-Chapter 32: Merry Freaking Christmas!
I hold out a bag towards Kiriya, who is sitting across from me in his little work space. "Merry Christmas, Kiriya," I say, smiling. "This is a little gift for you that I put together."
He takes the bag and he picks up a tiny bag on his desk. "And this is for you." He holds it out and I take it from him, holding onto it gently. "I hope you like it."
"Thank you," I reply, looking at the tiny sparkly silver bag. I wonder what he got me. He doesn't seem to trust me much lately so I can't believe he got me something. "You didn't have to do this, Kiriya. You know my past and all so I don't see why you did. I've been trying to fool everyone around me."
"Don't worry about it," he tells me. "This isn't the day to mention that kind of stuff, okay?"
"Okay." I nod.
"Open it up."
I nod and place the bag on my lap. I open it up and reach in, touching something. It feels like a box. I pull it out and look at it.
"What is it?"
"It isn't anything bad."
I move the bag to the ground and place the box down on my legs. I touch the lid gently and pull it off the bottom half of the box, staring at the contents of the box. It is a beautiful necklace in the shape of a tear. Is that a flower in the middle?
"I saw it at a shop and figured it'll be a good fit for you." I look up at him as he smiles warmly at me.
"Kiriya..."
"If you don't like it, you can just get rid of it. I know you might not keep it after you're done doing what you came here to do," he replies. "So, can I ask you something?"
"Yes, you can ask me something but you have to open up my gift I gave you first."
"Did you put a box in the bag?"
I nod. "Yes."
"Did you wrap it?"
"Again, yes."
He nods and places the bag in front of him, on the table, and reaches into it. He pulls out a colorful box and looks at me as he rips off the colorful paper from it. He opens the box and his lips curve a bit downwards into a shocked look.
"What is this?"
"It is a little thing I made myself. It is a keychain with us on it. Of course, I put your stupid smile on it," I tell him. "Do you hate it?"
"No, I actually like this. Thank you."
"No problem." I smile. "I am glad you like it."
"Is this the real Kara I'm talking to?"
"This is the real me," I reply. "Now you can ask your question, Kiriya."
"Did you already know Japanese when you met Hiiro Kagami?"
I look down, nodding my head. "Yes, I actually did. I was taught it for what I was sent to do. I had to know it so I could communicate with everyone here."
"I figured that you did." He puts the keychain into his pants pocket. "I'm going to keep this here so I don't lose it. If I do lose it, you can just make another one right?"
I laugh. "Of course."
"After we're done here, we're going to do what I need to do. However, we're going separately. I'm not going to take you to the place I wanted to take you."
"What? You changed your mind?"
"I did. I think it isn't appropriate to take you there with me. It is a dangerous thing and I might not be around after it," he answers. "Kara, I'm not going to risk your life for the sake of finding out what I want to find out. It is different than knowing about you."
"Kiriya, you should take me! Why are you being like this?"
"Calm down."
"I am calm!"
"I'm doing this because I might not come back alive. It isn't something I should be meddling in, okay?" He gets up and he moves closer to me. He bends down a bit and places his hands on my shoulders. "I'm thankful that you spent a bit of time on me last night and this morning."
"Kiriya..."
"How about we take a picture together? I have one of those cameras that you can print the pics out with. I would use my cell phone but I rather have a picture in my hands." He turns a bit, removing a hand from me and grabbing a camera off the table.
I nod my head slowly. "Alright," I say, my voice coming out a bit shaky.
He holds out the camera and snaps a picture near me. He then moves closer and leans in, placing his lips against mine. I close my eyes as he snaps another picture, the camera making a noise. I love the sound of cameras snapping a picture.
I open my eyes and he places the camera on my lap. "Snap a few," he orders.
I pick it up and grab my necklace. "Can you put it on me?"
"Sure."
He grabs it and goes behind me. He wraps it around my neck gently as I place the camera in between my legs. I lift my hair and he hooks it.
"There."
"Thank you, Kiriya."
He moves to the front of me. "It looks so good on you."
"It does?" I look down. "It does doesn't it?"
He chuckles. "Let me get out the keychain." He reaches into his pocket and pulls it out. He leans down next to me, knees hovering about the ground. He holds up the keychain and hooks an arm around me. I pick up the camera and move a bit closer to him and snap a picture, staring up into the camera.
"Let us take a few more."
"Okay."
~.~
I look around as the rain pours from the sky. Where am I? What is going on?
"Where are you guys going?" I asked Hiiro Kagami earlier, as he was walking with Emu Hojo to the exit of the CR. "Is something going on? Is someone in danger?"
"It isn't anything serious. Kiriya Kujo, the coroner who loves to lie, just called us," Hiiro had told me, looking at me with cold eyes.
"Where is Kiriya at?" I asked, wondering at the time what was going on.
Emu stepped forward, looking at me with his huge eyes. "We'll take you where he is."
I look ahead, staring at the ground in front of me. Emu is on his knees, sobbing and holding a Gamer Driver. I look at the others and they look miserable.
I move forward. "E-Emu..."
He looks up. "K..."
I swallow and look at Hiiro. "Hiiro, what's going on?"
"Kiriya..." He looks down, staring away from me. "He's gone."
"N-no..." My legs give out and I fall to my knees. "He can't be gone!"
"He got a Game Over," Taiga says, informing me of what just went down. "Kuroto murdered him."
"Miyuki..." I look up at her. "Tell me that it isn't true!"
She looks away from me, biting on her bottom lip. No! It can't be true at all! Kiriya Kujo wouldn't just die like that! Kuroto wouldn't do that! Sure, he'll beat someone up but committing murder? How could he possibly do that?
I reach up to my necklace and hold onto it, sobbing. I can't believe the man I was with earlier today is gone. Is this why he didn't want me to go with him?
"Kiriya..." I close my eyes as I make ugly crying sounds.
Something touches my shoulder and I look up, staring up at Hiiro's eyes. "Kara, it'll be okay. We're going to punish him," Hiiro tells me, trying to cheer me up.
I hold onto my necklace a bit harder, probably turning my knuckles white. "Why...why is this happening?" This hurts so much. Kiriya Kujo was my best friend. I know I should be a bit relieved because it'll keep my secret safe but I feel like I can't live without him in my life.
"Kara, I will get him for this," Hiiro tells me, trying to comfort me once again.
"Kara..." I look up, staring at Emu. "I'm so sorry..."
I nod my head as a few more tears leave my eyes. "It isn't your fault..."
"I should have shown up sooner."
I remove Hiiro's hand from my shoulder and crawl over to Emu. I touch the Gamer Driver in his hands and close my eyes. Kiriya Kujo, I will get revenge. I will do what I have to get my husband to pay.
"We should get going back to the hospital," Taiga says. "Kara, do you want to come with me and Miyuki? If you stay like that, you're going to catch a cold."
Miyuki gets onto her knees and places an arm around me. "Come on, Kara. You can come with us and we'll fix you up."
I nod my head. "Okay," I say, my voice coming out really low. She helps me up and Taiga moves closer to me. He grabs me, picking me up.
"You don't seem to have the energy right now. It is probably because you're in a state of shock over Kiriya's death. I'll carry you back to the hospital I work at. Miyuki, do you have an extra set of clothes for Kara to wear?"
"I'll let her wear one of my many outfits!"
"Good."
Taiga moves pass Hiiro, holding me. "Make sure to check on her," Hiiro says. "She could have hurt her knees on the ground when she collapsed to it."
"I will perform a checkup when I get to my workplace. After that, I'll take her to the CR. I still have the password so I'll be able to drop her off," Taiga replies. "I'm going to do my job as a doctor just for her this one time."
"Thank you, Taiga."
"I never thought I would hear those words coming from you, Hiiro. Next time tell me when you're going to thank me so I can record it."
"Jerk."
Taiga chuckles. "Well, off to my hospital."
~.~
"Kara, do you remember watching him die?"
I look up at the doctor of complete darkness. "Huh?"
"You were standing there watching when he died. You witnessed him getting his Game Over. Don't you remember that?" Taiga asks me.
I shake my head. "No, not at all."
"He didn't have your Gashat or Gamer Driver on him so we'll have to obtain those and check them out. When did you start having these blackouts?"
"Um...a while back. That is why he took it from me. When Graphite died, I was having a robotic glitch according to Kiriya," I answer. "Is something wrong with me?"
Taiga shrugs. "I don't know for sure, tick."
"Do you have to call me that?"
"Think of it as my little nickname for you."
"At least call me by my name."
"Okay, fine. But only because you know Miyuki."
Taiga pulls out some bandages and he pushes up my pants, revealing my cut up knees. Dang! I did a number on myself by hitting the ground.
"You will dress in some warm clothes after I do this." He places the bandages down and grabs some ointment and disinfectant. "This ointment will help it heal while the disinfectant will clean out the wound. It is going to sting possibly for both of them."
"Taiga, thanks."
"I will figure out whatever Kiriya didn't share with us about you. I'm sure he knows what is going on with you. Also, I will figure out what he learned before he died."
"I was supposed to go with him earlier but he suddenly changed his mind. He told me that it would be dangerous for me to go and he thought he would die over what he would learn."
"He knew he was going to die? Then why did he decide to go?"
"He enjoyed solving mysteries."
"Your necklace."
"What about it?"
"Where did you get it at?"
I grab my necklace, holding the teardrop charm with the flower in it. "Kiriya gave it to me earlier as a gift. I gave him one too. Not a necklace but a keychain."
"Are you two seeing each other despite your marriage to Kuroto?"
"Not exactly."
"I see. Well, I'll talk to you more on it later so I can get an idea on what he might have figured out. Is that okay with you, Kara?"
I nod my head slowly. "Yes."
"Now, back to your wounds."
I nod my head. "Yeah, they need to be treated right now or they will get infected. You know that though, Taiga. You know how this is."
"You're right, I do," he replies, sounding uninterested in what I have to say.
I don't see why I have to spend the rest of my time with Taiga for this day. I don't want to do that. None of today went the way I wanted it to. I didn't want to spend it like this. How did this even happen?