Bound Together (23 page)

I glanced at Misaki. “Can I get a light?”

“Did you forget where you left your lighter again?” Misaki asked as she conjured a tiny spell-flame on her fingertip. I leaned closer to it and poked the tip of the smoke into the fire, puffing a few times to light it.

“Nooo, I didn't forget.” The drugs were already making my head feel as if it were embedded in a fluffy cloud. “I left it and my cigarettes in the car. I kinda figured I wouldn't have time for a smoke break when we were, y'know, busy trying to not die.”

“Good point.” Misaki turned to Star, her ears twitching. “Shouldn't we be getting out of here as quickly as we can? Preferably before the police show up?”

“Not necessary,” Star explained. “AEGIS has contacted the Japanese government and asked for a moratorium on official response until the situation has been contained. It was granted. We'll be able to take care of everything long before the police are allowed to even set foot in any of our operation areas.”

It was a good thing that I was holding my cigarette, because otherwise it would have hit the ground when my jaw dropped open. Misaki didn't appear to be nearly as surprised as I felt. Maybe after existing in this shadow world of magic and darkness for six centuries she was a little more accustomed to this sort of thing.

“We have considerable influence.” Star's thin smile was not especially reassuring. “Our mission would be virtually impossible without the cooperation of governments all over the world. The threat posed by specters and those who would summon them for power is one that transcends political boundaries.”

“I really shouldn't be surprised, I guess.” I blew out a plume of smoke. The pain in my leg was nearly gone, though I knew the morphine wouldn't last forever. I really needed to get to a hospital and get patched up.

Star fixed Misaki with a cool stare. “Get her to a hospital. We'll handle the cleanup. I'll be in touch, but as of right now the both of you are on paid leave for medical reasons.”

“What about Mama?” I blurted. “The miasma seed that Saitou guy infected her with?”

“She'll be fine.” Star waved away my concerns and gave us both an impatient look. “The miasma seed withered and died the moment you destroyed the core.”

I must've looked unconvinced, because Star sighed in exasperation. “Just get out of here and get to a hospital. The shot I gave you isn't going to last forever and without your bloodstream pumped full of endorphins, you're
really
going to feel it when the painkillers wear off. Get out of here, Karin. That's a direct order.”

“Okay, okay, I'm going.”

I leaned on Misaki as we walked back to the car.

convalescence

It felt good to be surrounded by the familiar.

Misaki sat beside me, her tail curled around the small of my back. The television was on, turned to some drama I'd never seen before, but since I couldn't really move around very well, I'd been doing a lot of watching TV and browsing the internet on my phone. I was actually a little surprised how badly my Japanese had disintegrated over the years, but since I'd be down for the count for at least another two weeks, now was as good a time as any to patch it back up.

“Karin, do you want anything to drink?”

I looked up at my mother. Her expression was the one she'd been wearing for the past six hours, a combination of worry and maternal warmth. After leaving the hospital this morning and arriving at the Takeda family home, Mama had gone into full-blown caretaker mode, going so far as to dispense with the usual acerbic snark that defined most of our relationship as adults.

“I wouldn't mind some more coffee, please,” I replied.

Mama nodded. “Okay, dear. Lunch will be ready soon. Would you like anything to drink, Misaki?”

“Um, some tea would be nice. I'll come help you in the kitchen with lunch.”

“No, stay with Karin, please,” Mama objected, shaking her head. “Just let me fuss over the two of you for a while, okay? Don't worry about anything.”

I frowned at my empty coffee mug. “What happened to that high school boy you hired to do some of the housework?”

“You mean Satoshi? He went off to attend university in Tokyo.” Mama disappeared into the kitchen, but there weren't any walls between us, so she just raised her voice to compensate for the distance. “I haven't found anyone else I was willing to hire just yet, and since I'll probably be coming back to the States soon enough...”

I felt a twinge of guilt spread through my gut. “Mama, you know Misaki can help take care of me, and by the way, I only broke my leg. I can still walk with the crutches. Shouldn't you be spending time with Grandma and Grandpa?”

“I'm aware Misaki is perfectly capable of caring for you,” Mama replied, “but no, you did not 'only break your leg.' You also broke four ribs, one of which punctured a lung, you've got electrical burns, lacerations, bruises all over your body and, oh yes, let's not forget the internal bleeding and nerve damage. If I could take the cigarettes away from you I would, but I'd rather pick battles I can actually win.”

“How did you—never mind, I already know. Misaki told you.”

The distressed look Misaki gave me was heartbreaking. “I-I'm sorry, but... we were both really worried about you, Karin!”

“'Were,' my ass,” Mama added. “We're both
still
very worried about you, dear. But you seem to be healing well and Misaki isn't letting you overdo it, so I'm sure everything will be just fine.”

I felt a lump start to form in my throat. “I'm lucky to be in such good care.”

“You're damn right you are.” Mama walked back into the living room area and set down a fresh mug of coffee for me and another cup of green tea, brewed hot and strong enough to double as paint thinner, for Misaki. She seemed to like it, though. I watched as she picked up the cup and took a long, luxurious sip. Her ears fluttered a bit and she sighed contentedly.

“Seriously though, Mama” I went on, “I know it's hard on you, that Grandma and Grandpa are—”

“Dying,” Mama interrupted. “Yes, dear, they're dying. They're very old. People usually do that when they become very old.”

Okay, so maybe her snark wasn't
completely
turned off.

“Karin, I've spent the past several years planning for my parents' deaths. We all knew it was coming, it was just a matter of exactly when and how. That was the whole reason I came back to Osaka in the first place.”

“I know, but I'm
not
dying and so shouldn't you, well, want to be with them for the little time they have left?”

Mama was banging pots and dishes against the counter tops for a moment before she responded. “No, I don't. What would be the point? They aren't even conscious most of the time, so I'd just be sitting in a hospice room while they slept. We've already done that, dear. We've said our final goodbyes.”

I didn't really have a response to that. Misaki curled around me more tightly and I could feel the fur on her tail fluff out a bit. She wasn't agitated, but I think she was just feeling especially protective of me, considering what happened during the battle.

Damn it, I wasn't supposed to be thinking about that. I shook the thoughts out of my mind and nestled in further against the overstuffed sofa. Misaki's ears twitched as Mama came out into the front room with a tray containing our lunch, a large pile of roast turkey sandwiches with avocado and bacon.

“Here, I bought some potato chips, too,” Mama said as she opened up a big foil bag of some fancy artisan potato chip, garlic-Parmesan flavor.

“Thanks, Mama.” I gave her a wide and completely genuine smile. She went back into the kitchen to clean up while Misaki and I attacked the sandwiches and chips with a great deal of enthusiasm. Hospital food was not my very favorite, so this was a treat. As I started on my second sandwich piece, the doorbell rang.

“I'll get it!” Mama shouted.

“It's probably Star,” I guessed—correctly, as Mama opened the front door and invited the always elegant-looking AEGIS controller into the Takeda house. Star exchanged some pleasantries with my mother before walking into the living room where Misaki and I were busy stuffing our faces.

“How are you feeling, Karin?”

I swallowed a mouthful of sandwich. “Not bad, considering how badly I got my ass kicked. The docs patched up all the places I was leaking and set my leg, put it in a cast. They say it'll be at least two weeks before I can lose the cast, but I'll be on a crutch for at least another month after that.”

Star arched an eyebrow. “That quickly?”

“The docs were pretty shocked with how fast I heal, too.” I snickered and took another bite from my sandwich. “Misaki set up some kind of long-term healing magic thing. I don't know how it works, ask her.”

Misaki gave me a dirty look. “I told you how it worked yesterday!”

“Yeah, well, I forgot, okay? It was kind of confusing and I was still pretty doped up.”

“I'm feeding her own mana back into her in a sort of low-level healing invocation,” Misaki explained for Star's benefit. “I'm not the best with healing, so this was the safest thing I could do. I didn't want to cause her leg to heal wrong or get even worse than it already is...”

“I'm sure you're doing the right thing.” Star reached into a pocket and took something out, handing it to me. It was a small black box of the sort that jewelry usually came in. I stared at it blankly and then glanced at Star, confused.

“What's this?”

“Open it and find out.”

Shrugging, I opened the box. Inside were two gold rings, each decorated with a small faceted gemstone, cut in the shape of a small heart. One was an intense red, either a garnet or a ruby, and the other was a translucent silvery-white stone that I didn't recognize. They were clearly well-made and definitely not cheap, even if the design was a little fanciful.

“I wanted to get something for the two of you, something from me, personally,” Star murmured. A faint touch of color was visible on her cheeks. “Your contribution made the success of one of my most difficult long-term operations possible. I thought... maybe a little token of my appreciation would be appropriate.”

I admit, I was pretty touched. Not just for the gift itself, but for the little bit of insight about Star that the gift signified. I knew it was the rules, as a result of our status as independents, that kept Star from revealing much about herself, but I didn't think it was too off-base to assume she preferred to keep herself closed up regardless.

“The red stone is a ruby,” Star continued. “I picked that one for Misaki. The clear-white stone is a sapphire, and it's for you, Karin. The sizes should be correct, but if they aren't, I'll gladly take them to be adjusted—”

I held a hand up to stop her. “They're beautiful, Star. Thank you. I'm sure the size is just fine.” I plucked the clear sapphire ring from the box and slipped it onto my ring finger. If it wasn't my size it was close enough that I couldn't tell the difference. I held my hand out and admired how the stone sparkled and caught the light.

“Here, Misaki.” I took the ruby ring and slipped it on her finger. Again, it appeared to fit just fine. Misaki grinned widely as she moved her hand into the sunlight. She turned to Star and pounced without warning, clinging to the woman tightly.

“Thank you, Star!”

Star blinked in surprise and awkwardly returned the embrace, patting Misaki on the back. Her cheeks flushed even more brightly than before as she realized Misaki's eyes were wet with tears.

“Y-you're quite welcome, Misaki,” she managed, slowly disentangling herself from the physical manifestation of Misaki's gratitude. Misaki continued to grin and stare at her ring, her tail swishing back and forth rapidly.

I burst into laughter at the unlikely scenario playing out in front of me. Which probably wasn't the best idea, because my broken ribs started to protest by sending shooting pains through my chest. I coughed and tried to arrest my laughter, but I couldn't, which just made the pain worse.

“Karin!” Misaki cried, rushing back to sit down next to me on the couch. She started patting and rubbing my back. “Are you okay?”

I managed to stop cracking up, which was a boon for my broken ribs. “Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Broken ribs and laughter doesn't really mix, apparently.”

Misaki glared at me and waved a chastising finger. “You need to take it easy!”

“I know, I know.”

Star's uncharacteristically open expression was gone, replaced by her more usual prim and proper polite smile. “I've also come to talk about work. As of two days ago, you and Misaki have been issued a sixty-day medical suspension of cases. Your monthly retainer fee will not be interrupted.”

I was a little surprised at that. “That's very generous.”

“The branch director left it to my discretion,” Star admitted.

“I thought that may have been the case.”

A ghost of the blush returned to Star's cheeks. “I've also transferred a small amount to Yoshiko Ashley's account as recompense for the collateral damage caused to the Takeda family home during the course of this operation.”

“I'm sure Mama will be thankful.”

The table Saitou upended when he took my mother hostage had been scratched up pretty badly. It was a very old antique dining room table and getting it repaired and re-finished by someone who actually knew what they were doing wouldn't be cheap. Still, though, I knew damn well that Star's “small amount” would be far greater than the cost of getting it taken care of.

“As I said, it's the least I can do for the trouble I caused her.”

“Thank you, young lady,” Mama called from the kitchen. She came back into the room and handed Star a cup of tea.

“Ah... you're quite welcome, Mrs. Ashley,” Star managed. It was becoming increasingly clear to me that Star wasn't exactly accustomed to dealing with kind people. I guess that made sense, as her job generally put her up against some of the very worst types of people out there.

Mama retreated back into the kitchen once she was satisfied that Star would drink the tea she offered. I did my best to suppress any urge to laugh, knowing that it would cost me in pain. Broken ribs were really fucking awful.

“I'll contact you again when your medical leave is concluded.” Star gulped her tea down and set the cup on the coffee table. “I need to get back to work. The cleanup operation requires my attention.”

I nodded. “Thanks for coming by and checking on me.”

“It was no trouble.”

Star turned around and walked out without another word. Misaki's expression told me she was barely containing her own mirth at the situation as well. When the front door shut and latched behind our boss, Misaki burst into giggles.

“Star was being so cute,” she gushed. “She was really out of her element!”

“There's definitely more to her than is immediately apparent.” I indicated the ring on my finger. “Don't you think these are a little, um, how do I put this...”

“Girlish?” Misaki guessed.

“Yeah, that's a good word for it. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're beautiful and I wasn't about to refuse a gift given so thoughtfully. It just makes you think, doesn't it?”

Misaki's ears twitched. “About what kind of person Star really is?”

“Yeah. I never would have guessed someone with a cool-as-ice personality like Star's would choose a gift like this.”

Mama came into the living room with her phone in hand, a very odd expression on her face. I waited for the expected objection to come.

“I think your supervisor must have made a mistake,” my mother began. “It shouldn't cost more than ten thousand yen to have the dining room table fixed, but... look at this.”

She showed me her phone. It was open to her mobile banking app, clearly indicating a recent electronic funds transfer within the last hour. The amount was, as I expected, at least three times more than the repairs would cost.