A/N: Welcome back to the Redux edition of Another: The Call For Blood. Yeah, sorry it's been a while, my Another fanboy side kinda died for a bit there, but after deciding to give it a rewatch, I've kinda been in my old Another mindset for the past couple days. Hey, maybe I'll even make this one of my 'priority' series, alongside WTBC, STLD LATS. We'll see.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3 – Elevator

The day after he had joined the Countermeasures Group, Adam had decided to keep a file on what Izumi had called the 'Calamity', where he would compile any and all information he had learned about the previous years' curse victims. Quickly, this had started to take precedence over his duties to the Brotherhood, as he had cut down on his nightly patrols. "Fuck it." He had thought when this had first struck him. "I've tried calling the Mentor, but he's never picked up. Starting to think the old prick's blocked me." He had continued, before reaching into his jacket, and pulling out a small metal chip, which his Mentor had told him to place into his phone if he ever needed to boost his phone's signal. Turning it over in his hand, he had quickly replaced it in his jacket pocket, before getting up and leaving for school.

Along with neglecting his work for the Brotherhood, Adam had begun to forge friendships with the other members of Class 3-3, most particularly Izumi and Yukari, the latter of which had quickly let go of her previous cold attitude towards him after seeing his dedication to his new 'Enforcer' role. As for the rest of the Group, they tended to keep their distance, which he wasn't necessarily complaining about.

It was on the 2nd day after joining the Countermeasures Group, that Adam saw that the eyepatched girl, who he had been told to ignore, had been hanging round with a member of the class called Kouichi Sakakibara, who he had learnt, after asking round, had transferred into the class shortly before him. Izumi had later explained to him that Sakakibara hadn't had the countermeasures explained to him, so he hadn't been warned to treat the eyepatched girl as 'non-existent'. This, the rest of the class figured, had broke the charm put in place to protect them, leading to the death of Yukari's mother, and Yukari's accident.

Eventually, the class entered the month of June, and on one particular day, Adam looked towards Sakakibara, who he had saw was periodically glancing towards the eyepatched girl. Quickly, he had scribbled a small note, and tossed it over to Izumi.

"Want me to see what this Sakakibara kid's all about? And if possible, want me to bring him back in line?" he had asked. Looking over to him, Izumi had swiftly written a reply, and tossed it back to him. "Just remember, don't violate the countermeasure yourself." She had replied, getting a smirk from Adam, before he nodded, and folded the note away into his bag. After he had done this, he leant back in his chair and closed his eyes, only to feel a presence in front of him. Cracking one eye open, he saw that Yukari was standing before him.

"Oh, hey, Yukari." He said, planting his chair back onto the floor. "What's up?" he asked. Smiling, albeit with a slight blush, Yukari held out a small note. Silently, Adam took the note, after which Yukari smiled again, and walked away. Raising an eyebrow, Adam read…

"I'm going to need some help with my English studying tonight. It's not my best subject.

Care to join me at my house for a study session?"

Looking up from his desk to lock eyes with Yukari, Adam nodded, and folded the note away into his pocket. Her cheeks blushing bright red, Yukari quickly looked away, staring down at her desk. This made him chuckle to himself. Almost as soon as this happened, the door to the classroom slid open, and in walked Kubodera and Miss Mikami.

"Good morning, class." Kubodera said, getting a chorus of, "Good morning, sir!", in reply. As he sat his bag up on the teacher's stand, the teacher looked over to Adam, who was looking over the open book in front of him. "Mister Robertson." He said, drawing the boy's attention. "Since you don't need to be in English class, would you mind going down to the running track? The gym teacher was looking for some helping hands." He asked. Nodding, Adam packed his things into his bag, and went to sling it over his shoulder, but Kubodera said, "You can leave that here. We'll be doing mathematics next." Nodding, Adam placed his bag back under his desk, before tossing his jacket on, and leaving the room.

Quickly, Adam made his way down to the running track, making sure to hide his Blades in his jacket pockets, where he found the gym teacher standing over a pile of wooden planks. "You okay, sir?" he asked, making the man look to him. "Robertson, isn't it?" he asked, getting a nod from the boy. "Kubodera sent me down here, says you need help." He replied, making the teacher smile. "Fair enough. Well, if you really wanna help…" he said, gesturing to the planks, "I need to get these moved out of the way. Got a class coming in soon, and I don't want them to trip over them." Nodding, Adam shrugged off his jacket, draping it over a nearby tree branch, before rolling up his shirt sleeves as he stepped over to the planks.

"I can get half in one trip, but you may have to make…" the teacher said, only to be amazed as Adam quickly knelt down and hefted half of the planks into his arms easily. "Careful, Robertson. You'll put your back in, carrying that much weight!" he exclaimed, which only made Adam smirk. "It's fine, sir. I eat a lot of protein." He joked, as he placed the wood down where the teacher had specified.

"Well, I gotta hand it to you, Robertson…" the teacher started, after dumping his own load of timber on top of Adam's pile. "You surprised me. No student I've ever seen is as strong as you." Smirking, Adam cracked his shoulder. "Trust me, where I come from, you have to be tough to get by. I had to get strong to protect those I love." The younger man explained, making his teacher smile. "Admirable." He stated, before looking to his watch.

"Up for a little challenge?" he asked, which made Adam raise an eyebrow. "Go on." The Assassin stated, smirking all the while. Jerking his head towards the school building, the teacher said, "A race. Three laps round the school grounds. Think you can beat me?" Sighing, Adam shrugged. "Sure. Just let me get changed." He replied, picking up his jacket again, before walking into the gym building…

A few minutes later…

"Ready?" the teacher asked, as Adam rejoined him, clad in his gym uniform. "Always." He replied, cracking his shoulder again. "So, three laps?" he asked. "Yeah." The teacher replied, as he and his student prepared to run. "On three?" he asked. "Call it." Adam replied, looking dead ahead. "Alright. 3…" The teacher started, tensing his leg muscles in preparation.

"2…" Looking to Adam, the teacher saw he was crouched down low, akin to an Olympic sprinter. "Impressive. He's had training." He thought, before looking forward again.

"1…"

"GO!"

Launching forward in a cloud of dust, both men took off running…

A few minutes later, Class 3-3…

"What is that noise?" Kubodera asked, walking over to the window, looking out over the grounds. "Mr. Kubodera?" Miss Mikami asked, when her fellow teacher didn't speak for a few seconds. "It's nothing. Just…Adam's racing the gym teacher." Kubodera said, causing the entirety of the class to rush over to the window.

"Is he insane?" Teshigawara asked. "Nobody's been able to take the gym teacher on in a race!" he continued, just before the class gasped when Adam used his momentum to flip over a stone wall, landing on his feet and continuing to run. After a few minutes, they all saw Adam come to a stop, but the gym teacher continued running past the finish line. Cracking his shoulder, Adam simply walked over to a nearby wall and leant against it, arms crossed.

"Did he…lap him?" Izumi asked, looking to Takako, who shrugged. "Looks like it, Izumi." Her right-hand replied, causing Izumi to smile. "I've underestimated him." The Head of Countermeasures thought to herself, a smile appearing on her face as she watched the gym teacher come to a stop after crossing the line, clearly panting for breath. After a second, he collapsed onto his back, and every student could see he was laughing.

Down on the grounds…

"Guess I win." Adam said, pushing himself off the wall and walking over to the collapsed teacher. Taking the hand Adam extended, the older man allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "Well, I can certainly say I know better than to take you on again, young man." He said, getting a smile from his student, who was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing to signify the break. "That's the bell. I suggest you get going, Robertson. Thanks for helping me out, by the way." He continued, before Adam held up a hand.

"Please, call me Adam." The student said, getting a nod from the teacher. "Very well…Adam. Now, get going." He said, patting Adam on the back twice, before walking off. Smirking, Adam walked back into the gym building, and quickly changed back into his uniform, his Blades hidden under his sleeves once more. Closing his locker, he quickly left the building, and headed back up to class 3-3.

As soon as the door to the class slid open, Adam recoiled at the sound of the entire class cheering. Immediately, he felt an arm wrap round his shoulders. Looking to his side, he saw Teshigawara had been the one who had placed the arm there.

"So, man, how did you become fast enough to beat the gym teacher by an entire lap? Not even the other teachers could do it!" he said, before Adam shrugged his arm off with a smirk. "In Scotland, we have to be tough to get by. And sometimes, that includes having to outrun a pursuer or two." He replied, which made Teshigawara laugh. "Fair enough, Adam. I'll take your word for it." The class jock said, as Adam walked over to his desk and sat down.

"Despite the fact that wasn't too far, I'm knackered." He groaned, as he leant back in his chair. As it transpired, he had put too much force into his movement, causing him to crash to the floor, and the class to erupt in laughter.

"Son of a bitch!" Adam groaned, as Yukari ran over to help him up. "You okay?" She asked. As he gave her his hand, Adam felt his face began to heat up. "I'm fine, Yukari. Just...spaced out a bit." The Assassin replied, making the bespectacled girl smile. "If you insist." She said gently, allowing him to pull his chair back up, as Kubodera walked back into the classroom...

At the end of the school day...

A few minutes after the final bell had rung out, Adam was sitting on a low wall in the school's courtyard, waiting for Yukari to meet up with him. Looking to a trio of people on the other side of the grounds, he saw Teshigawara, Akazawa and Sakakibara engaged in what appeared to be a very animated discussion. This made him raise an eyebrow, but he jumped when he felt a hand tap him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Yukari asked, as Adam looked round to her. "Nah, just snapped me out of the trance I was in." He replied, making Yukari look at him, confusion evident on her face. "Those three." He clarified, jerking his head over towards the trio he had been watching previously.

"They're getting rather rowdy, aren't they?" He asked, as his companion looked to the specified trio and nodded. "Seems like it. Shall we see what's going on with them?" She asked in response. "You read my mind, Miss Sakuragi." Adam stated, before leaping off the wall, and leading Yukari over to the small group.

"What were you thinking?" The pair heard Izumi yell at Teshigawara, who backed away from her in fear, while Sakakibara was off to the side, clearly in the middle of a call. "Hey, whoa, settle down there." Adam said, pulling Izumi away from Naoya. "What's going on over here?" He asked.

"It's simple. This idiot..." Izumi stated, glaring at Teshigawara, who paled slightly, "Told Sakakibara that he'd explain the class's situation to him this month, without even asking permission from the Countermeasures Group. So, I'm gonna pummel him into next week!" Shooting a brief look to Naoya, Adam went to open his mouth, but he was cut off when Kouichi shouted, "Sanae? You okay? What's going on?"

Whirling round, Adam, Izumi, Yukari and Naoya could hear loud crashing coming from the phone's speakers, even from the distance they were at. If only they knew exactly what was going on at that current moment on the other end of the call...

Yomiyama Hospital

At that precise moment, on the other side of the city, a nurse, one who happened to be in the middle of a phone call with Kouichi, had stepped into the hospital's elevator, when suddenly the entire cabin jerked, as the cables holding it up snapped, causing it to plummet down the shaft.

Shook suddenly by the movement, the nurse's phone flew out of her hand, and landed on the floor. "SANAE?" The panicked voice of Kouichi called out, but instead of answering him, the nurse looked up to the lights indicating each of the floors, which quickly descended downwards. When the last light, B2, lit up, her eyes widened, before the elevator slammed into the ground in a deafening 'CRASH!' Unable to brace herself, the nurse was sent flying into the metal floor of the lift, blood flying out as her skull was crushed with the impact. An instant later, the walls of the lift caved in, crushing her body, leaving only her mangled hand visible.

Despite all the punishment it had gone through, the nurse's phone remained visible, with only its screen cracked, but the call remained active. "Sanae? Sanae? SANAE!" Kouichi's voice called out, panic evident in his tone...

Back at the School...

"Everything okay, man?" Adam asked, placing a hand on Kouichi's shoulder as he started in shock at his phone. However, the boy only jumped, and stepped away from him. "I-I need to go. I'll talk to you all later. Akazawa, you'll have to tell me what you want to say another time." He said, getting a hesitant nod from Akazawa, before he took off down the road.

"Dammit..." Izumi stated, clenching her teeth, but Adam heard her and spun round to face her. "If you wanted to talk to him that much, why not just ask him to hang back?" He asked, causing Izumi to look at him. "It's...complicated." She said, which made Adam raise an eyebrow, only to widen his eyes when he caught onto her meaning. "Oh, right. Yeah, sorry." He said, stepping back from her. "The Calamity. Yeah, I can see her point." He thought to himself.

"Well, Adam and I had plans to study together, so we should get going." Yukari said, causing Izumi to raise an eyebrow, before she smiled and nodded. "Sure. See you two tomorrow. Take care." She said, before the two walked off themselves. "They seem awful close, don't they?" Naoya asked, sidling closer to Izumi, who only gave a hum of acknowledgement, before she grabbed him by the ear.

"You have some explaining to do, you know that?" She demanded, making her classmate pale...

A few minutes later...

"Again, I have to thank you for doing this, Adam. I really appreciate it." Yukari said to her companion, causing him to smile. "No worries, Yukari. I got no...WATCH OUT!" He yelled, reaching out to pull Yukari back onto the pavement when she stepped out in front of an oncoming vehicle. As the car whizzed past blaring its horn, Adam unconsciously pulled Yukari close to him.

"You're making a habit of this, Yukari." He stated, looking down to the bespectacled girl, who looked up at him. "You good?" He asked, concerned due to the fact she was clinging tightly to him. Nodding, Yukari's face erupted in a bright shade of scarlet when she realised how close the pair of them were to each other. Gently releasing herself from his grip, she took a step back from him. "Y-yeah, I'm fine, thanks." She stammered, which made Adam smile from relief.

"This rate, I might need to consider becoming your personal bodyguard." He joked, getting a small smile from the girl. "Yeah, maybe." She said, before gesturing up the road. "Shall we? We do have studying to do" She asked. "Sure..." Adam replied, gesturing for her to take the lead...

"Lead on."

A few minutes later...

"And this is my place. Give me a minute to get the key..." Yukari said, beginning to fish in her pockets as the pair of them reached the front door of her house. As she continued to look for the key, Adam turned round to look up and down the street, his arms crossed. As he panned his gaze round, his eyes narrowed when he was certain that he saw a shadowy figure duck out of view. "Hope to God that was just a trick of the light..." He thought to himself, before he felt Yukari tap on his shoulder. "Found it." She said, holding up a key. Smiling, Adam nodded, and went to follow her inside, but he shot one last look down the street. "Everything okay?" Yukari asked, causing Adam to hesitate, before shaking his head. "No, everything's fine, sorry." He replied, before entering the house, shutting the door behind him...

Down the street...

Unbeknownst to the pair, the shadowy figure Adam had spotted had pulled a walkie-talkie from their belt, and raised it to their mouth. "Target's with a female student. Do we engage?" They asked, causing a couple seconds of silence, before the walkie blared back to life. "Negative. If he's with another student, chances are they're just classmates. Until we get more information, retreat for now." The voice on the other end ordered. Nodding, the soldier said, "Roger that, ma'am. Heading back now.", then clipped the device to their belt and took off running...

Inside Yukari's home...

"Living room's through there. Make yourself comfortable. I'll fix us up something to drink." Yukari said from the kitchen, getting a nod from Adam as he took off his shoes. Looking towards the door she had specified, his eyes landed on a photograph hanging on the wall. Stepping closer for a closer look, the Assassin saw that the picture was of a younger girl with an older woman.

"Hey, Yukari?" He called out, causing the girl in question to peek her head out of the kitchen. Pointing to the picture, Adam asked, "This your mother?" Looking to the photo, Yukari nodded, albeit with a sad smile. "Her name was Mieko." She said, causing Adam to smile gently at her. "Well, you look just like her." He replied, which made Yukari blush. "So I've been told." She said, before Adam looked to the picture again.

"You were a cute kid." He stated, which caused Yukari's blush to brighten. "S-shut up!" She stammered, before turning her back on him to hide her blush. As she entered the kitchen again, Adam smirked to himself, as he turned to face the portrait of the mother and daughter.

"Requiest in pace, Mieko." He said quietly, placing his fist on his chest and bowing his head to the picture. "I swear to you, I'll protect your daughter with my life." Straightening up, he went to enter the living room when he stopped at the sound of a faint whisper, one which said, "Thank you...". Smiling, the young man continued to enter the sitting room.

Unbeknownst to Adam, however, Yukari had finished preparing drinks for the pair of them, and had been about to carry them into the hall, when she had heard everything that Adam had said to her mother's picture. This had caused her heart rate to quicken, enough so that she had to place the tray down and cover her mouth with her hand to keep from sobbing out loud. It was at that moment, that Adam's voice made her jump.

"Hey, Yukari, mind if I stick the news on for a second? Something I wanna check." He asked, causing Yukari to reply, "S-sure." She called out in reply, and sure enough, the sound of the TV buzzing to life played a second later. Quickly wiping away the tears that had been threatening to fall, she quickly composed herself, and picked up the tray again, carrying it into the living room, where she saw Adam crouched in front of the TV screen, his gaze locked on the news report currently airing. As she sat the drinks down, Yukari could make out what the reporter was saying...

"Once again, tragedy has struck in the town of Yomiyama, as a nurse from the local Hospital was found dead inside a collapsed elevator. According to experts, the cables holding the cabin up snapped, causing it to fall to the bottom of its shaft. The lone occupant was killed on impact. While her face was destroyed beyond any and all recognition, her identification tag reveals her name as Sanae Mizuno. Our condolences to the family and friends of Miss Mizuno. We'll bring you more on this story as more information becomes public. Back to the studio."

Switching off the TV, Adam placed the remote on the table, and placed his hand on his head with a groan. "Mizuno..." He said, before widening his eyes. "There's someone in Class 3-3 whose name is Mizuno, isn't there?" He asked Yukari, who thought for a second, before she nodded. "Yeah, there is. Takeru, if I remember correctly." She stated, which made Adam sigh in frustration. "You don't think...?" She began to ask, only for Adam to cut her off.

"That this was a result of the Calamity? Yeah, I do. I mean, think about it. Last month, your mother died in a car accident, you narrowly avoided death on the same day, and now, Mizuno's sister is dead. If anything, it's too convenient to be anything else." He explained, causing Yukari to look to the floor.

"If Sakakibara hadn't broken the rules, we wouldn't be in this situation." She stated bluntly, which made Adam raise an eyebrow. "I won't deny he fucked up, but I'd say ease up on blaming him. The countermeasure only succeeds 50% of the time to begin with. This could just be a year it failed to begin with." He stated, getting a hesitant nod from his companion. "Look..." He said, rising to his feet, before walking over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll talk to Izumi in the morning, and we'll come up with a new plan. Sound good?" He asked, getting a smile and nod from the girl.

"Alright, even given the severe mood whiplash, I believe I came here to help you study. So..." He stated, gesturing to their book bags, which were situated on top of the table.

"Shall we?"

A couple hours later...

"I think that's a good enough place to stop for tonight." Yukari said, placing down her pencil. Nodding, Adam mimicked the movement, then fell backwards onto the floor with a sigh. "Thank fuck for that." He stated, which made Yukari smile. "Not much of a bookworm, are you?" She asked, causing Adam to playfully glare at her, only to relent and nod. "I do have a sharp mind, but I've always preferred hard graft to honing my mind." He stated, before pushing himself back up, so he could begin to pack his things away into his bag.

After making sure that his belongings were secure, Adam's ears perked up when he heard the sound of rain outside. "Ahh, shit." He groaned, making Yukari look outside, where she saw that the rain was pouring quite heavily.

"If you don't want to get soaked, you could stay the night." Yukari suggested, which made Adam smile at her. "Maybe if the circumstances were different, Yukari, I'd accept that offer. But tonight, I got something to take care of back home." He replied. "Alright. Just, stay safe, alright?" She asked, making Adam nod. "Always am." He stated, as he threw his bag on. "See you tomorrow, Yukari." He continued, getting a nod from the girl, before he left through the front door. Sighing deeply, Yukari got to her feet and began to clear up the table, which had ended up covered in the pair's textbooks.

Outside, Adam pulled up his hood to obscure his face, then took off running. When he was sure he was out of sight of Yukari's home, he grappled up to a nearby rooftop. Taking care to avoid those rooftops that had been made slick by the rain, he made his way back to his own house, sliding in through his bedroom window.

Pulling down his hood, Adam tossed his bag onto the floor, as he stepped over to his desk, where his file on the Calamity was laying. Picking up his pen, he flipped to a empty page, and wrote a title at the top; '1998 - Victims'. Quickly, he scrawled in two entries:

"Mieko Sakuragi, died in a car crash on May 26th. Mother to Class 3-3 student Yukari Sakuragi."

"Sanae Mizuno, died in an elevator crash on June 3rd. Sister to Class 3-3 member Takeru Mizuno."

Placing down his pen, Adam sat back in his chair, and began to think to himself;

"So, that's two people connected to Class 3-3 dead. How many more have to die before we end this thing?"

Leaning back, Adam looked up at the ceiling, his last thought before dropping into unconsciousness being;

"How many?"

A/N: And there we go, another chapter rewritten! Yes, I decided to update the interaction between Yukari and Adam in this chapter somewhat. As I've said, this edition of the story will have new sections added for worldbuilding purposes. And as for Mieko's ghost apparently talking to Adam? Don't worry, it was a one-time thing. Just look at it as Mieko's spirit being held on Earth because of her love for her daughter, and due to sensing Adam's pure intent on protecting Yukari, she was able to transcend into the afterlife.

Anyways, I'll see you all in Chapter 4 - Heart Attack.

Madman out!