The day ended. Shinji was taken out on a stretcher to the school's top of the class medical ward. It was said by Suzuki to the class in an update later that night that he did survive but was in poor condition. As Dahlia made her way home, she couldn't find the time to talk to take in her surroundings.
The image of Shinji falling and crashing twenty feet onto a mat. You would think the mat would squeeze under his weight, air pushed out and he would be fine but instead, it was as if he slammed onto concrete. Apparently they found that the top of the mat had a large stone board placed on it under the sleeve the mat fitted into.
She remembered seeing his limb body, blood spooling from his head as the adults rushed to his side. She remembered hearing the painful crack of a broken skull when he landed head first. She remembered somehow feeling that pain and almost passing out herself.
Reaching home, Dahlia was greeted by Lemon and Tsumi and informed them of what had happened with a shaky mind and a distant look in her eyes.
"Hmm." said Tsumi. "While that is tragic.. It assures us that he can't be the faceless."
"What makes you so sure?" asked Lemon.
"If he was, he wouldn't have bled."
What?
Dahlia looked at the two as they talked about, no over, Shinji's near death. Meanwhile Dahlia was here, still reeling from the images and memories.
How could they be so calm? Someone just got their skull cracked open.
Maybe she expected it from Lemon but how calm Tsumi acted was what really made her worry. By how easily they talk around it, you'd think they'd have these kinds of conversations all the time.
"But," wondered Lemon, "wouldn't he do that to keep his cover?"
"Not quite. A twenty foot drop while yes is bad for a normal person, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll bleed. The faceless could've just given itself a bruise and not have to waste mass on bleeding." Tsumi explained.
"I still feel we shouldn't rule him out." expressed Lemon.
"Then we'll keep an eye on him. In the meantime I'd like to know more about why this happened." Tsumi turned to Dahlia, his eyes showing like he only just realised she was there. "Ah. Dahlia."
"Have you had stuff like this happen before?" asked Dahlia, voice held back.
On the man's face, he seemed to recognise that she wasn't asking about the faceless. The way his eyes crinkled and his teeth bared ever so slightly, the answer was clear.
Tsumi stuttered a little as he talked. "W-we don't talk about it when things like that happen… we can talk about it later. You and-."
"I." Lemon interjected.
She gave a look over to Tsumi and the man gave one back. It seemed like the two were arguing something with just looks but after a few faces, he seemed to relent. He nodded once.
"Right now, we need to think about who is the most likely so we can find the faceless as soon as possible." Lemon stirred the conversation back. "Any ideas Dahlia?"
Dahlia looked down, trying to bury the image of Shinji for later. She thought through what happened that day and about Zannos' actions. Could it be possible he set this up?
"It might've been Zannos." stated Dahlia.
"Likely, but that would require an investigation, one I'm sure the school is having. And we can exploit."
Tsumi took out his laptop and sat down to begin to search through the school's system. Then Lemon went to the kitchen and came out with a small plate of sliced apples and handed it to Dahlia. She ate them sheepishly as the man clacked away on the computer.
"Here," said Tsumi, motioning to the screen. "According to a report by your professor Dahlia, Shinji has gone into a coma from a brain haemorrhage."
"What does that mean?" questioned Dahlia. She knew what brain meant but not the second word.
Lemon leaned in behind Tsumi's shoulder. "It means he is bleeding inside his head. It's hard to survive that."
"Not here I don't think." noted Tsumi, "According to this, Suzuki had already stopped most of the bleeding using his power, the only issue was making a hole in his skull to allow the blood to drain out, though he did have to suffer a few minutes with his brain submerged."
"In that case," stated Lemon, standing up straight, "then I can agree that it's unlikely that he is the faceless. That's too much effort for no one to see."
"Is there anything else being said?" pondered Dahlia, eating another slice to distract her.
Tsumi spent a moment going through the reports but came up with nothing.
"They must not have gotten to the interviews yet," he guessed.
Lemon hummed. "Then let's wait for them before doing our own investigation."
- - -
Lemon wrapped up cleaning some dishes the same day, or rather night, when she realised now is the time to stop procrastinating and talk with Dahlia about that kid. She knew she wasn't the best when it came to feelings but that's mostly because she's learned for a long time that worrying instead of acting got you killed.
That didn't mean she thought the girl was stupid or anything. Knowing how much to care is important. Just shutting off your emotions and closing all doors will just lead you to becoming cold and bitter. Lemon's seen enough old men and women dying alone to know that's true.
Preparing a glass of milk as something to calm, she went upstairs and knocked on the girl's door. She opened after a few moments and stepped in to see that she was working on some work.
Probably to distract herself.
She set the milk by her bedside table and sat on the bed, expecting the girl to sit next to her unprompted. She does and it's clear how shooken she was. Maybe better than most kids should but it's probably because she comes from a place where people were probably still burned at the stake.
"I'm going to be clear right off the bat, sweets. I'm not a therapist." she clarified.
The girl turned to her but Lemon just kept looking forward at the wall. "I'm also not the emotional type. At least when it comes to sappy stuff. So don't you dare cry on my shoulder or I'm gone."
Dahlia seemed to turn back and follow her lead of staring at the wall. The two sat in silence before the girl spoke. "Do people my age die on these missions?"
"A lot." the woman replied succinctly.
"Do kids?"
"Mmm." she hummed.
That left the girl quiet for a beat. Staring at the wall for a while as her thought got a wrap around just how brutal this is. Lemon spoke first. "Are you thinking of quitting?"
The girl turned her head. "No. I need this but… will it happen often?"
Lemon thought about it for a moment. She seriously counted in her mind every time she witnessed or at least had known that a child had died. Some were out of her hands. Others were and those stung the hardest.
"It feels it." she settled on.
…
"Will I ever get used to it?" Dahlia asked, voice trembling like she's afraid.
"Never. And you shouldn't." Lemon stated, closing her eyes pulling her head back to face the ceiling.
"How do you keep going?"
That's the million dollar question.
Lemon let out a huff. "I think about how I can stop it. As fast as possible for anyone else. Like I did there. Like I always do."
The girl went silent.
…
"I will save the next kid." Lemon promised. And she did, she really did.
She turned to look at Dahlia and the girl looked back. Her green eyes staring into her violets.
"I will too."
- - -
The next day, everyone in Dahlia's class was called in for a short interview. It wasn't anything serious on the surface but she could feel the interviewer scanning her every movement. She made sure to keep her composure and told everything she had seen that day from her experience.
The interviewer seemed content and let her go back to her classes. Returning, Dahlia would notice that the rest of her classmates were being taken away for interviews, one after the other. She made a note, however, of a certain two people. Whereas everyone was gone for a certain amount of time, Suto and Zannos were gone for slightly longer. It wasn't much but it was noticeable when you had a clock in the same room.
At lunch it was hard to converse. Dahlia could see Yume's, Tenha's and Panoi's faces looking unsure on how to speak without Shinji being the first thing off their tongues. Dahlia too was unsure. She was scared of seeming insensitive, though she could speak well to others, she always had difficulty knowing if the current mood was right.
Eventually, it would be Panoi who would pick up the conversation.
"Did you hear anything about it being an accident?"
Yume sighed slightly, "No, nothing has been said on that, but given the interviews.."
"I swear that must've been why." Tenha muttered under her breath.
"Tenha?" asked Yume.
"It had to have been Zannos' doing, right? He literally was waiting to be last, like doesn't that seem on purpose even more?" the girl accused.
"But how would he be able to do it?" questioned Dahlia, "You would have to have access to the mats beforehand."
"It was probably his dad doing it for him," assumed Tenha, determined.
Tenha seemed furious with each accusation and reasoning she had to mark Zannos as the culprit.
"It is hard to argue. I'm sure the school is thinking the same." mentioned Panoi.
"You know?" posited Tenha, "I bet he was angry that he got the Polar Eye instead of him."
"But how would that be possible?" asked Yume, "We all saw the beam collapse, how would he make sure it was only Shinji who reached it?"
Tenha thought quickly for a moment. The logic was sound. Zannos made no push for Shinji to go or stopped anyone else from going. Tenha didn't relent though in her rage.
"I don't know how but I'm sure they'll find something out."
- - -
After lunch, the afternoon training began but Dahlia noticed that outside of the obvious absence of Shinji, Zannos was also gone. Today had no special lesson, only the usual running followed by practising their power accuracy on targets. It seemed even the adults were out of it.
Dahlia was seated between Yume and Tansol as all three of them were tasked with using various implements such as bows, slings or even pellet firearms to strengthen their accuracy. Dahlia was instructed to do the same as well to help with relying less on her power which she agreed to.
She had experience hunting from her father, so a bow was the obvious choice.
While she was practising, Tansol next to her began to talk. "Hey Dahlia, so I have a question to ask."
"Oh, yes Tansol?" she responded.
He stopped aiming at the target. "When you were on the pillars during the course yesterday, did they feel off to you?"
"I'm not sure, I didn't step on one. I believe I fainted after my attack." she recalled.
"Hmm, I see."
He bent his head so he could see behind Dahlia and began to ask a similar question to Yume.
"Yume, did you see anything strange about the pillars?"
"No, they seemed to be fine to me."
Tansol was obviously fishing for an answer or maybe a confirmation of something. Nevertheless, the lesson went by and after changing in the locker rooms, Yume approached her.
"Dahlia.." asked Yume.
"Oh yes?"
Yume seemed to appear nervous as she began to speak. "Earlier today I used my power to see where Zannos was."
Dahlia was unsure where this might be going. "When was this?"
"During the interviews. I am normally unpermitted for using my power to spy on a confidential meeting but I felt I should." she justified, looking around the room and making sure her voice was low enough.
Dahlia grew worried. Why was Yume telling her this?
"What did you see?" asked Dahlia.
"I can't hear through my clairvoyance, only see, but I have learned to read lips. When they were talking to Zannos, they mentioned you."
Dahlia was confused, the interviewers were talking to Zannos about her. "Why was Zannos asked about me?"
"Well.. it wasn't just him. They had also asked me, and if I were to guess.." she trailed off.
They were all asked about me?
"What did they ask?" Dahlia questioned, hoping she was right.
"They were asking about how well we know you and what you have been doing in the few days you've been here."
Do they think I'm responsible for Shinji's accident?
It certainly would be a fair assumption. A new student who just moved to the island, a quarter of the way through the school year and now there was a terrible accident to one of their top students. Dahlia would be suspicious too. The problem was that she didn't know what she should do with this information other than tell Tsumi and Lemon.
"Thank you, Yume."
- - -
Lemon was waiting outside at the bottom of the school steps. Yesterday she tried to have her bloom follow Panoi again but she lost her. This time however, she was going to do the pursuing.
She could see the girl with highlights, take her usual turns and soon Lemon stalked after her. Entering the tourism portion of the island, passing hotels and nightclubs, Lemon had a number of theories in her mind. The girl stood out in the crowd now that Lemon could see above ankle level.
Occasionally, she would look around, dive around corners and even circle back on certain routes adding to Lemon's suspicion and intrigue.
Following her, she ended up reaching a quiet side bar. The entrance had a neon sign which stated its name, "Shia's". Lemon would normally not care for such a quaint place were it not for its young clientele who just stepped inside.
Oh dear. A young girl stepping into such a shady place on her own just screams scandal.
Walking past the entrance, Lemon dropped a weed that quickly scurried under the door like a bug and skittered into the building. She walked for a bit before coming to a nice bench to sit on as she focused her mind on her wilted weed and could feel what it felt, hear what it heard and see what it sees.
The little weed was like a spider in shape with roots for legs and a stalk with a small flower on the end which acted like a sensory organ. It trekked up the wall and made for the ceiling where they got a look for the room.
It was a small bar with a counter at the back, a few stools and an open doorway which leads further in. The size could not be stated enough, there was just enough room for a person to walk around the bar stools should they be fully occupied. The area behind the counter also had an open doorway which seemed to follow, parallel, to the other. Both deeper into the building.
Three men were standing there, but they didn't seem like they were patrons. They were rough and looked strong but they couldn't eye the weedling as it made its way through the doorway. There the room got larger with the bar now on the right and a series of booth seats, bar stools and a billiards table decorating the room.
The room was L-shaped, going left, leaving half of it unseen to the weedling but not unheard as a few voices were heard talking around the bend of the L.
"I have told you time and time again, I will not be selling anything to anyone who won't cooperate with me." said a deep voice with a slight tinge of frustration.
"I will help with what you need, Viltan. I just need to survive the Polaratus first…" said a familiar voice.
The weedling moved to the corner, still on the roof, and pepped around it slowly. It saw a large booth seat where sat a rather big man, four bodyguards and the student, Panoi, speaking to the big guy. He was dressed in a white and orange suit which fitted tightly on his round body.
"I have been hearing this for a while but do you really think I can do an investment like this if there is no guarantee? Your surgeries are expensive." the round man argued.
"I promise you, once I am the Polar Eye I will make sure I pay you back for everything." the girl pleaded.
Surgeries? I don't see any scars on her. And how bad is it that she needs to keep coming back nightly?
The fat man sighed as he took a drink of a colourful cocktail sat on his table. "Fine. Go to the bath, the doctor's waiting for you."
The girl proceeded to make her way to a set of doors next to the booth and passed through them. The big man proceeds after to take out a phone and begins to text something. The weedling skittered over to above him to read what he was typing, at which it said.
"She has become a liability with no benefits. Knock her out, we'll try to get some ransom from the academy."
- - -
The room Panoi had entered into was one she frequented. A crude operating room where those who underperform can be 'improved' at a price. This wasn't Panoi's first time. She wasn't the first student. As she stood there, a man in scrubs and a surgical mask greets her.
"Hello Panoi, back again for your nightly improvement?" his grating voice sounded.
Panoi mustered up a question within her, "How much farther until it settles?"
"You can't rush something as delicate as the throat, especially yours," he said.
Panoi felt the back of her throat sting again, she needs to get it fixed, she can't let anyone know.
The girl removed her blazer and unbuttoned her upper buttons revealing her throat. There were no scars or marks but that's because of the doctor themself being able to heal scars. It wasn't like Suzuki's, he only stopped bleeding and made scars fade and the doctor was able to seal up cuts and make it appear as if nothing was sliced in the first place. A niche power but one useful in his line of work.
As he brought the mask to her face, the doctor said, "I hope this sleep will keep you well rested.."
As the girl fell unconscious, the doctor went to begin an incision on her throat. "Can't have you using that voice when we have you as a prisoner.."
*BANG*
A gunshot was heard from the other room, at the bar. The doctor stopped and immediately turned his attention to that sound. "What is going on out there?"
The surgeon walked towards a monitor in the room to see through a camera which watched the bar.
"What?"
From where the man looked through the camera he could see several of the bar's bouncers surrounding a pale woman wrapped in dry purple leaves, her face masked by thousands of black wilting flower petals. One man was on the floor, screaming as a thorny bush pushed through his head.
Viltan stood up and shouted at his men, "Where the hell did she come from?!"
"I don't know Viltan, she just appeared in the middle of the room!" One of the bouncers squawked.
- - -
As Lemon looked at those around her she took note of who was the closest.
Seven, excluding the one under my feet, though I doubt the big boy will join in unless he needs to. Two have guns, three with knives, the rest are bare knuckled, including the fat man.
Lemon opened her mouth and spoke, her voice reverberated through the petals, altering her voice to sound almost monstrous. "Release the girl and I won't turn you into my next garden."
Viltan snarled as he stepped out of his booth and stood behind his goons. "Her? Sorry doll but that's out of the question. Are you with Polaris?"
Lemon considered replying to that question but didn't want to bother, "Irrelevant, give her over or you won't get off with a pricked finger."
"Take her apart!" shouted Viltan.
The three men with knives all swung at once towards the wilted woman; each of their blades were parried by long pointed thorns which suddenly struck out from her body. The thorns felt like they were harder than steel as they sparked from the clash.
As the men recoiled, Lemon ran her fingers through her hair and slithered down her arm was a long murky vine with jagged leaves. As its end rested in her palm she spun around and like a ribbon dancer, swung the vine in a twirl as it slapped back the three knife wielders, blood splashing as the leaves cut like razor blades on dry skin.
"Toxicodendron Aculeotis!" Lemon shouts as she completes her twirl.
The wounds weren't deep but the pain was immeasurable as the thugs grabbed and scratched violently at their shallow cuts.
"It stings! It stings under my skin!" one screamed in pain as she writhed on the floor scratching at the thin slices, opening them wider and making the bleeding worse.
With the vine out, Lemon stretched it and wrapped it like a whip before standing and watching the remaining three around her preparing for her next move. Lemon's eyes were focused on the ones with guns so she was almost hit by a thin blast of water that sliced her hip forcing her to jump to the side. The unarmed goon had his finger pointed like a pistol and continued to fire it at the woman as she hopped to avoid it.
The other two joined in firing as Lemon pulled from her hair a small seed that she crushes. Soon the seed roots in her hand and rapidly sprouts a stem, then leaves and then bores a solid bulb like nut big enough to cover her entire body as she rushes behind the counter of the bar.
The three gunmen stepped close to the bar, their guns trained at the counter. Viltan looked down at the other three who had gone into shock from the pain.
"Who the hell are you!" he shouted.
No sound was made from behind the counter as Viltan continued, "I've never heard of a hero in Polaris who used plants. You must be a foreigner, either that or you're not a hero at all."
The gunmen closed in slowly, ready to shoot at even the slightest movement behind the bar. Viltan kept his position as one of the men looked over the counter with his gun pointed down. Before he could fully see the other side though…
*CRASH*
The floorboards beneath him broke as roots wrap around his legs like tentacles and pull him into the dirt beneath the floor. His screams were barely there as he was submerged instantly. Whilst the other two were distracted by their friend's demise, Lemon stood up from behind the counter and fired two thorns from the palm of her hands.
One strikes the armed man as his neck swells up and he begins to suffocate, the other misses the water gunman as he fires immediately into Lemon and manages to get a shot clean through her head.
But just as the man relaxes, that image of the wilted woman dissipates into petals as another rises to fire two spikes directly at the remaining goon, hitting his finger and his neck as both swell immediately leading to the man's collapse.
Viltan takes a step back as Lemon hops over the counter and begins to strut towards him.
"Jugulans Celeris, Ficus Infratus, Rosa Proeictura, Ophrys Falleriusi. Never go anywhere without at least those essentials on me." She listed off the plants she used.
Viltan, while he was perturbed, was not intimidated as he spoke to Lemon. "You aren't a hero, are you?"
"What makes you so sure?" Lemon asked cheekily.
Viltan looks down at his men, some of which have choked to death and were now foaming from the various poisons in their systems. "Heroes don't kill."
"Then you're right. I am not a hero." she mused.
The man snarled. "Then why do you want the girl? What importance does she have to you?"
"Because I made a promise recently and I'm not going to break it." she stated.
Viltan snarled as he stepped forth, gaining more confidence when he knew she was likely alone. "Then I guess no one will miss you…"
He calmly stepped forward as his belly rumbled and he began to smoke. He threw a punch towards the petal woman. "..when I pummel you into mulch!"
Once he swung Lemon sprouted her Jugulans Celeris, the nut, and readied for impact but his hit cracked the hard shell of the green pod and sent Lemon backwards into the bar, smashing the counter.
Big guy has big punch. Should've expected that.
The round man chuckled as he nursed his knuckle from the hit. Lemon pulled herself up but was grabbed by Viltan and hoisted with both hands over his head. Lemon struggled for her whip but was thrown across the room back towards the table the big man sat at before.
The man made his way towards Lemon where she noticed that his body had changed from a few seconds ago. It was slightly less heavy and some of his clothes were sagging. Lemon raised her hands and around the man's feet came the Ficus Infratus as it tried to pull him under but Viltan had grabbed the roots and hoisted them from the ground, pulling out a bulb the size of a pumpkin that the roots were growing from and crushed it on his knee.
That gave time for Lemon to get back up and root through her hair and pull out a thorn. She threw it towards the man who slapped it out of the air and charged towards the woman, grabbing her by the neck before she could throw another and slammed her against the wall.
"I wonder what's under all those petals?" Viltan mockingly said as he reached for her face and tried to rip off the mess of wilted petals hiding it. As he tore off a clump of the black things, he could see a head marred within. A skull.
"What the?" he stuttered.
A sudden pain in Viltan's back appeared as he felt a thorn pierce him from somewhere. He tried to contemplate what had happened and in that time Lemon had gotten her whip and slashed him with its thorns by rubbing them against his arm.
Viltan had released her and began scratching at his mark, screaming as he frantically dug into the wound to try and find the source of the sudden pain before beginning to feel frozen from the thorn in his back.
As Lemon stood back up she looked to the other side of the room. "Honestly, it's always fun when they've thought they won."
There on the other side of the room was Lemon how she normally looks, enjoying a glass of white wine from the bar.
"I mean, after you saw the first clone, did you really think I was even in the building?."
Whilst the false petal Lemon dissipated, the real Lemon set her drink down and stepped over the bodies of the dead and dying thugs. As she passed over Viltan she looked briefly down at the man's eyes which were frantically looking around.
"Told you you wouldn't get off with just a prick."