Inquiry

Noa had become more accustomed to the rhythms of this place than he'd ever hoped for. 

Nagasawa was the only one who came to retrieve him, and he usually only came in the afternoons, rarely two days in a row.
The rest of the time was just…silent. With very little to do and nowhere to go.

In the mornings, Noa had started to build a routine. It started with stretching, pacing, and maybe a few push-ups to get his blood pumping. And then he sat and meditated for as long as he could stand it before starting the cycle over again. 

Mostly he did it because he could only sleep for so long and there was nothing else to keep him occupied. But lately…lately, when he became quiet enough, he thought he could feel the magic flowing through his blood, and feel the edges of the Garden above and around him. 

It was the most interesting thing in this place, so he tried to sense it. Even if it was just his own boredom playing tricks on him, it passed the time. 

If it wasn't…well, the sooner he understood his enemies' creation, the sooner he could try to turn it to his advantage. 

He was in the middle of one such meditation session when he was distracted by footsteps coming down the hall—clicking, rather than the heavy tread of boots. 

He opened his eyes and loosened his posture as Murasaki Shijo came into view, walking briskly and stopping at his door.

"Noa Takasu," she said. "Come with me, please." 

Noa half-hoped for a second that she, unlike Nagasawa, might forget to tie his hands—but a guard stepped up even as she stepped away from the door. He allowed himself to be bound and led up the stairs, exactly where he expected to go—the usual room. 

Shijo gestured at the examination table and took a seat as Noa hopped awkwardly up onto it. Then she gestured at the wall. 

"What do you make of this, Takasu-kun?" 

Noa shrugged. "It's very fancy and also illegal?" 

She gave him a polite chuckle. "That's what you've gotten from it so far? Well, I suppose it's an apt description." 

Noa waited, and she stood, going to the shelf of implements in the corner. "Tell me, what do you make of the experiments young Takara-kun does in here?"

"Also extremely illegal," Noa tried. 

"And unenjoyable for you, I'd imagine." 

Noa shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. It's the most interesting thing that happens around here." 

Shijo's gaze sharpened. "I see. Tell me, Takasu-kun…why do you think it is that he's so taken with experimenting on you?"

There was an edge to the question. "Shouldn't you be asking him that?" Noa said. 

"His answers are long-winded. And he has a tendency to miss the bigger picture with these things." She stepped slowly around the table. "But ever since you've come here, he's had little interest in any of the other donors we've acquired. He seems convinced that you're unique." 

"I wouldn't know," Noa said, trying hard not to think about it. "I'm no expert on blood magic." 

"Aren't you? But, you know, from your file, it seems you can use it just fine." She bent over him, pressing a single sharp-tipped finger lightly to his neck. "Who taught you, Takasu-kun?" 

Chills ran down his spine. "Nobody," he said. 

"You're quite certain?" She paused. "Not even your mother?" 

"No," he said. "My mother didn't teach me anything like that. She's works in ritual magic—the normal kind. She doesn't use magic to hurt people." 

Shijo hummed, ignoring the jibe. "Tell me, Takasu-kun—why do you think it's called blood magic?" 

Noa blinked. "…Besides the obvious reason?" 

"Of course." She smirked at him. "Don't tell me that you thought just anybody could do it, the second they decided they didn't care for the rules?" 

Noa stared. That had been more or less exactly what he'd assumed. 

Shijo chuckled. "Oh, no. Poor, naive boy. Though I can understand, just a bit. If things had turned out just a little differently, I might have stayed under the same misapprehension." She smiled. "There are ways, you see, to give one's magic…traction. Bite. All it takes is straying off the beaten path, and then continuing for a while." 

"But I haven't," Noa said. "I just…" 

"Oh, I think you've been straying plenty, haven't you?" She smirked, stepping towards him. "I thought it was your mother I was feeling, at first." 

Noa stiffened. 

Shijo stepped closer, watching him closely all the while. "Her, or one of the lowlifes she's gone to ground with. I was so happy to have tracked her down, but then it seemed she'd somehow found her way into my little paradise! But it wasn't her, was it?" 

She leaned over Noa until he was all but lying flat on the examination table, unable to get away with his hands bound. "It was you, sneaking in where you had no right. Tell me, Takasu-kun—isn't my Garden even more beautiful on the inside?" 

Noa glared up at her, muscles wound tight. "It's wrong," he said. "It's hurting people. You can't call something like that beautiful." 

"Can't I?" Shijo laughed, stepping back. "Oh, you're just precious. Dear, what exactly do you think you are?" 

As Noa started to struggle upright, Shijo snapped her fingers and the bonds around his wrists loosened. He went to push himself up, but the restraints came to life, snaking over him and pinning him to the bed. 

"Power comes from power," Shijo said gently. "The power in your veins is no exception. To be instilled in you from birth, passed down so long you have no awareness of it—some very terrible things must have been done indeed. Do you think your ignorance makes you blameless?" 

Struggling was useless. Noa knew that by now, and yet he couldn't help but try to shrink away as Shijo came closer, fingers wrapped around a familiar, sharpened glass rod, a length of tubing in her other hand. 

"You are a weapon, Takasu Noa," she said. "A valuable one. And so I will give you a choice: tell me where you got your powers…or I will find the answer myself."