Tokyo Demons: Book 3, Chapter 5, Part 2

Ayase was bleary-eyed when they arrived, dwarfed in one of Sachi’s hoodies and huddled over the bottled nutritional drink in her lap…but she still looked up, shocked, as she was wheeled into the hotel.

The place was a palace. The sky-high doors and walls were entirely made of glass, encasing a pristine lobby decorated with winding trails of delicate lights. Between the plush couches and flower arrangements filling every corner, a fountain bubbled in the center of the hall, shooting lit-up spirals of water into the air to cascade down impossibly perfect rocks.

Ayase had never seen a fancier place in her life. Adam whistled from behind her. “Big,” he said in rough Japanese as he pushed her wheelchair across the marble.

Suddenly self-conscious, Ayase curled deeper into her hoodie. She was practically wearing pajamas.

Shouri was already at check-in, Kiyoshi and Jo in tow. Although the woman looked as unkempt as the rest of them in her wrinkled clothes, she beamed at the man behind the desk, shoving a few documents in his direction.

“The credit card’s in there–the reservation should be under the name Al-Shammari. Checking in six people.” Shouri quickly did a headcount. “Ayase, you and Adam are four and five… What happened to Sachi?”

“Gift shop,” Kiyoshi said. “Remember? He said he needed a toothbrush and stuff.”

Shouri made a face. “Guys, this is a five-star hotel. The bathroom’s gonna be filled with crap like that–like bath oils and fluffy robes and probably a hot lady to wash your back.”

The man behind the desk cleared his throat. “I trust at least one of you is over eighteen?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re chaperones.” Shouri gestured to Adam, who had left Ayase’s wheelchair to stare into a giant fish tank. “But he doesn’t speak Japanese, so I’ll handle this. You need I.D.? I’m twenty-two.”

“Yes, please. And would you like smoking or non-smoking rooms?”

“Smoking,” Jo clipped.

“All three of them?”

Shouri laughed. “Three rooms for the six of us? Damn, Zayd!” She leaned against the counter. “Just smoking for his room, thanks. Do you guys do aromatherapy stuff for the non-smoking rooms? I want mine to smell like cookies.”

The check-in man looked up through narrowed eyes as Kiyoshi tried to snort down a laugh. “There’s no check-out date listed here,” the man said. “You’re not yet sure when you’ll be leaving?”

“Nope!”

The man pushed the keycards across the desk. “Tenth floor,” he said thinly. “Two of the rooms are connected, and the smoking room is right beside them.”

“Thanks, Jeeves. Wait, I’m in Japan.” Shouri shoved the paperwork into her backpack. “Sebastian.”

“Excuse me?”

Jo murmured an embarrassed thank you and collected the keycards. “I need a bath,” he said as he directed Shouri out of the check-in line. “A long one. So I’m calling one of those bathrooms for the next six hours.”

Kiyoshi brightened. “Can I room with you, Jo?”

“I kinda assumed.” Jo grabbed the nearest few bags. “I’m going up now, if no one cares.”

Ayase watched Jo walk down the lavish hallway, then disappear around a corner. There was only a slight rigidity to his steps, but she’d already seen the bags under his eyes and the dark prickles of facial hair around his lips. And he reeked of tobacco.

Ayase sighed and curled her fingers around her drink.

Kiyoshi glanced in the direction of the Gift Shop. “I wonder what’s taking Sachi so long? I can get him, if you guys wanna go up.”

Ayase twitched.

Shouri moved behind Ayase’s wheelchair to grip the handles. “Eh…I’m not sure. Sachi might want time alone, but I’m not crazy about letting him wander around, either.”

Kiyoshi hummed in thought. “Y’know…he said he needed to talk to me. Maybe this is a good time.”

Ayase automatically tensed, crouching down in her chair. “Talk to you about what?” she blurted.

Clearly surprised, Kiyoshi looked down at her. “Huh? He didn’t say.”

New anxiety roiled in Ayase’s stomach, but she was so exhausted that she didn’t fight it. She just let it stew there like old, rotten misery.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Never mind,” she murmured.

Kiyoshi crouched in front of her wheelchair, but Ayase didn’t want to meet his gaze. It was only when he reached out and gently rested a hand on hers that she forced herself to look up into his eyes.

“Whatever Sachi needs,” he said softly, “whatever you need… We’re gonna give it to you guys, all right? I know how close you were with Kado. When this kinda thing happens, you have to…let other people take care of you.” He frowned. “Trust me.”

Shouri grunted from above Ayase’s head. “Yup. You need R&R, a real bed, clean clothes… You’re gonna grow your limbs back at twice the speed once we get you all cozied up.”

Kiyoshi slowly pulled his hand back. “The day my parents died,” he murmured, “I couldn’t believe the earth was still turning. I actually got mad at everything around me–like it was cruel for my house to still be standing, for the mailman to drop off letters like nothing had ever happened.” He brushed his slanted bangs behind his ear. “My world had ended, so watching life go on for everything else felt like a slap in the face.”

Ayase’s throat tightened. She looked away, blinking exhausted tears from her eyes.

“I’m not gonna guess how you feel, but for me, I just needed time. And for people to stop bringing it up, so…yeah.” He took a breath and got to his feet. “I’ll go find Sachi.”

As his sneakers squeaked away on the marble floors, Ayase loosened her grip on the drink bottle in her lap. Her energy was leaking out of her.

Sachi wants to talk to him.

That bleary afternoon in bed, back in the safe house, Sachi had told her about Kadoyuki. About how Sachi had…kissed him, and then done more with him, on one of the afternoons Touya had left the penthouse.

Ayase was more shocked than anything, since she’d never thought of Sachi’s interest in Kadoyuki as romantic. Or that Kadoyuki would reciprocate, considering his issues with touching men.

But she wouldn’t speculate–couldn’t speculate–and the last thing she wanted to do was deliberate on Sachi’s time in that penthouse. His confession had seemed like an earnest request to talk through things, so against her better judgment, she’d told him about the night Kiyoshi had come on to her. And to Ayase’s slight horror…

Sachi hadn’t looked surprised.

It left them in a weird state. She loved Sachi and he loved her, and they’d still slept in that bed wrapped in each other’s arms, but…any decision other than “I love you” was starting to feel forced. They obviously couldn’t decide on anything right then, even if they loved each other. And although being with him made her feel better…it also made her feel worse, since she knew she wasn’t stable enough to help him. He wasn’t stable enough to help her. They’d started crawling out of rock bottom together, but now she was afraid they might drag each other back down.

She’d never, ever thought of Sachi as someone who needed space.

Did he need space? Did they need space?

She wasn’t sure she wanted it.

“Ayase?”

Ayase groaned to clear her murky head. She looked up to see Shouri leaning over the wheelchair–a small, questioning smile twisting the freckles on her face.

“Maybe you should room with me. Y’know, get in some girl time.”

Ayase winced. Then her conflict was obvious, which added salt to the wound.

“I don’t know. Sachi might…”

“Sachi might what? You’re just gonna be on the other side of a door.” Shouri stepped down on the back of the wheelchair and pivoted, turning Ayase to face the lobby. Shouri leaned closer to Ayase’s ear and pointed–right at Adam, who still stood at the giant fish tank.

“Look at him,” Shouri ordered. “Look at that man.”

Ayase didn’t understand, but tried to obey. Adam smiled as a glimmering fish swam up to see him; he tickled at the glass with a bandaged finger.

“That is the most stable man on the face of the earth. I lived with him for a year in the middle of nowhere, so believe me when I tell you this–it’s impossible to stay upset when you’re around Adam. He’s like a drama sponge.” Shouri clicked her tongue. “He never gets angsty because he does, like, sit-ups whenever he feels sad and then he stops being sad. It’s ridiculous. No matter what I was going through, Adam was so chill that he just drained the bad feelings right out of me.

“Anyway, I think you should give him some time with Sachi, if you’re willing to share him. It might really help the kid.”

Ayase frowned. “But…Sachi’s bad at English. They can’t really talk.”

“That might be a good thing. And if Sachi touches him, all he’s gonna feel is good vibes for a change.”

Too tired to think anymore, Ayase drooped in her chair. “I need to sleep,” she murmured, rubbing her face. Her stomach swirled. “Just…put me somewhere that doesn’t make things worse.”

Shouri straightened behind the chair and whistled; a moment later, Ayase heard Adam’s footsteps. The two of them chatted in hazy English, punctuated by Shouri’s laughter.

The bubbling fountain and quiet music piped into the lobby started to blur. Ayase tucked her head into the corner of the wheelchair and closed her eyes, letting the sound of marble steps and quiet voices lull her.

Someone rested a gentle hand on her head, but she didn’t know who it was.

Proceed to Chapter 5, Part 2, page 4–>