While writing this chapter it became longer and longer so I split it in Ch 5 and 6. The next part is coming up soon!
Chapter 5
„And they just accepted you like that? That's incredible Nee-san. "
The monitor of the ECG showed weird arrhythmias which would bring every doctor into action. They were signals for an approaching flatline and with it a stopping heart. But the boy in front of Akari was far from dying. The reasons for those results were two disconnected electrodes dangling from his chest, having been ripped off in his excitement. People were supposed to lie still, when connected to an ECG, so the gadget probably not made for such lively patients.
Akari pressed her brother back in the sheets and put the electrodes on his chest again, before any doctor or nurse would hurry into the room.
"Lie still. Remember the last time you did this and got a mouthful by Takahiro? You are causing an emergency where there is none. It's partially my fault as well and I work here, so don't make me lose my job."
Kyoku crossed his arms and stiffed up his lower lip, acting like a spoiled child. His sister had to smile at that and ruffled his hair.
"I don't know why Kusanagi gave up and didn't fight back anymore. All the other people didn't seem surprised, as well. Maybe they were already expecting me to come back."
"How did Suoh react?"
Scratching the back of her neck Akari just shrugged.
"He didn't even look over. As far as I noticed, he's not showing what he thinks most of the time. Sometimes I get the feeling you can have the same interaction with a rock. A big, strong and mighty rock. So he hasn't said anything. Kusanagi was also not talking to me, after giving me my tasks. The one showing me around and introducing me to the guys was Totsuka."
She had met most of them at the incidents before, but she had still been nervous being around with all those guys. Totsuka had told her it was his role to make sure every new person was fitting in well and feeling welcomed. Akari had no interest in joining the clan; nevertheless she was glad they had someone, who made it easier for her as an outsider to work with them. They were polite and some of them as distant as she was. She still had no idea how to talk to the bunch.
"What kind of task are you talking about?"
When she had told her brother what happened three days ago, he was more excited about her interaction with Homra than worried about the actual reason why she went there. Did he even realize that he and Yuri could be a target as well?
He did, but he just doesn't care.
With the cancer threatening his life over the years, Kyoku had learned to ignore the uncomfortable and scary topics. He was most likely thinking of them in secret, but on the outside it seemed like he overheard it.
For the hundredth time during the last few days Akari was questioning herself if she had made the right choice. She just hoped the people around her would be left out of trouble.
"I'm supposed to watch a family, who got attacked the other day. It sounds far more interesting than it is. We just sit outside the entire day, unnoticed, and wait for something to happen. It's boring as hell. They probably put me there, because I would be in the way otherwise."
She had met the women and her kids the day before, as she went over to the place with Shohei and Bandou. The kids were still in pre-school and hadn't seen their father for over a year now. His wife suspected him of being in an underground gang or working in illegal business, since he had cut off contact with them. Every second month an anonymous letter would arrive with enough money to pay for rent and food. It seemed obvious, that he got into trouble and someone started targeting his family. Or maybe they were after the money. As much as Akari felt sorry for the woman, she didn't get the point why she should investigate this case, when it had clearly nothing to do with the groups attacking Homra. But she was probably the substitute for someone of more use on the other case and it was only reasonable to keep the outsiders out of the dangerous situations.
Shohei and Bandou spent their time talking and texting. It was easier to chat with Shohei since he was cheerful and cordially. In contrast Bandou only spoke a few words, seemed over all quieter and even a little arrogant. When he was talking to Shohei he emphasized a few times that he was above the guy in the rank of order in Homra and that his friend should respect it. Besides the Big Three (that's what she started calling the king, Kusanagi and Totsuka) Akari hadn't noticed any hierarchy in the internal structure of the clan. Even though Yatagarasu seemed to be pretty famous in Shizume city, he wasn't given any lead inside the clan. They all weren't really coordinated, more like just a bunch of boys hanging out and being united by the one king they followed. And she could see how much they respected him, even after visiting the bar only a few times until now.
"I'm going back there today. Another afternoon of boring watch."
"Maybe the attackers know that you guys are watching and don't come back because of that."
"I do hope so. I'm not very keen about fighting some men, who take families as hostages. The Homra guys might have some kind of fire superpower but I do not."
Then why are you even there if you cannot help? The thought crossed her mind involuntarily. It was something she had been thinking about for a while.
"Even if you don't have any powers I'm sure you can do something. You are studying medicine and work here. That's also pretty useful."
She had to smile at that. The next moment Akari hopped off Kyoku's bed, on which she had sat and walked over to the chair at the window.
"It's not like I'm learning anything useful right now." She said, while picking up her jacked, which she had flung over the back of the chair. "Most of the stuff in university is science during the first years. It's not like I could treat a wound because I know the formula of each amino acid in chemistry. No, it's the job that helps me out with it. I can do first aid, but you learn that during life guard training too. It's going to take a while until I can do something really useful."
"You've been busy the last three days haven't you? Your job is starting soon again, too. Don't you have some kind of studying to do once in a while?" A smirk appeared on her brother's face, as he was mocking her.
"You mean the formulas in chemistry? You sound just like Yuri." Akari rolled her eyes and turned towards the window. As she looked down to the street and the park of the hospital she stretched out her hand and gently touched the glass in front of her. Watching the people walking up and down the road or strolling through the green, she leaned forward until her forehead hit the window.
"Yeah, you guys are right. I should put more effort in it." Her breath formed mist on the glass as she remembered the reasons, why she wanted to become a doctor. One of them was sitting right behind her. For Kyoku she should try her hardest.
The cold against her forehead was somehow relaxing. For a moment she closed her eyes and forgot of her surroundings. Somehow she felt very tired.
"Nee-san?"
As always the voice of her brother brought her back to reality.
"That woman," she started, slowly opening her eyes. "She was still so scared. More scared of her kids being taken away, than about her own well being. Somehow I'm worried when I'm not watching out for them. I can't concentrate on other stuff, because I always have to think of them. If those guys really come back, it probably doesn't make a difference if I'm there or not. Then why am I so worried, when I'm not there?"
"Because you are rather kind than smart and get far too much involved in other people's business."
She had to smile at that.
"Charming as always little brother. Your wise words really make my day."
As she turned around Kyoku's usual smirk appeared on his face. Still sitting in bed he pretended to bow.
"I'm always there to give you advice, if you need it, my young pupil."
"Who is the young one here?"
"I bet mentally I'm far more mature than you are." He answered while sticking out his tongue. Maturity right there. Akari just shook her head. This one would never grow up. Not that she really wanted him to.
"Well then I'm leaving. Can't stay with someone with the mental state of a geezer. Far too boring." She walked up to him and kissed him on the forehead.
"Goodbye little brother. Next time we meet when I work, so behave yourself."
"Behave? What is that? Can I eat it?"
A chuckle escaped her, while she headed for the door. Right at the door frame her brother called her back.
"Ah- I almost forgot to tell you Nee-san. Rei visited me yesterday. He said it's been forever since he last saw you and that you should come by if you got the time."
It was true. Akari hadn't seen her cousin since half a year. But she wasn't really sure if she had the time to visit 'that place' soon.
The fly didn't move an inch after it had landed on the cold concrete. Stretching its almost transparent wings it rested there for a moment, before finally taking off again. The rays of the sun were refracted in those wings and gave off a shimmer with the colors of a rainbow. It was unusual to see flies so active during this season, but the early spring brought the sun and warmth with it.
I must be very bored. Akari thought frowning as her gaze followed the fly on its way up.
The observation team was sitting on a sidewalk opposite the alley where the family was living. From their angle they could see the entrance of the building and the windows of the apartment, they were supposed to watch. The woman and her children had returned an hour ago and nothing had occurred since then. Leaning against the front of a building, Shohei and Bandou were both playing games on their PDAs while Akari continued to stare into the air, trying to think of something interesting.
"Next time you should bring something to keep yourself occupied with." A voice next to her suddenly stated. Shohei, the owner of said voice, continued playing his game, as a smile appeared on his features.
"I don't like getting distracted from my work." She replied and nodded to the direction of the entrance.
"This is not a distraction. It is a way to keep ourselves concentrated. By playing we can still focus on our surroundings and that puts our mind off other things."
"I don't really get it." The girl replied frowning. Either they were focused on their surroundings or scoring the game, but trying to do both must afford a huge mass of concentration.
"For example can you tell me, how many people passed by during the time we were sitting here and what was special about one?" For the first time Shohei looked up from his PDA and gave her an expectant look.
"Five." Her answer came without thinking, because she knew the answer well. "And they all seemed ordinary, going home from their workplace. One of them had a suit case with him and one woman wore a weird hat and had over all a strange taste in fashion if you ask me."
He chuckled at that answer, pulling up his cap a bit.
"That's what one could call it, yes, but in fact there were – "
"Six people." It was unusual for Bandou to join their conversation. Although one couldn't really say 'join' since he kept clinging with his eyes on the screen in front of him.
"San-chan is right, there were in fact six people passing by and the appearances you described to me were just the first two of them. But you left out an important detail about one of them."
"Really? What was it then?" Akari asked, starting to get curious.
Again Bandou was the one who answered. "One of them was passing by twice, coming from the same direction. Ahh I lost again!" He bit on his lip and ended the game, before putting the PDA back in his pocket. "It's suspicious."
"That's a surprise San-chan! I didn't expect you would notice that too!" Shohei exclaimed, while turning around to his friend. The latter probably glared at him, but that expression couldn't be seen by the others due to the sunglasses covering his face. What could be seen, were the parts down from his nose formed to an angry grimace.
"Don't take me so lightly! Who do you think I am? And I have told you many times you shouldn't call me that in Homra." The reticent Bandou, who would stay silent most of the time and hide under his hood was gone. Though the hood was still pulled up, he gave off a completely different mood as he turned around to yell at his colleague. Even though he didn't use his power, Akari felt like warm flames of rage were surrounding him. This wasn't the first time that happened, since they were observing this building for hours and Shohei pissed Bandou off almost every time he opened his mouth (if intentionally or accidentally Akari couldn't tell yet), but the girl still was surprised at the sight. He appeared bigger during those moments and for some reasons, light began sparkling in his sunglasses. Balling his fists and waving them in front of Shohei, he looked like he was ready to start a fight with the other.
As stated, that was not the first time that happened, and Shohei reacted in the same way as usual. Ignoring the tantrum of the other he waved Bandou off and replied happily 'Hai, hai.' before turning to Akari again.
I'm surprised he can act so carefree with that rage in his back. And that Bandou hasn't killed him yet.
"As you can see, one tends to start daydreaming, when being on an observation as boring as this one. Once you start to lose focus you will miss the important details. You have to do something trivial at the same time, otherwise you will just go crazy." Shohei explained, completely untouched by Bandou's still balled fists in his back. As Bandou finally stood up, Akari thought a fight was about to begin, but the man just started to walk off.
"Oi San-chan, where are you going?"
His voice was still grumpy but he grinned as he turned around to answer the other.
"Doing our job. That suspicious one passed by two minutes ago. Could be that he was checking this place out. I'm gonna go and take a look at the back entrance. Though it is locked I don't think it will keep them out."
Bandou pointed with a thumb at the path next to the building and waved for a last time, before disappearing behind the next corner.
"That is San-chan. Always the worried one." Shohei mumbled to himself, being only heard by the person next to him. He took his phone out, probably to start a new game.
"You two….you guys already did many observations then?"
Akari was one with a short concentration span, when she became bored. If she wasn't interested she would just pay no attention to her surroundings at all. So taking her on an observation was probably the worst thing somebody could do. Even though she knew about that, the girl tried her best to help and still failed.
For her the details Bandou and Shohei noticed (even though only paying half attention to it) were something she didn't think was important or simply didn't notice at all. That meant they knew of what to look out for or had practice at observations. It was probably both though.
"Quite a few, that is. I guess it's one of the jobs you do when you are in Homra. That and collecting information for Kusanagi-san. That's mostly stuff in the underground, like drug dealing, so that is a little more exciting."
He paused for a moment, before jumping up in surprise.
"Ahhh – I probably shouldn't have told you about that stuff. Just forget that! Those are just a few gangs we are involved with, so it's not like the yakuza or anything.
He put his hands up in defense and replied happily with a smile on his face. He seemed a lot like Totsuka during that moment, but there was nervousness in his tone. The girl didn't know if Homra read what was reported about their rampaging, but most of the people in Shizume city knew what Homra was doing. Still, Shohei probably thought it was not suitable to tell a girl about that.
"I'm just surprised, that you guys haven't killed each other yet. He seemed pretty pissed off just now." With a nod she pointed in the direction in which Bandou had just disappeared.
"San-chan and me? No we get along well!" His answer was cheerful, but it sounded like he had said it many times by now.
You certainly do. But the other didn't seem like it.
Just then she thought of a certain friend of hers with whom she acted in exactly the same way. Maybe they were a little like Yuri and her?
"What do you think of San-chan?" The question came unexpected and left Akari startled. She thought about it for a moment, before concluding, that she really didn't know what kind of human Bandou was. She could just go by her first impression.
"The chain of command seems to be important to him. Other than that he is quite. I don't really know, other than yelling at you, I haven't heard him talking that much. So I can't really tell."
Shohei laughed at that, then crossing his arms behind his neck he looked up at the sky. "He sure becomes loud during those moments. But with that he is not the only one. Like Kusanagi used to say: 'This clan is just a bunch of brats with anger issues.'"
His look grew distant like he was starting to remember something.
"I can't really say that San-chan is shy, since he has a lot of self confidents, but he usually keeps quiet, when people are around he doesn't know. He has been like this since our days in preschool. However he is a very kind person and opens up to the people he knows. This man saved my life more than once, got himself injured in the process as well and didn't ask for anything in return. He may not look like it, but he was the one who taught me the real meaning of friends."
He didn't expect the girl's bewildered look when his eyes turned back to her. Akari was staring at him wide eyed, if her mouth would start to open up it would have fit the scene perfectly.
"Ahh – I said too much again, didn't I? I just didn't want you to feel left out, because he wasn't talking to you. That's just how San-chan is at the beginning. But it will get better in time, believe me."
Shohei sure is talkative. The very opposite of his friend. They have to be very good friends, when he can talk like that about Bandou.
"Then why are you teasing him all the time?"
"He becomes quite lively when he is being annoyed by my actions, doesn't he? That way San-chan opens up a bit…"
Ah so he is trying to help –
"…but on the other hand I just enjoy it to piss him off."
Shohei ended, still with a smile on his face. He was probably imagining something. Though he gave off a weird feeling, like some kind of evil aura was surrounding him in that moment.
The devil right there!
Unintentionally Akari skipped away from him, while holding up her hands, as if trying to block the strange aura she was imagining from him. For a moment she was really glad, that Yuri and Shohei had never met and that she was not in the same position as Bandou.
Speaking of the devil, Bandou called right that second. Listening to him on the phone, the happy expression on Shohei's face twitched, before turning into a serious one.
"Alright, we are on our way." Was his only reply, as he stood up and signaled Akari to follow him.
"What happened?" She asked after he had finished the call. They were running down the alley Bandou had taken a few minutes ago. Since Shohei's expression hadn't returned to normal yet, she started to become worried. That worry turned into pure fear, as a strident scream sounded through the alley. The echo reverberating from the cold stone walls shook Akari's spine and she felt cold sweat trickle down her neck. Even though it was different in its tone and frequency it was still the voice of the woman they were supposed to protect.
"The guy we were talking about met her at the back entrance." Shohei explained to her "She came out voluntarily and nothing happened. But after that, she was acting different from before."
Akari looked at him and frowned. That was no explanation of why they were still hearing the woman's terrified scream.
"What do you mean – "
She stopped midsentence. They had passed around the corner and were now facing stated entrance. At the ground the woman was sitting, still screaming the air out of her lungs. She leaned against the back of the building and with eyes full of terror pointed at a man standing in front of her. That scene could have counted as an attack wouldn't said man in front of her be a surprised and unsettled Bandou.
As he took a step in her direction, she tried to skip away from him. That was impossible though, since the wall was already in her back. Instead she just started to scream even louder. Puzzled and with hanging shoulders Bandou turned around and walked over to his colleagues. He bit his lip before he started to explain the situation, back still turned to the woman. The female slowly started to calm down, but still enough passers had noticed her cries and started to gather at the other end of the alley.
"Acting different from before, huh?" Shohei summed up the situation that had just appeared in front of their eyes.
"I wanted to ask her who that man was, but as soon as she saw me she started to freak out. First she was just running away from me, but a moment later she broke down over there. As I wanted to help her get up, she started to scream." He turned around to look at her again, but the woman started to shake as she noticed his gaze.
"We should probably leave." Shohei said, nodding slightly over to the people, who had grown suspicious and came down the alley.
None of the two had noticed, how Akari had slowly drawn nearer to the victim. The woman looked at her with wide eyes, but other than that, she stayed quiet.
"Boshiya-san?"
"You're right Shohei. You two should leave. This situation is wrong, but those people won't know that. I don't think they will suspect me though. I will try to ask her what happened."
Bandou again looked down the alley. Due to his sunglasses Akari couldn't make out his expression as he said: "Be careful. We will stay near this place."
"Sure thing."
After the two had disappeared from the woman's sight, Akari turned around to her. Slowly she walked over, as if approaching a hurt and scared animal. As she was standing in front of the other female, Akari slowly sank to the ground and stretched out her hand. The woman was still staring at her wide eyed, but didn't seem as scared as before.
"What happened?"
"Are you alright?"
"Who were those two?"
"Did they attack you?"
By now the passers had arrived at the scene. They gathered around the woman and started to ask questions. However she didn't reply to any of them. Her stare was still locked onto Akari. In the end she finally moved and a shaking hand reached toward Akari's shoulder and grabbed it. Her answer was just a whisper, but because everyone was expecting an answer of her it was heard by all the people surrounding her.
"HOMRA" she replied and her grip tightened with the nails digging into the girl shoulder. It started to hurt, but because of the pain, Akari would remembered the next words clearly later.
"They were attacking me before! And now they stood outside and watched my house. My children. They will take them away from me. I can't let them." She babbled on, but it became inaudible jibberish as sobs mixed with her talking.
Wait, this is wrong. You even talked to them. You KNOW they weren't the one attacking you from before.
"So it was Homra, huh."
"Those punks. Are they even starting to attack surveillance now? Isn't it enough already to destroy half of the city?"
"The police should arrest them all."
"They are nothing more than criminals."
"An entire gang of brutal brats. They are a danger to the people. I will call the police right now."
That was to be expected. Give the people a hint of what they think to be evidence and they sure will start to believe everything the press has told them.
Akari herself still didn't know, how much of the rumors about this clan actually were true, but this time she could be certain they had nothing to do with it. But there was nothing she could have done. Those people would never believe her, if the victim was claiming such things.
As the woman pulled her closer, Akari's attention was drawn back to the person in front of her. To her surprise the female looked at her with very clear eyes, this time more concerned than terrified.
"You-" she reached out with her other hand and gently touched Akari's face. "I've talked to you before. You kind child were trying to help me, observing this house right? Did you see them as well? Don't get near those guys you hear me? They will hurt you and all the people around you. I will get revenge on them. You will see. Someone will get revenge on them. If someone will get rid of their king, they will just fall apart."
At first she had been talking like a mother, but now it had turned into some fanatic ranting. The once clear eyes had started to become blurry again. Was this still the same woman in front of her, or had someone else put those words into her mind? Suddenly she remembered a similar situation.
'HATE THEM! KILL THEM! KILL HOMRA! They have done terrible things to you. Get revenge on them. KILL THEIR KING! '
The voice echoed through her mind, but this time it didn't have the same impact. Back then Akari had almost been tempted to give in to that order. Could that same thing happen here as well?
"I remember them all." The woman muttered on. "Each and every one of them. That bartender, the kid with the skate board, their king. If they ever come near my children again, I will call the police immediately."
"And that was what she told me." Akari finished her report. They had left the woman in the care of the other people and returned to the bar. The entire clan had gathered at the counter to listen, what the observation team had to say. It could have been the usual setting: Kusanagi standing behind the counter, smoking a cigarette, Anna sitting between Totsuka and Mikoto on one side, while Kamamoto and Yata were chatting and the rest of the clan hanging out; wouldn't it have been for the tense silence that was so unusual for this lively place.
"I talked to her right that morning, before our watch began. Something must have happened between that time and this afternoon, which made her fear Homra so much. She looked at me like I was about to beat her up." Bandou lowered his head, as he remembered the incident. Such a reaction from the one they were supposed to protect could be a shock for everyone.
"Then what did you do to her Bandou?" Yata jumped up from his seat and grabbed the other by the collar. "It must have been something you have done, that made her fear us so much. Did you say something inappropriate? Or did you need to show off with your powers?"
"I had nothing to do with it, you idiot!"
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOT?"
And thus like that, the bar returned to its normal lively status, as Yata dragged the struggling Bandou off his seat to the middle of the room to beat him up. Those scenes had happened often between those two in the past, reaching its peek when Shohei had just joined the clan. So while the rampaging in the middle of the bar took place, accompanied by noises that sounded like a wounded animal was just about to be killed, the clan just carried on with their discussion about the incident, leaving only a startled Akari, who wasn't quite used to that sight.
'Just a bunch of brats with anger issues' She recalled what Shohei had quoted before, as she shook her head and turned around to enter the discussion again.
"I questioned her about the first encounter and she recalled Yata and Kamamoto attacking her. I also asked, if she knew the man she had just met before, but she couldn't even remember him."
"N-N-No, b-but I would n-never – " Yata, who suddenly had seemed to remember that a girl other than Anna was able to hear his yelling, stopped in the middle of the fight, leaving a broken down Bandou on the floor.
"So these incidents were connected after all, huh?" Kusanagi exhaled smoke and rubbed his temples, as his brows furrowed. "There is no way she could have known me and Mikoto because we have never met her. Also she started to react in the same way, those gang members did back then. Bandou – "
Said person had just picked himself up from the floor and staggered his way back to the counter. Kusanagi placed a drink in front of him, before continuing with his question.
"That man you were talking about. What exactly did he do?"
"He talked to her. She seemed wary at the beginning, but opened up more during the conversation. He even held her hands, so I thought he was trying to support her and wasn't alerted." He took a sip of his drink and looked up.
"Kusanagi-san if it is really a Strain we are dealing with, then it has to be one that meddles with people's minds."
"How unexpectedly sharp of you Bandou." A cheery voice called out from the other side. The one it originated from pointed with a camera at the irritated Bandou.
"Totsuka-san! Not you as well!"
"A few days ago, when I met this man and you guys found me unconscious, I had pictures projected in my head. Those were scenarios, that never really happened but I was very close to actually believing them. And a voice was constantly blaming Homra for it. Before anything else happened I already passed out, due to the fever. What, if the same thing happened to her back in the alley?"
"That means someone is manipulating people to accuse us of crimes we have not committed. But why using a woman we have no connection to whatsoever? If Yata and Kamamoto hadn't passed through accidentally she would have never met us and those thugs would have got her. Also is this person really strong enough to manipulate entire gangs in attacking us?"
Totsuka's consideration brought silence with it, until the bartender picked up the word again.
"I started investigating the background of the victim and the whereabouts of her husband. My contacts haven't called me back yet, but hope they will bring some light into it. But we are not the only ones. During the last days a sheer war has evolved between underground gangs up to even the yakuza. Since we got problem on our own, I didn't want Homra to interfere up until now."
"There is not much you can do." As the king began to speak all eyes turned to him. Suoh however didn't bother in the slightest with all the extra attention he received all of the sudden and just continued in his calm demeanor. "If there are really that many parties involved, it will only get worse. Like ants. If you crush on, there will just appear more and more of them, taking advantage of those who got crushed."
"So we need to find out, what caused the war and get rid of it? But that doesn't ensure everything going back to normal."
"It is the least we CAN do." Kusanagi pressed the smoked cigarette into the ash tray. "Since the victim has become delusional, we are not going to observe her any further."
"But what if those guys come back again? We can't just leave them!" Yata, who still wanted to get his revenge on those he and Kamamoto had fought, stepped up balling his fists. It was not only anger that bothered him but also worry.
"Yes we can and we will Yata-chan. As it turns out, we are the bad guys and we don't need to put Homra further into focus. I don't want to have the police sniffing around and interfering with our work. They are already suspicious enough of us. Besides if Homra is said to be responsible for the first incident as well, there is no need for the real culprit to draw the attention back to himself."
"Attacking innocent people, teaming up against our clan members and blaming everything on us; there is no way we can just sit down and watch everything happen. Those filthy bastards are intentionally getting people injured and enjoy to watch from afar, without getting their hands dirty themselves." Yata was shaking to keep his anger down now. He could feel the flames in his body curl up, longing to break free and destroy everything that surrounded him. It was due to the feeling of shared concern from his comrades, who understood him so well and probably fought down the same rage that he could keep the flames in control. After all, their king was present and he didn't want to embarrass himself.
Squeezing his eyes shut he breathed calmly and the raging flame inside of him slowly died down.
"I won't let you walk into a trap again, so I'll get more information on it. This needs some underground investigation and not a straight forward attack Yata-chan."
Even though he still wasn't satisfied Yata managed to give a nod as he agreed.
"Once this mystery is being solved, we will turn those bastards to ash."
Yata turned around in surprise, as the womanizer spoke up.
"Chitose?"
"What? I'm as mad as you are. Those guys really piss me off."
It was unusual that those two would agree on something, so the members of the clan were slightly put off for a moment.
"Besides…how am I supposed to talk to cute girls when someone is tailing me and could interfere any second? That's not very romantic don't you think?"
"Why was I even surprised?" Dewa asked with a chuckle and shook his head, although he had already expected this kind of answer. He was nearly blown off his seat however as a red faced Yata stormed towards his friend, who dodged most of the coming punches only to fight back with flames. Like this they were moving through the bar, hitting for each other but never landing any punches.
"CHITOSE!" Yata voice calling that name in a completely different tone than just a moment ago, echoed through the bar and (unbelievable as it is) was still put to silence by an even louder voice.
"HOW OFTEN HAVE I TOLD YOU BEFORE? NO FIGHTS IN MY BAR!"
While Yata and Kamamoto headed outside, Akari turned around in her seat to face the shelves of alcohol behind the counter. Resting her head on her palms, she started reading through the various kinds of liquors, even though she didn't know for what drink to use them for.
"This sure seems very coincidental." She could hear Totsuka talk to Kusanagi two seats away. She was usually not the type to eavesdrop on conversations, but this time she was too lazy to overhear it on purpose.
"With this they have put us in the spotlight. All those groups saying we have attacked them and their families before? No matter how much we claim we haven't done anything until this point ,no one will believe us now. All those passers think they have witnessed Homra attacking an innocent family."
"I can already see the police standing on our doorstep. Have you asked your special contact in Scepter 4 about it yet? They should have files on the Strain going amok in the city."
Kusanagi sighed before he leaned forward on the counter to pick up an empty glass of juice Anna had just finished. At his questioning look the little girl nodded in silence and thus got another one.
"That woman? She doesn't give out special information easily. So I fear we won't be getting any progress there. Although – "
As he thought about it a loving smile appeared on his face.
"It would be a good reason to chat with her again."
"Oi you. Don't just use the group's problems as an opportunity to flirt with your future wife."
"But King! What would Kusanagi be without the disappointment of a rebuff he receives every time he flirts with the ice cold woman?"
Suoh shrug that followed could have meant 'whatever' or 'true enough' though he wasn't really interested. The same moment however, a fist was slammed on the counter top and landed with a loud 'bang' only millimeters away from Totsuka's head, which was resting on said counter. Startled the younger jerked back, falling off his seat in the process. With a 'thud' he met the ground accompanied with a whining, that escaped his throat.
"Very funny you two." The bartender said with a death serious tone, fist still placed on the same spot and a smiling face, which could have fit for a murderer. His mood changed however to a more delighted one and his smile turned into a real one, after watching Totsuka's stunt.
"Ow, you are not very gently Kusanagi-san!" Totsuka complained, getting up from the ground and rubbing his head. Fortunately the healing ability of the Homra members was different from normal people, so that most of his injuries from the other day had already faded. He pointed with his index finger to the bartender. "That look suits you much better, than the one from before. Don't worry."
"You are such an idiot."
"What, you really think so?"
"However," The bartender straightened up, becoming serious again. "We are shutting down all the activities for now. Until I know more we will not get involved in any drugs bust, fight, or any other outside problem. Make that especially clear to Yata, no fights! Normally I wouldn't care about our public image, but right now it has become important."
A light noise brought Akari's attention back to the counter. Positioned in front of her was a glass filled with a clear liquid. The surface of the liquid was still moving, due to the glass being moved there just a moment ago. The girl frowned as she eyed the drink.
"Good work today." Someone she at least expected congratulated her. With a surprise Akari turned around and faced Bandou, who himself also looked at a drink in front of him, probably filled with the same liquid. He didn't turn around, still staring at his glass as if it was about to run away.
This guy, is he feeling irritated because he was framed?
"I didn't do anything." Akari answered truthfully.
"If you hadn't been there, we would have gotten no information out of her. So yeah, that was good."
Bandou mumbled but it was loud enough, so Akari could hear it. She was still not able to make out his expression, so she leaned forward a bit to get a look at his face.
"That was just because she knew I wasn't a part of Homra." Thinking about it she frowned. "That's so weird. I was with you guys all the time, so how could she know that?"
"Strain powers do the unimaginable things. Just recently we met a woman who could cut through just anything. Glass windows, stone walls, anything that got between her and her target was completely destroyed."
"Her target?"
"That would have been Chitose!" Dewa called over from a seat at the café tables. "He's got a talent to piss off woman."
"That was a misunderstanding!" Chitose retorted offended. "I didn't mean to forget the promise we made."
That sounds like he was about to get married to her.
"In the end he was about to get killed." Shohei, who joined them by leaning against the counter, added. He noticed the drink Bandou had given to Akari and pouring one himself he exclaimed excited "Ahh, that's right! Boshiya-san finished her first mission today! Lets drink on that!"
Suddenly all the attention was drawn to the trio, as the other members of the clan cheered. As she turned around she stared into an old camera, while Totsuka, Anna and the king were looking at them in anticipation. Kusanagi had just left for the kitchen, but no one had really noticed until now.
"What's with that camera?" she asked, feeling unwell at the sight of being filmed.
"I'm recording anything that could be memorable. You finishing your first mission is something that should be remembered don't you think? I try to catch all the happy moments this group experiences together." Totsuka replied with a wry smile. "I hope you don't mind?"
But we didn't really finish anything, did we? Akari thought as Shohei signed her to raise her glass together with Bandou for a toast. She was veeery confused. Homra got into an even bigger mess so why were they thinking of celebrating? It didn't make any sense to her. Why were they so cheerful even though it was still uncertain what was going to happen in the future?
Besides, I'm not even a member of the clan. So why?
Helpless and completely overwhelmed Akari couldn't do anything else than to join in without asking further questions.
I wonder if it is alright? She thought sniffing the drink and frowning as she got a stingy feeling from the alcohol in her nose. Technically she was not allowed to drink alcohol yet, but it wasn't like somebody would arrest her for taking a zip. In the end Yuri wasn't here to complain, so it was probably okay.
As the liquid touched her tongue and started burning all the way to her throat, she grimaced. This wasn't a good idea after all. Leaving almost all of the drink in the glass, she eyed it like some kind of poisonous snake.
"Hold on."
To her relieve Kusanagi, who had returned from the kitchen, took the glass out of her hands.
"Ahh I didn't think about that!" Bandou exclaimed with a startled look on his face. He bowed as he apologized to her.
"How old are you exactly?" Kusanagi asked her, while sniffing the drink himself to figure out if Bandou had used an expensive or cheap brand.
"Eighteen." She admitted, dropping her head under his gaze.
But Kusanagi wasn't mad at all and replied in a happy tone.
"Two years too early. At least Bandou was smart enough not to use the expensive stuff." The bartender turned around to make her a new glass. This time with something she was allowed to drink.
"How unexpectedly sharp of you Bandou." Totsuka quoted himself from before.
"Here that may be better suited for you." Kusanagi turned around with a smile and placed a glass of juice in front of her. It was the same kind of juice Anna was drinking.
She could feel how everyone was trying not to laugh. So instead of acting disappointed Akari took her glass and turned around. Reaching over Totsuka's seat she navigated her glass over to Anna's and hit it lightly, causing a clinging, before raising her glass to great the girl.
"Cheers Anna!"
The little girl looked startled for a moment, before she nodded and raised her glass as well.
"Cheers Akari."
The voice was quiet, but clear and everyone in the bar was able to hear it. There was something in the way Anna looked after that act that made Totsuka, Kusanagi and Suoh, who were right next to her feel at peace. It was like she was relieved and – happy – even.
"Get Yata and Kamamoto in. This time we should have a toast with everyone." The bartender ordered the boys and poured drinks for everyone except for Yata, who had the same fate as Akari and got juice to drink.
Totsuka, the keeper of the memories, taped every moment of this celebration with his camera and there would come a time, when Akari would asked him to look up those tapes again to remember that shining afternoon of her first 'accomplished' mission in Homra.
As she headed home an hour later she was still confused about that bunch of people. They didn't even know here that long, but were welcoming her like she was one of them. Acting carefree and blessed like that, even though they had serious problems – Akari found it refreshing. It was something she was not used to, since she had worried over her brother the last years. During that afternoon she had for once totally forgot her worries and joined in with their joy of life.