XII

Friends

Sitting there in the meeting room, Mayu couldn't help but feel a little distracted by the Mei's absence. She couldn't imagine what would have caused her not to be missing, seeing as the girl definitely knew that there would be a meeting today and that she was expected to be present.

"Well, with that I believe we have discussed all the points on the agenda," the voice of the club president brought Mayu back to the situation at hand. "I want to thank you all for taking the time to be here, and I want you all to know that I feel honored to have such dedicated members. You are dismissed."

Hastily packing her bag before following the other members out the door, she was suddenly stopped by a hand on her arm.

"Isuzu-san, I understand Suzaki-san wasn't here today. Could you please bring a copy of what we have discussed to her house? I'll make sure that a copy of the notes is delivered to you before the end of the day." The club president asked her.

Since Mayu was already planning on heading over to Mei's house that afternoon anyway, she agreed and made a mental note to wait for Saeko after she received the notes so the two of them could walk over together. Just as she was leaving again, another person pulled her back. Concealing an annoyed groan, she recognized said person to be Aki. "Are you going to visit her? I was wondering if I could tag along too, since I have the homework sensei left for her. She sure picked a bad time to fall sick." He said.

"Sick?" Confused, Mayu asked him about it. Mei had been perfectly fine when they said goodbye yesterday so it seemed a little strange to her. "Did Mei-san or one of her parents call the school then?"

"Yeah, it seems she is sick at home. Sensei got a call this morning saying that Suzaki-san wouldn't be able to come to school for the next few days. I think he said it was the flu or something."

"I see. Well, I guess one more person wouldn't hurt. We can walk over together, but I need to make sure I have the notes first." Mayu smiled as she accepted his request.


"We actually managed to pick her up," the girl with the dark brown hair cheerily remarked as they were standing in line, her perfect ponytail swaying left and right as she moved. "We got so lucky today, I'm so excited!"

"We wanted to try talking to you, Isuzu-san," the other girl present explained patiently. "We weren't sure if you were in the right mood for it, but we still wanted to give it a try. I hope this isn't too much trouble for you?"

"R-Really?" Still uncertain on what to make of this, Saeko didn't really know what to say in return. She was still confused as to how she'd joined these girls in the first place. "A-Ah n-no. No, you're not causing me any trouble, though I'm feeling a little nervous about this. I-It's so sudden for me."

"You always seemed so jittery, which is kind of interesting." The first girl said kindly.

Saeko felt her joy disappear after hearing that. "I-Interesting huh?" In truth, that remark only served to make her more insecure about herself.

"Yeah." Both girls nodded once more before Yuzuru leaned in closer to speak. "I'm-."

"K-Kayano Yuzuka-san. Born June 22nd." Saeko blurted out suddenly, taking said girl by surprise before turning to face the other girl as well. "Ichinose Azusa-san. Born December 16th."

Though Azusa nodded in agreement, Yuzuka was getting more surprised. "Huh?"

She didn't know that Saeko even knew their names, and was even more pleasantly surprised by the fact that she knew their birthdays as well. "You know our birthdays? That is so cool of you!"

Taking a deep breath, Saeko tried to calm her growing nerves. "Y-Yeah, I-I looked at our class list and learned everyone's information."

Yuzuka giggled after hearing that. "I knew you would be interesting, Isuzu-san. Oh, also… can I call you by your first name? Do you mind?"

Saeko was dumbstruck and became temporarily mute. "Huh?"

Azusa mistook her silence for not having heard what Yuzuka had said and hastily added on. "She means using Saeko. That is your first name after all, right?"

"I-I-I-I…" Saeko was a stuttering mess as she processed all this new information. Surely Yuzuru didn't mean what she thought it meant, right? On the other hand, if she did mean it, then how was she supposed to respond?

"You know, we were kind of worried last week when sensei informed us that you were sick. We had actually talked about visiting you, but felt that it was impolite without talking to you first... Isuzu-san are you alright?" Azusa trailed off suddenly. "You seem to be getting a little pale. Is there something wrong?"

This show of concern was too much and it was making Saeko even more flustered.

"Perhaps you're still not fully recovered from your sickness? Let's go sit down. The last thing we'd want is for you to faint or something."

Again, Saeko let the girls lead her towards a table and she sat down quietly. Azusa took in the almost quivering form in front of her and let out an exasperated sigh. "Just wait here while we bring over some lunch for you. Is teriyaki salmon okay with you?"

Saeko didn't remember nodding as she was too busy trying to wake herself up from whatever dream she was in. The sting of her pinch confirmed that indeed, she was really being invited to lunch by two of her classmates. 'T-They are so nice… why are they … being friendly to me? I… I don't understand…?' She wasn't used to this, not if it came from the people in her class. For the most part she had gotten used to the idea that nobody liked her and yet these two were being so kind and friendly to her.

'I-Is this for real? No. No. No. It can't be… people in my class aren't supposed to be nice… and yet they are… they are very nice… w-will they come back or leave me…?'

With her heartbeat racing and nerves just about going over the edge, Saeko watched as both girls returned like they said they would.

"I brought you your lunch as well, since it seems like you dropped it," Yuzuka pointed out as she placed the familiar bento down in front of her. "You should be more careful; it normally doesn't happen, but there are some students who would keep it for themselves."

Had she been wrong in thinking that nobody in her class liked her? Where had that misguided belief ever come from anyways? Perhaps it stemmed from her own fear of interacting with others. With Yuzuka and Azusa being so kind to her, Saeko actually felt ashamed that she had judged everyone so harshly. Oh how wrong she had been. There were people who wanted to be her friend, and all it would have taken for her was the courage to approach them and strike up a conversation. Who would have thought?


"Fuck this!" Bando growled as he observed himself in the mirror. The wound from where that bastard had managed to cut him had closed, though the scar tissue was still raw. Simply looking at it reminded him that he wasn't in prime shape anymore. To think that such a person could have drawn blood.

Either way, it didn't matter all that much anymore. He had been victorious and that's the important part. Though the trip went sour, it had not been entirely in vain since the bastard had finally given up the information in his dying moments. Whether that information was actually genuine or not remains to be determined.

Wiping away some of the sweat that had formed on his brow, he continued with getting himself refreshed. It had already been a long drive back home, a fact which wasn't helped given that he had to dispose of a body and avoid the police. "Ah well. Time to get to it."

Leaving the bathroom, Bando went back to his seat so he could continue looking into what he'd been digging up. So far, everything was matching up perfectly. Almost too perfectly, he kept telling himself. A vast industrial complex, already closed and abandoned. Yeah, it was perfect for any kind of clandestine activity to take place, but also so painfully obvious. "Bastards... What kind of activity are you planning? I'm going to find out no matter what kind of security measures you're using."

After having gone over the photos multiple times and using his own experience and gut feeling, he figured he probably had a good idea on where men would be stationed to keep look out. He also needed to figure out where the armed guards and snipers would be located. Breaking in unnoticed wasn't going to be easy, but that certainly didn't mean that it would be impossible. He just needed a good plan and plenty of back up. Going in there alone was foolish, and if he was going to step into a hornet's nest, he would make sure that he brought enough firepower with him.

"I suppose I should give him a call first… he's probably at work right now." He chuckled as he briefly considered simply walking in; oh the look on Dai's face would be priceless, but that wouldn't be enough to stop him from punching the first suit he saw.

Bando snarled in disgust just thinking about them. He wasn't exactly in the best of moods, and he'd been developing a dislike if not outright hatred for anybody affiliated with the government. Honestly after all he had been through, they were still treating him like dirt. Well if that was how it would go then he would gladly oblige them.

"… Fucking pieces of shit…" He spat, getting more worked up the more he thought about it. Deciding that he needed a drink to soothe his dry throat, Bando dragged himself away from the desk and pulled a can from the fridge. "Ah... that hit the spot. Now… what was I going to do? Oh yeah… call Hirano. Better so it later when he's home. Actually... scratch that. I'm just going to pay him a visit and discuss it right there. Then he can't wiggle his way out."

Of course that also meant that he was going to have to endure the presence of the Diclonius daughters. He didn't really mind the quiet one since she kept her distance, but the other one... that one just kept annoying the living hell out of him. Always with that annoying stare and the vexing nicknames. Just thinking about her was already enough to make him feel the need to break something.

"Right. Need to deal with her as well. God I hope she is somewhere else or I'll actually hurt her if the brat opens that big mouth of hers."

Ah the hell with it he thought to himself, if she wanted to pick a fight then he sure as hell would be more than willing to oblige her. She would learn her place if she crossed the line. Then again, those two would likely go and make a big drama out of it all. The way those two had their parents wrapped around their fingers was astonishing and to him something he couldn't stomach. Then again he wasn't completely foreign on the feeling seeing as there was a person who had the exact same effect on him.

"… Damn brat…"


"So you have a sister in the second year? I think I heard from somebody else that there was another Isuzu-san, but I didn't think that it was your sister." Azusa mentioned as she offered a quick prayer for her food. "Isn't she also a top scoring student as well?"

"Y-yes. Mayu-chan is really smart. Much smarter than me, actually."

That earned her an odd look. "Saeko-san you shouldn't say such a silly thing. You're smart as well. I mean, do you even look at your scores on assessments? A lot of people in the class are jealous of you because everything seems to come so naturally to you."

"… H-Huh…?" That idea was new to her; she had never thought of it like that before. Could that explain why she always got those weird looks in class? Maybe it was nothing more than jealousy. "I-I still don't see why they have to be jealous of me… I'm not that smart."

"Oh no, many would disagree. You're also really pretty, which may be why some of the girls are so distant with you. But it's not something you can change. And anyways, I want to talk about nicer topics… what exactly is it that your parents do again?"

Saeko had to swallow before telling them that her family was actually an adopted one and that both she and her sister were treated more like students than children. It went without saying that Mayu was also an adopted sister, which surprised Yuzuka and Azusa even more.

"So nobody in your family is related to each other... wow that must be some interesting family you have, Saeko-san. So how did you all meet?"

Not sure how to approach this topic without raising suspicion, she simply stuck with the story that they all stumbled into each other and left it that. What surprised Saeko most was that she began asking her new companions about their families as well.

Yuzuka was all too eager to oblige her and without wasting any time, started to share all the details about her life, family, and friends. It was amazing and slightly overwhelming to be bombarded with so much information in such a short period of time. The girl didn't seem to have a filter and kept on going until she absolutely ran out of things to say.

Azusa, already used to her friend's outgoing nature, noticed Saeko's unease and shushed Yuzuka. "My apologies Isuzu-san, but Yuzuka-san can be a bit over excited about things like this."

Said girl laughed abashedly. "Ah sorry for that, looks like I let myself get carried away with it. Sorry about that."

"N-No! I'm sorry that's not what I meant." Now Saeko felt guilty about what she had done. Sure the girl was more loud and talkative than she was used to, but it was much better than being alone. "Y-You didn't do anything wrong. You're just really optimistic. That's something you should be proud of."

"You really think so?" startled Yuzuka blinked with her eyes as she heard that explanation. "Wow Saeko-san, you're the first person to say that to me… everyone else just thinks I'm childish."

There was a short silence as each girl opened her bento. Yuzuka and Azusa both marveled at the neatness of Saeko's before the latter girl started talking about her life as well.

And then Azusa was the one who began to talk about her life and family.


"Morning, Hirano-san. How was the weekend?"

Dai looked up to see one of his colleague, a man called Ibuki, standing over him offering a cup of coffee. While grateful for the caffeine, he wasn't really into the mood to talk to anyone. The new head of the department was coming any minute now and he needed to get the last of the documents sorted.

Noticing that Ibuki still hadn't left, he stopped working. "It was pretty exciting, I have to say. We went over to some friends' house on Friday and were treated to a nice yakiniku in their garden yesterday."

"That does sound nice. I on the other hand… well let's just say that my wife and I had to go to another consultant. Anyways, have you seen the news yet? Something crazy went on at the hospital over in Takahagi; they had a situation down there two nights ago and the news reported three deaths."

For whatever reason, that name did ring a bell with him. Somehow, he felt like he'd heard of that place before. "Three people died? What exactly happened there?"

Ibuki just shrugged. "They didn't give out that much info. Only that there was a shooting, though some claim that the victims were all stabbed. I have a cousin who works there actually, and now I don't feel safe for him. You'd think that with it being a hospital and everything they'd have better security. I'm telling you, this world is becoming more sick and twisted each day."

"I agree. Damn... that's sure messed up. Have they found the perpetrator yet?"

The man shrugged again. "Not that I've heard of. It's probably just a kid on too many drugs. But still, stabbing the patients when they're defenseless in beds? Gee, that is just messed up if you know what I mean."

Taking a sip of coffee, Dai agreed silently. "Right. Well, thanks for the coffee. I'd love to talk some more but I need to get back on this document before the new boss gets here."

Ibuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh, haven't you heard? Apparently the candidate they had selected has declined the offer; seems like there was some kind of disagreement."

"So he isn't coming today? I've been working on these for nothing?" Dai leaned as he ruffled his hair in frustration. He'd been slaving over this for the last couple hours when he still had so many other things to do. "Mind grabbing me another cup? It seems like I'm going to need it."

He sighed as he buried his head in his hands, so many hours gone to waste and with nothing to show for it. Letting out a short curse against this ill luck, he wondered what was going to happen next. Guess he'd just need to wait for the next candidate. Looks like it wasn't that easy to find a replacement for commander Shimada; who could've guessed?

At this point, they might as well hire him for the position seeing as how he'd been managing everything for the past six months. Without pay as well he should add to that.

"Damn. Should've taken them up on the offer of extra days off when they gave it to me. What a shame." He stopped as fresh cup of coffee was set down in front of him and looked up to see it was one of the secretaries.

"Excuse me agent Hirano? There is person here to see you. You were specifically asked for, sir."

Dai was confused as to who it could possibly be. He wasn't working to talk to people, especially not as overworked as he was. "Is it really that important? I don't really have time right now..."

"He said it was, sir. The man is already waiting for you in conference room number two. He mentioned that it was a very important matter and that it needed to be discussed with the head of this department. Then he asked for you sir."

So it was a man. Still, Dai had no idea what man could be looking for him. Yet he felt like this annoyance wouldn't just go away and reluctantly agreed. "Very well then. Please have some refreshments brought there. I will go there now."

In one fluid motion, he stood up and brought the coffee with him on the way towards said room. He cursed himself for not asking for the man's name, but shrugged it off. After all, if this person was going to come bother him during such a busy time, he could deal with Dai not knowing his name. When Dai opened the door however, he was in for a complete surprise.


Class was going to start soon, and while Saeko didn't mind it too much, she was sad that her time with Yuzuka and Azusa was over. Lunch break had never passed more quickly. Still, she got to spent a bit more time with the two of them, which had been very pleasant. To think that these two had been in her class all this time and yet she had never dared to approach either of them, she was really counting herself fortunate that they did have the courage to do so unlike her. It had felt different talking about her life to them than when talking to Mayu or the rest of her family. Still she knew that she couldn't share everything with them.

'… There is still so much I want to tell you about… so much I want to share…'

Dusting herself off, Saeko bowed gracefully. "Thank you for becoming my friends. It really means a lot to me to know that nice people like you guys exist. I was really happy when you came to talk to me today. I'm happy that I made such wonderful friends as you. "

Yuzuka smiled in response while Azusa bowed herself. "It's our pleasure. Oh, I think sensei is coming so we'll be going to our seats." Just as she said, not a moment later, the teacher walked in and called the end of the break. A shame really, since she had so much more she wanted to talk about with her newfound friends but instead had to wait.

That was something she was already looking forward to and from where she was sitting she could just see Yuzuru waving back at her, she was feeling so glad to have made friends.

'… Maybe school isn't so bad after all… maybe I might even like this place… friends… to think I actually have people who want to be my friends… I feel… so… lucky… for having them...'

Whatever the rest of this day was going to throw at her she didn't it anymore, for her having made two friends no less meant that this day just couldn't get bad anymore. Even that bully of a Kikuchi couldn't ruin her day anymore with his petty insults.

'I can't wait to tell Mayu-chan, Nana-chan and all the others about this. This is so wonderful. Oh with a bit of luck I can already introduce them to Mayu-chan when school is over.'

That reminded her that she could have a walk home with all of them, the prospect of that held so much promise to her. Already she started to dream about what could be the best walk to home she would have had so far since coming to this school.

Even so she would first need to get to the end of school, there were still four more classes that she needed to attend before this day would be over. Ah well she just needed to focus on that first and with a bit of luck time would fly, besides during the switch of the teachers she would have a few more precious moments to talk with Yuzuka and Azusa again.

Oh she was already looking forward to that, already starting to wonder what else they could talk about. With so much it was hard to choose from, in reality the subject wasn't really that important to her. Just having the discussion in the first place meant far more to her.

'… I'm… starting… to like… school… I like… having… friends… yes friends…'


Bando's face stretched into a wide grin as Dai entered the room. "Well good to see you, Hirano. Nice place you've set up for yourself here." His back still facing the door, he turned slowly just to be more dramatic.

"Oh for god's sake!" Dai cursed underneath his breath as he saw Bando's cocky smile. "Not you! Anybody but fucking you right now! I'm not in the mood for this! Do you have any idea in how much trouble both of us could get into just because you're inside this building?!" His nerves were already overstretched as it was. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't have you thrown out of here before the higher ups find out! Do you want us both to get arrested?!"

Bando was taking it all in, never moving or even blinking as far as Dai could tell. The initial shock was wearing off and fear was taking its place. Just what had happened for Bando to come and see him here? It must be serious because he knew that the other man hated coming to the Saseba establishment with a burning passion. It was a terrifying thought but he still asked the question that may very well end him up in neck-deep trouble.

"Why are you here…?"

That unnerving grin appeared again. "Something very intriguing. There's something going down tonight near Koshigaya. There is an old abandoned industrial complex; foundries and other factories for metal works."

Dai had to swallow. "How did you get that information?"

A sour chuckle answered him. "I beat it out of some lowlife punk after he killed the witness I was after. Only bit of information that remains to me."

Even without having turned around fully, Dai could faintly make out a scar running down Bando's cheek. Somebody must have gotten to him good if they managed that. "I see he left you a souvenir."

"Bah, that was all he got from me. I took care of him, but like I said, I got that last bit of info out of him before he died. Bastard killed several people too."

This was suddenly starting to sound all too familiar to him. "Just a question."

Bando raised an eyebrow.

"What witness? Killed several people? Tell me where exactly did this little scuffle of yours take place? He was already dreading the answer, but he still needed to hear it said aloud.

"Takahagi, at the hospital there. Idiots had left that witness unprotected and that bastard had slipped right in and murdered her."

"WHAT?!" Slamming his hands down on the table Dai shot to his feet. "You were there?! Oh that is just great! It was in the news! Did anybody see you?!"

Bando scoffed at his question. "Just shut up, Hirano." He casually glanced over at the door. Sure enough, a knock let them know that somebody was on the other side. "You should calm down."

"Enter," Dai remarked as he sat down, folding his arms across his chest.

The secretary from before entered, holding up a tray. "Excuse me, agent Hirano? Here are the refreshment you asked for." Kindly placing them on the table, she bowed before taking her leave again.

Dai waited until he'd confirmed that she was out of hearing distance before leaning back in. "Alright then, given you're here, I assume that nobody caught sight of you?"

"That isn't important. What's important is what's going down at that place tonight. Right now, it is the only lead we have and so we'll be paying them a little visit to see what they are doing with that place."

In a snarky tone Dai remarked. "Excuse me?! We? Have you lost your common sense? You can't expect me to just go with you on another wild goose chase just because some guy told you a vague location in his dying breath. It doesn't make any sense. What the hell do you even expect to find there in the first place anyways?!"

Bando just cracked a smile. "I expect to find plenty there, and you're coming with me. This may get ugly so I suggest you suit up and bring plenty of firepower with you. Don't expect a walk in the park. I will come and pick you up later- now move out of my way." Not wasting another second, he swiftly left the room and shut the door with a click, leaving a dumbfounded Dai behind. At this point, it didn't matter what he wanted to do next. . Nothing he did would have any impact on Bando's decision to go; the man was simply far too stubborn to be reasoned with. Oh hell this was likely going to get pretty ugly if Bando warned him to suit up. What were they going up against this time? The entire Japanese army?

He was so praying that somebody could offer him an excuse of reason so that he wouldn't be home when Bando would show up for certain, oh hell why even bother given that the man would find him anyway. Nope, it would just be better for him to just accept that he had been enlisted in yet another crazy idea that would certainly see him get shot, several times.

"Curse you, Bando. You son of a bitch." He muttered as he began the walk back to his office, kicking over a small trashcan.


Sitting in her office, Mako was still staring at the screen. She didn't have Kogorou's personal number, but she did have the number for his lab at the university. She could simply ask for his, but that was only if he wasn't busy, which seemed highly unlikely.

Making sure that she wouldn't be disturbed for the time being, she picked up the phone and dialed the number. Hopefully Kogorou would be the one who picked up and that he would be willing to listen to what she had to say.

Turning her focus back onto the monitor, Mako sighed when she realized that no matter how she planned this it would still be a full day's round trip to see him. It was going to be long trip no matter how she wrapped her head around it, but at least she would feel a little better knowing that somebody was going to keep her company.

A man on the other side picked up, and she didn't recognize his voice. But then again, given that it had been years since she'd last spoken to Kogorou, she doubted that she would remember how his voice sounded like.

"Good morning." She introduced herself and asked if it was possible for her to be connected to Kogorou. It appeared that the man on the phone was one of his students. To be more precise, a student functioning as his assistant. "Yes, I am an old acquaintance of Kogorou-sensei. Yes, there is something I would like to discuss with him. Sure, I can hold."

Well, that wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, but at least she wasn't flat out rejected yet. She began thinking about what he had become. Back then, he'd been a promising student who was so close to being the top student. If Kogorou couldn't help her, then perhaps he would know this man's name.

Finally, another man picked up the phone. He sounded older than the previous guy but that was still no guarantee for her that she was speaking to Kogorou. For all she knew, it might just be a more senior assistant. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the man on the phone was indeed Kogorou himself.

"Good morning, sensei. It's good to hear your voice. Yes, I am fine as well. I got married and now I even have children... You know how life can be." Talking to him brought back old memories, but as much as she wanted to reminiscence, she couldn't allow that to distract her from the reason why she had called.

"Kogorou-sensei, if I may. I do not wish to be rude, but I have an ulterior reason for calling you. This is a case far above my area of expertise, and it is rather sensitive. I've known you to be an intelligent person, and I was hoping if it would be possible for us to meet in person to discuss the matter. It's more discreet than over the phone, if you know what I am saying."

It was a good thing she had been preparing for a journey, as it seemed like Kogorou simply refused to come over towards Kamakura for whatever reason. Somehow, he did not appear to enjoy using a car or train. Guess she'd have to take all the trouble then.

"Would it be alright with you if I were to come over for a visit and explain to you some of the more intricate details? It would? Yes, I understand. How does next week Monday sound to you? What time would suit you best? I see, no that won't be a problem. Oh, and Kogorou-sensei, I kindly request that you don't talk to anyone about this. It is a very delicate matter, you see. Yes, thank you. It's been nice talking to you. Goodbye sensei."

She hung up after hearing him say his goodbyes. Well it hadn't been a complete waste, though now she did need to make sure that she was cleared the make the visit. That also meant that she needed to collect every bit of information they had painstakingly collected both about the device as well as the surgery involved. "I guess I should give Arakawa a call as well, since she has all of genetic related information."

Grabbing her cell phone she was going to give Arakawa a call.


Yuzuka and Saeko were giggling as they came out of the main entrance. The bells had gone off and the classes were finished for the day. "So Saeko-san, do you have any remaining plans for today?' Yuzuka leaned closer towards her as she asked her another question. "Say Saeko-san would you like to get some sweet potato ice-cream on the way home?"

"We know a place that has the best in the entire city, and we would like for you to come with us. I'm sure you're going to love it as well." Azusa filled her in.

"I… I can't, sadly. Mayu-chan promised me that she was going to wait for me, I would feel wrong to just leave her without telling her first…"

Azusa nodded. "We understand, you're right. Would you feel better if we went tomorrow then? That way you can ask your family first." Again, she definitely seemed to truly care for Saeko or at least gave of that intend.

Yuzuka nodded in agreement to that suggestion. "Yeah I guess that might be better; the last thing we would want to happen is for you to get into trouble with your family. Why don't you let us know tomorrow if it is alright with them. Oh, and no need for you to bring cash; consider it a treat to make up for having scared you today."

Saeko turned bright red, still unsure of how to act in situations like these. She couldn't possibly accept that. "N-No I can't. I-I can't impose on you, I don't want to do that to my friends."

"That's okay." Yuzuka waved her hand in dismissal. "It's what friends do. You can treat us next time if it really bothers you, alright?" She laughed as she said that. "Oh, is that your sister over there?" She pointed towards the gate to where sure enough, Mayu was standing there waiting patiently for them. Saeko got more and more excited as they approached her.

"Hello, Saeko-san." Mayu nodded as she greeted her sister when she noticed that the two girls who had been walking with her also stopped and bowed politely. "And who might these be?" Mayu asked though she already had an idea. It was an exciting one because if her intuition was true, then it meant that Saeko had finally made her first friends.

Sure enough, Saeko introduced her friends to Mayu the girls started a lively discussion until another person approached them. The boy greeted them and Mayu introduced him as one of her friends before the other girls got too apprehensive. Yuzuka and Azusa were impressed that Saeko actually knew so many older students, yet they still felt a bit odd being with so many of their senpais.

"So which way do you have to go?" Mayu asked them after finding out that Yuzuka and Azusa lived in the opposite direction of the club member that she had to deliver the club documents to. Saeko seemed to be a bit disappointed that she needed to part from her new found friends so soon already, but Yuzuka comforted her, promising that they would make up for lost time tomorrow when they would see each other again in school.

"Now Saeko-san, you take care of yourself. Be sure to ask about tomorrow. We are looking forward to seeing you again in class tomorrow. Bye bye!" Yuzuka called out as she waved her goodbyes with Azusa next to her. Mayu also smiled seeing the interaction, and waved back with a quick glance at Saeko. She was still glowing, meaning those two girls must have made quite an impression on her. She wanted to know more but decided to wait till after delivering the papers to Mei and parting ways with Aki to ask for more information. Other than that, she was proud of what Saeko had achieved today and she knew that Kouta and Yuka would agree with her. Hopefully she would now get to enjoy a better time at school, friends were going to be important for that.


The car came to a halt with a screech of brakes. Opening the doors, Bando and Dai got out all the while surveying their immediate surroundings. They were surprised at how quiet it was; aside from the hum of the machinery up ahead, but other than that there were no other noises.

"You hearing that?" Dai asked as he reached down for his gun, already getting an eerie feeling from the setting; something wasn't right.

Bando noticed it as well. "Yeah, it's too quiet. Keep sharp and don't let your guard down. There's definitely something going down here, alright." Opening the trunk, he started to pull out the extra weapons he had brought with him. "Here, take this." Tossing one of the bulletproof jackets towards Dai, he strapped one on for himself. "Its better we came prepared, it might seem deserted but I would rather be prepared." With the gears and weapons checked and ready, they left the car and advanced on foot, making sure to exercise the most of caution. They stayed low and in the shadows as much as they could. Finally, they stumbled upon a possible entrance only to find that not only was it not guarded, but that it also wasn't locked. That didn't make much sense to them and caused Bando to become suspicious

"You sure this is the right place? Sure looks deserted for real to me. I'm thinking the guy lied to you." Dai remarked hopefully as they didn't came across any sign or hints that this place had been occupied.

"Your daft," Bando sneered. "Take a good look around. This place is kept clean. No dust, not even a cobweb. Supposedly no one is using it, but why don't we see anybody?

The empty hallways made their footsteps sound abnormally loud, yet still there came no response. "Besides, the bastard didn't lie to me. I could see it in his eyes. People show their true colors right before they die, it is when they are most honest. Try and remember that the next time you make another dumb suggestion. Now shut up and keep your eyes focused up ahead."

It wasn't until they passed what appeared to be an indoor parking zone that they got their first clue. Arrayed there were several vans and light trucks along with a large semi truck further down.

"Going to check something out, wait here."

Placing his hand on the hood of the nearest vehicle, Bando let out low growl. "Still warm, somebody used this very recently. Keep your eyes open because we are certainly not alone here."

Dai nodded, suddenly on high alert. Moving swiftly they made their way to what appeared to be a manager's office. On the way, he noticed that Bando had been right in his assessment; this place was rather clean. So far, the only cobwebs or dust he had seen were in the high places. "I don't feel good about this at all, Bando. God I really hope you are wrong about this."

"And miss out on all the fun we could have if I am right? Forget it Hirano! We are going through with this even if we have to turn over every stone in the area! Now focus, for fuck sake!"

Dismissing that latest insult, Dai pressed on. In his mind there was no question that something really bad was going to happen. Personally he did not wanted to be caught in whatever it was, but what choice did he have. If he hadn't come along then Bando would have spent most of the night annoying the heck out of him had he and Kyou seen each other. Reaching the end of a staircase a weird stench greeted them but neither Dai nor Bando could exactly place it, pushing the unpleasant odor aside they continued. Focusing back on the issue at hand, it seemed like they were in some kind of main hallway as it stretched for even further than they could see. Not that that was any worse since most of the lights were out for whatever reason. Maybe able to see for just a meter or four ahead in this darkness Dai hoped this wouldn't lead to an ambush, then all a sudden a noise caught their attention.

The sound of the safety being removed from their guns echoed throughout the hallway. "Over there." Bando hissed as he pointed towards one of the many doors that lined the wall. "Came from over there."

Nodding his head Dai moved in closer while Bando took position to cover him. Reaching out slowly his fingers took a hold of the knob; seemed that it was locked. Everything seemed to slow down as he steadied himself. Looking over his shoulder he saw Bando signaling that he was ready to strike.

"Get ready! On my mark!"

There was no turning back now.

"Three! Two! One! Mark!"


Although they had no success in contacting Mei since her house seemed to be deserted at the moment, nonetheless Mayu was still feeling rather elated. Already Aki had left them earlier, which meant that it was just her and Saeko, allowing the two of them to have a heartfelt, sisterly talk about what had happened and how Saeko got to know those girls.

"I must say that I'm really happy for you, Saeko-san. I'm sure that everybody back home will be glad to hear that you made friends. To be honest, we have been afraid you would stay a loner in your class. They seem like nice people too."

Doing her best not to let Mayu notice that her words had stung, Saeko put on a smile as she forced herself to keep on thinking about the time she had got to spend together with them.

"Yeah, I'm glad they came to talk to me. I don't think I could have done it on my own. I hope it will be okay for me to go with them tomorrow as I would like to spent some more time with them over some sweet potato ice-cream."

Mayu had to smile at that. Saeko was right, it would be nice for her to out with her friends. She vowed to put in a good word with Kouta and Yuka; anything to help her sister. "I'm sure they will. Neither Kouta-san nor Yuka-san would oppose to it if you ask them tonight. I'm sure of it and if not, I will support you in this. You deserve it after all."

The mood was becoming brighter the more they talked. It felt like things were finally starting to pay off after all of the hardships Saeko had to endure.

"Do you think it would be alright for me to invite them to our house one day?" Saeko asked the painful question. She thought back to how long it took for Mei to be accepted. These girls would be no exception and it would all depend how things were going with Nana and Saori. "I know I shouldn't ask them so soon, but still I want to…"

"That will be up to them to decide. It also took a while before they were alright with letting Mei-san come visit us do you remember?"

Yeah that was indeed something for Saeko to keep in mind. Still, she would do her best.

"Say Mayu-chan, you know school doesn't seem so bad now. Hopefully I can meet more friends. That would be really nice."

For the rest of the way home, the two girls laughed and giggled at everything and anything. It was a beautiful day, and they didn't really mind taking their time.


With a thunderous kick the door was flung wide open as they stormed inside, guns aimed and ready to fire at a moment's notice. Nothing moved or stirred at their violent entry, the only noise greeting them was the squeaking of the door's damaged hinges.

The stench they had smelled faintly outside was even worse in this room and once his eyes had adjusted, Dai struggled to keep himself from vomiting. Leaning against the nearest wall, he braced himself as he lost it. The wet splash of his stomach's content echoed through the room. Bando growled with irritation as he took in the sight, this place more resembled an abattoir more than an actual office. The dismembered remains of whoever had been unfortunate enough to find themselves there were littered across the room. The walls were still dripping with blood.

"What the fuck! What the hell went down here?" Cursing as he went, he kneeled down next to the nearest body that seemed to be largely intact. It only counted for the upper body as his lower half was nowhere to be seen. "These guys never stood a chance."

His head lowered when he noticed the spent shell casings, looking further he could tell that the floor was littered with them. How many rounds had these guys fired off before they were sliced to pieces?

"They never stood a chance, firing in every direction and not hitting a single damn thing." He pointed out towards the walls which were covered in the pocket marks of the bullets. "Seeing all those empty magazines they expended plenty of rounds." Holding one up, he could feel the heat of the brass warm his palm. These victims were firing at something very recently. He just couldn't fathom what this something was, but he had a hunch that it was likely the same something that had been leaving a trail of massacres spread across Asia. And now it was here in this very building.

"It's still here." He snarled with a sense of eager anticipation. "That damn murdering bastard is still inside with us. Hirano, make sure that you won't lead us to end like those sods! I'm planning on making it out alive here. Now let's go and see where he went."

Chuckling at the prospect of facing such a dangerous adversary, he had to fight back the urge to just laugh out loud. Not that he was afraid of this something hearing him, but rather that Dai would be freaked out by it. It was certainly something he felt excited over, since it had been a long time since he had come face to face with anybody that was a real threat. Even that dagger had proven to be a disappointment in hindsight.

"Oi Hirano. Stop spewing your guts and get over here!" He snarled, starting to get a little annoyed by Dai's rather weak tolerance. One would think that after everything they had all been through, the man would have been at least a bit accustomed to seeing blood and body parts. But no, not him. "Pull yourself together or I will beat some sense into you, you fucking idiot!"

If he didn't manage to pull himself together, then the man was going to become a real liability. "Dammit Hirano! Pick yourself up! We have a job to do here! If you are going to get us killed, I promise you that I will put a bullet in you first! You hear me, you fucking bastard?"

A dull sound in the distance caught their attention, Dai had wanted to say something but Bando was quicker and let him know not to say a single word as he listened. The sound started to grow louder, as if the origin of the sound was approaching them.

Pulling his gun back out, he look at Dai. "Hirano, get yourself ready. We are about to get company."

His words finally seemed to snap Dai awake. He pulled himself together and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Pulling out his gun as well, he followed close behind.

"Let's do this. No backing out now!"


Author's note: there you have it people, the next instalment of Progeny, hope you all are having a good weekend. Take care.