"There he is," a man wearing all black whispered to his matching companion next to him. He slowly raised his hand to point at a student standing in the small square. This particular student was wearing a light blue sundress and inspecting a matching necklace at one of the many vendors' tables that were packed into the tiny plaza. There would have been nothing remarkable about this particular student if you did not notice the pastel pink hair that was flowing out from under the straw hat. "That is our target, Gero Akoya. He is foolish to come here alone but that makes this so much easier for us." The man grinned and turned to his partner. "Stay here and remember the plan." The other man nodded so he stood up and began to approach the teenager.
Once he was close, the man addressed the teen. "Mr. Gero?"
The student turned to look at him, confusion swimming in his bright blue eyes. "Have we met?" he asked politely.
"Not yet," the man admitted. "I was only hired by your father last week and began yesterday. I was hired to be a backup driver for you since he disapproves of you going out on your own so often. I was instructed to pick you up so you can have some extra study time but your usual driver happened to fall ill."
The boy regarded him for a moment, thinking deeply about the story he had just heard. Finally he asked, "Do I still have flute lessons this afternoon?"
The man sighed impatiently. "Of course you do but you need to study before that." He grabbed the teen's wrist. "Now come on. We must not delay."
"Let me just put this back and I will meet you at the car. It will only take a moment." The other indicated the necklace that he was still holding and tried to pull his wrist free. The man did not release him but he did allow him to put the necklace back where it had been on the table. Suddenly, he turned toward the man and punched him as hard as he could.
Surprised, the man's grip loosened enough for his wrist to slip free. Taking no time to pause, the boy ran for the exit not currently being blocked by the strange man which happened to be a dark alleyway. Soon he could hear two sets of thunderous footfalls behind him. Quickly ducking behind a dumpster, he started to yell "Conquest!" when his wrist was grabbed once more. This time it was being held by a different man but he was dressed identically to the first one. The teen swung his body around swiftly, harshly kicking the new man in the chest. With a grunt, his wrist was once again released. While the man was winded, he shouted "Conquest!" for the second time.
But no power began to flow through his body. Looking down, he realized that his ring had been pulled off when he broke free. Having no other options, he started running again for the exit to the alley.
Bursting onto the sidewalk, he frantically looked for a place to hide when he heard his name called again. Snapping his head in the direction the voice had come from, he was relieved to see his fellow student council member, Arima Ibushi. Arima was staring at him from inside a car that had pulled over and out of traffic. Without thinking, he ran towards the car and the other teen only barely managed to open the door in time before the panicked student threw himself onto the floor of the car.
"Drive!" he screamed at the driver. "But do not make it look like you are hurrying or that you ever even stopped!"
The driver instantly obeyed him and pulled back onto the street.
Once they were driving, the student laid back where he had been on the floor.
"Akoya?" a worried voice asked softly. "What is going on?"
"I think I was almost abducted!" he cried out, throwing his head on the other's lap and bursting into tears. Shocked, Arima let him do so and turned his head just enough to look out the back windshield. Two men tumbled out of the alley and looked around before going into a nearby shop. He quickly turned around before he was spotted as well.
