# Nine Lives in Neon Lights
## Chapter 14: Fractured Trust
Akira made it through exactly twenty-three minutes of her afternoon literature class before the weight of pretending everything was normal became unbearable. She raised her hand and asked to be excused to the nurse's office, citing a headache that wasn't entirely fabricated.
The school nurse, a kindly woman in her fifties, took one look at Akira's pale face and stressed posture and immediately offered to call her mother.
"No," Akira said quickly. "She's working a double shift at the hospital. I just need to rest for a bit."
"Of course, dear. Lie down on the cot. I'll dim the lights."
Alone in the quiet infirmary, Akira finally allowed herself to process what had just happened. The supernatural faculty suspected her of being a government plant. Her transformation might have been artificially induced. Someone within their community was systematically betraying them to human authorities who wanted to weaponize supernatural abilities.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, her mother was potentially in danger simply for being related to her.
Her phone buzzed with a text message.
*Hiroshi: You left class. Everything okay?*
She stared at the screen, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. How could she possibly explain that she was suspected of being an enemy spy in a supernatural war he didn't even know existed?
*Akira: Just feeling overwhelmed. Need some space to think.*
*Hiroshi: Want company? I can skip last period.*
The offer was tempting, but the memory of Ryouta's warning about her enhanced senses revealing hidden emotions made her hesitate. She wasn't ready to deal with whatever she might discover about Hiroshi's feelings on top of everything else.
*Akira: Thanks, but I need to be alone right now. Rain check?*
*Hiroshi: Of course. Take care of yourself.*
She set the phone aside and closed her eyes, trying to sort through the chaos in her mind. But instead of clarity, she found herself analyzing everyone she'd interacted with over the past few weeks, searching for signs of deception or hidden agendas.
Professor Yamada had always seemed supportive, but he'd been quick to suggest she might be artificially created. Dr. Ishikawa had offered counseling services while simultaneously accusing her of being a double agent. Even Instructor Saito, who'd first approached her about supernatural training, could theoretically be manipulating her development for unknown purposes.
The only person who'd explicitly declared trust in her was Ryouta.
But what did she actually know about him? He was a vampire, older than he appeared, with access to high-level supernatural information. He'd been present for most of her significant training moments, guiding her development, earning her trust. If someone wanted to monitor and influence a newly awakened nekomata, what better position than trusted mentor?
The thought made her stomach clench with nausea. Not Ryouta. She couldn't handle discovering that their connection was fabricated too.
Her phone buzzed again, this time with an unknown number.
*Unknown: We need to talk. Coffee shop on Fifth Street. One hour. Come alone. -R*
Akira stared at the message, her enhanced senses picking up her own accelerating heartbeat. Ryouta had her personal number, so why text from an unknown contact? And why the cryptic tone?
Unless it wasn't actually from Ryouta.
She sat up on the cot, every instinct screaming at her to be careful. This could be a trap, a test, or genuine communication from someone who couldn't use normal channels. The paranoia that had infected the faculty meeting was apparently contagious.
But sitting in the nurse's office speculating wouldn't answer any questions.
She gathered her things and signed out, claiming she felt well enough to go home early. The nurse made sympathetic noises about teenage stress and gave her a packet of headache powder for good measure.
The coffee shop on Fifth Street was a small, deliberately unremarkable place that stayed busy enough to provide cover for private conversations. Akira arrived early and chose a corner table with clear sightlines to all entrances, a precaution that would have seemed ridiculous a week ago.
Ryouta appeared exactly on time, but something was different about his usual composed demeanor. He looked around the shop carefully before approaching her table, and when he sat down, he kept his voice low.
"Thank you for coming," he said. "I wasn't sure you would."
"I almost didn't," Akira admitted. "The unknown number was either very cautious or very suspicious."
"Cautious," Ryouta confirmed. "After this afternoon's meeting, I'm not sure our normal communication channels are secure."
"You think the leak has access to our personal information?"
"I think the leak has access to everything," Ryouta said grimly. "Student records, faculty communications, training schedules, probably our phone records too."
Akira felt a chill. "Then meeting here might not be safe either."
"Nowhere is completely safe," Ryouta said. "But we need to talk, and I'd rather risk exposure than let you face this alone."
Something in his tone made her look at him more carefully. "Face what alone?"
"The investigation," Ryouta said quietly. "Saito didn't tell you, but the faculty voted after you left. They're conducting a formal inquiry into your transformation and potential connections to the government infiltration."
"A formal inquiry?" Akira's voice rose slightly, then dropped back to a whisper. "What does that mean?"
"It means they're going to examine every aspect of your life, your relationships, your development," Ryouta explained. "They'll interview your mother, your human friends, anyone who might have information about your transformation timeline."
"They're going to drag Hiroshi into this?"
"Probably," Ryouta said. "He's your closest human contact, and he knows about the supernatural world. From their perspective, that makes him either a security risk or a potential asset."
Akira buried her face in her hands. "This is getting worse by the hour."
"It gets worse," Ryouta said gently. "They've also decided to place you under discrete surveillance until the investigation concludes."
"Surveillance by who?"
"Me."
Akira looked up sharply. "You?"
"I volunteered," Ryouta said quickly. "The alternative was Professor Yamada or Dr. Ishikawa, and I thought... I thought you'd prefer someone you trust."
"Do I trust you?" Akira asked quietly.
The question hung between them like a challenge. Ryouta's expression remained calm, but she caught a flicker of hurt in his eyes.
"That's for you to decide," he said finally. "But I can tell you that everything I've done has been to help you, not manipulate you."
"How do I know the difference?"
"You don't," Ryouta admitted. "That's the problem with paranoia—it makes truth and deception look identical."
Akira studied his face, trying to use her enhanced senses to detect any signs of deception. His heartbeat was steady, his scent carried no markers of stress or guilt, and his micro-expressions suggested genuine concern rather than performance.
But if he was as skilled as he claimed, wouldn't he be able to control all of those indicators?
"I hate this," she said finally. "I hate not knowing who to believe."
"Then don't believe anyone," Ryouta suggested. "Trust your instincts instead of other people's words."
"My instincts tell me to trust you," Akira said. "But my brain says that might be exactly what someone manipulating me would want."
"Your instincts also told you to help that injured student in the alley," Ryouta pointed out. "They told you to stand up to the shadow creatures, to protect the weak students during combat training, to question the faculty when they accused you this afternoon. Have those instincts led you wrong?"
Akira considered this. "No. But they also led me to accept supernatural training without questioning the motives behind the offer."
"Did they? Or did you make a conscious choice to embrace your new abilities rather than fear them?"
"I..." Akira paused, really thinking about her decision-making process over the past few weeks. "I chose to train because I wanted to understand what I was becoming. I chose to help other students because I couldn't stand watching them suffer. I chose to trust you because you've never given me reason not to."
"And those choices came from your instincts?"
"Yes," Akira said slowly. "They came from who I am, not what anyone told me to do."
"Then trust that," Ryouta said simply. "Trust yourself, even if you can't trust anyone else."
Akira felt some of the tension in her chest ease. "Okay. But I need to know—are you really assigned to surveil me, or are you here because you want to help?"
"Both," Ryouta said honestly. "I volunteered for the surveillance assignment because it was the only way to ensure you'd have at least one ally during the investigation. And yes, I'm here because I want to help."
"Why?" Akira asked. "Why do you care what happens to me?"
Ryouta was quiet for a long moment, seeming to weigh his words carefully. "Because you remind me of who I used to be," he said finally. "Before centuries of supernatural politics and survival instincts made me cautious about everything. You still have hope, still believe in doing the right thing even when it's complicated. I don't want this situation to destroy that."
"It might," Akira said quietly. "I'm already questioning everything and everyone."
"Questioning is good," Ryouta said. "Giving up hope isn't."
Akira's phone buzzed with another message. This time it was from her mother.
*Mom: Working late again. Leftover curry in the fridge. Love you.*
Such a normal, domestic message. Her mother had no idea that government agents might be watching their house, that her daughter was under investigation by a supernatural council, or that their quiet life was fracturing along fault lines they'd never known existed.
"I need to go home," Akira said. "I need to pretend everything is normal for my mother's sake."
"I'll walk you," Ryouta offered.
"Isn't that a bit obvious for surveillance?"
"I'm your assigned monitor," Ryouta said with a slight smile. "It would be suspicious if I didn't know where you were going."
As they left the coffee shop together, Akira realized that despite everything—the accusations, the investigation, the paranoia—she did feel safer with Ryouta beside her. Whether that was naive trust or good instinct remained to be seen.
But for now, it was enough to know that at least one person was on her side, even if she couldn't be entirely certain of his motivations.
The walk home was quiet, both of them scanning their surroundings with practiced awareness. As they reached her street, Ryouta paused.
"Akira," he said quietly. "Whatever the investigation reveals, whatever decisions you have to make—remember that your humanity is not something they can take away from you. No matter what kind of creature you become, who you choose to be is still your choice."
"Thank you," she said, meaning it. "That... that helps."
"I'll be nearby," Ryouta said. "If you need anything, just call."
As Akira walked the final block to her house, she tried to imagine explaining any of this to her mother. The supernatural world was complicated enough without adding government conspiracies and internal betrayals to the mix.
But as she reached her front door, she noticed something that made her enhanced senses go on high alert. The faint scent of unfamiliar humans lingered around her house, and there were subtle signs that someone had been examining their property—footprints in the garden, fingerprints on the mailbox, a nearly invisible wire near the front window.
Her home was already under surveillance.
The investigation had begun.