Spring Upon the Solstice

XII - It's a Leap of Faith, Philosopher

{ Jhiro Fukiyama }

The room around me has a very nice ambiance; I'll give it that. It's cozy, decked out with couches, and glows warm with two halogen lamps positioned on opposite ends of the room. In my head, a jazz track plays over the nonexistent noise, and the vents pump out heat rather than a breeze, which gives me time to prepare my mind for whatever hell may come through the heavy oak door before me. For a criminal organization, at least HERALD has some class.

"This is the lobby," someone says on the other side, their voice muffled. "You'll be waiting here until we're ready to begin the trial."

"Thanks."

The brass knob clicks once and turns clockwise, arcing inwards in a flash of golden light.

"Whoa."

I turn towards the entrance, and take the water cup out of my mouth to avoid looking like a total idiot in front of whoever it may be. Between that and whatever pain attached itself to my neck recently, I'm really not in the mood for dealing with people.

Granted, I can make exceptions.

"You're a Yomiborn," the girl in the cream-colored hoodie murmurs, her eyes wide with amazement. She dresses like a city-dweller, through and through, but her haircut reminds me more of a rural countryside, with its complete lack of hair dye and braids.

The security guard behind her turns away, and swings the door back into place, locking it without any further remorse.

"Well, my official answer would be no. But off the record, I am. And speaking of which, I don't mean to sound rude, but isn't it a bit dangerous to say that when first meeting someone?" I raise an eyebrow, eyeing her with a wary look. Without a doubt, she's one of us too, with pale skin and a contrastingly rich hair color, but something is off. She looks Japanese, like me, but at the same time, she isn't.

"What? Why would it be?"

"It sounds like you're pointing out my flaws first."

"Flaws?" The girl brushes her bangs out of her eyes.

"Maybe I should drop the niceties," I decide. "Look, what's the point of an unspoken rule if you're just gonna talk about something controversial like that?"

"I don't follow."

Who the hell is this? Where is she from?

"Uhhh, Yomiborn. We don't talk about our condition, ever."

"What? You don't?"

I retreat for a moment, taking a second to think it over. "Okay, okay, let's start with names, first. I'm Jhiro."

"Victoria."

"Like the Roman goddess?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised you got that."

"I pride myself on useless knowledge," I say, the familiar words rolling off my tongue for the second time today.

"Sooo, any guesses as to where we are?"

"I don't know, but this place is a fortress, and a big one at that. If we're in Japan—"

"—Wait, this is Japan?" The girl's cacao eyes explode with wonder. Sweet, murky cacao. Maybe my brain is going too in depth with the details.

"Victoria-san, might I ask where exactly you're from?" I clear my head of meaningless thoughts.

"San Francisco."