Bound Together (8 page)

Her unsubtle and clumsy attempt to dance around the issue was transparent. I felt physically sick as my worst suspicions were validated. Of course it had happened. I wasn't surprised, but I
was
angry and disgusted that other members of my own species could do such a thing.

Misaki struggled to try and calm me down. “But I was only required to attend my Master and the Tsukimura leadership. M-my body is constantly repaired and restored by the Relic. Please don't worry! I'm not... broken, or used up, or anything like that...”

My jaw was lucky it was physically attached to my skull, because if it hadn't been, it would have hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. It was bad enough that Misaki had been subjected to such treatment, and yet
she
felt guilty about it? Afraid that I would think less of her for what she'd endured? This was almost too much for me to deal with, especially now, less than a day after my entire world had been turned upside down.

“I'm just going to start assuming that if there was something horrible they could do to you, that they probably already did it,” I muttered under my breath, more to myself than anyone, but Misaki's ears were exceptional, of course. Those ears lifted off her head, just barely, and she turned her gaze back on me.

“A-are you upset with me?”

“No, Misaki.” I sighed and turned to look her directly in the eyes. “I'm not upset with you. You didn't do anything wrong. I can't believe that someone could do what they've done to you. It's... beyond awful.”

Tears welled up in Misaki's eyes. “I'm sorry. I really didn't want to tell you. I was afraid that you would think me used up, or unclean... and you would be angry...”

“No! I would never! Come on, now, don't cry.” I reached out and brushed the tears away from her eyes with my finger. “Really, cheer up, Misaki. I can't stand to see such a cute girl cry. It's just not cool, okay?”

“I'm sorry—”

“And you need to stop that constant-apologizing thing, too,” I interrupted. “Especially about this. That is not even remotely your fault; you were coerced. You didn't agree to it and you didn't want it.”

Misaki wiped her own eyes. “What I want...”

“What you want
matters
, Misaki.” For her sake, I tried my best to tamp down my emotions, but I was having a lot of trouble keeping my cool. At this point the very last thing I wanted was to make her feel even worse.

“Nobody has ever cared about that,” Misaki admitted.

“Considering that you've been under the complete control of a bunch of patriarchal, socially-regressive bastards who didn't get the memo that it's not the fucking dark ages anymore, that's not
too
surprising.”

She didn't respond to that with words. Her tail curled around the small of my back. Her fur was far softer than that of a natural fox, almost as soft as rabbit's fur. I knew it wasn't accidental; Misaki was trying to communicate to me without words.

I drew my arms around Misaki's shoulders and pulled her close, leaning her head against my chest, smoothing her hair with my fingertips. At first she stiffened in my arms, but relaxed almost instantly, seeming to physically melt in the embrace. Slowly, her breathing evened out.

A thought formed in my mind. “Hey, I know it's late now, but how about we go out for a few hours tomorrow? Get out in the world for a bit?”

Misaki's head tilted up and she looked at me. I smiled at her.

“O-okay,” she murmured.

“It'll be too cold for you to wear that out of the house. You're close enough to my size that I'm sure I've got something you can borrow. We can go do a little shopping tomorrow, get you a few outfits to wear.”

Misaki didn't say anything right away, but I could just barely see the faint curving of her lips as a smile threatened to form. I plowed ahead. “And after that we could go spend some time just walking around together. Have a nice long talk, get to know each other better, since we're going to be living together and everything. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?”

“I-I'd like that,” she murmured.

small wishes

We got up early the next morning and headed out around eleven. There was a nice little shopping mall reasonably close to my apartment. I figured it'd be as good a place as any to find Misaki some clothes. Traffic ended up being a little heavier than I expected for a Sunday, but it wasn't too bad.

I opened the car door and stepped out onto the weathered, stained concrete of the parking deck. The passenger side door opened a moment later and Misaki pulled herself out of the car. Her expression was one of a person trying very hard not to show how overwhelmed they were.

“Come on, let's go take a look,” I said, beckoning for her to walk beside me. My clothes were a little long for her, but with dresses that wasn't such a big deal. The weather was as nice as we could expect for the middle of winter, but it was still cold.

I'd lent her a simple black sweater dress and a pair of winter-weight purple tights. The contrasting colors set the red-tinged gold of her hair off in a way that was really quite fetching. Misaki's more unique physical attributes were nowhere to be found, hidden beneath some sort of magic that she maintained.

“How long can you keep your ears and tail hidden?”

Misaki turned to face me as we walked. “As long as I don't need to use mana for anything else. It's such a minor illusion that I can maintain it almost indefinitely.”

“So that means we don't have to be back home by the stroke of midnight?”

She gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“I... it's nothing, never mind.” I instantly regretted the reference; there was no possible way she would have gotten it. With more than a little effort I managed to tamp down my steadily-rising anger. As furious as I was at the bullshit she'd endured, I didn't want to make her feel any worse.

I reached out and opened the door leading into the mall and motioned for her to head on inside. The cold was already starting to get to me a little.

Once inside the mall, Misaki's eyes grew as big and round as saucers. I wasn't all that surprised. I didn't really need much imagination to figure she'd probably never been outside the Tsukimura compounds for any reason other than to hunt specters.

“I've never been to a place like this before.” Misaki glanced at me. Without being able to see her ears it was harder to gauge her emotional state. It was pretty wild how expressive they were and how much I missed them when they were gone. An unfortunate compromise made so that she could blend in with us humans.

“Yeah, it's pretty obvious. I've never seen anyone this excited about going to the mall, and I like shopping.” I reached out and took her hand in mine, tugging her along through the clusters of other shoppers. “I think there's a place over here you'd like.”

“O-okay, Mistr—”

“Karin,” I corrected. My voice dropped to a low not-quite-whisper. “I'm Karin. Not 'Mistress' or 'Master.' Just forget titles entirely. Just Karin, okay?”

Misaki's cheeks flushed slightly. “Right. Karin.”

“Come on, let's go look in here.” I motioned toward a nearby store that specialized in clothing for teenage girls and young women. I suspected a more playful style would work well for her. Misaki's looks leaned heavily toward “very obviously female,” even if her curves were understated. We'd likely be best served by playing to her strengths.

The interior of the shop was an explosion of pastels, ruffles and ribbons. The signage advertised the little store as being a purveyor of several popular ultra-feminine fashion brands. I glanced at Misaki and then swept my gaze across the aisles and racks. I tended to wear pretty low-key clothing and the outfit I'd lent Misaki only served to emphasize her unusual appearance.

I motioned to the racks of clothing. “Go ahead and pick whatever you like.”

“A-are you sure? I can just find what I want?”

“I just said that, right?” I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice and was careful to exaggerate my smile for her sake. It was obvious that she wasn't the greatest at reading subtle emotional cues.

Misaki started to walk toward the clothing racks, but hesitantly, as if she were afraid to get too far away from me. I made eye contact and kept smiling, which appeared to help strengthen her resolve, because she took off into the center of the store, going through the racks.

I couldn't see her ears due to the invisibility charm, but I could well imagine how they would twitch and flick to and fro in her good mood. Her tail, too, would be practically wagging in anticipation. I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped she wouldn't walk too close to someone else and have the invisible tail hit them in the leg or something.

I let her wander the store for a while, standing off to the side near the check-out counter. The twentysomething clerk was halfheartedly watching the store while playing with her phone. I glanced at the time; it was almost two. Figuring it was about time to head out, I walked through the aisles until I found her.

Misaki was carrying the components to three complete outfits in her arms. She smiled when she noticed me and I stopped next to her.

“Did you get all you wanted?”

“Um, is this really okay? These clothes are
very
nice, and... expensive.”

I nodded. “Yes, it's really okay, and no, I don't care how much they cost. Come on, let's go to the counter and get checked out.”

The two of us stepped up to the check-out register and I rapped my knuckles against the acrylic counter top. The clerk looked up at us and offered a polite, businesslike smile as Misaki dropped her armload of clothing on the counter. With little effort the clerk stripped the tops, skirts and dresses off their hangers and scanned them into the register one after the other.

The clerk locked her eyes on Misaki. “Is this all for you?”

“Um, it is, yes,” she murmured.

“Did you want to try any of this on before you purchase it?”

Misaki shook her head. “I can tell that everything will fit me just by looking at it.”

“I wish I could do that.” The counter girl's tone was dry and sarcastic, but I didn't disagree with her. I suppose one benefit of being an artificial bound spirit was that you knew your exact measurements at all times and they never changed.

“What's the damage look like?” I asked the clerk. The woman tapped a few commands into her tablet and named a figure. I blinked. The total was somewhat lower than I thought it'd be, so I reached into my pocket for my phone, pressing the back of the device against the scanner to authorize the charge.

After the transaction processed, the clerk packed the items in a plastic shopping back and handed this to Misaki. She looked at the bag in her hands, then up at me with an expression that, while obviously pleased, I couldn't quite decipher.

“You two make a really cute couple,” the clerk commented with a sly grin.

I wasn't expecting that, but I suppose I should have. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit and tried to make my stare look a little less blank, but then I realized that Misaki was standing extremely close and just barely leaning against me, her expression relaxed and content.

I sputtered a little and my face must've gone even redder, because the clerk started to laugh. Misaki glanced at the clerk and then back at me, her head tilted just slightly to one side. I knew if I'd been able to see her ears they would have perked up curiously.

“Um, we're not—I mean, we're...”

The clerk's laughter died down but her expression told me she wasn't buying what I was selling. Feeling more than a little self-conscious, I walked out of the store without another word. Misaki followed a little closer than she had been before.

“Want something to drink?” I motioned toward a small cafe kiosk in the middle of the walkway between the various storefronts. “I'm going to get myself a coffee, so if you want anything, I'll get it.”

Misaki looked pensive as she considered the offer. “I'd like tea.”

“Okay. Find us a place to sit and I'll get the drinks.”

I started off toward the cafe, leaving Misaki to find us a table. Unfortunately this also left me mostly alone with my own thoughts, even though I was surrounded by other shoppers heading through the concourse to browse the various shops. The line for the little cafe was a little long, but the customers were being checked out quickly.

I would be lying to myself if I refused to admit my attraction to Misaki. I was never the sort to believe in love at first sight, but I'd also never been in a situation where I felt so strongly drawn to another person in my entire life. Granted, this was as a far from a normal situation as possible. I'd never been bound to a monster-slaying sword before, either, so the pull I felt clearly wasn't the weirdest thing that's happened in the past two days.

Considering the actually crazy shit that
did
happen, it was a wonder I was even able to function at all. It could have been a byproduct of the binding itself, but I had no real way to tell. I organized my thoughts and feelings as I stood in line, something I hadn't always been very good at. My counseling sessions helped a bit with that, but even then my head tended to be a mystery, especially to me.

After a few minutes, the line was whittled down to three people ahead of me, but one of them was ordering for what sounded like a big business meeting. During the wait, I'd somehow managed to separate out three major thoughts or lines of inquiry or whatever related to the situation I was now in.

One, I was about to get a new job that would pay
much
better than the security gig at the Records & Licensing Agency. Looking at the figures on the sheet Agent Williams left behind, I'd be able to trade in my old hybrid for a brand-new fuel cell car within a few months. With that kind of regular paycheck, I could move to a nicer apartment. Maybe take some vacation time off and go visit my mother in Osaka; she'd certainly like that. Outside of video calls, I hadn't seen her face-to-face in over a year.

Thought One was a lot easier to parse than Thoughts Two and Three, and Thought Three was the one I was the most wary of by far, with Two having to do with the implications of supernatural beings that could grant power to mortals who summoned them or sold them their souls. Some shit like that, anyway. I suspected I'd learn at least something from AEGIS. I'd already heard the basics from Misaki.

Thought Three was
the
big fucking deal, and yeah, obviously, it was about Misaki herself. Just giving mental voice to the things swirling around in the back of my mind were threatening to short-circuit my brain.

The line was finally gone and it was my turn to order, so thankfully I didn't have to dwell on that particular thought any longer. It wasn't something I really wanted to knock around in my head just yet.

I ordered a coffee for myself and a cup of tea for Misaki, which unlike the fancy specialty drinks the customers all around were sipping from, took less than a minute to have ready. A quick glance into the dessert case had me adding on a pair of cute little strawberry tarts topped with whipped cream. They seemed appropriate.

Refreshments in hand, I wove my way through the tables and the crowds. The mall was very busy and there weren't many open seats available, but I could see Misaki sitting at a small table for two, a little off to the side near the escalator leading to the second floor.

“Here's a nice hot tea, and a little treat.”

Misaki stared at me, her eyes wide with astonishment that someone might treat her with kindness and dignity. She was making progress, though, as she didn't immediately release a stream of ritualistic formal apologies for being a burden or some other shit that definitely wasn't her fault.

I sat down and took a sip of my coffee. Hot, brewed strong, no sugar and with a generous amount of light cream mixed in. I didn't say anything as Misaki gingerly picked up her strawberry tart and began to nibble it, slowly at first, and then with real interest.

“This is really good!”

“Is it?” I eyed the matching pastry in front of me and picked it up, taking an experimental bite. She was right; it really was good, especially considering it was likely made off-site the night before and trucked to the kiosk cafe hours ago. The both of us finished our tarts in silence. Maybe a minute or two later, Misaki stiffened as if a chill had just run up her spine.

“Karin...”

I sipped at my coffee. “What is it?”

“I feel something that I shouldn't feel here,” Misaki murmured. Her eyes narrowed and started glancing around the cafe's seating area. Her voice dropped even lower and she leaned toward me. “There's a specter nearby.”

I felt my own body go rigid at that. It seemed odd that there would be a specter in a regular run-of-the mill mall, and I said as much. Misaki shook her head and then tapped herself on the chest.

“It's after me, I think,” she admitted.

My expression was grim. “Your ex-family?”

“Yes, or one of their servant Houses. The specter is emitting only a very small amount of miasma, but I can feel the hallmarks of my former clan's summoning invocations.”

Well, this was just great. I wasn't on duty, so I couldn't—and wouldn't, under normal circumstances—carry my gun for a shopping trip. I suppose it really didn't matter, anyway; twelve shots at less than three meters barely even scratched the eye-thing before. I didn't know if that was normal for all specters to be that durable, or just a particular ability of the specific type I fought.