Bound Together (24 page)

“That's just how Star is,” I told Mama, waving a hand dismissively. “Just do whatever you want with the remainder.”

“But it's way too much... I can't accept this.”

I shook my head “Don't try to reverse the transfer. It'll just fail and you'll make her feel even more guilty. Just consider it her way of apologizing. She did kind of allow you to be held prisoner, remember?”

“I suppose,” Mama hedged. “Oh, well, I can use the extra money to help with the moving costs. Not that I wouldn't have been able to handle them myself, mind you.” My mother gave me a look that told me in no uncertain terms that I would be really, really dead if I even so much as offered help paying for the move.

Mama strode over to the pegs near the wall and retrieved the dog leash. “I'm going to take Kaede out for a walk. Will you be all right without me?”

“Yes, Mama, I can manage for the whole hour you'll be gone,” I replied, more than a little exasperation creeping into my voice. “Misaki is here and she can help me if I need to get something.”

“Okay, Karin dear. Misaki, don't let her try to do too much.”

I rolled my eyes, but Misaki nodded solemnly. “I'll make sure she rests.”

“For fuck's sake, she's just going to go walk the dog!”

Misaki and my mother both gave me a look that told me I was treading on thin ice and should reconsider my course. I sighed and sank back into the couch, grabbing the TV remote and flipping through the channels.

I pulled a cigarette from my pack and lit it. Mama didn't really like me smoking inside, but she categorically refused to let me hobble outside on my own while I was still this badly beat-up. Besides, my grandfather smoked a pipe for most of his entire life, so it wasn't like the house hadn't seen worse already.

“Won't you get bored, staying here with me while I heal? It's going to be at least six weeks before I can be completely up and about again. Mama won't even let us fly back home until the cast comes off.”

“I'm sure we can find fun things to do while we're here.” Misaki's expression brightened a little. “We can get a wheelchair and I'll take you places. We can go for walks in the park, maybe go to Kyoto and see all the historical sites. Oh! We could go to an
onsen
and let you soak in the hot springs. I'm sure that would help with the pain.”

“You mean we can pretend to be tourists.” My eyes were narrowed, but in all honesty the things Misaki suggested really did sound nice.

“Yes! Doesn't that sound like fun? Don't forget that you have a
very knowledgeable
tour guide, so you shouldn't let a chance like this go to waste.”

I smiled, wondering just how many history books Misaki could rewrite based on her life experiences and memories. She continued to chatter away about the various extremely tourist-y things that we could do in Japan, but I wasn't really listening anymore.

I was just looking at her, the person I loved. I didn't care that she was an immortal spirit bound to a sword forged to slay evil specters. I didn't care that she was created as a living weapon. None of that really mattered. All I cared about, all that mattered to me is that she was here, with me, and that she loved me and I loved her.

That's all.

identity

Misaki looked a little more nervous than I thought she would. I had already explained to her that hiding away from my family was pointless, especially since Mama already knew just about everything.

“I don't know,” Misaki worried. “I think I should use the invisibility charm. Didn't Star make Yoshiko sign a really strict nondisclosure agreement?”

I put my hand over my face and groaned in exasperation. “Yes, love, but if you recall, the NDA was about the mission, not about you or me specifically. As I've
already told you
about a zillion times.”

“But...”

“No buts, Misaki,” I argued. “So-yi knows
exactly
what it's like to have to hide away from people. She's not going to get all weird about it, trust me. I mean, it'll be shocking at first, but So-yi isn't the kind of person who would reject someone for being different.”

“I suppose. Well, you know your sister best.”

“Exactly.” I turned off the highway onto the exit that would take me to the little suburb where my sister lived, just outside of Portland. My sister was only one state away from me, but I didn't often go to visit her. As much as I loved my sister and spent hours talking to her on the phone, I'd always found it very difficult to actually see her in person. It was relatively recently that I finally figured out why.

So-yi had her life as an adult solidified almost from the moment she graduated college, completed her transition and married her partner. I, on the other hand, was just now starting to get my shit together. I felt anxious, but I was determined to try and grow up for real now. I needed to see my sister's successful life as inspiring, not intimidating.

Mama didn't seem to think that I was too old to still be finding myself. My mother believed I didn't have anything to feel guilty about, despite only just now, through various trials and tribulations, managing to find some direction in my life. The occasional twinges of pain in my leg were a poignant reminder of the most recent of those trials.

The cast came off two weeks ago. I could walk okay, but I still needed to use a cane most of the time. The injuries I sustained in the battle left me with nerve damage and chronic pain, especially in my left leg. Misaki assured me that even though it would normally be permanent and debilitating, the healing feedback would encourage the nerves to repair over time.

My grandparents' funeral was also two weeks ago. Misaki and I both attended, keeping Mama company. So-yi watched via a live-streamed video, attending if not in person, at least in spirit, more for Mama's sake than anything else.

I didn't really have to guess why my sister didn't want to come, even though Mama would have bought her tickets without hesitation. Our grandparents hadn't exactly been as out-and-out hostile to So-yi as our father and brother, but they disapproved strongly. It had been a major point of contention between Mama and her parents after So-yi went off to college, one that the family never quite recovered from.

Mama made her peace with her parents while caring for them in Osaka, but So-yi never did, choosing instead to forget she even existed. I shook the unpleasant memories from my mind and focused on the road, turning off the main road and into the suburb proper, the storefronts quickly replaced by cookie-cutter homes with well-manicured lawns.

“It's nice, but the houses all look so similar,” Misaki observed.

“Yeah, I'm with you on that. Not a fan of suburbs.” I eased off the accelerator and took the next left onto So-yi's street. Her house was the second one on the right. Two cars were parked in the driveway: So-yi's little Toyota four-door sedan and a very new-looking minivan. I didn't see Nicole's purple sports car anywhere.

Huh. They really
were
serious about the whole having kids thing, weren't they? I parked my old hybrid at the curb and opened the door.

I stepped out and took a breath of the air. It was humid, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Misaki followed me out, her tail swishing nervously. Her ears drooped just a little, underscoring her uneasiness.

“Don't be so worked up, love,” I told her.

“I can't help it. I'm nervous. I want to make a good impression on your sister.”

I let out a chuckle. “Mama adores you. I doubt very seriously that you'll have even the slightest problem with So-yi. Come on, let's go.”

We walked up to the front door and I pressed the doorbell. There was some motion behind the curtains drawn across the window and the front door opened up. My little sister stood at the threshold and smiled widely when she saw me.

“Karin, oh, I'm glad you could come. It's really good to see you!”

She didn't waste time and almost picked me up in a tight hug, one I regretted a bit as a sharp spike of pain emanated from my leg. It must've shown in my face, because So-yi was instantly apologetic.

“Oh, sorry, sis! I guess your leg isn't completely healed yet.”

“I'm almost there, but it still hurts a bit,” I hedged. It actually hurt a lot, but the last thing I wanted to do was worry my sister even more. I was feeling a touch anxious myself as So-yi caught sight of Misaki. Shrouded in the shadows at the edge of the porch light as she was, I don't think my sister actually noticed her ears and tail yet.

“Oh! Who is this, Karin? Is that—”

“Yeah, it's her, the one I told you about. Can we do the introductions inside? It's pretty fucking cold out here.”

So-yi smacked her forehead with a palm. “Ugh, I'm sorry. A little out of sorts with all the crazy stuff going on right now. Come on in, the both of you. I'll take your coats.”

I walked inside and Misaki followed me. We both took our jackets off and So-yi took them, hanging them from a peg. She turned around to motion for us to follow her into the rest of the house and froze.

“W-what—oh my word!”

Misaki stood in the entryway, which was much more well-lit than the driveway and path leading to the front door. Her tail was swishing hesitantly and her ears had drooped down even more than before.

“A-are those... real?” So-yi blurted.

“Um, yes.” Misaki wiggled her ears and curled her tail around her right thigh. “They're real, actually part of my body.” She uncurled her tail and let it fall behind her where it went back to slowly swishing to and fro.

My sister turned toward me, a dazed expression on her face. “What's going on, Karin? W-why does that girl have a t-t-tail and...”

I clapped my sister on the shoulder. “Why don't we go have a drink and we'll tell you all about it?”

“Yes... that sounds like a good idea.”

So-yi led us through the small but comfortable house. The daze seemed to wear off a little as we entered the kitchen. A blonde woman with a rough pixie cut sat at the table with both a laptop and a glass of Irish crème liqueur in front of her. She looked up as we came into the kitchen and, predictably, her eyes widened and she did a double-take.

“What in the world... ?”

“Hi, Nicole,” I greeted her.

“Karin... why does that girl have—”

“This is Misaki,” I interrupted Nicole as So-yi came back with drinks—a beer for me and Misaki and another glass to fill with Irish crème for herself. Nicole stared at Misaki, her eyes wide with astonishment.

Misaki, to her credit, wasn't retreating to go curl up in a corner and cry. Instead she stood as proudly as she could, her vulpine features prominently displayed. I popped open my beer and took a sip from it. So-yi had good taste when it came to most things, but she liked Asian beer, which I considered unacceptably weak. Still, it didn't taste bad.

“I'm going to address the elephant in the room, trust me, but first, let's just do the introductions, okay?” I gave So-yi and Nicole a patient look, trying to keep any annoyance out of my voice as I sat down at the table, leaning my cane against the wall behind me.

“Hi,” Misaki greeted, her voice held clear and calm. “My name is Misaki, as Karin already mentioned. We're together, a couple, partners. I love Karin very much.”

“And I love Misaki very much,” I added, favoring her with a smile. “As for the obvious questions you two are going to ask: yes, those are Misaki's actual ears and that is actually her tail. Misaki, this is my sister So-yi and her wife, Nicole.”

“It's very nice to meet you both.” Misaki bowed low in her usual archaic style. I shook my head, but I wasn't really bothered by it. The little bits of her mannerisms that came from hundreds of years ago was just another part of her that I found irresistible.

“H-how... I mean,
why
does she have fox ears and a tail?” Nicole demanded.

Misaki leveled a reproachful gaze at Nicole. “I... I can speak for myself, you know. I'm not a human. I'm a bound spirit infused with the aspect of the fox, which is why my ears look the way they do and why I have a tail.”

So-yi narrowed her eyes at me. “Is this some kind of prank, Karin?”

“It's not a prank!” Misaki protested, her earlier nervousness swept away by indignant frustration. “This is me, this is who I really am! Karin and I decided that we were not going to hide my true nature from her family. To be
honest
with the people she cares about!”

I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and lit it. The ashtray sitting on the table gave me permission. “Look, sis, so Misaki is different. So what? You know all about being different, and you know exactly what it's like to have to hide.”

“B-but that's not the same thing. It was just that my gender... I mean, I'm still a person!”

“Misaki is a person, too.” I took a long draw off the smoke and flicked ashes into the glass ashtray. “She just isn't human. I'm going to let her explain, but the both of you need to pick your jaws up off the floor and
let her fucking talk
.”

My sister and her wife seemed to gain a considerable amount of enthusiasm for their drinks and downed them quickly before refilling the glasses. I didn't bother to chastise them for that. When in Rome, I suppose. I took a long swig from my beer. Misaki even sipped at hers before she started to speak.

“I was created six hundred and thirty-seven years ago,” she began, her voice gaining in strength and confidence as she went. “My original purpose was to act as support for the warrior who wielded the Relic, a blessed sword forged for the task of destroying those spirits who were corrupted by evil.”

I materialized the Relic on the table. So-yi and Nicole recoiled as the sword suddenly appeared out of thin air. The blade was mirror-bright and always appeared polished. I could see the dark and light curvature of the pattern-welding marks that traveled down the length of the blade. The red cord binding the rayskin of the hilt still looked as bright and clean as the day it was wrapped.

Even though the sword had been bound to me for months now, this was the first time I really took a good, long look at it. For such an important weapon, I was a little surprised at how utilitarian it looked. All of the smith's passionate effort must've gone into the Relic's magnificent blade.

“This sword is the Relic,” Misaki continued, motioning to the blade. “It is bound to Karin and it is that link which provides me with the astral energy I need to exist in this physical reality, as well as to make use of my abilities.”

Misaki held her hand up and demonstrated, her spell-flame igniting and flowing over her hand. So-yi downed her booze in a single go and continued to stare at Misaki's burning hand with a fascination that no longer held disbelief.

“Does that... hurt?”

Misaki shook her head. “No. The spell-flame is not natural fire. I control the flames completely. They only burn what I want them to burn.” She turned and placed her fire-shrouded hand on my arm. I felt a slight increase in heat, but otherwise nothing except the soft skin of Misaki's hand.

“That's amazing,” Nicole breathed, her voice just barely slurring.

Apparently, alcohol was much stronger than fear and confusion.

Misaki released her spell-flame and held her hand out. The heart-shaped ruby of the ring Star had given her sparkled in the light. Both my sister and her wife stared at her hand, growing more excited and less afraid as Misaki displayed her special talents.

So-yi poured herself another glass of the Irish crème. “How did... how did all of this even happen?”

“A few months ago, at my old job, there was a break-in...” I related the story of how I was called in to handle the intrusion at the Records & Licensing Agency. So-yi and Nicole listened intently, hanging on my every word. I told the story as completely as I could, considering the restrictions placed on me by AEGIS.

“So that's how you got hurt so badly,” So-yi reasoned.

Nicole's eyes were wide. “This is your new job? Hunting down these specter things for some secret government agency?”

“Yeah, though there's a lot I can't tell you without getting into big trouble.” I finished off my beer and So-yi offered to get me another, which I accepted. “Mama already found out about the whole thing when we were in Japan working on a case, so I figured that you should know at least as much as I'm allowed to tell.”

So-yi returned with more beer. I popped the cap and drank deeply. “Anyway, that's the whole story, at least as much as we can tell.” I released the Relic's material form, the sword vanishing as if it had never been. This time neither my sister nor her partner seemed to react.