Day 177

[from Vanishing Point]

Kamui, using his detective contacts, had learned of Obsidian's criminal history within the city. This usually seemed to consist of murdering one or two pursuing Shinsuke City Patrol guards, and then disappearing off the grid again. City Patrol were still trying to track them down, but didn't have any leads. For the test subjects, however, this was proof that they were not alone in their fight against Shinsuke. All they needed to do was to track Obsidian down somehow.

Kamui decided that he and the escapees should head into Shinjuku, close to where Obsidian was last sighted, and ask random passers-by if they had any information on her whereabouts. With any luck, they would find someone who could at least point them in the right direction, as right now they knew only that Obsidian was somewhere in the city.

"Are you sure we'll find her this way?" asked Cobra, as the group made their way out of the subway station.

"It's a bit too late to be asking that now," Kamui pointed out. "Thought to be honest… no, I'm not. However, it's the best chance we've got. Besides, if Obisidian finds out we're looking for her, she might come looking for us. So it might work out either way."

"I see," said Cobra. "Well, in that case, let's hope she's paying attention. Speaking of which…" Cobra nudged Hanako, who had been staring in amazement at the buildings all around them. "Focus, please," she said. "We're here to look for someone, not to sightsee."

"Okay," said Hanako. "Sorry."

Outside the subway station was an elaborate gilded fountain. "Alright, let's split up and meet back here at six," said Kamui. "Don't stray too far, in case you're unable to find your way back. If you find anything, let us know via text." He had purchased cheap disposable cellphones for each girl on the way up to Shinjuku, and much to Hanako's displeasure, as she had wanted a replacement for her old iPhone. "And make sure you keep an eye out for any Shinsuke patrols," Kamui added. "Got it?"

"Got it!" Hanako immediately went racing off, and the other three promptly set off in separate directions, ready to begin their investigations.

***

After half an hour, Kiyoko had not had any luck with finding a lead, and already felt like giving up. However, her fortunes were about to change. A teenage girl with blue hair suddenly came bounding over to her. "Excuse me," she asked. "are you looking for someone?"

Kiyoko seemed grateful for the assistance. "Ah, yes," she said. "Me and my friends are looking for this woman." She held up a print-out of Obsidian's face. "Have you seen her?"

Upon seeing the image, the girl seemed to react in some way, perhaps surprise, perhaps curiosity. "Oh yeah, I saw her just a few minutes ago," she said. "I can show you where she was headed, if you like."

"Really?"said Kiyoko. "Thank you. That'd be a great help. Oh, but… I should call the others first…" Kiyoko quickly took out her phone and sent a group text to Kamui, Cobra and Hanako, letting them know the situation. A few minutes later, the group had reassembled again.

"So you said you're going to show us where Obsidian went?" asked Kamui.

"Yeah, that’s right," said the blue-haired girl. "If you're quick, you might still be able to catch her."

"Alright, thanks," he said. "Lead the way, miss, uhh…"

"Emi," said the girl. "My name is Emi."

"I see," said Kamui. "Well, lead the way, Emi."

Emi nodded, and headed off through the crowded streets with Kamui and the escapees in tow. After a few minutes of walking, Emi suddenly turned and headed down a narrow side alley. Her four companions, suddenly wary, exchanged nervous glances before following her inside. "Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Cobra.

"Yep," said Emi. "She definitely went down this alleyway." Cobra scowled slightly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"How much further is it?" asked Hanako.

"Oh, not much further," said Emi. "Not much further at all."

As she reached the centre of the alleyway, Emi suddenly stopped and span on her heel, turning to face Kamui and the girls with a serious look on her face. As the four fugitives stopped, confused, Emi was suddenly enveloped in a brilliant white glow, and before their very eyes her silhouette began to change, slowly growing taller. A stunned Hanako turned to Kamui, who seemed almost as stunned. "What's happening to her?" she asked.

Her question was answered a second later as a white glow faded, revealing the unmistakeable figure of Obsidian standing before them where Emi had stood not a moment ago. Her ebony hair billowed in the breeze that rushed through the alleyway, her eyes filled with the usual hatred. One of her eyes was still a vivid electric-blue, just as Emi's had been; the other was a burning crimson. The test subjects let out a gasp as they realized the truth: Emi had been Obsidian the whole time. "So that's her power," gasped Cobra.

"So, you're the ones who escaped from that test facility, huh?" asked Obsidian. "I saw the news reports. I was wondering when our paths would cross." Her hand strayed to the handle of one of her katanas, but she did not draw it from its sheath on her back. "Let me ask you three something," she said, her mismatched eyes focusing on the escapees. "Do you know why the sky is blue?"

Kiyoko and Hanako blinked, confused. Cobra, however, suddenly felt a searing pain in her temple. She put her hand against it, rubbing it gently. "R… Rayleigh scattering," she groaned, and the pain subsided as quickly as it had appeared. "The sky is… blue due to Rayleigh scattering. Why do you ask?"

Obsidian's hand dropped back to her side once again. "I don't know," she said. "It's one of the few things I remember from when Shinsuke tried to brainwash me: being asked that question, and not knowing the answer. Somehow, I felt that I should ask you, and that if you knew the answer, I could trust you."

"How strange," Kamui remarked. "Perhaps their attempted brainwashing still left some sort of imprint in your subconscious."

"Perhaps," said Obsidian. "But enough of that. I assume you are here to propose an alliance of some sort?"

"That's right," said Cobra. "We're going to unravel this mystery, and find out who we are, why we were given these powers, and what Shinsuke's plans are. Then we're going to stop them."

"We're also going to track down the test subjects, one by one," said Kamui. "If they are under Shinsuke's control, perhaps we can break that spell somehow."

For the first time, Obsidian showed the group a small smile. "Well, that certainly sounds like a plan to me," she said. "I have every intention of destroying Shinsuke for what they've taken from me."

"Your memories?" asked Kamui.

"Not just that," said Obsidian, the smile fading again. "My identity. They turned me into a damn number. I've gone too far now perhaps to return to my old life, but if I can at least know what they took from me, that will be enough."

"So will you join us?" asked Cobra. "Will you help us?"

Obsidian nodded. "I will help you to the best of my ability. However, I work better alone, and in any case, wherever I go, Shinsuke usually follow behind. You don't want to be too close to me for too long. So we'll go our separate ways for now. I'll be in touch." With that, Obsidian turned on her heel and began to walk off.

"Hey, wait!" Kamui called after her.

Obsidian stopped, but did not look back. "I know of one other test subject," she said. "Mizuki Sato, the famous actress. She would never talk to the likes of me, but I'm sure you would have more luck."

At the mention of the actress, Hanako's eyes lit up with childlike ecstasy. "No way!" she exclaimed. "The Mizuki Sato?!"

Kiyoko seemed rather taken aback by Hanako's sudden burst of excitement. "Who's Mizuki Sato?" she asked.

Hanako turned to Kiyoko, shocked. "You don't remember Mizuki Sato?!" she said. "She's only, like, the greatest idol and actress ever! She-"

While Hanako continued to rebuke Kiyoko, Kamui stepped forward to address Obsidian. "Thank you, Obsidian," he said. "We'll check it out."

At the mention of the name "Obsidian", the woman's eyes flashed dangerously, her electric-blue eye turning deep crimson to match the other. "And another thing," she said menacingly. "Don't call me Obsidian. That's not my name. It's what they call me."

"I'm sorry," said Kamui. "Then, what would you like us to call you?"

"Call me Rei¹."

"Okay then," said Kamui. "So long, Rei. It was nice meeting you."

"Until we meet again," said Rei. She carried on down the alleyway, an as she approached the end, her figure was enveloped in a white glow once more as she transformed back into Emi. In an instant she was gone, hidden amongst the throngs of people still going about their business.

"Well, that was interesting," said Cobra, as the group began to make their own way out of the alleyway.

"It certainly was," said Kamui. "So, should we go and pay Miss Sato a visit? The sooner the better, right?"

"Sounds good to me," said Cobra.

Hanako seemed overwhelmed with joy at the thought of meeting her idol. " OhmygoshIcan'tbelieveI'mactuallygonnameetmyidolMizukiSatoallmylifeI'vewantedtomeetherandfinallyI'mgonnagetthechancewellnotactuallyallmylifebecauseI'veonlyknownsheexistedforaboutthreeyearsorsobut-" Having finally run out of air, she took a deep breath in. "I'm so excited!" she proclaimed loudly.

"We gathered," said Cobra, completely deadpan.

Kamui pondered Rei's words for a moment. "Mizuki Sato, a test subject…" he mused. "Shinsuke must have known they'd be getting themselves into trouble by capturing someone that famous. Perhaps they didn't realize who it was until it was too late."

"I guess," said Kiyoko, before turning to Hanako, curious. "You still didn't really answer my question, though… who is Mizuki Sato?"

"She's, like, the greatest actress in the entire world, ever!" said Hanako. "I've seen all of her shows! Oh, and she also sings, too!"

"That's right," said Kamui, nodding. "She's a popular idol. She's done albums, TV shows, movies, all sorts of stuff. Now that I come to think about it, she went missing a couple of months ago. She turned up four days later at a police station, claiming she'd lost her memory and that there were strange men following her around." He smiled, then looked over at Cobra. "It certainly does fit the pattern, doesn't it?"

Cobra nodded. "That must have been when they kidnapped her," she said.

"I agree," said Kamui. "Of course, those strange men were just her fans, but she couldn't remember why she had fans in the first place. Apparently she's got her memory back now, though, and she's settled back into the celebrity lifestyle like she never left it."

"That's right!" said Hanako. "She remembers everything except for those four days she was missing! Hey, wait… if she got her memories back, then that means you two can get your memories back too, right?" she added, looking at Kiyoko and Cobra.

"I hope so…" said Kiyoko.

"Me too," said Cobra.

"But… if she's that famous, then wouldn’t it be hard to talk to her?" asked Kiyoko. "I mean, she'll probably have bodyguards and stuff…"

The expression on Kamui's face showed that he hadn't considered this at all. "That's an excellent point, Kiyoko," he said. "We'll have to bear that in mind."

Suddenly, Hanako came to a stop, holding her arm out to the side to signal the others to halt. Her other arm pointed up at the towering skyline above them. "Up there!" she said. "That's Mizuki Sato."

Kiyoko followed the direction of Hanako's finger. Far above them, on the side of a skyscraper, was a digital billboard depicting a woman with neat, shoulder-length emerald-green hair. Her teeth glistened an impossible shade of white as she held up a bottle of some sort of sugar-free beverage, speaking in a loud voice that was simultaneously barely audible over the din of the city.

"Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola!" the digital Mizuki proclaimed. "Superstar taste that won't ruin your superstar smile!" As if to emphasize this last point, Mizuki's perfect smile grew even wider as digital sparkles danced around her mouth. Hanako found the whole spectacle rather amusing.

"She seems nice," said Kiyoko.

"She is!" said Hanako. "So, shall we get going, then? Mizuki-tan is a very busy woman, and we wouldn't want to keep her waiting! Also, I know where her studio is! They did a video tour of it once!"

"Why am I not surprised," said Cobra, once again completely deadpan.

"Well, that's certainly convenient," said Kamui. "Alright, lead the way, Hanako, but don't rush ahead or we won't be able to follow you."

Hanako nodded, and continued on her way through the busy streets with the others in tow. Above their heads, the digital Mizuki continued to extol the virtues of Kyurei Sugar-Free Cola in a constant, almost hypnotic loop.

FOOTNOTES

¹ Obsidian's preferred name is written with the kanji for "zero", symbolizing that she is "nothing" without her memories and true identity