Tokyo Demons Book 1: Chapter 6

Jo slammed down the receiver. Kiyoshi, now sitting on the unfurnished bed, sniffed and rubbed a fist into his eye.

At least he stopped wailing. Jo didn’t say anything so he wouldn’t worsen the situation, but Kiyoshi’s waterworks were seriously undermining Jo’s confidence. Jo was freaked out enough already. But seeing Kiyoshi bawl like a toddler was…unnerving.

He threw his roommate a look. “Have you calmed down yet?”

Kiyoshi sniffed and ran a wrist under his nose. “Do they…do they have a plan?” he asked in a quivering voice.

“Maybe. But I need to find something out first.” Jo looked around for his book bag; he’d accidentally thrown it under the bed when they’d come in. He got to his knees to drag it out. He dumped the books and sundries on the floor and started pawing through them.

He wanted to stay the hell away from their dorm room–the kidnappers would be targeting it. Luckily, Jo knew the single room next to theirs had been abandoned a few days into the school year; the student in there had had a mental breakdown or something. That meant the place was empty but the phone was still hooked up. It hadn’t been a challenge to pick the door’s lock, and Kiyoshi had been too distracted to ask where he’d learned to do that.

And now Jo didn’t want to leave. He and Kiyoshi had only grabbed a few things before they’d switched rooms, and he couldn’t remember where he’d left his math notebook…a few second of digging revealed it, thankfully, in the pile in front of him. He flipped through to find the page with a phone number scrawled in the margins. He checked his watch.

3:37 am.

Is it too late? he wondered. Even on a Saturday night most parties wound down after two. He prayed to some unknown force as he grabbed the phone receiver and punched in his number.

It rang. And rang. After an agonizing minute, the other end of the line finally clicked.

“Wh-what’s up? Who is this?”

Jo straightened. “Seiya?” he asked. He strained his ears to hear for background noises; to his relief he could make out laughter and a thumping baseline.

“Yeah…who is this? Soushi?”

“It’s Jo Oda. Are you at a party?”

Seiya’s voice immediately lit up. “Jo, my man! What’s up?”

“Are you at a party?” Jo repeated firmly. Seiya sounded baked out of his mind, which was exactly what Jo wanted. “Where are you?”

Seiya laughed. “Yeah–I’m at headquarters, actually. We’re breaking in the first school weekend. Lookin’ for some tail? A few girls showed up–”

“Seiya, I need a favor.” Jo peeked around the thin, cheap blinds blocking the window. “Especially if you’re with Byakko.” Of the half-dozen cars scattered throughout the parking lot, the one with dark-tinted windows sat like a bomb in the quiet. Jo swallowed and pulled away from the window.

“Could you grab as many people as possible and…” Jo paused, wondering how to phrase this. “Could you…move that party to the freshman dorm parking lot?”

Seiya blurted his surprise. Shrieking laughter bled in from behind him.

“The parking lot? But…won’t we get arrested for being loud at this hour?”

“It’s a dorm. Someone might call an R.A. on you, but the cops? I’m sure half the rooms in this place are stuffed with drugs.”

“Okay…but why?”

Jo ground his teeth together. His mind worked in overdrive as he scrambled for an excuse. Seiya was at a Byakko party, right? Not at some friend’s house getting wasted. He was with the gang. This might be better than he’d planned.

“S-Seiryuu attacked me,” Jo said quickly. “Last night. A few members jumped me…Mitsuko said she would tell Miki for me.”

Seiya seemed to sober up at that. “Seiryuu?” he repeated. “I heard about that, but you were the guy they jumped?”

Jo swallowed. “Not to sound like a sissy, but I’m just a little…jumpy right now. Some guys looked at me sideways again today and I’m wondering what I got myself into.”

“Hey!” Seiya coughed for a second before regaining his voice. “D-don’t say that! Byakko protects its own, man! Especially if Seriyuu’s leftover bitches are giving you trouble!”

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid. But I thought a loud party that woke everyone up over the weekend might intimidate any…undercover rivals,” Jo said with a cringe, hoping that sounded okay.

But it was more than enough for a stoned Seiya. “Great idea!” he exclaimed. “We can show the freshman class the size of our army! I’ll bring everybody–I’ll even call guys who aren’t here!”

Jo checked his watch. “Can you get here by 4:15? That gives you half an hour.”

“Huh? I guess…does it matter?”

“The sooner the better.” Jo tried to think of a good closing. “Thanks, Seiya. I feel a lot…safer now.”

Seiya laughed. “You can count on me!”

“Byakko…forever.”

“Byakko forever!” Seiya whooped. He started shouting things away from the phone; his end of the line clicked out.

Jo didn’t waste time. He immediately called Sachi to tell him about Byakko and the timing of their arrival. Sachi double-checked Jo’s current room number and told him Ayase would be there soon. Jo hung up, stared at the phone, then finally allowed himself a deep breath.

Good, Jo. Good.

Jo had officially exhausted his options. Now it was up to Ayase and…that guy she and Sachi had been with. Jo had no idea what the pair of them was up to. Hadn’t Sachi said Ayase wanted nothing to do with him right now? And now they were skipping school together to hang out with some random–

Jo cut off his thoughts. I don’t care, he darkly reminded himself. If they knew who was after Kiyoshi, that was the best lead any of them had. Fine. Jo fished through his pocket for his box of cigarettes. He slid a stick between his lips and lit up.

He took a very, very long drag. Then he closed his eyes and slowly released it. As the smoke rolled off his tongue and through his nostrils, he felt a tantalizing tendril of calm snake through him. He took another drag. He noticed, with satisfaction, that his hands were no longer shaking.

“Jo?”

Jo turned. Kiyoshi, still sitting on the bed, hung his head over slouched shoulders. His tangled hair and dirty clothes made him look like a street drifter, squatting in an abandoned room while he had the chance.

Jo pursed his lips over the cigarette. He pulled the chair from the empty desk, scraped it closer to Kiyoshi, and lowered himself onto the wood.

“What, Kiyoshi?”

Kiyoshi looked up. His bloodshot eyes peeked out from under the mess of hair.

“Sh-should I call my uncle?” His voice trembled. “He’ll worry if I…don’t come back.”

Jo let out a breath. He leaned over to the pile of books on the floor and grabbed the toiletry bag he’d thrown in there. He’d also packed a few bottled drinks; one bottle of water had rolled near his feet. He unzipped the bag and pulled out his face towel.

“How often do you talk to him?” Jo murmured around his cigarette. He dampened the towel and handed it to Kiyoshi. “And clean yourself up. You’ll feel better.”

Kiyoshi sadly accepted the towel. “Over the summer,” he mumbled as he wiped down his face, “he called every few weeks. He said he likes keeping in touch but he wants me to have my…space.” Kiyoshi swallowed and ran the towel down his neck. “And he’s really busy after his work transfer. He probably wants his space, too.”

Jo puffed for a few seconds. “Then no,” he said at last. “Don’t worry about him yet.”

Kiyoshi ran the damp towel over his hair. “But–”

“You can’t think like that, Kiyoshi.” Jo took a drag, his fingers curled over his mouth. “You can’t.”

Kiyoshi swallowed. For the next several minutes, he slowly wiped the worst of the dirt off his clothes. He ran his fingers through his hair in a half-hearted attempt to brush it.

Watching Kiyoshi made Jo’s stomach drop. He stood stiffly from his chair and instead paced the room. He kept his eyes locked firmly on the floor.

Shit.

Jo didn’t know what to say. There was nothing he could say. They just needed to wait…but the silence in the room and the look on Kiyoshi’s face made Jo feel sick. He burned through several cigarettes while pacing that room. When Kiyoshi started coughing, Jo mumbled an apology and put out his last stick.

Kiyoshi rubbed his nose. A moment of silence passed.

“Do you miss your mom?”

Jo looked up at that. “What?” he asked in surprise.

Kiyoshi stared at his feet. “I miss mine,” he said quietly. “She died a few years ago, but I still miss her. And when bad stuff happens…” He sniffed. “I still think I’d be okay if I could just get to her.”

Jo swallowed. His fingers twitched, eager for a cigarette.

“I know it’s stupid. She couldn’t protect me from something like this–I mean, she died in car accident. She was a totally normal person.” Kiyoshi shook his head. “But I can’t help it, y’know? Whenever I got in trouble, she always knew how to fix it. She’d call someone, or show up at my school, or just talk to me and make me see things differently. Even when I got older, I felt like she could make any problem disappear.” He hiccupped. “And I still feel that way, even though she’s dead.”

Jo felt something heavy press down on his chest. He averted his eyes. “What was she like?” he asked haltingly.

“I dunno. Like most moms? She was a good cook, she sang me to sleep when I was little. She loved the dramas they play on TV–she’d get all worked up over them, crying when people kissed and stuff.” He made a small grunt. “When I was in junior high she made me watch them with her. She wanted to squeeze someone’s hand during the dramatic parts.”

Jo couldn’t help but relax a little at that. He slowly returned to the chair by Kiyoshi’s side.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Jo asked carefully.

Kiyoshi frowned. He scratched his head. “Maybe,” he replied.

“Do you believe that ghosts watch over the living?”

Kiyoshi bit his lip. He ran a fist over his eyes.

Jo slid an unlit cigarette between his lips. He felt the need to say something, but he didn’t want to lie. He was never good in situations like this. If there was one thing Jo hadn’t mastered, it was the art of touchy-feely.

So he just sighed. “It’s okay, Kiyoshi,” he murmured around the stick in his mouth. His fingers curled around the backing of his chair. “You’re not alone.”

A faint whooping from outside broke the silence. Jo jumped to his feet. In the seconds it took him to run to the window, the whooping multiplied tenfold. He peeked through the blinds with his heart in his throat.

A horde of teenagers who looked smashed out of their minds descended on the parking lot. They were accompanied by a half-dozen cars stuffed to the gills with more people, honking obnoxiously as they rolled into the lot. Based on how loud they were, there’d been more drinking than joints at that Byakko party. As Jo watched the blacktop fill with screeching punks, a strange sense of accomplishment lifted his spirits.

True to his word, Seiya had brought an army.

Kiyoshi peeked around Jo’s fingers. “Are those your friends?” he asked. The fear in his voice was gone, replaced with surprise. “How’d you get so many?”

“Long story,” Jo muttered.

Jo watched as one of the older teenagers drunkenly climbed onto a car roof. He threw up his left fist, clenched around a white tee-shirt.

“Who owns this city?!” he shouted.

The gang shouted in unison. Their leader swayed slightly as he yelled something else, but Jo couldn’t make it out. The chanting went back and forth for a few minutes like some sort of drugged-up pep rally. Jo could hear doors opening in the hallway, half-awake students asking each other what all the noise was.

Jo froze. It was hard to tell from the angle, but he thought he saw a familiar female figure with a very large partner at the dorm door. She fumbled for her keys, but a sleepy student in his boxers opened the door for them as he stepped out. The large man swept the girl into his arms and bounded into the building.

“I think that’s them.” Jo pulled away from the blinds. He turned quickly to Kiyoshi. “Are you ready?”

Kiyoshi swallowed and nodded. Jo ran to the door, unlocked it, and carefully poked his head out. At the end of the hall, the man burst from the door to the stairwell–and Jo confirmed that the uncomfortable girl in his arms was Ayase. Jo pulled back into the room and stood, without thinking, to block Kiyoshi.

The door flew open. Jo’s heart froze when he saw the man up close.

What the fuck?!

“Wait!” Kiyoshi blurted from behind him. “Th-that’s the guy who attacked us in Blue Light!”

Jo bit down on his cigarette, spilling bitter tobacco on his tongue. That black wig didn’t fool him for a second. Memories of that night flooded his brain and initiated his adrenaline.

“I know,” Ayase said quickly. She struggled in the man’s arms; he finally put her down as he kicked the door shut behind him. She held up her hands defensively. “But I think he can help us.”

The man made a small whistle through his teeth. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered as he took in Jo and Kiyoshi. “All four of you from that night, huh? That can’t be coincidence.”

An uncharacteristic rage bubbled up in Jo. “Then you dragged us into this?” he hissed. “I thought your ass was in jail!”

The man pulled off his wig and stuffed it into his backpack. “There’s no time to explain,” he said as he pointed to the bed. “All of you sit down. I didn’t get you into this mess, but I’m gonna try to get you out of it.”

Jo stared incredulously at Ayase. “Do you honestly trust this guy?”

She sighed and sat on the bed. “For now,” she murmured. “He seems to know what he’s talking about.”

Jo turned to Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi just stared back, his eyebrows creased nervously.

“Sit down,” the man ordered again.

Jo flicked his cigarette away and spat flakes of tobacco. “The Gaijin Timebomb,” he spat.

The man twitched slightly at the words. “Don’t call me that,” he said flatly. “My name is Nick. Sit down.”

Kiyoshi slowly went to the bed and sat down beside Ayase. Jo remained standing and crossed his arms, defiant.

Nick gave up on him and instead turned to Kiyoshi. “You’re the one they kidnapped, right?”

Kiyoshi nodded.

“The people who took you are part of a drug organization. We’re pretty sure they’re working with certain factions of the yakuza in Tokyo. They’re trying to consolidate power–they’ve only existed for five years, but they’re already packing a lot of money and firepower.”

“Consolidate power?” Jo scowled. “What does that even mean?”

“We’re not sure–we don’t know what their end goal is. Their leader is a power-hungry psycho with better connections than the average criminal. Yazuka is a good fit for them now, but in the future, I wouldn’t rule out corrupt politics.” Nick took a breath. “What I’m about to tell you kids cannot leave this room. I’m not kidding when I say it could get you killed.”

Jo opened his mouth to object, but Nick interrupted. “It’s too late to protect any of you; you’re knee-deep in this shit. So the information could get you killed, or it could save your life.”

Jo closed his mouth. His mind screamed a thousand retorts, but something kept him silent. He swallowed his complaints and waited.

Nick rolled up his sleeves. “The group is called Core,” he said, pronouncing the foreign word. “It’s the English word for kakushin: the integral center. They empower and enslave their members with a drug called Pitch.”

“Pitch?” Kiyoshi repeated. “Like…in baseball?”

“No. In English, pitch is also the word for a sticky black substance you get from tar. They picked a name that would confuse people.” He turned his wrists toward the ceiling and held out his arms. “It’s a reference to the color it turns your veins.”

Jo’s stomach turned as his eyes ran over Nick’s arms. Jo had seen heroine track marks before, but nothing nearly as nasty as what lay before him. Even in the dark room he could see how far the black rivers throbbed under Nick’s skin.

Nick looked up at the boy on the bed. “Kiyoshi,” he said quietly. “They’re going to inject you with this.”

Kiyoshi turned white as a ghost.

“Wh-what?” he breathed.

“They give it to all their members. It’s a performance-enhancing drug. Ayase told me you’re an athlete–you’ve heard about anabolic steroids, right?”

Kiyoshi couldn’t reply. He gripped his shaking elbows.

Nick rolled his sleeves back down. “Pitch gets results like anabolic steroids, but it goes a lot deeper. It basically pushes your body into building up its foundations on a biomolecular level. We don’t know much about how it works, but the results are obvious: taking it makes you stronger, faster. Your senses get sharper and your brain works more quickly. It’s the kind of superdrug a government would kill for, since it could make the perfect soldier–but since it works on such a fundamental level, it’s more versatile than a weapon of war. It makes anyone better at anything. It makes anyone better at everything.” Nick moved his gaze around the room. “Do you get what I’m saying? This is the kind of drug that could advance a civilization.”

Jo glared skeptically at the man. He had to be exaggerating.

“The organization and the existence of Pitch is a violently guarded secret. I said governments would kill for this drug–Core is way ahead of them in that.” Nick let out a breath. “The head of Core mixed the nastiest, most addictive substance you could possibly imagine into Pitch. A single dose can cause the kind of physical dependence you see on long-term barbiturate or benzodiazapene addicts; the withdrawal effects can kill you. And there’s a fiercely protected system that doles out Pitch. If a Core member tries to go around it and Core denies them a dose, the member will either die or come painfully close. And if anyone threatens the safety of the organization in a more obvious way…” Nick shook his head. “They’re stone-cold killed. Core has more than enough money to hire all the muscle and guns they need.”

Kiyoshi hiccupped as tears spilled down his face. He lifted his knees to his chest and buried his head in his arms.

“Why?” he whispered. “Why do they want me?”

“I don’t know. You’re the first case I’ve heard of where they kidnap a recruit–they usually have plenty of power-hungry dirtbags who would go willingly. Are you connected to anyone powerful? Do you have family members in the yazuka?”

“No!” Kiyoshi sobbed. “I barely even have a family! I didn’t do anything!”

Jo’s stomach clenched. He turned away as Ayase hesitantly tried to rub Kiyoshi’s back.

No. Jo wiped the cold sweat beading on the back of his neck. No, he tried to reason with himself. This isn’t happening. There was a part of him that wanted to protect himself with his distrust of Nick: it was his shield against the words that came out of the man’s mouth. They couldn’t trust the Timebomb. He was lying to them.

But that visceral distrust couldn’t erase the image of those bruised, bloated veins. The black rivers that laced across Jo’s vision when he closed his eyes.

Kiyoshi’s whimpering filled the quiet room. Jo wanted to vomit.

“Now comes the good news,” Nick said evenly as he unzipped his backpack. “It’s possible to escape Core–I’m living proof of that. And I’ve spent the last four years figuring out how to block Pitch.”

Ayase looked up. “What do you mean?”

“Like I said, Pitch is a mixture: it includes an additive that causes the addiction. I was able to isolate that additive from the Pitch I escaped with and narrow it down to a class of better-known addictive drugs. And there’s research on what receptors they act on.” Nick pulled out a small glass tube capped with a plastic top. He turned it upside down; small dark shapes clinked inside.

“What are those?”

Nick smiled, which made him look almost sinister. “Receptor antagonists.”

Jo couldn’t take it anymore. He stomped over to the bed and glared at Nick.

“We just started high school,” he snarled. “We don’t understand the science bullshit coming out of your mouth. What does this mean for Kiyoshi?”

Kiyoshi looked up from his knees, blinking.

“I was getting to that,” Nick said icily. “For the addiction to take hold in a user, it has to bind to receptor sites in the body. If we block those receptors with a different drug, we block the addiction and you just piss the stuff out.” He held the bottle out to Kiyoshi. “These pills are sublinguals–that means you can dissolve them under your tongue and they’ll hit your bloodstream pretty quick. I brought a thin plastic film we can wrap around your teeth to pack a few of those in your mouth without Core knowing.” He paused, then added in a slightly gentler tone, “Like a spy movie, kid.”

Kiyoshi stared at the bottle in front of him. Hesitantly, he picked it up and squinted at it.

Jo tightened his jaw. “And that’ll work?” he snapped.

“It should. He needs it in his bloodstream right when he takes Pitch, so he’ll need to fiddle a pill free from his tooth before they shoot him up. But he can use his tongue or just stick a finger in his mouth if he thinks the injection is coming. It’s the least-suspicious route I could think of.”

“So…one of these will keep me from getting addicted to Pitch?” Kiyoshi clarified.

“Dose for dose–one pill for one injection. So you’re limited in how many injections you can take before we can get you out of there.” He gestured to Ayase. “Which is where she comes in.”

Ayase suddenly shrunk back.

But before Nick could explain, Kiyoshi lurched to his feet. He shook his head as fresh tears spilled down his cheeks.

“I-I don’t think I can do this,” he sobbed. “I always screw up sensitive stuff. My mom wouldn’t even let me dry the dishes ’cause I broke so many!”

Nick grabbed Kiyoshi by the shoulders. “First of all,” he said firmly, “you need to calm down. This won’t be hard if you can keep from freaking out. Also, after the first dose you’re gonna be a whole new monster. Remember what I said about Pitch being a superdrug?”

Kiyoshi nodded shakily.

“We’re only blocking the addiction additive, Kiyoshi. You’re still getting the regular effects.” Nick smiled thinly. “You’re gonna have the motor skills of a god.”

Nick released him. “Ayase,” Nick ordered. “Show him the bugs.”

Ayase said nothing–she just sat, trembling slightly, and stared hard at Nick. After a few seconds, Nick stepped over to her. He gripped her arm and dragged her to her feet.

“There’s no time for you to hesitate,” he hissed. “We talked about this. We’re all too deep into each other’s shit now.”

Jo furrowed his brow. The sick look on Ayase’s face faded into her usual defensive frown. She reached out and touched Kiyoshi’s arm.

She glanced briefly at Jo. “Don’t freak out,” she breathed as she looked back up at Kiyoshi. And then…

Her fingers dissolved into insects.

Jo froze. Of all the things he’d seen that day, from the vampire to the track marks, this was by far the most insane.

Kiyoshi stared at the bugs, his eyes wide and his mouth open in a silent cry. When the insects started crawling up his skin, he yelped out and jerked his arm.

The bugs zipped back to Ayase and reformed her fingers. She flexed them.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

Jo covered his mouth. Was he hallucinating all this? Was he dreaming? His clusterfuck of a day would be fixed if he were just dreaming. A hint of giddy hope bubbled up in his heart. None of this was happening. The kidnapping was improbable, but this was impossible. It proved he was in a dream.

He pinched himself. Several times.

Nick seemed to notice; he snorted at Jo. “You’re awake,” he assured him flatly. “She turns into bugs.”

“Shut up,” Jo hissed as he continued to pinch.

“It’s quarter to five. When do you have to go back to them, Kiyoshi?”

Panic wiped the surprise right off Kiyoshi’s face. He snapped his head up at Nick.

“They…they said to be back by five a.m.” He swallowed hard as his eyes teared up. “So I really have to go back with them?!”

Nick pulled a few baggies of what looked like medical supplies from his backpack. “You’ll be okay,” he assured. “Ayase can see through the eyes of those things. We’ll send a few insects with you to make sure you’re okay–and they’ll give us information on where they’re holding you and what kind of security they have. That way we can get you out of there.” He pulled on a pair of latex gloves. “Open your mouth,” he ordered. “And Ayase, figure out a system of getting information to him. One sting means he’s walking into danger or something.”

Kiyoshi hesitantly opened his mouth, and Nick pried his head back like a dentist. As he poked at Kiyoshi’s teeth and Ayase outlined a quick plan, Jo took the opportunity to grab a cigarette, light it, and puff for dear life.

This wasn’t happening. It wasn’t. Jo stared at the end of his cigarette and thought of other things.

It’s Sunday, isn’t it? He tried to focus on that. He had a few errands to run. And he wanted to start collecting phone numbers–he really needed Miki’s. And Mitsuko’s, while he was at it.

Mitsuko…

Jo closed his eyes and pictured her from Friday night. Her long legs disappearing into that short skirt…he tried to imagine her wearing the earrings he’d planted. She’d told him he had good taste. Those small gold dangles with stones to catch the light…

Jo slowly realized he was being called. Dazed by his own fantasy, he glanced over his shoulder.

To see Kiyoshi staring at him with glassy eyes. Jo crashed, hard, right back into reality. He shakily put out his cigarette and walked over. Ayase stepped back to give him space; Nick was already peeking through the blinds.

Kiyoshi cleared his throat. “I wanted…to say good-bye,” he murmured. “And to th-thank you for today. If you hadn’t seen the lady grab me, if you hadn’t talked this out with Sachi…” Tears welled up again, and Kiyoshi angrily brushed them off. “Crap, I can’t…”

Jo averted his eyes. Carefully, he patted Kiyoshi on the shoulder.

“Don’t mention it,” he said quietly.

When Jo pulled his hand back, Kiyoshi grabbed it. He cupped Jo’s hand with both of his and squeezed.

Some feeling–some long-buried, long-forgotten feeling–leaked out of Jo’s heart. He was suddenly a young boy, leaning into the arms of his second-to-last foster mother. Jo swallowed down the heat in his chest.

“P-please make sure Mai gets home okay,” Kiyoshi blurted as tears rolled down his cheeks. “I got her into this mess and I can’t protect her…please make sure they let her go!”

Jo took a breath. “You are protecting her,” he murmured. “You’re trading yourself for her.” He tried to smile, and it came out very slight. “That’s…that’s the most romantic fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

Kiyoshi hiccupped as tears rolled.

“Don’t get into the car until you get proof they’re letting her go.” Nick released the blinds. “With a crowd like that outside, they’ll be nervous about you making a scene. They don’t have anything until you go with them–demand proof, like a phone call from her.”

Kiyoshi slowly released Jo. He snuffled hard and grabbed the meager bag he’d packed earlier; Jo could see several insects snuggling more deeply into Kiyoshi’s shirt and hair. He glanced back one last time as he opened the door.

“Bye,” Kiyoshi breathed.

And then he was gone, running down the hallway and out of their lives.

Jo forced himself to breathe. He lowered himself into a chair as Nick and Ayase watched through the blinds. Jo lit up another cigarette as the dull roar of Byakko’s lot party continued to bleed into the room. When Jo closed his lighter, he noticed, unsurprisingly, that his hands were shaking.

He didn’t even have the strength to curse at himself. He still felt Kiyoshi’s shaking, sweaty touch.

“She’s okay.”

Jo looked up. Ayase’s eyes were squeezed closed in a look of concentration. “They’re showing him a live video of Mai…she’s asleep on a communal couch. It’s in one of the other dorms, actually.” She furrowed her brow. “They’re leaving her there.”

Welcome relief undid some of the coils in Jo’s stomach. As Ayase murmured details of the car Kiyoshi entered, Jo sighed and took another long drag.

“I don’t mean to get into your business or anything, Jo. But if you…if you needed help, you would ask for it, right?”

“You’re a good guy! A really good guy!”

“Do you miss your mom?”

The corners of Jo’s eyes burned. He coughed and dragged again.

Proceed to Chapter 6, page 3–>