08. Then We Make It Possible
It took much longer to find this place than I would have liked. When Haruki told me she and Mayumi picked up a random newbie the other night, I had been skeptical. Nay, even downright upset. Our little group of queer girl hunters was a well oiled machine. Adding a new, untested face into the mix…
Well, lets just say it doesn't go well.
But Haruki and Mayumi both argued for their adopted baby trans girl, Katsumi. Gave a good image of whirlwind holding her own with a demon two whole classes above her.
The perfect novice, Haruki had argued, Just needs a bit of training.
I acquiesced. While I may be our group's strategist, Haruki was our tactician. If she told me calling a dog a cat would bring us victory. I would be the first in line.
Though to speak plainly, a tall butch tells me to do anything, I'm liable to follow their every word.
I sigh heavily. I've never been the most in-tune with my emotions, but I'm about as close to panic as I've ever been. Haruki and Mayumi both never returned home last night. So here I am. Secretly grateful those two picked up another body. I need all the help I can get.
I enter the konbini, and am immediately greeted by the soothing sounds of the top-50 elevator music soundtrack. The extra-smooth jazz follows me as I approach the lovely girl at the counter. Her eyes, only partially glazed, come alive as she spots me. I'm greeted by a dazzling smile.
"Hi! How can I help you?" The woman says. A quick glance at her name tag reveals her name as Hikari.
"I'm looking for Miss Katsumi. I'm Chie, her… friend." Acquaintance didn't seem the proper thing to say, even though it was more the truth.
Still, I don't miss the widening of Hikari's eyes, along with the widening of her smile to frankly ridiculous proportions. Her lips part several times before she actually speaks.
"Oh," she exclaims, drawing out the word like a piece of taffy. "Umm, she is working in the back. Do you want me to get her for you?"
I wave her off. "I don't want to bother you, just point me the way."
Hikari does, and with a smile, says, "It's so nice to meet one of her friends! See ya!"
I walk the way she pointed, confusion scrunching my brow. What a strange interaction…
With only a little getting turned around, I find Katsumi. Her back is turned to me as I approach. Unloading boxes or merchandise, I don't really care. Instead, I take note of her hair. A bit longer, but still quite as short and boyish as mine or Haruki's. I wonder if she just hasn't been able to grow her hair out, or she likes having it that short.
"Excuse me, Katsumi?"
She jumps, twisting to look at me. Her face is quite striking. Androgynous, in the pretty way. She's wearing her work uniform. A company shirt and slacks. It's a good look, if mascs are your thing.
Katsumi seems to be a bit tongue-tied so I keep speaking. "I'm Chie. Haruki and Mayumi's friend. I need your help."
The girl blinks and gathers herself. "With what?"
"They went missing last night."
Katsumi gasps. "Missing?! How!? What…"
"I know where," I interrupt. "And what they were hunting. But we need to go fast. Can you leave?"
"I… Ya, sure, umm… hold on!"
She turns in the direction of the front, frantic in her motions, but stops. Hikari is standing just behind a shelf in the most inconspicuous manner possible. Wearing a look of a cat caught doing something it shouldn't.
"Oh!" she exclaims, holding a box of snacks. "Hi Katsumi! Everything okay?"
Katsumi stutters. "Uhh, well, yes—no…"
"Were you eavesdropping?" I ask with narrowed eyes.
"No! I was just…" she holds up the snack box. "Getting a snack! Yeahhh!"
I blink in astonishment, but Katsumi barrels on.
"Hikari, listen, can you cover for me today. It's an emergency."
Her gaze flits between me and Katsumi, intrigue in her expression.
"Is it bad?"
"We don't know," I answer for Katsumi. "But we need to go."
Haruki sobers quickly. "Oh no. Take as long as you need Katsumi. I'll handle Mr. Kataoka."
"Thanks, I owe you!"
I usher her from the konbini quickly. Only once out the door, the girl freezes in her tracks, looking suddenly fearful.
"One last thing," she says, "I need to grab something from my flat. Its down the road."
"Fine, but be quick. Every second counts."
────୨ৎ────
Hotaru meets us at the train station. Rounding out our impromptu rescue team to a defensive support mage, an inexperienced rookie, and me. I constantly tally the odds, and I don't like ours.
Still I greet Hotaru as warmly as I can. She's worried. Its clear on her face. She greets us with none of her usual enthusiasm either, all business today. It unsettles me more than anything else.
We board when the train arrives and I immediately start in.
"So what I know. Haruki and Mayumi went hunting in the outer districts last night. Near an old high school. The demon was another class-C." I look to to Katsumi significantly before moving on. "The hunter database has it classified as a trickster, one that eats fear."
"How do we deal with that?" Katsumi says, wide-eyed.
I shrug. "Don't get scared."
Hotaru shoots me an annoyed look. "Fear eaters will try and scare you," she explains, "Get all up in your head and jumble it about. It empowers them."
"It makes them a danger well above their rank. They haunt abandoned places, and draw victims in, building up the fear before bam!" I slap my knee. "They catch you. Lock you away and use you as an easy meal."
Katsumi looks ready to run at this point. But I'm not done. I add, "Only way to fight a fear demon is to not get scared. Understand that without your fear, they're powerless as a class-F."
"We have a problem though," Hotaru points out, "It has Haruki and Mayumi. It'll be feeding off them."
I grimace, but nod. "Our number one is finding them and getting them out. No matter what happens, we get them out."
Katsumi nods as seriously as she can, though her anxiety is still apparent. I don't share with her the most important aspect of fighting a fear-eater: Knowing your greatest fear. If the demon finds and exploits that, it will receive a significant power boost. Judging by the girl's fidgeting, I don't think she can handle that right now. I just hope hers isn't mundane—easy to manipulate.
I frown.
My own is much more esoteric. I'm not even sure how a demon would use it, let alone find it. I look out the window. It still feels real though.
The city rolls by us. Passing from the high towers of glass and steel into lower and older buildings of concrete and wood. Thinning out until trees appear from the asphalt landscape. Becoming more suburban and then rural. City giving way to the nature constantly niping at it's heels. Ever hungry.
I've rarely been outside the city. Outside, in the rural fields beyond, I see little of value. Solitude is it's greatest draw, and I've had my fill of the stuff. I much perfer the sounds and sights—though not quite the smells—of the life the city offers. I like being near my family and the friends, the girls I adore so much.
Two empty seats beside me where they should be.
My fists tighten.
We'll get them back. I will get them back.
Hotaru has Katsumi engrossed in a conversation about her grandparents.
I hear the conductor shuffling down the car long before I see him. Selling tickets to the other passengers. This train is an older car, headed out to the rural outskirts of the city, so there wasn't a typical kiosk.
When the conductor arrives I've already counted out the exact fare. I hand it to him and receive a 'thank you miss' in reply. Hotaru does the same. I nearly turn to stare out the window again, when he collects Katsumi's fare and hands her a ticket with a 'thank you sir'.
Her reaction it immediate. She flinches.
I open my mouth to correct the man, but he's already moved on to the other passengers. One could imagine it to be malicious, but given the busyness of the conductor it was likely he just assumed on a glance.
I can tell Katsumi is hurt though. The girl wears a severe frown, and she's staring off into space. I want to—I don't know—do something, but I've never been good at this sort of thing. Hotaru's always been better with that. One of the reasons we're such good friends. I look to her, asking with my eyes what I cant with words, but Katsumi stands abruptly, grabbing her backpack with fervor.
"Imagochange," she blurts, before nearly running down the car.
Me and Hotaru share a grimace.
"She's fragile," Hotaru says, tapping her sternum. "Here."
I hum. "Unsurprising."
She isn't the first trans girl I've met. Far from it. The IT field is practically 50% trans girls—well, not exactly 50%, but still a statistically-significant number. Still, none work at my current job, one of the Guild's Branch Offices where my team is only a handful and unfortunately, all men.
Anyway, point being, I've seen this all before.
"Do you think we can rely on her skills?" she asks.
"Don't know yet," I reply. "I'll need you to keep an eye on her, alright? Keep her from panicking in there."
She frowns. "That's a tall ask, you know."
"I do. But I won't be able to focus if I need to manage her and find our friends. But I…" I swallow, and speak slowly. "I know you're worried too."
"We both are."
'Yeah," I say, looking to my lap.
"We'll find them. I know we will."
"You can't be certain. Its not possible to know for sure."
"Then we make it possible."
I huff in annoyance though not with any heat. This is just another iteration of our long running argument. Where she, the mystical mage, insists on the power of belief to change the world and I, the analytical techie, insist on cold rationality.
We used to argue much more aggressively, but over time we've somehow melded into this strange stalemate. It's balance, I suppose, and… well, I do see the merit in her perspective. I respect her. Quite a lot actually. She, in turn, respects me. I enjoy being her friend. If it wasn't for our incompatible view's toward sex I may have asked her out already.
Katsumi returns while I'm still lost in thought, looking sour.
She's wearing a miko costume oddly enough. One that's well-made, the type one would spot on a high ranking hunter. It must have cost quite a bit. More than a lowly konbini worker could easilly afford. In it—and combined with her similarly high quality wig—she is transformed. As feminine as a girl could be, if old-fashioned.
"How are you doing?" I ask. Though I already know the answer.
"I couldn't do my makeup," she mumbles. "The train moves too much."
"You look fine without it," I say,
I only receive a nasty frown by way of reply.
"Sorry the conductor called you that," Hotaru tries.
"It happens to me all the time," I offer in support, waving to my short hair. "Haruki gets it even more. It's no big deal."
"But… you're girls."
"And you're not?"
She looks away. "No."
My brows furrow, and I open my mouth to reply. Prepared to interrogate this idea of hers—tear it apart for all the flimsy paper that it is, but Hotaru catches my eye, shaking her head almost imperceptibly.
I hold my tongue, and leave the girl be.