PATH CONTINUED...
"I'm glad to have someone out here like yourself Akuma, it may help our situation more than you know."
"Oh. The riots." All three were sitting in Makoto's blue car on a dirty garbage ridden highway, going about questions for each other. "Has she seen them already?" Akuma looked back at Shion for a curious glance. The two males were front seat.
"No. I hid all that from her." Makoto said with honesty.
"That's only going to make seeing all of it harder for her." Akuma turned around all the way in his seat to see her. "Shion. You know why we're all out here? Who your mom is and why there's so many riots happening every night?"
"The riots are happening because of the enforced laws right? My mom is enforcing those laws?"
"Both are right. You're mother is in a pretty important jurisdiction of the Japan government. I'm only here so you're alive by the time she can take you in custody. So... any questions?"
"Your eyes..." Shion Started. "Do you only get blue eyes if you're from Germany or have good genes? They're really pretty." Shion said innocently.
"Uhh...W-Well..." Akuma jumped back in his seat facing forward, slumped down. "G-Good genes..."
"Akuma, you're red to your ears!" Makoto teased.
"Shut up dickhead!" He yelled back.
"Was that rude of me..." Shion looked as if she was ready to cry. "Please...Please don't fight over me! I never meant anything..." Her eyes started to water.
"N-No! We were just kidding."
"Yeah! Don't worry about it Shion! D-Don't cry! Pretty girls like you don't need to cry!" Akuma turned around again and smiled with a silly expression.
"I'm...?" Shion wiped her tears and sat in plain shock.
"Ok you two. We're home." Makoto said loudly.
"Woah..." Akuma looked outside the car and saw all around them was trash and blood rags piling up on the corners of the streets. A single bullet was seen in the parking lot they were parked in. "Shion. You aren't scared?"
"I am. Quite a bit." She did not shake or cower away from the answer.
"Not seeing anything is better I think. You've been through enough haven't you?" Makoto defended her.
"Oh yeah? Like what...?" Akuma said in disbelief.
"I could never tell you. I was just informed out of secrecy. So, I know that Shion has been put through some extreme measurements in her life. Not like you where you wanted to be pushed Akuma." Makoto stepped out of the car and opened Shion's door, escorting her gently out of the vehicle by her hand. "Come on. Let's head inside, and hope no one knows a G man lives around here." He smiled.
"How do you know so much about me Makoto... It's not fair..." Shion looked miserable.
"Your mom gave out A LOT of information."
"What a great role model." Akuma sighed.
The three were quite and Makoto had Shion within his fingers and chuckled looking at her every now and then to see her shy glances as they climbed the many staircases. "Makoto... why do you tease me..."
"Why?"
"Because he wants to molest you." Akuma interrupted.
"AHH! You wouldn't!" Shion flinched and had her back pressed against Akuma's chest. "You're kidding? I- I'm only fourteen!"
"I am kidding! I am! Please! Don't be s-s-so close!" Akuma stood as tall as a plank and hid his arms behind him with his fingers crunched into his palm.
"So you're saying If you were older than it'd be fine?"
"PERVERT!" The two said in unison.
Akuma kicked Makoto in the shin. "Knock it off!"
"So sorry. I didn't mean anything."
"Hmph. Sure you did."
"I did! Now calm down and relax in my condo. Both of you!"
Shion remembered the lonely living room and the alcoholic smell that came from the kitchen. She sat on the bland green couch. Akuma glanced around the room and saw no other seat in sight. He had took a spot on the edge of the couch, having his body hang off the end looking uncomfortable. "Akuma. Should I move? Do you... hate me?"
"N-No."
"I know. I'm a weird girl. You have your reasons to stay away from me." Shion said lowly. Makoto looked around the corner of the living room in the hallway to see the two conversing. He hid to hear them continue on.
"Look. I just have to keep you out of my bubble for various rules ok? I took classes for this kind of crap, so don't get all self conscious girl! Or do you want me to give you a reason to?!" His eye twitched and his hand squeezed the end of the couch painfully.
"P-Please... Don't..." Shion cowered away onto the ground and sat in fetal position.
"H-Hey. I didn't mean-" Akuma slowly got up and sat on the ground next to her and seen the back of her neck was darker than the rest of her skin, and that underneath her sleeves were many dark lines. Noticeably on her upper arms. "So. Who'd you stay with before you came here?" Akuma rolled down the girls sleeve and straightened her collar. Makoto didn't see anything.
"Haa...Haa..." Shion panted.
"Look." He held her hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. I wouldn't ever."
"I- I stayed with... M-My... My uncle. He treated me well. Very well." She regained her composure.
"Treated well huh?" Akuma said lowly and caught Makoto's head in the corner of the room. "We ARE talking about this later." He left her and marched outside, bumping into the adult that tried to spy on them.
"What's his deal? He looked upset."
"I wouldn't know..."
...
"Shion. When's the last time you and your mother Gekou met?"
"I don't know... When I was Ten years old, me and her fought. Some words were spoken, and she left me at the garden."
"T-The Garden?"
"The only thing of my father me and her have left. It was preserved at the place of her death."
"Really? Is he buried underneath it all?" Makoto was surprised.
"Actually, his body was never found sadly. Just... remains. Ash and burnt blood."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. We think he was caught in an oven used at his old workplace. But no oven..."
"What?" Makoto fell silent.
"Anything could have happened so they say."
("Spontaneous Combustion")
("Gamma ray concentration")
("Somethin somethin...")
"Lots of things were said Makoto. Nobody knows."
"Wow... So his workplace huh? Where did he pass away?"
"Some place up in the mountains here in Japan. The really big one."
"..."
"Yeah. His whole set up was in the base of the-"
(What the hell is she going on about? Her dad didn't work THERE did he? No way... Not THERE.)
"-it was full of things said to lead back to the B.C. era. Containing all types of-"
(I thought it was all a hoax... how terrifying.)
"-ABOVE ALL was written in his journals. Wonder why? Hey Makoto, do you know anything at all about his work?"
"Shion. Don't mention any of that stuff to Akuma ok?"
"Will he get upset?"
"N-No. Not quite. Just don't ok. Even if he brings it up. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. I'm gonna have me a little nap time. You should go look for him before the riots start up again. Maybe you'll find something interesting in your travels huh?"
"Nap time? Is that... is that normal!?" Shion looked before her to see the adult in the house smoking something green.
"Well alcohol is a bit rough to handle in this situation we're in right now. So I'd rather wake up hungry and warm, than pissed off and dizzy. Is that ok my Princess?"
...
So...
She left the house.
But where did she go?
She traveled far...
And for a long time...
She was at...
THE MALL.
W-Wait. Really?
A secluded and broken girl... visits... THE MALL?
Whatever...
"He could be here..." Shion looks into her purse, and pulls out the credit card her mother shipped her.
"Use it all you like. You may need it."
"Mother."
"H-Hey girl." A nerdy voice called out.
"Yes?" Shion saw a sharply dressed high school student with brown hair and freckles. He seemed sincere. He arose from a bench beside a wall under an moving poster.
"You from around here? Aren't you in school?"
"I'm from a small town by the sea. Grotto. And no. I haven't started here yet."
"Alright." He took in a deep breathe. "Would you tell me why?"
"I just... got here yesterday."
"Will you start soon?!"
"Calm yourself!"
"!"
"I said calm yourself!" Shion grew frustrated. And her face shown it. "Why do you care huh? What if I don't go to your preppy little shit school?!"
"I-It's not preppy! I just-"
"I'll make you a deal. If you help me find this boy, I'll start your school this week. If we don't find him, then no luck."
"Sure." He said. And the two began their journey in the mall. "Before we get too far, what does this boy look like? Is he older? Fat or...?"
"Redhead German Boy. Skinny and fit. He looks scary."
"Oh. Him." Preppy kid said with a huff. "Who's he? Your boyfriend?"
"Um. Bodyguard." Shion brushed her hair to the side.
"I talked to him. He was in that store right over there. Buying all kinds of stuff, asking for my advice on all kinds of stuff."
"A... Toy store?" Shion couldn't believe it.
"He asked if girls liked teddy bears. Don't know why he was asking me." The two took an escalator a floor up where a whole other area was unlocked to them in the vast and lonely mall.
"Maybe because you look like a ladies man." Shion said lowly.
"Hee hee. . You think so?!" He scratched the back of his head in a nervous joy.
"So... did he look upset?"
"Hmm. No. A little frowny. Or sad? Which was it I wonder? He gave me a pretty hard time in the store. All telling me how he wasn't doing this for anyone special when I asked him about a girl. All mumbling on the way out. He even gave me money to not tell he was in the mall!"
"And you told me..."
"Yeah." The preppy boy laughed to himself. "Shion. right?"
"Yeah...did you look in my bag or something...?" The two walked towards the entrance to the toy store after ascending off the moving steps.
"That's the name. The name Akuma put on the animal..." He pointed towards a big red dog with black and white polka dot ribbons in it's ears. "Well it's pretty cute. He put the name on the dog collar."
"He did?" Shion stood still and stared at the big stuffed dog.
"He sure did. Most expensive thing in the store. You're lucky to have him as a friend huh?"
"Yeah... A friend...Right. A friend." She looked down and gripped her plain black bag tightly. "That's the nicest thing that... that..." Shion shook and she closed her eyes as tight as she could, not letting any tears out.
"You ok? Did you two fight? You want a tissue?" He pulled a small box out of his pocket with tissue hanging out the top of it neatly.
"Thank you too... You're both so nice. Everybody I've met so far... You're all so nice to me..." She hugged the boy tightly.
"W-Whoa! I just..." The boy looked down to see her sobbing on his black button shirt. "You've been through some stuff huh." He held her with a smile. UNTIL...
"Get the hell off her!" That voice...!
"A-Akuma! Shion turned around to see his face red as a ripe tomato. Though he looked angry at the same time. What a weird expression...
"Shion! Come here!" He yelled so loud, his voice echoed. If there were people around, they would all look their way in silence.
"O- Ok..." She came to him slowly and the student released her without hesitation. "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah yeah. Are YOU ok though?" He held her hands together with a worried look, not taking his eye off the student.
"Yes. I was just-"
"You were just what?! This idiot was trying to get under your skirt Shion!"
"Hey! I'm no ladies man so you two cut it out!"
"Oh sure! That's what they all say!" He said in a feisty voice. "Don't listen to that creepy bastard. Let's go home!" He whispered.
"Hey prep!" Shion yelled out. "I'll find your school! I promise!"
Akuma looked surprised. "You're not finding anything!" The German boy gave Shion an confused look. "A-And stay the hell away from Shion! You hear me Hitari!?" Akuma gave him a threatening look.
"But-"
"LET'S. GO." Akuma dragged Shion by her hand with a bag in the other.
...
"Why did you leave the house?" The boy asked.
"Why can't I? I can go wherever I want..." Shion sounded hurt.
"There's riots going on stupid." He sounded tired.
"Sorry I'm such a problem for you Akuma!" Shion slapped her hand away.
"God- Damn- I mean... Look. You're really not a problem. I just don't need you getting hurt ok? Had me stressed out. I can't let a girl I'm supposed to protect get hurt or taken advantage of. You really gotta look out for yourself Shion. How can you be so laid back huh?"
"Because I can."
"I-I'm sorry." Akuma rubbed his forehead. "Say again?"
"I can tell that boy was dear. He was concerned for his school, and my situation. So... He only knows how to help. He didn't have that deceptive vibe. You have it, but... I think you might rely on it."
"I'm deceptive? How so?" He was caught off guard.
"Ohh... Nothing!" The girl thought about teasing him.
"What?! Come on! Tell me! You're lying aren't you?!"
"Maaaaaaybe!"
"Don't kid around! You tell me right now or I'm not giving you this-"
"What?"
"N-Nothing..."
"What Akuma? What won't you give me? Is it in that bag perhaps?"
"..." Akuma did not respond.
"..." Shion smiled.
"Shut up."