Chapter 4

In the Niijima's apartment home...

"Welcome home, Sis and Arisato-kun." greeted Makoto to both Sae and Minato at the door after they came back from Shujin Academy.

"We're back, Makoto. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee before I leave to do my job." Sae greeted back to Makoto before she walked past her and head toward the kitchen.

"Sure, Sis." said Makoto as she (and Minato) watched her head toward the kitchen before she glance back at Minato. "So, how was your re-enrollment into Shujin Academy, Arisato-kun?" asked Makoto.

"Well, it's at least as big and up-to-date as my previous school in Port Island, the homeroom teacher, Kanakubo-sensei looks troubled but decent enough but as for the principal…" said Minato with a calm look on his face to Makoto about the school and his homeroom teacher before a disgust look replaced his calm look when he spoke about the principal.

"O-Oh, I see. Well, glad to know that you like Shujin Academy and your homeroom teacher and I know how you feel when you see principal Kobayakawa but I'm sure you'll get use to him." said Makoto.

"… I doubt that I will but I'll do my best." muttered Minato under his breath.

"Well, I'll be going now, Makoto, Arisato-kun. And sorry but it looks like I won't be back tonight." said Sae apologetically to Makoto.

"O-Oh, okay." said Makoto with a sad look on her face. "What about tomorrow? Wil you be back?" asked Makoto.

"Hopefully." replied Sae before she glance sternly at Minato. "I hope you still remember about my warning if you attempt to enter mine or Makoto's rooms, is that clear to you?" said Sae with a warning glare look on her face to Minato (who nodded to her) before she left.

"So, uh, Arisato-kun…" said Makoto before she got cut off by Minato.

"Sae-san looks really stressed. Guess her job and life as a prosecutor and also looking after and taking care of you, her younger sister and now me must be running her ragged, huh?" said Minato calmly to Makoto.

"Uh, yes. You're right about that, Arisato-kun." said Makoto with a slight surprise look on her face. "So, back to my question. Do you need me to show you around school tomorrow?" asked Makoto.

"No, that won't be necessary, Niijima-san. I'm sure I'll be fine and right now I think I'm going to bed because I'm feeling a bit tired, good night, Niijima-san." replied Minato politely to Makoto.

"I see. Good night then, Arisato-kun." said Makoto as she watched Minato walked past her toward his room, went in and closed the door before she went into her own room and began studying.

XXXX

Inside Minato's room…

After Minato stepped into his room, closed the door and sat down on his bed, he take out his phone with the intention to check and called his old SEES friends and teammates but before he could do so, he saw with a surprise then frown look on his face at the same red and black app on his phone that he saw on the phone of the other guy named Akira Kurusu yesterday.

"Why is this app that I saw on Kurusu-kun's phone yesterday is doing on my phone now? Well, no matter. Because I'm going to delete it…" thought Minato to himself before the familiar figure of Pharos (who's a small pale-skinned, light blue-eyed, short and wavy black-haired boy wearing black and white stripes long sleeve shirt and pants and had a small black beauty spot below his left eye) suddenly appear in front of him.

"Hey, it's been a while, old friend. And I wouldn't delete that app if I were you." said Pharos as he gave a small, polite smile to Minato (who glance at him with a surprise then blank look on his face).

"Pharos! How and why are you here?" asked Minato.

"How and why am I here, you ask? Can't a friend came to visit and see another friend?" said Pharos with a sad look on his face now.

"N-No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is how are you here now, Pharos? I thought that you were sealed along with Nyx after you merged with her at the top of Tartarus years ago." said Minato.

"Oh, I see." said Pharos as he smiled in understanding now. "Well, that velvet room lady, Elizabeth resealed me back within you after she uses all of the strong bonds that you had with your friends plus a chunk of her power to freed and replaced you as the Seal." explained Pharos.

"What, so she not only uses the bonds I have with my friends to replaced me as the Seal, she also resealed you back inside me? So that feeling I felt yesterday with that Kurusu guy…" said Minato with a thoughtful look on his face.

"That might have been me briefly woke up from within you or it might have been your other persona, Orpheus, Minato." said Pharos before he glance at Minato's phone, specifically the red and black app on it. "Anyways, back to what I say before, you must not delete that app that just appear on your phone, Minato." added Pharos in a slight warning tone of voice to Minato.

"And why shouldn't I, Pharos?" asked Minato, confused.

"Because that app will be a huge help to you in helping out the latest Wild Card user and the others soon enough, Minato. That's all I can say to you and we'll meet and talk again soon." replied Pharos as he smiled again at Minato before he fade away into thin air.

"This app will be a huge help to me soon enough, huh? Well then, I'll not delete it then and I'll meet and talk to you again soon, Pharos." thought Minato to himself before he stood up, turned off and put his phone down on the desk (and thinking that he'll check and called them some other time), change into his pajamas and fell asleep.

XXXX

In the SIU Director's office…

Inside a large, expensive and well-furnished office of the director of SIU company, an elderly, almost bald-headed, grey-eyed man wearing a dark blue business suit, black shoes and glasses on his face as he sat in his black leather chair behind his desk and Sae Niijima (who stands near the front of his desk) watched the latest news report of a subway train accident in Shibuya Station that caused no more than 80 people being gravely injured and killed on the flat-screen TV on the wall in front of them both.

"It's less of an operating accident and more of a crime of the company and the government." said the director of SIU in a displeased tone of voice to Sae standing near the desk as they continue to watched the news report. "Site inspectors apparently reported all of this 6 months ago – the deterioration of the tracks and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There's no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top." the director added to Sae before he fell silent as the news report started to report a series of other accidents that had happened recently in other different places in Tokyo.

"Everything's linked – that's what you're thinking, correct?" the director asked Sae (who didn't answer his question and is still watching the news report) before he smiled, closed his eyes and lowered his head a little. "… Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven't gone for a drink for a while."

"Thank you, sir. But I have another meeting to attend to with Mitsuyoshi. I must be going now." said Sae as she turned to glance and smiled politely to the director before she bowed to him, turned and left his office.

After Sae walked out of the office, she saw and smiled warmly at a short black-haired, amber-eyed man (named Mitsuyoshi Tokugawa) wearing a black and white business suit and black shoes on his feet and the man smiled warmly back at Sae when he saw her.

"Hello, Sae. Are you ready for the meeting that we're about to attend?" asked Mitsuyoshi.

"Yes, I am, Mitsuyoshi. Let's go." replied Sae.

"Of course, Sae." said Mitsuyoshi as he and Sae turned and began walking down the corridor together. "So, I've heard that you've just taken in and looking after a young boy named Minato Arisato, isn't it, Sae? How is he like?" asked Mitsuyoshi.

"He seems like a smart and quiet sort of boy and he's behaving himself after I gave him some warning and he'll attending Shujin Academy with my sister tomorrow." replied Sae.

"Is that so, Sae? You know, why don't you try to trust him a little bit more instead of being suspicious of him?" said Mitsuyoshi.

"And why would I do that, Mitsuyoshi?" asked Sae as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I said try, Sae. I didn't say that you should trust him immediately and completely." replied Mitsuyoshi firmly to her.

"…I'll think about it." said Sae to Mitsuyoshi before they stop talking while walking down the stairs leading down toward the front entrance of the SIU building, they saw a young, slightly fair-skinned, reddish-brown eyed guy with chin-length light brown hair with some bangs covering his forehead and wearing a white dress shirt with a long-sleeve tan peacoat with black buttons on it over the shirt, striped black and white necktie around his neck, black gloves on his hands, long black trousers and black shoes on his legs standing with his back leaning against the railing of the stairs at the foot of the staircase while he holds a white briefcase in his left hand and a dark red smartphone in his right hand.

"Hello, Sae-san and Mitsuyoshi-san. Did you ask for me? Is it about the new case?" the young guy asked both Sae and Mitsuyoshi as he noticed and turned to greeted them with a smile while he put his phone in his pants pocket.

"Not quite, Goro Akechi. I want your opinion on something." replied Sae briskly as she walked past him.

"Sure. Your judgement is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You're making a student work late after all." said the guy named Goro Akechi as he turned and glance at her (which make Mitsuyoshi sighed and scowled at him).

"Is that why you're waiting for us here, Akechi-kun? You wanted us to treat you to dinner?" said Mitsuyoshi.

"N-No, that's not it, Mitsuyoshi-san!" said Goro nervously to him.

"Conveyor belt, only." said Sae without looking back at Goro.

"Awww…" groaned Goro in disappointment.

"Stop groaning, Akechi-kun." said Mitsuyoshi disapprovingly at Goro before they walked out of the SIU building.