"Nee, Look!" Such a soft, sweet melodious voice. No one could ever forget it; obviously he couldn't. It was stuck in his mind and no amount of other sounds could drown it out.
Slowly, the shaggy mop of golden hair lifted, revealing a young boy's face. It was carved in nervousness, the same way a statue is carved of stone. One eye was deep, bright blue, a power unmatched by his small, shaking frame. The other was hidden by his hair.
With no warning involved, he lit up in interest. That girl had her palm open, a small black insect walking steady across her fingers. She giggled. It was nothing very fascinating if you didn't count it's multitude of legs, but the way it held her attention and made her grin...well, it was something he could be grateful for.
He was intrigued by smiles. He used to think they were just signs of satisfaction or smugness, but the way people used them here was very different. Smiles were to dismiss your own pain, to agree with people, to move their hearts, to make them smile with you. And hers was the one he couldn't stop staring at, couldn't stop hoping for. It happened all the time when he was with her, and it always alerted him that things were going well.
He didn't ask what it was, but she knew he had rarely encountered things in the outside world. She took every opportunity to explain it to him. There was the small problem of the fact that he had a limited understanding of Japanese, and that was all she could speak. She had to use small, uncomplicated words for every little thing. And often times she had to repeat herself.
"They're called ants," she began, excitement alive in her eyes, "and they live in holes in the ground. They come up to get food for their families, but this one is really far away from home." She slowly lowered it to the ground and let it crawl through the moist black dirt, where it disappeared on contact, much to his astonishment.
"Are you two having fun?" The lady, as he had no better name to call her, walked through the playground to the corner where they sat. Wood chips scraped against her shoes, sunlight streamed through the clouds and warmed the Earth after a light shower had kissed the town.
"Mm hmm~," the little girl answered. She brushed her hands together and then folded them in her lap. The boy, who was still looking for the ant and obstinately believed that it could not just disappear, kept his head down. It took a couple of tugs on his sleeve to get him to look up and meet the eyes of the girl's lovely mother. Mother was not a word he knew well; he knew it was someone who made sure you didn't die, but the girl smiled often at this woman and made him think there was more to it than just survival. And as a child, he was still naively accepting his understanding, or, lack thereof.
Lui was panicking.
He and his siblings were huddled in the living room together while he tried his phone over and over again. The number he wanted to reach wouldn't respond. It was like it had been wiped off of the face of the earth - or maybe that was just an exaggeration.
Ryuto was the only one smart enough to understand that there was nothing he could do that would help, so he refrained from worrying with his brother. He was just tense, watching the glowing screen that lit up the dark room. Yuki and the Little Ginger, though, were bawling their eyes out. They hugged each other tightly, screaming so loud you almost couldn't hear the T.V. that they were listening to. The world just seemed to dark and so noisy that the young lad couldn't think. Miku had been home for about a week or two every night without fail, she had been fine...but for some reason this just had to happen to them?
The Anchor woman on the news solemnly repeated the headlines of the horrible shooting that took place at Miku's school. "Police will not release any details on the motives...not all students have been accounted for...many injured...five pronounced dead as of now."
He couldn't reach anybody. He tried to call Miku, to call her friends, her teachers, her principal - he tried calling his parents who were barely around. Both had no information, but were distraught and trying to get home as soon as possible. Of course. Miku was their precious, their favorite. Hell, she was everyone's favorite! But she was gone!
He knew if she was gone he had to be in charge and look out for the rest of the litter until mom got home, but he saw her in flashes of moments. Most of his life was filled with memories of her, the big sister who took care of him. She comforted him if he cried, she read to him when he couldn't sleep, cleaned up his room, cared for him when he was sick. He was only twelve...how could he be capable of filling in her position for the kids that needed her just as much?
He sat on the couch, packed together with his "siblings" like sardines in a can. The ringing that came from the phone was so foreign and artificial but it reminded him of how she used to sing Ritsu to sleep when he was a baby. Lui wouldn't admit it, but he would always, always listen in when she sang. Because he was older now, it was embarrassing to be affectionate with his older sister, let alone ask for a lullaby. That didn't stop him from remembering every single note. His jaw was locked tightly in place and yet it trembled as he continued to fret. If that could happen, anything could happen, "Hatsune Lui."
"Students are still being found throughout the building."
She's probably dead.
"This just in, two other students have been found dead under a desk."
She's probably left you for good, Hibiki.
"They were found with a phone, trying to call for help."
Then he did the most selfish thing one could think of in a room stuffed with emotionally wrecked children. Which was to cry like a baby again, with tears and snot and sobbing, the whole kazoo. He wept so hard that he coughed, his lungs unable to bear the pressure. This made them all cry. Then they were immersed in a tight group hug, to comfort themselves. Ryuto, who didn't so much as have red puffy eyes, wiggled away from them and picked up the cell in his chubby little fingers.
The News kept flashing them with horrible updates. More students removed from classrooms, more bodies found. They could only notice their little tragedy. Everyone fears the unknown, isn't that right? But maybe they just feared that no one would be there to take care of them any more.
"Hello, Mommy," Ryuto suddenly said, his voice cutting a sharp stop in their pity party. "No, Daddy isn't here yet. But we're still home."
The green-haired boy's jaw slowly lowered, and then he murmured, "She's...okay?"
Lui quickly snatched the phone away from the younger boy. "Mom what was that?"
"Lui, honey? Oh, are you okay? You've been crying, my baby!"
"Yeah"- his sniffled, wiping his runny nose on his sleeve - "yeah yeah yeah did Ryuto just say Ane-san's okay?"
"Calm down. Yes, an old friend just told me that he has her with him. I'm going to see her," she said softly. His ears seemed to tingle with recognition of her voice, sweet and smooth as honey. Miku resembled her greatly, if he could remember the woman well enough to compare her image.
"We need to come with you!" He shouted, standing up. Ritsu tumbled off his lap, but was too consumed with hope to be as snappy as usual. And so he ignored the bump on his head, starting up with wide violet eyes. It was like everything had been doused with magic again. Lui could fly, he was so elated.
"You can't, dear." He flew straight into the wall of cold, hard reality.
"Why not? She's our sister." He sounded uncertain, rather frightened, even to himself. He had thought he was too worried to notice.
"It's too dangerous," Mom sighed. Suddenly, any relief he had faded into a muddle of exasperation. He wanted to snap at her for the sudden damper on his faint spark of hope, but bit the inside of his cheek. The boy had to think carefully about who he was talking to.
"So? We can manage. At the very least, I can! And maybe the others should also-"
"Don't act so brash. I can't take you with me, because she's probably shaken up and in no condition to see you. But sweetie, I'll bring her back home as soon as possible. Promise."
"No mom-" And then it was too late. She hung up.
He groaned loudly in frustration, sniffing. That was something she always did. Mom was sweet, and she was also the woman who accepted them all into a good family, but she just had this habit of moving on without warning. She had been married before, he knew, and he was sure Kaito-nii-san was a product of that marriage. Then she up and left that family. She now had a not-so-well-paying job that required a lot of hopping around over the globe, leaving her cramped apartment of children to rot, sometimes countries away from her. She was selfish, he decided, and he threw the phone as hard as he could in a random direction. There was a thud, then he noticed a crack in the cheap ugly wall.
"Tell me what happened," Ritsu demanded in a cranky whine, rubbing his puffy eyes with his fists. When he pulled them away it was easy to see how tired and aged he really looked, with his pensive, intricate expressions.
"Mom won't let us see her. She's okay, but we don't get to see Ane-san for a long time," he grumbled, sauntering away. The children all glanced at each other with worry. You'd think they wouldn't understand the gravity in his words but their instincts led them to believe they had to take care of Lui, and not the other way around. Ritsu still displayed a face that was somber, dark, almost mysterious. He lifted himself off of the ground and flicked his smooth red hair out of his eyes.
"That's not true."
"And why's that?" Lui pivoted on his heels, glaring with unintentional aggression.
"Well, remember the time Miku-nee lost her phone on the bus 'cause she was distracted by helping you when you dis-disco - ugh - dislocated your arm?" He inquired, a mouthful of words that his tongue tripped over. Lui blinked, almost having forgotten that he was speaking with a child half his age.
"Yeah, I never played American football again."
"Well after that, Mama got you new phones with this thing that helps you find one when the other is lost. I remember she said it when she came home last Christmas, so..."
Ritsu carefully lifted Lui's discarded phone in his hands, like the last intact piece of a ruined china set.
"Let's find Miku-nee-chan, okay?"
Miku was quickly herded ushered into the backseat where she was greeted with the synchronized cries of "Miku!" In the voices of all her friends. The same could be said for Teto, who was tightly embraced by her sweetheart "Kuro-kun". They didn't cry, rather, he laughed like everything that happened was just a funny little joke. All the noises hit her mind fully impacting her, but she was used to it.
Neru and Haku almost died they were so joyous. Neru seemed particularly emotional.
"You were gone for so long, I thought you might be dead," the blond girl whimpered into Miku's teal locks as she squeezed her senseless. She had never seen people so worried about her before...Then again, she usually wasn't targeted by murders.
"Way to make it through an ambush with your makeup still perfectly done," Haku laughed. This reminded Miku that she shouldn't cry if she didn't want to mess it up at all today. She felt her cheeks warm a little, and looked down at the clean floor as Neru continued to hug her.
"Ah, so everyone is okay?" Her eyes flickered up. No way. That voice, she recognized it like a person recognizes the first word of their favorite song. There was no mistaking it. She saw Yuuma's friendly gilded gaze. He smiled, almost sheepishly. He was leaning from the passenger's seat into the back of the car.
The car rumbled, alerting everyone that they had started driving.
"Y-Yuuma?" Miku regarded him with little more than a curious glance. She figured, it isn't so surprising. These people I thought I knew better than anyone are actually from Shion Corp!
"Miku," he replied.
"Um, hello," squeaked the girl. Somehow even in this setting she managed to flush crimson. Oh boy, she had a bad case of the common crush.
He simply raised his hand in some sign of greeting. Len didn't appear to care about what was going on between them. He seemed preoccupied with avoiding the detection of the population of the city, which sprouted to the school from a mile away. There was a sea of raving reporters and curious passersby. They obviously didn't understand what this was about yet. There was no clear idea as to what went on. And as cheap as Len's "clean up" was, he had mentioned how the police knew him. That probably meant special privileges or something that they could benefit from.
Yuuma followed her gaze briefly outside the window, but his sight had lingered on her with concern.
"W-well," she stuttered, "what circumstances t-to meet under." Neru had stopped the hug and pulled away, now looking slightly embarrassed.
"Yeah, we uh...we all said that a while ago."
"Oh, that's nice." She winced at her stupidity. "I mean-! Not nice, not at all nice, just-" she stopped, realizing even children would understand perfectly well.
"I get it," was all he replied with.
They sat watching as though it was more interesting outside, but really they were just glad to be among each other. Except for the Patronus that was driving.
Yuuma had been watching him out of the corner of his eye ever since he entered the car. He called shotgun just so that he could secretly observe this strange guy. He knew who he was, what he was doing and how he got there and did it. But he acted strangely with Miku. Anyone with eyes could see; his language with her was less than tolerable, and only allowed because the tealette was so sweet-tempered. And then when she wasn't around he was somehow a little more mild. He looked kind of sick, nauseous at this point. Maybe he was trying to hold it in.
Of course, the pink-haired man knew why. It was the disgusting, artificial smell that clung to her. She normally had an amazingly sweet scent, but she was wearing some kind of perfume now. Surely if he couldn't stand it, neither could the other guy. No one was going to say anything, though, because that would just hurt the poor girl's feelings. That was the very last thing Yuuma ever wanted to do. Ever.
"So, you guys," she said softly, and everyone turned to pay her all their absolute attention - obviously not the driver. "I guess we've all been keeping secrets, huh?"
"Miku-chan," Haku began. Her hair had become loose, wisps of silver hair flying out of her ponytail and into her face.
"We didn't mean to lie to you," Rei murmured quietly. How rare, how unlikely for him to use his mouth to speak. Of course, there were exceptions for people like her - people who were patient.
She smiled painfully, toying with the golden frame of her bracelet. "I didn't say you lied. I mean, you did everything you could to protect the people you care about, from something that I know must've been awful." Yuuma, although watching her more than anything at the moment, noticed the way Len's knuckles turned white. The strength with which he dug his nails into the wheel was almost impressive.
"All I wish is to understand the situation a little better. I want to know what happened," she offered. Her voice was so delicate and so comforting at the same time. It was a combination that would put any normal sentient creature at ease.
"What's to know?" Teto had her head leaning against Rei's shoulder. Her fingers were tapping against his ribs in a lazy pattern. She looked blank, like she didn't know what she was asking about. She only had her memories, which she didn't care to revisit. Teto was rather simple and innocent, and they had all hoped to keep her that way.
"I don't know...who you were. What you did. How you found me, things that happened before we met."
"Anything, then?" Neru sighed. She looked to Rei, who had an expression like he was forming an entire conversation without so much as his lips parting for a second. She responded with the same type of look. They were debating the pros and cons like a captain and the first mate.
"Fine, you win," she grumbled, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Geez. Okay, um. I'm actually not seventeen, I'm eighteen. And Teto is fifteen. Rei is somewhere around her age, give or take a year, and Haku is twenty." Miku forced her jaw to stay tightly closed with respect and grace. This didn't stop them from noticing her shock, as Haku turned her back and watched the fading buildings with feigned interest.
"Rei can hold conversations for up to two hours at a time by just speaking with his mind. He can read thoughts. He can even control or influence certain people depending on their stamina, and a couple of times he caused mass hysteria." She gestured to him, and he looked at Miku with an indecipherable countenance. It wasn't as if there wasn't anything going on, it appeared that someone wouldn't allow him to speak to her but he was hoping she would pick up some kind of idea.
"Haku is able to take, analyze and memorize every single detail from anything she wants to. Back at the lab, they were going to use her for spy gigs. They thought she would make tons of money. But she wasn't...made at Shion Corp, she was taken." Neru swallowed, her through dry and unable to squeeze out the rest of her friend's story.
"I don't like to use my abilities, so I strayed away from it. But it helped to learn how to fight and...how to draw," Haku choked. She refused to look away from the disappearing scenery, an attempt to hide her face, but no one could miss the spate of glittering beads that dribbled from her chin.
Miku bit her tongue, tasting a slight metallic tinge. She was going to withhold her opinion till the very end. They were spilling the stories of their lives into her hands, and she didn't feel it was right to ask anything until they were finished. Honestly, it was shame that caused her to keep her mouth shut. Maybe she did have a few family issues, but she couldn't relate to them on any level.
"Teto was an unsuccessful bat-human hybrid that they had planned to terminate, but in the end they wanted to study where they went wrong. So they kept her and tested her wings often. She can't really fly because her wings are too small and crooked."
Said pinkette buried her face completely in the crook of Rei's neck, never even attempting to look up. How ashamed she felt, Yuuma thought sadly. He knew her. She was practically his little sister.
"As for Yuuma, he's a Patronus like Len-san." The was his name rolled off Neru's tongue, with such casual timbre, caused a strange spark in the tealette's throat. No, not her throat, her chest. What was that odd sensation? It was coming back, the weight of the world pressing against her heart. Miku detested this, because she thought she had understood the source of this sensation. That wasn't the case at all.
Respectfully, the pink-haired young man took over the story. "I was doing well. But one day they assigned me a difficult execution and I found that...I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. So I was punished."
"How quaint," Len coughed quietly. Yuuma looked at him pointedly, but he knew there was nothing he could say to make it untrue. After all, Len was a cold-blooded killer and Yuuma himself needed way more than an order to eliminate something. He needed to know that person was an absolute monster that the world could do without. Even then, it was scary. How could you just destroy something that took years to take a place for itself in this world? If it destroyed others, maybe that gave you a right to take it out. And, as he gently traced his finger over the trigger of a gun hidden deep in his pocket, he knew that there was a reason for doubting Len's motives. Maybe he was reading this situation like a dog owner throwing a ball far into a field; Len would fetch the target, bring it back to the master, maybe get a treat.
But there was a number of holes in that idea, one of them being that Len had a difficult time obeying anyone. And he was too prideful to accept a "treat" from those people, he would sooner rip it from their cold dead hands. The other was the fact that he possibly couldn't have a real "master" the way healthy Patronus did. Yuuma could practically see the broken, glitching responders in his receiver. It was no wonder he ran away so successfully, they could never track him with the mixed signals he gave!
Of course Yuuma had more dear things to worry about at the moment. He looked at Miku, who was staring at him with a deep look of thought. She was probably wondering about his connection with Len.
Joke's on her, He thought, I have no idea either.
"How many...creatures are there?" She said, which caught him by surprise. She had directed the question at Len. With the way he ignored her you would think she didn't exist.
He was quiet for a minute, making everyone believe he wouldn't answer. And then he did. "I have an estimate. Somewhere between 40 and 50 different types not including AI or cyborgs."
"What about Patronus? There are whole series, aren't there?"
It was odd, how tranquil he was. From the look on his face he wanted to throw himself out of the car window. But then he gritted his teeth and took a small breath.
"There were 10 different series."
Yuuma and Neru both frowned. He didn't need to look at them or hear the question to know what they were asking for. Surely they made themselves easy to read, in the hopes of him lowering his guard. Len almost didn't regard this at all; he had his own problems, and his moody look was pretty much set in stone.
"Roughly fifty percent have been confirmed dead. Then another twenty are missing, but my guess is they kicked the bucket some time ago," he muttered, taking a smooth turn out of a narrow street and merging with a lane of lighter traffic. One could have sworn they saw his gaze flicker over to the rearview mirror, his eye flashing dangerously when he saw Neru who was situated closer to Miku than all the others. She created a similar look for him.
"Oh great," Neru murmured. She didn't look to surprised about it at all, however, and that made Miku feel very, very afraid to ask how high the rate of death in Patronus was.
"What about my series? Are they dead?" Yuuma demanded, almost leaping out of his seat. He dug his fists into the upholstered seats. To imagine the people he grew up with in his childhood, mangled beyond recognition in deep lakes of their own dark red blood...He shuddered, bile threatening to rise out of his stomach. Who except for a crazy person would want to see that?
"Half of them are dead or missing. Your year wasn't a very good one, 66."
Yuuma winced. "Don't call me a number, please. My name is Yuuma."
"Whatever," Len said, drawing out the word. For some reason he was purposefully trying to irritate them. He was trying to be obnoxious. Teto, with an almost spiteful look, whispered something into Rei's ear. The raven only nodded.
Miku, upon glancing at a pale new sign she recognized, felt her heart skip a couple of beats. This path they were taking was deviating from a place she recognized.
"Len, Luka's home is left on this corner," she said slowly, turning in the hopes of catching a glimpse of him. Maybe he would realize the mistake he made?
"I know," he said, confirming her fears. He turned right.
"Where are we going?"
"You seriously thought I was going to take us to Luka-sama? Curls here has a nasty pension to bite, 'Neru' is deceptive and 66 - oh, sorry - Yuuma has been armed since the day started. No, we're heading home."
Neru slowly let go of Miku's hand, emotion drained from her, and sat back in her seat. The teal-haired teen looked at all of them in hopeless, innocent confusion. Even Teto was more aware of the situation than she was. In response to the icy atmosphere Miku found herself tensing up and being unable to calm herself. Her heart beat like a battering ram against a door. She had wrongly assumed their destination, which was normally not a big deal. Now, however, things felt wrong and terrifying.
"That hell hole is not our home," Neru hissed. "We left that place with you leading us out. Do you think we're going to follow you back in?"
Len opened his mouth to answer her, and whatever he wanted to throw at her he didn't care, but as soon as he did a black gun was thrust into his face. The cold smell of steel seemed to wash away all the other unpleasant odors. Even if he could literally see the danger at the other end, he felt calm. This situation, he was already used to.
"So 2.5, keep driving until you reach the station," Haku warned. Yuuma's finger was clenching the trigger but not daring to pull just yet.
"Sure, and while we're at it we can get some fucking fast-food too."
"Shut up," Rei rasped, his eyes narrowing dramatically. "Kagamine." One could instantly tell what he was doing.
"Oh, reading my mind now?" Len growled. If he was an animal his ears would press flat against his skull.
"Kuro, why does he want to take us to the bad place?" Teto asked sweetly, tugging on his collar.
Rei was terse, and clenched his jaw in concentration. He probed through the blond's thoughts. Why does he want to? What is he planning? He demanded his mind to reveal why. Electric pulses in the mind can read as words...But the sequence in Len's mind was messed up. It was interfering with the real message, and it hurt. However, with some painful coaxing Rei managed to reveal three things: 1) Len had ulterior motives for taking them to the Lab which were not clear, but sinister, 2) Miku's scent was unpleasant to him and 3) Len was thinking of buying a bottle of milk for some reason. He didn't take them seriously and was already worrying about things he had to do later in the day. He was confident, even when going up against a mind reader.
I'm not sure. It's just bad, He managed to communicate this to Neru.
Check again, Neru urged him. And so he did. He tried to look deeper for something, look for a weak spot in the brain or some memories...a back door into the cortex. He sifted through delicate, precious thoughts to find such a thing. He came across one that didn't belong. It had to do with Miku, and it was completely different from all the other ones associated with her. This one was...pleasant. Comfort and gentleness seemed to ooze out of this memory, and when he tried to search it he found that it was Miku as a young child.
There was a heavy concentration of dopamine in that single image. Because of the strong emotions, Rei was honestly intimidated by it. But his curiosity quickly got the best of him - he needed something to take control. He attempted to dive into it, even if it was exhausting and it seemed to tremble with fragility. He was almost struggling through, and thought he heard a cute, high voice that probably belonged to the tealette. He just barely scratched the surface of it. Then without any warning, the memory flew right out of his grasp and a searing pain shot through his head. He yelped and retreated hastily, staring in wonder at the driving Patronus. Somehow it almost left his skin tingling like he had been physically grazed by fire.
Len shot him a look, daring him to look into his mind again. He sent a deliberate message in another confusing language, but the vibe was more or less I can turn you into a vegetable so don't mess with me. Rei shuddered, turning away. That hadn't ever happened before...Rei was always able to get through to people like Neru and Yuuma, so he never thought he would have trouble with any other Patronus. Intelligence and ability-wise they were usually the same, therefore they couldn't hold out against him for long. He had never known a Patronus could have guarded memories. It shouldn't be possible for at least 97% humans. In fact, the mixed signals weren't normally possible either.
"What are you?" Rei whispered.
"Did he tell you anything?"
The raven shook his head, shifting so that his back sank farther into the seat. He couldn't believe how unnerving that was. Neru sympathetically patted his arm.
"No need to worry about that. If he doesn't want us to blow his brains out, he'll do as we say."
"Oh, be my guest. Take out the driver, Yuuma," Len spat, turning to look at him. His body was relaxed despite the rigid tone and the heartless, icy frown. Miku, although dazed by the sight of the gun and ready to faint at the excitement, decided she went through too much for that. She watched, and it was obvious that Len was taunting them. He wanted to push them over the edge, and he damn well could. After all, he could endure a lot more, and that granted him invincibility. It was just that no one knew why.
"Don't listen," Haku urged, watching with bemused crimson eyes. She scanned Len as though she also possessed the ability to read minds. "If he can make you mad he can manipulate you."
"Well I'm not that amazing. You're the one with the gun, right?" His eye didn't leave Yuuma's.
"Just think. He hates the sound of his own name. It angers him. Because he wasn't even part of the real second series. He was an illegal failed experiment that they covered up. He's not a real Patronus, and he knows that he isn't a Kagamine. He knows he doesn't belong to them and it makes him upset, like a little child." Rei allowed an owl-like blink.
"Just like you know you were swiped off the streets and you never belonged anywhere," Len challenged. But he didn't turn to her. They just watched his wrath slowly increase like blue flames. Was that a comeback? And if so, was it really childish? The tealette remained a spectator because it felt like that was all she could do - she was also slightly worried about Len getting shot in the face. And yet she quietly understood the pain of never belonging, so she was capable of keeping up with them.
Yuuma poised his gun evenly, his finger seriously tugging against the trigger. He gripped it so tightly the weapon was shaking in his hand. It was hard to tell if he really wanted to do this; his lips were pulled in an uncharacteristically sharp snarl but his eye were hesitant, showing none of their usual warmth or even a trace of sincerity.
"And you're afraid of shooting. So why did they put you in charge of the gun, and not the leader Kanon?" Miku jumped at the name. It was almost identical to the name she had heard before...
Neru hissed, digging her fingernails into the upholstery and tearing ten ragged holes into it. "That's not my name."
"Of course. You're 'Neru,' right? Just a regular human teen. Sure, I believe you."
"Neru, don't listen," Haku pleaded but she was easily ignored.
The blonde girl bitterly laughed, glaring, unsteady, her stinging pools of amber wavering over his unconcerned face. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but disdainfully turned back to Yuuma, whose gun was pressing closer and closer.
"You know, I'm not sure if I should be surprised at you. They always learn to cope with revolutionary presence. So it's no wonder they turned our most remarkable rebel into their sniveling little bitch," came the unconstrained sneer.
"If you don't really know what I plan to do with you, there's no room to talk, Kan." Len had suddenly reverted to an unusually peaceful demeanor. The shield of hatred and wrath seemed to melt from his face. None of them were totally sure what brought this about, but Yuuma had a pretty good idea.
"You're planning something," grunted the pinket, "and you're just anticipating the rewards, aren't you?"
The answer only further confused him. "Maybe," Len replied, half nodding and half inclining his head towards the road. In the back, someone's breath hitched.
Miku found that she wasn't worried about the gun anymore, because they were heading full speed towards the station with no indication of stopping.