She lay in his arms, lifeless and bloody, the train trembled as Konin held her still body. The carriage slid into a tunnel; he drew back his hands and let Lisa—what was left of her—thud to the floor like a sack of meat.
He stood and stared at his reflection in the window. Dark hollows pooled beneath his brows and a shadowed pall under his lips. He bent, rummaged through Lisa's bag, and pulled the same handkerchief. Wiping the beads from his face, he kept his gaze fixed on the glass.
The carriage's motion tilted Lisa's body; her head remained unnaturally upright as a stream of liquid rose from her mouth, defying gravity. It cleaned itself of blood and flowed like a tube into Konin's neck until the last drops were drawn into his skin.
When the train emerged from the tunnel, Konin, finished wiping, threw the handkerchief over Lisa's face.
Immediately the passengers erupted in applause. Every pair of hands clapped, every face beamed. Konin looked both ways, smiled, and waved as he stepped over Lisa's body. They closed in around him, cheering and ruffling his hair. He hugged as many as he could. Finally a voice rose above the din.
"Okay! Okay! Settle down."
The crowd quieted. Eyes turned to the speaker: a grey-haired man, well over forty, wearing a leather coat dusted with grime, a gold tooth flashing when he smiled.
"Tonight we had a successful mission," the man said, walking to the circle the passengers had made around Konin. "Not only because we finally got rid of that son of a bitch, but also because we…" He put an arm around Konin, drawing him close. "Got ourselves a new brother."
Applause. "And hey—when we get out of these bodies, first round's on me!" The injured passengers threw their hands up and whooped.
Konin laughed. The man clapped him on the shoulder. "Congrats on passing the exam."
"I thought it'd be harder," Konin replied with a grin across his face. They both smiled, "Alright here," he handed him a small round object with nothing but a button at the center. "You know how to use these right?"
"Yeah. I got it." Konin turned, pressed the button, and tossed the sphere onto Lisa. It swallowed her whole in a ball of light along with her belongings, leaving only a translucent blue orb stained with blood.
Konin picked up the orb. From his body a stream of liquid poured downward into the pool of blood beneath him. Pale threads of clear liquid webbed outward across the surface like cracking ice. The pool tightened and curdled, lifting from the floor in sharp, upright spires and jagged needles that spun into a tightly bound ribbon of dark crimson, spiralling upward into the air. Konin swerved it around him, sweeping it over the floor, searching for any strays of red until he was satisfied.
The tail of the stream struck down like a viper through the thin gap beneath the rubber weather-stripping of the train door.
There was a faint, wet hiss as the tip breached the seal. For a split second, through the glass, the stream met the carriage's slipstream and the high-velocity wind tore the liquid apart, atomizing the blood into a fine red mist that vanished behind the train like a ghost.
Inside, the ribbon's tail slipped through the gasket. The floor beneath Konin was suddenly bone-dry and immaculate, reflecting the passing city lights.
He returned to the man. "We should've had you on the eighth," the man said, raising an eyebrow.
"Only a fool would help you on the eighth," Konin laughed.
"Aren't we all?" the man returned.
"Hey, c'mon Drew—I wanna get my cock sucked!" someone yelled.
"Ey! Language!" Drew snapped. A few laughed.
"Then alright. You'll be fine, Konin?"
Konin blinked. "Of course."
Drew ran a hand through his hair. "Give the ball to Tav," he gestured at the praying girl latched onto a man's back, "and good luck with Inspector Han for the written exam, I'll be looking foward to your action report." He winked at him before turning to the others. "Alright—drinks!" Everyone cheered.
Drew stepped toward Tav. Just as he reached to tap her shoulder, Konin called out, "Wait, wait! I thought I already finished the written exam."
Silence fell over the cart. The speaker announced the next stop.
"Today… at 12:30?" Konin asked, shaping the time with his fingers.
Laughter broke out—sharp, hyena‑like—until even Tav smiled. Drew wiped his eyes. "Don't worry. Tav'll give you all the details." He tapped the praying girl; she unclasped her hands. For a dizzying instant every smiling face shifted to stunned confusion as questions snapped through the circle. Konin's gaze fixed on the woman who had just gotten off the back of a random stranger—Tav.