Chapter 30: Chapter 2.5
Thank you for getting mad
"Siesta!"
A great column of flame rose in the dark streets.
That was where the Sirius and Betelgeuse had landed, meaning their pilots also had to be there. As sirens wailed in the distance, I made it to ground zero a slight distance away.
"Siesta... Hey, Siesta! Where are you, where did you go? ...Siesta!"
Between the smoke and the hot wind, I couldn't keep my eyes open. A nasty, scorched smell was making my head swim; my whole body was hot, and my knees were ready to give out at any moment. I stumbled forward through it, shielding my face with my arms, and then—
"...Are you stupid, Kimi?"
My ears caught a warm voice I could never mistake for anyone else's, even in the middle of the burning wreckage.
"You're hardly qualified to talk about other people. You don't have to call me over and over like that; I can hear you."
The wind blew, and the smoke cleared slightly to reveal Siesta.
Her fair skin was smudged with soot, and she was bleeding so much that just seeing her brought me pain.
"You're the one who's stupid." I ran up to her and pulled her petite body into a hug before I knew what I was doing. "Why would you do something that reckless? Why did you send me away by myself?"
Siesta had probably been planning to evacuate me on my own all along. That unit was built for one, and it had only one ejection device. Back when she had me sit in that seat, this was the plan.
"...Only as a last resort. I had no intention of dying here, personally.
However, if only one of us could survive, I—" "Like hell!"
The angry yell came from way down in the pit of my stomach, and Siesta's blue eyes widened.
Good. Widen your ears, too, and listen reeeeeally carefully.
"Don't go talking like some philosopher, okay? Look. Three years ago, on
that plane, ten thousand meters up, you recruited me. You made that choice; you'd damn well better look after me until the very...very, very end. Listen, I'm sorry, but I know I can never really get away from SPES without you. I'd die without you, all right?! If you understand that, then do your damn job and keep me safe, goddammit!"
My body was hot.
Was it because there was a column of fire beside me?
Or was it because I'd been shouting with everything I had?
No, it was because I'd been yelling at her for the most pathetic reason: You have to stay alive so you can protect me. My breath came out ragged as I exhaled, and I was gushing sweat from every pore.
"...No one's ever scolded me so much in my entire life." Siesta stared up at me, a bit dazed. "I didn't know you could get so angry. How do I put this—"
"Surprised?" "Amused."
"Oh, come on."
Look, I told you, don't laugh at me.
"Heh-heh." True to her words, Siesta let a giggle slip. "You'd die without me, hmm?"
"Hey, don't take that out of context." "That was quite an impassioned proposal." "I'm not proposing!"
"Well, try again after you turn eighteen." "I told you—! Haaah, never mind..."
"Heh-heh!" Every so often, that cool mask would crack, and she'd laugh without a care in the world.
Sheesh, this ace detective...
"I promise you this."
Siesta glanced up, smoothly.
"I won't go off and die without telling you. —I swear I won't. Thanks for yelling at me."
With a light thump, Siesta let her forehead rest against my chest. That was when it happened.
" ! Oww—!"
Something grazed my left eye. My vision went red... Had blood gotten in my eye? What was that? What had flown at me?!
"Assistant!" Siesta's eyes were wide and worried. Yeesh, that expression doesn't suit you at all.
"I'm fine. More important..."
I directed Siesta's attention straight ahead, to... "Hff... Hff, not yet. I can't...die yet... Not here..."
From beyond the blazing flames, hell itself was bearing down on us, wrapped in black smoke.
"Hel..."
She was back. And she was even more torn up than Siesta was, holding only one red sword.
"You're alive." Siesta took a step forward, shielding me. "Of...course. I'm not...destined...to die...here."
She wasn't holding the sacred text anymore; it must have burned up in the explosion. Even so, as if she was still trying to keep the promise, Hel mimed opening it.
"I'm the one who'll win in the end. If not, giving this to Father will have been meaningless...!"
For the first time, Hel showed something resembling real emotion. "I see. You're..."
Siesta's blue eyes widened in surprise. "Siesta?"
Hey. What did you just realize?
"Now...I can...end this."
But before I could actually ask the question, Hel leveled her military sword.
"You will be unable to move a step from that spot, and my sword will run you through!"
Her red eyes flashed the color of blood, and she charged at Siesta, who stood frozen.
"Siesta, run!" I yelled without thinking...but Siesta didn't budge. It was as
if her feet had been glued to the asphalt. "Hel's ability...!"
It was mind control, or something like it. When those red eyes turned their gaze on you, you were possessed by the compulsion to do whatever Hel told you. Siesta had already fallen under their spell, and now she couldn't move...!
"Siesta!"
The tip of Hel's saber relentlessly rushed toward Siesta, and then— "........... Huh?"
Hel gasped.
Her red eyes wandered, wavering. Then she looked down at herself. Hel had thrust the crimson blade through her own chest.
"Wh... Why...?"
The next thing her dumbstruck eyes saw was the hand mirror Siesta wore at her waist, attached to a chain.
Hel had been looking into her own red eyes as she said the words "My sword will run you through."
"Checkmate," said Siesta.
Hel crumpled to the ground at her feet. " !"
Blood was dripping slowly from somewhere near her heart. Her eyes were filled with confusion.
"How could I lose...? This...wasn't supposed to... I have...a mission... I have a mission, and I fight... ...Mission? Why was... Why was I...born? Why did I..."
"The answer..."
Siesta pulled the sword from Hel's chest, drawing a shriek and a spurt of blood from the girl.
"The answer will be waiting for you in hell."
Then Siesta swung the blade down at her enemy's drooping head. But it wasn't over.
"—Chameleon...!" Hel howled at the sky.
"! Is she signaling for some kind of attack?!"
Hastily, I scanned the area...but a moment later, I knew I'd guessed wrong. "...! Her body's...disappeari..."
Not Siesta's—Hel's body had begun to vanish, melting little by little into the darkness as if she were being hidden by a transparent cloak.
"I won't let you get away!"
Leveling her musket, Siesta fired at the spot where Hel had been...but by then, there wasn't a trace of the enemy left.
"Siesta, is that Hel's ability, too?"
"No, probably not. It was one of her comrades," Siesta coolly explained and lowered her gun.
"Chameleon... That's a SPES code name, huh?"
With their ability, they could probably make themselves and whatever they touched vanish. If so, we couldn't go after Hel.
Just when we'd almost won, our worst enemy had slipped back into the darkness.
"So this was a draw, and everyone took damage?"
"Yes. Once we get home, we'll have to discuss our next steps."
Right. Hel was still alive somewhere. But she was also injured, which meant this could be our best chance. We needed to regroup, then go after her as soon as possible. Since we were in agreement on that, we were about to return to the hotel where we'd been earlier, when—
" !"
Siesta took a step, and her face twisted. "Siesta?"
"...Sorry."
As the word left her mouth, her knees buckled, and she collapsed.
I'll forgive everything but that misunderstanding
"Aaaah."
The open mouth looked like it belonged to a baby bird waiting for food, and I held out a slice of the apple I'd peeled.
"...Nom... Mm...gulp... Hmm. This apple isn't very juicy." "Don't complain when somebody's feeding you."
"Well, that's not my fault. I'm injured." "Yeah—in your legs! Your hands are fine!" In a room of our office-slash-living-space...
Siesta, who was laid up in bed, didn't flinch at my retort. Instead, she stretched flamboyantly. Rarely for her, she was wearing a hoodie along with other extremely casual clothes. However, there was a reason for her non- combat fashion choices.
"Did you already forget how you lectured an injured detective for ages?" "...You acted like you were fine, so I thought it wasn't serious. Sorry." "Well, I was also running on adrenaline, and I'd forgotten I was hurt." "Then why am I the only one getting blamed?"
During that near-deadly fight at Big Ben a few days back, Siesta's legs had sustained injuries that would take two weeks to fully heal.
Hel had escaped, and by rights, we should have gone after her as quickly as possible. With Siesta laid up, though, that wasn't happening. We'd decided to base ourselves in London again and wait until she was all healed.
"Are you all right, Kimi?"
"Enough to bust my butt taking care of my selfish, demanding partner." "I see. Good."
"That was sarcastic, you know. Extremely sarcastic. Don't ignore it." "After all, if anything happened to you, I couldn't go on."
"...Where did the sappy stuff come from? Now you're just making it weird."
Plus, I highly doubt she's thinking anything that noble.
"Never mind, just hurry up and get yourself healed. I suck at housework."
I'd been traveling with Siesta for close to three years, and there had been quite a few times when we'd spent long stretches together under the same roof like this, but I'd left all the chores to her. I do feel bad about that, but it's a question of appropriate division of labor. Since she works me like a dog most of the time, I'd like to beg for a break of some kind, at least.
"It's cohabitation, the lifestyle you've always dreamed of. You could enjoy it just a little, couldn't you?"
"Don't call it cohabitation. We're strategic roommates."
"Besides, you should work on your ability to live independently. What are you going to do if I'm not around anymore?"
"...Hey. We're not talking about that."
"Oh, that's right."
"Don't want to get in trouble again," Siesta said with a little smile. "I would at least like you to learn to do laundry, though. Nobody likes grubby guys."
"I'd really love to accommodate you there, but... Well, you know. There are some, um..."
"Hmm? Oh, my undies?"
Hey, I was trying to be tactful. Don't just say it.
"If you're going to wear them on your head, do it where I can't see you," she said.
"That thought has literally never crossed my mind." "Oh—well, if you're a sniffer, I'd really rather you didn't—" "Like I said, don't you have any faith in your assistant?" Seriously, what were these past three years, anyway? "...Haah."
I swear, this partner of mine. I couldn't even crack a wry smile as I unsteadily got to my feet.
"Hmm? You're going out?" "Huh? Yeah, to the supermarket."
"? Didn't you say you'd stocked up on everything we needed this morning?"
Hey, Siesta, come on. Get it together.
"You wanted sweeter, juicier ones, right?"
Sheesh. You literally just said it; I can't believe you forgot.
At that, Siesta stared blankly back at me for a few seconds—then dissolved into laughter.
"Wh-what? What's so funny?"
When Siesta laughed that way, she was always teasing me. But I couldn't think of any reason... What the heck had Siesta in stitches this time?
"...—, Kimi."
Fighting back laughter, Siesta finally managed to speak. "I suspect you like me far too much."
...?! ...??!?!?!?!?!!
"Huh? You're not making any sense. Huh? No, huh? The hell??????"
What was she even talking about? Were her injuries getting to her? Was that why? Had she hit her head, too? She never would have said anything so ludicrous otherwise. I mean, come on. I was looking after a sick person. She said she wanted sweet apples, so I was just going to go buy some, that's all... Or, I mean, okay, maybe it could seem a little like I was pampering her, or treasuring her too much, but that does not mean I think of Siesta as anybody special, and that misunderstanding is incredibly irritating, so yeah, basically
—
"Shaddup, stupid!"
I got the feeling I was acting like a grade-schooler, but whatever. I needed to go outside and cool my head.
Hmm? Weird. For some reason, the doorknob slipped, and I couldn't seem to turn it.
Was it out of order? Yeah. Probably. Definitely. I kicked the door open and left the room.
"Dammit, I'm never coddling her again."
...Well, after this time. After all, she's injured. Yeah, just this once. This is a one-time-only deal. Telling myself that, I headed for the supermarket.
And on that shopping trip, in a back alley near the major thoroughfare known as Baker Street—I picked up a lost girl.
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