I did not stop following the strange woman. Part of my reasoning is, I think I may be strange now myself... and what better way to find out one strange thing with another, it would be weird if that didn't work.
She guided me through a district that felt entirely alien, a place I didn't recognize despite a lifetime spent on these streets. As time went on it felt like I was merely drifting in her wake. I spent the journey studying Yurine, watching how she absorbed the scenery. She seemed unable to be crushed by the suffocating pressure of the world and she would hum a soft melody with steps so light you would think she was walking on water.
I took in her complexion. Her outfit consisted of a crystal white crewneck and tattered light blue jeans held by a black-and-gold belt, the edge of a tuckable holster briefly visible whenever the breeze lifted her top. Though the holster held nothing... where was the gun? And better yet, where had a woman like her gotten one?
I think she sensed my gaze as she suddenly turned to face me, now walking backwards in the direction we were going.
"You don't trust me, do you?"
"Not really, no offense." I said admittedly.
"None taken, I wouldn't either, if I were you." She dropped her gaze to the sidewalk.
There was a pause. We walked in silence for a moment.
"...But... you still follow me, why?" She asked.
"Curious."
"About what?" I saw a slight curl of her lips.
"About this." I lifted my arm to show her my wrist, still dawned with the mysterious symbol. "And the pill... about being dormant. All of it."
This was the truth. I was helplessly intrigued, and following a strange woman that maybe knew something more about my strange problems was not only fascinating but also made my heart race to no end. I was still scared but not terrified enough to stop following her. Was that weird too?
"That's a shame. You are interested in so many things, but none of those things are me." She pouted.
"Maybe if I get some answers, I wouldn't mind getting to know you a little better."
"In this world, every answer comes with a price. Maybe you should 'pay' better attention to what's right in front of you." She smirked.
I could only return the smile, shaking my head as I looked to the other side of the street. For a second I could swear I saw the same black cat, as the one before, with bright amber eyes, but it disappeared into the dark as quickly as I saw it.
"Ever heard the expression curiosity killed the cat?" Yurine said.
"Many times, I assume you mean me being too intrigued in a world I don't understand might hurt me and get me into trouble." I replied.
"Precisely, and that's exactly why here and now I am going to ask you; are you ready to delve into such a world?"
"I don't think my answer matters." I tilted my head.
"Why don't you?" She asked.
"Because whether I agree or disagree, eventually I think I will be in this world regardless." I finished.
"That's correct, and that's why you still follow me." Yurine grinned.
My stomach rumbles.
Hearing the sound, she couldn't help but break into a laugh. "Or maybe you're just hungry and maybe I am just taking you to a normal bar to eat?"
Heat crept up my neck, but I couldn't help but laugh as I held my stomach and turned aside. "Maybe it's both." My dark hair shifted forward covering half of my face.
After a short amount of time, and me asking "are we there yet?" more than once, she reassured me we could get there quicker by taking a short cut she knew of. It was then we would find ourselves in an alleyway.
The alleyway was somehow grimier than the rest of this town. The second we set foot in it, the lack of space felt very apparent with all the towering brick walls that almost leaned in on us overhead. Breathing was harder too, the smell was so weighty, almost like heavy damp earth. Every time she told me we were almost out of the alley, it seemed to extend.
Finally, she would say "Just a bit further now." But at this point I had it with this place, the occasional flicker of a distant neon sign illuminating my fear.
We suddenly stopped. Focused on the surroundings, I would bump into her back.
"Hey.. what gives? Why are we stopping?" I would say quiet.
"Shh! Not a word." She would say her finger to her lips in a playful hush.
A moment would pass, us standing there in the middle of the alley, looking around for nothing. What were we looking for... ghosts?
"Yes, Miss Hyacinth... what gives?" A sudden low voice would call out from the darkness.
Barely able to be seen, cloaked dark figures moved with unnerving stealth. They clung to the ledges and hid behind crumbled old barriers, their presence looming. A faint glint, perhaps moonlight catching an eye or a weapon flickered and vanished. I could only look around frantically, who the hell were they?!
"Hyacinth.. interest is due! But admittedly... this is also quite interesting!" They would laugh. The sound echoed in the alley, the laughter warping off the brick walls until it sounded like a dozen voices instead of one.
"How rude! You guys are interrupting my warm stroll. Can't you boys just let us go?" Yurine's voice was calm, as she looked up to shadows.
"Miss Hyacinth, unless you give us what's owed.. we're NEVER letting you go."
Yurine didn't look impressed and let out a tired sigh. The attackers began to encroach on us, dropping without a sound from the ledges. Seven of them, their outlines sharp against the moonlight. I could hear the ring of metal on stone echoed as someone drew a blade. Others cracked their knuckles with anticipation. We were completely surrounded. Nowhere to go.
It was then she would turn to me and whisper and by now I had over a million questions; who are these guys, what do they want with her, how are we going to survive this? And to my surprise...
"Look, when I answer them, you haul your ass down the rest of this alleyway as quick as you can, then make a right, by the time you're done I'll meet up with you. Got it?" Yurine spat.
She would answer none. Yurine literally just told me to run.
"O-Okay..?!" I would whisper back as she finally walked past me to the face leader.
"So, what's it gonna' be Miss Hyacinth? Fight or flight?"
"As always..." she murmured, lowering her gaze and letting her eyes slip shut.
"Fight!" her eyes burst open.
Yurine would burst into motion, and I would start to forcefully dodge. Yurine's foot stomped at the ground, kicking up a trash can lid that flew up into her hands and she would strike it into one of the men's throats with a metallic clang. He stumbled back, choking. She would use it to block a heavy punch from another, before she would drop it and would twist her body low, her leg sweeping in a half-moon arc that sent another man sprawling into a dumpster. The motion was fluid like water, incredible, suddenly I had an opening!
"What are you waiting for?! GO!" She shouted.
Snapping out of shock, I turned and bolted down the alley, the sound of scuffling boots and grunts following behind me.
I glanced back, only to be amazed in what I saw.
Yurine flipped using the wall to springboard vault over a lunging attacker. Her body rotating gracefully and she suddenly lashed out with a kick, her foot connecting with his jaw midair the impact making an echoing crack. She landed in a crouch, twisting her body to miss a consecutive swing from another, as one more assailant aims a pistol. In one motion she spins, grabbing his wrist, making him shoot one of his own men and then firing again to this time shatter a streetlight above, plunging everything into darkness.
It was then it was as if I could feel her moving through the dark, her eyes glinting faintly like a cat's. She ducked, spun, continued to use the walls as springboards, kicking one man into another. Even disarmed, she fought so well... and dare I say her movements were guided by sound and scent more than sight.
"KILL HER!" One attacker said. "No! We need her ali--"cut short the leader shrieked as a flashbang went off. She disarmed one with a twist of her arm, flipped his gun, and fired two quick shots that hit the pipes behind another, sending a burst of steam into their faces, all were incapacitated.
The last thing I saw as I turned back once more, was the alley becoming a foggy disasterpiece. I ran until I couldn't anymore, my heartbeat ringing in my ears. The city lights grew brighter ahead. A street, thank god, I had made it.
I would walk down the street for awhile, catching my breath. In the distance, I could see a bar, indistinguishable from the others. Could it be? Could that be the Black Reverie?
Suddenly.
A taxi pulled up to a stop in front of me. The passenger window rolled down, and there she was Yurine Hyacinth, her short black bob slightly disheveled, a faint scratch along her cheek, but smiling like nothing had happened.
"Toldya' I'd meet you there." She grinned. "Good boy for following instructions."
And there I stood panting like a dog, trying to piece together everything I'd just seen.