Corpse March

Chapter 58 The Nutcracker

“Gleam.” 

“Tsumugi.” 

The two shake hands. Gleam’s grip is firm and Tsumugi’s is gentle. Flanking their sides are their respective lap dogs. Tsumugi with Haru, and Gleam with Kuroko. 

“Right, well, let me get straight to the point. I have a plan to root out the traitor.” Tsumugi starts. “But I need your help. I need some muscle that isn’t us–”

“Done.”

“Wha– just like that?”

“Yep. Just like that.” Gleam pats Kuroko on the shoulder. “Kuroko here will see to your every need.” 

“But… why?”

“Because you’re my friend and I trust in you. Why else?” Gleam beams, her pure aura blinding Tsumugi even through her thick glasses.

“...huh, thanks.” 

“No problem.”

“Though, word of advice, I suggest you don’t trust so readily, Gleam.” 

“I simply do what is most natural to me.” Gleam shrugs.  

“Heh.” Tsumugi crosses her arms and smiles, it’s such a pure smile that Gleam has to squint to meet Tsumugi’s eyes. “Well, I suppose sometimes a pure heart can be a good thing.” 

Gleam nods. “Anywho, I anticipate you’re not here just to chit-chat?” 

“I need to discuss an angle of attack with you. Some way for us to hit the traitor. You're the only one I can trust right now.” Tsumugi adjusts her glasses, her mind already spinning with possibilities. “Will you walk with me?”

“Of course.”

“We’ll leave the two of you and Kuroko to it then, Haru. Try not to kill each other before we get back.” Together, the two councilors walk off into the maze of hallways, disappearing from sight, and leaving both Kuroko and Haru alone.  

“So…”

“...”

“It’s been a while, huh?” Haru flips KANNIBAL over and over in her hands. “Since we’ve been partners, I mean.” 

“It’s been a month.” Kuroko takes a drag from her cigarette and exhales the smoke out an open window. 

“Kinda funny that we were at each other’s throats just a few weeks ago and, uh, look at us now.” Haru splays her arms out. “Two chums, back in black, closer than two catfish on a skillet.”

“Mmm.” 

“This isn’t uncomfortable at all.” 

“...” Another drag from her cigarette. “How have you been, Haru?”

“...you’re asking me that question?”

“You seem surprised.” 

“You never used to ask me that.”

“Hm.” 

“I guess I’m doing okay. All this traitor stuff is confusing and it’s hurting my head. But I suppose as long as all I have to do is the usual then I’m in my element.”

“Mm. I understand.”

“And you?”

“I’ve been doing fine.” Kuroko taps the ash off of her cigarette. The gray dust scatters into the wind. “Hey, Haru?”

“Yeah?” 

“Do you have a dream?”

“...no? I don’t think so anyway.” 

“Why not?” Kuroko stares at Haru for a long, long time.

“I just don’t have one?”

“Do you want me to lend you mine?” 

“...sure, why not.” Haru chuckles nervously. This is the chattiest Kuroko’s been since… Well, ever. “What is it?”

“Lady Gleam says that she wants to protect Takakumo from the outside world. And to do that, she’s going to teach everyone magic.”

Haru frowns and tilts her head. “And what about your dream?”

“I also want to protect Takakumo from the outside world.” Kuroko shakes her head. “The outside world is… bad. Always fighting. I also don’t want this place to become like that.” 

“Hah.” Haru chuckles a total of once, no more, no less. “You can’t make someone else’s dream your dream. A real dream has to come from here.” Haru points at her chest, where her heart is. Kuroko touches the same area, where her heart is missing. 

“So… my dream is fake?”

“Yep.” Haru nods. 

“Is there any rule that says a real dream is better than a fake dream?”

“...that’s a good question.” Haru thinks for a moment. “I suppose there isn’t.” 

“That’s good.” Kuroko sighs with relief. Or at least, Haru thinks it’s relief, it’s hard to tell with her emotionless face. “Why don’t you have a dream?”

“Me? I just take life as it comes. Though…” Haru thinks for a moment. “I suppose a dream would be nice.” 

“I could lend you mine if you want.”

“I’ll pass. Sorry, Kuroko but I’m a taken woman.” Haru strikes a dramatic pose as she thinks of Tsumugi. “I’m already loyal to Tsumugi’s dream.”

“But you said–” 

“I’m only fighting for her dream. Don’t mistake that as me actually sharing that dream.” Haru tut-tuts. “I appreciate the offer, though.”

“I see… so you can fight for a dream without having it. And you can also have a dream and not fight for it.”

Kuroko puts out her cigarette and throws the butt out the window. “Interesting.”

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

“Lovely weather we’re having.” Gleam shields her eyes from the midday sun. 

“Huh? Oh… yeah, I guess so.” 

“In better circumstances, this would be perfect for a picnic.” 

“Maybe someday.” Tsumugi nods to herself. 

Tsumugi and Gleam wander the Curia’s gardens. Patches of soft yellows, vibrant pinks, and dour blues break up the monotony of the luscious green grass. 

“I heard you whispering to Tsuki while you were carrying her earlier.” Gleam leans down to smell a rose. “What did you talk about?”

“It’s Tsuki. She’s… dying.” 

“Oh…” Gleam nods her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s alright.” Tsumugi waves away the matter. “The important thing is that I suspect the traitor’s going to go after Tsuki.” 

“What? Pardon me for saying it like this but it sounds like she’s going to die on her own anyway.” 

“I know that… but the way Tsuki talked to me made it sound like the traitor was coming after her.” 

“You mean Florence is coming after her?” Gleam’s face hardens as she changes from Gleam, Tsumugi’s friend; to Gleam, the relentless warrior. 

“You’ve caught on as well, I see.”

“I didn’t hear a whisper of his heiress scheme. Combined with the circumstances, I’d say he’s prime suspect number one.”

“I agree.” 

“If you agreed with me then why did you stop me at that meeting?”

“The first rule of any card game.” Tsumugi raises her index finger. “Never show your opponent your cards.” 

“Oh?”

“Think about it, we have no real evidence, just circumstantial observations. We have nothing to show the other councilors. But if we manage to catch Florence or one of his underlings in the act, suddenly, we have ammunition. If we want the plan to work out, we need to keep Florence in the dark as much as possible.”

“I see. An interesting play” Gleam nods her head. “What else did Tsuki say?”

“She said that if she was killed, Tomoe is the traitor.”

“That’s… a strange thing to say.” Gleam taps her finger against her temple. “I don’t see any reason it might be Tomoe.”

“My best guess is that she’s trying to manipulate me into doing something.” Tsumugi leans on her staff. “But what would she have to gain by pitting me against Tomoe?”

“That, I’m unsure.” 

Gleam takes an unexpected turn off the path and into a placid gazebo. Inside it are two chairs and a chess set. “Would you care for a game or two to pass the time?”

“Why not?” Tsumugi shrugs and sits down at the side of the black pieces. Gleam does the same for the white pieces. The two make a few opening moves, Gleam happily trading pieces while Tsumugi carefully sets up a staunch defense for the midgame. 

“In regards to our plan of attack, what did you have in mind?” In a move so stupid it loops back around to being genius, Gleam sacrifices her bishop to gain a significant positional advantage, forcing Tsumugi onto the back foot. She clicks her tongue. 

“I was thinking that we could use Tsuki as bait.” Tsumugi, having just had a significant hole punched into her defenses, shifts strategy. She secures sightlines for her bishops and queen, playing aggressively, sacrificing her knights and pawns if it means even a single step closer to her goal. “The traitor will no doubt be after her. So long as we keep watch of Tsuki, I think we have a good chance of catching Florence or someone we can trace to Florence in the act.”

“Good plan. Small issue. What if they get to Tsuki before we can intervene?” Gleam retaliates by setting up a small bunker of pawns and castling, hiding her king behind them. All the while, she relies solely on her queen to lead the charge against Tsumugi.

“I… I don’t know.” Tsumugi tries to pick up a piece but falters and lets her hand fall to her side. “I want to say that it doesn’t matter, that she’s going to die anyway but it just feels… wrong. She’s my sister. Papilio or not, she’s made of my own flesh and blood. Literally.” Tsumugi smiles bittersweetly. 

“Tsumugi… ” Gleam opens her mouth to try and say something but her words fail her. 

“It’s alright. Sacrifices are something I’m going to have to get used to. She’s going to die anyway…” Tsumugi takes a breath. “She’s going to die anyway.” She says it twice, as though beating it into her skull.  

“Is this really what you want?” Gleam leans back into the chair’s backrest. “Is this who you are?”

Tsumugi clenches her fist. “Yes.” Her body is made of doubts and all she can think is that she might be making the biggest mistake of her life. But it’s fine. So long as she can deal with the consequences of that mistake, it’s fine. 

Right?

“We should head back. The sun’s starting to set.” 

“Yeah…” Gleam’s stares at Tsumugi warily. Something about the way the setting sun casts its orange glow on her face, it makes her almost unrecognizable from the Tsumugi she knows.