Chapter 36: More of Eren's Past

Eren sat down, cross legged, at his table as he looked over the disassembled parts of his ODM gear. The gear itself was still damaged, mostly from not being properly stored while it was in his world and developed a layer of rust.

Following the retaking of wall Maria and the upgrades to their ODM, a lot of older models were placed in storage and forgotten about since the military began modernizing. Even then, with how warfare between humans were fought, there was a big question in the military higher ups on whether they should abandon ODM all together minus a potential for an advanced scouting unit.

This model was likely one of those. Its serial number denoted that it was a Cadet Corp model, and an older one at that. Dents, damaged pieces, and rust made it unusable as it was now. If he ever intended to use it, he'd have to do some repairs.

Luckily, every ODM model had a small set of tools that can fix most problems stored in the main compartment, where the blades and tanks are stored. It included different small hammers, screw drivers, and other basic tools that he needed in order to disassemble and fix it.

Every Soldier was inspected to ensure they had a set and was drilled in maintenance in case they ever had to do on the fly repairs. With how poor their logistics were and how expensive ODMs were, it was cheaper and easier to have most basic repairs done by the users since ODM experts were rare.

Eren took the main thruster, which was disassembled, and used a steel wool in order to start scrubbing away the rust on the different pieces. The propeller fan, which had gas blown through it in order to retract the cables, was severely rusted and had resistance when spinning. He doubted it could generate enough pull to lift him up.

There were also the tanks themselves. By connecting the two hoses together, his fuel gauge showed that the fuel was well into the red. There was still some fuel there, maybe for enough for ten minutes of flight if he used it sparingly. However, if he had to get into an actual fight, the ODM would last maybe two minutes.

Eren considered what his plan was with the ODM. He considered that he could likely use it against Mao in the Yakuza war, or Yoshida if he ever tried to hurt Ai. It would just be a onetime use, since he searched the markets here and couldn't find anything like ice burst stones.

Maybe Eren could find a substitute, but he wasn't a scientist. He had no way of knowing how to go about it since his expertise ends and general maintenance and repair. So, his ODM gear would only be useful as a single use item.

Meaning, he'd either have to use this as a chance to kill Mao, or as a weapon in case he had to fight Yoshida. He'd only have it for a single engagement. After that, he'd be back to fighting normally. He wished he still had his powers, even with the curse of Ymir as a downside.

Knock, Knock.

Eren turned to his door, getting up, and walking over to it. He opened it to see Ai's smiling face.

"Hi Eren." She smiled.

"Ai." He nodded.

"Boo." She narrowed her eyes. "No cute pet names?" She asked.

"Pet names?" Eren asked.

"Yea, couples give each other cute pet names." She giggled.

"So, Japanese people pet their lovers on the head like a dog, and then call them dog names?" Eren asked.

"It's not literal..." Ai felt a sweat drop on her head. "No, it's stuff like darin or hanii." She said.

"Darin?" Eren tried to say, though it didn't sound right with her accent.

"Well, it's borrowed from western phrases." She said.

"If you say so... hanii." Eren tried it out, blushing as he said it.

Ai squealed on the inside, thinking that it was so cute from him. Especially with his blush. He has really been making an effort to adapt to Japanese culture, even if it makes him embarrassed.

Not only did it make him more attractive to her, but she really appreciated his effort to learn her culture. She did wish that Eren would at least share more about his own culture so that she could learn as well. She'd love to learn more about Ukrainian culture from Eren.

"Why don't you come over darin." She said with a wink. "We're having some guests over, so it'll be fun for you to be with company."

"Sure." Eren shrugged. "I'll be over in a few minutes. Let me pack some stuff away."

"Ok!" Eren held up the two fingers.

Eren flicked her in the forehead, making her say a small "Itai".

"Nani!" She said.

"There's that idol act again." He said with a smile.

"I think you just don't appreciate the work I put into it." She pouted.

"It's too much for me." He said. "I prefer the real Ai."

Ai blushed at his compliment, though tried to maintain her pouty face. She wasn't going to let him win.

"I'll see you in a bit." He closed the door, leaving her the loser in that little match.

"Baka!" She playfully yelled.

"I don't know what that means!" Eren said through the door.

"Make sure you're dressed up Aqua-Chan!" Ai called out to her son.

"We're not going anywhere." Aqua said with a bit of annoyance.

"I know, but Shinomiya-San is coming over and I want you to look your best." She said.

Aqua couldn't blame that. It was all over the news and brought relief to a lot of people while also leveraging criticism against the government. Amazingly, Shinomiya Kaguya, one of the heirs to the Shinomiya conglomerate, managed to escape from her kidnappers. The news told of a tale of bravery in the face of danger and how she was able to escape into the streets when a guard got careless.

It brought criticism since in the few days after the event, the police have since reduced their operations in the city, adding credit to outcries of misuse of power by the Shinomiya Conglomerate. This prompted the Shinomiya Conglomerate to increase activities once again to curb crime in Tokyo, which many critics say that it was the Police's attempt at saving face despite the controversy.

However, the moment Ai heard the news, she immediately called Fujiwara Chika and asked if it was true. The pink haired girl confirmed that it was true and told her that Kaguya was getting checked at in one of the best hospitals in Japan. Luckily, there was no injury.

Ai was relieved and insisted that when she gets better, that she comes over to her home for dinner and a relaxing night. Ai couldn't imagine what the poor girl went though, and wanted to show her that she is safe and has friends that she can rely on. She also wanted to give her a chance to meet her favorite idol.

Ai was far from arrogant; she was actually very humble. But factually speaking, Kaguya was a huge fan of hers. So, she wanted to at least help her recover in the best way possible, by being the perfect idol possible so that she can meet her hero.

After all, it was important that Ai maintain her persona as much as possible. Her biggest fear was ruining a fans expectation of her, since that may be the one time a fan could see her in person. She believed that it's important to live up to your fan's expectations for their benefits.

"Mama!" Ruby called over. "Someone is knocking, can I get it?"

"No Ruby-Chan." Ai called back.

Absolutely not. Aqua got strangled and stabbed when he was out of her sight, there was no way she was going to let any of that happen to Ruby.

Ai finished setting the table up and walked over to the door. She cracked it open and saw the smiling faces of Kaguya and her friends.

"Welcome!" Ai said cheerfully as she opened the door the rest of the way and undid the bolts.

"Hoshino-San, it's nice to meet you again." Kaguya bowed.

"Please Shinomiya-San, call me Ai." Ai flashed her a peace sign.

"Fine, but please do the same for me." Kaguya replied. "My father has guards disguised in the area, watching the house. I apologize if you see anyone suspicious."

"I understand." Ai said. "Especially after what happened."

"It's so nice to see you again Ai!" Fujiwara ran up to Ai and hugged her tightly.

"You too Fujiwara." Ai said, recovering from the surprise and hugging her back.

"It's cool to see you." Ishigami said, walking into the apartment. "Even if this is a more rundown place than I was expecting for a famous idol."

"Most idol don't make a lot of money Ishigami." Miyuki said as he walked in.

"Still, you'd think with the companies making so much money, they could afford to pay their idols a half decent check every now and again." He countered.

"Well, Strawberry Productions and President Saitou do their best, but there is only so much that they can do." Ai said. "Most of the money goes into advertising and renting the venues, so there isn't a lot between all of us."

"Especially with they aren't that popular, Ai is one of the few rising stars." Lastly, Hayasaka entered the apartment, making it very cramped in the apartment.

Ai noticed the bruising on her, which was beginning to fade, but she wondered why Hayasaka was so hurt. Did something happen recently?

"Oh, Ai, this is Hayasaka Ai-" Fujiwara tried to introduce.

"Oh, we met when we picked up my son." Ai said.

"Oh, well did you know that Hayasaka is a woman!?" Fujiwara asked.

"... That was in question?" Ai asked, breaking out of her idol persona for a moment.

"I am lady Kaguya's maid, so I have at times had to adopt disguises. Around Fujiwara-San, I was a butler." Hayasaka said. "Recently, it was found out."

"Yea, this whole time I just thought she was a really pretty boy." Fujiwara said. "Then comes my surprise when she says she's a girl."

"W-well, I'm glad she's a girl then." Ai looked at Kaguya, asking for help. Kaguya shrugged. "By the way, are you ok Hayasaka? Did something happen?"

"I was kidnapped with lady Kaguya." She said.

"Oh no!" Ai said sadly. "I had no idea, the news only said Kaguya was kidnapped."

"And I had a long argument with my father on that." Kaguya crossed her arms. "I was furious when he never mentioned that Hayasaka was kidnapped as well. He said he was too worried over me that he didn't consider it, but I think he just didn't want to explain to the media that he lost two people near him."

"Either way, I'm glad you're ok." Ai changed the subject. "We'll make sure you have a good meal to help you heal up."

Ai wanted to keep the mood pleasant since this was as much about healing the two girls as it was socializing with friends. Right now, Kaguya, and now it seems Hayasaka, needed love and support after their ordeal. Simply saying she's there for them wasn't enough, they needed to see it through actions.

"Are there too many people, or should I leave?" And English voice said from the door.

"Of course, not Eren." Ai smiled as he walked in. "You remember Kaguya and Hayasaka, right? When we looked for Aqua-Chan?"

Kaguya, Hayasaka, and Miyuki froze when they saw Eren. Despite what he did for them, they knew that he was the Akuma No Ko, the criminal able to destroy a warehouse of armed men single handed. A man who they saw easily defeated five Yakuza thugs like it was nothing.

Now here he was, about to break bread with them.

"I think so." Eren shrugged, understanding that the last time Ai was aware they saw each other was when Aqua went missing.

"Great, I hope you all don't mind if my b-boyfriend tags along." Ai said, getting used to the term after four years of being single.

"B-boyfriend!?" Fujiwara screamed. "How scandalous." She giggled.

"See, this is why idols are terrible." Ishigami said. "Everyone expects them to just be complete perfect dolls while the idols themselves are not allowed too just be themselves. Raging fans that have terrible expectations and don't let the idols who they say they love, experience any happiness."

Thanks for the reminder, Ai though to herself. Ishigami's heart was in the right place, but he really needed to work on his social skills.

"It's ok Ishigami-San" Ai waved off, though still glad for his concern.

"Aw, little Aqua-Chan~" Fujiwara whined when she saw Aqua.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Come here." She kneeled down and scooped Aqua up in her arms, trying to be as gently as possible so as not to hurt his injured arm.

"Why are you hugging me?" He asked.

"Poor little guy is all hurt protecting his mama." She said sadly. "Auntie Fujiwara will make it feel all better."

When did this pink haired girl become his aunt?

"Aqua-Chan is such a little ladies man." Ai giggled at the display.

"Please let me go." He said.

"Not till I get a hug." She said.

Aqua never remembered this kind of attention when he was Goro. Maybe as a toddler he did, but he was really getting tired of being treated like a kid. Oh well, he technically was, so no use there.

"Come on, let's all eat." Ai said.

She motioned for everyone to sit at the table and started passing out large pots filled with Miso soup, fried rice, and different kinds of veggies. It was a large meal that would surely feed everyone here.

Ai made sure to keep the topic of the conversation as friendly and cheerful as possible. Anything to prevent Kaguya or Hayasaka from relieving what they went through. She noticed moments where both girls would get quiet, before bringing them into the conversation so they could focus on more pleasant things.

Grief and isolation were an important step to recovering from traumatic events, but just as important was being around loved ones and friends to keep you grounded. Ai learned that a long time ago, right around the time that her children were born.

They always helped her anytime she was sad or depressed from either bad criticism from fans or from her own loneliness.

"So Eren-San, we never asked. How did you and Ai ask each other to date?" Fujiwara asked, causing Ai to widen her eyes.

"It wasn't anything special." Eren shrugged.

"Come on, did you do something spontaneous?" She asked.

Spontaneous? Without a doubt...

"I just asked her to marry me." Eren shrugged, causing Ai to almost face palm at how easy he made that sound.

"Marriage!?" Fujiwara yelled out. "How fast, is the wedding soon?"

"No, she said to wait." He said, unsure why she was... wait, oh yea. "Right, in my home, marriages happen within weeks of meeting typically. It's different here and I didn't know. So, I'm trying this dating thing first."

"Did you guys' kiss?" Fujiwara asked.

"Yes." Eren nodded.

Ai covered her face as she blushed, so embarrassed that her love life is just being put out into the open like this.

"You two kissed!?" Kaguya yelled out of embarrassment.

"Is that so strange for lovers to do?" He asked.

"It's just, you don't just say it out loud." Kaguya said.

"Why?" Eren asked.

"Because... you just don't." She said, not finding a reason.

"What about you two?" Eren asked, referring to Miyuki and Kaguya.

"K-kaicho and me?" She asked.

"You two seem close. Are you dating?" Eren asked.

"N-no!" Miyuki yelled out.

"We're too busy to do any of that." She said.

"Yea, especially with Student Council duties, and the festival this summer. There's too much going on." Miyuki yelled out.

"You two should try it." Eren said. "I'm new to this whole dating thing, but you two seem like a good match. I'd say try it."

"A-a good match?" Kaguya blushed.

She looked over at Miyuki, who looked back. He was just as red as she was. Could she try dating him? There was no way. She knew the game they played. Whoever gives their heart first is the loser. There is no way he would ever admit defea-

"We should." He said.

WHAT!?

"W-what?" She asked.

Miyuki thought a lot about it. Thought a lot about his feelings for Shinomiya. The two weeks she was apart from him was the hardest two weeks of his life. Especially knowing that she was held captive by a bunch of criminals who only intended to use her.

The Student Council room was normally filled with her scent. That scent of whatever premium shampoo that probably cost more than he made in a week. Until she was returned, the scent started to fade, and he was worried he'd never smell it again.

He almost lost her, and if he did, then she'd never know his true feelings for her. He couldn't accept that. It made him realize that life was too short not to take leaps and bounds.

Additionally, Kei and his father would say that Miyuki was different in the past few days. They said he seemed more confident and surer of himself. Miyuki figured that maybe he gained some confidence after rescuing Shinomiya, and he felt that something as childish as being afraid of admitting your feelings to a girl paled in comparison to fighting the Yakuza.

So yes, he did love Shinomiya. He could admit that to himself. It was too much of a jump to admit that to her now, but at least he could say one thing.

"We should date Shinomiya." He said.

Did he just give up!? No mind games!? No anything!? Just a request!?

"W-well. If you believe so then as your vice president, it is only natural that I defer to your decision." She looked away, trying to maintain her composure.

Ai put her hand in front of her mouth to stop from giggling. Kaguya was blushing. Not only that, but she was also desperately fighting a smile, excited that finally he said something.

Eren shook his head, not understanding why this world was so shy around romance. He thought Ai was just unique, but these two were worse. Was it just the norm?

"You two need to get over your shyness." Eren said bluntly.

"It's not that easy!" Kaguya yelled out.

"He's the last person to argue with." Ai giggled. "This is the man who proposed to me in a room full of people."

"Wow, that's brave." Hayasaka said. Even for her, that was very bold.

"It's really not." Eren said.

"Have you ever loved a girl before Eren?" Kaguya asked in a slightly arrogant tone, expecting the answer to be a no and call him out on his lack of experience. Anything to change the topic off of her.

"Yes." Eren said.

"Y-yes?" Ai asked, her face contorted in both confusion and worry.

Eren loved another woman?

"Really? Who?" Fujiwara asked.

Eren looked down in sadness, unsure of what to say or how he would even say it. He hasn't thought about Mikasa in so long, not since arriving here. Especially since the last time they spoke, he said he hated her. The last time they met, she killed him.

Ai was worried. She knew Eren fled from Syria after he was forcefully drafted into the Russian Army. Did he have a woman he loved back home? A woman he gave up on because he couldn't return home. If he could return home, would he leave her for this woman?

"I knew her since we were little." Eren said.

Oh no. A childhood friend. How can Ai compete with that!? She knew she should tell him to be quiet, that she didn't want to hear that. But she also wanted to know, for no other reason than to know how to beat this woman for Eren's affection.

"My family adopted her after her parents were murdered." He said.

"They were murdered?" Miyuki asked.

"Slavers from the underground tried to kidnap her and her mother." Eren said. "She was... exotic by our standards. Her father was half Hizuru, while her mother was full Hizuru." Eren said.

"Hizuru?" Fujiwara asked.

Shit.

"Our word for oriental." He said.

"So, she was a western and Asian mix?" Fujiwara asked.

"Yes." Eren said.

Ai wondered what that meant. Was Meimei right and Eren had yellow fever? Not that she complained, it only helped Ai attract him.

However, Ai also noticed that Hayasaka and Kaguya looked sad for a moment, reminded of their own brush with slavery.

"That's horrible." Miyuki said.

"We were nine then, I think anyway." Eren said, trying to remember.

"Did the police save her?" He asked.

"They didn't get there in time." Eren said. "Her mother and father were killed, and they intended to sell her to a noble who liked exotic slaves."

"As a nine-year-old!?" Hayasaka yelled out.

"The world is cruel." Eren shrugged. "There are bad people everywhere."

"Did she escape?" Ai asked, feeling sorry for having a rivalry with this girl after going through something like that.

"I saved her." Eren said.

"How?" Kaguya asked.

Eren looked down, as if struggling to say the words. He seemed like he didn't want to say it, but he made the attempt anyway.

These people, they were good people. He felt... better, finally talking about these things. He kept his emotions bottled up for years, and finally, he was able to talk about it.

"I followed their trail to a cabin in the woods and stopped them." He said.

"How?" Kaguya asked again.

"I was nine, so I pretended to be a frightened child. When they thought they could sell me too, I stabbed two of them. They were too surprised to stop me."

Ai looked at Eren in shock. She knew he killed in war. She also knew he killed people when he was fifteen since he was a child soldier. But two men... at nine? A nine-year-old boy, killing two grown slavers who kidnapped a little girl after murdering her parents? What kind of sick place was Crimea?

Fujiwara covered her mouth in disgust. She heard Eren was a Soldier and could imagine he probably killed. But a nine-year-old being forced to kill people? That was horrible. Ishigami felt much the same way.

Miyuki, Kaguya, and Hayasaka were surprised as well. They knew Eren was a criminal. They knew he was the Akuma No Ko. But suddenly, something made sense to them.

They couldn't figure out why Eren risked so much to save them. He was a criminal, and criminals were bad people. Why didn't he just let them get sold away or ransomed off if it risked so much to save them?

But now, it made sense. Eren hated human trafficking. He witnessed someone close to him nearly get trafficked. And because of that, he hated the practice. That's why he saved the girls. That's why he risked so much to save them.

"The last one nearly killed me, Mikasa had to stop him." Eren said.

Mikasa? A Japanese name. Was she of Japanese descent? Is that why Eren came to Japan?

"So, your father adopted her?" Ishigami asked.

"We were together since then. Pretty much every day since."

"Did you two become romantically involved?" Kaguya asked.

"It doesn't matter if we did." Eren said. "She's gone either way." He looked sad again.

She might as well be dead, the group can come to their own conclusions, he thought. Who cares what they interpret. Since Mikasa is in another world, living a long and happy life, she has no place for him anymore.

He saw brief glimpses of his grave site. Glimpses of her and Jean, happily married, and a large family of her own making. It filled him with as much happiness as it did pain and sorrow.

Ai looked sadly at Eren, interpreting his words as this Mikasa woman dying. Ai thought she would feel relief that a potential rival was gone, but she only felt sadness that she had to die. It clearly affected Eren badly.

"I'm so sorry to bring it up." Kaguya said.

"It doesn't matter." Eren shrugged. "What happened, happened. She's better off over there."

While Eren meant in his world, everyone else assumed Eren meant that after life. Kaguya knew most of Eastern Europe was Orthodox Christian, so she assumed Eren meant she was in heaven.

"Did you have any kids?" Ishigami asked, not understanding why that question was a bit insensitive.

Everyone looked at him.

"What, I figured it's possible." He shrugged.

"There was another woman, Historia." Eren said.

Ai got worried again. Fearing another roller coaster of emotions between worrying about another rival for his affection or another tragic event in his past.

"We were close, probably as close as a man and a woman can be without being lovers. We even had a child together." Eren said.

"You have a child?" Ai asked in surprise.

For a moment she got scared, she wondered if Eren was like Hikaru. Did he abandon a child who is out there, wondering who their father is the same way that Aqua and Ruby did? Would he abandon her, just like Hikaru did?

"Was it a boy or girl?" Fujiwara asked, hoping to at least have some kind of happy moment in Eren's life.

"Doesn't matter." Eren shook his head. "Historia and the child are over there as well."

Once again, Eren stayed intentionally vague and used phrases to make sure they came to a specific conclusion. After all, functionally speaking, they were dead to him.

Ai felt that emotional roller coaster again. Eren had a woman he had a child with. He had a child, a son or daughter, that was taken from him as well.

His mother was murdered, the two women in his life died, and his child died. Ai now understood why Eren was so sad and alone when they first met. He was a man who lost everything in his life and was alone with no one.

"That's terrible." Miyuki said.

"The world is cruel." Eren shrugged. "All we can do is keep moving forward, no matter how cruel and unjust the world is."

Ai looked sadly at Eren. He had such a bleak view on the world, which made sense given his upbringing. A murdered mother, losing his family, forced to be a Soldier at a young age, and fighting a war he wanted no part in. It made her feel bad for her moment of jealousy when she learned he loved other women.

"Thank you for sharing that, Eren." Ai said, glad that he was finally opening up to people.

"It's just my past, it doesn't matter much." He shrugged.

"But it shows how much you trust your new friends here." Ai smiled at him.

Friends? Did Eren consider these people his friends? He had to think about that for a moment.

Fujiwara and Ishigami were basically stranger to him, he really knew nothing about them and didn't really interact with them. Kaguya, Miyuki, and Hayasaka still probably didn't like him considering they knew he was a criminal. Ai and her children were obvious.

"Yea, we could say we're friends." Kaguya said.

He saved hers and Hayasaka's life. He may be a criminal, but he did save her life. He can't be all bad, especially since desperation forced him to get into that life. So she couldn't hold anything against him.

"Yea, I agree." Miyuki said. "We actually worked together when we sa-" Eren's eyes widened slightly. "Saved a bunch of packages at work." He said.

"You two worked together?" Ai asked.

"Our company moved some things from another store, which happened to be Miyuki's work." Eren lied, slightly pissed that Miyuki can't keep a secret.

"Yea." He stuttered.

Ai was a bit confused, but let it go since Miyuki was naturally a shy person.

"Either way, I'd say we are friends Eren." Kaguya repeated.

"Yea, I don't mind new friends." Fujiwara said happily.

Eren was surprised. He felt... different hearing that. This entire time, he felt alone in this world. He was insulted non-stop by people for his lack of knowledge of this world and had no one to talk to.

These people would never be his comrades, not in that sense. No one could replace the bonds he forged with his fellow Soldiers. The trials and hells they went through together forged a bond that would never be matched.

But these people, Eren felt that they helped to fill an emptiness in his heart.

Ai noticed it. She saw that for the first time, Eren looked like he felt he belonged. She was glad that he was finally able to relax and see something better than war or trauma. He lived such a hard life, so she was glad that he can find people to rely on.

"Thank you." Eren said.

Ai saw a weight lift off of him. Ai wondered if he ever shared his past with anyone. Maybe he didn't but talking about his struggles helped to take some of the worry off of him.

"Well, let's go watch something on TV while I clean up." Ai said, motioning for everyone to go to the main room.

Aqua snuck into the main room after everyone left. Ai and Ruby were asleep, and everyone had left. Aqua took this opportunity to prepare for his next move against Hikaru.

He laid out the pieces of equipment he'd need, specifically the bottle and syringe. He also took Ai's cell phone so he could prepare for the attack. He knew he'd get in trouble with running away again, but he promised he'd be the perfect child after Hikaru died.

He opened the cell phone and navigated to Hikaru's name in her contacts. He went to the message tab and noticed that Ai and he didn't text since they went to that cafe. It would be odd, but he didn't think Hikaru would not take the bait.

Ai: Hikaru-San, I wanted to know if you wanted to meet up. I have something I've been thinking about.

Hikaru: What's this about? You made your intentions clear.

Good, Aqua thought to himself. He's glad that Ai cut him out of her life.

Ai: There's some lingering thought's I've been having, and I wanted to get them off my chest. Can we meet tomorrow night?

Hikaru: I'm staying at a hotel near Ginza tomorrow night.

Perfect, Aua thought to himself. The perfect opportunity to strike.

Eren, when he told his story, mentioned how he used his child like innocence to kill those kidnappers. Ai believed that the conversation was too fast for her children, with their very limited English abilities, could follow. But Aqua heard every word.

It's funny, Eren and him were thinking of the same plan.

Ai: That's fine, can meet you. Just send me the address.

ooo

Hikaru had been typing for a little bit. The bubbles were not going away. Aqua wondered what he was trying to say that it would take him a while.

Hikaru: Ok, I'll send the address.

That's it? Aqua expected more, but it would be a perfect opportunity to kill him.

Ai: I'll see you there.

When Aqua was sure that Hikaru wouldn't reply, he went back into the texts and deleted the conversation with Hikaru. That way, Ai wouldn't know about their conversation. He then blocked Hikaru's number so that he couldn't text back to her, effectively avoiding implicating Ai in anyway of his death.

Aqua looked down to his tools. He wondered if Hikaru suspected something, but even if he did, it wouldn't matter. He'd underestimate Aqua since he's four and won't be expecting him. All Aqua had to do was jam the needle with the medication in his neck and the threat will be over.

This specific medication was often abused for recreational use and typically sold by people who fake the symptoms to get it. With the amount he had, he'd ensure that Hikaru would overdose. Even then, he'd smother his face with a pillow or inject air into his veins to ensure he dies. It wouldn't be odd for someone that's high to accidentally inject air in their veins, thinking that it was more of the drug.

The pillow would also be untraceable as long as there isn't a struggle.

There would be no way to implicate Ai in his death. A washed-up actor, who couldn't get back together with his ex, wouldn't be looked at as anything less than either an accidental death or suicide.

He would like to delete Ai's conversation in Hikaru's phone, but that was a gamble. He hoped Hikaru used a thumb print of facial ID unlocking mechanism on his phone, but there was no guarantee. Either way, it was irrelevant if he did.

There were a lot of factors he couldn't control. He can't control the CCTV cameras around the hotel or on the street. So if a detective was dedicated, they would know that Aqua was there when he died. However, most detectives won't look that deep into a suicide since it would make sense for a washed-up actor.

Even if they did question Aqua, what would they say? They'd never expect him to be responsible, he's four. He can just cry and feign ignorance. He had a lie prepared in case it came to that, that being that his father invited him, and he left when he saw the drugs.

Aqua had a history of running away now, so it was believable.

The final piece of the puzzle is that this would all be done while Ai and Eren were on a date on the other side of the city. That's why he had to wait for the right moment. No matter what happens, Ai had an alibi and could in no way be implicated in Hikaru's death. Any accusations would be on Aqua, and he had the perfect cover since he was so young.

One stab is all it will take to kill Hikaru. Even with his injured arm, he had the advantage. He didn't need strength or size to win. All he needed is one good moment to stab him with a needle.

It was risky, but so is doing nothing. So, Aqua took a breath before going back to sleep. He hid the materials and began to mentally prepare himself for the next day.

Here's an interesting chapter.

I hope you guys enjoy this and the next chapter. I've been waiting to write it for literal months lol. I wasn't kidding when I said I had this whole thing planned out lol.

Hope you guys enjoy and are excited for the next chapter. If not, please let me know lol. Criticism is fine too.