Chapter 13 - Uh-Oh
One month later, Kasumi is sleeping in a bed twice the size that she’s used to.
“How can you sleep comfortably?” Kanai says.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“Please just leave me alone. I’ve been through enough, don’t you think?”
“You know...there is a way to make all of this go away.”
“Oh yeah? How so?”
“It’s not really ideal...but you could always take the easy way out.”
Kasumi stops and thinks to herself.
“And you think that would make things better?” Kasumi asks.
“Yeah I do. You wouldn’t have to continue doing this. Who knows, maybe the afterlife is better than this.”
“Yeah but it could be worse.”
“You’ll never know unless you try.”
“But if I succeed, I won’t be coming back.”
“It’s just a thought.”
“Just shut up and leave me alone.”
Kasumi gets out of bed and is immediately met with a headache.
“Your life is falling to pieces, Kasumi.”
“I already know that. I don’t need you to point it out.”
“I’m just saying you can make it all end so quickly.”
“Just shut up!” Kasumi’s voice rises in anger.
Kasumi stands from the bed and opens the door to the bedroom that she’s in. She walks out into the hallway and down the stairs. She finds Ex criss-cross on the couch looking at files and pictures.
“Did you get any sleep at all?” Kasumi asks.
“Who were you talking to?” Ex asks, disregarding her question.
“What?” Kasumi says, caught off guard.
“I just heard you talking. Who were you talking to?”
“No one…”
Ex keeps his eyes trained on his work in front of him and pauses.
“You should see a therapist.” Ex suggests coldly. “We’re already dealing with enough. Your issues will only get in the way.” Kasumi doesn’t respond and walks to the front door. “Where are you going?”
“For a walk.”
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
“I won’t.”
“Keep your phone on you. If you see anything suspicious, don’t take your dumbass-self to figure it out. Call me first.”
“Got it.”
Before Kasumi leaves, Ex gives her an unnoticeable side-glance. As soon as she leaves and closes the door, he pulls out his phone and puts it on the coffee table in front of him next to all of his work.
“What’s wrong with me? Why am I actually worried about what happens to her?” Ex asks himself.
***
Kasumi walks peacefully through a park.
“You know, you haven’t gone to school for awhile.” Kanai tells her.
“I don’t need to. There’s no fucking point.” Kasumi says quietly.
“You shouldn’t have come out here alone. You’re a weak little girl.”
“Why is it that all you fucking do is point out what I already know?”
“I’m making you more aware, Kasumi. You don’t think straight. I’m just trying to help.”
“Why? You’re not actually Kanai.”
“Why do you say that?”
Kasumi looks around her and sees that no one else is anywhere near her.
“Because Kanai actually cares. If you really are Kanai, tell me something only we would know.”
“I...I know that you had feelings for me.”
Kasumi stops in her tracks and feels tears automatically brimming her eyes.
“Shut up...you don’t know anything about me.” Kasumi’s voice is choked.
“The way you act around Ex...it’s exactly how you acted around me.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You act like tough shit around him because you don’t want him knowing how weak you really are. Because if he did, he’d leave. And you don’t want that. You want him in your life.”
“Shut up…”
“You know he’s the last person alive that cares about you.”
“Not true. There’s Yoshiro.”
“Yoshiro doesn’t care. He just said so because he felt he had to.”
“You don’t know that.”
Tears begin to roll down Kasumi’s cheeks.
“Ohhh but I do. If you were in danger, and you called him, would he come to your rescue no questions asked?” Kanai asks.
“I don’t know…”
“Ex is the only one that would do so. Even then, he does it only because he has to.”
“Please stop.” Kasumi begs.
“No...You need to know these things, Kasumi. If you shield yourself from the facts now, it’ll hit twice as hard next time around.”
“Just stop talking. I wish you would just stop.”
“I won’t. And I can’t until you’re truly at peace.”
“If I do what you ask of me, will you finally leave me alone?”
“That depends. Are you willing to do what I mentioned this morning?”
Kasumi wipes her tears with her sleeves and begins walking back towards Ex’s house.
“Yes.” Kasumi feels herself break out in laughter when she inches close to Ex’s house. “I’m going to do it! I’m going to fucking end my life.”
A few people stop and stare at Kasumi who glides down the sidewalk, but she pays no attention to them. She walks into Ex’s house and straight to his bathroom. She locks the door behind her and sees in the mirror that she’s trembling. She can’t stop herself from having a fit of laughter. Ex questions the laughter and gets up to stand by the door. Just in case. Kasumi punches the mirror, shattering the glass and shredding her knuckles in the process. Ex tries the door, but it’s locked.
“Kasumi?”
“WILL THIS DO, KANAI? IT’S SHARP ENOUGH, RIGHT?” Kasumi shouts through laughter and sobbing.
Kasumi waves a piece of shattered glass around and threatens herself with it. Kasumi presses the glass to her hand and glides it across, drawing blood. Kasumi's shaking hand draws back. She begins laughing which soon turns into both maniacally laughing and crying.
“Kasumi, what are you doing?” Ex asks through the door.
“I WONDER HOW MANY CUTS WILL DO IT! DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER, KANAI? HOW ABOUT YOU SATO? HUH?” Kasumi’s voice edges on a maniacal tone.
“Kasumi! Get out of there right now!” Ex shouts.
“I’M STARTING TO FEEL LIGHTHEADED, KANAI! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED? IS IT?”
Kasumi slashes at her wrists, laughing and crying hysterically. Ex kicks the door to the bathroom open to see Kasumi with a shard of glass in her bloody hand and blood covering everywhere from her hands all the way up to her shoulders and some scratches on her face. Kasumi goes in for another cut, but Ex acts quickly and takes the shard of glass out of her hand, cutting his hand in the process. Kasumi hugs Ex, crying into his chest. Ex stands there for a moment; surprised, shocked and unsure what to do. He just stands there as she grips and hugs him tighter. His face softens, feeling bad for her.
“I’m so sorry...I’m so...sorry.” Kasumi cries into his shoulder.
“Uhm...you don’t have to be sorry. I’ll take care of the mirror.” Ex says uncomfortably.
“I...I-” Kasumi falls weakly in his arms, but still awake. Ex catches her and holds her up.
“Let’s take care of the cuts.”
Ex helps her into the living room and onto the couch. He holds out her right arm that’s covered in blood. Before he can do anything, Kasumi pulls her arm away and shakes her head numbingly.
“No.” Kasumi says sadly.
“Stop being ridiculous. If I don’t heal you, you’ll die of blood loss.”
“I want it as a reminder.”
“Reminder?”
“Of the day I almost gave in.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“If you heal them, I’ll just put them back.”
“Then I’ll just have to cut your hands off.”
“Then I’d die of blood loss then too.”
Ex sighs in anger and frustration.
“At least let me take care of the ones on your face then.”
“Fine.”
Ex runs his fingers over the cuts on her face, closing them and then healing them.
“What the fuck were you trying to do?” He asks, frustrated.
“What do you think..?”
“You’re right. I’ll rephrase the question. Why the fuck were you trying to do that?”
“I’d almost be better off that way. I killed Sato because of my own stupid mistake. I’ll just keep killing people if I’m not stopped right now.”
“I doubt it.”
“What?”
“Listen, this is not because I genuinely care or anything, but if you have the mentality that you’re better off dead because you think you’re going to kill people, then you will kill people. Even ones you care about. Sometimes, it’s out of your hands. What happened to Sato had to happen.” Ex explains, annoyed.
“Why would you say that?”
“Because of what happened to Sato, you’re stronger.”
“What? How in the fuck-”
“Shut up. I wasn’t done talking. Sato babied you a lot. Now that he’s dead, it will help to shape who you are in the long run.”
“You sound like you talk from experience.”
“I do.”
Kasumi feels another wave of lightheadedness and begins to feel loopy.
“I won’t heal them or whatever...but I’ll have to take care of them somehow.”
“I don’t care anymore. Do what you fucking must. Just heal them. I don’t care.” Kasumi gives up. Ex stares at Kasumi blankly for a second before healing her arms. Ex wants to say something, but can’t find the right words. “Don’t you ever feel like dying would be better than actually living?”
“Sure.” Ex says reluctantly.
“What stops you from acting on it?”
“Nothing.”
“What? But then how are you still here?”
“Nothing stops me from doing it or being able to do it. I used to think about death being just something natural that happens to the weak.”
“What changed your mind?”
“What?”
“You said, ‘used to.’ What changed your mind?”
“None of your business.”
“Fine.”
Ex stands up off the couch and begins to walk to the kitchen before Kasumi stops him.
“Hey, Ex.”
“What?” Ex says with his back still turned to her.
“Why did you help me? Whenever I went back with my father, you could’ve left me, I wouldn’t have died. But instead of leaving me there...you helped me. Why?”
Ex ignores the question and goes to the kitchen. He pours himself a glass of scotch. He drinks it.
“The apartment where all your stuff is is being taken back tonight. We’ll go over and get your stuff before then.”
Kasumi sighs and sinks back into the couch.
“Ok.”
“I helped you because I can’t stand your father.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Someone does care…” Kasumi says quietly to herself.
“No I don’t.”
“You wouldn’t have helped if you didn’t care.”
“Let’s go get your stuff now.” Ex says coldly. “If you don’t stop putting words in my mouth, I’ll make you run the whole way there, brat.”
Kasumi scoffs to herself, giving a small smile at what he said. She stands up off of the couch and waits for Ex.
“Let’s go.”
They both leave his house and walk to the apartment where her stuff is.
***
Both of them arrive at the apartment.
“Get only the necessities. The rest I’ve been told will be donated.”
“What about Sato’s stuff?”
“You can keep one thing to remember him by. That’s all we need.”
“Ok.”
They both feel a jolt as if it were an earthquake, but it only seems to affect them because everything in the apartment didn’t budge.
“Did you hear that?” Kasumi asks.
“Yeah I did. Get behind me.” Ex says protectively.
Kasumi immediately agrees and moves behind him with her back towards the front door of the apartment. Ex readies himself in a low stance. While they’re focused on what’s ahead of them, something manages to open the front door to the apartment behind Kasumi. By the time Ex turns around and sees what’s happening, he’s already too late. The creature standing at the door stabs something straight through Kasumi’s chest, splattering blood across his face.
“No...no...please….” Kasumi mumbles.
“FUCK!” Ex shouts.
The claw that is currently impaling Kasumi grows around her. Ex grabs her arms before the creature pulls her away. He tries to release her, but three large men come up from behind Ex and restrain him. He tries to fight and trigger his power, but one of them quickly injects a sedative in his neck.
“I’m not going down that easily.” Ex states.
Ex pushes through the overbearing exhaustion he feels. He manages to fight his way out of the men’s hands and kick them each away.
“GET HIM! DON’T LET HIM REACH THE GIRL!” One of the men shouts.
With that said, before Ex can leave the apartment to follow the creature, two more men step in the doorway with guns. One lifts his gun and doesn’t hesitate in shooting Ex. Ex tries to trigger his power for extra fast dodging, but is unable to do so. A bullet hits his left shoulder and his right knee. Ex gets pissed and goes at the two men with the guns, despite his current condition.
“DOSE HIM AGAIN! ALL WE NEED IS HIS BLOOD, DON’T MAKE THIS DIFFICULT!”
Ex quickly removes the guns from the men using his own speed and agility. Ex shoots the other three men he managed to knock down earlier and one of the two men that were standing at the door, leaving the last one terrified. Ex shoves the gun down the man’s throat and pushes him harshly against the wall.
“Where are they taking her?” Ex asks harshly.
The man refuses to answer, resulting in Ex punching the man in the stomach so hard, knocking the wind out of him. Ex keeps the gun in the man’s throat.
“Where the FUCK is it taking her? I will not ask again.” Ex says in a very threatening tone.
The man refuses to tell him again, resulting in immediate death. Ex feels the pain in his shoulder and knee grow, but tries his best to ignore it. Right after Ex shoots the man, he sees the creature off in the distance. Ex starts sprinting after it, trying to trigger his power, but failing miserably.
“What the fuck is going on? Not now!”
Ex looks to the left and someone shoots him in the neck and in the other leg, slowing him down and eventually stopping him due to the fact that his power is unable to kick in. He loses his balance and falls against a tree, grunting in pain.
“No...Kasumi. Fuck..” Ex mutters weakly.
He tries to push himself to walk even farther, but his vision goes blurry and he falls to the ground. Everything goes black. He hears footsteps walk towards him and then feels a sting in his neck.
“The boss said...kill him.”
“There’s no need to. Look at him...not going to survive out here. Just leave him. We don’t have time...we’ve got the blood...go.”
Ex is barely able to hear the footsteps walk away.
“Shit...Kasumi I…”
The pain in his body grows even more intense, making him grunt again before passing out due to blood loss. He fades in and out of consciousness. The scene switches to show Kasumi passed out in a creature’s hands.
***
“Good job. We’ll finally be able to start our experiments.” A woman says.
“We got the blood too.”
“Good job! I’m actually starting to be proud of you guys.”
“Now what do we do?”
“Transport her to the main base. We’ll perform experiments there. This’ll be fun.”
***
Kasumi is laying down in just white emptiness. Kasumi opens her eyes and stands up to be met with Kanai face to face.
“You’re in a lot of trouble now, Kasumi.”