PLACEBO

Fate of the Wanderer (2)

Click.

A staple fell onto the wooden table, bouncing once and then lying still. Behind the table sat Enma, her eyes narrowed and a free hand pressed to her upper lip. It had barely been ten minutes since the meeting ended in what could only be called a disaster, but sitting in the studying lounge watching Enma click a stapler made those minutes seem like an eternity.

A painstakingly slow eternity that reeked of an impending doom. 

"I'm exercising significant self restraint here," she shifted her gaze from Keisari to Chrome, who was swinging on his chair at the other side of the table. "You worthless, stupid, moronic idiot! Aish!"

"W-what did I do?"

"Nothing, that's the problem." 

She shifted her hand, bringing it so that she rested her head on a fist. An eyebrow furrowed.

"Enma, you'll get wrinkles like that."

She ignored him, jumping straight to the point: "We're going to have to fix up the auditorium. If anything gets out to the students, we'll have to put it down as a firework display test-run. That should explain everything."

Chrome rolled his eyes.

"Also," Enma started. "Investigate the scene. That Slade just appeared out of nowhere, and there was a flash right before the gunfire though I couldn't be sure."

"You do that," Chrome said with a smile. "I have errands to run for Aruna down in the city."

"Errands my ass, you will be the one I blame if I get wrinkles! Take Kyosari Kei with you if you're going, Chrome. I... despise the presence you both with a strong, loathing hatred." She dropped the stapler, intertwining her fingers.

"It's Keisari Kyo," the one in question protested. "At least get it right."

"I stuttered."

"Nobody stutters like that!"

"I stututtered."

"Whatever."

"What in the blazes were you doing there anyway? Jeez, of all places." She visibly ground her teeth.

"I was looking for the cafeteria."

"If you were paying the slightest bit of attention to the road in front of you, you'd have noticed a floor plan on every flight of stairs," she retorted as she crossed her arms in a matter-of-fact fashion. "You don't know how to die, huh?"

"S-sorry..."

Enma feigned surprise, clamping a hand over her mouth.

"Did he just ... Apologize?" Her voice was a low whisper, like someone involuntarily musing out loud.

"Don't act so surprised!"

Chrome made a point of pushing the chair back, standing up and heading towards the door of the studying lounge. Keisari scurried after him, eager to escape Enma's murderous glare. If she hollered anything after him, he didn't hear it. Turning towards the elevator which would lead to the entrance floor, he soon found himself just outside the gates of the school.

~

"I am a contract killer. I fear not death, nor my country."

She spoke the words slowly, each syllable clear and pronounced. Her shoulder length hair was a muddy brown color, matching the hard, relentless eyes. The man towering over her smiled in approval. He nodded gently, handing over a small glass vial.

"It's Link. 70% concentration, the best you can find out there even in the black market. This should be of a bit of help to your business."

The girl responded with a scoff of disdain.

"I am a Placebo Child. Our blood itself contains Link to a 90% concentration, so I'm afraid your efforts will be unnecessary."

"Is that so?" He mocked the shorter figure before him with an outstretched hand that ran down her cheek, his sultry whisper invading her eardrums. "Let me have a taste, then."

The sound of dripping water filled the back alley.

"80% is the limit of what normal people can take. You will regret this."

"Have you forgotten who you work for?" His voice raised slightly, a hint of threat in his words. Then there was the sound of glass breaking, as the vial of violet liquid fell to the ground. "I am your superior, Miyanna, and I always will be."

Exhalation.

From the sleeve of her right hand, a sharp blade shot out parallel to her wrist. She brought it towards the skin of her other wrist, dragging the tip gently across and tearing the surface. Crimson blood welled up in a droplet, then began to trickle from the wound. The man reached out to grab the hand lustfully, bringing the substance towards his lips.

— No...

Miyanna's words of protest never left her mouth. Instead, they emerged in the form of a sigh — It was beyond a bad premonition; she had seen the effects of Link too many times to question it.

"When the time comes for your downfall, remember what I told you, Hiljainen."

That was all she said instead, and his eyes lit up with euphoria. The pain, ecstasy and the unfathomable strangeness wrung a distorted scream from his throat, resounding off the moulding walls of the buildings that surrounded them.

He clenched his fists, so tightly that the veins began to show on the back of his hands. When that failed to pacify his elated delusion, his gritty fingernails fumbled for something to steady the spinning world. Another choked cry sounded, and Slade fell to the ground with ragged breaths.

His eyelids were shut, and he writhed blindly on the ground from excessive levels of energy.

"Ugg... ku... I... I've never felt s-so... good before!" There was uncontained laughter. "I... I've overcome Link!"

Shakily, just as a drunkard would, he threw himself forward and onto his feet. It gave the perfect impression of a zombie the moment it was resurrected from death.

"I've overcome Link, Miyanna!"

She gave no response. No applause nor praise, or even a hint of disapproval. To her, he seemed like a child now: Naive, fiercely possessive and indulged in oneself. The mental state itself was pure abhorrence.

He cracked his knuckles as an act of flaunting the new-found power.

"Farewell for now, my dear Placebo Child. I have work to do." 

Miyanna gave a nod serving as courtesy, then parted ways with the man.