Chapter 14
"Amachi, I need you to access the cameras for the 14th block. It's important."
Everything was important these days. Especially to Inspector Goyouda when he needed Amachi's input on something FMian related. Well, that was Amachi's specialty after all.
Utagai was with him in the main control room. Most of the staff had gone home for the day, since it was past work hours. But given the fact that yet another attack was ongoing, some of them might come back into AMAKEN later to review the results.
For now, it was just Utagai.
Amachi pulled up the traffic camera that Goyouda was referring to on his transer and streamed it to the big display. Utagai was typing frantically on the computer at his station. He had pulled up a few windows before he explained.
"I'm trying to see if we have a satellite in range so we can better visualize things and follow the attack if it moves."
"Smart man." Amachi told him.
Utagai smiled, but it was strained.
The traffic camera feed was grainy. Amachi was just barely able to make out Rockman's spectacular, high-impact crash onto Goyouda's cruiser (that must have spiked the inspector's blood pressure). But he also saw Rockman take initiative and push Goyouda's cruiser out of the line of fire before dodging himself. Certainly a point in Rockman's favor. This FMian was living up to the image Luna had painted for him during the Cygnus incident. Rockman was… well, at least he was trying to be a hero.
Which didn't seem to be working out in Rockman's favor.
The rest of the attack – more like a brutal battle between two FMians and less like a mindless attack on people – played out and both scientists watched with growing trepidation. Another FMian joined the first. Both sets of data were entirely new to AMAKEN's sensors. And for the first time, Amachi noted that the enemy FMians seemed to be working together to gang up on Rockman.
It wasn't a pretty sight.
With a giant explosion of light and sound and energy the battle moved from the intersection, leaving behind a greyed-out and dust-covered Goyouda who made his calls. Without any prompting from Amachi, Utagai transferred the satellite view over to the big display. The feed this time was molted with colors registering different wavelengths since the three FMians wouldn't be visible to the naked eye. But the fact remained, who's who remained easily distinguishable.
Utagai had gone white as a sheet. The slender scientist chewed on his nails. Sweat beaded on his brow. But Amachi was barely aware of this, his focus thoroughly locked on the battle.
The two pursuing FMians both gave off the same florescent yellow signal. They were bright as lighting arcing off tesla coils and just as hyperactive. They seemed to dance around the steady blue streak that indicated Rockman's signal. Every few seconds a clash was accompanied by unprecedented spikes of energy. Dials shivered as they spun and digital indicators beeped insistently. Sometimes the energy rebounded, and sometimes Rockman's energy dropped significantly.
"Amachi-san…" Utagai's voice was so soft, Amachi almost didn't hear it.
"Hmmm?"
The second time Rockman hit the ground, he didn't get up. The two FMians stalked forward like predators, visible once again, their hands bright with swords like Zeus's lightning bolts. Utagai squeezed his eyes shut, but Amachi couldn't look away.
"Amachi-san." Utagai sounded well and truly upset now, prompting Amachi to sneak a glance at his friend before looking back at the display. Utagai had crossed his arms over his thin chest and appeared to be trying to curl in on himself, "Amachi-san. You should know…"
"Know what?" Amachi asked distracted. The two FMians took two more steps closer.
"It's Subaru." Utagai whispered, "Rockman. He's…"
A few heartbeats passed.
Amachi's eyes, fixed as they were on the screen, widened. The sight of those slim shoulders, huddled on the ground in denial: he had seen it before. Three years ago. When Space Station Peace blasted into smithereens.
No, it couldn't be.
He knew Subaru better than that, didn't he?
"I'm sorry." Utagai choked, "I'm sorry. He didn't seem to want anyone to know and I trusted him to take care of things at his own pace. But… he's… he's in danger now. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"
No, it couldn't be. Could it?
Amachi snatched his AMAKEN cap off his desk and put it on, his movements fast and jerky. He didn't have time to waste. He wouldn't make it at this rate. Would Subaru make it?
He was halfway to the door when alarms split the air, resounding within AMAKEN control room. Utagai flinched in surprise. With an attack in progress they hadn't expected another to occur. And yet it did. Like meteor streaking across the sky, a beam of pink light intercepted the already ongoing battle. Another FMian made themselves visible.
Amachi squinted at the satellite feed from where he stood, suddenly rooted to the spot. He recalled testimonies of "a girl dressed in pink" appearing at a concert not too long ago, and the readings seemed to agree. But what was she doing here and now? And what was she doing, because it didn't look like she was fighting. I looked like she was talking.
And by some stroke of luck, the other two FMians just… left. Not Rockman though. No. He stood shakily and the girl joined him on the ground. She didn't attack. They talked. She left. Amachi blinked. There was no way to make sense of what had just happened without knowing what was said, but satellites didn't have microphones – at least not the kinds that would pick up conversations. Utagai let out a raspy sigh of relief. Amachi turned to the door.
"I'm going." He said gruffly, not sure what to feel about the turn of events, "Hold down the lab for me until I get back. Some of the other scientists will probably come in tonight."
He didn't see Utagai nod in affirmation.
Outside, it was dark. Amachi almost couldn't remember where he had parked his car. After sleeping in the lab for the past few nights, it had been a while since he'd actually driven it. But he found it, unlocked it with his transer, got in, and powered it on.
The Hoshikawa residence. That was where he'd go first. Find Subaru and hopefully find that this was all some sort of bad joke. Because, if it wasn't, then he'd have not just one but two friends who'd been possessed by aliens.
The orange light of sodium streetlights flashed overhead as he drove. Manually, because he was doing his best to take his mind off things. It wasn't helping. His mind gleefully offered him side-by-side comparisons of Rockman and Subaru – their slim frame, their messy hair, their wide and guarded eyes. His, really, because they were both the same person.
He remembered one time when Daigo had skipped a meeting with AMAKEN lab beneficiaries. Amachi, who had been an undergraduate researcher at the time, had been dragged along by an enthusiastic Daigo promising that he'd get to see something cool. Amachi had thought 'something cool' meant some sort of new-generation science experiment. It wasn't a science experiment. It was Daigo's seven year old son's karate competition.
Amachi wasn't a martial arts expert by any means. It had been Daigo who had pointed out that Subaru's stance typically skewed farther to the right than most, taking advantage of his size and making him a much smaller target. It had been Daigo who had pointed out that Subaru's left hand always floated a little high, closer to his chin, as if to protect his face first and foremost.
And he'd just watched Rockman try to fend off enemies with the very same tactics. Why hadn't he realized it until Utagai said something? He was so mad at himself. He'd gotten so swept up in the excitement of making new discoveries thanks to FMians that he'd been blinded to the plight of his senpai's son – his friend.
Amachi's hands shook as he reached for the autopilot mode. But just before his finger touched the command, a chime and pulse of soft light filled the car as something downloaded.
"Can you hear me?" A voice asked. It was deep and interspersed by bursts of static from the car speakers.
Amachi was struck silent.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Good. I need to take you somewhere. I'll drive."
Amachi's gut wrenched at he realized what was going on. He retracted his hands and the steering wheel moved of its own accord. The car made a U-turn at the nearest intersection, backtracked down the road a ways before turning onto a darkened side street.
"You're an FMian."
The voice didn't respond.
"Where's Subaru?" Amachi snapped, "What happened?"
His only answer for a full minute was the fuzz of static from the car speakers before the voice spoke, careful and controlled.
"We were forced apart and I am in no condition to administer the kind of care that humans need."
"He's hurt!?"
Again, the voice didn't respond.
"If he's hurt…" Amachi said lowly, but he was cut off.
"Yes, blame me." The voice growled, "But later. Right now, we can only help him if we work together. As it is, I'm going against Subaru's wishes. I'll take all the blame from both of you when he's fine. So just shut up."
A logical approach. But Amachi wasn't going to 'just shut up' when he had an FMian to interrogate.
"'Subaru's wishes,' huh?" Amachi asked, "So you have some sort of agreement with him."
"That is none of your concern."
Amachi tried more questions, but it turned out to be a lost cause. The FMian was not in the mood to talk. Amachi couldn't remember the other's being this docile, or really just… quiet. Nor did he know if the other FMians returned to their hosts after being forced out. Did FMians even care? After all, Utagai was fine… as far as he knew. There was obviously a lot he didn't know.
The car slowed to a stop and parked on a curb. Amachi looked out the window, trying to decipher his surroundings through the murk of darkness. To his right was the river that ran through Kodoma Town. In front of him was the bridge that lead to the residential district. Amachi stepped out of the car, but he couldn't find Subaru.
"He's under the bridge," The voice muttered from his transer, "I tried to wake him, but that didn't work so I moved him out of sight before I sought help."
Amachi nodded, but stopped himself mid-motion, unsure if the FMian could see it.
"That may or may not have been smart." Amachi said instead, "Maybe it's for the best that no stranger found him unconscious, but moving him could have exacerbated his injuries."
The FMian merely grunted.
Amachi hurried down the bank to the best of his ability. But the stones shifted under his feet, causing him to almost lose his balance, so he moved slower than he would have liked. He activated the flashlight function on his transer and approached the bridge.
He found Subaru nestled behind a tuft of tall grass just under the bridge. A car passed overhead, but their position was completely hidden from view. Amachi had to hand it to the FMian for his tactical decision-making. He wouldn't have found Subaru if he hadn't known where to look.
Amachi leaned down to pick the boy up when the acidic tang of vomit crept into his nose. Amachi took a better look around with his flashlight and spotted the source of it next to Subaru's head.
"This is bad. Call an ambulance here."
The FMian didn't even ask for more instructions. He seemed to know the inner workings of a transer quite well. Without a second's hesitation, he activated the distress signal for a medical emergency unit.
Amachi felt a little sick to his stomach as it performed wild flips in his abdomen. Deep breaths. Calm down. How are you going to explain this?
"He was walking home and he fell off the bridge. I came looking for him because his mom said he hadn't made it home for dinner and we were both worried. If the EMTs pick him up here that will be more believable. Besides, I can't tell what the extent of the damage is and I don't want to move him anymore."
"What's wrong with him?" the voice asked, now from Subaru's transer.
"I think he has a concussion."
"You think?"
"Hey, I'm a doctor. Just not that kind of doctor. It's a PhD not an MD."
The FMian didn't have a retort for that.
Even after the ambulance arrived, Amachi didn't breathe easier. The paramedics woke Subaru who was groggy and confused and definitely in pain. That was the worst part.
"What is your name?"
"How old are you?"
"What year is it?"
Subaru answered those questions correctly.
"How did you get here?"
"I fell." Subaru said faintly.
"We're taking you to the hospital." The paramedics informed Subaru. They turned to Amachi, "Do you want to ride along."
"No thanks." Amachi grimaced, "I'm going to pick up his mom. I'll meet you at the hospital. Kodoma General, right?"
The paramedics nodded. In quick order, they had Subaru loaded up onto a gurney and lifted into the back of the ambulance. They drove off in a blur of blinding lights and screech of sirens.
Amachi's lips were pressed in a thin line. What the hell was he supposed to tell Akane?
Hoshikawa Subaru:
His eyelids resisted when he tried to open them, crusty with sleep. Subaru lifted his hands to scrub his eyes, but a flare of pain traveling up his left arm stopped the motion short. Groaning, Subaru performed the task with only his right arm.
The hospital room was an off-white color, like most hospital rooms. Which didn't particularly bother Subaru. A nurse was moving about his room, checking the machines and making marks on his chart. That must have been what woke him.
"Ready for twenty questions again?" The nurse asked, a bit of humor in his tone.
Subaru rolled his eyes, "Sure."
They'd been at this every four hours since Subaru had been admitted. Subaru knew the questions were meant to assess for a more serious cranial injury, but it was a bit annoying. At least the nurse seemed to empathize.
The nurse added a note to his chart, "You'll be good for another four hours, Hoshikawa-kun. I'd recommend you get some sleep in that time."
"You won't find me arguing." Subaru said. He started to yawn, but had to cut the action short. It sent prickles of pain across his scalp. Concussion. Right. That's why he was in the hospital overnight. Being monitored. He wasn't actually sure where the concussion was located exactly. His whole head hurt so he tried not to move it.
He checked the time on his transer where it sat on his bedside table. It was just past two in the morning. For the time being, he felt awake, but he knew that could change like the flick of a switch. He felt exhausted, worn down to the bone. And just when he had gotten over his cold too. How frustrating.
Frustrating.
His stare hung up on the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. His mind played back the wave battle with Gemini. Every criticism in existence seemed to wash over his thoughts – too slow, too uncreative, too weak, too… everything. What a failure he'd turned out to be.
Gemini's voice echoed in his ears: You don't have a very good grip on denpa-henkan if stuff like that is still happening.
He squeezed his right hand as if that would dispel his self-hatred. It didn't. Because his left hand still felt dull, achy, and detached – a grim reminder.
"That's the face of someone who's moping." A voice sounded quite clearly from the corner of his room. But he hadn't seen anyone come in. Subaru's eyes and senses narrowed on the corner by the window. It didn't look like there was anyone there, but the curtains rustled without discernable cause, "Not that I don't blame you."
Misora materialized right where he'd expected her. Not that he'd expected her, per se. But there were only so many people who could become invisible, so that really limited his guessing pool.
Subaru laid his head back down on his pillow and closed his eyes, "What are you doing here?" He asked, and all too late, realized that his tone had come out flat and accusing.
"Hey, don't be that way." Misora took a few steps over and sat gingerly on the side of his hospital bed, "That's not how you talk to a friend who was so worried that she came to check on you."
"It's two in the morning."
"I know." Misora's tone was serious, "And you didn't message me. You think I would be able to sleep not knowing what happened to you?"
Subaru didn't quite know how to respond to that.
"The answer is 'no,' genius," Misora said in a way that indicated he was anything but a genius. He cracked an eyelid to see if she was done with her rant. Her worried green eyes indicated that maybe she was, "What happened?" Misora asked, "You said that you were going home?"
Subaru shrugged, "I was. I just didn't make it that far."
"Well, then next time you tell me what to do, I'm not going to listen. And when you ask me why, I'm going to remind you of this moment."
That pried a wry smile out of Subaru. He didn't really feel like arguing. He was getting tired again. So all he said was, "M'kay."
"Are you okay?"
"Sure. I'm fine."
A scoff sounded from Misora's ever-present guitar, "He's not fine. He's got a grade two concussion and a dislocated shoulder they had to reset when they admitted him. Add to that some assorted bruises and scrapes. The charts don't lie like little boys seem to do."
"Hey," Subaru felt the need to point out, "That's private patient information."
Misora smirked, "Yes, well, Harp's earth manners are still a little shaky."
"Rock's too."
Misora laughed, quiet though, so as not to alert anyone of her presence. It was long past visitor's hours after all. It might insight a scandal if the MIA Hibiki Misora was found in the hospital room of a teenage boy. But Misora quickly sobered.
"I thought injuries didn't carry over to our human halves."
Subaru regarded her seriously, "What have you been up to since you've been gone?"
"What does that have to do with my question?"
"I'm getting there."
Misora sighed, "Mostly sightseeing across the globe. I occasionally snuck into internet cafés using the invisibility trick, just to take a break, but I've been mostly in denpa-henkan."
"Which means you've recovered any loss of energy before changing back."
Misora tapped her chin with a finger, "You're saying that if denpa-henkan comes undone we sustain injury?"
"Sort of." Subaru explained, "If you're HP is full, then you'll be fine. But if you've been worn down and forced apart, the damage rebounds on the body and then, yes, we sustain injury. You've never switched back without full HP so it's never happened to you."
"So why didn't you heal up before undoing denpa-henkan last night?"
Subaru sighed and closed his eyes again. He really didn't want to see her disappointment when he told her, "I think I moved too fast and I got dizzy. So I lost consciousness and Rock couldn't hold denpa-henkan together. I might have gotten the concussion when I fell off the waveroad but I really don't remember that bit. I remember waking up by the bridge and throwing up. Rock was gone. I passed out again and then the paramedic was yelling at me."
"Who called the paramedics?"
"Amachi… a family friend." Subaru grimaced. His head ached at the thought of that impending conversation. Ow. It was not going to be pretty.
"So he… knows?"
"Probably."
Misora sighed, "Well, I'm glad someone was looking out for you. I'm just mad it wasn't me."
"You did just fine." Subaru muttered, tired. This was uncontestably, the longest conversation they'd had, "Actually, I should be saying 'thanks.' I don't know what Gemini would have done if you hadn't shown up. So thanks."
With his eyes closed, he completely missed the frown on Misora's face.
"And your arm? What happened there?"
"Rock's attempts to catch my fall or drag me around after the fact, take your pick."
"Where is he, by the way? Rock, I mean."
"Dunno." Subaru's voice felt strangely hard to find. Like his lungs didn't have the breath to form words. A little spike of terror drove down his spine as he thought chest might have caved in again. His eyes snapped open and his functional hand flew to his chest.
Misora didn't say anything as he took a few breaths to calm down.
"Sorry." Subaru said after a minute, "I kinda freaked myself out there."
"No kidding." Misora mumbled, but not in a depreciating way. She stood, "Do you want me to get Rock for you?"
Subaru waved her off, "It's fine. He'll come back when he's ready. You should go…" he was about to say 'home,' but he wasn't really sure if she had one or just stayed at hotels between tours and shoots. Misora waited patiently for him to finish, "You should go get some sleep. If you're still worried tomorrow – later today, actually – then I'll see you during regular visiting hours."
Misora smiled, a smile that showed glittering white teeth he'd definitely seen in a toothpaste commercial, "Sounds good!"
She closed the door so softly it barely made a sound.
"Heh," Warrock's gruff voice floated from Subaru's transer speaker, "What a ladies man."
"Shut up."
Subaru covered his head with a blanket as if that would hide his flushed face from his partner.
"I can't believe I just said that." He mumbled to himself, "I'm so stupid."
Subaru's mom had already came and went by the time late afternoon rolled around and Subaru was set for discharge. Akane said that she could do more for him at home than she could do sitting around a hospital. They were both bored to tears even when she was there. So Subaru didn't begrudge her one bit. Hell, he would have gone home ages ago if he'd been making the decisions. Not that such a decision would have been smart.
Amachi was coming to drive him home. He'd sign off for Subaru too, since he was the one who had signed him in. Subaru was still a minor.
'The Conversation' was coming. Subaru could feel it creeping up on him like someone dressed as a ghost in a haunted house. Something expected, but the timing was completely unpredictable.
Amachi had the 'normal' act down to a T though. He listened to the doctor's discharge orders with rapt attention. He smiled and thanked the nurses. He signed the forms.
"I'll walk." Subaru mumbled when they tried to wheel him out to Amachi's car. Frankly, he was a little embarrassed by all the attention. He'd been fine last night when it had just been the night shift nurse, but now there was so many people and it was putting him even more on edge.
And as much as Subaru was loathing the incoming conversation with Amachi, he couldn't thank the man enough for waving away the medical assistant who really wanted to use that wheelchair.
"He's been in bed all day. Let the kid stretch his legs a little. I'll make sure he gets right back in bed when he gets home."
Thankfully, they both made it to the car on foot. Subaru plopped himself – with care, so as not to aggravate his head or shoulder – in the passenger seat and stared straight ahead.
Amachi took the driver's seat and started the car. But he didn't pull out. Of course he didn't. Amachi was notorious for getting straight to the point. The scientist didn't like dancing around topics almost as much as he didn't like dancing. Period.
"I'm not moving this car until you start talking, Subaru." Amachi warned, "Normally, I'd let you take your time about things, but this is an exception."
"I know." Subaru ground out. Because he did know. He could have died and no one would have known why – well, Misora would have known. This was beyond something he could handle alone. And what reason did he have to handle it alone?
Warrock had been the one threatening to leave at the beginning. But Warrock had also been the one to seek out help when things had spun so horribly out of control.
Subaru's transer sat in his lap since his left arm was bound up in a sling. He opened the lid and Warrock stared back expectantly. They didn't need to communicate verbally. Red eyes seemed to say 'it's your decision.'
"It's…" How was he supposed to word this? He hadn't before. Even Misora had figured most everything out on her own, without his explanation, "It's not like the others."
"Rockman?" Amachi asked by way of clarification. He shifted the car in reverse and backed out of his parking spot. He drove slowly.
"Yeah. Rock and I have an agreement. We work together. We're a team."
"So that's his name. He didn't give it before."
Subaru shot a dull glare at his partner.
"I wanted you to be the one to explain, kid." Warrock defended with some heat.
Subaru sighed, "You could have said that much at least. But yeah, that's his name. As Rockman he acts as the consultant while I'm the technician."
The lingo seemed to jive with Amachi.
"You're the one doing the work and he's dishing out advice." Amachi side-eyed Subaru, "But every other victim we've talked to doesn't remember anything. You do?"
"Like I said, it's not like the others. They've been completely taken over by the FMian in question. Emotionally steamrolled, basically."
"And you weren't?"
The way Amachi said it conveyed some disbelief. Subaru didn't take offense. Amachi had confronted moody Subaru on more than one occasion.
Subaru shrugged, "That question would be more in Rock's territory." He eyed his partner, "Care to take a stab at that, Rock?"
The FMian might have grumbled something that shouldn't be repeated, but he gave in rather quickly, "The kid had… potential when I met him. But I didn't need a host at the time. I wasn't trying to bring attention to myself. So that wasn't part of our initial agreement. When we did denpa-henkan, well, two heads are better than one."
"Denpa-henkan?"
Subaru took that one, "Wave-change. The formation of a denpa-human. It's what most of the attacks have been, save the wave rail incident and the concert incident."
Amachi nodded seriously, but his eyes were fixed on the road, "What about last night?"
"What about last night?" Subaru repeated.
"How did you end up so hurt? Rockman has fought off FMians before. And while I might have missed the whole part-time-hero bit, I don't think I would have missed any serious injuries like you sustained last night."
Subaru looked out the window. His head ached. Either from the conversation or his injuries or both. It sucked. What was he supposed to tell Amachi that didn't sound like a big helping of reckless self-endangerment?
Warrock answered for him, "To put it in human terms, we bit off more than we could chew."
"Don't make light of this!" Amachi snapped.
"I'm not." Warrock growled, "So far things have been pretty cut and dry. An enemy shows up, they make havoc, we stop them. The kid is good. He's not reckless. So don't go blaming him!"
"Should I blame you?" an edge had entered Amachi's tone.
"Like I said last night: sure. Blame me. Blame me for not knowing that Gemini could spilt in two in his denpa-henkan form. Blame me for not being able to do anything more than give the kid advice. Blame me for the shit show…"
"Okay, stop!" Subaru interrupted. His voice came out louder than he expected which made Amachi pause. Subaru rarely raised his voice, even when he was angry, "Don't argue." He sighed and gingerly touched his head, "We can be more productive if we work together on this."
"Damn straight." Amachi muttered.
"And, Rock. Stop being so abrasive. I can tell you're doing in on purpose and it's not helping."
There was silence in the car for a whole fifteen seconds before Amachi spoke.
"Can we agree on some ground rules?"
Subaru sucked in a breath, "Sure."
"First is this denpa-henkan thing: I want you to fill me in on the basics. How does it work? What abilities come with it? Etcetera. I'll see what I can do about making things easier on you since I can't see you giving this up. You're too much like Daigo in that regard."
Amachi missed the way Warrock's eyes gleamed brighter on the transer screen.
"Second, if you find out anything as Rockman that we can't find out in the labs, you tell me. Let's make this a group effort. You and Rock. Me and Utagai."
"Skinny?" Warrock butt in, "What's he got to do with this?"
Amachi's grip tightened on the steering wheel. Apparently that was a detail he hadn't meant to let slip, "Don't go getting angry, but he was the one who clued me in on the Rockman-Subaru resemblance."
"I'm not mad." Subaru said.
Warrock laughed, "I had a feeling he had an idea."
"Well that's good, I guess." Amachi let out a sigh. Tension seemed to bleed off him as he relaxed. He pulled into the driveway of the Hoshikawa house, "You know, Subaru… you don't have to do this alone."
Amachi echoed Subaru's thought from earlier. It was a good thought.
Funny how it had had never occurred to him before.
Akane had asked if Amachi wanted to stay for dinner, but the scientist turned her down. He'd already missed work and received a long stream of messages from Inspector Goyouda as a result.
So it was just Akane and Subaru eating curry at the dinner table. Which wasn't anything new. But for some reason the extra chairs felt acutely empty. And the silence between them felt acutely excruciating. Akane was examining him like a bug on a cork board.
Subaru couldn't take it anymore.
"What?" he asked his mom, tone sharp and irritated.
"Don't add attitude to injuries, my little teenager." Akane said, taking a bite of her food.
"I'm not little." Subaru muttered, demoting himself from teenager to child with that simple phrase. He expected his mom to call him out on it; to laugh at him. But she didn't.
But she didn't ask anything either.
Subaru had been expecting her too. She deserved it more than anyone. The truth, that is. But his hurts and his past were hers as well. They both missed Daigo. And Subaru knew that if he were to explain himself – his choices – he'd have to talk about that too. And he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Or if she was ready for that. It was a confusing mess.
"You know I love you, Su." Akane's tone was matter-of-fact.
He didn't get the chance to respond like he wanted to. He wanted to tell her the same thing. But he lost the chance when the doorbell rang and Akane got up to answer it. Subaru stared at his curry. It was delicious, and yet his appetite had disappeared some point in the last ten seconds. Subaru fiddled with his spoon.
The sound of the door opening filtered back into the kitchen. Akane's typical greeting of 'Hoshikawa residence' was cut off by a sharp intake of breath. Now that couldn't be good. A sneaking suspicion wormed its way through Subaru's gut.
"Hi!" the easily distinguishable and altogether too chipper voice of Hibiki Misora reached his ears, "I'm here to see Subaru-kun!"
Subaru decided to join his mom at the door.
Akane was frozen in shock. Of course she'd recognized the idol on the spot. How could she fail to recognize pink hair and green eyes? Subaru wanted to slap his forehead, but he knew that would hurt a lot, so he didn't. Still, could Misora be any less subtle? And why was she here?
"What are you doing here?"
"That's the same thing you said to me this morning, Subaru. You should really stop being so surprised. Besides, you were the one who said to come and visit you. Which I tried, but they'd already released you from the hospital so I tracked… I mean, I came here!"
Her declaration was met with a few beats of silence.
Subaru stepped past his mom and grumbled, "Maybe you should come in before you attract attention."
"Sure! Thanks for having me!" Misora chirped like she hadn't just invited herself.
"Right!" that seemed to finally snap Akane out of her reverie, "Are you hungry, Misora-chan? Have you had dinner? Do you like curry?"
"Oh, yeah! I love curry! But if it's okay with you, I really came by to check on Subaru. We need to talk." She offered one of her patent, glittering smiles, which seemed to catch Akane off guard. Subaru figured that his mom was a little star-struck, so he let it slide. Misora, on the other hand, was a purely guilty party for abusing her powers of popularity.
"Sure." Akane nodded, "I can fix you up a plate and bring it to Subaru's room." She herded the two of them to the stairs, "Just give me a minute. I'll have it right up."
So, about a minute later, Misora was stuffing her face with a steaming plate of curry while she inspected Subaru's bedroom.
"You fancy yourself as some kind of interior decorating critic?" Warrock sniped from Subaru's desktop computer, watching the girl with gleaming red eyes. Subaru sat on the stairs leading up to his bed, watching as well. Her being here was just a little bit surreal.
Misora answered Warrock's posed question seriously, "I'm just curious. A room says a lot about a person. And I don't know that much about Subaru." She turned bright eyes on him. Her attention kind of made his head hurt.
"You really like space." Misora announced.
Subaru rolled his eyes.
Misora continued, "I just think that's a little ironic given that you were the first one to get mixed up with aliens. From what Harp tells me, your friend is the reason the rest of the FMians came to earth."
That wasn't the reason exactly, but Subaru didn't feel like explaining Brother Band and the true mission of Space Station Peace. So he just shrugged. He waited for Misora to get to the point. What was she really doing here?
Misora took a break from talking to eat a few mouthfuls of curry. She hummed in satisfaction.
"Your mom is a good cook. I'm going to have to come over more often."
"A little warning would be nice." he muttered, "Just FYI."
Her eyes lit up, "So I can come over?"
Subaru squirmed, thoroughly put on the spot. Warrock noticed and decided to give Subaru a break.
"I think what the kid wants to say is 'sure.' I know his mom wouldn't mind either. She's a huge fan of yours. Speaking of which, what brought you back to Kodoma?"
Misora's cheeks were stuffed with white rice so Harp took over the conversation, "While we were gone, Misora's been getting better with denpa-henkan. She saw the news about the attacks and the announcement about FMians so she wanted to come back and help. But we did a little canvasing before that. Besides Gemini, there are three more FMians in earth's atmosphere. Warrock, you wouldn't know because they're out of your range."
"Who?" Warrock asked.
Misora chipped in, "Cancer, Wolf, and Crown. They haven't found matching humans yet. But when they do, they'll probably come here. Harp said that their mission was to track you down and destroy earth. In that order." The idol cast a glance at her guitar, "But she didn't give any specifics. Harp said that if I wanted an answers, I'd have to ask you directly."
Warrock chuckled, "So you didn't come back for the kid, you came back for me?"
"You wish!" Misora huffed, "If you're going to give me that kind of attitude, I won't even listen to your answers!"
Warrock shot her a look that was altogether too smug, "Then why would I bother to tell you?"
"It's the Andromeda Key." Subaru deadpanned, "Somehow, it gives FMians the power to destroy the world."
Crickets could have been heard, it was so silent.
"I didn't think you would have told him." Harp murmured so quietly it was as if the words had slipped out. All eyes in the room swiveled to the small screen on Misora's guitar. And realizing that she had everyone's attention, Harp went on, "I won't ask where you hid it, Warrock. But you're taking a risky gamble. I know you're strong and you're stronger as Rockman. Our clan isn't known for teamwork, so with most enemies, your strength is your trump card. However, Gemini has gained a clear advantage: a host who can manifest both of his personalities."
Misora finished her thought, "Stopping him was pure luck last time. But let's not leave it to luck next time. Let's stop him together." Misora took decisive steps and crossed the room, her plate of curry scraped clean by this point. She held out a hand to Subaru, determination in her eyes, "Deal."
He took her hand.
They shook.
"Does this make us allies?" He asked, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"No." Her response was lightning quick and deadly serious. She smiled, "This makes us friends. Get it through your damaged skull already."
This one's a little short, but I thought you all deserved it after the cliffy. Lots of dialogue here. Getting stuff out in the open feels really good from a writing perspective.
I don't have much else to say about this chapter, so it's a pretty short AN. Thanks for reading, my pals :3
