The Consummate Oath
part fivePerhaps purely as a stroke of luck, the following morning was bright and sunny, the cool breeze dancing along the weighted plank of the wind chime hanging delicately on the porch making it sing a hollow tune. Despite the lovely weather, the pastel pink galoshes Miko had bought the evening before were slipped comfortably over Greta’s stockings, her pant legs tucked down inside them. These, her grandmother had instructed, were for jumping in any puddles they found, as a truly cute little girl should never miss out on puddle-jumping.
As it was still late autumn, Yuri made sure to bundle Greta warmly in a wooly coat with a white scarf wrapped loosely around her neck and a hat to keep the wind from her ears. Such attentive parenting made Miko swoon with pride and she hesitated only long enough to adjust the focus before snapping several pictures of the young family. Yuri forced himself to smile in his mother’s direction as guilt tried to snuff out his hopes for the day. Wolfram refused to allow his mood to run sour, though, and dragged him out the door before apprehension made him cancel their date.
Outside the wind nipped at the tips of their noses but was quickly forgotten as they held hands in a line, Greta swinging their arms in the middle as she skipped along. The amusement parks were closed by now and the aquarium had little to show for in the colder months of the year, which left them with one very simple thing to do: make their own fun. The playground near the ballpark was ideal.
Swing sets, slides, the merry-go-round that had made Yuri throw up more than once in his younger life--many simple structures all tailored to the enjoyment of children. It was hard not to feel a rush of excitement looking at an empty swing just waiting to be claimed.
Greta looked curiously at a few of the things in front of her and ran her hands along the smooth metal of the support beams. “What’s this?”
“That’s a fireman's pole.” Yuri smiled and pulled her back from it as another child raced to the top of the ladder and wrapped his legs around the pole, riding it down to the ground. “See? You just hold on loosely and slide down.”
Greta nodded and waited her turn to get up the ladder as well then proceeded to the pole. She hadn’t realized how far from the platform it was. She reached out with one hand and held on tight before throwing herself towards it, wrapping herself around the smooth metal and feeling it slip through her grasp as she descended. On the ground again she smiled her triumph and waved at Yuri in excitement. With one obstacle tackled, she quickly ran to engage the next, watching the other kids as they played in order to understand better the way some things were meant to be used.
Yuri bit his lip as he watched her run off to the monkey bars.
“She’s fine.” Wolfram sighed and plopped down on a bench. “You can see her quite well from here. She’s getting along nicely with the other children.”
Yuri nodded and sat down beside him, keeping a small bit of distance between them should some observer get the right idea. “I know. Sorry. It’s just that it’s her first time on an Earth playground.”
“It’s hardly dangerous or unfamiliar.” Wolfram pointed to the swing sets. “Mother used to have something like that in fact. And I can’t see how climbing anything with bars and platforms is any more threatening than climbing a tree, which has neither to help. Is that a fake horse on a spring?”
“Alright, I get it.” Yuri made a face at him. Sometimes he hated the other man’s logic, if only because it generally meant Yuri was wrong. Yes, riding a horse was more dangerous than any seesaw and there were trees he’d helped Greta down from which much taller than the child sized structures that the children hung off of. He supposed he was one of those parents, an idea that made his frown deepen. He was going to grow up to be like his mother.
Shivering slightly at the thought, Yuri stood up and extended his hand to his fiancé. “Come on.”
“You don’t want to watch Greta?” was the bemused reply.
Yuri grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet and over to the swings. “Greta’s having fun. We should too.” He pushed him down into the rubber seat, which wrapped around him and hugged his hips tightly between the metal chains.
Wolfram grimaced. “I’m too old to be playing on this.” In fact, the swings occupied around them served only laughing, happy children no older than ten, some as young as five perhaps. His face burned with embarrassment but as he tried to rise, Yuri held onto his shoulders and kept him firmly in place.
“I’ll push, you sit.”
“Absolutely not.” Wolfram dug his heels into the ground and shook his head.
The young girl on the swing beside him jumped off and ran across the sand towards the water fountain on the other side of the parking lot, leaving her swing empty. Yuri grabbed it and took a seat, rocking back and forth a bit, smiling a goofy smile at his beloved. “How about a race, then? See who can get the highest.”
Wolfram shook his head, amazed sometimes at how childish his fiancé could be. “I’m not playing anything. See all the other parents? They’re either sitting and watching or shadowing their children.”
Yuri shrugged. “Fine then. I win I guess.” He pulled his legs up and let his weight carry him forward, then back, then pumped his legs hard to gain momentum. Toes pointed to the sky, he cast a challenging look at Wolfram as he sailed by, watching his blush extend from his cheeks to his ears.
“You win, do you? I doubt that!” Wolfram pulled his legs up as well and mimicked Yuri’s gestures, not having sat upon a swing in decades. He was annoyed at the clumsiness with which he gained speed, the way his swing seemed to twist a bit in the air and make him look all the more awkward. He had been challenged though, and he would not go down without a fight.
Kicking their legs, leaning back far in the tight fit of the swing while the chain links threatened to pinch their skin through their gloves, they both found themselves laughing, transported far away from the rest of the world.
“I’m still higher than you!”
“No you’re not! If you would get in synch with me you’d see my feet are much higher than yours are!”
“Nope. Still higher. Can’t beat me.”
Wolfram fumed, though the expression was superficial. A shining object caught his eye though and as he soared backwards on his decent, he recognized the origin. Feet extended in front of him, he heels kicked up sand into the air as he forced himself to halt.
“Giving up?”
Wolfram shook his head. “Murata’s here.” He pointed towards their friend who waved as he approached without threat of being kicked. He stood in front of Wolfram, watching Yuri slowly bring himself down.
“You two look like you’re having fun. I saw Greta coming down the slide, so I knew you two were here, but I didn’t expect to see you behaving so youthfully, Lord Von Bielefeld.” Murata smiled, the corners of his mouth hiding a teasing tone. “It suits you.”
Wolfram scowled, but said nothing.
“What are you doing at the park?” Yuri asked, gently swaying on his perch.
“Mama-san said I could find you here. I wanted to invite you all over to my home for lunch today.”
Yuri blinked in surprise. “Your home? Murata, I don’t think I’ve ever actually been to your place before.”
“You haven’t.” Murata smiled broadly. “I want to repay you for your hospitality, though. Also, my mother is very much interested in meeting you. I had to include you in my explanation of why I was away so long. She was rather upset I’d never introduced you.”
“Does she know?”
It was well understood what was meant by that remark. Murata shook his head, still smiling. “There wasn’t a need to explain all that really. She’d just think I was getting confused again. I told her we ran away to Switzerland to spend time with your Great Uncle Bob.”
“Gah! Your mother’s going to hate me!” Yuri stood up from his swing, leaning in closer to his friend’s face. “Why did you tell her something like that? How is that better than the truth?”
“Shibuya, it’s alright!” Murata laughed a little, adjusting his glasses as he pulled away. “Anyway, mom wants me to take you all over there whenever you’re ready.”
Apprehension made Yuri’s stomach pinch. “You promise she won’t be angry? No offense, but I’d rather not deal with two hysterical women today. I need to build up my strength to handle my own situation.”
“I promise.”
Yuri nodded, accepting the invitation, though his stomach still churned and his mouth felt dry. “Soon as Greta’s done playing, we’ll leave. I’m going to get a drink of water real quick, though.”
Wolfram watched him walk out towards the parking lot where the bathrooms and fountain were located, shoulders drooping and his head sinking between them. The protective coating of their fun moments earlier seemed to have flaked away.
“He’ll be alright, Von Bielefeld.”
Wolfram felt Murata's hand on his shoulder and sighed. Somehow, despite everything that had happened in the past, hearing the Great Sage say that made it feel true.
Greta skipped over to them, bouncing with energy she still hadn’t worked off on the playground. “Where’s Yuri?”
“He wanted a drink of water. We’re going to go meet the Great Sage’s family. Are you done playing?” Wolfram took in her sweaty appearance with a smile, glad to see she had enjoyed herself.
“Yeah! I met a couple kids my age who were really nice and we played tag!” Greta looked for her other father and smiled. “I’m thirsty too, actually. I’m going to go with Yuri.”
She ran across the parking lot, kicking up water on the pavement as she went.
When the car hit her, her body flew limply several feet, landing with a sickening thump along the yellow lines of a parking space. Someone else’s scream was the only thing that caused Yuri to look over his shoulder in time to see the SUV as it drove too quickly and blindly smashed into her young body.
There was so much screaming. But not from Greta. Greta lay still and quiet on the pavement. What had been several feet away from him was now cradled in his arms, unmoving and unnaturally fluid in his grasp, as though all the bones in her body were gone. The hat and scarf were stained red, blood seeping down her face from somewhere hidden in her hair.
The vehicle began to pull away--he could feel the blood coming through her coat--it was taking off, fleeing the scene.
Wolfram leapt on top of the hood, grabbing hold of the blades on the windshield to keep himself from being thrown from it. Startled and panicked, they SUV slammed on its breaks again, finding nowhere to go.
“Shibuya! Hurry!”
Yuri looked up at his friend, shock numbing his mind. “I shouldn’t move her. We have to wait for the ambulance.”
“Even if she’s human, her body isn’t like ours. Our medicines could kill her. She doesn’t have the same immunities--she needs to be healed back home. Go! Now!” Murata shook him hard, watching the unfocused eyes become alert.
Yuri took Greta into his arms and ran to the bathrooms, charging into the men’s side though the people behind him shouted for him to not move her. He turned the faucet on and took the water into his hand, feeling instinct take over. He splashed the water over the surface of the mirror, watching the reflective surface shine and distort like a pool of water itself. Without a second thought, he plunged headfirst through the portal with Greta clutched close. The portal was left a simple, wet mirror as he passed through to the other side.
In the parking lot however, broken windshield wiper in hand, Wolfram began to bludgeon the driver who had dared to strike his daughter and still thought to escape. Murata’s arms quickly wrapped around him from behind, pulling him away though he kicked and thrashed to have just one more slash at the villain before him.
“Let me go!”
“We have to run!” Murata’s voice was as stern and commanding as his grip on the blonde mazoku. “The police are coming for sure. We have to get out of here before they arrive.”
“But Greta!” Wolfram turned his head only to find an empty patch on the pavement where his daughter had lain in the lap of his fiancé. “Where...?”
“I told him to go. She needs to be home if she’s going to stand any chance.” Murata let go of his chest and took his hand, pulling him to run beside him. “Come on!”
“I won’t run!” he shouted but found his legs moving to keep up with the Great Sage. Some people gave chase but none had the stamina to continue their pursuit as the two ran across the baseball field and ducked down behind some trees to hide.
Wolfram shook his hand from Murata’s grip, and wiped away the angry tears clouding his vision. “Why did you pull me away from there? You saw what he did!”
Murata nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry, Lord Von Bielefeld. What you were doing is against our laws, though, even in light of what he did.”
“I don’t care!”
Murata watched his chest heave with heavy sobs as he tried to breathe around tears. In light of his pride, he wanted to look away but found it easier said then done. “You will care very much in the next few months if by chance the police decide to look for you.”
Wolfram shook his head. “I don’t care about your stupid laws! When Yuri gets back--”
“Shibuya changed it so that time flowed faster on Earth than in Shin Makoku. Until he thinks to undo that, we are living days and weeks in the space of one Shin Makoku moment.” Murata leveled him with a serious stare. “That time difference is the last thing on Shibuya’s mind right now. By the time he gets Greta to a healer, do you think he’ll immediately think to leave her side? It could be hours till he remembers to come back for you and in that time, you might have been here for years.”
Wolfram sat frozen, his body, which had been trembling with grief suddenly stilled in fear, staring in disbelief at the calm exterior of his fiancé’s friend.
The sudden darkness that closed his eyes was merciful.