Chapter 8 - On The Run

"I almost can't believe we're actually going through with this..." Minoru said breathlessly as they all marched briskly through the halls of the WBBA, the sounds of working and bickering and determination surrounding them all and giving life to their steps.
"You mean standing up against one of the most powerful men in the world who also just happens to be a manipulative psychopath?" Madoka questioned, "Yeah, I think that's a little hard to believe..."

"The important thing right now," Tsubasa said as he led them through one of their larger workspaces on the forty-second floor, "is getting some sort of a plan together before Hideyoshi finds out that we're doing this. If what Sichiro said is true, then he's watching us from all four corners of the room, so we probably don't have long."

"Okay, but how are we going to make up a plan?" Ren asked, picking up her pace so that the Director would be able to hear her, "He's the Director of the Tokyo WBBA. He is actually the Japanese government; how do you conspire against that."

"I don't know..." Tsubasa said with a breath, "But we'll figure something out. We should set up something low-key so that nobody expects anything too soon. Nothing big, and nothing that could draw attention."

"Sounds easy..." Madoka sighed. Tsubasa exchanged a sympathetic gaze with her, but he said nothing.
"Director!" A familiar voice called, and the group paused briefly to see Ayano (familiar only to a few of them) hurrying towards them through the busy rush of workers moving to and fro. Fortunately, she was used to this and maneuvered through her colleagues with ease until she stood in front of them.
"I got your message." The green-haired woman told the silverette as soon as she reached them, "Sichiro actually contacted you?"

"Yeah, he did." Tsubasa confirmed, briefly glancing back at the group gathered around, "Hardly a few minutes after you called saying that he wasn't at his apartment. From the sounds of it, he's on the run, and isn't keen on telling anyone where he is."

"On the run?" Ayano repeated, keeping her voice low so that she didn't draw anyone's attention, "But... why?"

"We'll explain, but not out here," Tsubasa assured her, and they continued all through the workspaces until they finally came to a vacant control room that was only occupied for a few hours a day in total. As the rest of them headed into the room, Minoru quickly reached forward and tapped Madoka on the shoulder, grabbing her attention.
"Hey, don't wait up for me, okay?" He said, clearly having something else on his mind, "There's... something I should do. If you'll allow it, that is." It took only a moment of looking at his face for Madoka to understand what he was talking about. She nodded, though her face expressed her concern.
"You're going to tell him?" She asked.
"Should I?" Minoru asked, shrugging his shoulders lightly, "I think it'd be a good idea, but you know him better than I do." Madoka sighed through her nose and briefly turned her gaze away from Minoru. She watched as the rest of the children filtered into the room behind Tsubasa and Ayano, biting her lip, before nodding her head as she turned back to the bluenette. "He'd want to know, I know that..." She said softly, pursing her lips slightly.
Gingka would want to know. She knew him well enough to know that he would even give them hell if they didn't tell him, despite his kind nature... But even so, she still wasn't sure that it was the best idea. Especially not with his delicate mental state, and the fact that he was still getting used to actually walking again. And if they told him everything, they probably wouldn't have the option of leaving him in the hospital anymore.
However, telling him would be the best thing to do, even with the repercussions that may follow.
"Just..." She started again, and faltered briefly, "...if you tell him, we might not be able to leave him here. Especially not with what Hideyoshi was saying... He's still healing, too. And I can't imagine what taking him out of the hospital right now would do to his health... Physical or otherwise."
Minoru nodded slowly at this and didn't meet her gaze for several moments. Finally, he looked up at her, and she could see the earnest understanding in his face.
"We might not be able to leave him here either way..." Minoru reasoned, unsure.
Madoka couldn't deny that he was probably right. Her shoulders slumped, and she glanced over her shoulder briefly. She caught Tsubasa's gaze for a moment, who seemed to have been looking at her just before she had turned to look at him. She held it a second and then turned back to Minoru.
"Okay, I'll tell Tsubasa..." She said, quieter than necessary, "We're going to get so much hell for this, but it's probably for the best. Just... Be careful with him."
"Trust me, I know," Minoru reassured her, and Madoka knew she could trust that he did. There were no more words between them, and, the moment she so much as blinked, Minoru was gone. She would never know how that worked...
At least half-satisfied with their agreement, Madoka turned and entered the room herself, closing and locking the door behind her. She once more exchanged a brief glance with Tsubasa as she walked over to his side, and mouthed Gingka's name briefly so that he understood the gist of what their conversation had been about. Tsubasa just nodded, though his expression was troubled, and then turned back to Ayano.
Now that they were alone, Tsubasa explained what had been occurring in the last couple of hours, and the motivation as to why exactly he had sent her to Sichiro's home in the first place. Ayano listened intently, though it was clear throughout the whole explanation that was she was more than a little unsettled by the thought of the most powerful man in Japan making threats on them over a child they had kidnapped.
When he was done, the Director could only look at her in earnest.
"And... that's all we know, as of right now." The silverette concluded, his arms folded over his chest, "Sichiro never gave specifics of how Hideyoshi would carry out his threat, but it didn't sound good in any sense... Whatever he knows about them, it's clearly reason enough for him to run."

"But what would he know?" Ayano asked, looking flustered at the whole of this situation, "What could he possibly know about them that he'd just run." Tsubasa just shrugged his shoulders and gestured to her briefly.
"You tell us." He said, "You know him better than we do." At that, Ayano scoffed, amused at the Director's assumption, and shook her head hopelessly.
"I've known him for eight years," She told him, shaking her head hopelessly, "and... no, I don't."
At that, Tsubasa exhaled through his nose and licked nervously at his lips. All of them looked towards him, but he paid them no mind.
No matter how much Ayano knew (which was clearly about as much as they did) or where they stood at the moment, he knew that they had to act. And they had better do it before Hideyoshi somehow got wind of what they were planning.
"Alright." He said, straightening himself a bit, "Well, since you know as much as we do, you can help us out. If you're actually willing to go against the government, that is."
Ayano chuckled inaudibly, and she gave a small smile.
"Well, not like I can really say no at this point..." She reasoned, folding her arms over her chest as she seemed to contemplate something, "Besides, I always thought there wasn't right about them, anyway."

"Good to hear," Madoka said with a small, grateful smile. Ayano returned it well enough. No doubt that all of them could agree on that.
"Alright then." Tsubasa said with a note of finality, "Since we're all in agreement, let's get to work."...

Breathing out a sigh of exhaustion, Gingka carefully sat back down on the edge of his hospital bed, relieved to finally be free of standing after his familiar session with his therapist.
He had just returned from his now hour and a half long sessions of physical therapy, and it was exhausting, to say the very least. Actually being able to sit down after all of that was a relief, if he was honest with himself.
As much as he wanted to regain his original strength and get back up on his feet (quite literally), it was a tedious business, and often left him sore and drained beyond belief. But day after day, he kept going, and he kept doing all the strenuous exercises that he was required to do. And, day after day, he kept telling himself that it was all for his wellbeing; so that he could get better. So that, maybe, when his dreaded voice came back, he would have to strength to get up and walk away.
Of course, it was much more complicated than that, but it was still the example he held on to. It gave him a sense of security, a sense of normalcy, even though he was far from his typical 'normal'. Anything to not have to think about that...
Quietly, Gingka shook his head and reached over to his bedside table where a paper cup filled with apple juice lay and took a generous gulp of it. To get some more vitamins back in him, they said. He definitely needed it, after going through an extended period of malnutrition while he was comatose.
It was working, so that was good. Just another step towards recovery, which he was definitely looking forward too.
As he placed the cup back down on the table, he paused briefly, hearing the sound of a soft conversation outside. It wasn't uncommon for him to hear people talking outside in the halls, considering that the door was always wide open so that the doctors and nurses could keep a watchful eye on him. This conversation, though, seemed to be almost right outside of his room, just like when Madoka, Zyro, and the others had come to visit him the first time, or whenever Dr. Amori or one of the nurses was informing them of something before they set foot in his room.
Listening carefully, he could hear one of the nurses - one of the younger ones; she was sweet, and had the sense to leave his window closed when others opened it - talking to another person outside. Not someone who had been here to see him formerly, from the sounds of it, since she seemed to be explaining his 'delicate' condition. The other person sounded half-resigned and almost impatient as she talked, and he heard them simply say that they understood and weren't going to attack him. They sounded sarcastic, even...
Gingka quirked an eyebrow and realized that he recognized that voice. Only then did the nurse from outside knock on the doorframe of his door, and poked her head inside.
"Mr. Hagane, you have a visitor." She said kindly, before disappearing back across the threshold.
Gingka watched the door for just a moment and was half surprised to see a familiar, but not unwelcome, face wander in through.
"Kira?" The redhead questioned aloud, furrowing his eyebrows together, "What are you doing here?..."

"'Hello' to you, too." Kira greeted him in turn, folding his arms over his chest and moving back slightly to lean against the shelf parallel his bed. "Flattering, how you greet people." At his blatant sarcasm, Gingka was compelled to smile.
"Sorry." He apologized lightly, "I just didn't expect to see you here. You've never stopped by before now..."
Kira sighed through his nose and looked down towards the floor with his one eye.
"Yeah, well..." He started with a breath, "I figured I probably should, all things considered... Especially after the hell I put you through..." Gingka raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.
"Meaning?..." He asked.
"Well, I kind of helped with your kidnapping and low-key torture by Doji, so..." The boy clarified, "you know. That probably calls for some sort of apology from my end..."
Gingka chuckled softly at that, and simply gave Kira a small smile.
"It's fine." He said, relatively dismissively, "You don't have to apologize for it." At this, Kira actually looked surprised and stared at the redhead for several moments before speaking again.
"Seriously?" The boy stressed, his one eye wide with disbelief and confusion, "You're forgiving me, that easily? That's it?"
Gingka shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, yeah." He answered, "I mean, it's not like you really knew any better, right? Trust me, I knew Doji... And I know that, to him, you were all just pawns that he could dispose of at a moment's notice. And you all did his work, because, clearly, you had nothing else." The redhead hung his head slightly and had a wistful expression on his face. "Besides... I'm not one to hold a grudge that badly."
Again, he raised his head to look at Kira, who stood there with a dumbfounded look painted humorously on his face. Gingka almost laughed at this, but quickly stopped himself.
"Huh..." Kira finally muttered after several moments, and adjusted his position against the shelf behind him, "Alright then... So you're fine with it?"

"Yeah," Gingka answered simply.
Kira looked pointedly at him for a second and then turned the expression down to the floor. He seemed just about to speak once more - as a confirmation that they were both on fair terms - when a sudden swoosh of cold air from beside him caused him to jump with a short yelp and look over in alarm. Where there had previously been no one standing just a second ago, now stood who he recognized as Minoru Hagane, Gingka's own brother.

"-orry, but I have news!" The blue-haired man started quickly as he manifested into the room, making brief gestures with his hands at his sides.
The moment he appeared, however, Gingka's immediate reaction (clearly underlined by panic) was to reach over and grab the vase of flowers at the corner of his table and throw it in his brother's direction with an incoherent exclamation. Minoru nearly shrieked in alarm but put his hands up in front of him upon instinct. Almost immediately did the vase - with the flowers in tow - slow in its path towards him, before completely stopping and hovering in mid-air like strung-up statues. This didn't stop the telepath from getting splashed with the water that flew out of it, though.
With impressive patience and balance, Minoru brought both the flowers and the glass vase the rest of the way over to him, before grabbing both in each hand and placing the daisies back into it. He then reached back and placed it on the shelf behind him, and then turned back to the rest of the room. And he was met with the wide eyes and shocked expression of his brother.
"Minoru!" Gingka hissed, letting go of the breath that he had been holding, "I thought we agreed?! No teleporting in here!..."

"I know! I know, we did!" Minoru conceded, "But I didn't have time to check in and check out!"

"And... why?" Kira asked slowly as he came down from his state of alarm that was almost equal to Gingka's. Minoru glanced at him briefly and then continued to speak in an urgent tone.
"Okay, we don't have very long, since someone is bound to come check on you-" He gestured to Gingka to make his point clear, "-eventually, so both of you just shut up and listen because this is an emergency and I will not have questions!"
Confused by this, both Kira and Gingka nodded their consent to this, and let Minoru keep talking.
"Okay, so I was at the WBBA with Madoka and Tsubasa this morning, right? And then we got this call from Zyro's parents, and it turned out that he hadn't actually gotten back home last night, even though we saw him go, which is weird because we know it's not like him. But after that, we got a call from this guy who's apparently the Director of the Tokyo WBBA, who called to say that, apparently, they kidnapped Zyro and they have him, and he made a threat to Tsubasa to not do anything to try and find him if he cares about whether Zyro stays safe or not. So that happened, and then literally not even a half hour ago we got a call from this other guy who works at the WBBA, and apparently he knows a lot of things about what's going on since he seems to have just skipped town, and called to warn Tsubasa that we have to go after Zyro, because the other WBBA is going to do things to him no matter what we do. And so doing that will put us all in mortal peril, so I'm pretty sure the general consensus that we are currently reaching is that once we make a plan on how to get Zyro back, if possible, we're probably going to have to run from Metal Bey City altogether before we start being hunted down by the Japanese government, and I needed to tell you-" he once more gestured to Gingka, "-this because it's most definitely not a good idea to leave you here when we're being hunted down and they know that we're friends with you, so that's why I came here! Is there anything you need clarification on?"
All of this was said so quickly that both Gingka and Kira were left staring at the younger twin in aghast shock. Neither of them were able to say a thing for a few seconds, and Minoru was briefly worried that he had dumped a bit too much information on them all at once. That was, until Kira finally spoke, his one eye wide and a look of incredulous disbelief on his face.
"I'm sorry...what?!" He exclaimed. Though, from the look on his face, he seemed to have understood at least most of what had been said.
"Oh dear lord..." Gingka muttered softly, only to himself, and looked away briefly from his brother. "Oh, lord... Okay... Oooohhh lord..."

"Okay, I know that's a lot to process in a really short amount of time..." Minoru said once he had given both of them a second, "and I know you're-" yet another gesture to Gingka, "-still healing and you're definitely not in the best condition for any of this, but bad things are happening. And if we're running, then we need to take the two of you with us... Well, Gingka, at least. I don't know what you want to do..." Minoru said the last sentence while gesturing to Kira, who he obviously hadn't really expected to be here.
"W-wait, why do you need to make me with you?" Gingka asked, hoping to get more clarification.
"Because, from the sounds of it, the Tokyo WBBA is gonna come after us if we do anything, so I'm assuming we're making plans to evacuate the area once we actually have a plan... And I mentioned it to Madoka, and she agreed that we should probably take you with us because they would know that you're close to us, and also that you're in the hospital because they can find out some crazy shit like that. And, considering the disgusting amount of power they seem to have, it probably wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that they would come after you and use that against us, getting us to back off, and then we can't do anything and just bad things in general. Is that clear, at all?"
Slowly, Gingka nodded, absentmindedly pulling at the loose fabric of his pants.
"Yeah..." He said, letting out a heavy breath, "Yeah, I think so... I'm having some issues processing some of that, but I think so... Good thinking, anyway."

"Thanks," Minoru said quickly, "But if we're going to go, we need to go now. Or at least within the next few minutes. I seriously doubt your doctors will approve of finding me here without knowing that I was even in the building."

"Yeah, well they'll disapprove even more when they find out I'm not here," Gingka stated as he reached over to his bedside table and picked up his headband, which had been folded there for quite some time. "I can't even imagine the legal trouble this could get us in, being in this ward, nonetheless..." The redhead murmured as he positioned the signature cloth back on his forehead. "Ehhh, we can figure something out... Maybe... hopefully..." Minoru said with an awkward shrug of his shoulders, "You ready?"

"I guess," Gingka answered, and stood from his sitting position on the bed.
"Okay, that's it, I'm coming," Kira stated as Gingka got to his feet.
"Are you sure?" Minoru asked.
"Obviously not, but when has that stopped anyone?" Kira asked in exasperation. For Minoru, that was answer enough.
With their decisions made, the younger twin reached out both hands, placing one on Kira's shoulder, and the other on Gingka's triceps just below his shoulder. Then they were gone, with hardly a trace of their ever being there left behind...

When they truly put it to the task, making a half-assed plan for going against the Japanese government to rescue one of their friends was surprisingly quick, though in no real way was it easy. Considering what it was likely possible for Hideyoshi to do to them (let alone their reputations), they had all mutually agreed that leaving Metal Bey City would be the best choice of action. Or at least it was in terms of rescuing Zyro, which was a task that most of them had agreed to take on.
Tsubasa, meanwhile, insisted that he had to stay at the WBBA, where he could manage and pull the strings for their plan from a distance. The rest of them would be heading out onto what they were unofficially dubbing as 'the battlefield', where there was hardly any doubt that the Tokyo WBBA would come after them. They had also decided that, considering the incident inside Tsubasa's office, they should get rid of their cellphones and endeavor to correspond in a different way that couldn't be easily tracked. If the rest of them were basically going into hiding at this point, then cell phones with satellite reception and tracking wouldn't do them any good.
Now all they really had to do was figure out a way of perhaps contacting Sichiro, put together another part to the plan that actually involved getting to the Tokyo WBBA without being caught, and where it was that they were going to go to 'lay low' for the time being.
So far, Tsubasa couldn't think of any locations that the Tokyo WBBA couldn't find out about, but he assured them that he would find somewhere that they could lay low at, even if only for a short while.
"What do you plan to do with these?" Ren asked as she placed her phone inside the box on one of the desks inside the room, "Can't imagine anything good, personally..."

"Well, we'll keep them on lockdown for the time being," Tsubasa explained, "make sure nobody gets their hands on them. We shouldn't necessarily have to destroy them, but... We might end up having too if things get out of hand."

"Knew I should've saved those photos at home..." Shinobu muttered to himself absentmindedly, and a few of them chuckled at this. Tsubasa allowed himself a brief smile at this.
"Of course, we'll still need to find a way to communicate, but it looks like we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it." He explained.
"Hey, what about this?" Maru suddenly piped up, holding up her left wrist for them all to see. Upon it was the same bracelet that Tsubasa had given her months ago when they had endeavored to hunt down Alcorin away from Metal Bey. It was the one way that they had stayed in contact with Tsubasa over the trip, and it had helped them a great deal in figuring out where they should go next.
"We could use this!" Maru suggested, "It only relies on the satellite, and there's no automatic tracking device, either - I checked! I already know how to use it, so it'll be easy to contact you when we need to."
While she spoke, Tsubasa looked down at the small girl with an unreadable look on his face and seemed to contemplate this suggestion for a few brief seconds. He didn't say anything, however, and looked over at Madoka for her own thoughts on Maru's idea. The pained look on her face was all that he needed to know what their answer would be.
Madoka returned his gaze, and they seemed to have a silent conversation before a decision was made. Only then did Tsubasa finally speak.
"That... is a good idea, Maru, I appreciate it, but..." He paused, "while that in itself is a good idea, it probably isn't a good idea for you to come along."
Maru's expression immediately fell, her enthusiasm gone in an instant.
"But why?" She asked, looking crestfallen. "I know how to use it better than anyone does!"

"Um, Maru..." Madoka choked out as steadily as she could, "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Maru looked confused, but followed Madoka up the stairs to the top of the room anyway, briefly glancing at Tsubasa on her way by.
Tsubasa could only give her an apologetic look before uncomfortably returning to the conversation with the rest of the group.
Once her and Maru were just barely within earshot of the others, the brunette knelt down on her knees in front of her student, ready to explain her thoughts as best as she could.
Maru beat her to the punchline.
"Madoka, you can't just make me stay!" Maru protested before anything else could be said, "I can help, you know I can! I know how to use this; I've helped before! You can just not take me now!"

"Maru..." Madoka breathed out, silencing the pinkette. Madoka looked at her earnestly for a few seconds, before she finally sighed. "Look, Maru..." She began, "I know that this is a lot to take in right now, especially after what's happened with Zyro, and everything else... I know you can help, I've never doubted that you can, but I think- let me talk." She said firmly when Maru was about to interrupt. "This time, I think it's best that you stay here..."

"But Madoka, we've been in serious situations before!" Maru tried, "You let me come when we went to track down Alcorin!"

"Yes, but that was tracking down a murderous sociopath with supernatural abilities - something I know isn't impossible to beat." Madoka pointed out, "But this... This isn't Alcorin, Maru. It's not Nemesis, it's not the Garcias, it's not any of them... It is a twisted man, in a very high position of power, who can do things that none of those people could. He kidnapped Zyro, he threatened Tsubasa, he's probably done a hundred other bad things that he's actually allowed to do, because of who he is." Madoka paused for a second, and looked away, wiping the soft tears from her cheeks.
She had to pull herself together...
"Maru." She said, "This isn't debatable. We - the rest of us - are going out there. And I know you want to come, but out there is not just some scary guy with superpowers... It's safer here."

"But you heard Sichiro!" Maru protested as her voice broke, "Nowhere is safe, we should know that!"

"But here is better than out there, Maru!" Madoka pressed.
Lavender eyes pleaded desperately with her, small face shiny with small tears.
Madoka felt the violent tug that pulled at her heart; she felt the aching feeling in her chest and the guilt in the pit of her stomach. She felt herself wanting to cave to her student's wishes; wanted to tell her that 'yes, she could come if she wanted too'. But she couldn't do that. Maybe some other time, in later years, when it was something lighthearted, something fun that she would think twice about before refusing.
But that was not this time, and she could not allow herself to be the compliant caretaker she was. Not this time...
So, with her heart breaking, Madoka shook her head and gently wiped away the tears off of Maru's soft cheeks. Leaning in, Madoka took both sides of Maru's face, not allowing her to look away. Gazing into those wide eyes that she had always loved, Madoka confessed to all the years that had gone by.
"I love you." She said softly, voice cracking, "I've always loved you, Maru, so much... And I don't want you to get hurt. And god forbid if I let you... Okay?"

Maru rubbed harshly at her eyes, but nodded anyway, sucking in light sobs as Madoka gently pulled into her a hug. Small hands clutched at the shiny fabric of her teacher's jacket, and she sniffled softly as the tears continued to roll down her soft cheeks.
She might've said something in response to all of that like she should, but she remained silent, quivering in the arms of the only real caretaker she had ever known. She had her doubts, but she could hope that she could trust Madoka on this...
The two of them pulled away after a few seconds, and Madoka wiped away the shiny streams from her student's face, before moving to stand.
"W-wait!" Maru stuttered earnestly and was suddenly fumbling with her wrist to pull off the metallic bracelet she wore.
"Maru..."

"Just take it, please...!" The pink-haired girl pleaded quietly, finally undoing the clasp and holding it up for Madoka to take. The brunette sighed through her nose in exhaustion, but took the bracelet from her student, anyway.
It was the least she could do to ease her own guilt at this point.

"Are you ready?" Tsubasa ascended the stairs quietly, being careful as to not interrupt the private moment between the two of them. Her shaking silence said something entirely different than Madoka's nod and small 'yup' as she stood at full height, wiping the rest of her tears off on her jacket sleeve. Tsubasa wasn't convinced, but he chose to humor her, albeit reluctantly.
"We need to leave soon." he said, "Ayano's getting the choppers ready as we speak, and I don't like the thought of what could happen if we stay here much longer."
Madoka just nodded, obviously struggling to compose herself again. Tsubasa briefly glanced down at Maru, who stood staring at the ground quietly.
"Wait, what about Minoru?" Ren asked upon hearing Tsubasa's words. "He just sort of took off; aren't we going to wait for him?"

"Depending on how long he takes, we might not have time too." Tsubasa moved forward and grabbed hold of the door handle. "If he doesn't show up, then-"

"Heeeeyyy..." Came the familiar voice of the youngest Hagane twin once Tsubasa had opened the door. The group of them stared at the sight before them, which was something that they hadn't exactly expected to see upon emerging from the control room.
On the other side of the door stood Minoru, Gingka, and - shockingly - Kira, all of them looking a little less than well. Minoru, for one, was soaked through the front of his skirt and part of his skirt.
Gingka - whom they were more than a little surprised to see - was hunched over in the chair he had been seated in, looking unhealthily pale.
Kira - who they were definitely surprised to see - wasn't doing too much better as he stood doubled over in a bow, clutching his stomach with a soft groan to be heard every now and again. Needless to say, it was quite the scene to suddenly walk upon.
"What happened to you..." Tsubasa asked, dumbfounded as he looked to and fro between all three of them.
"Teleporting is evil..." Kira groaned. He looked like he was about ready to throw up.
"And why are you wet?" The silverette asked, looking Minoru up and down and eyeing the wet portion of his clothing.

"I threw a vase at him..." Gingka answered shamefacedly, as he held a hand to his mouth.

"You actually brought him..." Madoka stated, shaking her head with an unreadable expression.
"Yeah, that was kinda the point..." Minoru answer, averting her eyes.
"There's really no hope of leaving me behind at this point..." Gingka breathed. "I'm a stubborn ass with hardly any concern for my own safety; we know this..."
A few of them sweat-dropped at that.

"I figured that it might not be best to leave him-" Minoru gestured to his brother. "-if we're leaving. You know... Since Hideyoshi seems to know... things."
Tsubasa sighed, pursing his lips. "I guess that's... at least somewhat reasonable, all things considered. I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do to the hospital, though..."

"Yeah, sorry about that..."

"Director!" Everyone's attention was drawn away from the three new arrivals to look towards Ayano, who came hurrying back up to them, gasping quietly from the rush.
"They're ready." She said, "You can head up at any time."

"Thank you." Ayano's face then contorted in confusion when she lay eyes on Gingka, and gestured to him as she turned back to Tsubasa.
"Um... Isn't he supposed to be in the hospital?"

"Well, yes, technically," Tsubasa answered. "Look, I know they're going to be hounding us about this, but we're just going to have to make something up. Family emergency, legal situations, whatever we can, alright?"
Ayano sighed and tapped her fingers against her thigh, then nodded. "Alright, but if I get fired for this-"

"Trust me, I'm lucky I'm still Director after half of the shit that's been going down lately. You're fine, for now."
Ayano huffed and silently agreed, before looking to the rest of the group who she knew was waiting for their ride. "All right, follow me," she said. "The sooner we get you guy's out of here and to a safe house, the better."

"The roof?" Minoru asked, looking at Madoka, who nodded. "Okay, we'll meet you up there."
He exchanged glances with Gingka, who seemed to silently consent to something that none of them could understand. However, the purpose was clear when Minoru gently placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, and then the two of them were gone.
Ayano muttered something about 'not even asking' before she finally started to lead the group away to head to the rooftop.
As they started off, Ren and Shinobu both walked in step with Kira on either side of him, pointing out how the pastel-haired boy had actually decided to come along, even though he was no longer 'obligated' to by his 'debt' to Zyro.
"Oh please..." Kira sighed at their implications, "he says I'm not. But the kid clearly doesn't understand what it means to save someone's life..."
"So, you still consider yourself indebted to him, is what you're saying," Shinobu stated rather than asked.
Kira sighed irritably at this and rolled his eye.
"Yeah, sure," he responded, "if you want to put it like that."
"So, basically..." Ren pressed, "you're saying that you do care about him!"
"What?! No!"
"Really? 'Cause that is definitely the face of someone who cares about someone."
"Shut up!"
Tsubasa just barely stifled a laugh from behind the rest of the group and watched as the three of them quietly bickered and teased and ignored each other (or attempted to ignore, on Kira's part). They were only about a few meters from the staircase when Tsubasa felt his phone go off in his pocket.
Never stopping in their ascent towards the roof, the silverette pulled out the device, looking at the screen for an identity. His heart immediately froze in his chest, his breath hitching sharply before he shoved his phone back into his pocket, determined to ignore it.
There was no way that they could know already. There was no way that they could... But he shouldn't be surprised, and he knew that he shouldn't.
Sichiro had said that they could have eyes and ears everywhere; who was he to say that he was wrong?
But even after he ignored it, the calls kept coming, and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore them as they ascended to the top of the building. And it was only as they finally reached the rooftop did the constant buzzing in his pocket finally start to become unbearable.
He knew he was going to have to answer it eventually, but he wasn't going to cave before he got his friends out of this city and off to somewhere safe.
Wherever 'safe' was, exactly.

As expected, Gingka and Minoru were already on the rooftop waiting for him, with Gingka already situated into one of the two helicopters that were ready and waiting. Ayano yelled over the sound of the blades and made sure that everybody who was going got themselves strapped in properly.
After that was done, she hurried back over to where Tsubasa was standing with Maru, Madoka, and Minoru, informing him that everyone else was ready to go. She then asked where she should tell the pilots to carry them, which left both Tsubasa and Madoka to make the quick decision on the location.
"Can't you just send us to one of the Safe Houses over towards Niigata?!" Madoka asked. "They're one of the most anonymous places there is!"

"Yeah, to people who aren't with the government!" Tsubasa pointed out.

"It could be our only shot though!"

"Well, how well could they track it?!"

"Considering they are the government?! Pretty easily!"

"Well, make a decision!" Ayano pressured, "We don't have all day!"

"I know..." Tsubasa said, softer than he meant too.
The overwhelming buzzing in his pocket was more than enough proof that they didn't have long before something was done. The silverette then felt a light tapping on his shoulder, and he turned to look at Minoru, who he had almost completely forgotten was there.
"I know a place!" The younger twin shouted over the sound of the blades.
"Where is it?!" Ayano asked, stepping in.
"Do you know where Oguni is?!"

"Of course!"

"There's this place I know of, just North of there! I can give directions!"

With that, Ayano hurried him away towards the emptier helicopter, allowing him to tell her about the location he had in mind. Madoka turned back to Tsubasa, but he quickly urged her along before she could say anything.
With only a longing glance back towards the Director and her subordinate, Madoka hurried off towards the chopper and boarded with practiced precision.
Tsubasa watched her go, feeling the dreaded tug in his heart as his phone started buzzing yet again. He never took his eyes off of his departing friends as he finally pulled it out of his pocket, slid his thumb across the screen, and answered.

"Yes?" He asked coldly.

"Tsubasa..." The menacing voice on the other end seethed calmly. "It seems that you failed to understand my previous demands... I specifically told you not to take any form of action to come looking for Zyro Kurogane; unless, of course, you want him to pay for your own actions?"
"You say that like he won't be paying for them anyway," Tsubasa remarked.
Hideyoshi said nothing for a moment, but his smooth yet frightening voice quickly picked up again.
"Alright then... I like to think of myself as a merciful person, so I'm going to take pity on you, Tsubasa. I'll give you one last chance. Stand. Down. And I won't have to make any drastic measures. I'd think very carefully about this if I were you, Tsubasa. Do you really want other people to suffer because of your arrogance?"
Tsubasa said nothing; however, it wasn't out of fear, or a loss of words, or from too many muddled thoughts in his head. His thoughts were quite clear, and he had many words to say. But he said none of them.
Instead, he looked down at Maru, who stood looking up at him, seeming to understand the position they stood in. But of course she did - she was the student of the smartest woman he knew.
Once more, Tsubasa looked back up towards his friends, and he watched in silence as they were carried off to a place that he could only hope would keep them safe for as long as possible. Finally, Tsubasa leaned his head into his phone, and never gave Hideyoshi a second thought as he sealed his fate.
"Kiss my ass." And he hung up.