Choices & Chains

A Challenge

 " Kath, those were some fine wounds you got there. I bet you were about to chop one of your fingers clean off. No, maybe you should have done so. I would then experiment with my ability more."

Kath didn't bother with listening to her at all as she laid her head on her desk, drained both mentally and physically. The shimmering of her face must have been a telltale that she had endured several cuts and ripping by Yosano because Rampo, Tanizaki, Kenji, and Kunikida all gave her sympathizing looks as they passed her.

Right beside her was another victim who endured the same torture as her that day. It was Atsushi who was brought back suffering from serious wounds from an explosion. Yosano deemed them not serious enough for her ability and proceeded to dissect him using her chainsaw.

" Hey there, you look awful, Atsushi-kun."

" You look even worse, Hanazawa-san."

The night had fallen beyond the windows of the agency. Kath busied herself with admiring the twinkling stars before she mustered enough willpower to push herself off the desk and stretch up. She felt for every part of her body, as if making sure nothing was left behind on Yosano's dissection table.

She then looked back at Atsushi and leaned her face on her left palm. " I got the guise of it earlier from Kunikida-sensei. I take it that you already spoke to the president on your way here."

Atsushi nodded, still having no will to sit up straight.

" I'm surprised it came from you of all people," Kath hummed as her eyes trailed back to the far window, taking in the dim lights of the still-recovering city of Yokohama. " You know that it's quite the farfetched request, right? Even if they think of Yokohama the same way we do, they still view us as the enemy here."

" But it's worth trying." Atsushi sat back in his chair, his face sullen and serious. " There is nothing to regret from that."

" True," Kath admitted. A moment of silence went by, with both of them dwelling on their own thoughts.

" Hanazawa-san..."

" Hmm..."

" About Kyouka-chan..." Atsushi looked down, his eyes bore a deep regret. " The last thing I remember is fainting on her when we faced the Guild's leader..."

" All we know for now is that she was captured and locked within an unmanned jet flying around. That's usually the way of dealing with dangerous gifted. There is no way for us to track or establish a connection with that airplane without some higher-up permission." Her eyes fell on Atsushi's clenched fists. " Hey, you don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault. Plus, the situation being what it is now, it's the safest place for her. We don't want her to get caught up in our Agency's problems."

" But she is a part of this agency."

Kath bit her lip as she looked at him. " Listen, as much as I like Kyouka-chan and would want her to be around, but she is not a member, yet..."

" Huh?" Atsushi was truly puzzled by her words. Before she even got the chance to explain to him how it worked, Rampo called out for her.

" Kath, I would like to borrow you." Katherine looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. She didn't think it was time for him to look for cases to solve like he usually does. Rampo only held up a sheet of black paper with gilded letters and frame before her. As she skimmed through it, a solemn nod was her answer.

✦ -─────────- ✦

They ended up leaving quite early in the morning all while borrowing Haruno's car again. The location was a well-known castle, three to four hours drive from the agency. The property was put up for sale from before Kath had left for the UK, and yet, no one was able to buy it.