They walked side by side within the hospital corridor in silence. The bodies of the police officers lay scattered across the floor behind them as neither of them looked at each other.
Conquest had a hard time understanding this man. On one hand, he had saved her life but on the other he seemed a little too comfortable killing innocent humans.
What made this even more complicated was the fact that he was the older brother of her best friend Riko. She glanced over at him as he rummaged through his pockets, patting himself down like he was looking for something urgent. Then to her surprise he pulled out a chocolate bar.
A confused look crossed her face.
Huh?
He tore through the wrapper with his teeth and shoved the entire chocolate bar into his mouth as he barely chewed it twice before swallowing. In the next second he let out a satisfied sigh as if he had just eaten the best meal of his life.
Then without wasting a second he reached into his other pocket and pulled out a second chocolate bar. This time he ate it even faster than the first, only chewing it once before swallowing it whole.
Conquest stared at him, her mouth slightly open.
What am I even looking at right now? This is the same man who just decapitated six police officers within a blink of an eye. And now he's standing right here double fisting chocolate bars like a child.
Kamui entered room 102 where an old woman lay resting. Conquest followed since the alternative was leaving the hospital in a gown with no jacket of her own. He looked around the room checking under the bed, the food tray, and even the closet, pulling out every piece of clothing inside.
She looked down at the pile of clothes and spotted a large brown jacket with black fur lining and no hood. She grabbed it off the floor.
I guess, that would do.
The jacket felt heavy in her hands. It brought upon her a memory of when she fought Death on March 9th, the same day she lost consciousness. The day after she was supposed to be sitting in a classroom taking her final exam. So if jackets like this were in season then she had been in a coma for at least eight or nine months.
"What are you looking for anyways?" Conquest said.
Kamui froze for a second before turning back to her.
"Why are you following me? I thought I told you to either stay or leave the hospital?
She gritted her teeth, doing her best to not show emotion even after the blatant disrespect she kept receiving from this dwarf.
"You think I'm following you? Please, I'm looking for a jacket. It's cold outside and I'm in a hospital gown. Don't flatter yourself."
Kamui looked at her, then at the brown jacket in her hands.
"You got what you're looking for. You can go now."
Annoyed at his overall demeanor she turned toward the door, letting out a sharp click of her tongue.
"Tch!"
"Found it!" Kamui yelled, pulling a brown oval-shaped item from beneath the old woman's pillow.
Curiosity got the better of her as she stopped her movement to look back. What her vision landed on made her blood run cold. It was the same item she had dealt with back at the Hoshigiri mansion.
"The Deathmark amulet..." she whispered.
Kamui's expression hardened as he turned to face her.
"What? How do you know about this item?"
"Well, besides being a Horseman of the Apocalypse, that amulet was used against me by your family's butler. What, you didn't know?"
Kamui put a hand to his chin, his eyes narrowing.
"No...But I figured he was hiding something." He glanced back at her. "You might be more useful than I thought."
Conquest grinned as she put on the brown jacket she had found earlier.
"Is that so?"
"You may hold valuable information that could help me and my boss. But first, help me collect these amulets. There should be one in every room. I'll explain later."
Being ordered around wasn't something she tolerated. But if it meant getting answers, she would make an exception.
"Fine."
***
A few hours had passed. They sat on a bench next to the sliding doors of the hospital's main entrance. Over a hundred Deathmark amulets were piled into a bag between them.
The search hadn't been too difficult since the amulets were concentrated on the same floor. Still, the question gnawed at her. Why were these amulets in the hands of humans?
Outside, daylight pressed through a pale gray sky as snow fell lightly onto the street. The entire road was buried in white. Not a single car or person in sight.
Beside her, Kamui sliced open the vending machine with his katana and devoured every candy bar and carbonated drink inside of it. She watched as wrappers and empty cans piled up around his feet.
What a weird and disgusting man.
In any case, he had told her to wait here with him. His boss would be sending someone to bring them to their headquarters.
While he devoured his candy, she glanced at the lesser demon strapped to his back. It was shaking its head, trying to loosen the rope around its body.
"Hey, What do you plan to do with this demon? What's the point of keeping it alive?"
Kamui stopped eating and turned to face her, his mouth and cheeks smeared with chocolate.
"The thing is I'm looking for someone…"
"Someone? Who?"
He wiped the chocolate from his face with his sleeve and looked down, his black sunglasses sliding low on the bridge of his nose, revealing his golden eyes.
"A demon named Azazel."
Conquest's eyes widened as she shot up from the bench.
"Azaz—"
A beeping sound cut her off as a car pulled up to the sliding doors of the hospital. A black Mercedes-Benz S-Class with tinted windows. Luxurious but familiar. She remembered those cars being the vehicle of choice for government officials, politicians, and the worst of the worst.
The Yakuza.
The car kept beeping as Kamui got up from the bench and handed her the backpack containing all the Deathmark amulets.
"Let's go. I want you to meet my boss."
Conquest narrowed her eyes and sighed. As she walked toward the sliding doors something on the wall caught her attention. A wanted poster. She stopped to read it.
Kamui Hoshigiri.
That was the name printed beneath the face on the poster. Her eyes dropped to the bounty.
one hundred and fifty million yen. Dead or alive.
She wasn't shocked at all. It all made sense now. The way he killed those police officers, referring to his employer as "boss," and now a Yakuza car with tinted windows waiting for him. She climbed into the back seat while Kamui sat up front with the driver.
It seems I'm dealing with some morally ambiguous individuals.