my dear. And I see your cheek bones are one kiss from poking right out from your skin, and they already were sharp enough to cut glass.” Shoving herself from the wall, Allie rolled her chair over to the couch and her bulk over the armrest onto the furniture, sitting herself beside Kira, one of the chocolate bars in hand. In a flash she had the candy exposed, breaking off a healthy piece of dark, rice-flecked sweetness to wave below the thief’s nose. “Come on. Take it.”

Kira scooted away. “What part of ‘I’m fine’ are you not understanding?”

“You can eat it from my fingers directly if you’d prefer. Kinda messy, and not positive how that’ll end considering you’re you, but whatever gets food in your mouth.”

Allie was close enough now that Kira could see the other changes brought about on her body. Her nails had lengthened, keratin swelling, now narrowed at the ends. Not sharp yet, but soon. Dense fields of auburn were sprouting along the length of her plump arms down to the knuckles of her fingers, appearing soft to the touch. Thicker than the downy hairs that had begun to poke through Kira’s hands. Enough to share with the class and then some.

Fearing no way out, Kira shoved her thumb down into her fist and clenched with all her strength. Front teeth bit down on the chocolate, allowing Allie enough room to take her hand away.

She chewed once. Twice. Three times. Mashed the cold brick between her teeth. Sharp edges speared her gums but the pain was quiet before the burning ache. The chocolate slithered down her throat like entrails. Glass shattered in her mind.

It took Allie’s gasp to realize it hadn’t been.

Frigid air warned the two of what they would find, but the scene still stopped them in their tracks.

The window leading to the apartment’s front had been shattered. Glowing shards looked up at Kira from the ground outside, warm and red and smoldering in the snow. Wind whistled through the jagged opening, but Kira shivered before the chill touched the sharp angles of her face.