Ni Kun

“Get me out of here, Akari!” Kaimei whispers frantically, ”I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t want anyone seeing me like this!” Akari nods, and grabs some paper towels and has Kaimei cover her face.  

Akari grabs the door before it swings shut, and pulls Kaimei out by one hand.  The restroom door is close to the entrance, but as they bolt through the small crowd of people waiting for their tables, some notice the spectacle. Akari dismisses the unspoken questions with a “Blind date gone wrong. She’ll be better by morning.” as the continue hastily through the foyer. 

“Are we outside?”  Kaimei begs frantically, as Akari pulls her to the side of the building and around the corner.

“Yes, we’re outside, and I’ve got you around the building by the dumpster.  Let me see your face now.”  Akari stops walking and has Kaimei pull the towel from her face.  Akari’s eyes widen, and Kaimei cries harder.

“What?!  What is it?”  Kaimei, now really panicked, grabs Akari by the arms.  Akari shakes her head and rummages through her purse, ignoring Kaimei’s pleading eyes.  “Please just tell me I need some lipstick,” Kaimei jokes weakly through her tears, trying to lighten the mood for a moment.  Akari searches inside her purse for another minute, pulling out her cell phone.  “What are you doing?  Who are you calling?” Kaimei asks. She dabs the paper towels over her face, trying to subdue the tears.

“I’m calling Dexter, telling him that we have an emergency and we’re not finishing dinner.” she says calmly, as she dials his number.  Kaimei has slowed her breathing, despite the agonizing pain in her head, and wonders what she looks like.  She remembers that she has a compact in her purse, and begins the hunt for it.

“Dexter!” Akari sound very matter-of-fact.  “Dexter, we have an emergency, and Kaimei and I have to leave.” pause. “Well, no, I don’t think everything is okay,” she says as she looks at Kaimei, who is now so frustrated with her lack of success in finding her compact, she dumps everything out of her purse onto the concrete, and sits down to sift through it all. “I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m really sorry, and please tell Tobias that this has nothing to do with him.” She hangs up and looks at Kaimei, who is beginning to open her compact as she sits on the concrete. Akari snatches it out of her hand, tossing it into the nearest bush.

“What are you doing?!”  Kaimei yells.

“You do NOT need to see yourself right now. We need to get home before anything else happens to you.” she says as she sits on her haunches and starts putting everything back into Kaimei’s purse. Akari does a check to make sure everything has been replaced, zips the purse up, and grabs Kaimei by the wrist. Dragging her up to stand, Kaimei protests, “But I don’t want anyone to see-” fighting back more tears, and holds her hands over her stomach.  They head towards the front of the building near the sidewalk.

“The sooner we get home, the better.”  Akari waves at the nearest stopped cab and the girls get in.  She directs the cab driver back to their apartment, and he nods, taking off.  She looks at Kaimei, who has quieted down.  Kaimeis’ eyes now look like solid hematite gems, glistening with every tear that wells up. Where the tears have marked their course down her face, black lines now stand, and as Kaimei runs the back of her hand across her cheek to wipe them away, the skin beneath peels off. Filled with such dread she can hardly believe her heart is still beating, Akari turns away, pretending to be patient as the taxi winds its way through the city streets.

 As the cab pulls up in front of the apartment, the cabbie asks for his money, and Akari throws him a twenty with a quick “keep the change”. The girls run and stumble up the apartment steps, and pause while Akari searches for her key.

“That’s it, “Akari mumbles a full minute later as she digs through her clutch, “ I’m getting a smaller purse as soon as whatever the F is wrong with you gets fixed.”

“Akari, I really doubt there is any fixing this, whatever it is. I mean, “she falters, “what if…. what if i’m dying? This stuff, ” as she runs her fingers across her cheeks to show Akari, “is running through my veins, Akari-chan. My VEINS. That’s where my BLOOD goes…” She trails off as her new reality sinks it. Akari has stopped looking for the key, and is staring at Kaimei, not sure what to say.

“We’ll fix you Kaimei,” she says forcefully. So forcefully, in fact, that Kaimei almost believed her. Akari begins the search for the key again, and within seconds has found it. “I put it in that stupid zipper compartment, just like I NEVER do.” She growls as she slams the key into the lock. Akari opens the door and takes her key out. Throwing Kaimei’s arm over her shoulders, she begins the two flight trek up the stairs. The pain is becoming so much for Kaimei that she can hardly walk, and can’t bear to open her eyes.

“We’re close, aren’t we.” Kaimei states as Akari angles them onto the last landing before the final set of stairs.

“Yes, we’re close, and we have to hurry” Akari replies urgently. ” I think I just heard Dexter’s car pull up, and he’s never going to go away if he sees you in this state.” The panic in her words were well deserved, because at that very moment, the girls heard a heavenly Scottish accented voice at the base of the stairs, questioning what had happened at the restaurant.

“Oh no!” gasps Kaimei, as she struggles faster up the stairs. Akari helps as much as she can, cursing the “stupid high heeled death traps” she’s wearing. Key still in hand, she unlocks the door and throws Kaimei inside. The door closing softly just in the nick of time, the girls collapse on the floor, exhausted, physically and emotionally. “I’m not sure I can handle much more tonight,” Kaimei whimpers through the pain, “This hurts so bad I can’t think, and now i’m so tired I can’t move.” She watches as Akari gets up and walks to the kitchen. ”Has anything else started to happen?” She asks Akari, who is now wetting a cloth in the sink. Akari turns to look at Kaimei, washcloth in her hands, water still running.

“I…. I don’t think you really want to know.” She whispers, barely audible over the gushing faucet. Kaimei stares back, horror struck. She couldn’t think of a time when Akari had held something back from her, even if it would make her life easier. Wild thoughts race through Kaimei’s mind as she runs soft fingertips over her face, trying to touch what her eyes could not see. 

Akari looks sadly at Kaimei as she turns off the faucet and rings out the washrag. She crosses the kitchen into the living room, and kneels next to the stricken girl. She slowly wipes Kaimei’s face of the peeling skin, keeping her thoughts to herself.

“Akari?” Kaimei whispers, her eyes closed.

“Yes?”

“What’s it doing now?”

“It’s made it to your heart, and all your extremities. It’s almost taken completely over.” Akari was still pronouncing the last syllable as Kaimei convulsed on the floor. Her eyes shot open, and she made a feeble break for the bathroom. After realizing she couldn’t walk, she crawled as fast as her weak body would let her. As Kaimei rises to her knees in front of the toilet, the door slams shut behind her, locking out Akari, who was coming to offer what comfort she could.

Sheer panick grips the girls as Akari beats on the door and jimmies the handle, trying desperately, without causing too much commotion, to open the door. Akari starts crying as she sinks to the floor, using the locked door for support. Kaimei, dangerously weak, tries to crawl back.

“Akari, i’m coming. I’ll–” and before she can finish her sentence, she falls to the floor, unconscious.

“KAIMEI! KAIMEI! WHAT’S HAPPENED?!”