Secrets We Tried to Hide

Chapter 2

Once you say yes, there's no turning back.

A deal's a deal.

"I just need two things from you."

"One is enough. And what kind of blackmailin' is 'at?"

"That's the point. Blackmailing's unfair to begin with, am I right? Anyway, let's begin with the first one. Tell me—"

"Wait hold on. How am I supposed to know if after I do those two requests—which isn't somethin' illegal, of course—then you'll walk 'way like nothin' happened?" Fuuko glared at him.

Heat suppressed a laugh, covering his mouth. "Illegal or not, it doesn't matter. Besides, where's the fun in that Kuri?" For a moment, she swore she heard his voice change. Like a growling beast ready to eat his supper, eager and excited. And as soon as she stared at him, dumbfounded by the look on his face, Heat's facial expression softened. "No I don't want you to kill yourself. That's not… my kind of thing." He managed to show her a small grin which didn't really help.

Then what is your thing?

"Tell me about your family."

What? What does this have to do with you?

"What kind of icebreaker is this? Ishi-kun, if 'ya really wanna get to know me then go Google my name. I don't have time for this."

Heat sighed dejectedly, his head falling down on the edge of the couch. After a few moments of silence, he rubbed his eyes and stood up, stretching his arms. He approached Fuuko who was seated on the other couch. Then he stood behind her and gently placed both his hands on her shoulders. Resting them there for a second and began to massage it. The way his hands moved sent static to her spine. She felt dangerously alarmed by his gentleness that she didn't like it.

"We can play soccer if you want. See if I win or not. But since you were from Epsilon, the… second rank team of Aliea Academy…" He said the latter with so much uncertainty mixed with great sarcasm.

"—First rank team." Correcting him.

He shrugged like it was nothing. "And I'm from Prominence, one of the master rank teams and later on played for Chaos. You do know that my level is far more higher than yours?" Continuing the free massage.

What surprised her was when he whispered right at her ear. "I don't think your Astro Break is strong enough to beat my Beast Fang." With a pat on her shoulder, he stopped and sat on the armrest of the couch she was sitting. "Some of us are curious. Hitomiko-kantoku told us you got a call from your family. So when are they coming?"

Fuuko found herself staring at Heat's scar, a scar that now showed a meaner side of him. She couldn't believe that a calm and composed guy like him was in Prominence. Moreover, the fact that he is the one who was blackmailing her. Not the other way around.

She knew it was better to tell the truth.

"My case is different. It was my… older brother who called." Her lips went numb after saying the word 'brother'. It felt different and irrational. She never knew she had one until Hitomiko knocked on her door and gave her the phone. Telling, someone important wanted to talk to her urgently. At first she was hoping it would be Sega but it wasn't. His older brother, that actually existed.

Heat's eyes widened as he listened intently.

"Kuri Takegawa. I don't know much 'bout him or what he's doin' right now. He called askin' me for some money. He said he needed to bail himself out." And just like that, the words flowed out of her mouth. It wasn't anything happy… it wasn't right either. Especially at a time like this when everyone's supposed to be celebrating.

"So… he's a prisoner?" Heat raised an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not talk 'bout it anymore Heat. 'Cause when I asked him 'bout our parents he said he left 'em. He left home and ran away, tellin' me to do the same." Raising her voice at him, her face hardening at every word. "He cursed at 'em for… not supportin' his interests and now… he's there. Someone needs to bail him out and I just…"

Even for her, it was too much.

Heat saw the troubled look in her eyes, how cloudy it was. He frowned a little that made his scar twitch. "My relatives sent me a letter." He began to story tell. "Was it grandpa or my second uncle… hmm?" Folding his arms while deep in thought. But he immediately spoke afterwards. "I think they're not the high class types but just the normal ones. And they told me my parents were having some kind of a trouble so they couldn't get me." He let out another sigh. "Don't know if it's financial problem like yours but I'm starting to think they're divorced or what. Hard to tell when you don't even know anything about them."

Fuuko was left astonished by the sudden interruption of the boy.

"Anyway…" He cleared his throat. "My uncle said I could come by whenever I want but I don't think I want to. I'd rather be here." Then he nodded to himself, gazing at the wall clock.

"What?" She turned to look at him, utterly shocked. "Heat—I mean Ishi-kun, 'ya do know what you're sayin' right? Those are your parents how can 'ya just… toss 'em away like that? This ain't poker or any card games we're talkin' 'bout 'ere young man. We're talkin' 'bout our real families 'ere." She started scolding the guy.

"Pff… our families that abandoned us, you're right. But my real family's in here." His tone was serious. "But my second request is more important than this."

The boy shifted and pushed her shoulders down to the couch, pinning her wrist next to her thigh and his other hand gripped her neck. Fuuko struggled and tried kicking him out of her way but she missed and kicked the center table instead. Heat glanced back at the mess and got caught off guard by Fuuko's hard slap. Before she could stand up, Heat kicked her heel that sent her falling down on her seat once more.

This time, he placed his arm on her neck, pressing it down on the armrest of the chair. Fuuko held him by his wrists, pushing him away from her. But he kept his balance and placed himself on top, steady and surely.

"Listen to me carefully. I don't need what Sega wants." He shouted, limiting her movements.

"Huh?" Kneeing the guy on his stomach.

"—OUCH! Kuri I'M NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING MAD." Despite the pain, his hands were still in place, not letting her escape.

"This is mad. I'm not some kind of a goddamn toy that 'ya can just—"

"—Get me the meteorite."

She stopped struggling, surprised by what she heard. "What?"

"You heard me. That's my last request."

Pushing him as hard as she could. "Are 'ya out of your mind?! Atsuishi what the fuck are 'ya sayin'?" She stood up, angrily looking back at him.

Heat stumbled backwards, wiping the hair that was blocking his sight. He slipped his hand inside his pocket and got out his phone. Dialing some numbers before placing it near his ear. "Hey Gran, it's Heat. I'd like to ask you something. Do you have Maquia's phone number? If you do please send it to me, Desarm told me he needs it asap. Thanks." With a blink of an eye, he ended the call and hid the phone back.

Carefully standing up to his feet and dusting his shoulders, he waited for Fuuko's priceless reaction.

"No, DON'T!" Suddenly her hands were on his collar like she wanted to bring him up. "Don't 'ya fuckin' dare Atsuishi." Hissing at the guy in such close distance.

"Then give me what I want Kuri."

"NO SUCH THING—" Fuuko bit her lip and tried to see if anyone was listening, even if she perfectly knew that there was no one else besides him or her. Lowering her voice, she proceeded. "No such thing exists anymore Atsuishi. It's gone and it's nowhere to be found. Or are 'ya tryin' to fool 'round?" Keeping her hands gripping tightly around his collar.

Beep. Beep.

Halting at the sound of his phone. They both stared at his glowing pocket. He instantly pulled down her headband all the way down to her nose. Fuuko cursed loudly, releasing her grip. As soon as she took her headband out, looking hopelessly for the blonde guy, he wasn't there anymore.

She searched for him everywhere, behind the couch, near the blinds, inside the fridge, under the center table—then Heat grabbed her hair and pulled it. Her head hit the edge of the table hard enough to make her brain go wild.

"Heat!" She shouted, pounding her fist on the table.

"Um, yeah hello. Is this Maquia's phone number? It's Atsuishi-kun, Heat… from—oh yeah that's me." A pillow passed through above where his head had been. Good thing those soccer practices have been paying off. His senses were at the top unlike Fuuko's. After docking, he crawled behind the couch. "Kuri's really worried about you. She told me she wanted to talk to you so badly so…"

She almost grabbed him by the ends of his hair but Heat was just simply fast. Too fast for her, actually. "Maki don't listen to him!" Chasing after him.

"As you can tell she's pretty busy cleaning her apartment. But she told me to tell you that…" Fuuko grabbed anything she could, from remotes to wall decorations and threw it directly at him. Unfortunately, Heat dodged every little thing and left her very annoyed.

"MAQUIA DON'T TALK TO HIM! HE'S DRUNK." She tried her best to convince her friend on the other line.

"—She's making out with…"

And just like that, the door creaked open and Yagami found herself in the middle of a fight.

Shit.

They both found themselves in so much trouble. Especially when you're faced with the ultimate threat. It's far worse than Gran's evil personality, it's beyond than that. Nothing's more frightening and awful than being interrogated by Yagami Reina. A member of The Genesis, the most powerful team in Aliea Academy.

She stood in front of the two, who were sitting on the couch, silently praying for their salvation to come. But they clearly knew that help wasn't arriving. Never arriving.

Her cold blue eyes pierced at Heat's then back at Fuuko's. She was scarier than Desarm, she thought. Her existence showed it. Maybe because she was part of the strongest team in Aliea or she was so close to Hiroto that they both looked like the King and Queen of the universe. But that wasn't it.

Fuuko's heart thumped louder than it should be but she tried to remain calm. Heat scratched his cheek, feeling his scar as he avoided looking at the menacing girl.

"So? Is no one really going to tell me what happened here?" A picture frame of Team Epsilon, hanging on the wall fell down on the floor. Yet the three didn't mind and Yagami's expression became colder.

No one spoke a word.

It took them another minute of intense awkwardness.

"No one?" She repeated with such a harder tone.

Fuuko felt the sudden urge to run. It suddenly felt like she was being exiled again. Same as back then, when team Epsilon lost to Raimon and ice prince Gazelle showed up and sent a ball hurling towards them.

After Gemini Storm was sent into exile, they never had any contact with them. Not a single one of them, not even Reize, their captain. And as Desarm made them disappear in a blink of an eye, at first, she felt far more superior to them. Instead of pitying the same guys she used to train with, she wanted to destroy them.

She wanted to show the world how powerful they were. The difference in their skills and strength. Epsilon desired for dominance and superiority.

But when they were defeated by a group of weaklings as they called them, they began to understand the definition of failing. Slowly, they realized that they were no different from the first team that tried to reign victorious against Raimon.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she forgot that the problem wasn't over. Until she started to notice that Heat was talking to Yagami. Maybe he began to have a conversation with her when she got sucked into another dimension called reminiscing.

"—started all of it." Fuuko immediately got the message in his eyes. Help was written all over his face and a part of it also said now-it's-your-turn-to-suffer.

What am I supposed to say?

She let out a deep sigh. "I wanted somethin' from Heat. Can we please not get into the details?"

"That's why you were chasing him?" Yagami folded her arms. "What is it that you want from him?"

"We'd rather not…" Heat chimed in, hoping for the conversation to end.

"Is it his phone?" Yagami asked.

"No! I just actually wanted to…" Fuuko tried to think of something else, desperate to blurt out a smart answer.

The boy snickered and made a face. Yagami took note of it and moved nearer to them, curiously wanting to know the answers.

"Yeah she wants my phone. Wants to watch some po—"

"Excuse me? I'm sorry but you're getting the wrong idea 'ere. Ulvida, are 'ya seriously tryin' to buy this?"

"Just admit that you need someone else's phone to watch those perverted videos online. Believe me, Ulvida—her phone's not working so she asked me to…"

"I do have a phone. And how dare 'ya make assumptions of me that aren't even—"

That's when Yagami forced both of them to stand up as she pulled their front shirts. Her grip was as strong as a man's. When she released her hold, their shirts got crinkled so much. She kept her cool, watching the two babies fight the entire time that she felt like shouting at them. She told them to stop.

"I can see right through you guys. And I don't know what's happening around here lately but that doesn't mean I don't have the right to know. It's also my responsibility that everyone is safe even if they're not doing anything." Yagami spoke. "This is different from being 'nosy'. Judging by the way that you acted, I can say that something fishy's going on. Do I have to state some proofs?"

She made a 360 degree scan of the entire room.

"And since none of you are offering to tell me, let's settle this the old-fashioned way… through soccer."