Rising War

Chapter 4: Minako

(Narrated by Kusinagi)

Tsume offers his hand. "Grab on. We can only get there by teleporting."

You probably feel like I'm reckless for taking his hand. "Why on earth would you trust him?" You ask. "He's betrayed you and your friends multiple times. Just use your brain and think about this."

However, if there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I never think. It always complicates things.

I grab hold of Tsume's hand, and the numbness of teleportation washes over me. The last thing I see is a couple of confused coffee shop employees jump backwards in shock before the two of us disappear.

Something falls to the floor with a thud. It takes me a moment to realize that the thud was me. Blinking my eyes to adjust to the dim room, I sit up. Wooden floor creaks beneath me.

The first thing I notice is the heat.

The room is small, with a door to my left and a desk in front of me. There are no windows, but a single flickering lamp lights the room. Tsume goes to lean against the desk and knocks several sheets of paper onto the floor. They fall to the ground, covered in scribbled notes that are too illegible for me to read.

He raises an eyebrow at me. "You gonna keep staring? I thought I brought you here for your sister, but if it's me you're interested in, I'm not complaining."

"Don't flatter yourself." I roll my eyes. He offers a hand to help me up, but I shove it away. I don't need his help with anything. "Where are we?"

"Somethings are better kept a secret." He says with a half shrug. "Our location isn't important."

My hands squeeze into fists. "Why do you keep avoiding my questions? What are you trying to hi--"

He holds up a finger, cutting me off. "So nosy... I don't owe you answers to any of your questions. All I promised was your sister."

I force myself to calm down, but still alert. If this is a trap, I want to be ready for it. "Fine. Where is she?"

Tsume tilts his head towards the door. "In there. Feel free to go in whenever you're ready."

I face the door- the one thing separating me from Minako now. My hand seems to hover over the doorknob. It's strange thinking she's in the other room. The last I saw her she was about to turn eleven. She must be almost thirteen now...

Seeing her for the first time after all this time isn't what scares me. Tsume's bad influence on her is what I'm truly afraid of. Minako was always so naive and impressionable- she'd trust anything Tsume told her in a heartbeat. I don't want to think about what he's done to her...

Tsume taps his fingers absentmindedly against the desk. "You gonna go in or is the door just that interesting?"

"I'm going, jeez." I mutter. In one quick motion, I turn the knob and the door swings open.

I flinch as soon as I look in the next room, which is the complete opposite of the previous. Bright lights cause me to squint to be able to see. There's several windows overlooking a forest on the far wall. I can hear birds chirping outside. A small bed is in front of one of the windows, and seated on the bed....

Minako.

I nearly forget to breath for a second, I'm so surprised. Upon first glance, she looks just like she did when I left her at the Hudson House. Her hair is the same shade of purple mine is, only shorter and more curly. She has it pulled back into two pigtails. Her face is round and childlike, almost innocent.