10th of January, 1:00 am, Streets of Tokyo
Miyako attempts to reach for Akane's arm, but she is too slow. Akane managed to gracefully avoid Miyako's hand, dodging to the left while distancing herself further. Only the thin air remains in Miyako's hand as she can see Akane disappear into the darkness.
Miyako gently shakes her head, a small smile forming on her face. "I hope you find him…"
After a moment of silence, she turns back around and slips through under the tape, reentering her property.
"Ma'am… Ma'am." A voice calling out to Miyako catches her attention. She turns again; it is a paramedic, standing just outside the tape. "We will begin with the victim transport to a hospital now… She appears to be mostly fine physically, but it's better to be sure that really nothing happened in such cases."
Miyako's gaze wanders over to the ambulance, Ruby inside of it. "Okay… I will come as soon as I'm allowed to leave…" She makes a short break, her voice turning quieter," Just please… take good care of my daughter."
The paramedic smiles at Miyako. "She's in good hands. We have all sorts of specialists and victim advocates on site, all of them are ready to take the best care of her. You really don't have to worry."
Then he turns and walks back to the ambulance. A minute later, he drives off, leaving Miyako standing there, watching as the vehicle turns smaller until it eventually fully disappears around a corner.
…
10th of January, 1:30 am, Hospital
Ruby arrived a few minutes ago. She was given fresh, clean clothing and a comfortable blanket. Five minutes have passed since the nurse left her upon request. This way, Ruby can change out of her old clothes herself, giving her at least the sense of control. By now, she is lying down in the bed, waiting for what's going to happen next.
I'm so dumb… Why did I do that?
Why did I keep this a secret?
My stupid pride almost…
Ruby lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her body still shaking a bit.
I should've told Aqua… Or at least Miyako.
Who cares if I need them…
These kinds of situations aren't meant to be solved alone.
Ruby's thoughts are interrupted by the door to her room opening — slowly, to not startle her. — A moment later, a young nurse peeks her head inside, her body following just after. "You must be Ruby," she says while looking up from her clipboard, a warm smile spreading on her face.
"My name is Ayaka Hara… You can call me however you like, though." She sits down on a stool next to Ruby's bed, looking down on herself and quickly fixing her attire.
Then, she looks at Ruby's distant eyes for a second; even under the thick blanket, she can tell that Ruby is still shaking, even now. "You don't need to speak. It's totally fine if you let me do the talking… So, I'm here to introduce you to what exactly we'll do in the next few hours. Alright?" Her tone is gentle, yet firm.
Ruby's excessive adrenaline rush slowly begins to subside again, making way for a strong numbness to take over her mind. The next hour goes by in a blur. Ruby speaks only on rare occasions, and when she does, her voice is quiet and shaky.
During this hour, Ayaka, the nurse, takes various tests and samples. She carefully cleans and documents Ruby's wounds, always making sure that Ruby isn't too uncomfortable with the situation, even when she gave her consent.
After everything is well documented and she ensures that Ruby isn't hurt beyond bruised wrists and a bruised face, she leaves again, letting Ruby wait for what comes next. But she doesn't need to wait long, not even 5 minutes after her treatment had ended, Miyako enters the room and sits down next to Ruby.
"So… How do you feel, Ruby?" Miyako's voice sounds heavy and really tired. She tries to sound as calm as possible, but nobody could hide their feelings in her position.
Ruby remains silent for a moment, which she uses to look around the room, ensuring that they're really alone. "I'm fine… Well, fine for this circumstance… What's more important right now is Aqua. What should we do about him? I feel a bit bad for acting this way. The nurse was really kind, but what needs to be done needs to be done."
Miyako looks at Ruby with a hint of surprise beyond the pain in her eyes. "Y-You are fine? But-" Miyako is interrupted by Ruby.
"I'm not saying that everything is fully okay, but without Aqua… I really hate to say it, but I know that without Aqua it would've all been so, so much worse." Ruby takes a short break, clearly having a hard time speaking these words. "And now, he has a lot of problems… So, can we please help him?"
Miyako places her hand on top of Ruby's bruised wrist. Ruby initially flinches, but quickly catches herself again, letting Miyako gently caress her burning flesh. "But do we really have to do this right now?"
Ruby pulls her arms away, not out of reflex but intentionally. "No!" she says with a raised voice, almost shouting. "Aqua also never said 'I'll do it later' when I needed his help with something, so I won't do it either when he needs mine for once…" She looks up at Miyako, doing the best puppy eyes she can. "When worst comes to worst, he could even get the death penalty…"
Her voice slightly cracks as she says the last part, her heart tightening while the words leave her mouth.
Miyako reaches out once more, but she stops her own hand before she can touch Ruby's wrist, pulling it back and placing it on her own lap, her heart feeling even heavier as she does. "You're right… He needs us now more than ever; we need to get our stories aligned to help him in his case."
Miyako pulls her phone out and searches for something on it. Then, a moment later, she turns it around and shows it to Ruby. On her screen, a guy who looks remarkably close to Kevin Costner. "I've done my research and this lawyer is probably our best bet… He is based in Albuquerque, but for enough money, he would definitely take our case."
Ruby takes the phone and looks the guy up and down before laying the phone down next to her. "There's something off about him; he strikes me more as a criminal lawyer than a criminal lawyer… But that doesn't matter, it might even be what we need, because…" Ruby drops her voice and gets closer to Miyako; she knows that nobody can hear them, but paranoia is one hell of a thing. "...Because if we play by the rules, then we can give up before we even start."
Miyako takes her phone back and slides it into her back pocket. "I've actually already started playing dirty, like you'd call it. Before I called the paramedics, I went ahead and placed the knife closer to the attacker. That way we can frame him as more of a threat… But that won't be enough, we need to make up a convincing story right now…"
…
She ran. Ran until she collapsed onto the cold pavement, her lungs raspy and gasping for air while her knees burn from the earlier fall.
She is lying on the asphalt, her body is too heavy for her to move even an inch. No matter how fast she ran, the sleepless nights of the past few days were bound to catch up eventually, and that eventually is now.
She looks up at the sky as her limbs are stretched out in all directions. The world around her is silent and dark; not even the sky over her has any stars to present to her.
It is hopeless…
She thinks, a sudden feeling of calamity and despair crashing over her.
What am I even supposed to say once I do find him?
"Hey, Aqua, I know you probably have your reasons why you ran away, but I'm here to save the day."
Oh, you're asking how I plan on doing that?
I DON'T KNOW, GOD DAMN IT!
Her heart is racing, threatening to jump out of her chest or collapse together with her overworked lungs.
It is so over…
It was already bad enough before all of this… but now?
I know that this isn't Aqua's fault, but it is impossible to prove…
"But your honor, my client is possessed by an evil demon spirit that plans to steal his body and eradicate his soul."
Akane tries to contain her quiet giggles, but eventually she can't anymore. Tears shoot into her eyes, and her torso starts to sting as her once quiet giggling turns into loud laughter.
This way, I can get an insanity plea for him.
The judge might even grant me one, too.
Suboptimal, but at least we'd be together.
Oh, no. That wouldn't work out.
I forgot about the stupid demon in his head.
Akane's laughter slowly turns into pitiful cries as she lies on the deserted sidewalk. She's staring up at the night sky, her vision clouded by tears, and her chest still feels like it is about to explode.
Why is life so unfair?
Where is my support?
Why do I gotta do all of this all on my own?
It's not fair…
In my roles, I'd get a useful supporting character,
but in reality, I'm on a damned sidewalk,
alone and too stupid to really help anyone.
Akane stretches her right arm towards the sky — Half-heartedly reaching for the stars. She can't see them, yet she knows they have to be there. — Her sobs slowly die down again, and her irregular breathing is replaced by a sudden overwhelming shortage of air.
Then Akane breathes in again, slow and shallow at first, then deeper. The cold air starts to bring at least some form of clarity. The sound of her own breathing becomes an anchor. In… Out… In… Out… as long as she only focuses on her breaths, she can't slip even further into despair.
Her laugh has fully died down by now, and her cries have turned into quiet hiccups. She goes over her face with the back of her hand, wiping away her tears, tasting salt.
"Fuck." Her scratchy voice pierces through the quiet night. Then a distant car, a faint mechanical humming sound, a grasshopper chirping, and the sound of water dripping down a gutter — The world around her wasn't silent, the sounds were always there, she was just caught within her own mind, now finally able to break free.
"I think I never felt worse. I never had a hangover, but this is surely what it would feel like."
Akane flexes her fingers. They are completely numb from the cold, the skin on her knuckles already starting to tear open. Her knees burn when she bends them, a small, yet familiar pain, she last felt years ago, in her childhood.
Her movements are clumsy; her muscles complain as she rolls onto her side, using her hands to try and push herself off the pavement. Then, after an agonizing minute, she stands. She takes a step; at first, her legs complain; then they obey.
"Aqua… everything else can wait… I will just give my best once again and hope it works out. And if it doesn't…. Well, then I don't know."
She takes another step; a sudden wave of pain shoots through her back, almost sending her back down. But she manages to remain upright, fighting against her weakening body. Then she keeps pushing, step after step.
"Akane, you can either panic and cry, beg the universe for a better script… or keep going." She snorts as she takes another heavy step. "Keep going sounds less stupid."
Step by step, Akane goes on. She backtracks her way, passing by the same houses she walked past on her way to Aqua's house; the windows are still as dark as before.
Eventually, she finds herself back in front of her own, almost blacking out in between each step. She turns the key in the lock, moving on autopilot by now. The she shuts the door behind her, her house is silent — this time for real.
Her way up the stairs is agonizing. Climbing step after step is a whole other challenge compared to the flat streets of Tokyo.
The door to her room is at the very end of an impossibly long, feeling hallway. She uses the walls of the corridor to push on, clawing at the wallpaper to keep herself from falling over. Then she finally reaches her door.
A sudden feeling of nausea comes over her as she reaches for the handle. Then, her legs give out under her weight, sending her barreling towards the floor, landing with a loud thud.