10th of January, 1:00 am, Streets of Tokyo
Miyako attempted to reach for Akane's arm, but she was too slow. Akane managed to gracefully avoid Miyako's hand by dodging to the left while distancing herself even further. Only the thin air remained in Miyako's hand as she could see Akane disappear into the darkness. "I hope you find him…" She mumbled as she looked after Akane and shook her head. After a moment of silence, she turned back around and slipped through under the tape, reentering her property.
"Ma'am… Ma'am." A firm voice caught Miyako's attention. It was a paramedic who stood just outside the closed-off section. "We will begin with the victim's 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."
Her gaze wandered over to the ambulance Ruby was inside. "Okay… I will come as soon as I'm allowed to leave…" She took a short break, her voice turning quieter," Just please… take good care of my daughter."
The paramedic smiled at her. "She's in good hands. We have all sorts of specialists and victim advocates on site. All of whom are ready to take the best care of her. You really don't have to worry."
Miyako bit into her lower lip as the paramedic turned around and disappeared inside the ambulance. A minute later, he drove off, leaving Miyako standing there, watching as the vehicle turned smaller until it eventually fully disappeared 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 could change out of her old clothes herself, giving her at least the sense of control over this entire situation. By now, she lay down in the bed and silently waited for whatever was 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 let out a breath she didn't know she held in, 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 were interrupted by the door to her room opening — slowly, to not startle her. — A moment later, a young nurse peeked her head inside, her body following just after. "You must be Ruby," she said while looking up from her clipboard, a warm smile spreading across her face. "My name is Ayaka Hara… You can call me however you like, though." She sat down on a stool next to Ruby's bed, looking down on herself and quickly fixing her attire.
Then, she looked at Ruby's distant eyes for a second; even under the thick blanket, she could at least guess how Ruby felt. "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 was gentle, yet firm.
Ruby's excessive adrenaline rush from earlier had subsided by now and was replaced by a mind-numbing haziness that felt like someone had just hotboxed in her brain. The sensation, if you could even call it that, didn't waver as the hours blurred by her mind. She only spoke on rare occasions, and when she did, her voice was quiet and shaky. During this time, Ayaka, the nurse, took various tests and samples. She carefully cleaned and documented Ruby's wounds while always making sure that Ruby wasn't too uncomfortable with the situation. After everything was well documented and she ensured that Ruby wasn't hurt beyond contused wrists and a bruised face, she left again. Ruby waited, but she didn't have to wait long, not even 5 minutes after her treatment had ended, Miyako entered the room and sat down next to Ruby.
"So… How do you feel, Ruby?" Miyako's voice sounded heavy and really tired. She tried to sound as calm as possible, but nobody could really hide their feelings in her position.
Ruby fidgeted with the blanket for a moment, which she used to look around the room, ensuring that they were really alone. "I'm fine… Well, fine for these circumstances… 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 looked at Ruby with a hint of surprise beyond the pain in her eyes. "Y-You are fine? But-" Miyako was interrupted by Ruby, "I'm not saying that everything is totally 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 took a short break, like the words wouldn't want to leave her throat. "And now, he has a lot of problems… So, can we please help him?"
Ruby flinched as Miyako placed her hand atop her hurt wrists, but quickly caught herself again, letting Miyako gently caress her burning flesh. "But do we really have to do this right now?"
Ruby yanked her arms away after all, not out of reflex but intentionally. "No!" she frowned 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 looked up at Miyako, doing the best puppy eyes she could muster up. "When worst comes to worst, he could even get the death penalty…" Her voice crackled a bit, and her heart tightened as she spoke the words.
Miyako reached out once more, but she stopped her own hand before she could touch Ruby's. Her heart felt heavy as she let it slump back down on her own lap. "You're right… He needs us now more than ever; we need to get our stories aligned to help him in his case."
Miyako pulled her phone out and searched for something on it. Then, a moment later, she turned it around and showed it to Ruby. On her screen, a guy who looked 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 took the phone and looked the guy up and down before she lay it back down next to her. "There's something off about him; he is more of a criminal lawyer than a criminal-lawyer… But that doesn't matter, it might even be what we need, because…" Ruby dropped her voice and got closer to Miyako; she knew that nobody could 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."
…
She ran. Ran until she collapsed onto the cold pavement, her lungs raspy and gasping for air while her knees burned from the earlier fall. She was lying on the asphalt, her body 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 eventually was now. She looked up at the sky as her limbs stretched out in all directions; the world around her was silent and dark; not even the sky over her had any stars to present to her.
It is hopeless… She thought, 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 raced, 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 tried to hold the quiet giggles that grew louder and louder down, but eventually she couldn't hold them anymore as tears shot into her eyes. Her torso stung like hell as the once quiet giggles turned 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.
Over time, Akane's laughter slowly turned into pitiful cries as she lay on the deserted sidewalk. She stared up at the night sky, her vision clouded by tears, and her chest still felt like it was 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 stretched her right arm towards the sky — Half-heartedly reaching for the heavens above, she couldn't see. — Her sobs slowly died down again, and her irregular breathing was replaced by a sudden overwhelming shortage of air.
Then Akane breathed in again, slow and shallow at first, then deeper. The cold air started to bring at least some form of clarity. The sound of her own breathing became an anchor in reality. In… Out… In… Out… as long as she only focused on her breaths, she couldn't slip even further into madness. Her laugh had fully died down by now, and her cries had turned into quiet hiccups. She went over her face with the back of her hand, wiping away her tears, tasting salt.
"Fuck." Her scratchy voice pierced 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 flexed her fingers; they felt utterly numb from the cold, the skin on her knuckles already starting to tear open. Her knees burned when she bent them, a small, yet familiar pain, she last felt years ago, in her childhood.
Her movements were clumsy; her muscles complained as she rolled onto her side, using her hands to try and push herself off the pavement. Then, after an agonizing minute, she stood on her legs; when she walked, they complained, then complied. "Aqua… everything else can wait… I will just give my best time upon time again and hope it works out. And if it doesn't…. Well, then I don't know," Akane mumbled to distract herself from the pain that shot all through her body.
A man once said that the definition of insanity is when you do the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different outcome.
So for as long as I keep learning from my mistakes, I think I'm good.
She took another step; a sudden wave of pain shot through her back, almost sending her back down. But she managed to remain upright, fighting against her weakening body. Then she kept pushing, step after step, meter after meter. "Akane, you can either panic and cry, beg the universe for a better script… or keep going." She snorted as she took another heavy step. "Keep going sounds less stupid."
Step by step, Akane went on. She backtracked her way, passing by the same houses she walked past on her way to Aqua's house; the windows were all still as dark as before. Eventually, she found herself back in front of her own, almost blacking out in between each step. She turned the key in the lock, moving on autopilot by now. The world around her was silent when she shut the door again — This time for real.
Her way up the stairs was agonizing. Climbing step after step was a whole other challenge compared to the flat streets of Tokyo. The door to her room was at the very end of an impossibly long, feeling hallway. She used the walls of the corridor to push on, clawing at the wallpaper to keep herself from falling over. Then she finally reached her door. A sudden feeling of nausea came over her as she reached for the handle. Then, her legs gave out under her weight, sending her barreling towards the floor and landing with a loud thud.