Chapter Thirteen - Decisions

Shiota Nagisa sat on the couch, reading through the documents stolen from the evidence room at the Ministry. He hoped, prayed it would give him a hint of what Asano wanted out of this. Nagisa just wanted something. Was all this really necessary, did his friends have to go through all of this suffering? Was it all on just a whim or part of something bigger?

Nagisa drowned out the sound of the television. Since the report yesterday, it had been on providing background noise. No one was really paying attention, but no one had the energy to turn it off either. They listened to their friends and colleagues express their shock and disappointment. They listened to the Prime Minister call them an anarchist assassination ring. They watched wild speculation and hysteria.

Terasaka and Karma watched policemen raid their apartments.

Kataoka watched her colleagues tearfully report her suspicious behavior.

Okano heard her boss and clients testify that they couldn't believe that "such a nice girl" was an assassin.

Worst of all was watching Karasuma step up to the podium in front of the Ministry of Defense, with his heart and shoulders heavy.

"I assure you, the Ministry of Defense is using all its resources to bring these criminals to justice," he had said. Nagisa hoped Karasuma didn't lose his job over this. Too many people were already hurt.

Nagisa read the documents over and over again, hoping for a hint of something. He would take anything. But he knew it was a fruitless effort. There was nothing. Asano was too good.

Was this really just a personal vendetta? Would he really go so far just to destroy their lives?

Asano might get some sort of promotion after the MEXT Minister's death, but there was no way he would actually be considered for the head position given how young he was. He still had a few years to go.

But where the hell did this vendetta come from? Nagisa had never interacted with Asano that often. Even Karma, who was his rival in everything, hadn't done anything extreme to warrant this kind of retaliation. Their rivalry had been a friendly one after all. Besides, Asano was intelligent enough. If he wanted to ruin Karma, he could've done it on his own without dragging Nagisa and the rest of his friends into it.

So why?

"Still trying to figure it out?" Isogai asked, sitting next to him. Nagisa spared him a glance. He didn't look much better than yesterday. His eyes were still puffed from crying yesterday, and he was paler than usual.

"Yeah," Nagisa said, "It frustrates me that I can't read him. I didn't know him that well, so what caused him to go over the deep end?"

"I didn't know him very well either," Isogai admitted, "Maybe it's familial?"

"Like he's genetically dispositioned to want to destroy other people's lives?" Isogai chuckled.

"No, that's not what I mean. Well, not quite anyway. I mean the board chairman wasn't exactly all the way there either. But perhaps he was so pressured by his father growing up, that something just snapped. Between his and Karma's little rivalry, Asano only came on top half of the time."

"And maybe that wasn't satisfactory to his father…" Nagisa finished, turning the idea over in his head. Parts of it made sense. Asano directly caused his father's death. But then why the revenge scheme? It didn't seem remotely targeted towards just Karma at all. "I just want to know why."

"I want to know why as well," Isogai said quietly, his voice growing weaker.

"How are you doing, by the way?" Nagisa asked, concerned. Isogai had been in bad shape yesterday. He'd fall into sobbing fits throughout the evening, and Maehara refused to leave his side. Nagisa wasn't exactly good at comforting people, but he'd do his best.

I'm going to bring Asano to justice.

"A little better, not by much though," Isogai said, his eyes becoming teary at the mention. He was still coming to terms with everything. Nagisa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He would do whatever it took to support his friends after this.

Nagisa jumped when he heard a knock on the door.

"Ah! Itona and Okajima must be back already," Isogai said, eager to change the subject. They had gone on a second food run, mostly to get snacks (and some beers, at Terasaka's insistence). They also needed to give 47 a walk.

"No, we got back ten minutes ago," Okajima said. Nagisa stood up, his mind going into overdrive. He quickly counted the faces in the room. Ten plus me…then who's at the door? He jumped over the couch, his hand landing on the knife he'd left on the side table. The group tensed. It can't be police, they would have announced themselves by now. The knocking started again, equally as loud. Was it Godai? Did he want them out already? He peeked through the peephole and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"No way," he gasped, opening the door. At the stairwell was a couple, a tall girl with her strawberry blonde hair back in a braid, and a man with his hair cut short.

"Rinka-chan! Ryou-kun! What are you guys doing here?" Kayano exclaimed, standing up.

"What the hell did you guys get into?" Hayami asked, her voice hard. She crossed her arms and stepped into the office. Chiba closed the door behind her. Somehow she's grown even more severe since we graduated… "Who the hell had the bright idea to break him out of the Ministry of Defense?" Karma raised his hand.

"Yo."

"More importantly, why didn't you ask us?" Chiba asked, similarly crossing his arms. Nagisa felt a shiver go down his back when he felt the intimidating aura they generated. They're scary!

"Ah, well, that's…" Maehara weakly started, drawing back.

"Since you're expecting, we didn't want to put you in any danger," Isogai finished for him.

"I'm pregnant, not incompetent!" Hayami shouted.

"Well, all things considered, maybe it was for the best that you didn't help out," Terasaka said. "Look at us, we're stuck here indefinitely."

"You forget that we work for the police force," Chiba countered, "Even if we weren't in the Ministry, we could've cleared a path for you." He let that settle in the room. Hayami let out a heavy sigh, breaking the tension.

"Well, what's done is done and you guys are here now," she said. She gave them a smile. "It's good to see you, Nagisa."

"It's nice to see you guys too," he greeted, "You're pregnant?" She didn't look it, she was probably only a few months along.

"Yes, I'm 12 weeks in," she said, touching her stomach gently. "We're very excited."

"Congratulations," he said earnestly. Not for the first time, he admired how much had changed since he left. Hopefully, when they were all out of this mess, he could ask how his other classmates were doing. "Do you know if it's a boy or girl?"

"Not yet," Chiba said, "We'll know in a few weeks."

"So how did you even find us?" Okajima asked, "Is our hiding spot really that obvious?"

"Sugaya contacted us. He said that you guys were framed?"

"Yeah, well, kinda."

"Kinda?" Chiba asked, arcing an eyebrow.

"Well, Nagisa was framed," Nakamura said, "And we were caught breaking an innocent man out of his holding cell." Chiba rubbed his temples.

"Why don't you guys start at the beginning?" Hayami requested.

It was Nagisa who started speaking. He expounded on their story, starting from the beginning. From his assassination job, to his capture, and his eventual escape. Karma jumped in to add details where necessary, including their planning process and the infiltration. By the end, Hayami and Chiba (although Nagisa supposed they were now just Chiba and Chiba), had matching expressions of total disbelief.

"So…Asano, huh?" Hayami said thoughtfully, "I wonder just how far his hands reach… If he was able to manipulate the police so easily, he's got to have some sort of inside man." She looked shaken by this revelation.

"What are you guys going to do now?" Chiba asked, giving them all serious stares, "We can help you guys get out of Japan, if you would like us to."

"Isn't there anyway we could expose Asano?" Isogai asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Something like this isn't going to be easy to prove," Hayami said frankly. She held up her hand and snapped. "As quickly as that, his network could disperse before a single person is brought to justice. For those who don't leave, they can just as easily say they were blackmailed into it. Besides, a man like him is going to have multiple operating fronts. If we try and take him down for something, he'll just say someone else was responsible."

Isogai turned his head away, the reality hitting him again. Maehara took his hand in his own.

"We can find a way for you guys to get out safely," Chiba promised, "I'm sure we have contacts that can help."

"But…I don't want to leave," Okano said quietly, "I want to stay here." Her words rang heavy in the air, echoing the sentiments and thoughts of the others.

Nagisa's heart lurched. He hated how much this affected his friends, he hated that they had given up everything for him. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn't Asano have been happy with just destroying Nagisa? He could've taken it. He could always pick himself back up and escape on his own.

"You should take their offer," he said, "You should get out of here."

"What?!" Okano exclaimed, "Isn't there anything we can do?!"

"We're at the top of Japan's most wanted right now, Okano," Karma said, "Do you really think we could just march into a police station and tell them our story? Regardless of whether Nagisa was innocent or not, we broke a suspected criminal out of jail. We broke the law and got caught doing it. Our best shot is to flee."

"Where are we going to go?" Kataoka asked.

"We can figure that out later," Hayami reasoned, "We have to get you guys out of the country first, then you can decide where your final destination is going to be then."

"We'll probably go to China first," Nagisa said, "It's quick and easy to go anywhere from there. I can meet up with you there."

"Meet up with us?" Terasaka asked, turning on Nagisa, "What the hell do you mean meet up with us!?"

"I came here for a reason. I'm not leaving before I assassinate Asano." Dumbfounded silence filled the room.

"Are you an idiot?!" Okano screeched, "He's probably predicting that!"

"After all we went through?" Itona asked.

"You're just going to get captured again!" Okajima exclaimed, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not doing that again!"

"If I get caught again, let me go to the executioner's block. But I came here to do a job, and I'm not leaving until it's done."

"You're being absolutely ridiculous," Kayano snarled, "What about us then!? We sacrificed everything to get you to safety and you're just going to throw that away?! What the hell do you think we did this for!?" Nagisa winced at her words.

"That's precisely why I have to do this," he snapped, his anger getting the better of him, "I can't allow him to keep living after what he did you guys." They were struck silent. "I've never killed out of revenge before, but I'm damn sure I'll make Asano the first."

His words rung out, no one quite sure what to say to that declaration.

"Nagisa," Isogai said, stepping forward, "We're just as angry as you are, but it'd be safer if we figured something else out."

"Do you really think he deserves to live after everything he's done? He's killed his father, bribed countless officials, and has an underground network that we can't even hope to comprehend! He's destroyed everything you, Maehara, and Kayano built together! How can you just sit back and let him get away with it?!" Isogai was struck, and it looked like he was about to cry again. It was a low blow, and Nagisa knew it. He had never been so angry before.

If there was one thing true about Shiota Nagisa, it was that he liked to be in control. He liked the fact that he could meticulously plot out an assassination for months, choosing the moment he believed best to take out his target's life. He could plot out hundreds of what-if scenarios in his head, and react to them in real time. But something like this? He hated it. He hated that his life and his friend's lives were in the palm of a madman. He knew that even if they ran, Asano would probably follow them. Who knew when that would come back to bite them in the ass? The only way they could cut their puppet strings would be to get rid of him.

Nagisa scowled. "I will do everything in my power to get you out of Japan," he declared, "I swear it. But Asano Gakushuu is going to die. I'm going to make sure of it."

Maehara Hiroto had more than a few mixed feelings about everything. His husband had been a total wreck since they had seen their café being raided. It killed him inside to know that they could never go back. He would never see their regulars again. He'd never wear his too-tight butler uniform again. He'd never get the chance to see the inside of the café they had built from the ground-up with their blood, sweat, and tears.

He had never been the emotional one between the two. When it came to things like this, Isogai was always more forward with his emotions. Maehara would stand strong whenever Isogai was weak.

But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

He held back his own tears at the news, but whenever he thought about it too long, deep sadness pulled at his heart. It had been his idea to open the café, and he had put so much into it that it was like watching his child get ripped away from him. It hurt. A lot.

Maehara fidgeted nervously in his seat. They were only a few months away from graduation, and questions of what kind of career he wanted loomed above him. He and Isogai had gotten into a pretty decent university, so it wasn't like there was an absence of jobs.

But what did he want to do?

He didn't want to become a salaryman who cared about his job more than his friends and family. He didn't want the traditional 9-to-5 life. It just wasn't his style. His mother had hoped that having a steady relationship and college would mellow him out and make him more mature (she was wrong).

Maehara glanced towards his boyfriend, who was currently in the midst of some sort of reading for his class. He'd been tossing around an idea for a while now, but it was kind of ridiculous and more than a little out there. He'd done a ton of research into it, but would Isogai be for it?

"Hey Yuuma?" Isogai looked up from his books.

"Yeah, Hiroto?"

"Have you figured out what you're going to do after graduation?" Isogai blinked.

"You know as well as I do that I haven't," he responded, "Why? What's up?" Maehara fidgeted again. Isogai gave him an odd look.

"W-well, do you – I mean – do you know what you'd want to do?"

"Not really. I'd like a stable income, if nothing else. Maybe a position in management of some sort." Steady income…of course his boyfriend would want something he wouldn't be able to guarantee with something like this. "Why?"

"I've kind of had this idea floating around in my head…" Maehara starting, pushing his folder over to Isogai. "W-what do you think about starting a business?"

"Huh?" Isogai asked, opening the folder. His brows furrowed as he read over the first page. "Maid cafes?"

"Yeah! Think about it! Between us, we've got plenty of customer service experience. You're a pro at serving food, and with your business degree, you'll be perfect at management! If we pick a good location, we'll turn a profit in a few years, I'm sure of it! I mean, I did some research and look at the profit margins of some of these places!"

Isogai flipped through the pages, taking in all the information.

"This is a lot of research. This is more work than I've seen you do all of college. How long have you been sitting on this?" Maehara fidgeted again. He wanted Isogai to like this idea. He needed him to. His boyfriend's analytical eyes scanned the research.

"It's been a few months," Maehara answered, "I've thought about it a lot."

"I can see that," Isogai muttered, "Hiroto, where would we get the capital for this? Starting a business is not cheap."

"Well…we do kind of have the money…" Maehara started, trailing off. Isogai's head shot up.

"Are you suggesting we pull from those funds?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Maehara affirmed, "Think about it, Yuuma. We're never going to find a better opportunity to use that money."

"We vowed to never touch that money, Hiroto," Isogai reminded quietly.

"Don't you think this is the kind of thing he'd like? Bringing ourselves into the world, putting ourselves on our feet, and coming up with a new business idea?" Maehara said, "If you don't want to touch the money, I completely understand. But think about it, wouldn't this be the kind of thing he'd like?" Isogai gave a sad smile.

"Yeah, Koro-sensei was never subtle about his preferences." He flipped to another page. "Pink Octopus?"

"Y-yeah," he said, "I thought it'd be a good name." Isogai smiled.

"How about this, I finish my readings for tonight, and I'll look over this when I get the chance?" Maehara's heart soared. It meant he was considering it. Maehara watched Isogai return to his book as he thought to himself, if Yuuma wants to do this, maybe I'll reconsider my no-marriage stance. He glanced back at his oblivious boyfriend. After all, if he does this for me, then I don't ever want to let him get away.

One week later, Isogai said he'd do it. Two weeks later, they starting the planning process.

One month later, Maehara proposed.

He sat with his husband against the wall, his arm wrapped around his shoulder. He absentmindedly rubbed Isogai's arm. The man turned his head towards him. He gave Maehara an expectant look. Maehara let out a heavy sigh.

"What do you think of all this?" he asked quietly, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," Isogai said, his voice cracking. Maehara hated hearing his husband sound so broken. It filled him with fury and sadness all at the same time. "From what it sounds like, we're going to have to leave. Leave and never look back." He curled up. "I don't want to leave, Hiroto. I want to stay here."

"I know you do."

"I want to see my sister's baby born. I want to see my brother graduate from college. I want to see us finally get that honeymoon we've always wanted." Maehara's heart lurched. "I want…I want to see the Pink Octopus succeed. I don't want to leave any of that behind." Maehara turned his head away, lest Isogai see the wetness in his eyes. He needed to be strong. If I break now, who knows how he'll react?

"We…We can't stay here," Maehara said, choking down a lump in his throat.

"I know," Isogai said quietly, he wrapped his arms around his knees, "I just don't want to accept it." They fell into silence, Maehara leaning into the warmth that his husband was radiating. After a beat, Maehara spoke.

"What did you think of Nagisa declaration?"

"That he's going to kill Asano?"

"Yeah." Isogai fiddled with the hem of his pants.

"I'm a bit angry and a bit sad," he said, "I'm angry because we risked everything to save him, and he just wants to go ahead and do it again. We may be wanted criminals, but at least we're free for now."

"So why are you sad?"

"I'm not sure," Isogai admitted honestly, "It's just…I can't help but feel for him. He's been alone for years. Now that we're here, all he wants to do is get vengeance for us. I don't think he's had anyone care for him since he left Japan." He turned towards Maehara. "I don't know what I would do if I didn't have everyone. If I didn't have you." Maehara smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. He removed his arm from his shoulder, placing it instead on his hand.

"Yuuma," he said softly. Isogai was silent for a moment. His hand slowly curled into a fist.

"Actually, I'm not angry. I'm furious that we've lost everything. I'm angry that I pushed us into this and I'm angry that we're suffering because of it." Maehara could hear the cold fury and the desperation in his voice. His eyes widened. He hadn't seen Isogai like this in a long time. A shiver made its way down his back.

"W-what do you want to do?" Maehara stuttered, unable to break his gaze away from his husband's eyes.

"I'm starting to think we should help Nagisa."

"Help him?!" Maehara hissed. A couple of curious gazes made their way to them. They were gone a moment later.

"Nothing we say is going to convince him to leave this alone. You know that, Hiroto." Maehara wanted to protest, tell him that he was wrong, but he couldn't. "If he's going to risk his neck again, we might as well be there to support him. With our help, we can pull this off."

"Yuuma, have you gone insane?! We haven't got the kind of skills for that!"

"Don't we?" Isogai regarded him seriously. "It wouldn't be the first assassination we've planned."

"But that…that was different!" Maehara harshly whispered back, "We had the fate of the world in our hands at that time. This…this is revenge killing." Isogai took a deep breath, taking in Maehara's words.

"What I'm worried about, most of all, is that Asano won't stop here, that he won't be satisfied with just ruining us," Isogai confessed, "How do we know he won't go farther? What if it's our heads next? What if it's our families?" Maehara went cold at the thought. "It's not about revenge, it's about defense. We were lucky enough to get out of the Ministry, but who's to say that those guards weren't meant to kill us?"

Maehara hadn't thought about that.

"I…" Maehara started, "…see your point." Comfortable silence settled between them as he turned over Isogai's words in his heads. There was no doubt in his mind that Nagisa was going to go out and attempt another assassination on Asano. Would it really be better for them to be there? Yes, his mind supplied, He can't do everything on his own. A more bitter part of his mind added, Besides, if we're going to leave the country because we're suspected assassins, we may as well live up to the crime.

He lifted his hand off of Isogai's. "You're right," he said, "Maybe, we should help him out."

"Isogai and Maehara are going to help Nagisa," Kataoka said as she chopped the vegetables in the kitchen next to Okano and Kayano. The other two girls looked at her. Okano's brows were furrowed, although Kayano just looked resigned. Kataoka cocked an eyebrow at her. "You don't seem surprised, Kaede."

"I thought something like this might happen," she admitted quietly, "Yuuma keeps the two of them level-headed most of the time. Whenever Hiroto gets angry, Yuuma holds him back. But…" She trailed off, trying to figure out the best way to phrase this.

"But…?" Okano pressed.

"But…now that Yuuma's angry too, he's less inclined to think rationally," Kayano said. That was putting it nicely. "I think the realization that he can't do anything, that he can't go back, has begun to set in. Now he's angry and frustrated and just wants to do something."

"How can you tell he's furious? He still seems just as pleasant as before," Kataoka said. She handed the vegetables over to Kayano, who poured them into the pan with a loud sizzle.

"It takes a lot for him to get really angry. I've only seen it once before, back when we first started the business and our landlord was trying to screw us over." She shivered at the memory. "He gets all cold, and he has that same pleasant tone, but you can see it in his eyes. He's out for blood."

"Really?" Kataoka said, "I can't even imagine it."

"You owe me 60,000 in back rent!" the woman exclaimed, throwing a legal document onto their front table.

"But, we've paid rent on time, every time," Isogai said, his brows furrowed in confusion. Kayano was also confused, she had personally delivered the check several times, so why was the woman pitching a fit?

"I have not received a check from your…business…in three months!" Kayano could hear the sarcasm and disgust in her voice as she spat out the word business. It was no secret to them that their landlady didn't approve of their business choice. She had made that very clear before. (Kayano also suspected that she didn't approve of Maehara and Isogai either).

"We've paid our due amount every single month!" Maehara protested.

"Then why I haven't I been getting checks?" she countered, crossing her arms. Kayano felt her eyebrow twitch. This woman was really awful. Next to her, Isogai stood up.

"Our apologies, ma'am, there must've been issues with your bank, because we've given you the check every month for the past six months," he said calmly, "I can also assure you that we've had our rent debited from our account every month as well. If it's an issue in timing, Hiroto and I are more than willing to work with you." She scowled.

"It's not timing, it's the fact that you aren't paying rent!" she exclaimed, "If you are so damn sure, why don't we let a court decide!?" She turned around, and added under her breath. "I should've known better than to sign the lease with damn immoral degenerates." Kayano was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to hear that. Judging by the looks on Maehara and Isogai's faces, they had heard her comment too. Isogai's smile had become strained.

"Very well," he said, his voice cold, "Why don't we let a court decide?" The woman stopped, her hand halfway to the doorknob.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm saying, why don't we let a court decide?" Isogai said louder, "Why don't we show him the bank records that prove that our account has been debited, every fifth day of the month for the past three months?" He placed her document on the table. "While we're at it, why don't we inform the court that you knowingly rented us a place that was infested with rats? Or that the plumbing was shoddily repaired? That you insisted that the place was fit for a place of business when it had been nothing of the sort?" He took a step towards her. She stepped back, her face pale. "I'm sure they would love to hear how you've refused to pay for any of the repairs we've been forced to pay for out-of-pocket." She took another step back.

"Yuuma," Maehara said. Isogai ignored him.

"While we're there, we could also bring your apartment manager in and show him the dog you've been keeping in your home without permission. Or perhaps the drugs? I'm sure the courts would love that." She was sheet-white, and up against the door.

"You-!" She weakly got out.

"Why stop there? Why not talk about the "cleaner" who comes into your apartment whenever your husband is gone?"

"Yuuma!" Maehara shouted. Isogai broke out from under whatever trance he was in. Kayano stared at him with wide eyes. What just happened…?

Their landlord threw open the door, tears falling down her face.

"Oh no," Isogai whispered, "I didn't…oh, I…"

She dropped her accusations the next day.

Kayano shivered. "You don't ever want to imagine it. I've never had it directed at me, but ask Maehara about it. I think he's still traumatized."

"Interesting," Kataoka muttered under her breath, "So what do you think of it? Their decision to help Nagisa?"

"Honestly, I don't blame them," she said, "I'm itching to do something too." She stirred the contents of pan. The sizzle was comforting to her. She loved cooking.

"But Kaede, we're barely got out alive, why should we put ourselves into danger again?" Okano asked, "I'm just as angry as you are, but we can't be stupid about this. We should just take what we have and leave."

"Do you really want to do that, Hinata?" Kayano snapped, "I don't know why the hell this had to happen to us, what Asano is getting out of this, but I don't want to stand by and let him control us. If we leave, we're doing just what he wants us to do."

"This isn't some game, Kaede, these are our lives!"

"What lives? The lives that the grand mastermind oh so casually decided were worthless?!" Okano stepped back, her eyes watering. Kayano's mouth snapped shut. She had gone too far, she realized. Quietly she turned away. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean that." Okano placed her hand on Kayano's shoulder.

"It's alright, I understand," she said quietly. She gave the shoulder a little squeeze. Kayano trembled. Kataoka pulled her into a side hug. Kayano wiped away the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. She let out strained sigh.

"Kaede, I don't know if we'll do it, but if you decide to join Maehara and Isogai, we won't judge. We're just not sure if we want to do it or not," Kataoka assured. Kayano let out a bitter chuckle. What had she done to deserve such great friends?

"I just want to bring him to justice," she declared. She turned off the stove and moved the pan away from the latent heat source.

"Kaede, I'm sure that he'll eventually pay for his crimes," Kataoka reasoned, "He can't keep this kind of conspiracy alive for long."

"Can't he?" Kayano countered, "He's already done this much damage, who's to say he couldn't do more? As long as he's behind network, or whatever the hell he has, he's never going to face justice." She gave them serious looks. "Besides, if he faces justice, who's to say it comes soon enough. How many other lives is he going to ruin before that happens?"

Judging by the looks on the girls faces, her words had struck a chord. She turned back around to start plating the meal for their friends. She didn't see the way they stood straighter, the silent agreement in their eyes, and their hardening resolve.

They wouldn't be downed so easily.

Okajima, Itona, Terasaka, and Nakamura sat together on the floor, playing some form of a card game. Okajima and Terasaka insisted that it was a game of War, but if Nakamura and Itona had their way, it was some strange bastardization of War, Go Fish, and Poker.

"A royal flush!" Nakamura declared loudly, throwing her cards in front of her.

"Incredible," Itona whispered, staring at the cards in awe.

"We're not playing poker!" Terasaka shouted. Nakamura puffed her chest in pride.

"You're just mad because I'm great at card games!"

"Because you cheat!" Okajima countered.

"That's it, I give up!" Terasaka exclaimed, throwing his cards onto the misshapen pile. Okajima followed suit.

"Boys, don't be jealous of my incredible card skills." They rolled their eyes, Terasaka muttering something about bullshit and crossing his arms. Itona threw his cards down on the pile and started to shuffle them back together. Nakamura leaned back, the high of winning draining from her body. She stared upward at the fluorescent lighting, a sigh escaping her lips. This was the end of their third day here, and it was already starting to feel like a prison. To think, they had snuck someone out of a jail cell, only to be caught in a metaphorical prison. It was one of life's cruel ironies looking them right in the face.

"Did you hear," she started, her lips moving on their own, "That Isogai and Maehara are going to help Nagisa with the assassination?" She sat back up, glancing at the two aforementioned men, who were taking a nap.

"I heard that Kayano is also helping," Itona added.

"Kayano is?" Nakamura asked. She hadn't heard that. Itona nodded, his wild hair falling into his eyes.

"Yeah, Kataoka-san and Okano-san are also considering it," Itona said.

"How do you even know this?" Okajima asked, tilting his head. Itona shrugged.

"Observation."

"I bet Karma's in too," Terasaka muttered, "Dude's dick will follow Nagisa, no matter how dumb the decision." Nakamura smiled to herself. She knew Terasaka, and he would deny it until the day he died, but he honestly cared for his friend. Sometime between their first encounter at the Ministry and now, they had gone from antagonistic acquaintances to actual friends (maybe even best friends).

"I dunno what to think about it," Okajima said, rubbing his head, "I kind of want to run away and just put this all behind me."

"Where do you want to go?" Nakamura asked.

"I dunno," he admitted, "I'm thinking France? Or America? Somewhere where there's a lot of hot chicks. I dunno what I'd do there, though. All of my marketable skills involve photo manipulation and taking pictures of people without them knowing."

"You could be a private detective," Nakamura suggested.

"Or just a photographer," Itona added.

"Yeah, yeah, my mother has given me the same spiel," Okajima said. He cleared his throat, putting his voice at a false falsetto. "Why don't you do something with your life, Taiga? When are you going to stop oogling girls? You're an adult! You're a disappointment."

"You don't have to get real," Terasaka muttered.

"Well, we're gonna have to reinvent ourselves anyway," Nakamura said with a sigh, "We don't exactly have a choice." She perked up a bit. "I can go back to being blonde at least!"

"I could probably find another tech start-up somewhere," Itona mused. He glanced over at Terasaka. "What do you want to do?"

"Me? Shit if I know," he said, "I didn't even know what I wanted to do here. The Ministry job was just convenient." He leaned on his arm. "I'm probably going to join Karma and Nagisa." Nakamura raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because, someone needs to be there to make sure those idiots see reason," he said, "Besides, what the hell else do I have to lose?" Nakamura grimaced. She could think of a few things. Your life, primarily.

"What do you even expect to do?" Okajima asked.

"Beats me, I'll figure it out when we get there." Nakamura could feel the stirrings of something in her gut. Was it excitement, nervousness, or determination? She wasn't quite sure. Whatever it was, it was making her hand shake.

"Do you really think you could do it?" Itona asked, "Last time we planned an assassination, it was by pure luck that it succeeded." That was an understatement, they had made it through by the skin of their teeth.

"We're out of practice," Okajima reasoned, "Dude, we're nowhere near capable physically or mentally. Do you ever think about how fucked up that whole thing was anyway? Cause I do all the time."

"Yeah, it crosses my mind every once in a while," Nakamura admitted, "But I mean, Terasaka's got a point, we did it once, who's to say we couldn't do it again?"

"But our last target was a three meter tall octopus monster. This is a real person!" Okajima protested. Rio wanted to retort, but her mind drew a blank.

"Sensei was a real person too," Itona said quietly. The three heads turned towards him. "He may not have looked it, but he was also a person. You can't pretend like we didn't kill someone before." Rio closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Long forgotten guilt was a breadth away from resurfacing. There wasn't anything you could do, she reminded herself, It was either him or the world.

"Back then was different," Okajima weakly muttered, but he had drawn back. He knew that Itona's words held truth.

"Is Asano really going to stop, though?" Nakamura wondered, her mouth moving on its own again. "Think about it, this was probably a power play move. Whatever reason he did this for, it's probably leading up to something bigger. Do we want him to stay in a position of power?" This is dumb, Rio. You don't need to do this.

"God, I don't wanna imagine him in a minister's office," Okajima groaned.

"Honestly, I just want to kick the dude's ass," Terasaka said. Nakamura's hand twitched again. You'd be needlessly risking your life. You have an out, take it.

"He shouldn't be allowed to get away with what he did."

"I wouldn't mind supporting you guys," Itona said.

"Augh fuck, I can't be the only one who backs out. Fine, I'm in too."

This is what you've been missing, Rio. The thrill.

"They're all doing it," Hayami muttered, her expression disbelieving, "They're all idiots. We gave them an out and they denied it."

"What do you want to do?" Chiba asked, rounding on his wife, "Do you think we can convince them otherwise?"

"If I thought we could convince them otherwise, I would've done it already," she said. Chiba wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She leaned into the touch, releasing a frustrated sigh. "I'm worried."

"I understand."

"It was bad enough seeing their faces when we walked into the office, but knowing that I could be seeing their mugshots next is frightening. I don't want to see them hurt," she said.

"I don't know how they're going to do this," Chiba admitted. Hayami nodded her agreement.

"Even just leaving their hideout is going to be tough. They've been lucky enough with their food runs, but who knows when someone is going to connect the dots…" Hayami sat down, trying to comprehend the enormity of what their dumb friends had decided to do. The whole group of them were being stupid.

"Do you want to help them?" he asked seriously. Her head shot up. She flexed her fingers, thinking over his suggestion. She settled her other hand on her stomach, thinking of the unborn life within her. It would be risky, there was no doubt about that. Aiding and abetting criminals, she was sure their boss would love to hear that.

But if they had to see their friends arrested and executed… She would never be able to live with herself.

"Yes," she affirmed, determination renewing itself in her eyes. She couldn't let them fail, not again. "Ryou, do you still have Manami's e-mail? We're gonna need a lot more help."