#miyuspec

   “I am a Knight of Hanoi and I have come to you, specifically, to bear ill tidings. I have been instructed to inform you that the Water Ignis has perished and that you might want closure associating with that. If it is a consolidation, the Earth Ignis has also perished but,” Spectre’s lips twitched, “that was quite a few weeks ago now.”

   “The what…?” Miyu said, she held tightly onto her sheets; she was feeling light-headed. “What do you want with me?”

   “I am Spectre and I am just like you. Ten years ago, as a child, I was kidnapped and taken to a small, white room. There, I was forced to duel: for my food, for the right to sleep warm, and so on and so forth. I am a member of the Lost Incident but, I do not expect you to understand my viewpoint; I enjoyed the event tremendously but I have been informed that-”

   “I enjoyed it too.” Miyu piped up. She was nervous. “Well, maybe not enjoyed but… but I view it as a source of pride. I survived those six months; I’m strong, I can do anything. I will do anything and everything. If torture can’t stop me, what’s homework? Cram school? Running five miles every morning for fitness?”

   Spectre was taken aback by that. “So for you… time did not stop?” He swallowed as he recalled his conversation with Playmaker, if one could call such a thing a conversation at all.

   “I suppose not. Time is always going forward. I may have been slowed but never stopped. Why do you ask?” Miyu explained.

   “No reason.” Spectre said, brushing that aside. “Now, returning to the point of this conversation: the Water Ignis had perished. I have been informed that she visited you at some point and that you might have noticed her prescence.”

   “Who - or what - is the Water Ignis? And you mentioned another one, the Earth Ignis correct?” Miyu asked.

  “The Ignis are the reason we were taken in the first place. Our duelling was used as the model to create artificial intelligences with free will. And, they have used their free will to create war and havoc amongst themselves and those involved with their creation. Your coma, for instance, was the result of the Light Ignis’s work.” Spectre explained.

   “I see…” Miyu murmured. “I remember her, yes… The Water Ignis. The blue fairy…” 

   Her voice turned to a whimper; her eyes filled with tears. Spectre watched and was unfeeling towards her. He thought she looked pitiful but he had no place to talk. After all, he had mourned his Ignis and had shed a tear in private regarding it.

   “I offer no apologies or condolences. As a Knight of Hanoi, my goal is further our purposes and our purpose is the genocide of the Ignis. We wanted to prevent this but we failed.” Spectre said.

   “Yes, but what about as your own person?” Miyu sharply enquired. “Do you care as a person voided from the Knights of Hanoi?”

   Spectre’s heart stopped. “I am afraid,” he replied, terse because he truly was, he was afraid to be his own person outside the Knights of Hanoi for he valued Ryoken and his goals more so than any of this own, “that the answer remains the same. Though, perhaps, I will admit that I am sad that my Ignis died. It’s a shame. We never met but I have heard things about my Other Self. It feels relevant to note here that, apparently, our Ignises were romantically involved.”

   “Oh…” Miyu blushed; distracted from Spectre’s more dour notes.

   “But, having fulfilled my purpose here, I shall take my leave, Miss Sugisaki.” Spectre said.

   “Visit me again, please, Spectre?” Miyu piped up.

   Spectre shivered. “Pardon?”

   “You’re interesting, I want to know more about you, the Ignis, and the Incident.” Miyu said.

   “I suggest you invest your time in others; perhaps your friend, Miss Zaizen, can help you.” Spectre said.

   “Aoi?!” exclaimed Miyu. “Do you know Aoi? Is she coming to visit? Do you know?”

   Spectre chuckled darkly as he excused himself. Miyu continued to bark excitable questions at the door. His heart raced. He wanted to be rid of himself of this girl and this hospital as soon as possible. He still didn’t understand why Master Ryoken had wanted this done not only in person, but by Spectre. It seemed like a pointless mission; surely an e-mail or another, impersonal message could have sufficed.

   Still, Spectre was taken aback to learn that he wasn’t quite as weird as Fujiki had made him fear that he was. If he could find validation in the stopped time of Homura, than Spectre could find validation in the untempered time that Miss Sugisaki seemed to have experienced.