Better Eight Than Never

Chapter 13: Have no truck with you

Warning: The following chapter contains vomit and throwing up.

"Alright, we're home." Bato said as he opened the door to his apartment, frowning as Hachi rushed past him. She'd looked upset since they'd gotten off the train, and he wasn't entirely sure why. He'd been trying to keep his laughter around her to a minimum, and he'd given her space... He supposed he shouldn't be surprised; He was, admittedly, her captor. He couldn't help but wonder if she was planning to escape. He rushed inside himself, kicking the door closed behind him.

It didn't take long to find her, bent over the toilet and looking nauseous, the lights off in her rush to get to the toilet. He sighed in relief and continued on, unceremoniously dumping the clothes onto the drier, and then leaving his brush and ink tank in his room. He went back to check on Hachi, cringing when he saw that she was throwing up, tentacles taking off her hat and sunglasses so they wouldn't get in the way. He hoped it was from nerves, but she could have a flu... He turned toward the counter, filling her up a glass of water before kneeling down. "Here." He said softly, holding out the glass.

She took it, using the water several times to swish and spit into the toilet. "W-Why do you have to be so NICE?" She asked, slumping back against the wall.

Bato paused, then leaned back against the doorframe. "I don't think people should be so unkind to others, especially for no reason."

Hachi coughed a few times, grabbing a towel to wipe her mouth off with. "I could bring about the downfall of your people. I have hit you, held a gun to your friend's head, shot someone, brought sickness into your home, and attempted to escape three times... And you say you have no reason to be mean to me."

He hesitated. "After all this is over, we can talk to the agents about letting you go."

She hesitated for a long moment. "They're not going to."

"Why not?" Bato asked.

"I know more about how your world works than the rest of my kind has had in generations..." Hachi said. "I know about 'rain' and 'trains', and... and... 'soda'? And... so much information that would let my kind kill yours. I'm a spy. They're not going to let me go home... And even if they did... I've been up here long enough... Back home, they'll probably declare me dead... I'll lose my house... E-Everything... I can't get any of that back without my mask..."

"Stacey said after her tournament she'd have someplace for you to go." Bato pointed out.

"That's not h-home.." She groaned.

Bato paused, not sure how to reply to that. She... had a good point. "... We'll figure something out." He said eventually, trying his best to be reassuring.

"RRRRRRRGGHHHH!" Hachi shouted. "WHY?! YOU'VE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! THE LEAST YOU COULD DO IS MAKE IT EASY TO HATE YOOOOU-U-U-U!" She sobbed, tentacles letting go of the glasses and hat to wrap around her face.

Bato fell silent, watching her as she started to cry. How were you supposed to answer that? After what seemed like ages, but was probably only a few minutes, he rose up a little and pulled the first aid kit from the bathroom cabinets. "Let's take a look at your back, since we're here already." He watched her as she lay down on the floor, face-down, and carefully examined the gash. It had reopened a little in the middle, but other than that it looked just fine. If they were lucky it would heal up that week... and then what? Was this the only thing that was preventing her from escaping? Then again by then, hopefully she could return home.

After a few minutes of doing some touch ups, he sat back and put the first aid kit away. "Alright, we should be good to go. We'll probably want to check it again in the morning before we leave, but it should hold fine."