Uneasiness

Meanwhile, in N city, Jessica gave a long yawn as she stepped out of the changing room clad in her casual outfit. " Finally I can get a shut eye." As she stepped out of NICS's gate, a man flopped down by her side. " Hey! Hey are you alright?!" She asked kneeling down to help him. The man grasped her arm tightly as though it was a rope of hope.

" He…lp…"

" Hang in there, I will get an ambulance," she said reaching inside her bag to retrieve her CCM.

" He's coming after me… he won't leave me alone… help me… arrest me!"

" Huh?!" She was taken aback as the man grasped her arms violently it was hurting her. " Slow down!"

" You're a Fire Sweet member! Arrest me! Protect me from him!" He shouted madly his eyes almost bulging out and his spit raining on her.

" Let go of her!" Jack came from behind him, tackling him away from the woman and flunging him on the light pole. " Are you alright?"

" A…ah… that was rather unexpected," she said taking Jack's hand to stand up and looking down at her assaulter.

" What did he want from you?"

Jessica looked back at the man, on second look, he didn't seem any older than Jack, with black messy mopped hair and a bristly beard. He clutched his head, muttering quickly to himself. " He's after me… he's after me… he won't let me live…"

" He… wanted to be arrested."

" What? What's wrong with him?" Jack gave the man a wary look. He then lunged back on the duo, holding onto Jack's leg.

" Please… arrest me… it was me… it was me…" he suddenly broke into tears. " It was me who revived him…"

Jessica and Jack's eyes narrowed as they looked down at him before they swapped meaningful looks.

The hours of waiting weighed heavily on all of them, but not as much as Eva and Mirai. Apparently, everyone agreed that waiting for Naoki's contact would feel less stressful if they stayed around at Jin's place, so they invited themselves.

Elie embarked again on baking her pie, this time with Jiiya's help. Eva shut herself in her room, saying she had some work she needed to do. Hiro managed to find a console and some video games so he made himself at home and started playing. Jin and Ban did the only thing that helped always take their minds off, battle.

Mirai and Kirito settled in the living room, taking turns playing against Hiro, but there was a cold silence between them. After two rounds, Hiro was feeling awkward he had to excuse himself saying he needed some sleep after staying up late. Now all that was left in the living was Kirito, Mirai and the two remote controls.

Not wanting things to get any worse, Kirito attempted to leave too only for one of the remotes to be thrown in his direction. " Why don't play a round with me? Or are you feeling scared?" Her scorn-laced words didn't settle well with Kirito so he sat by her side and the game began. It was your basic one-on-one fight. As they began, Mirai chanced a glance at Kirito. " I thought you cared about Eva more than to let her act recklessly. Why didn't you tell anyone about it? You know very well she is in the wrong here."

Kirito clicked his tongue at that. " I made a promise, and frankly speaking Eva's trust in us is quite fragile these few years."

As Mirai's avatar swept the feet of Kirito's from under him, her eyes narrowed. " I understand. There is no way she could just not be angry. But…"

" It's as she said." Kirito's warrior made a comeback and punched the other character in the face. " We have no proof that it's him who is behind all of this."

" But the scans-"

" They prove nothing." Kirito was striking continuously before his look softened. " You said I should have stopped her, but… I think I too was hoping that everything is just a misunderstanding. But, if it was proven to be him, I would have brought the matter to Takuya, regardless of what she wanted." For a moment, his hands stopped on the remote. " Because it would be too cruel to leave her to deal with him."

Mirai's eyes fixed on him. " So you're saying, if matters come to it, she would be able to end it all?"

" I don't know." His crimson eyes met hers. " But I don't want her to feel obliged to think that way. None of us does."

Mirai's lips pursed into a thin line as she made a comeback at Kirito, hitting vigorously before leaving his avatar sprawled on the ground. Kirito's eyes widened at the screen upon witnessing his loss. " You're wrong, Kirito…"...

Jack stepped out of the questioning room, his air unreadable. Jessica stood still, her arms folded before her as she glared at the man through the separation glass, wearing a deep frown. " What do you think of what you heard?" The man asked her and she let her arms fall by her side.

" I surely do hope I can say it all sounds like a mad story from a mad man but…"

" Everything now clicks together with his story."

After mulling over her choices, her mind finally settled on a decision. " We ought to report this to Papa and the rest."

" But, seeing the state he's in…" Jack looked worriedly at the man who was still trembling in his chair. " I doubt they would take this story seriously."

" It's the only thing we can do now," she said taking out her CCM and dealing a certain number.

A knock on her door snapped Eva back from her abyss of thoughts and back to her room. Elie then opened the door and stepped in, holding a plate with one hand on which she deposited a slice of the pie she had just finished baking.

" I thought you would rather like to have it in your room," she said closing the door behind her and walking to the blonde's desk.

Eva then closed her laptop and took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes. She hardly took notice of how much she was spending on the laptop unless they had enough and began stinging her. " Thank you, Elie. I appreciate that."

Elie set down the plate by her side before settling on the end of her bed, taking in the simple room. Eva didn't put much effort into the decoration, she had just the bare minimum save for a few plushies and items she mostly got as gifts. However, her desk was overloaded with books and tools. While not caring much for decoration, Eva put her all into one thing, maintenance. Elie was almost sure to find a nut or a screwdriver wherever she turned her eyes.

" Elie…" The girl snapped when she was addressed. She looked up at a rather befuddled Eva who poked her slice with a fork, an unfocused look in her eyes. " Say, when Ban was fighting against us… what were you thinking?" She reared her head towards her. " How were you able to fight against him?"

Elie scowled at the unhappy memories. Even though, she realized the girl before her was asking for reassurance. She felt lost, and Elie seemed to be the only one to understand her right now. Or at least, the one she could open up to. Shoving the uneasiness she felt at recalling that incident deep inside, Elie nudged closer.

" I was mostly afraid." As she began, Eva listened to her attentively. " If anything, I really didn't want to stand before him. I wished there was a way to save him without the need to fight. And at Shang Pao, it got even worse." The brunette fiddled with her fingers, the memories of the fight atop the tower overwhelmed her.

Eva's eyes softened realizing just how hard of an experience that particular fight was. " How were you able to do it?" Eva felt bad prodding that far, but she needed answers, she needed to know, to be able to sort her own feelings.

" It wasn't easy," Elie admitted, looking at nothing specific on the ground. " For a moment there I almost considered retreating, not wanting to cause Onii-chan any more harm than he already suffered. But then, I realized Onii-chan was fighting too. Fighting to give us a chance. I wanted badly to slap myself for not realizing it sooner." Elie gave an awkward smile at that. " Onii-chan was having it harder than me. Forced to face off against his family and friends, he must have been afraid and hurt more than I was. And the only one who could have saved him back then was me."

Her green eyes locked with the red ones in all seriousness. " I gritted my teeth and faced off my own feelings. Because I knew if I didn't save Onii-chan when he needed me the most, how could I live with myself."

" When he needed you the most huh?" Eva poked again at her pie. " I don't think I was able to do anything for him at all, and definitely not when he needed me the most."

" Don't say that." Elie stood up and gently rubbed her back. " You were a great sister to him. You cared deeply for him and looked after him, only a fool would deny that."

"The way I see it, it's the other way around." Eva gave a mild smile. " He was the one looking after me."

" Well, that's the way between siblings. I mean, you don't see Onii-chan studying unless I make him."

" Never." Eva chuckled.

" Eva, I know these must be hard times for you," Elie said softly as she continued rubbing circles on her back. " However, no matter what, don't let anyone influence your decision." Eva nodded slowly at that.

Sensing the younger woman needed some time alone to marshal her own thoughts and feelings, Elie decided to retreat, all while encouraging her to stop playing with the pie and start eating it.

Eva stared down at the piece stack at the end of her fork. " My own decision, huh…" She put the pie in her mouth, and relishing for a moment the flavor of strawberries…