During the call, Akira's face shifted from an unreadable expression to concern, then finally to stifled anger. Once the call ended, it looked like it was taking all his strength for him not to crush his phone with his grip alone. Walking back, Akira's face was mixed with anger and sadness. Yuma didn't like it one bit. Anger was one thing, but sadness? He was concerned which one of them it was for.
Akira locked eyes with Yuma, which made his heart drop. He couldn't have been more obvious about who that sad expression is for. He even began to wonder if it's truly sadness or the face of a man prepared to bring the worst news possible. Before Akira could even talk, after returning, Yuma's hands shook. His heart began pounding hard, his mind drawing up all the possibilities for Akira's reaction. Still keeping his eyes on him, Akira held his shoulder, softly mouthing something he couldn't be bothered to decipher.
"W-what... What?!" Yuma snapped at Akira; he couldn't hold back his emotions anymore.
Akira stood there, hand on his shoulder, in silence for a moment before telling him.
"The agent's assigned to your mother... Both are dead," Akira muttered, holding back his own anger.
Yuma's heart shattered.
"A-and my mom?" he whispered as his eyes began to sting.
Akira looked to the floor, no longer wanting to look at his face while delivering the news.
"The... car... uh" Akira couldn't finish it, he sighed as his grip tightened.
"OUT WITH IT! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MOM!" Yuma shouted, losing it over his inability to finish.
"Yuma.. I'm sorry... There isn't much information... they just found the car." Akira answered.
Yuma looked at him, livid, sick of him dragging this on more than it has to.
"AKIRA FUCKING TELL ME!" Yuma screamed.
Akira looked up and stared into his eyes, dead serious.
"The agents were dissolved to bones a few feet from the car... I don't want to say thing now, but it's more than likely he got to your mother too..."
That was it.
The news he was most terrified of is reality.
His mom was killed.
Keisuke covered his mouth, tears running down his face. Even though that was Yuma's mother, she was like his second mother, too. Yuma's anger transformed into tears; he couldn't hold it together anymore. Collapsing to his knees, he broke down in tears. Keisuke joined him and gave him a side hug as he cried quietly. Akira looked at both of them for a second before grabbing the railing and crushing it with all his might. Akira was seething in rage over his failure and the loss of Yuma's mother. For a long while, silence fell, and Yuma stopped crying. He wasn't sad anymore; instead gritting his teeth in anger.
"I'm going to kill him." Yuma mumbled through his teeth.
Keisuke didn't let go of him, instead holding him tighter.
"He won't get away with it..." Keisuke whispered, affirming him.
Akira didn't say anything; he didn't have to. The frost growing on the railing spoke volumes, more than words ever could. In a calmer sense, Yuma couldn't kill anyone, but now it's different. It has to be different. Getting up, Yuma wiped his face from his tears and sniffled a little.
"Let's get on with this plan. I'll get him one way or the other." Yuma declared.
Keisuke followed suit and got up as well, no words to be said. He simply left on his own. Now, only Yuma and Akira were left. The two looked at each other and left the roof together.
Their mission is clear.
Find Aymar and Daya.
Kill the hooded man.
***
The afternoon sun shone brightly in the sky as Keisuke and Kae walked through the hall. The halls were packed with students on their lunch break. The two walked in silence before Kae decided some small talk would make this less awkward.
"So.. um.. how are you?" Kae whispered softly.
"I'm fine." Keisuke answered, not wanting to talk.
Kae looked at him with skepticism, his face not showing what an "I'm fine" person looks like.
"Are you sure, you don't look like it..." she pressed on.
Keisuke looked at her, a soft smile present. He didn't want to involve her in his grief, and neither did he want to scare her into doubting the group.
"I'm fine. I promise." He reassured her.
Kae figured she wouldn't get anything more than that and decided to let it go before turning forward.
"Well.. I'm sure whatever is bothering you will get better," she mumbled out before changing the subject to other matters.
"Did your family evacuate safely?"
Keisuke froze; his faux smile dropped instantly. He knew his family was safe, but the woman who was family... He was fighting tears. Kae kept walking, unaware of Keisuke's pause. Only when she turned to talk to him did she notice he was a few steps back.
"Keisuke?" Kae called out softly.
Keisuke didn't respond; he just stood there staring out into the distance. Lost in his own head, he hadn't noticed Kae had grabbed his shoulders.
"Keisuke? Are you okay?" she spoke up, trying to snap him out of it.
Before she could know whether she snapped him out of it or not, the screams of a few girls grabbed both their attention. Keisuke shook his head,
"Huh? It's nothing." he muttered under his breath, then spoke clearly. "What was that?"
Kae looked at him for a moment from the whiplash of Keisuke's reactions before shrugging.
"Not sure, could be him though," She replied.
The two sped up their pace and walked over to the source. As they approached the screams, they changed to angry yelling and words of disgust. They realized they had been walking towards the girls' change room. Kae walked in without hesitation, but Keisuke stood at the entrance, uncomfortable with the idea of entering. Kae paused and looked over her shoulder, curious why he stopped, but quickly picked up on his hesitation.
"It's fine, you're with me," Kae tried to assure him.
"Eh... You sure?" Keisuke awkwardly said.
Kae nodded.
"But-but what if they're... um..." Keisuke paused, blushing slightly.
Even though he was too embarrassed to finish, Kae had already walked in.
"I'll check, don't worry," she smiled, a little amused by his reaction.
Once she turned the corner, she found a group of girls, still dressed in their gym uniforms, surrounding something. She couldn't see past their backs, but she had a feeling it was him.
"Keisuke! It's safe to come in here!" She called out over her shoulder, eyes still on the girls.
The girls turned around to see who said that, splitting apart in the middle where someone was hunched over, hiding their face. Keisuke walked in, eyes on the ground, embarrassed. The girls looked in confusion at why another man was here. Kae kept her eyes on the boy, hunched over, hiding himself. Keisuke tapped her shoulders, wondering if it really was okay for him to look.
"It's fine. He's here." Kae said flatly.
She was clearly irritated and creeped out alongside the other girls. Looking up, Keisuke looked at the hunched over boy and simply stared. Between being baffled, he had the confidence to actually sneak into the girl's room and, weirded out by his actions, couldn't say anything.
"That's him." Kae pointed out.
"Uh..." Keisuke just kept staring.
The boy kept hiding his face, trying to disappear on the spot, unfortunately to no avail. The girls looked at Keisuke, slightly relieved he was there, but still confused as to why.
"Hey Keisuke... weird you're here, but could you get rid of him while you are?" One of the girls asked.
The other girls agreed with her and nodded.
Given no other choice, Keisuke approached the boy and put a hand on his back, but as he got within close range of him, an earthy smell hit him. This was definitely who they were looking for, but looking over the boy's shoulder, he noticed something in his hands. Clothing he had stolen from one of the lockers. Immediately, he let go of the boy, utterly disgusted.
"WHAT THE HELL!" Keisuke shouted at him.
Kae was surprised by that and jumped a little, startled by his shouting. Getting closer to the Keisuke, she saw it too. Now she knew why he reacted the way he did, even having the same reaction.
"YOU CREEP! YOU STOLE THEIR SPARE SHORTS?!" Kae yelled in anger.
The other girls looked at the boy with even deeper disgust. They hadn't realized he wasn't hiding his face; he was hiding what he stole. Keisuke grabbed his collar and dragged him out of the girl's room, disgusted. Kae apologized to the girls and left with Keisuke. The two took him underneath the stairs, cornering him against the wall. They looked at him with angry expressions, completely changing what they initially were planning to ask.
"Why were you in the girls' room?" Keisuke asked, slightly calmer but not easing the edge of his tone.
"I- uh.." The boy timidly tried to respond.
But before he could explain, Kae snatched the shorts from his hand and left for the girls' room to return them. The boy didn't try to fight it and simply watched Kae leave, slightly disappointed at his loss. Keisuke snapped in his face, returning his attention to him.
"Answer me." Keisuke pressed.
"I.. I have a crush on this girl, and I just wanted to sm-smell... her..." the boy answered honestly.
Keisuke looked at him with pure disgust. That sentence gave him chills down his arms, utterly creeped out. He was aware people like this existed, but never did he think he'd actually run into one. Sighing heavily, he pinched his nose bridge. This had nothing to do with why he was here, but it definitely made him decide they would've been better off without him. Still, he knew what was at risk and the loss they had already suffered and decided to swallow whatever instinct told him to get rid of him.
"... Look, I'm not here about that... but I already don't like you. Regardless, you are a conduit, aren't you?" Keisuke asked reluctantly.
The boy looked at him with wide eyes at the mention of conduits.
"You... you know about that?!" The boy stammered, caught off guard.
Keisuke nodded, his face still very disappointed and disgusted.
"I assume you're Naoto." Keisuke elaborated.
"Y-yeah... I am... " Naoto confirmed.
Sighing once more, Keisuke reluctantly decided to ask the question he was sent for.
"Listen, there is a very dangerous man hunting you down alongside us. We need you to join us to stop him."
Naoto looked at him for a moment.
"Us? There are more like me?" He questioned, a little thrown off by it.
Keisuke gave him a single nod, confirming what he was speculating about.
"Whole lot more... even some trying to get you. The goal is to help those sent to get us and stop the man who started this. For one reason or another, we pose a risk to him specifically." Keisuke explained properly.
Naoto looked at him before he shifted his eyes behind him. Kae had returned with an even more angered expression. Following his gaze, Keisuke looked behind him to see Kae livid. Confused, he turned back to Naoto only to find him already making a run for it.
"STOP HIM! HE STOLE HER UNDERWEAR!" Kae shouted.
Keisuke looked at Naoto running, shocked that he didn't just steal her shorts but something even more intimate. Keisuke sighed even harder.
'God, he's the worst.'