Silence In Numbers: File One (44 page)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kurasano shook his head as he stepped through the doorway, rubbing it as he moved aside for Law and Rufus to come through. “This floor is just weird. No enemies but we’re all suddenly split up? Something’s going on.”

“We need to find Major Sama before anything else,” Rufus said. “This ‘Sigma’ seems to be especially interested in her, so who knows if he has some sort of trap meant specifically for her.”

“I already don’t like this,” Law added. “Wait…”

Sano turned with the others as Katsumi appeared in a doorway. “There you are! I guess we didn’t have to worry,” he said with a smile that disappeared as she drew her pistol. She aimed it directly at him and his first reaction was to immediately glance behind him, thinking she saw a demon. He heard a click and turned back to see her look at the empty pistol before tossing it aside and drawing her sword. In a flash she was within a few feet before he even realized something was wrong, but Law saved his life by shoving him out of the way.

The large man brought his arm up and blocked Katsumi’s overhand strike; her sword dug a bit into his arm, sending a few sparks up. He looked into Katsumi’s eyes over his arm for a few seconds and she seemed angry or annoyed until she suddenly withdrew her blade and aimed a
horizontal slash at his stomach. He managed to catch the blade and lift her up, hurling her towards the wall. She spun in the air and landed her feet on the wall before launching herself off of it back at the others. Sano still stood in confusion, unable to make a move, but Rufus wasn’t suffering the same problem.

The blond assassin stepped into her path and slid a knife into each hand, twirling each into a reverse grip until she met him. Their strikes came hard and fast, some even causing sparks as metal glanced off metal in a rapid progression. Rufus was faster but Katsumi was stronger, forcing him to deflect her blows rather than block them directly. Added to that, at the moment he was unwilling to go for a killing blow, while that seemed to be what she was doing. Eventually she gained the upper hand and whipped the blade around in a powerful horizontal strike, forcing him to back flip over it and out of the fight.

Sano came in to replace him, finally having realized a reaction was needed. Katsumi reacted to him with more speed than he’d hoped for, and Sano had the unpleasant realization that she had been holding back during their sparring matches. He focused everything into avoiding that sword, getting in a counterattack when he could and landing a few blows. Unfortunately, during a roundhouse kick she caught his leg and kicked out his supporting one, spinning and slamming him into the ground. She attempted to stab down into him but a thrown knife from Rufus knocked her blade off course, causing it to stab into the ground beside Sano instead.

Katsumi shot a glare at Rufus, but before she could withdraw her sword Law charged into her, carrying her away from the blade and into the wall. Sano stood up and yanked the sword free and Katsumi narrowed her eyes, glancing from Law to the approaching wall he was hoping to pin her against. She kneed him once in the stomach to free up a bit of room, then pushed to get more room before shooting her knee straight up into his chin. Taking advantage of the small opening she kicked off his chest and flipped onto the wall, then leapt over him and landed in a run towards Sano.

As she reached him he slashed horizontally with the sword but she slid under it and kicked his legs out, driving her elbow up into his solar plexus as he fell towards her. The blow knocked all the air from his lungs and she shoved him back, then knocked his hands up and sent the sword into the air. She leapt and placed a foot on his shoulder, vaulting up higher and catching the sword before coming down in a slash that Rufus was barely in time to block. Katsumi glared at Rufus and flipped back through the air, landing a few feet away.

Rufus tossed a knife to Sano, who readied it as he caught his breath. Law moved behind Katsumi, leaving her surrounded. “What the hell is going on?!” Sano asked in confusion, looking to the others for answers.

“Yes; why are you doing this?” Rufus added, but out of curiosity.

Katsumi switched her gaze between them after glancing back at Law once. “It’s our only option,” she stated sadly. “If I don’t do this, Aya will die. Belphegor will help us kill Father. He will give us the life we deserve.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ayane whipped her sword around in a rapid motion, performing dozens of slashes within a few seconds and removing limbs from the demons surrounding her before removing heads. She flicked the blood from her blade and sheathed it in one motion, standing straight. “Demon trash,” she said dismissively. “That’s all that’s left.” She turned to see Reno staring at her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sick?”

Ayane smiled. “So is Katsumi.”

“Oh yeah. You two do more when you’re sick than I’ve ever done at my peak of health.”

“We’ve certainly put in the work for it,” she said as she looked around the room. “This would be harder if we weren’t following Katsumi. They’ve killed almost everything.”

“You actually sound a little disappointed.”

“In a way,” Ayane admitted. “I just like being able to do something for once. It used to be me and my sister doing everything, you know?”

“You miss working with her.”

She nodded. “And I miss her in general. That probably sounds weird since we never go a week without seeing each other, and we can talk all the time, but…”

“It’s not enough,” Reno said with a smile. “You’re talkin’ to the right guy. I miss my wife and daughter as soon as I step out the door.”

“Yes!” Ayane smiled. “I get that, too. As soon as Sumi leaves I miss her. And it doesn’t feel fair, because even when she visits I can’t fully enjoy it because I know she has to leave soon. Sometimes I miss her even when she’s still there because of that.” She sighed. “That’s why I can’t wait to live with her again. Hopefully she’ll be able to take more time off in the future, too.”

“I really hope this all works out,” Reno added, “because I think we all need a little break.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“She’s being influenced, right?” Sano looked at the others. “I mean, she has to be.”

“I am curious to know,” Rufus said as he lowered his hands and straightened up. “Is this an actual decision, or manipulation? The answer will determine my decision.”

“You can’t be saying that you’d join her if she turned on us.”

“My loyalty is not with Aegis, or even with fellow humans; it is with Major Samakura. If this is the path she chooses, I will follow it as well. If she is being influenced, then I will kill whatever is influencing her because I refuse to follow something other than her.”

Law smirked as he cracked his neck, fixing what Katsumi’s knee had done to his jaw. “At least you’re easy to predict, Rufus. Major, tell me – how did you come to this decision?”

Katsumi looked distracted for a moment before looking over her shoulder at him. “Aya talked to me,” she answered, no longer angry. “She was… upset. What I’ve been doing has been hurting her. I can’t do that anymore.”

“Influence,” Rufus said darkly. “It looks like I have someone to kill.”

“I really am sorry,” Katsumi said, looking at them sorrowfully. “If this is the best way to protect her, though, then this is what I’ll do.”

“It’s not,” Sano responded, drawing her attention. “The demon can’t be trusted – it’s working with your father.”

“What?”

“They attacked in unison. He’s probably helping it manipulate you.”

“But Aya…”

“Where is she?” Law pointed out.

“I…” Katsumi lowered her sword and looked over her shoulder at him. “She stayed behind… It was safer…”

“Since when does she do that?” Law said with a shake of his head. “Does she ever leave you to face danger alone?”

“She…” Katsumi shook her head. “No, it made sense. She said… She was upset…” She looked down. “That… wasn’t her?”

“It was a trick,” Rufus asserted. “Most likely thanks to the demon or your father.”

“That’s not…” Katsumi tightened her grip on her sword. “I remember waking up… She was there…
It
was there,” she said as realization dawned. “I
knew
it wasn’t her, and then I forgot. Things grew… fuzzy…” She shook her head. “I can’t… It’s still hard to think, like I’m… walking through quicksand…”

“Keep going,” Law said as he laid a hand on her shoulder. “They used your weakness against you.”

“I thought it was my only option…” Katsumi suddenly looked very tired. “I’m slipping… Years ago, this wouldn’t have worked on me. I don’t know how much longer I can do this…”

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” Sano interjected. “Everyone has a weakness.”

“I tried to kill you.”

“Yeah, well, dying just happens to be my weakness,” he said with a laugh, causing Katsumi to give a weak smile.

Rufus stepped forward as he slipped his knives back into their hiding spots. “So you don’t want to side with the demon, then?”

“No,” Katsumi said as she met his gaze. “It wouldn’t help us.”

He nodded understandingly. “Perhaps there will be a better opportunity later.”

“You’re kidding, right?” They both looked at Sano, who looked from one to the other. “The only reason you’re not joining with the demon is because it wouldn’t help you?”

“That’s not the
only
reason,” Katsumi replied. “It’s just the biggest. I would ignore the other reasons if it was necessary.”

“Well
I
feel safe.”

"
You have to understand-“

“Katsumi!”

Her eyes widened as she turned around and saw Ayane and Reno enter the room. “Aya!” Basically forgetting everything that had just happened, she was in front of Ayane in a second, pulling her into a tight hug that she returned in kind. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“I’m fine,” Ayane assured her, relieved that she had found her before their father had.

“What’re you two doing here?” Law asked Reno as he walked over, glancing over him. “Nice scar.”

Reno grinned at him. “Thanks. I think it makes me look tough.”

“Scar?” Katsumi let go of Ayane and looked at him. “What happened to you?”

“Just a little encounter with your father outside,” he answered.

Katsumi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “He tried to kill you?” she asked in a cold voice that made him nervous.

“Well, I mean, he failed…”

“And he’s here,” Ayane said, bringing Katsumi’s attention back to her. “Reno said he entered after that.”

“We haven’t seen him,” Rufus said, “So he’s probably waiting up top with Sigma and the demon.”

“I guess you were right about him helping, then,” Katsumi said with a frown.

“Helping what?”

Katsumi looked at her sister, then averted her eyes. “They used something I thought was you to turn me against them, along with this strange mind-influencing magic.”

“They used me against you?” Katsumi nodded and Ayane grew angry. “That’s…” She couldn’t even come up with words. Something like that could actually hurt their relationship; they had absolute trust, and it could damage it. Searching Katsumi’s eyes she was relieved to see that hadn’t happened, but it infuriated her that it could have.

“Why are you guys in here?” Sano asked out of curiosity.

“I wasn’t going to leave Katsumi to face Father without me,” Ayane said as if it was obvious.

“And I wasn’t going to let her go in alone,” Reno added. Katsumi gave him such a grateful look that he hoped he would always remember it. “Besides,” he continued as he held up the cases they’d brought with them, “we brought gifts!”

Law grinned as he took one of the cases. “Just what I asked Santa for.”

“You must’ve been a good boy this year!”

As Law set them down and opened them to begin reloading their weapons, Katsumi laid a hand on Reno’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

He knew she wasn’t talking about the supplies. “You would have done the same,” he responded. “Besides, I don’t want her hurt any more than you do.”

Katsumi smiled. “I know. I’m glad you’re here, though – we can really use you.”

“I don’t see a lot of things to pilot or drive in here.”

“You do a lot more than that. I’m glad the whole team is here to get one of our own back. Just don’t get too injured or Lenora will kill me.”

Reno grinned. “That’s just like what I told Ayane.”

“I guess we had all better make it out of here in one piece,” she said as she turned to the others. “We all have people who would miss us.”

“Then we’re gonna need to go in hard,” Law said as he lifted the large case he’d been carrying since the beginning and rested a long rifle on his shoulder. “Beat them down and tear them apart so we can be done with this shit.”

“That’s the kind of plan I like,” Rufus said, readying a shotgun. “They have even less of a chance of winning now.”