Colder than Science
Sometimes, it was good to be normal.
With each step John took, following friends through a heat-baked amusement park, he began feeling like a kid again. Ideals of monsters and swallowed hearts had taken a backseat in his mind, being replaced with things like ferris wheels and roller coasters. They were here for an outing, not a mission, like normal people did. And when the breeze broke against John's face? On a mission, he would need to pull up his hood and sulk again. Sneak through the alleyways, slip through the woven metal fences. If people thought the Mekakushi Dan never loosened up, John wouldn't be surprised.
That said, this trip didn't completely fit the confines of 'normal'. Konoha said he wasn't feeling well, and broke off from the group. Weird. Why would a superhuman android, one who could cross ten rooftops in a single leap, not feel well? John took a sniff. There was even a barbeque stand here. Warm oiled meat and green peppers laid there, glistening in the sunlight and staining wooden skewers yellow. John's own mouth filled with water. He didn't even like barbeque all that much. What a shame. Either way, the trickster kept walking down the cobblestone, chasing after his cluster of friends after they called him to hurry. One of those pirate ship rides was waiting! Who could pass one of those up?
Hibiya could. John bumped straight into the clairvoyant after he stopped smack-dab in the middle of the crossroads. "Hey, what gives?" John scowled.
"Don't act so annoyed so quickly! Didn't you see that blur back there?" Hibiya pointed. "From behind the bushes, really quick, as tall as Konoha?"
"Come on. You are just seeing things!"
"No, I'm serious, John! I'm the one with the Focusing Eyes, remember?" the brunette retorted. "I wouldn't joke about this. I'm absolutely certain I saw Konoha! Who else could it be? That height, that fast?" Hibiya pointed a finger at his right eye, just to drive the point in more. John wasn't any more convinced, but looked around anyways. Blue eyes scanned the amusement park, shifting left and right for any sign of a white android – what was Hibiya talking about? There wasn't any…wait.
A blur passed by the pirate ship ride, growing ever closer, looking just like Konoha. Did Konoha get a change of clothes before coming here? He looked different. No, for sure he looked different. John saw it, not just in the darker colour palette, but by the look in his eye. And what was that in his hand? Was that…a pistol? Or a knife? It was less than a meter from John's person. He gulped.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, my queen. Well, shall we begin the next phase of this tragedy?" He sounded different too. More venomous. What was this?
Bam! The sound of a gunshot. John took a look at each of his friends, fellow Beta kids still standing, Mekakushi Dan…Not all of them. Kano. The deceiver laid there, slumped over in a pool of blood that grew. Could he survive that? Thoughts slipped and snaked in the trickster's mind. He heard Kido mutter something under her breath. What was it? She was switching between Japanese and English. Louder. What was it? Scatter, she was saying. Scatter!
"Everyone, scatter! Get in groups of two and run! Dave, follow Jade, John, follow Rose!"
He did. John didn't know the last time he had ever followed someone's orders so quickly.