Silence In Numbers: File One (25 page)

She frowned. “You believe society would fall apart into anarchy?”

“That is unlikely,” M admitted. “Society would likely adapt. However, that adaptation is not desired. People like to forget all the potential threats to their lives; if we told them of all these things against which they have no defense, fear would rule society.” M folded his hands behind his back. “History shows us many examples of this occurring; the World Wars, the Cold War, oppressive regimes, ancient empires; society would once more return to a state in which strength of arms is the most valuable trait.”

“Oh,” Hitomi said lamely, realization dawning on her. “You mean life would focus on defense and brute survival, like early civilizations.”

“Exactly. That isn’t necessary; these threats are far rarer than more common, more mundane dangers. But humans fear the unknown, and that fear would drive them into an archaic state that would halt progress and reset the clock on human achievement; we would be back to the days of stockpiling destructive weapons and forming closed-off cities. Humanity’s progress towards one unified whole would halt.”

“I can see why it’s a secret, then. But why tell me?”

Katsumi spoke up to answer that one: “You’re directly threatened now. You deserve to know the situation you’re in. It’s our policy to explain things to someone who is specifically endangered by a paranormal threat.”

“Well, I’m grateful for that, but what happens when this is over and your business with me is done?”

Katsumi shrugged. “That’s up to you. You can tell people if you like, but they won’t believe it.”

“In your case, however,” M added in, “our business with you may continue.”

Hitomi looked at him, uneasy about the statement. “What does that mean…?”

“It means, Miss Saizen, that we have strong reasons to believe you may be a Silent.”

Katsumi and Sano both sat up straighter, and the older woman gave M an incredulous look. “You think she’s a Silent?”

“Almost positive, Captain. Her history fits.”

“Excuse me,” Hitomi interrupted as she looked between them, “but what’s a ‘Silent’?”

“A demi-human,” Katsumi answered as she looked at her with more compassionate eyes. “It means you have the ability to speak with the Spirits of the Dead, as well as control their energy. It also means, unfortunately, that spirits are drawn to you, and not always good ones.”

Hitomi sat back in her chair, a little pale now. “So I’m… So what does this mean?”

Katsumi was looking at the floor, but then she glanced at the other two. M nodded, giving Hitomi a smile. “I’ll be around if you have any questions or needs. If you give me a list of everything you need from your apartment, I shall have it brought here for the time you stay with us.”

Sano stood up. “I’ll be around, too, if you need anything.”

Hitomi just nodded, watching the others leave until Katsumi took a seat in front of her. The older woman looked a lot more serious now, which made her nervous.

“I’m a Silent,” Katsumi started, getting Hitomi’s full attention. “So is my sister. We’re sort of… artificial ones, but it works the same way.”

Hitomi blinked in confusion. “Artificial? I don’t understand…”

Katsumi looked off to the side. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know that part.” Katsumi looked back at her. “This is a difficult thing to be. I know you’ve had something of a history with spirits and ghosts; this is the reason. You haven’t imagined things, you’ve experienced things, and it’s time you knew.” Katsumi ran a hand through her hair. “I’m not going to lie… It’s kind of a curse.”

Hitomi folded her arms, likely seeking some sort of security. “What’s so bad about it…?”

“You’ve already learned some of it,” Katsumi answered. “Ghosts and spirits… they’ll seek you out. You’re one of the rare few that can truly hear and understand them, and they’re desperate. This can be frightening; sometimes they’re angry, even violent. Some might even blame you, simply because you’re the only one they’ve found that can hear their condemnation. This is why you need to learn control.”

“So that I can control them…?”

“You can only control their energy, not their will. However, you can use this to weaken the violent ones so they can’t hurt you, or even to shut them all out when you need the silence. That’s important to keep you sane. Though it’s… harder to do when you’re weak,” Katsumi said softly, remembering the times the memories of spirits assaulted her mind during attacks from her sickness.

Hitomi nodded. “What about things like what happened this week?”

“Demonic spirits like to use humans as tools. A Silent is the most powerful tool one could gain. With more control you’ll be able to stop, drain or shut them out, as well. Depending on the relative power.”

“That would be nice… He said he had all kinds of plans for me.”

“I’d love to know what those were,” Katsumi stated with a slightly worried look. “We’ll have to find that out; he’ll be using another human as a tool soon.”

“He had me steal a knife… Maybe he wants someone killed?” the florist offered.

“He could kill a human himself…” Katsumi frowned. “We think… He wanted a sacrifice. The knife was a sacrificial tool from an old, extinct cult.”

“You think he wanted me to sacrifice someone to gain him something?”

“Sounds like the best bet,” the purple-haired woman sighed. “Well you don’t have to worry about that. For now, we’ll just make sure you’re comfortable and safe.”

Hitomi smiled a little. “Thank you… Really, thank you all for helping me.”

“It’s our job,” Katsumi said with a smile as she offered her a hand up. She pulled the younger woman out of her chair. “I’ll talk with you more on all this Silent stuff, and teach you what you need to know. Let’s worry about that later, though.”

“That would probably be best… Today has been… very full of new information.”

“It can be overwhelming,” Katsumi said in agreement. She stepped outside the room, looking across the hall. “Sano.”

“Sir,” the man said as he exited the next room.

“Show Hitomi the room she’ll be staying in, make sure she’s comfortable.”

“Not a problem,” Sano said with a wink at Hitomi, which she responded to with a smile.

Katsumi held out her hand and Sano tossed her a phone, which she handed to Hitomi. “This contains all of our numbers, and it’s as secure a connection as you can get outside of a cyber link. Call me if you need anything, whether it’s help, a talk, or getting something you forgot in your car. And if you can’t get me, try one of the others.”

Hitomi smiled gratefully as she took the phone. “That’s really generous of you. I wish I could thank you enough.”

Katsumi smiled sadly. “I’ve been in similar situations. I just want to make sure your time here feels more safe and comfortable than confining.”

“You’re doing a very good job… What about friends and family?”

“You can contact them whenever you like, but don’t mention the real situation. We’re also known as counter-terrorists, so a good cover is to tell them you witnessed a crime and we’re keeping you safe here until the criminal is caught. It’s true enough.”

Hitomi smiled and nodded. “That’s good. I guess the only thing left is my shop…”

“It’s being tended to,” Sano smiled. “You had the foresight to call in a temp to keep it in good shape for your return.”

“You people really did think of everything.”

“Well, we’re awesome.”

“And it’s our job,” Katsumi smirked. “Either way, I’m just glad we’re helping a pleasant person this time.”

Hitomi looked between the two. “The last person wasn’t pleasant?”

Sano scowled. “Hell no. The guy kept complaining about being ‘held hostage’ and how he’d ‘sue us all to hell’ and that we were ‘worthless imbeciles who couldn’t even do our jobs right’. He even tried to punch me.”

“Wow. He sounds very… colorful.”

“If you wanna put it that politely, sure.” Sano folded his arms. “I was just upset that ‘Shining Knight Katsumi’ wouldn’t let me feed him to a demon.”

“Sano,” Katsumi sighed. “I told you, even a demon doesn’t deserve that stomach-ache.”

“I’d risk it.”

“I’d feed him to the demon.”

“See? Hitomi knows I’m right!”

“A florist with a mean streak,” Katsumi chuckled. “I like it. You should fit in here well. I’ll leave you with Sano now; I need to meet up with Law and see if he’s got any trace of this demon.”

“Thank you again, Katsumi,” Hitomi said with a friendly smile.

Katsumi returned the expression as she walked off. “Don’t mention it. Don’t hesitate to call.”

Hitomi watched her turn the corner before she looked at Sano. “Your leader is a lot nicer than I first expected.”

Sano snickered. “You got a way different first impression than most get. In fact, that was a lot nicer than her fourteenth impression. Or thirty-seventh.”

“She’s not usually nice?”

“Well, she’s… Katsumi’s very determined,” Sano clarified. “She likes getting business done. A lot of times she can be abrasive and direct, even rude, especially ‘cause she’s pretty closed off. But I just mean she’s usually not nice to people; at the same time, she’s really kind. Even if you were a total asshole she’d still be doing what she could to help.” He rubbed his chin. “Except give you her personal number. That she did because she likes you. Which puts you in a group of less than ten people. Congratulations!”

Hitomi smiled. “Thank you. I really do feel honored, actually. I really appreciate everything all of you are doing. This day has been very… intense, but you’ve made it a lot better.”

“Honestly, dealing with all of this stuff every week, we know how it can get to you, especially when it’s new. And besides that, none of us have perfect pasts, so we want to make hardships easier.” Sano nodded down the hall. “Let’s get to your room and get you set up for the night; it’s getting late, and you’ve gotta be tired.”

“I am, actually, now that you mention it. It’s been very draining.”

“Well, rest will help that.” He led her to a comfortable, clean room that was obviously meant for just this purpose, set up with a large bed, a lamp, a desk with a computer, and a TV screen on the wall, as well as two comfortable chairs.

“Wow, this is nicer than most hotels,” Hitomi said as she entered the room, inspecting it.

“Might as well be comfortable if you’re stuck here,” Sano said as he leaned against the door.

Hitomi turned around, clasping her hands behind her back. “So, um… Would you like to stay and talk?”

Sano raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Yes, but…” She bit her lip, looking to the side. “Well it’s just, I’ve been sealed up in my apartment for a week with no one to talk to, and after this week and today, I’d really like a normal conversation without all the talk of evisceration and blood rituals.”

Sano sighed as he stepped into the room. “Aw, man, those are my favorite topics! Fine, I guess we can talk about something boring.”

Hitomi laughed. “You know, boring would be perfect after the day I’ve had.”

“Oh, well in that case I should go get someone else, I’m way too interesting to fill that need.”

“Oh, but you’ve been doing so well at it so far!”

“Hey, hurtful things will not ingratiate you to me.”

Hitomi flipped her shoulder-length brown hair in a haughty manner. “Who says I want to be ingratiating? I don’t need to grovel to those below me.”

“Ha,” Sano grinned as he dropped into one of the chairs. “The only thing below you is your feet. And you’ve gotta look up to even see mine.”

“Only I get to be mean.” Hitomi held up the black phone with a wide smile. “If you act mean, I’ll call your boss and complain and she’ll teach you a lesson.”

“Agh, another cheater. Women don’t play fair.”

“I always play by the rules. I just don’t tell my competition the rules I’m going to play by.”

“So you cheat by deciding that what you’re doing isn’t cheating.”

Hitomi laughed, sitting on the bed. “It’s only cheating if they can prove it’s cheating.”

Sano sat back, crossing a leg over the other as he smirked. “Katsumi was right. You might fit in here a little too well.”

Hitomi smiled. “I might as well take advantage of the situation. Friends make everything better, right?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Katsumi!” Law sidestepped quickly as Ayane, beaming happily, leapt past him to hug her sister when she entered.

Katsumi caught her with a smile, hugging her back. “Aya… You seem to be doing well tonight.”

Ayane nodded as she pulled Katsumi to sit on the bed with her. “I was just telling Big L that I feel good. He said he felt better because he got to use the Spirit Ray.”

Law grinned. “Dead-on shot. Jus’ too bad he didn’ stick around.”

“Yes, that’s actually why I came,” Katsumi stated as she sat beside Ayane, who gave her a betrayed look.