Boiled Tofu and Abduction

When she clocked in the next morning, a nice warm scarf wrapped around her wounded neck, she wasn't the least surprised to see Atsushi crouching by the infirmary's door, waiting for Yosano to give them the okay to see Kyouka.

" Atsushi-kun…" she crouched in front of the younger boy, making their eyes at the same level. " I know you're worried, but nothing of what happened was your fault. You don't have to be so down about it."

Atsushi finally decided to look into her eyes, and for the first time she could take in the beautiful mixture of the purple and golden colors of his irises, they fit perfectly together. " I know… I know that but…"

He covered his face with one hand, looking like a lost and hurt kid. " Just thinking about her words…"

She was a victim, much like her, much like him… of course it would hurt. Heck, she was so agitated and angered the previous night she couldn't sleep at all, just thinking about what the girl was made to do. But what made it all worse… Is that we can't set her free. She swallowed as she looked up at the door. No matter how much she wanted to, it was impossible. She alone couldn't possibly do it.

And there was no way she could ask the president, she had already asked him for a farfetched favor years ago, and you can only ask for one of those once.

" You've brought trouble back with you yet again." Hearing her teacher's voice, Kath stood up and looked over her shoulder as he approached them. The look on his face was unreadable even for her. " She's a lost cause. The girl is a well-known assassin. She tricks targets into lowering their guard with her young appearance, then annihilates entire organizations. She accomplished too much, too quickly. It's only a matter of time before she is caught."

" Still…" Kath turned around to argue, her blood boiling at the mere image of the young girl being put behind bars. " It wasn't by her own will! She didn't want any of that!"

" That's right…" Atsushi added in a barely audible voice. " Whoever is taking advantage of her ability is the one to blame."

" Gifts don't necessarily bring happiness to their wielders." His expression was rather stoic as he looked down at the younger boy. " You know that better than most."

Biting on her lip and swallowing her bitterness, Kath tried her best to push back a certain image that was about to resurface from the depth of her memories. Even if that was the case, the girl is as much a victim as any of us who suffer because of our abilities out there.

Yosano opened the door to the infirmary at that moment, inviting them in. Kath didn't know exactly why she followed after Atsushi and Kunikida. It wasn't like she was as worried as the former, nor was she interested in questioning her like the latter. But there was a deep feeling in her chest that pulled her body along, something like empathy. Because she could relate to her, she wanted to be there, to be close to someone who went through the same, and maybe, if possible, even for a while, offer comfort.

The girl didn't seem to acknowledge them at all at first, all Kyouka did was stare up at the roof of the infirmary with nothing to be heard from her but her breath. Kunikida was growing impatient at being ignored that Kath was getting ready to tie him before he could do something to the younger girl. Then, Kyouka spoke in a very little and quiet voice, almost dreamy. " Tachibanadou's boiled Tofu."

" Boiled Tofu?" Atsushi and Kath cocked their heads to the side.

Kyouka's look still didn't fall from the roof. " It's really good."

Ah. I get it now. Kath hardly contained her smile at the thought. The girl was setting a condition in exchange for information. Though Tachibanadou…

" Oh. Sure, that's a small thing."

Kath almost flinched as her head snapped in Atsushi's direction after he said that. Something about his innocent face made her feel sorry for him. This guy doesn't know a thing about Yokohama! She screamed inwardly.

✦ -─────────- ✦

The place screamed the word fancy from every corner, the pillars, the polished wooden floor and furniture, and even the scenery outside were a feast to the eye. The food was, as everyone who had the luxury of visiting the place described, a gift from the heavens.

Kath couldn't help but believe those words as she tasted some of the boiled Tofu herself. Kyouka was munching on hers nonchalantly, unaware of Atsushi's shivering behind the menu.

The boy's face then emerged as blue and glum as he could ever be, and it only worsened when Kyouka ordered seconds. Kunikida, who only asked for tea, said he had no intention to pay. Kath, who was sitting in front of him, felt bad seeing Atsushi burst into tears. " Atsushi-kun…" she swallowed the mouthful of Tofu she was munching on. " Don't worry about the tab, we can split it."

" Really!"

Kath held her plate. " After all, I'm eating as well." It wasn't like she had much compared to Kyouka, but she just couldn't not offer help when seeing the poor boy like that. " This place is usually booked for important meetings and the like, so the menu is quite… as you saw, because the customers mostly are VIPs and so."

" I didn't know…" Atsushi lowered his head to the table, feeling ashamed of himself, agreeing to treat Kyouka to a meal and then being unable to afford it without spending half his salary in one go.

After they finished their lunch and the dishes were put away, Kunikida was eager to start again, asking the girl all things about the Port Mafia.

As Kyouka told them how she came under the Port Mafia's control, Kunikida placed her phone on the table, of course, he didn't forget to take the battery before returning it. It's just like you, Kunikida-sensei.

Kyouka retrieved the cell phone, squeezing the rabbit plushie in her hand, as though trying to draw warmth and courage from it. An act very familiar to Kath. It's not that she was afraid of going against the Port Mafia. It's more like she couldn't let go of that phone. It must mean a lot to her.

" Who was manipulating Demon Snow through that phone?" Her next answer was the one that took Kath by surprise.

" A man called Akutagawa." Her chest clenched, her breathing stopped, and the tea she was gulping came rushing backwards and spilled over her front. With a shaking hand, she fumbled for a napkin to clean the mess, it took several attempts for her mind and hand to synchronize again and get the job done.

" Excuse me, need to get myself cleaned." She stood up and made to the bathroom. However, as soon as she was alone, she gave a shaky breath and grabbed the edges of the sink for support. " It can't be. Of all people…"

It was him, there was no doubting Kyouka's words. The girl had no reason to lie whatsoever. Akutagawa must have been the one who was controlling her ability, who made her kill all of those 35 people, who… she could hardly swallow the lump in her throat at the next thought. Who heartlessly tied a bomb to her and tried to blow her off.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Kath was faced with a harsh truth. Ryuu… what have you done… when did you become like this… or were you…

Was he like that from the start but she didn't know? Just, how much she didn't know about the man now known as the hell hound of the Port Mafia? How much of the Akutagawa she knew, was really him?

After a struggle to contain her thoughts, Kath managed to get herself cleaned and went back, only to find Atsushi and Kunikida talking in the hallway. " If you try to save someone you can't save… you'll both end up sinking."

Kath stopped on her trail as Kunikida walked up to her. She could tell Atsushi was feeling down after hearing those words from the older man, she herself didn't know how she should react to them too. " We're leaving, Hanazawa."

" Ah… right…" As she followed after her teacher, she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at Atsushi, standing there in the hallway and clenching his fists in frustration.

There is nothing we can do. She thought helplessly as she looked ahead of her again. There is nothing I could do, not for her, nor for him…

✦ -─────────- ✦

Kath spent the rest of her day physically confined in the office while her mind was off to another world. She couldn't forget Kyouka's words from that morning. A man called Akutagawa… A man whom she once saw as a friend.

Kath couldn't fathom what happened, was he the one who changed that much, or was she simply unable to see who he really was? It was true that the said man rarely showed any kind of emotions, and he never was one to reveal his inner thoughts. So maybe, all she had been thinking about him in the past, was wrong. Maybe he wasn't really as caring and kind as she had always believed.

Akutagawa was someone who would stop at nothing to attain his goal, that one thing she was sure of. And he was clinging to that treat even more now than ever.

As she heaved another long sigh and tried for the hundredth time to focus on her rapport, Tanizaki barged into the office, crying that Atsushi had been kidnapped. Take a wild guess who did it.

" The Agency's in a total uproar due to a recent ministry staff escort job," Kunikida began, though his voice was not entirely void of concern. " We don't have enough hands on deck to look for him."

Not enough hands! Kath fought the urge to snort at that one sentence. Hello, should I introduce myself again? I literally can cover the whole of Yokohama on my own as long as I have enough dolls!

" Help him? Why?" It was Rampo's voice that made her snap to the side where he was enjoying his ice cream as if the matter wasn't of big importance to him. Or maybe it really wasn't. " He was abducted because he's a weretiger and they want the reward, right? So, it's personal. We're not his foster home. He didn't join us so we'd protect him, either."

It was a rational argument, she had to admit. But it didn't settle well with her. The mere thought of abandoning a member made her feel sick. She understood where Rampo was coming from, she really did. For him, nothing mattered more than protecting the agency, so he was refusing to indulge in a personal fight.

As the conversation went back and forth among them about whether or not they should dispatch some of their members to look for the said boy, Kath was inclined to propose that she took care of the matter on her own. They were however interrupted by the president as he stepped into the main office along with Naomi who bore a confident smile on her face, clearly proud of her way of solving the dilemma.

A smart move. And I have to commend her boldness as well to have called the president. Not even Kunikida-sensei would dare do so.

" I am so sorry." Kunikida ran over to him and bowed. " As soon as our work is done, I'll gather information with Tanizaki and…"

" That won't be necessary." For a good moment, Kath thought the president as well would say that saving Atsushi had nothing to do with them. She was mistaken.

The white-haired man gave a sharp gaze that bore into their souls as he spoke as loud as he could, so as to make all the staff there hear him clearly. " Listen up, all of you. Our newest member has been abducted. Everyone, work on finding him. I order the current task suspended until he has been safely returned to us."

Of course, the president would value his own subordinates. Kath smiled softly.

With the president's affirmation that he would deal with the official they would need to escort, all efforts then careered towards finding their newest member.

" Well then." Kath tacked her laptop in her backpack and grabbed a bunch of her plushies in her arms, mostly those akin to birds, before making to the door.

" Hanazawa?" Rampo stopped her with a questioning tone and she looked back at him.

" The roof. I will do what I can to find Atsushi-kun too." And she excused herself.