5 - Distance

“Damn...is this what America really looks like?” Sakuto asked, confused and fascinated.

“Apparently.” Oskar sighed. The sight of the crowded streets was nothing unusual, but the overwhelming abundance of advertisements caught his eye. “It’s the political ads that are the worst.”

“I know, right?” Sakuto replied. “It’s like they’re promoting people who hate you.”

“You think Mr. Kamiki hooked us up with a nice place to stay?” Oskar asked. “I’m dead tired. Jetlag is fucking me over big time.”

“Hopefully. We’re gonna lose a day just sleeping.” Sakuto sighed. “I still have no idea what he even wants us to do here.”

“You get a free vacation, I guess.”

“Can you even call it that?” Sakuto said. Traffic was destroying their eardrums, and the busy concrete offices surrounding the street didn’t make the atmosphere more welcoming at all. “We’re here to do what...kill? Work as security guards?”

“To deal with that.” Oskar said, pointing at a large billboard across the street. “I mean, just look at it. ‘Say no to soulful terror’ with Sheller’s ugly face and a BSBM logo plastered next to it.”

“Right next to an ad about army recruitment as well.” Sakuto sighed.

“Hey, you two!” A man in a dark blue suit approached them. He handed them some booklets and quickly sprinted to the next target in the street.

“What the-” Sakuto wondered, opening the booklet. A scream of pure hate was heard from the other side of the street, as a woman was violently cursing the same man in the suit.

“Look.” Oskar said, pointing at the neatly formatted text on the booklet. “It’s the other end of the rope. This is Dyeman’s propaganda.”

“Let me read it.” Sakuto cleared his throat. “‘Soulful terror has been proven to be immensely destructive, but it is not a defiant trait of all soulfuls. Making peace with soulfuls is the only way to assure that total destruction is-’ what the fuck? They’re still labeling us as terrorists?”

“Yeah...that’s kind of the only card they can play right now.” Oskar said.

“I mean, it makes sense. From what Mr. Kamiki told me, unless we prove our worth, we’re all screwed now.” Sakuto yawned, wrinkling the booklet and shoving it into his pocket. At least the two had no problems with their luggage, it was already waiting for them at the hotel. “God I hate politics.”

“Hm?” Oskar seemed interested in the remark.

“I mean, just think about it. It’s just a bunch of old men competing over who can brainwash more people in order to make more money. Doesn’t help that they're egotistical pedophiles most of the time too.” Sakuto said. “It’s all about the money. But then...”

“There’s also fear, right?” Oskar asked.

“Yeah. True.” Sakuto said, as the two stopped to wait for the traffic lights to welcome them. “They do things out of fear of not catching some lead themselves.”

“That’s an even stronger motivator than money. Sadly no one’s brave enough to hold them at gunpoint.” Oskar sighed. As the wheezing waves of traffic stopped, they crossed the street en route to their hotel. Its building was at a relatively busy part of town, and befitting a structure and such a place, it was a glass-and-concrete temple.

“My point is, the only people who win are the politicians themselves.” Sakuto sighed, finishing his rant. He and Oskar were instantly welcomed to the hotel, though the workers’ hospitality seemed fake, even forced, concealing a strong dislike. After the check-in process and receiving a pair of wooden cards that acted as keys to their number, the two stepped into the elevator.

“Sakuto.” Oskar said. “Your soul presence...you’re keeping it surprisingly low.”

“Yeah. Hayk taught me a few tips on how to conceal it once I told him I was going abroad.” Sakuto said. “It’s easy once you get the hang of it.”

“You talked to him?”

“More like he talked to me.” Sakuto said. “Dunno what got into him, he looked concerned when he found out I’m leaving.”

“Maybe it’s because his magical supersoldier isn’t next to him anymore?”

As the silver colored doors opened, the two went into the well lit hallways of the sixth floor. The red carpet felt welcoming and contrasted well with the dark brown doors. They approached their number, an intimidating door with the number “601” written on it in golden letters. Sakuto swiped the card on the door handle and the two went inside.

“God...damn...” Oskar was amazed. “Mr. Kamiki really went all in, huh?”

“Yeah...a separate living room and kitchen, two beds...we even get a balcony.” Sakuto said, shutting the door behind them. “How’s the bathroom?”

“It’s pretty good. Hot tub, jacuzzi, everything...” Oskar’s eyes were sparkling. “I’ve never been in a jacuzzi.”

“It feels like a hot massage underwater.” Sakuto explained, moving further into the living room and starting to unpack his luggage which was waiting for him. At the same time, he could finally let go of his own hand luggage. “It’s like...you know those little thingies in swimming pools that look round and there’s water coming out of them? Like, bubbled water, a stream. And you put your body next to it cause it feels good. It feels like one of those things but warmer and from all directions.”

“There’s a bidet too.” Oskar said. “This place is really something else...”

“Do you even know how to use it?” Sakuto asked. He was in the kitchen area already, pouring water into the silver kettle.

“No, we never had one. How ‘bout yourself?”

“Nah, and not planning to. We never had a bidet installed at our toilet strangely enough.” Sakuto replied.

“And you don’t wanna try it?” Oskar asked, heading to the living room. He opened the doors to the balcony, and was greeted by an inspiring yet strangely grim view. Buildings covered with glass panes, concrete structures scattered all over the place, all above an endless stream of traffic.

“I’d rather not.” Sakuto said. “Imagine how scary taking a shit is gonna be. Like, you’re sitting there, thinking about life, and boom, there’s just a stream of hot water invading your ass.”

“Well unless you press anything on purpose, that won’t happen.” Oskar claimed, taking a deep breath and inhaling the polluted city air. The cold iron balcony guard felt unpleasant, and yet, Oskar still felt mesmerized by the seemingly ordinary view.

“Yeah but what if it like, malfunctions or something? I can’t trust it.” Sakuto said, pouring himself a cup of boiling water and slowly dipping a tea packet into it. The transparent water soon faded into a pretty dark shade. He poured another cup for his friend as well. “What if you’re doing everything right and then the temperature control messes up, and there’s boiling water in your ass.”

“You’re overthinking this.” Oskar sighed before thanking Sakuto for the tea. They sat on the large white couch, almost sinking into its softness. Oskar reached for the black TV remote which gave life to the large plasma TV in front of them.

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“I’m asking the questions that should be of concern to every intelligent human being.” Sakuto continued, watching as Oskar kept switching the channels. Eventually, a certain audio snippet caught his attention.

“Hold on, switch back.” He quickly said, whistling and pointing at the screen.

“Huh?” Oskar said, changing to a news channel. “This one?”

“Yeah.”

“The brawls in question have resulted in three casualties and up to twelve citizens wounded. The perpetrators have been arrested and awaiting prosecution, however, many protests have justified the incident. Today, pro-Sheller groups are planning to go on more strikes, with the hot points being in Ohio, North Dakota, Arizona and California.”

“There are casualties?!” Oskar said, somewhat shocked.

“They’re casualties from our side too.” Sakuto said. He looked upset. “That’s not the worst part. The fuck do they mean ‘justifying the incident’?”

“Well, that’s the game Sheller’s goons are playing.” Oskar sighed.

“The incidents were mostly believed to be the result of the assassination of Taker and Reinman, two very vocal anti-soulful politicians that were killed as a result of soulful attacks.” The reporter’s voice echoed through the room. “Government agencies claim that such an interference in the fair elections may have disastrous outcomes, and some Shellerists believe that this is enough to establish a state of emergency and to automatically elect Sheller as the president.”

“So this is what Jackal does?” Sakuto said.

“You think that’s him?” Oskar asked.

“Mr. Kamiki said he’s a soulful that goes around killing opposition politicians. He’s apparently the reason our reputation is on a downward trajectory.”

“Well, that’s for tomorrow.” Oskar yawned. “Gotta rest a little today. Get some proper sleep.”

“Yeah. I’m beat.” Sakuto said. A moment later, in sync with the reporter’s continued rambling, he spoke again. “Do we really have to kill him though?”

“You’re thinking of disobeying orders and it hasn’t even been a full day since you got the mission info.” Oskar replied.

“Oskar, they’re soulless, right?” Sakuto asked, leaning back on the soft white pillows, looking up. “Do they really matter as much as a soulful?”

“Dude, what’s with you?” Oskar chuckled. “You’re thinking like the guy we ‘bout to kill. Do your job, leave the sentimentality for another time...hey, Sakuto? Sakuto, what’s wrong?”

His friend was zoned out, remembering his conversation with Kaito. It took a few nudges for him to snap out, and just as he did, both his and Oskar’s phones rang.

“Huh?” Sakuto was startled, reaching for his phone. “Is this-”

“Yeah, it’s the group chat.” Oskar sighed. He picked up the call. “Let me turn the camera on.”

“Huh?!” Sakuto exclaimed. “Dumbass, let me fix my hair first!”

“Hey, Asura.” Oskar said, waving at the camera. “We didn’t die, stop spam pinging us.”

“I was worried, okay?” Ausra said. “Glad to see you two are doing fine. How’s the hotel?”

“It’s the best.” Oskar said, pointing the phone at Sakuto. “There’s this bum staying with me, but other than that, everything’s wonderful.”

“Point that shit away!” Sakuto said, desperately trying to fix his appearance.

“This is too good.” Ausra chuckled. “Hey, Ichika! Come see your savior and idol!”

A loud banging noise was heard, followed by the phone getting knocked over. Ausra picked it back up, laughing to her heart’s content.

“Oi, stop breaking my house!” Sakuto said.

“Sorry, it’ll be hard. You don’t mind me living with Ichika at your place, do you?” Ausra asked.

“I’m not fine with coming back to an ice cave or a crash site.” Sakuto sighed. “How are the two of you doing?”

“Well, we’re alive, for one.” Ichika said, approaching the camera. “You look like a corpse. Did you not sleep on the plane?”

“I couldn’t.” Sakuto said.

“I could!” Oskar exclaimed, before receiving a hard smack in the neck from Sakuto. “We’re gonna spend the rest of the day fixing Sakuto’s sleep. Tomorrow we’ll get active.”

“Get active...?” Ausra asked.

“Yeah. Rallies to protect and a rogue soulful to hunt down.” Oskar yawned. “Damn, I’m getting sleepy too.”

“How’s your food situation?” Sakuto asked.

“I’m cooking for the both of us.” Ausra replied. “We just got back from the store too. We should be good.”

“I’m eating fine if that’s what you’re asking.” Ichika answered.

“Good. That’s perfect.” Sakuto said.

“Huh?”

“What was that just now?”

“Probably the airplane food destroying my stomach...”

“Anyways, how’s Hayk?” Oskar asked.

“He’s been training non-stop and telling us to do the same.” Ausra replied.

“And what about Dima?”

“Well...he’s kinda...nowhere to be seen. It makes sense, he’s spending time with his girlfriend, but still. I think he doesn’t want to be involved in all of this.”

“After all that’s happened? He’s just calling quits?” Sakuto was surprised.

“I’m surprised too.” Ichika sighed.

“I don’t know.” Oskar grunted. “Whatever. Anyways, you two go get some rest. ‘Cause Sakuto is probably dying as we speak.”

“Yeah, take care.” Sakuto said, waving goodbye.

“Then just call us once you’re up.” Ausra said, she and Ichika waved. Oskar left the call.

“I couldn't see it clearly.” Sakuto thought to himself, slowly stumbling his way to the bedroom.

“You’re gonna doze off?” Oskar asked.

“Yeah. Wake me up if we get bombed or something.” Sakuto replied.

“I tried to take a look at her wrists. I wanted to see if my theory was right.”

“But, for some reason...”

“I kept looking into her eyes.”

He laid in bed, his eyes already dreamy. He didn’t even bother to cover himself up with the pearly white bed sheets.

“What is...this feeling?”

“My stomach feels weird. Maybe it’s just the airplane food. If I unload my cargo I should be good...”

He looked up at the ceiling.

“If I fall asleep right now, will I see that dream again?”

“Sakuto!” Oskar said from the other room. “I’m gonna order us some food. Whaddya want?”

“Some fried chicken...” Sakuto replied. “Doesn’t matter what spot.”

“As if you know any spots around here.”

“My for-you page is full of people munching entire menus from fast food spots.” Sakuto said. “I know about fast food here better than the locals.”

“Why do I even watch that slop...”

“Sure enough.” Oskar said. “I’ll just go with the highest rated one.”

“Works for me, as long as we’re not the ones paying.” Sakuto sighed. He lightly held onto the bed sheets.

“This...was one of the reasons I took this route in life.”

“I’m aware of what it can be. But I want to reject it. Why is that?”

“I guess I’m just that desperate.”

His eyes began to slowly close. He clenched his fist even tighter, almost ripping through the sheet with his fingernails.

“But what about her? Will she be alright?”

“Screw me...I just hope she’s doing alright...”

“She deserves it way more than I do.”

He slowly wrestled with the bedsheets and closed his eyes.

“I don’t even feel like jerking off anymore.”