Chapter 33

When we got off the train, it was close to midnight. Tsuki was dragging her feet, and swaying, clearly exhausted from the near-24-hour active day. Despite that, she still held a firm grip on Yukino’s leash. Ichiro was still eyeing Marie and I as we refused to answer him earlier. I was thankful that Tsuki seemed to be using the last of her energy to hyperfocus on Yukino, making her ignorant of what Ichiro said. Marie was looking at the phone, and she manipulated and used it to find out where the nearest safe resting area would be. I didn’t expect a bunker like our previous location, but I was also not expecting anything high security. We would most likely have to watch Yukino in shifts to ensure she didn’t do anything while we slept. Marie turned awkwardly toward us and gave a robotic thumbs up. I assumed she was still recoiling from the blunt question Ichiro asked.

***

I was immediately taken aback when Marie opened the door to the unassuming building as the inside contrasted entirely with its outside. The outside was no different from the surrounding buildings; it was not rundown but also was not well kept. It was dull grey and looked like it was only a half-building apartment. The inside, however, looked like a penthouse hotel, fitted with every kind of commodity you could ever need, and some you would never need. The place looked more like somewhere you would spend a vacation after winning the lottery than one that you would hunker down in to hide from potential assassinators. Tsuki instantly gained all of her energy back as she saw the interior, letting out the most school-girly scream I have ever heard from a woman.

“Wooow! Look at this place, it’s like a literal mansion! But it was so small on the outside? Some kind of magic? Oh! Look, champagne!” Tsuki ran around the safehouse, dragging a nearly fainted Yukino as she did, whom, may I add, was still wearing the degrading dog ears and mouth bind.

As Tsuki ran around the place, I started to inspect it a bit more, too. I was getting more and more confused about the purpose of this place. There were multiple rooms, but in the main room sat a large bed with velvet covers and blankets with fluffy throw pillows, all of which were various shades of red and pink. As Tsuki pointed out, there were copious bottles of champagne along with slim, elegant glasses for them. There was also a minifridge, and on top of it rested what I could only assume were bathrobes. I then started to clock what this place was used for. I turned to Marie, and she then turned to me with awkward stiffness and gave me another robotic thumbs up, her face stoic but red.

“This place is for sex!” Tsuki shouted as she threw her arms in the air in excitement.

Marie’s face went from a light shade of pinkish red to full on crimson at Tsuki’s outcry. She was still staring at me with her blank face and her thumb still in the air. Even without her saying a word and her face betraying no emotion, I felt like I could hear her scream that it wasn’t what it seemed like. Which, knowing Marie, I believed her thought that I imagined in my own head. I just pressed my lips together with a bitter smile and nodded at her as I went into one of the back rooms. It was a small room that had a dim light and nothing in it except for what looked like a prison stockade made of metal. I shook my head in surprise, never expecting something like this to be in this place. But now that I think of it... No, I’d rather not think of that. To break me out of my delusion, Ichiro followed into the room behind me and spoke as he pointed at the stockade.

“Oh, that’s made of rhenium.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can tell. It’s the only metal that subdues magical talent if there’s enough of it. My ability to sense magic lets me tell when it’s in metal in a large amount.”

“Convenient.” I said as I looked over my shoulder and into the main room, specifically at Yukino. “Makes me wonder if this place was used as an interrogation house.”

“It probably was. Main room to seduce information out, this room to hold the prisoner, and the room next to us for the physical treatment.” Ichiro said, placing a finger on his chin.

“You checked out the other room already?”

“It was the first room I went into. I was looking for a bathroom.”

“Does that mean the only bed here is the one in the main room?” I asked, my face growing grim.

“No, no, no. There’s another room. Don't worry.” Marie said as she stood in the doorway, her voice almost breaking from stoic to panic.

“Oh, good.” I tried to hide the amount of relief I felt from her words. “We should probably get Yukino locked up in here then head to bed. Have you sent word to the agency?”

“I agree. And yes, but since I had to use a backdoor channel since we lost everything at the bunker, it most likely won’t be responded to until morning.”

“Quicker than we’re used to, at least.” I left the room with the two and explained everything to Tsuki. We ended up locking Yukino in the stockade, the effects of the magic restriction more than apparent as she passed out the moment we locked it around her. I then locked the door and turned to the rest of my team. “So, where do you want to sleep, Tsuki? You can have the big bed or one of the ones in the other room. I’ll let you choose.”

Tsuki tilted her head at me before glancing over to Marie. “No, that’s not happening.” She said nothing else, grabbed Ichiro, and forcibly pulled him into the other bedroom. Ichiro didn’t resist, instead just giving a thumbs up as he was dragged by Tsuki who was waving at us. Tsuki then winked at me before slamming the door shut, leaving me and Marie alone in the room.

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” I said, letting out a small chuckle.

Marie, however, was red faced yet again, apparently taking Tsuki’s actions and implications seriously. I sat on the bed, took off my jacket and shoes as I prepared for sleep. I laid on the bed and let out a long sigh as I let my self relax into the bed. After a few moments, I had realized that Marie hadn’t got into the bed, so I opened my eyes to see ehr standing at the end of it awkwardly.

“Are you just going to stand there? You’ve got to be tired, right? I know I am.” I relaxed my head and closed my eyes again.

After a short moment, I felt the other side of the bed shuffle as Marie got into bed. I started to relax as I started to drift to sleep but then felt something brush against me. I opened my eyes and saw that Marie was resting herself against me, her arm over my chest and her head near my shoulder. She had her eyes closed already and was breathing lightly. I didn’t know if she fell asleep that fast or if she was only pretending. I said nothing and just placed my arm around her as we both drifted off to sleep.