Chapter 35

The man stared at me with wide eyes and shock. Then his lips curled into a smile and he started to laugh. I narrowed my eyes at him, confused and a little irritated. He wiped his eyes and he composed himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another cigarette.

“I like the enthusiasm, I really do, and it’s not that I don’t believe you’d keep your word, but we don’t need an Elder. Or rather, we would have no way of getting the information we need from one.” He said, lighting the cigarette and puffing it.

“What do you mean?” I said, trying to hide the small amount of embarrassment I felt.

The man let out a long stream of smoke before speaking again. “Elders are simply too powerful. Rhenium chains don’t work to suppress their powers and even if we could suppress them, they’re so ingrained into the hivemind of the Secular that they’d let themselves die without another thought. Plus, they probably have something like Tsuki as a backup for themselves.”

“Sounds like you guys have tried before.”

“I haven’t, but apparently a long time ago they tried. Story says that over three hundred people died trying to subdue them and then afterward the Elder just let themselves starve to death without ever speaking. So, with Tsuki, and now you with your awakened powers, on our side we’ve decided to try getting a Bishop.” He said, taking another long drag of the cigarette.

“I’m starting to understand. So, this isn’t just some small task that’s been done before; the agency is trying something now that they have the tools.”

“You catch on quickly. Glad you understand.” He threw the now finished cigarette on the ground and stomped it before looking back over at me. “That’s why the urgency level is kind of high. We’re moving forward with something we only dreamed of at this point.”

I sensed he was sincere and not hiding anything. This truly was a turning point for the fight against the Secular; Tsuki was already a major factor, but with me gaining the influx of magical talent, the agency had a real chance to enact some meaningful plans out.

“Alright. I’ll get you a Bishop. I’ll do what I want with Yukino.” I agreed and the man stuck out his hand for a handshake. “Before I do shake, I will tell you now so you can alert the agency; once we’re in Tokyo, I’m going to go about getting a Bishop my own way. So, keep on your toes.” I grabbed the man's hand and shook it, his face betraying slight nervousness.

“I’ll do just that.” He said, turning to leave.

“Oh, I never got your name.”

“You don’t need to know. We probably won’t meet again. Contact us when you get the Bishop.” The man said as he left and walked down the street. I narrowed my eyes, but then shook my head and went back inside

***

I managed to get a few more hours of sleep in, having decided to not wake anyone else up and just tell them about the man from the agency after we were all rested. When I awoke the second time, I heard the main door close and Marie walked in carrying two shopping bags. She placed them down and pulled out some food and drinks that she got for everyone, placing it all on a table. Tsuki and Ichiro were still asleep in their room, so Marie walked over to the other side of the bed and laid back in it next to me. She turned her head to the side and looked at me. I stared back and a small smile formed on my face.

“What’s with the smile? Did we get good news earlier?” Marie said in her usual monotone voice.

“Earlier? Oh, you were awake?” I asked, surprised she knew about the meeting outside.

“You didn’t get out of bed that gently and you were restless all night.”

“Oh, sorry. I wouldn’t say good news, but it wasn’t bad. Bottom line is we need to get another Bishop for the agency, but we’re free to do whatever we want with Yukino.” I said, putting on a bitter smile.

“Oh.” Marie said, her face giving the smallest hint of disappointment.

“Upset we are on another errand? It’s not that bad.” I asked.

“No. That’s not it.” She said, turning to look up at the ceiling. “It means I didn’t have to stop you from killing her before. I got in your way for no reason.”

I propped myself up on my side and looked over at her, a genuine smile crossing my face. “You had your reason, a good one too. It was smart. You couldn’t have known we would be given this second chance.”

“But I think either way we would have just kept the same task. All I did was delay.”

“The delay isn’t all bad.” I said, moving closer to her.

She turned her head slightly to look at me, her pale blue eyes looking into mine. “Why’s that?”

“Because we got this second chance.”

I lowered my head to hers and pressed my lips into hers. I felt her tense up for a moment, before relaxing and joining me in the kiss. For the smallest moment, I felt that nothing else mattered as I shared this kiss with Marie. And my heart fluttered, feeling her lightly press her hand against my head, pulling me into her. Before taking the bold move, I almost feared I was making a mistake. But now I knew for sure it was the perfect decision.

“WAAAH! Finally!” A shrill voice shrieked out. “We’ll give you some privacy!” Tsuki shouted before slamming the door. I could hear her shout something to Ichiro, but it was muffled.

Marie and I both looked over at the door, watching Tsuki act like, well, Tsuki, before both looking back at each other. We both just started to laugh, and Marie stared up at me, smiling. And it was the prettiest smile I had ever seen.

***

Later in the morning, everyone was sitting around the table listening to my explanation of what had happened with the man from the agency earlier. No one had any real objections, but Tsuki and Ichiro both brought up the same thing that Marie did, saying that keeping Yukino alive was pointless. I rebuked them saying that we were unsure about anything at that point, and that seeing Yukino be humiliated like a dog was worth it. Also being able to finally kiss Marie was more than worth it, but I didn’t say that out loud to them. We then talked about how we would go about making our way to the new safehouse, what supplies we needed, and other logistical things. But then Ichiro brought up the burning question.

“So, what are you going to do with her?” He asked, staring at me.

His expression was blank with his tired eyes looking at me with only curiosity in them like always. The answer was obvious, but for some reason I felt like I needed to ask him something first. Something that I had asked him several times over but needed final confirmation.

“Before I answer, I want to ask you something again.”

Before I could continue, he answered it without me asking.

“I’m fine with you killing her. As with Aki- Kyosuke, she is no longer the Yuk- Kurosawa I knew.” He said as his eyes dropped slightly before returning to look at me. “I will hold no grudge.”

I could tell he was sincere, as he always was. He was still a strange person with strange mannerisms and strange quirks about him. But I could not fault him in his honesty.

“Okay. Just one more thing, though. How come you panicked when they attacked us? You seemed genuinely afraid that we could die.”

Ichiro took a second to answer, placing a finger on his chin and looking up at the ceiling. He didn’t look at me when he answered this time.

“Because you are all my friends. I’ve never had real friends before, and I didn’t want to lose you.”

He looked back at me and nodded, as if confirming to himself that what he said was correct. And he was sincere. My lips curved into a small smile. Tsuki, however, had wrapped her arms around him and started to cry.

“Oohh, Ichiro! I’m sorry for calling you a hair freak! That’s so sad! I’ll be your friend forever!” Tsuki wailed.

“You should do what you have to do, Ryu. We’ll get going now, meet us at the station when you’re done.” Marie said to me, grabbing a bag full of supplies.

I stared at the door where Yukino was locked, and I could feel my pulse quicken.