Herself

I reached the rooftop garden. There was nothing remarkable about it, just a few trees and rocks and withering flowers. A small fountain added some soothing background noise to the area.

Kawaguchi Fumi was sitting under a large tree. I went and sat beside her.

“Hello. I see you’re looking rather cheerful today.” Fumi lowered the book that she was reading. It had a black fabric book cover, but by the looks of it, it’s probably a novel.

“Well, yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say. There was so much we could talk about, but I could not find a place to start.

“Those wings…do you think you can fly with them?” Fumi casted a sideway glance. I shrugged, so she continued. “Some people in PUPA can fly with their wings, but most are born with them. You’re the first one I know to suddenly grow a pair.”

I nodded, adjusting my new black-rimmed glasses.

“Hey, so…how’re you doing?”

“I’m taking time off work to recover.” She heaved a long sigh. “PUPA considers futakuchi-onna capable of combat, but I am weak. I cannot protect you, and now you can no longer return to normal life.”

“Are you blaming yourself for this?”

“Perhaps, but I don’t want to.”

“You totally are.”

“You’re so snarky, aren’t you, Kazakiri Yuuya?” She shut her book. “From the outside, you look like a polite and reliable boy, but you are actually a spoiled, hot-headed, and stubborn mama’s boy.”

“Is there a single good thing about me?”

“None that I can think of right now. It’s a shock to me that you have such great friends, like that one girl… Izayoi Shou, if I’m not mistaken? She was yelling at the security. ‘A Saint must not abandon their nakama. My burning cosmo brought me here!’ Gosh, is that Seiya anime still making spin-offs?”

As long as people are still into that cheesy show, I guess.

“I think you’ve also got quite the snark, Kawaguchi Fumi-san. Plus, you’re clumsy.”

“Are you still mocking me for tripping and dropping my badge?”

“It’s your fault that you crashed into the bathhouse. Wait, were you trying to park outside but accidentally stepped on the gas and crashed?”

She went silent for a while.

“If you’re just here to make fun of me, go back to your room!” She twisted her lips.

“I thought we had more to talk about.”

“Are you trying to extract an apology from my mouth? Which one do you want to hear it from? The front, or the back?” Her back mouth, with its red lips and razor-sharp teeth, opened and closed like a fish out of water. Gosh, did her cerebellum shrink to make room for another mouth?

“I’m not looking for an apology. It was never your fault, and I won’t ever blame you for it. You’re just dragged into this entire mess.” I got up. “What are you reading, by the way?”

“Confidential.”

“Seriously?”

“Trust me when I say it’s confidential.”

“Now I’m curious.”

“I’ll punch your glasses in.”

I pulled the book from her hands. Fumi screamed from both her mouths, but I used my height to my advantage and tried to read the book with my arms outstretched above my head.

“Hey, Fumi-chan…”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Isn’t this the kind of book that you, umm, don’t read in public?”

We stood there as if frozen in time. A few seconds later, I handed the book back to her.

“I’m sorry, but it’s alright. We all read stuff like this sometimes.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!”

A nurse rushed out when she heard screaming. I waved her back inside. Fumi was on the ground clutching her head, the book on the ground beside her.

“Goodbye my good image, goodbye my job, goodbye my life!”

“Hey…”

“Oh no, how could I have been so careless? Allowing an underage kid to read it! I’m such a despicable creature…”

“Get it together, Fumi-chan. You didn’t do anything wrong. I yanked the book from you. And hey, kids my age all know what pornography is.”

“You’re the worst.”

“Excuse me?!”

Fumi calmed down somewhat.

“Now that you know my darkest secret, tell me one of yours.”

“Why is reading erotica even considered your darkest secret?”

“I’m just a useless old hag that reads erotica to pass time! I used to have a husband, but he died during the second world war and I got chased out of the house because my damn second mouth was eating too much! Everybody was starving and kids were dying left and right and everybody’s houses were burning and nobody had any money. I had no choice but to sell myself for food. I spat on American soldiers and got kicked out of the house for it. When the economy recovered, I finally landed myself a job, and only recently did I join PUPA, but because I’m a useless, clumsy youkai with no job experience, I only got menial jobs and nobody wanted me on their team. Nobody aside from my late husband would love me anymore, and to be honest, I didn’t even know why he fell in love with me in the first place. I can’t even cook. I eat a shit ton of food. I worked in the red light district. I accepted the fact that I was going to live alone and die alone. And then there’s you. You’re so mean to others, but you’re surrounded by family and friends and siblings and I’m just so jealous of you…”

She was crying. Fat drops of tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Why are you acting like you’re my friend? Why aren’t you blaming me for anything?”

“Hey, hey, don’t cry.” I squatted down and stroked her head.

“I’m not a child.” But she kept crying.

“Why is it that you make me feel like I finally have a friend? A mean, unromantic kid like you…”

I suddenly realized the fact that I’m not the only one with problems.

She’s been through so much, yet she’s still so strong. She didn’t give me a hint of the turbulent emotions in her heart until now. She’s not just a clumsy investigator; she’s a person.

What about Akame?

How did Akame feel about changing homes, changing fathers, and following her workaholic mother around? Did she even know that Kaname-san might not be her mother?

Would she realize that I’m not a good brother?

She wouldn’t. She probably didn’t know what a normal family should look like. She knew nothing. She apologized even though she didn’t understand what she did wrong.

“Hey, Fumi-chan.” I turned my attention back to the woman in front of me. I didn’t know what to say. She’s right, I’m just a spoiled mama’s boy. I had no idea how to react when someone poured their heart out to me. I didn't know what I should say or how I should react. All I could hope to do was my best.

So I tried.

She’s brave enough to tell me all this. She saw me as a friend. The least I could do was respond to that.

“Thanks for telling me.” That was the first sentence that came to mind. “Nobody can change the past, so I’m not going to judge you for what you’ve been through. You’re still you. You know so full-well that you’re weak, but you tried your best to save me all by yourself. I think you should give yourself a chance. And give yourself some more credit.”

She scoffed, but it soon became a laugh.

“Well, I appreciate that you listened to me without judging.”

“Wow, so I finally did something worthy of your appreciation?”

“...Can you just take it without the sarcasm?”

We burst out laughing. My belly and cheeks ached. After a while, I remembered something that’s been bugging me.

“So…do you know anything about Akame being adopted?”