The sidewalks were crowded, but the only sounds Naoki heard were the sentences that ran through his head.
"Aichi, I'm sorry."
"Aichi, please come home."
"Aichi, don't do this." Naoki watched his feet while trailing behind the rest of the group. His legs shook, he was nearly hyperventilating. All he wanted was for Aichi to be safe.
"Ishida!" Kamui slowed and matched his pace with Naoki. "Are you okay, Ishida?"
"Y-teah, I'll be fine." He closed his eyes and smiled, succeeding in holding back his tears. He waited until Kamui left before letting them spill over. He didn't want to lose Aichi or anyone anymore. Aichi saved him back then, just by playing a single game of Vanguard and not giving up on him. Now he wanted to repay his debt.
"The Tatsunagi building collapsed, right?" Miwa asked Misaki as they navigated the city.
"Yeah. The news reported it as a result of a structural flaw with the building. They also reported Kai and Takuto's deaths as a result of the collapse..." She kept her eyes straight ahead. It was also true that rumors made their way out through even Miyaji that Kai Toshiki's tragic death was actually a suicide. Which wasn't untrue, but Misaki, Akari, Shingo and Naoki attempted to dispel the rumors from Miyaji's end. At least for Aichi's sake. Misaki continued, "They aren't cleaning it up today, so it's the perfect time for Aichi to sneak in... and us too."
"I have to hand it to Ren. I would have never thought of that place."
"That's what's so worrying. How did he know?"
"Lucky guess, maybe?"
"I doubt it." Misaki turned the corner and waited for the Kamui and Naoki to catch up. "We're going to stop at this place to regroup." She nodded her head toward the diner behind her. "We're already close to the Tatsunagi Building and I think we need to sort out a plan."
"Yeah." Kamui agreed, " Despite being all broken down n' stuff, the area's still big and if Brother saw one of us in his state... I don't know what he would do..."
"Mm." Misaki nodded. Naoki continued to stare at his feet. Each step he took was one step closer to another attempt at pulling back Aichi. He was one step closer to screwing up again.
They picked a booth conveniently placed next to the windows. From there, they had a good view of the road leading up to the abandoned building. If Aichi was heading up there or leaving, they would know.
Each ordered something to drink. They wouldn't have the time to eat a full-blown meal. Besides, Misaki said it was her treat.
"Kai came here often..." Miwa muttered under his breath, stiring at a cup of black coffee. It wasn't that long ago that the two met up at the restaurant to discuss Miwa's Seal Dragon deck for the VF Circuit. Kai ordered a cup of black coffee to seem cool, but he added several packets of sugar when he thought Miwa wasn't looking.
"So about Aichi..." Misaki started, attempting to change the topic, "...I think we should split up, but try to keep close in case trouble arises."
"Why don't we leave here and head out at different intervals?" Kamui added. The other three nodded in agreement.
"We can draw straws to see who goes first!" Miwa suggested. Misaki snatched four straws and wrote numbers on them with a thin ballpoint pen. She then bunched them up in her hand to that only the blank tops showed.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
Miwa, Kamui, and Naoki yanked out a straw each. The one that was left in Misaki's hand was hers.
"Two!" Miwa exclaimed, pointing to the small number at the bottom of his straw.
"I've got four." Kamui grumbled.
"Three." Misaki stated. Everyone stared at Naoki.
"I guess this means..." he peeked at his number, "...I'm first."
Misaki slipped some money to Kamui.
"Use this to pay for our bill, okay?"
"Great! Thanks, Misaki!"
"I'm expecting change."
"Awww..."
Naoki gazed at the pedestrians walking by the window. He was first to go. He had a greater chance of screwing up again. Naoki closed his eyes and tried to think back to the days before reverse. The days before Takuto announced his plans to destroy the world. However, he knew the past was gone and the only thing he could do is fix the present. Except fix wasn't the right word. Nobody could undo Kai Toshiki's death, no matter how hard they tried. Suddenly, with this in mind, Naoki gathered the courage to stand up.
"I'm heading out. We're going to find Aichi. Make sure he's here. Then, we'll help him and Kourin too." With that, Naoki left the building and stepped down a street that would change the future.
