Corpse March

Chapter 53 Thunderstruck

Dammit.

Tsumugi storms out of the meeting room, through the empty halls, underneath the orange lights, and into the ruined wing of the Curia. This place, that was to be Takakumo’s first orphanage, that was to be her lifelong dream fulfilled, that was to be Asuka and countless others’ homes, ruined by a singular night. Hell, even if that bomb didn’t go off, that dream could still never be a reality.

Dammit dammit DAMMIT!

Those selfish fucks never had any intention of listening to her. Why would they? Why should they care? They have more important things to worry about, like drinking, smoking, fancy cars, dinner parties, you know, what really matters in life. 

“How did it go–”

“Bear with me a moment, Haru.” 

It takes Haru a moment to realize what’s happening. She’s kissing her. As in, on the lips. It only lasted half a second but it definitely happened. It’s as though she sucked her heartbeat right into her mouth. When she finally broke away, it felt like she was just struck by lightning.

“You’re the only person I can trust, Haru.” Tsumugi whispers into her ear. She sounds like she’s on the brink of tears. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” 

“It’s okay.” She hugs back as tight as she can. Tsumugi is taller than her but she feels so small in her arms. “It’s alright, it’s alright.”

“Everything’s so messed up, Haru. Everything is spiraling out of my control.” Tsumugi shakes her head. “What am I going to do?”

“Slow down, slow down. What happened?” 

Haru guides Tsumugi over to a piece of rubble big enough for the both of them to sit on. There, she spills everything. About Tomoe’s double cross. About Gleam. About the traitor. About the duel tomorrow. Everything. Haru can only slowly nod as she slowly takes everything in. 

“After I win tomorrow… if I win tomorrow… what do I even do next?” 

“What next…?” Haru fiddles with KANNIBAL’s strings as she listens. “I guess you root out the traitor.”

“But how?” 

“How…? I don’t know how exactly, but maybe you’re worrying too much.”

“...”

“Okay, maybe that’s not the best word choice but you know what I mean.”

“Let’s see who’s in danger here. Myself, my sister, my aunt, my best friend, and heck, I would be sad if either Florence or Tomoe died. In spite of everything, I’ve known them my whole life. And worse still, any one of them could be the traitor. One of them is the reason why Asuka died. I don’t– I don’t want to think that any of them would do such a thing but…” She shakes her head.  

“Yeah… it seems like a really difficult position to be in.” Haru scratches the back of her head. “I guess someone’s going to have to die.” 

“But it doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a perfect move here. Some way to strike back where no one has to die.” 

“But what if you don’t find it? What then?”

“I have to find it.” Tsumugi’s eyes go into a frenzy. “I will find it. I will

find it.”  

“Tsumugi, Tsumugi. I want you to look at me.” She does. Her eyes aren’t hers. They’re that of a wild animal’s. “You’re asking too much of yourself.”

“You don’t think I can do it, don’t you?”

“Neither do you.” Haru sighs and grabs Tsumugi by the shoulders. “Listen, I’m going to share something with you, alright?”

Tsumugi nods her head. 

“When I was a little girl. Maybe around ten or eleven. My mama, the only person who ever cared about me, died in a drive-by shooting. She wasn’t even the mercenary group’s target, she was just caught in the crossfire.”

Haru winces. She feels a strange kind of pain. Like she’s sticking her fingers into ancient wounds. “I was… alone. I didn’t have anyone to rely on. I cried a lot back then. No one would take me in. No one except for the mercenary groups so long as I was useful. I had to do horrible things just to be scouted. I hated it. I hated constantly wondering whose mother or father or son or daughter I just killed. I hated it so much. But I did what I had to to survive.”

Haru nods to herself. “But I did what I had to to survive. And I would do it all again. And you know what? Looking back, all the things I used to hate so much almost feel invisible. I really don’t regret a thing. Alright? Not. A. Thing. You’re allowed to make mistakes. So long as you can live with, avoid, or accept the consequences, the world will make a place for you. Hell, you might get addicted to making mistakes.”

Haru wipes a tear from her eye. When did she start crying? “I miss that place, you know. I used to think having to resort to killing meant that I made a mistake, that I had to be ashamed. But once I realized that it was easier to just own up to my mistakes, I stopped feeling so awful. Matter of fact, I miss being enemies with everyone I cross. I miss looking over my shoulder for every little th. I miss killing. My mistakes made me who I am. They taught me where I really belonged.” 

“...I see.” Tsumugi wipes her eyes. “Thank you, Haru… for sharing that with me.”

“No problem. Just, you know, something to think about for the future.” 

“It’s okay to make mistakes… And sometimes, mistakes can be good?”

“Yeah, you’re getting it.”

“Heh. Alright. Mistakes are just… happy accidents. Thanks, Haru. I think that I can see clearly now.” 

“No problem.” 

Haru’s about to get up when Tsumugi promptly sits herself on her lap. “Now, what say you we get back to where we left off?” The silky smoothness of Tsumugi’s words worms its way directly into her heart. She’s powerless. There’s nothing else for her to do but to surrender herself into her clutches. 

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Ayo. It’s about time you showed up, Florence.” Tsuki has her legs up on the coffee table. “Please, have a seat.” 

“That was close, Tsuki. Too close.” Florence sits down on the armchair next to the fireplace, across from Tsuki. “I thought we were supposed to be in this together.”

“No harm, no foul.” She waves aside his allegations. “Anyway, it’s only a matter of time before you conspirators are uncovered. I suggest you make your move quickly.”

“I know that.” Florence bites his thumbnail. “But until there’s a weakness to exploit, we have no choice but to bide our time.” 

“No. Not quite. There’s no we here. There’s only you, the traitors, and me, with a finger on your pulse.” 

“Why don’t you just turn us in, then? You have every right to do so.” 

“Because we both have something to gain from your continued existence–” A hacking cough bursts from Tsuki’s mouth. With trembling fingers, she retrieves a small vial of dubious liquid from her cloak. Florence recognizes it. A stabilizer, meant to suppress troublesome sorceries. Its murkiness is directly proportional to its effectivity. And in this case, it’s almost mud-like. She sighs as she gulps the last of the liquid and tucks the vial back into her cloak. 

“Listen, Florence.” Tsuki clears her throat. “I’m cutting you a reasonable deal here. Just lay off of Tsumugi. That’s all I ask, have asked, and will ever ask of you. Apart from that. Everyone else is fair game. Especially that bitch Tomoe. Seems like a good deal, yeah?” 

“Yeah… right.” 

“Alright!” Tsuki claps her hands together with a loud clink. “That settles it, then. I get the feeling that this is the beginning of a very beautiful friendship.”