~ Chapter 27 ~

“Do you need help with anything, Ivy?”

Satsuya startled me into dropping the little pouch of clearcoins I had brought from my old home. It fell to the uneven floor, several coins rolling out and across the short length of the apartment I had only spent a single night in. I stared after the smallest coin, which had somehow rolled the farthest, butting up against the cabinets in the miniature kitchen.

My life here felt like it had occurred a million years ago.

My life before here felt like it was someone else’s memory, like Yuuki had shown me theexistence of a stranger who happened to look like me.

I didn’t feel any sense of connection with this building, with this glorified room—save the acknowledgement that this is where I had first seen Satsuya; that this was where I had looked out at a Uni skirmish so much larger than I had feared.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” Satsuya tracked down my wayward clearcoins, gathering them to hand to me, our fingers brushing just slightly, the rest of the apartment fading away in light of what stood in front of me.

“Will you miss it?” I asked, indicating the wall, on the other side of which was an apartment much like this one.

“Maybe a little bit.” Satsuya took a step back, hands in pockets as he followed my gesture, staring at the wall as if he could see through it; maybe he could. “We didn’t live in this apartment for long, but we’ve spent the most time in this sector out of anywhere we’ve gone. The Conscious has always found us before now. Harassed us. We kept moving, though I knew it wouldn’t be the end until Wars appeared. I guess every time I was afraid he would show up right after his minions, and Yuuki’s childhood would be over.” He turned his gaze back to me, a uneven tilt to his lips. “When the Conscious didn’t show up, and six months passed, then a year...I guess I allowed myself to have false hope. So I decided to give Mr. Alessi some privacy, and we moved here. I’ll miss the false hope, at least.” He blinked, frowning. “But you know, I made a deal with the landlady to ensure no one was going to live next to or below us—just in case. But then you showed up.”

He didn’t say it in an accusatory manner, but guilt hit me all the same.

Had I somehow...brought the Conscious to his door?

Don’t be ridiculous, Ivy. That’s stupid.

I bit at my lip, shoulders shrugging. “I chose this place because it was affordable. I picked up a brochure from the travel agency, and this was the first apartment I saw. I didn’t think much about it, honestly. I just knew I had to leave, and I had to go somewhere where I had a chance of surviving.” The rest was blurry, a memory of the past that hadn’t transferred.

All I could recall of my last few weeks at home were the faces of those I loved leaving me behind one by one, mocking my situation or offering words of sympathy but telling me they had to cut ties. Selling all of my things. Watching my old life disappear bit by bit along with money used to pay my debts. Wishing and wishing and wishing that I could rewrite it all, like it was a bad chapter in a book.

“I guess it really was fate, then—destiny, divine providence; that’s what my dad would have said.” Satsuya looked over my shoulder, and I knew he was peering at the window where I had huddled that first night, terrified. “Of course, the landlady probably just wanted extra money, too.”

I turned to look at that window with him, the ragged curtain not fully covering it. How much I had hated that window only a few days ago, cursing myself for peering from it. But now, the day before we were to leave for the Conscious headquarters, I found I didn’t hate that window quite so much, because it had brought me something I sorely needed—friends.

Complicated friends with complicated pasts and plenty of regrets. Friends who were doing their best to move forward when the world seemed against them, and ghosts hung about their ears. Friends with wayward powers and even larger fears. But friends nonetheless.

People I realized I didn’t want to lose.

“Satsuya...Eve said all Uni have their own Uni names. Yours is Soul Searcher, isn’t it?” That name glided off my lips as I felt a shift in the air, and looked back to find Satsuya’s eyes painted with surprise, glasses once more on the bridge of his nose. “She said your real talent was reading people, and that I should ask you about your name. I can’t help but feel like...it has something to do with the reason you decided to trust me, a stranger.”

A genuine smile crossed Satsuya’s lips as his eyes closed, head bowed slightly. “Not much gets past you, does it, Ivy?” He asked, and in response to his words, I felt a tug at the center of my chest—an invisible thread, not an emotion, as if he were pulling at something I couldn’t see. “You’re right about my name. And Eve’s right about my core ability. I call it Soul Searching, too, and it’s exactly like it sounds. I knew I could trust you, because when I first saw you and looked at your soul, I saw exactly what we all needed: a true friend.”

Words tried to form, my mouth opening, attempting to shape around them, but I didn’t know what to say. What I could say to that.

Maybe I should have been appalled to have my soul read, but I wasn’t—not by this Uni. Instead, I was relieved, joyous to know that, despite every shortcoming I had and everything that I had hated about myself, there was something beautiful inside of me, even if I doubted it.

Ever the crybaby, tears rolled down my cheeks, but I nodded—once, twice, at least ten times, hoping that would be thanks enough.

“Are you going to scribble in that notebook all night?”

A drink landed in front of me, narrowly missing the page I was writing on. A reddish-pink hue with drizzles of chocolate, I recognized it as the drink Satsuya had made me my first night at the bar, one of the recipes Mr. Alessi had crafted (and thankfully nonalcoholic for this lightweight).

Eve sat across from me, a bottle held to her lips as her brow quirked in question. She was wearing the same blue-rose dress she had worn the day we met, only a few extra details had been added; I wondered if she sewed, or Mr. Alessi had fixed it up for her after the scrapes it took during our initial confrontation.

“I’m not scribbling, I’m writing.” I complained half-heartedly, turning back to my notebook. “And I’m almost done.” With the notebook, and with the chapter I was currently working on.

“Are you ever going to show me?” Eve leaned back in her chair, placing her bottle on the table in front of her. I couldn’t tell what brand, but it looked like some sort of beer. “I said I was a fan of yours, remember? You owe me after those last few books you published. They were pretty trashy—and not what some readers consider ‘good’ trashy.” She laughed, and I gasped, appalled.

Even if it’s true, that’s cruel!

I can trod all over my books, but to hear it from a reader is painful.

Also, how did she even get my books? Does the Conscious make sure their prisoners have something to read while they’re suffering in the dungeon? Maybe that person she mentioned—Base?—brought them to her?

Eve waved a hand, sending me a wink. “It’s alright, you know. All authors publish rubbish at some point. Just make sure the next one isn’t.” Her fingers inched forward, and I didn’t see them moving until the last second—until she had stollen the notebook from me.

“W-wait, give it back!” I shouted, looking around to see if anyone else had heard me. But the Red Bar was just as lively as always, no one caring, especially as Mr. Alessi had announced it was the last night of business—and had set out a lengthy table of refreshments free of charge to thank his loyal customers.

“Oooh, who is Del?” Eve flipped through the pages of my notebook, somehow reading my inept handwriting as if it were her own. “And is this her love interest? He seems spicy.” She fluttered her lashes, and I stopped trying to reach for the notebook, forehead planted on the table as I despaired.

“What’s this? Not another horrible book, right, Ivy?” I didn’t even bother looking up when I heard Yuuki’s voice, a shift of paper telling me she was looking at the notebook now. Satsuya had allowed her to stay up and celebrate with us, reserving her her own space at the bar so she could watch him work.

I groaned as Yuuki read. I waited for a harsh criticism, and was surprised when I heard her murmur, “This is actually not half bad. Not like you normally write, but not terrible.” She paused, and must have realized her words painted her as a big fan, because her voice was snappish when she added, “Hurry up and finish already so we can read it, would you?”

My heart bubbled with happiness despite the invasion of privacy, and I heard Yuuki scoff.

“Yuuki, don’t read things without permission.” This time it was Satsuya who spoke, huffing an exasperated sigh. My head rose without my permission, and I conjured a wobbly grin as he handed me my notebook.

“I’m watching you, Ivy.” Yuuki’s voice echoed in my mind, sinister and to the point.

I pulled the notebook to my chest quick as a flash, distancing my hand from Satsuya’s as much as was possible. I couldn’t be sure, but from the corner of my eye, it looked like Eve rolled her eyes.

“You all should come sit.” Satsuya gestured towards the bar, where a gathered group was chatting and laughing in good nature. “Mr. Alessi’s giving me a break.” He glanced at Yuuki. “And the food is going fast.”

“I want more coffee-soaked cake!” Yuuki shot me a look before she dashed off, wedging herself between two patrons in her desperation for more sweets.

Eve picked up her bottle and stood. “Come on, writer girl. You can work more later.” She headed for the empty space at the bar, waving to several of the customers as if she had known them for a while.

Not wanting my own drink to go to waste, I tucked my notebook beneath my arm, grasped the glass, and stood. Satsuya gestured for me to go first, and we both followed Eve to the bar. There were four seats available, but before I could sit next to Satsuya none other than Yuuki butted in, planting herself between us with a sense of finality before she forked a piece of cake into her mouth and eyed me.

Defeated, I sat next to Eve, but the goodness of my drink made up for any feelings of hurt pride.

“Enjoying yourselves?” Mr. Alessi grinned from behind the bar, mixing drinks not quite as fast as Satsuya, but close to it. He wore a red fedora tonight, his tie perfectly looped, a sparkle in his eye.

I wonder if he was thinking of Mira, if he felt like his wife was smiling down on this moment.

I wondered if he was silently counting down the minutes, even though he didn’t want to. I had to stop myself from doing it, from measuring every breath and wondering how much time was left.

Tomorrow, we would leave this town, this sector, and this part of our lives. I was mostly a stranger here, as was Eve, but Mr. Alessi had invited us into his home openly, and Satsuya and Yuuki had welcomed us (mostly). So the sense of loss might not be the same, but it was there.

Tomorrow, we would venture to a hostile place, not a bright, shining future. I wanted to believe that some bright future could be on the other side of the darkness before us, but I had no guarantee. Still, I wanted to fight, to keep reaching for a new Ivy. I had already come so far.

Tomorrow, we would have to stick even closer together. The number of people we could trust would be thin, but all the more important.

Tomorrow, everything would change.

But for now, we would continue with this night. We would clean up after the party, rest as best we could, and when the dawn came—well, we would find a way to rise to meet it.