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"Gakupo!! You almost ready!?" My roommate, Kaito, shouted at me from the front door. "Yeah, Im just coming," I replied while tying my shoes. As soon as I had finished, I noticed that Kaito had left the water running in the bathroom. This wasn't unusual, however. After living with him for 3 months, I have learned that Kaito is the most forgetful and clumsy person ever. I chuckled to myself from my room, flicked my wrist a couple of times, and the water was off. "Gakupo, hurry up!" Kaito yelled out impatiently. "Sorry sorry," I chuckled.

"Then Yohio told me that Lola and Miriam fell out! But it's okay because they made up again," Kaito rambled. I will be honest, most of the time whenever Kaito talks I ignore him. We are on our way to a cafe for breakfast before Kaitos university classes and my 'work'. "What time are you starting today?" Kaito asked me. "I start at 10.30 am today," I replied. Kaito stayed quiet for a second as if he was thinking about something. "Is something wrong?" I waved my hand in front of his face, which looked completely spaced out. "When do you finish?" He then asked. What is with all the questions? "I finish at 3 pm," I stopped walking and folded my arms. Kaito stopped as well and looked back at me. "Perfect," He grinned. "What are you on about?" I groaned. Kaito is hopeless at explaining what he is thinking to me. He is always super vague that it's annoying. "If you keep walking at that pace, we will never make it to breakfast," Kaito grabbed my hand with a smile and started running. Although he acts like a child sometimes, I think it's charming.

"Mornin' Gakupo," Big Al in reception welcomed me. I gave a polite nod in return and made my way quickly to the correct meeting room. This morning I was meeting Len, Luka, Gumi and Leon. I guess I should stop procrastinating and explain who I am, eh? Im Kamui Gakupo, 24 year old male. The meeting I am about to attend is a gathering of people who were born with or given gifts, if you will, special powers which make them different from everyone. "Good morning," I opened the door to the meeting room. 4 grumpy faces stared at me as I entered. "Good of you to show up," Luka scoffed. "Sorry, sorry," I apologised. I had been running late as Kaito and I never realised the time and ended up having to skip breakfast and go straight to where we had to be. "We were discussing the increase of powerful beings," Leon explained to me. I nodded back in understanding. There had been a large increase in our local area of potentially dangerous beings, and all of us could sense the menacing auras. "Sit down, Gakupo," Gumi pulled out a seat next to her. I sat down quietly while listening to Leon's explanation of everything they had figured out.

"I have spoken with Miku and she has said that we aren't allowed to take any action until she confirms some details about them, so nobody use your powers for violence against anyone," Leon finished. "What if I'm protecting someone from one of them?" Len asked. Leon screwed up his face a little. "Just don't use your powers, under any circumstances," Leon replied sternly. "Do you know what details Miku is confirming?" I asked next. Leon then hit me with an exhausted, moody frown. He picked up his mug and sipped his coffee. "Uhh, she is trying to identify them, and track down where they might have come from," Leon explained to me. I nodded and stayed silent. I could tell that Leon was not very welcoming to any questions. Despite this, Gumi asked a question next. "Can I still use my powers for non-violent purposes?" She muttered. "Yeah. As long as nobody notices," Leon rested his face in his hand. "Any more questions?" Luka then stared Leon down. "Yes, Luka?" Leon groaned. "When will this meeting finish?" She asked. "Now, everyone can leave," Leon stood up and dismissed everyone. "Gakupo, I want a word with you," Leon then said. I stayed in my seat, as Leon returned to his. "Bye Len," I said with a wave, as Len was the last to leave. He shut the door firmly behind him, which meant it was now only me and Leon in the room.

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"Gakupo," Leon said before taking an audibly long sip of his coffee. I shuffled in my seat uncomfortably. "Miku recommended you for the protector's society," Leon said without breaking eye contact with me, in his monotone morning voice. "How do you feel about taking the entrance test?" He glared at me. I went to speak, but no words came out. Me a protector? I had always thought I was more of a combat typed person, but Miku wants me to be part of the protector's society? Here is where my dilemma is. To be part of a society in our secret community, you must be recommended by someone higher up, such as Hatsune Miku, the leading protector of Whiterest. "You may as well do it," Leon mumbled which snapped me back to reality. He was right. There was no guarantee that I would be chosen, and I would still have to go through countless other tests, so why not? "Sure, I'll take the entrance test," I nodded my head. Leon smiled a little. "Excellent, I'll let Miku know as soon as I can, and she will send the test paper over. Can you wait here until then?" Leon asked me. I was meant to be heading to Midhaven, a realm that only people with powers can access, to work. "I have my job at Tonio's," I explained. "Well if you're going to Midhaven anyway, just complete the test at the Mondreiff halls. I can talk to Miku and she can probably meet with you there," Leon replied. I nodded at his response. "That's perfect, thanks," I smiled. "Great, do your job, then just wait outside the Mondreiff halls after," Leon explained. "Alright, thanks Leon," I stood up and left the meeting room.

"Gakupo do you mind just staying at the till for your shift? I'll be in the back doing some training for Yuma," Tonio shouted over to me as I was hanging up my coat. "No problem," I replied. Working till is easy enough. I worked as a part-timer at Wallhorns, a convenience store, with an unusual stock compared to shops in Whiterest. Here at Wallhorns, they sell things like your everyday snacks and drinks, but they also sell things like spell-casting books, parts of reptiles, tons upon tons of herbs and more. The main selling point of Wallhorns is the fact that they sell something called a 'Mind Quill'. Those who have powers simply have to lend the quill some of their own energy, and then the quill writes what's on their mind. I can see how that can appeal to people but what happens if you get distracted for even one second? You'll need a new piece of paper. My point is I don't care for the mind quill because my mind can wander a lot. "Sir?" A woman shot a droplet of cold water at me from her fingertip. There was a woman waiting at the counter waiting for me to serve her. My point has been proven.

"Sorry, ma'am. My mind was wandering. Are these all your items?" I rummaged through the basket. "Yes that's all thanks," The woman placed her toddler on the ground while she searched her pockets for money. "Nice day we are having, huh?" I started a little small talk. She looked at me with a smile. "It certainly is. The perfect weather for my little girl here to be out playing," The woman pet her young daughter's head. The girl giggled in response. The wholesome interaction had me subconsciously smiling too. "This totals to £7.89" I scribbled the numbers into a small book which was glued to the counter. The woman placed the money down on the counter and then started to transfer all her items from the basket into her bag. I then scribbled under the 'paid' column 'in full'. "Thanks for shopping at Wallhorns ma'am," I said with a smile. The woman picked up her daughter again. "Thank you, sir," She said with her back to me as she walked out of the shop. The shop was then quiet for a couple of hours and before I knew it, my shift was over. As I was about to leave, I saw a customer enter the store, so I called on KYO to be on till. I walked into the staff room to collect my things and saw Tonio talking through a theory paper with the new worker, Yuma. "Thanks for today Gakupo," Tonio shouted over to me. I nodded in response as to not disturb Yuma. After collecting all my things, I left through the back door without another word.

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Nerves were starting to take over me. I was walking up the big, steep hill which led to the Mondreiff halls so that I could meet with Miku on hopefully taking the protectors entrance exam. I don't mean to toot my own horn here but I'm pretty good at things like tests and exams. I don't freak out when I am under pressure and I usually have a calm head when I need to. Which is why I don't understand why I am so nervous. "Kamui Gakupo?" I heard a woman's voice yell. Ah yes, this is why I was nervous. "Miss Hatsune Miku, it's a pleasure to meet you," I gave a polite bow. "Ooh, very formal which is not how Leon described you at all," Miku chuckled. I could feel my face warming up. "Oh god, I'm sorry if your nerves are building up. Here let's get into the library and you can begin the test," Miku apologised, then lead me inside the Mondreiff Halls.

"If you need anything, let me know," Miku said before leaving the room, therefore making it difficult for me to call on her if I needed anything. Nonetheless, I got to work. Ticking boxes, completing phrases and writing answers. The entrance test was 7 pages which wasn't too bad, except that the letters were small and there were lots of questions. The test itself was pretty easy. The questions were mainly focused on the protection of human citizens and life. For example, What to do when a civilian is attacked by another being? When should you use your power to help citizens? Things like that. I used my common sense and answered the questions with no problem. Then I came across question 18. About 3 quarters through the paper. 'Is there a specific citizen whom you would protect over anyone else?'. I read it again and again in my head. It wasn't like the other questions on the paper. This one felt, personal. I don't think that there is a specific person... I'll leave it blank for now.

After about 10 minutes after that, I was finished. After finishing the paper and being happy with my answers, I returned to question 18. Suddenly, my phone started buzzing from within my pocket. I pulled out my phone and read aloud the name displayed on my screen. "Kaito". Oh shit, I didn't tell him I would be late home... I answered the phone call. "Hello?" I whispered into the phone so I would not disturb the peace of the library. "Gakupo? Is everything okay? Are you still at work?" Kaito said into the phone. "Yeah I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you I would be late home. Is everything alright?" I asked. I started feeling a little dread when it took Kaito a couple of seconds to reply. "Uh, yeah. Do you know how much longer you will be?" He asked me. "Mmm, I will be back in about an hour in a half," I replied. I felt extremely guilty for some reason. "Oh... alright. I will see you then," Kaito sighed. Why was he sighing!? I'm a grown man. I shouldn't need to tell him when I will be home! I then heard him taking a really, really long drink of something. "Kaito? You sure everything is alright?" I asked him once more. "Yup, bye-bye," He said before hanging up on me. I'm not sure about this. He was acting extremely strange over that phone call. I need to get home quickly.

I then looked back down at my question paper. Question 18. After that phone call, I was pretty sure I had an answer. However, I decided not to write anything down and just left it blank. I picked up my paper and stood up from the wooden table. I took my paper and walked out of the library and into a hallway where I really hoped that Miku would be waiting for me. As I opened the heavy wooden doors, coincidentally, there Miku was, standing in the hallway talking to a girl with bright yellow hair. "Ah, Lily, here he is here," Miku said to 'Lily' as I exited the library. "Are you finished with your paper Gakupo?" Miku asked me. "Yes I am," I said and handed her the paper. "Excellent! I will give this to Ruby for marking," Miku smiled. "Lily, this is Kamui Gakupo, and Gakupo, this is Lily, she is a combat leader for Bellsquare," Miku introduced. "It's an honour to meet you, Miss Lily," I said, again with a bow. This time, Lily returned the bow. "Likewise," She said proudly. "Gakupo, I won't make you stay any longer, you're free to go home," Miku said to me. "Thank you, Miss Miku, It's been nice meeting you," I said. Then without any hesitation, I ran out of the building so I could transport myself home.

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After reciting an incantation, I appeared behind my apartment complex. It was extremely dark now, so being caught appearing wouldn't be a problem. Although in saying that, Im pretty late in getting home. I casually walked into the back entrance of our apartment building and walked up the steps to level 3. I went to open the door to my room, but it was locked. I discreetly flicked my wrist and the door unlocked. I slowly, cautiously, opened the door. "Kaito, you here?" I asked from behind the door. No reply, but I could sense Kaito was in there. I crept in and shut the door quietly behind me. "Holy shit..." I muttered. When I looked around, I saw Kaito sprawled across the couch, passed out with half of his clothes missing. The lights were all off and every window was wide open, welcoming in the bitter cold of the night. With another subtle flick of the wrist, I closed all of the windows simultaneously.

I quickly connected all of the dots. Kaito was drunk. There were empty bottles on the floor next to the couch, and I could regularly hear my roommate hiccuping in his sleep. I let out a sigh and began cleaning up the mess, with my magic of course. "Gakupo what the fuuuck!" I heard Kaito yelling. I dropped everything and turned to look at him. Did he see anything? "Sooo noww you decide to come home eh??" He groaned. No, I don't think he did. "I already told you that I am sorry," I said while straightening the rug. "But I planned all of this for you!" Kaito sulked. "Planned what?" I asked him. "No, you don't get it anymore!" He stood up from the couch. "Do you want to help me clean up then?" I suggested. He made the mess, he can clean it. I began cleaning up again, that was until I heard sniffling. Kaito had started crying. Drunk people are so difficult to deal with. Especially when they get emotional. "Kaito why are you crying?" I sighed. "Y-You don't even know how it feels!!" He yelled. "I don't know how what feels?" I asked. I began walking closer to him, in an effort to comfort him. Although I really wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. "Because you don't even like me!!".

What? Of course I don't like him, he's a guy... "Kaito, you're drunk, let me help you to bed," I held him by his shoulders. "No, no, no!!" He thrashed around. What. A. Pain. "Gakupo I likee like you and you don't even caree!" Kaito whined at me. I kept telling myself that he is just drunk, he doesn't mean it. But I still can't help but wonder, what if he really means it? "I do care, that's why I want to help you get to bed," I said in a calmer manner than before. "Alright then..." Kaito then went limp into my arms. "W-what are you doing!?" I exclaimed as I felt him put all of his weight onto me. Not that that was the issue, I was extremely strong due to my powers, I just needed to know if Kaito was alright. "Im just letting you take me to my bed," Kaito groaned. At least he's partly conscious.

I awoke to a loud BANG coming from the other room. Kaitos room. Ah shit. I got up from my bed and rushed into my roommate's bedroom. I swung open his door. "Aghhhh..." He groaned from his floor. "Pfftt, you alright down there?" I offered him a hand up. "Mhm..." He mumbled and took my hand. "Do you- ahem- perhaps remember anything you did last night?" I asked him, really curious about whether what he said was true or not. "No? Oh god, did I do something stupid?" He asked with fear. I chuckled, not meaning in any way to sound nervous. However, it must have come out like that. "Oh no oh no... I'm so so sorry... Whatever I said or did I promise it's only because I got drunk..." He apologised to me. "Ah- yeah- that's alright..." I said with a little disappointment. I mean what!? Why on earth am I disappointed about it!? I'm glad. I'm glad that my roommate doesn't like-like me. "I'm really sorry I had to work late last night," I apologised to Kaito. He looked at me confused. "Oh yeah, that's alright. You don't really have to tell me where you are and when. Im not your mother," Kaito giggled. That kind of pissed me off. But whatever.

"You hungover?" I asked Kaito while I was cooking a fry-up in the kitchen. Kaito sat at the mini island. "Extremely. So if this bacon and egg would like to cook faster, I wouldn't mind," Kaito lay his head on the countertop. "Drink this, it might make you feel a little better," I handed him a cup of coffee. "I don't like bitter things Gakupo..." He pushed the mug away from him slightly. I resumed my cooking. "That's why it's got almost no coffee in it and is filled with sugar and milk," I chuckled. "Mmm... alright. Thanks," He took a sip from the mug. I will admit right now that I have done something bad. Probably illegal. What's in that cup is 70% coffee and the rest is milk. I used my power to change the taste to make it sweet. I am not spending the weekend with a crabbit roommate. "Woah... that's really good!" Kaito said with a cheesy smile. "I'm glad you like it," I chuckled.

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"Gakupo? You listening?" Len flicked me. Len and I were patrolling the open part of Whiterest which was near Kaitos University. "No," I said bluntly. Len groaned. "You're useless," He chuckled. "Your sister goes to the university here, no?" I asked him. "Yeah, she does. She is studying Vocal Pedagogy" Len explained to me. "She likes singing, huh? I assume that it doesn't run in the family. I have heard you at karaoke," I shuddered at the memory of Len's terrible vocals. "Oh, you be quiet. I have heard your singing too," Len giggled. "Do you have any plans for your future?" I asked him. For a split second, he looked panic-stricken. "Probably work towards becoming a combat officer in Mondreiff halls," He admitted. I was meaning in this realm, but I didn't say anything. "Miss Miku suggested me as a protector," I added. Len stopped in his tracks. "She did what!?" He exclaimed. "Oh my god, that is what Leon wanted to talk to you about on Monday," Len realised. "So? What did you say? I know that you were always more into the combat side of things," Len asked. "Yeah, uh, after work I went to the halls and took the entrance test," I replied. Len looked at me as if I had turned into a ghost. "YOU WERE IN MONDREIFF HALLS?" He yelled. I looked around and saw a couple of judging stares, Len didn't seem to care though. "Yeah haha," I chuckled. "Did you meet her? Did you meet Miku?" He jumped up and down. He seems a bit too excited about all of this. "Yeah. And I met the combat leader of Bellsquare, Miss Lily," I bragged a little. It was fun to see Len all jealous. "YOU LUCKY BASTARD!" Len yelled while hitting me across my arm. I chuckled smugly.

We continued our patrol down Whiterest and ended up in a street full of flats. "Ooh, these are the dormitories for the students," Len pointed over to the school in the near distance. That got me wondering. Why did Kaito move into a flat with me rather than getting a school dorm which was much closer to his school? "Rin stays here," Len pointed to a specific building. "They look like nice places," I nodded. Len and I continued down the street, with a little conversation going on. We then both stopped. "You sense that?" I asked Len in a whisper. He nodded back. I could sense them. It was the same aura as the dangerous beings. "Len," I began, as quietly as I could. "Contact Leon," I ordered him. Len nodded and ran away from me. Using his powers near the beings would make Len a potential and easy target for them, so the best solution was for him to get far away, and contact Leon who would then contact the DPC (Defence, Protect, Combat) leaders for the area if he felt he needed.

To my horror, I felt the presence getting stronger and even more menacing. I took a couple of steps back before my vision was completely black. Before this happened, I heard Len, screaming my name at the top of his lungs. I felt as though I had to hold my breath. "Gakupo Kamui" A deep voice growled my name. What the fuck is going on. Where am I? "I have been observing you Gakupo," The voice said. It seemed as though I was in a barrier, and that the voice had no physical source, which had me mortified. As a community member, I have never had training in dealing with barriers. "You're about to become a protector no? So you can help those you love?" The voice laughed. "Bullshit." It then spat. I felt my heart drop into my stomach and my blood go cold. Why do they know so much about me? "You better watch yourself Gakupo Kamui, because Im coming after you,". The aura faded, the barrier disappeared and I was free.

"Gakupo!" A familiar voice yelled at me. The last person I had seen before the accident was Len. But it was daytime then and now it's dark. I'm so, so confused... "Len?" I mumbled. "What?" Another voice piped up. I shot up from the ground. "Kaito!?" I exclaimed. "Holy shit... Gakupo are you okay!?" He threw himself onto me in a hug and we fell to the ground. This felt very... friendly? "Ack... yeah Im great," I groaned from under Kaito. I then saw the man, the myth, the legend, Hiyama Kiyoteru, Combat Leader and Supervisor. I saw him come up behind Kaito, grab him by his shirt and pull him off of me with one arm. "Woah..." I hear Len mumble. "H-hey!" Kaito resisted. "Mr Gakupo. My name is Hiyama Kiyoteru. Would you mind if we had a conversation about what happened?" Kiyoteru held out a hand to assist me in getting up. I quickly accepted it and was back up on my two feet. "Of course..." I glanced over to my roommate whose path was being blocked by both Leon and Luka. Kaito and I made very swift eye contact before I walked away with Mr Kiyoteru.

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"So, Mr Gakupo. What happened in that barrier?" Kiyoteru sat in a chair across from me. He had taken us into Mondreiff halls and into an interrogation room. I stayed dead silent. "I'm not going to sit here and treat you like a kid, so talk," Kiyoteru said quite bluntly. This man was seriously testing my patience. "I don't remember," I muttered. Kiyoteru gave a snort. "Don't lie to me Mr Gakupo," He stood up and walked towards me. I lowered my head. "We know that something happened. Ruby told me she received an entrance test from you. This conversation could affect your chances of being accepted. My mouth went dry and my body started shaking in rage. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open. It was a woman, with Hatsune Miku behind her. "Ruby!" Kiyoteru exclaimed. I looked her up and down. This was Ruby? "You can't make him talk by threatening him! Do you know how that makes not only you, but me look!?" She yelled at him. He stayed silent. "Mr Gakupo, if you are not ready to talk, come back two weeks today. We can talk then," Kiyoteru said without making eye contact with anyone, just staring at the ground in shame. Miku slipped into the room, took my hand and walked me out of the room.

"Sorry about him Gakupo," She chuckled. She looked extremely guilty. "It's really okay. I'm just not ready to talk about... that yet," I explained to her. She looked a little fed up as if she wanted me to just talk so they could investigate, but I knew she wouldn't say anything about it. "Oh before you go," Miku began. I turned around to face her. "Everyone that was there, Kagamine Len, Megurine Luka, Gumi and Leon are all being held up over there. That student is also there," Miku informed me. She was talking about Kaito. "Where are they?" I growled. I think my reaction surprised Miku. "Oh uh, Midhaven PD has taken them to our building in Whiterest," Miku told me. "Thanks, Miss Miku," I said before transporting myself back to Whiterest.

I ran inside the rented building and straight into Leon's meeting room. I swung open the door and saw a Midhaven officer having a conversation with Kaito. "Is this the man you were talking about?" The officer asked him and pointed to me. "Gakupo! What the hell is going on!?" Kaito yelled at me. Not the reaction I expected to be honest. The officer looked me up and down with suspecting eyes, but I pulled a little ID card out of my pocket so that only the officer could see it, and he backed away. I then made eye contact with my confused roommate. "Can I explain when we get home?" I asked. Kaito nodded, and with a sigh, followed me out of the building.

"Gakupo. You're trying to tell me that a man chased you right through Whiterest then when you two got here, he used chloroform to send you to sleep?" Kaito scoffed. Damn, he's not as stupid as I always thought. I sat silently. "Why!? What did you do to him!?" Kaito moved right in front of my face. Huh, never mind. "Uh... because" I started to panic. I don't know what to tell him. While searching my head for ideas, Kaito says the most out-of-character thing ever. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," He stood up and left the room. What!? "Kaito?" I yelled through to him. "Mhm?" He smiled as if he hadn't just done the weirdest shit two seconds ago. "Come here," I pulled him towards me and put my hand under his bangs and against his forehead. "Oh damn... do you have a fever?" He was genuinely burning up! I took my hand away and put my own forehead against his. "Do you need-" I stopped mid-sentence. Kaitos face was beet red. I then realised Kaito didn't have a fever. I pulled away, my eyes wide open. Kaito stared up at me, with a bashful expression which had me struggling for air! "I-I'M GOING TO HEAD TO BED NOW! HAHA, THAT RHYMED!" I yelled and slammed his bedroom door behind me. Holy shit that was awkward.

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My history lecturer was so boring. I preferred the other class's lecturer as he was engaging and didn't just ramble for 2 hours. "Hey, you're Kaito Shion, right?" The girl next to me whispered in my ear. I turned to my right to face her. "Uh yeah?" I replied, confused. "Im IA, a friend of Yohio's," She smiled. "Nice to meet you IA," I said awkwardly, which is not how I wanted it to come across. "Ahh sorry, I'll let you listen to the lecture," She apologised and shuffled back to her seat which was three seats down. "No it's alright," This time I shuffled next to her. "If you wanted to, we could just skip this lesson," I offered her. Anything to get out of this boring lecture. "Oh, sure" She whispered to me excitedly. And with that, we both packed up our things and left the lecture hall. And I just know that the boring old man was shooting us dirty looks.

So, what I thought was going to be me and one other person hanging out turned into a whole group gathering. "Rin, when do your classes start?" IA asked a girl with the biggest white bow on her head. "My class starts at 2 pm today," Rin sighed. I really felt that I didn't belong in this group of people, so slowly started to walk away. I managed to slip away from the big crowd, unnoticed. As I had already ditched class, there was no point in returning, so I started walking home. I decided to take the long route as I had time to pass.

As I walked around, my mind started to wander. Wonder to places I really wish it didn't. I started thinking about the night I got extremely drunk. What happened was I had planned a small evening for me and my roommate, Gakupo, where we would just sit, drink and I had ordered a takeaway. But he never ended up coming home until 11 pm when he said he would be back for 3pm. In an act of rage, I ate all of the food and drank two bottles of wine. When Gakupo did eventually get home... well... I'm not sure what happened. Everything after that is a blur. I do however remember waking up in the morning on the ground with Gakupo towering above me. I just pray that I wasn't too... honest with him.

I was torn from my thoughts as I heard someone yelling from over at the uni dorms. And they were yelling someone's name. "GAKUPO!?" The voice yelled. My heart sank and my eyes widened. Gakupo? I subconsciously started running towards the yelling. Fearing the absolute worst. The guy who was yelling had obviously noticed me coming and started running towards me. "Hey, get out of here kid! It's not safe!" He shouted at me. When I didn't stop running, he looked pissed. "What do you want!?" He yelled. When I finally reached him I caught my breath. "I-Is that Gaku-Gakupo Kamui?" I asked, short of breath. "What!? Do you know him?" The guy asked me. I nodded, while violently panting. "Is he okay!?" I gripped onto the sleeves of his jacket. "I-Im not sure..." He muttered. "May I ask your name kid?" He then asked. "Kaito Shion," I replied. He then pulled the 'ooh you're him!?' face. "Gakupo has told me about you," The man said, and I swear he started inspecting me. "Im Kagamine Len, Gakupos work friend," Len introduced himself. "Uh- nice to meet you," I bowed politely. I was still concerned with my roommate so nudged Len to the side a little so I could get past him, but he caught on quickly and gripped onto my shoulder. "For your own safety, I cannot let you go near him until some other people give you permission," Len said to me. Why? What happened!?

I waited in the field with Len until a group of people showed up. They looked very professional which got me wondering who Len really was. He hadn't exactly told me what he and Gakupo were doing, and why my roommate was unconscious on the street. And whenever I did ask, he either ignored my question or was extremely vague! "Len! What happened!?" A woman with green hair started running over to Len. Len didn't say anything back to her, he just pointed over to me. The woman nodded and kept quiet. That REALLY pissed me off. Behind them, I noticed more people approaching Gakupo and all the other people around them started bowing!? Who on earth are these people and what is going on!?

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"Len, do you know them?" I whispered to the man beside me. He stared at me with a guilty look which meant he did but wasn't going to tell me who they were. "Um... they are the higher-ups at our work," Len said. I nodded, then realised, I had no idea what Gakupo did as a job. I would always ask him and he would never answer properly. "Len, what do you and Gakupo do?" I asked him. "He hasn't told you?" Len chuckled nervously. Seriously, why does nobody tell me anything!? "Nope," I groaned. I think that Len noticed my frustration, so quickly changed the subject. "So Kaito, what do you major in at school?" He asked me. "I major in Social Sciences and History," I replied. I then noticed one of the important people walking over to us. Len shot up from where he was sitting on the grass and bowed to the woman. "Hi Mr Kagamine, It's a pleasure to meet you," The woman greeted. Wait so they have never met before? What on earth is their job? "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Hatsune Miku!" Len yelled a little. I stood up too, not wanting to seem improper. "Mr Kagamine, who is this?" The woman pointed to me, which was quite rude. She could have just asked me. "This is Kamui Gakupo's roommate, Kaito Shion. He goes to the university over there," Len explained to Miku. She nodded and looked as if she had heard of me before, which made me a little uncomfortable. "I'm sorry Kaito, I need to talk to Len privately for a minute. Why don't you go and introduce yourself to everyone over there? I'm sure they would love to meet Kamui Gakupo's roommate," She smiled and then pulled Len away from me. Tch.

"H-Hi Im Kaito Shion! Gakupos roommate!" I introduced myself to the less intimidating group of people. There was a girl with green hair, a girl with pink hair and a man with yellow hair. "Oh, you're the infamous roommate?" The man looked me up and down. "Nice to meet you, I'm your roommate's boss," The man introduced. This is his boss? He definitely isn't how I imagined a boss would look like. "May I ask what's going on? Are you sure Gakupo is okay?" I asked him. The three people looked at each other before replying to me. "Gakupo will explain what has happened to you when you both get home Im sure," The woman with green hair said. Tch, yeah right. Gakupo tells me nothing about his work. When I looked over at Gakupo who was still laying on the ground, I saw the super important people all gathered around him. What the hell were they doing? I then heard Len and Miku approaching us. Miku then whispered something into the man's ear, and he looked extremely shocked and worried. Which got me concerned. "Miku! Can I talk to you!?" One of the important people yelled over. The thing that stood out about her was her long, yellow cape.

"Hey look! I think he's regaining consciousness!" A woman with pink hair, one of the important people, yelled. I wasted no time getting over there to see my roommate. Neither did the rest of the group when they ran right behind me. "Gakupo!" I yelled, hoping he would hear me. I stood right in front of him. He then looked as if he was going to say something. "Len?" He mumbled. My heart dropped. I know he didn't know I was there, but... "What?" Len stood next to me and said. Gakupo immediately sat up. He then saw me there. "Kaito!?" He yelled. My confidence was raised again. He sounded excited to see me! "Holy shit... Gakupo are you okay!?" I jumped on top of him and embraced him while we fell to the ground. I then realised I did this in front of his work friends, but I didn't care that much. I was just happy that Gakupo was okay. "Ack... yeah Im great" I heard him mutter below me. That made my heart flutter slightly. While I was on the ground with Gakupo, I felt a large hand tugging on the collar of my shirt, which then lifted me up off of Gakupo! I heard Len mutter a "woah" in awe, but I started thrashing around. "H-hey!" I yelled. The man threw me on the ground by the yellow-haired man's feet. He helped me up off of the ground while the other man talked to Gakupo about something that I couldn't hear. The man then helped Gakupo up then asked him something to which Gakupo replied with a nod. I saw him look over at me, but when I tried to go over to him, the yellow-haired man and the pink-haired girl blocked my path. They were taking my roommate away from me...

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After 5 minutes of me angrily yelling, a police officer approached us along with a brown-haired girl who wore all red. "Hello there. I am Haigo Meiko, defe- ahem." She stopped when she looked at me. What did I do? "Has anyone been harmed?" She asked. "Hi Miss Meiko, my name is Leon," The yellow-haired man introduced himself. "Nobody here is injured," Leon said to her. "That's a relief," She replied with a smile. Even though I was a bit angry with everyone here, I had to admit that Meiko was beautiful. "Sir, can you come with me?" An officer tugged on my arm. They didn't look like regular police officers. They didn't wear the local uniform which made me suspicious and made me not want to let them take me where ever they wanted. However, I felt like I was in no position to say no, so nodded at him, and went along with them.

"So Mr," The officer began once we had sat down in a meeting room. We weren't in a police building, but a building which was up for rent a couple of years ago. Everything was super sketchy and secretive. "Kaito Shion," I said. "Mr Kaito Shion. Who exactly are you?" He asked me. What kind of question was that meant to be? "Uh... I'm a student at Whiterest University," I said hoping that was the answer to his question. "Okay, have you ever been to Midhaven?" He asked. Midhaven? I have never heard of that place. "I don't think so. Is it in the country?" I asked. The officer didn't respond, he just kept writing notes. Fucking RUDE! "What were you doing at the scene?" The officer asked me. "Well, the one who passed out was my roommate, Kamui Gakupo," I explained. " Okay, and-" The officer's sentence was cut off by the door swinging open. None other than Gakupo stood there. "Is this the man you were talking about?" The officer asked me and pointed to Gakupo. This time it was me who ignored the question. "Gakupo! What the hell is going on!?" I yelled at Gakupo. Gakupo looked shocked when I started shouting at him. He said nothing, but looked at the officer behind me, pulled something from his pocket, and then shove it back in again. Suspicious. I then made eye contact with my roommate. "Can I explain when we get home?" He asked me. I nodded with a sigh but stood up and followed him out of the building.

When we got home, I immediately started interrogating my roommate. "So, Gakupo, what were you doing outside my university?" I started. "Oh... haha you're not going to believe this," Gakupo chuckled nervously. I felt a knot forming in my chest like I was feeling nervous. But why? "There was this guy, and he chased me all the way across Whiterest. He then used chloroform to make me pass out!" He said while acting out each mini-scenario. He was lying to me. That didn't happen. That knot, I felt it getting tighter. "Gakupo. You're trying to tell me that a man chased you right through Whiterest then when you two got here, he used chloroform to send you to sleep?" I scoffed. Why would he lie to me though? Does he not trust me? Have I done something wrong? I want him to put his trust in me. I want to be a best friend to him. I felt my feelings overflowing. I had to suppress it. I couldn't show Gakupo. "Why!? What did you do to him!?" I exclaimed and moved right in front of him. "Uh... because" he began. He couldn't think of anything to say. I knew it. He wasn't telling me the truth. I then snapped. I wanted to cry. My emotions felt like they were rising from my feet up to my head. I just wanted to go to my room and cry. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," I said and walked out of the room. I didn't want Gakupo to see me break down.

"Kaito?" He yelled through to me. I tried to compose myself. I peeked my head around the corner of the wall so I could see Gakupo again. "Mhm?" I forced a smile. Gakupo started walking towards me. "Come here," he grabbed me and pulled me towards himself. He lifted up my bangs and put his hand against my forehead. What on earth? "Oh damn... do you have a fever?" He asked. My face got hotter and hotter. Redder and redder. He then removed his hand. I thought that he would leave. But no! He put his own forehead against mine! WHAT? "Do you need-" He began, but quickly stopped. He looked down at me and made an audible gasp. I was SO embarrassed. I felt tears making their way to my eyes, and I couldnt help it. "I-I'M GOING TO HEAD TO BED NOW! HAHA, THAT RHYMED!" He yelled and ran out of my room. Thank god he is gone. I lay down on my bed and cried. I cried for hours.

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I rolled around in my bed, trying to forget how awkward last night got between myself and Kaito. And because of what he said to me while he was drunk... it just made it worse. I had to return to Mondreiff halls today to talk to Ruby about my entrance test. I wonder if they always made people visit in person regarding entrance tests? No matter. I decided to get up and out of bed to get ready for the day. I stood outside of Kaito's door, wondering if I should ask him if he wanted breakfast. Maybe he didn't want to talk to me? I didn't want to make it awkward though. I opened his door slightly. He was laying on his bed, the sheets on the floor and his face, tear-stained? I knew that he had university today but didn't know whether to wake him or not. "Nghh... Gakupo?" Kaito sat up in his bed with a groan. "Morning Kaito. Are you alright?" I sat next to him in his bed. "Yeah," He rubbed his eyes. "I was wondering if you wanted breakfast before you left?" I offered. His face lit up slightly. "Could you make me that coffee you made the other day again?" He asked enthusiastically. I nodded with a smile.

"I'm off to work!" I yelled to Kaito from the front door. Kaito ran up to me, he looked like he wanted to say something. "Are you okay?" I asked him when he just stared at the floor. "No haha, have a good day. And don't get chased down the street again," He giggled. Cute... Ack no! What am I thinking!? Ugh, whatever. "Alright, bye Kaito," I waved and shut the front door behind me. I walked out of the building and transported myself to Midhaven.

"Nice to meet you properly, Kamui Gakupo," Ruby welcomed me into Mondreiff halls. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Ruby," I replied politely. I recognised her from yesterday. "Now, I wouldn't usually call entrees here to meet me in person, however, after receiving an amazing review from Miss Miku, the excellent results on your test and the incident that happened, I feel like the universe is telling me that I should accept you," Ruby smiled. I know she smiled in a friendly manner, but something about it made me shudder. "Kamui Gakupo, how would you feel about earning your position as Whiterest protector immediately?" She offered.

WHAT? I know I said I'm good at tests, but holy shit! "I-I- Thank you!" I stuttered like a fool. Ruby giggled at my reaction, which was a bit embarrassing. "I assume you know what the job entails?" She asked me. My face went blank. I did not. I think Ruby could tell from my distant stare that I did not know, so she started explaining the job to me. "As a protector, you no longer need to attend your community meetings and you do not get assigned to any patrols unless we really need it. As a Whiterest protector, you will meet with Hatsune Miku every morning apart from Sunday at 8 am. You will leave when she allows you to, which is roughly 10 am. Miku will assign you to a pair, sometimes a three, and you will together head to places in Whiterest where there have been high levels of dark activity where you will protect nearby citizens. The job entails so much more, but that's roughly what your day will look like. Any questions?" She explained.

Although it was a lot, I think I understood. "No, no questions at all. Thank you so much," I bowed. "Absolutely no problem. Mikus meeting room in the same building as your community meetings, just on the highest level," She told me. I nodded and stood up from my seat. "Your welcome to start now," She said. Huh? WHAT? "Would I not be late?" I asked. Ruby chuckled. "I will accompany you to Mikus's meeting room and introduce you to everyone. There aren't a huge amount of Whiterest protectors, so Im sure they will be happy to meet you," Ruby took my hand and immediately transported us to the work building.

Ruby swung open the door. "Good Morning!" She yelled. When she said there weren't many protectors, she wasn't kidding! Apart from Miku, there were 5 other people sitting in the room. "Morning Ruby," Miku replied. "This is- uhh-" Miku sipped her coffee. She acted no different to Leon... "Kamui Gakupo?" One of the people piped up. It was a young-looking kid with white hair. "Yup," Miku groaned. "Gakupo, these five are Utatane Piko, Miziki VY1, DEX, Bruno and Tohoku Zunko," Ruby introduced me. Apart from the white-haired boy and girl with green hair, they all ignored me. "Well, I hope you will all help Gakupo understand the job!" Ruby shoved me into the room and transported away. "Welcome... Gakupo," Miku groaned at me. Oh god. What have I gotten myself into...

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"Zunko, did you add up the percentage increase in activity?" Miku began. Zunko was the enthusiastic-looking girl, the one with green hair. "Yes I have it right here," She pulled some papers from a plastic wallet. "Compared to last month's stats, there has been an estimated 32% increase," Zunko informed Miku. Concern filled all of the faces in the room. "Zunkno, are you sure that's correct?" Miku asked her, dumbfounded. "Im afraid so Miss," Zunko sighed. "Alright. Miziki, what are reports from Mondreiff halls like?" Miku walked over to a woman with long pink hair which faded to a light blue. The woman looked extremely elegant. "Places such as Bellsquare and Knightshire have reported their activity levels as suspiciously low," Miziki said bluntly. So was Whiterest being targeted? "This isn't good..." Miku walked back over to her coffee mug and took a long sip.

"Piko and DEX, have you created a route?" Miku asked. Piko pulled a large piece of paper from his bag. "Yes. Unfortunately, we had to change it from what we would have liked though," Piko began. "Yeah but now we have the new guy," DEX, the man with grey wolf ears pointed to me. Was I going to be known as 'the new guy'? "Oh, that's true!" Piko exclaimed. "Miku, are you planning on changing the groups?" DEX asked Miku, who looked completely out of it. "No way. I had planned for Gakupo to join you and Piko," Miku replied. "Having you go out in such groups small is risky, especially with everything that's going on right now." Miku stood up and walked towards everyone.

"Show me the route," Miku looked at the paper. It had a map on it which was marked in certain places. "You want a group at the tunnels and a group outside of the University," Miku studied the map. She then glanced up at me. "Gakupo, how would you feel being back at the University? Would that be okay?" Miku asked me. "I wouldn't mind," I said quietly. "Alright then. Piko, DEX and Gakupo, you three head to the University. And Gakupo, I don't mind if you explain to them what happened. Miziki, Bruno and Zunko, you three head to the tunnels. I'm also pretty sure that there are defenders there," Miku announced. "This meeting is dismissed! Be where you were assigned," Miku ordered, and with that, we all left the meeting room. "It's nice to meet you Gakupo, my name is Piko," Piko shook my hand. We were still standing outside of the meeting room. "It's nice to meet you too, Piko," I smiled. At least someone here was friendly. I looked over to DEX who looked at me as if he hated me. Which was impossible, I only met him today.

"Newbie, what happened the other day? Nobody has been telling and I am dying to know," DEX said as the three of us, myself, Piko and DEX, made our way towards the University. "O-oh yeah," I muttered. "DEX," Piko scoffed and slapped DEX's arm. "Don't be so insensitive!" Piko groaned. "Gakupo, don't tell us if you're not comfortable," Piko told me. I chuckled at how thoughtful Piko was. "Don't worry, I'll tell you both about what happened. Huh, I suppose I will be telling you more than anyone knows," I laughed. I probably shouldn't have said that as the pair exchanged concerned looks. "Haha..." I chuckled nervously.

I had never tried to remember the situation. But thinking back on it, all I remember is blacking out, talking with someone, waking up and seeing... Kaito. Kaito's concerned, worried face. "Kaito..." I mumbled out loud without realising. Shit! "Oho, who's Kaito?" DEX smirked and nudged me. "SO UH-!" I yelled. "Pfft!" DEX laughed.

"I was patrolling with my old partner, Kagamine Len, and we sensed an extremely dangerous aura. So I told Len to run far behind and use his power to call out leader, Leon. While he was doing that, the one producing the aura pulled me into a barrier," I smirked a little at how invested my new partners had suddenly become. "Uh, yeah. It was completely dark, I couldn't even see my own two feet. The voice started talking to me. I don't remember exactly what they said but I remember that they knew a lot about me and said they were coming for me." I shivered at the memory. "WHAT!?" DEX and Piko yelled at the top of their lungs. "Have you told anyone apart from us this?!" Piko panicked. "Haha... no?" I nervously replied. "Oh my lord... you need a protection team... maybe an aura canceler?" Piko muttered to himself in a frenzy. "Gakupo... an extremely dark aura, one that has the capability to take people into barriers, and you're back where it happened, on patrol!? Are you crazy?" DEX yelled at me. In hindsight, I definitely should have said something to a higher-up about this. I was in a dangerous situation.

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"Alright alright. I will tell Miku about it after patrolling," I said to them. They seemed extremely on edge, so I figured telling them that would calm them a little. It did not. "After!? What if something happens now?!" DEX yelled at me. He looked at Piko to back him up, but his friend just shrugged. "Ugh alright. But if ANYTHING happens, it's your fault." DEX groaned. We all continued down the streets, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Three adult men walking around the streets all day was probably suspicious to others.

"See, nothing happened," I smirked to my partners at the end of our patrol. We had been out for 4 hours and nothing had happened at all. Absolutely nothing. Which was kind of boring but it's fine. I got to know my partners better and they told me about the job. But now I had to return and finally talk to Miku about my experience. "Gakupo..." Piko sighed. "Piko what are you doing?" DEX whispered nervously to Piko. "Gakupo. Are you still planning on telling Miku about the barrier?" Piko asked me. I nodded and didn't say a word. "Then I can't hold it in. Miku had us be your partner so that you would tell us about it and we would have to report it back to her. This case is super important and they couldn't have no information on such a big event!" Piko exclaimed. Woah. I kinda felt betrayed by these two. "I'm sorry Gakupo..." Piko lowered his head. He seemed like an honest guy, so I didn't really mind. "Let's just get back quickly so that he can talk to Miku about it," DEX hurried us along. I don't think that DEX likes me very much...

Miku stared at me wide-eyed. "I can't believe you went back there after you were taken into a barrier and threatened!?" Miku yelled at me. "Gakupo, you could be in so much danger right now. But you might not be the only one," Miku began. "Has this happened to someone else!?" I asked, shocked. "No, no," Miku waved her hands around frantically. "I was meaning your roommate. The Uni kid," She avoided eye contact with me when she said this. "It's a stretch, but when the voice said that it was coming after you..." Miku stopped her sentence. "You know that I have to report everything you told me to Ruby," Miku said to me. I nodded. I knew that people would have to find out about it eventually. "If you don't mind, I will be on my way home now," I said to her. "Just be careful," Miku sighed.

What Miku told me stayed in my mind. 'I was meaning your roommate. The Uni kid,'. She said it was a stretch, but something could still happen to him. I found myself sprinting home and back within 5 minutes. I swung the front door open, panting out of breath. "Kaito!?" I yelled into the room. No reply, just an eerie silence. "Kaito?" My yell was reduced to a mumble. I quietly walked over to his bedroom and knocked. "Hello?" I said while knocking softly on the door. I opened it. "Oh thank fucking god," I uttered in relief. I clutched my heart. Kaito was passed out on his bed. I got such a fright just there! Damn, what Miku said to me will always be in the back of my mind from now on. I noticed he left his laptop on, so I went over to close it. But I noticed what he was searching for on the internet. My heart dropped. 'Midhaven'. Where did he hear about Midhaven!? I looked at his history. The list was; Midhaven, Where is Midhaven, Buses to Midhaven, MIDHAVEN, Whiterest to Midhaven and Is Midhaven near Whiterest? Did I accidentally say something about Midhaven to him?

"Gakupo?" Kaito groaned from his bed. I slammed the lid of his laptop shut. "K-Kaito!" I exclaimed. "What are you doing in my room?" He rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bed. " I- uh- I was just..." He stopped me. "It doesn't matter," He groaned and stood up. I accidentally stared at him. Stared for far too long. All he had on was a baggy jumper and his boxers. "Gakupo?" He waved a hand in front of my absent face. "S-sorry. I'm extremely tired," I said to him. He giggled at me. He then stood up on his tippy toes and pet me on my head!? "You go for a nap, and I will cook dinner for us. I will wake you in an hour," He smiled. I then remembered his clothes. "Are you not cold?" I asked him. He looked down and realised his legs were bare. "Oh, no. But if you're feeling cold, you can nap in my bed if you want," He said and left the room. What. The. Fuck. What the fuck just happened. There is no way he wasn't coming onto me there. And Im not gay! AH, what in the world am I thinking? He's just my roommate! He was just being considerate. That's what I told myself when I took off my shoes and lay in his bed.

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Today was my second day as a protector. I was looking forward to it so I washed up and prepared breakfast. "Gakupo? What are you doing up at 7 am?" Kaito staggered through to the kitchen from his bedroom, half asleep. "Sorry, did I wake you?" I apologised. "It's fine," He walked up behind me. "Are you starting work early?" He asked me. "Yeah I start at eight from now on," I told him. Although, I probably should have told him earlier. "Oh I see," Kaito grabbed a seat at the island. "What is your job? Are they allowed to change your working hours so suddenly like that?" He asked. There's that question again. 'What's your job?'. I understand that he wants to know, but surely he has taken the hint that I'm not going to tell him. "We are just going in for morning meetings is all," I replied vaguely. "Mhm," Kaito groaned. He laid his head on the countertop. "Kaito, just go back to bed," I chuckled. "Noo, I'm awake now," He replied. I chuckled.

"Morning," Big Al at reception welcomed me. "Morning Al," I replied and made my way to Mikus's meeting room. On my way there, I bumped into Len, who I hadn't seen in a couple of days. I know it may not seem like a long time, but Len and I used to be tied at the hip! "Morning Len," I said to him with a smile. "Morning," He mumbled and walked right past me. That hurt me a little. We were the closest of friends a couple of days ago. "Gakupo!" I voice called from behind me. It was Zunko, running towards me. "Good morning Gakupo!" She smiled brightly. "Morning Zunko," I replied with a smile. "I heard about, you know what, from Miss Miku..." Zunko began. "Oh! Yeah... I apologise but I would rather not talk about that," I said awkwardly. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I was being insensitive..." Zunko apologised frantically. "No no! Don't worry about it," I tried to calm her. "How was your patrol yesterday?" I asked her to swiftly change the subject. "Oh, it was alright. Apart from Bruno and Miziki arguing with the defenders about whose unit is more important, nothing happened," Zunko giggled. "Haha, sounds intense," I replied. We were now outside of the meeting room. "Ladies first," I opened the door for Zunko.

"Same areas and groups as yesterday. You're now dismissed," Miku announced. Zunkos group left the room first, which was perfect for Miku. "You three," She pointed to myself, Piko and DEX. "After I spoke to Ruby about Gakupo, she wanted to assign a professional protector to your group, but I managed to talk her out of it. If anything, anything, happens, someone needs to let me know immediately," Miku warned us. I was thankful she managed to talk Ruby out of assigning us a protector as I would have felt embarrassed, like I needed a babysitter.

"Hey what's going on over there?" DEX pointed to a crowd of people. We had almost made it to our patrol route when we noticed a large crowd of people yelling. The three of us ran over to the commotion. "What's going on?" I asked one of the bystanders. "That guy," The man pointed to a man on the ground. "He just collapsed on the ground, then started making weird noises. It's like a ghost possessed him," The man stood back a little. I thanked him and followed DEX and Piko through the crowd. "Sir, are you alright?" Piko knelt down to ask the man. "ProTECtoRS" The man snarled. "DEX! Gakupo! It's a dorcha!" Piko exclaimed. The crowd of people were a huge distraction to us, but how would we get rid of them? I looked away from Piko and DEX for one second, but when I turn back around, they are carrying the middle-aged man towards the woods. I was shocked. "We have it from here, thanks everyone," I said to the crowd and ran towards Piko and DEX.

"Piko... are you sure this is a dorcha?" DEX examined the man. DEX used his powers to keep the man restrained to the ground. "From the brief examination I did, that's what it looked like," Piko replied. DEX stared at the man for a second. "Alright. Gakupo, do you know how to extract beings from people?" DEX asked me. I shook my head. "They gave you the job without teaching you how to do it?" DEX scoffed. "It's alright, we can show you the now," Piko grabbed my arm and had me place my hand on the man's chest. "All you have to do is imagine your pulling out its soul. Grab it and pull. If you feel it resisting, that means it is. Just keep pulling with all your strength," Piko instructed. "DEX, call Meiko from defence!" Piko ordered. I did what Piko instructed and imagined I was pulling the soul from someone, and it worked! I kept pulling until the being had completely separated from the man. "Now to exterminate it, you have to..." Piko stopped. "GET BACK!" He yelled and pulled me down to the ground.

"Piko whats wro-" DEX began but quickly ducked to the ground as the being stared rapidly shooting dark goop everywhere. "Nobody touch that!" DEX yelled. "Protect the man!" Piko yelled and dragged me away from the being and towards the unconscious man on the ground. "Gakupo, you call Miku!" DEX ordered me. I nodded and wasted no time in phoning Miku, using my magic. "Miku! There is an out-of-control being here!" I shouted. She then appeared right behind me. "What's going on!?" She yelled. I quickly explained to her the situation.

"That's not a dorcha!" Miku yelled at us. "Don't kill it!" She ordered. The being made eye contact with me. I felt its black beady eyes burning holes through me. In no time at all, it zoomed past me and snapped my arm. "GAKUPO!" Miku screamed. The being was gone for now. It was all silent. "Shit! Are you alright!?" DEX held my arm gently. "Yeah- ack- it's fine..." I lied. Holy shit this hurt like hell. "Don't worry, Meiko is on her way as we speak," DEX said to me. What's happening? I was convinced DEX didn't like me. "I'm here!" I heard a woman yell. This must have been Meiko. She ran over to us and immediately started examining my arm. "My name is Haigo Meiko, it's nice to meet you," She said to me, still examining my arm. "Im Kamui Gakupo," I mumbled. "I can take away most of the pain, but I can't heal this instantly. However, I can speed up the process to 3 days." She informed me. Woah. Healing magic is on another level.

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It was approaching 11 pm when I arrived home. Miku ordered me to sit in her meeting room and complete a health and safety contract, which is fair enough after what happened today. As I was walking home, I started to think about how secretive I have been around Kaito lately. Although I felt guilty, it was the right thing to do. Keep him in the dark. It was for his own safety after all.

"Im home," I announced as I opened the front door. "Welcome," Kaito groaned from his seat in the kitchen. "What are you doing over there?" I asked him. "Absolutely nothing," He sighed. He then looked towards me and gasped. "What the hell!?" He ran over to me. I was expecting this. Meiko put my arm in a cast after she found it was broken. "Gakupo what happened!?" My roommate yelled at me. "Yeah..." I muttered. "God! I wish you would phone me and I would have went to the hospital with you!" He paced the room. "What did you do?!" He stood in front of me. I had actually thought of a story to tell him already when I was walking home. "It might sound pathetic, but me and some of my work friends were near a ditch and I accidentally fell down and broke my arm!" I lied. Now that I said it out loud, it sounded extremely fake, but Kaito believed most of the lies I told him anyway. "Wow now way." He said in the most monotonous voice ever. What? "Kaito?" I muttered. He looked fed up.

"How do you keep up with it all?" He asked me quietly, still clutching my broken arm. "What do you mean?" I chuckled. "With all the lies. All you ever tell me is lie after lie after lie!" He looked up at me. "K-Kaito what do you mean?" I stuttered. "I know absolutely fuck all about you, yet you... you know every detail of my life. Why!? It's so unfair!" Kaito exclaimed. I noticed tears forming in his eyes. Oh my god, what is happening? "Kaito... stop this. What makes you think Im lying to you?" I placed my free hand on his head. "It's not just the lies," He continued. "You never tell me anything either. What's your job? Where are you 95% of the day? Who were all of those people?" He yelled. I was a little shocked. I could never imagine Kaito being so confrontational, but here we are! I was ready to reply, but Kaito stopped me. "Just don't say anything. It will probably be another stupid lie anyway. You must think I'm fucking stupid to believe half of the shit you tell me," Kaito mumbled before walking away from me and slamming his bedroom door behind him. "I'm... I'm so sorry...".

I got up the next morning. Not a word from Kaito. I got ready and hesitantly left for work. I was considering telling Kaito everything once I got home. My powers. My job. Midhaven. Beings. All of it. After everything, I think he deserves to know. He is right too. I know almost every detail of Kaitos life, yet I am nothing more than a stranger to him. I walked into the meeting room. "Morning," I groaned. Everyone in the room stared at me. "Is your arm okay?" Miku asked me. "Yeah, I can't even feel it," I answered. "We were just going over stats, take a seat," She said. I sat next to DEX, who kept looking over at me. More specifically my arm. "People from the night shift claim there was a 67% peak in the eastern area of Whiterest. So stay vigilant." Miku informed. "Miku, isn't 67% a lot?" Miziki spoke up. "It is. And that is why everyone in Mondreiff halls are working their hardest to figure out the source," Miku explained. "Gakupo, don't you live in the middle of east Whiterest?" DEX added. "Yeah... I do," I said quietly. "Be on your guard, even in your own home," Miku said to me. I nodded. "Before I dismiss you, Ruby dropped off pamphlets that she wants everyone to have," Miku pointed to a table that was next to the door. "Pick one up before you leave. That's all," She picked up her mug and very audibly sipped her coffee.

Chapter Text

"Good work today," Piko said to DEX and me. "Well, considering nothing happened," DEX mumbled. "Whatever, I will see you both tomorrow," Piko smiled and ran off. "Gakupo, is everything okay with you?" DEX asked me. "Yeah, my arm is healing quite-" He stopped me. "I don't mean your arm. You usually drone on and on about your roommate," DEX said to me. I felt my face heating up. I never realise that I talked about Kaito that much. That's kind of embarrassing. "He has been asking me about my work and what I'm doing, and he has noticed I have been lying..." I explained. DEX looked at me for a second. "Let me stay at yours tonight," DEX told me. Huh? No way this guy just invited himself over. "A-Alright?" I chuckled a little. "Lead the way," DEX said.

"This is it," I said outside the apartment complex. "Nice place," DEX mumbled. I led him to my apartment and unlocked the door. "Kaito?" I yelled into the room. "Is he not home?" DEX asked me. "That happened yesterday and I found him in his bed," I said and closed the door behind DEX. "I'll go check on him, just take a seat," I said and left to go find Kaito. I know we aren't on great terms, but that's no reason to ignore me. "Kaito," I called out as I opened his bedroom door. I fully expected him to be sprawled across his bed. But he wasn't there. I looked over at his desk. Not there. I knocked on the bathroom door, but it was unlocked and nobody was there. "Gakupo? Is your roommate not here?" DEX shouted through to me. "No... and it is unlike him to stay out so late," I said, starting to panic. I checked my room but he wasn't there. And he wasn't in the spare room either. Full panic mode kicked in.

"DEX, I don't know where he is!" I exclaimed to my friend. "Calm down. Try phoning him," DEX said. He was right. I pulled out my phone and selected Kaitos contact. It rang and rang. Then it went to voice mail. Although DEX had never met Kaito, he looked as if he was panicking too. "There's nothing we can do unless you know of any of his friends?" DEX looked at me. Yohio. Kaito always talks about the drama he gets from Yohio. "There's a boy called Yohio," I started. DEX looked at me. "Yohio Loid?!" DEX grinned. "Must be!" I smiled, thinking that we had a lead as to where the hell my roommate was. "I have his number in my contacts, I will phone him right now," He quickly opened his phone. As soon as it started ringing, Yohio immediately answered. "DEX, how have you been?" Yohio said into the phone. "Hi Yohio, do you know where Kaito..." DEX stopped and looked at me. "Shion," I whispered. "Do you know where Kaito Shion is?" DEX asked. "No, sorry bro, IA told me that Kaito wasn't in any of his classes today either," Yohio said. There is no way Kaito didn't go to class. "And I have noticed that he has been acting distant recently," Yohio added. "I see, thanks Yoh," DEX replied. "No problem DEX. I hope you find Kaito soon. I'm worried about him too," Yohio sighed.

"Maybe he's at a relative's place?" DEX suggested. "Maybe. I never hear him talk about his family though," I said. "Let's check his room for a phone number or address anyway," DEX said. I showed him the way to Kaitos room and we got to searching. "There isn't very much in this room," DEX pointed out. He was right. Kaitos room was bare. I thought that Uni students would want posters and TVs in their rooms. But Kaito didn't want any of that. I remember mentioning it to him one time and he just shrugged, giggled at me and continued with our other conversation. After 10 minutes of searching, there was nothing. "I'm sorry Gakupo, there's nothing we can do right now," DEX sighed. "Let's get some sleep and ditch work tomorrow until we find your roommate," DEX said with determination. The smart thing was to get some sleep, but with Kaito missing, I don't know if I can...

Chapter Text

I somehow managed to fall asleep last night. Although it was on the couch. When I sat up, DEX was fast asleep on the other couch. I checked my watch. It was only half-six. I was feeling super anxious. I ran through to Kaitos room to see if he had come back, but to no avail, the room was empty. "Damn it," I sighed. "Not there huh?" DEX asked from behind me. I turned to him and shook my head. "What if he didn't just run away? What if something has happened to him?" I turned back around and looked around Kaitos room. "It doesn't matter because we will find him," DEX placed a hand on my shoulder. He was good at calming me, which was totally unexpected. "Let's walk around and ask people if they have seen him," DEX suggested. I agreed with him and we left the apartment to look for my roommate.

"Is there anyone who he would see every day?" DEX asked me as we walked around the neighbourhood. I thought for a second. "Kaito usually grabs his lunch from the supermarket each morning," I said. DEX nodded grabbed my hand and pulled me across the street to the little shop. "Ah! Morning Gakupo!" The old man at the till welcomed me. "Hi Mr Cooper, have you seen Kaito recently?" I asked, getting straight to the point. "No, he didn't come to buy his lunch this morning or yesterday. Is he alright?" Mr Cooper asked me. I shot DEX a concerned look. "We can't find him," I admitted to the shopkeeper. "Oh, dear..." Mr Cooper muttered. "If I left my phone number with you, could you call me if you see him?" I placed my business card down on the counter. "Of course Gakupo. I hope you find Kaito soon," Mr Cooper frowned. I felt guilty for burdening the shopkeeper but the more people who know, the easier it will be to find Kaito.

"Where to next?" DEX asked me. "I uh-" I stopped. "You sense that?" I asked DEX. He nodded. It was an aura. A dangerous one. "Gakupo, could this be..." DEX whispered. I knew what he meant. And it was. It was the same aura as the one who took me into the barrier. "Gakupo, if they are after you, we have to get away from the streets," DEX pulled me towards the woods. As soon as we started running, I could feel the aura following us. "Shit..." DEX muttered. After 3 minutes straight of running, we made it to a clearing in the woods. "How do we stop it?" DEX asked me. I just shrugged at him. "Maybe they want to talk to me again?" I said but DEX looked at me as if I were stupid. "So you are going to let them take you into a barrier, where you could be killed, in case they want to talk to you?!" DEX scoffed at me.

It was too late. This was the same feeling as last time. I was being taken into a pitch-black barrier. The last thing I heard was DEX yelling my name. "Kamui Gakupo." The deep distorted voice growled my name. This time, I was ready to shout back at them. "Who are you!?" I yelled into nothingness. "You have become chattier since we last met," The voice mocked. I was infuriated. All I was focused on at the moment was finding my roommate. "The one you are searching for," The voice began. How did they know? Wait. Do they know where Kaito is!? "Where is he!?" I yelled aggressively. "I know where he is." The voice snarled. I should have fucking guessed. "That boy is a lot more special than you could ever imagine," The voice cackled. What did they mean by that? Why was Kaito special? "You better not have hurt him!" I yelled. "Better come save him before I do," The voice laughed and slowly started to fade away. I felt myself regaining consciousness like last time. Once again, tons of people from Midhaven had surrounded me. Except this time, Kaito wasn't here.

"Gakupo!" Piko yelled into my face as he noticed me waking up. I sat up and took in my surroundings. We were still in the clearing that DEX had dragged me to when we were being chased. "Kamui Gakupo," Kiyoteru kneeled down. "Willing to talk about it this time?" He tapped his pen against his notebook. I nodded. "Excellent," Kiyoteru grinned.

"DEX and I were searching for my roommate," I began but was rudely interrupted. "That blue-haired kid from last time? Whys is that important?" Kiyoteru scoffed. "It is! So listen!" I snapped at him. He seemed taken aback by my reaction, which boosted my confidence. These people wanted information that only I had. "While we were searching, we noticed a dangerous aura. When we ran, It chased us," I was interrupted again. "Is this 'we' yourself and DEX?" Kiyoteru asked. "I think that's pretty obvious," I groaned. "We made it into this clearing and I was almost immediately taken into a barrier. The voice knew what DEX and I were doing. And they had who we were searching for," I stopped. Talking about some stranger kidnapping my roommate was not an easy subject. "Wait! This person took your roommate!?" DEX yelled. "Gakupo, this is serious," Ruby kneeled at the other side of me. "Avanna! Call in the MPD (Midhaven Police Department)!" Kiyoteru ordered. "I'm not finished," I said in a mumble. Kiyoteru heard me. "Go on," He said. "They said that Kaito was more special than I could ever imagine..." I told them. Kiyoteru looked at me confused. "Do you know what they mean by that?" He asked me. I shot him a dirty look, and he knew immediately that I didn't.

***

"GAKUPO!" I yelled over and over again. I didn't know where I was. That man, the one who was in my bedroom, he is the one who took me here. But all there was here was complete darkness. "Gakupo..." I sobbed into my sleeve. "My dear boy, nobody can save you from here," A hand touched my face. I pulled back. "Fuck off," I cried. Gakupo, please help me...

Chapter Text

I got angry at Gakupo again... I didn't mean to, I kind of just snapped. I was so worried about him! He came home with a broken arm and didn't tell me! It just shows how he sees me I guess. He prefers hanging out with his work friends. He doesn't feel like he needs to tell me anything. Was it because I was younger than him? It just hurts me I guess. I lay in my bed, relaying all of the things I said to him and what he said to me. I felt so stupid and I just wish I could undo it all. I felt a cold breeze hit me which was odd because I'm sure that I closed my windows. I got up out of bed, shivering with the cold as all I was wearing was my school jumper and my underwear. It wasn't this cold 2 seconds ago... I walked over to shut the window, but it wouldn't budge. I pulled it with all my strength but it never moved an inch. Usually in situations like this, I would call Gakupo through to help me, but after the way I was talking to him earlier, he probably didn't want to see me.

As I was trying my hardest to pull the window shut, I heard my door creak open and let the light from the hallway in. Had Gakupo come to help me? "Gakupo I-" I turned around. There was nobody there. "Hello?" I walked over to the door to go and close it, but I was pulled away from it and the door slammed shut on its own. Someone had grabbed me! "Who's there!?" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I stumbled onto the ground. I saw a shadowy figure glide around my room. "Get out of my room!" I yelled at them. They stopped in their tracks. "Are you Kamui Gakupo's roommate?" The voice growled. "Who are you!?" I yelled again. Im surprised that Gakupo couldn't hear me... Or maybe he was just ignoring me? "Kaito Shion," The voice cooed. My heart stopped. Who was this and how did they know my name!?

"I pity you," The figure landed right in front of me. They were extremely tall but super skinny. "W-what do you mean?" I took a step back from them. "Your roommate, he's a liar," The man giggled. "Hey, who do you-!" I began yelling but the man stopped me by covering my mouth with his hand. "Don't lie to me Kaito Shion. I have been watching Gakupo Kamui for days now. He never fell down a ditch, a man didn't chase him to your school. And I think you already knew that," They whispered into my ear. It sent shivers down my back. I knew that they were trying to get into my head, I kept reminding myself that, but... it was working. I pulled his hand off of me and pushed them away. "So you stalk Gakupo?" I hissed at him. What a creep. What he said next made it even creepier. "Yup," They chuckled as if he was proud of it. "Hmm," He began flying around my room again. "I could tell you so much about your dear roommate. His job, his friends, his... secrets," He smirked. "Are you going to tell me?" I asked feeling a little excited. A creepy stalker isn't the one I wanted to hear it from, but it's better than not knowing at all. "I could tell you. But I need to go home now..." The man held my face in his hand. Ew. "Why don't you come with me! I can tell you everything once I get home!" He grabbed my hands and lifted them up. "I'm not following you to your house," I scoffed. Why does everyone think I'm a dumbass?

"You're not going to come with me?" He started playing with my hair. "No! I don't even know your name!" I yelled at him. I picked up a shoe off of my floor and threw it at him. But it stopped in mid-air! "Tut tut tut Kaito," He shook his head. The shoe dropped to the floor with a loud bang. Gakupo must have heard that, right? "GA-" I began calling out my roommate's name but the man quickly stopped me. "You're getting on my nerves Kaito," The man took a sharp inhale. "This is the last time Im going to ask you nicely. You come round to my place, and nobody gets hurt," The man snarled at me. I could tell that the man was losing patience, but he didn't look very scary. Apart from literally floating off of the ground, he looked like an average guy. I definitely was underestimating him. The last thing I remember was the man covering my face and everything went pitch black.

Chapter Text

" As protectors, we have failed our job." Ruby sighed, sounding disappointed in herself. "Gakupo, do you know what the being wants from you?" Ruby asked me. I looked at her confused. "Why would they want anything from me?" I asked her. She looked at me as if I was stupid. "They keep taking you into barriers and they kidnapped someone to get your attention," Ruby explained to me. That makes so much sense that it made me a little angry. Why weren't they just blunt with me and tell me what they wanted? To my right, I saw the defence leader approaching me. "Greetings Kamui Gakupo," She smiled sweetly at me. "My name is Avanna. I am the Defense Leader. Would you mind if we investigated your apartment, assuming that that is where your roommate was kidnapped from?" She asked me softly. "S-sure I don't mind," I nodded. The way she made me feel was... weird. It was as if she made everything calm and tranquil.

"This is his room here," I opened the door to Kaitos bedroom to the large group of Mondreiff halls employees. There were at least 20 of them all investigating the bedroom. I saw that DEX had sat in the kitchen and was chatting with Piko. I decided to join them. "Hey Gakupo," Piko greeted me. I smiled in return. "Not been a great couple of days for you huh?" DEX chuckled. I let out a small laugh. He was right though. Nothing has gone right for me recently. The three of us sat quietly for a minute. "Meet me outside" I jumped out of my seat. Who whispered that in my ear? "Gakupo?" Piko looked at me. "Did you's not hear that?" I asked DEX and Piko. They both shook their heads. DEX was looking at me as if I was insane. "H-huh..." I muttered. Should I go outside as they asked me to? I'm curious now... "Hey, I'll be back up in two minutes," I announced to my friends. "Where are you going?" DEX asked me. "Just going outside for some air," I said before standing up and leaving my apartment. 

"Hello?" I wandered around the grass outside my apartment. My initial thought was that an investigator wanted to talk to me. I walked around for about five minutes, but nobody was there. "Ugh," I groaned and began to make my way back inside. "Kamui Gakupo," A tall, skinny man wearing all black approached me from behind. He had pure white hair and deep red eyes. "Who are you!?" I yelled at him. "Relax," The man hushed me. "Not so loud," He chuckled and led me towards the woods behind my apartment. "Were you the one who asked me to come out here?" I asked him as he dragged me behind him. "Yours truly," He giggled. I didn't know what it was about him, but he creeped me out. He finally let go of me and slowly stopped walking. "So peaceful here, huh," He smiled and stared into the large pond across from us. "My name is-" I began introducing myself to the stranger, but he stopped me. "I know, I know. You are Kamui Gakupo. I know the name all too well," The man groaned. "Have we met?" I asked him nervously. I could confidently say that I have never met this creepy man in my life. He stopped to think. "Sorta" he grinned. 

"So, why did you call me here?" I asked him. He stood uncomfortably close to me. "I have seen all of the commotion in your apartment," He sighed. I stared at him awkwardly. "Yeah- uh- my roommate went missing," I told him. He then started laughing like a maniac. What the fuck is wrong with him!? When someone tells you that someone they know has gone missing, you don't laugh! "Ah yes. Im sure you would be glad to know that Mr Shion is constantly yelling out your name," The man chuckled. I stared him dead in the eyes. It was him! He is the evil being! I ran up to him and grabbed him by his jumper. "Where the fuck is he?" I growled in his face. I was so angry. This man was basically mocking me by showing his face in front of me. The man then started hovering above the ground. "I will be here at 11 pm tonight. I will discuss my demands with you then," He winked at me before vanishing before my eyes.

I ran back upstairs to my apartment at the speed of light. "DEX, Piko!" I yelled to the two men. They stood up and ran over to me, sensing my urgency. "Gakupo, you alright?" Piko asked me. "I met the being who took Kaito," I told them. They exchanged worried looks between themselves. "What happened?" DEX asked in a calm tone and led me outside of the apartment to keep our conversation private. "He told me to meet him in the same location in the woods tonight at 11 pm so he could discuss his demands with me..." I explained in a quiet voice.

Chapter Text

Gakupo stood outside in the darkness. "Hello!?" He yelled out. That man said he would meet Gakupo at 11 pm that night to discuss his demands so that Gakupo could get his roommate back. Gakupo heard a sudden bang from behind him which immediately made him turn round. It was him. "Greetings, Gakupo," The man smirked. Gakupo got pissed whenever the man would laugh or be smug but he tried his best to keep his calm. "Are you going to tell me what you want now?" Gakupo mumbled. The man pouted at Gakupo. "You're no fun Gakupo," He sighed. "However, I shall tell you my demands. After you complete them, I will return Kaito to you," The man sat down on the damp grass. "Sit," He pat the grass next to him. Gakupo screwed his face up. He was not going to sit on the grass and get all muddy. He shook his head at the man. "Suit yourself," The man groaned. "I want you to bring a healer to my manor. The best healer you can find." The man got strangely serious. All the other times Gakupo had interacted with the man he had been irritating and childish. Now he was deadly serious. "Nobody apart from the healer is to find out where you are going and what you are doing. If you do tell anyone, and I will know, I will immediately kill Kaito." He explained. Even just hearing those words sent a chill down Gakupo's back. Gakupo nodded aggressively in understanding. "Good. I stay in Olc Manor at the end of the path up the mountain. If you aren't there with a healer within two weeks, consider your roommate dead." The man threatened. Gakupo grit his teeth together. "What is your name..." Gakupo growled. He was so full of anger. The man who has his roommate is standing right in front of him, yet there is nothing he can do. "Mine? Im Shiro. Don't forget it," Shiro said before disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. "Shiro."

"A healer, a healer..." Gakupo paced around his bedroom. He was trying to think of a healer he could bring. Someone who he knew could face danger because Gakupo knew that this journey wasn't going to be smooth sailing. "Len!" Gakupo exclaimed. Gakupo remembered that his friend Len had been training to become a healer a couple of months ago but gave it up so he could train in combat. He gave up healing despite being amazing at it. Len had expertise in combat and healing. It was perfect. Gakupo then also remembered the woman, Meiko, who had healed his broken arm. She was amazing at her job. Gakupo wanted to bring her along too. He had made up his mind. He was going to bring the pair with him to 'Olc Manor' and save Kaito.

"Leeeen," Gakupo banged on the other man's door. It was 8 in the morning and Gakupo was determined to leave as soon as possible. "Who the hell is it!" Len swung the door open. "Oh," Len muttered. "How can I help you?" Len groaned. "Morning," Gakupo barged into Len's apartment. "Nice place," Gakupo sat down on the couch. "I need to talk to you Len," Gakupo stared up at his friend who was still at the front door. "About?" Len sat across from him. "I'm not sure if you have heard, but Kaito has gone missing," Gakupo explained. Len went from grumpy to shocked very quickly. "You mean... that university kid I met the other week there?" Len asked quietly. Gakupo nodded. "He was kidnapped. And the man who took him told me his demands last night." Gakupo sighed. Len got up and sat right next to Gakupo on the couch. "Shiro, the man who took Kaito, wants me to bring a healer to his manor. And I wanted to bring you since you know a bit of healing and are training in combat," Gakupo explained. Len looked Gakupo in the eyes. "I'm glad you came to me for help. I promise you we will get Kaito back." Len said with the most determined look in his eyes. He was ready to save Gakupos roommate.

Gakupo explained to Len that he also wanted to bring Meiko along so the pair visited Mondreiff Halls to see if they could find her. "Wow I can't believe I am in Mondreiff halls..." Len exclaimed as they walked around the halls. Gakupo rolled his eyes at his friend's amazement. "Excuse me," Gakupo walked up to a guard who was standing outside of the library where Gakupo did his entry test in. "How can I help?" The guard responded. Len eventually found his way behind Gakupo. "Would you perhaps know where Meiko is?" Gakupo asked him. "If you mean Meiko Haigo, the Defense Leader for Whiterest, she is in the library studying," The guard explained. Gakupos face lit up. "Thank you so much, sir," Gakupo grinned before grabbing Len's wrist and pulling him into the library. "Gakupo... this library is huge..." Len groaned to Gakupo. "You're right," Gakupo sighed. "Kamui Gakupo?" A woman with a massive pile of books walked in front of the pair. The books were covering her face but Gakupo remembered her voice. "Miku?" Gakupo took enough books from the pile so that they could see her face. "Hey!" She smiled. "Spending your day off studying?" She asked him. "No, my friend Len and I are here looking for Meiko," Gakupo explained. "Oh, the pro healer?" Miku giggled. "She's just up there studying some weird language," Miku pointed up to the third floor of the library. "Thanks, Miku! I will see you later," Gakupo ran off again, dragging Len behind him once again.

They finally found her. Meiko Haigo. "Excuse me, Miss Haigo?" Gakupo tapped the woman on her shoulder. She was fully immersed in her book. Len rudely raised his pointer finger at Meiko and shot mini bursts of air at her to get her attention. The pages of her book started fluttering around and made her lose her place. "W-what the hell!" She turned around and yelled at the two men. "I am so sorry Miss Haigo!" Gakupo apologised. As he noticed Len just standing there, he grabbed the back of his head and forced it down to make him apologise to the woman. "Ugh, how can I help you?" She sat back down in her seat and resumed reading and scribbling some notes down. Gakupo sat next to her. "It's extremely confidential but I need your help," Gakupo whispered to her. That seemed to grab her attention. "Is everything alright?" She whispered back. Gakupo explained everything to her. From Kaito going missing to Shiro's demands. She was shocked, to say the least. "You want me to come along as a healer?" She asked. Gakupo nodded. "And who is this rude boy?" She pointed to Len who seemed to be loitering around the library. "That's Len. He is one of my most trusted friends." Gakupo smiled at the man who was clearly irritating everyone around him. Gakupo thought it was a little bit funny. "Alright. I will accompany you. I will do whatever I can to get your roommate back safely." Meiko said with determination. Gakupo was glad that he found such helpful people.

" So where exactly is 'Olc Manor'?" Len sat down across from Gakupo and Meiko. This question got the pair. "Huh..." Meiko started scribbling words down on a piece of paper. "I dunno at the top of a mountain?" Gakupo groaned. "If I am remembering correctly, the word 'olc' is Gaelic for bad. Which doesn't exactly sound cheery," Meiko chuckled nervously. "That doesn't really help," Len whined at Meiko. "It does actually. The only people in Midhaven who used Gaelic were a group of researchers. They were known as the 'Bad Dogs'. One of the researchers, An, went missing one day and the team disbanded a couple of weeks after. That was about 3 or 4 years ago now," Meiko explained. "Okay? I still don't see how that helps," Len mumbled. "You're quite rude arent you," Meiko rolled her eyes. "The researchers bought a manor on top of Whistlewood Mountains but never named it so that they would never receive interruptions. One of the researchers, Toya Aoyagi, who works at Mondreiff Halls, usually never talks about his experience with the research team but he did mention that they named the manor once they left," Meiko exclaimed. Gakupo stared at her feeling a spark of hope that they might know where the manor is. "If the manor is at the top of a mountain, is named something in Gaelic and has a new occupant, I think we have our place," Meiko grinned, proud of her deduction. Len clapped sarcastically. "Are you suggesting that we go up Whistlewood Mountain?" He scoffed. "We need to." Gakupo stood up from his seat. " We go once we have made suitable preparations," Meiko slammed her book shut. "It is currently 10:24 am. I want you both to make preparations you think are suitable and meet outside of Tonio's shop and 11:30 am. We will depart from there," Meiko ordered. Although this was Gakupos 'mission', Meiko might just have taken over as team leader.

"Len, you ready?" Gakupo asked the yellow-haired man. Len slowly turned around laughing. "Let's get this over with," Len groaned and walked straight past Gakupo and out of the door. The pair transported themselves to Midhaven once they had gotten all of their supplies ready. Meiko told them that a journey up Whistlewood Mountain usually takes 6-7 hours, and that's if you know where you're going. In the case of these three, the chances of them getting lost up the mountain are high. "Gakupo, do you still work at Tonios?" Len suddenly asked as they walked towards the shop together. "Of course. Tonio has just given me lots of time off due to everything that has happened. It seems that a lot of people in Midhaven have heard about it..." Gakupo sighed. He felt embarrassed about it. Especially when everyone knows. "Is that Meiko there?" Len pointed to a woman in red outside of Tonio's shop. But she was with someone else. "Maybe they're just chatting?" Gakupo nervously laughed. Len rolled his eyes and ran towards them. "Hey Meiko," Len crossed his arms. "Gakupo, Len, you're both finally here!" She exclaimed. "Whos this?" Gakupo asked bluntly. "Yes! This is none other than Toya Aoyagi!" She shook the young man's shoulders aggressively. "It's nice to meet you," Toya politely bowed. "Why's he here?" Len inspected Toya. "Toya is one of the researchers? The one I told yous about?" Meiko groaned at Lens's ignorance. "So he's coming with us?" Gakupo asked. "Ah- I guess It's not my place to invite people huh..." Meiko said quietly. "No, no. It's alright. This way we won't get completely lost," Gakupo chuckled. "Is everyone ready to go then?" Gakupo looked at his travelling companions. The three replied with a very unenthusiastic yes.

"So Toya," Len began. The group of four were walking through a wooded area behind Mondreiff halls. Toya silently looked up at the mention of his name. "Do you know why we are going on this adventure?" Len asked. Toya shook his head. "Meiko told me that it wasn't her place to tell me," Toya explained. Meiko covered her face in embarrassment but Gakupo looked over at her and smiled. "Uh, we're going up here by my request. Someone kidnapped my roommate and demanded we bring a healer to his house so that I could get my roommate back," Gakupo explained to Toya. "Oh, I have heard about the missing person," Toya replied. "I was filling out paperwork to do with it. I assume you signed a silence contract?" Toya said. Gakupo looked at the young man. "A silence contract? I haven't signed any contracts," Gakupo stopped walking. "Are you sure? I had filed a silence contract that was signed by you a couple of days ago," Toya also stopped walking. "Did you see what the terms were?" Meiko asked. "We aren't meant to read documents but I actually did in this case. It said that the signatory agrees to never talk about the events mentioned below. The events mentioned were the signatory being taken into barriers, someone called Kaito Shion being kidnapped who I assume is your roommate and Midhaven PD inspecting the signatory's apartment," Toya explained. The trio were shocked. "Who in the world forged a silence contract!" Len yelled. Meiko stood in front of Gakupo. "Listen. There is nothing we can do about it right now. We are on our way to save your roommate. That is way more important than a lousy contract which you didn't even sign." Meiko spoke in a calm tone to Gakupo. Gakupo nodded and continued walking to the foot of the mountain.

"And then apparently his girlfriend snitched on him about it. That's what Rin told me anyway," Len chatted Toya's ear off. The pair seemed to be getting on well. Well, Len seemed to talk and Toya would silently listen. "We are here..." Meiko muttered. The four had made it to the foot of the mountain after an hour of walking. "Toya, do you know the way up?" Gakupo asked the quiet young man. "Of course. Kohane and I would descend the mountain every day to collect materials from the town." Toya explained. "However beware. There are many creatures up the mountain such as trolls, whistle goats and faeries, so be careful," Toya warned everyone. "There are a lot more trees than I thought there would be," Len groaned. "Well, nobody has tended to this place in years, so it being overgrown is inevitable," Meiko explained. "Meiko, I know I am the one that Shiro spoke to, but do you know why he might want a healer?" Gakupo asked quietly. "I was actually considering asking you the same question," Meiko chuckled. "Sorry, I don't know," Meiko apologised. "AHHHH!" Len screamed and jumped onto Gakupos shoulders. "Len!? What is it!?" Gakupo yelled. Len pointed down to the ground at a tiny little troll. The others stared at the little troll. "What did it do, bite your ankles?" Meiko scoffed. Toya picked the troll up off of the ground. "I know I told you to watch out for them, but trolls are practically harmless," Toya petted the troll with his finger. "It's kinda cute," Meiko smiled. Len climbed down off of Gakupos shoulders. "Len, are you sure you don't want me to carry you up? Y'know to protect you from the other harmless creatures?" Gakupo mocked the younger man. Len rolled his eyes.

"Toyaaaa, are we almost there yet??" Len groaned and he pulled himself up the path. "We are actually. We are about 5 minutes from the top. We are lucky though. It's just before sunset and this mountain is extremely dangerous at dark," Toya explained. "Oh great," Len whined. "Gakupo, how are you feeling?" Meiko asked him. Gakupo had been fairly quiet towards the end of their trek. "I-Im alright," Gakupo stuttered. "I'll be honest with you all. Kaito and I weren't on the best terms when I last saw him. Im just praying that he's alright and that I will have a chance to apologise," Gakupo frowned. Len hit Gakupo across his arm. "Gakupo. Stop being so negative. Everything will work out. We will get a healer to Shiro and you will get Kaito back safe and sound." Len assured him. "Although I don't enjoy it, I have to agree with Len. I'm almost positive that Kaito will be alright," Meiko smiled and held Gakupo's shoulder. "Thanks, everyone," Gakupo held his head up. "Let's do this," Gakupo grinned as they reached the end of the path at the top of the mountain.

In the distance, they could all see the outline of a giant house. Olc Manor. "We are so close," Gakupo mumbled to himself. "Uh, do we know who that is?" Len pointed to a tall skinny figure that stood not far from them. "Shit, that's Shiro..." Gakupo told them all. Everyone stood backwards every so slightly. Shiro then disappeared only to reappear right in front of Gakupo. "So glad you could make it before I served dinner," Shiro welcomed him. "I see you brought more than one person?" Shiro looked at the rest of the group. "No matter. As long as one of them can heal my precious Jo-" Shiro stopped in the middle of his sentence. "Ahem. I'll be waiting on you." Shiro said before disappearing into a cloud of black smoke. "The healer is for someone else," Meiko muttered. "Seems so," Gakupo replied. "Let's continue," Gakupo started walking at a fast pace towards the manor. Len who had been previously chatty was completely silent.

At last, with the sun setting behind them, they had made it to Olc Manor. It lived up to the name. It was falling apart and certainly wasn't very welcoming. Meiko gestured for Gakupo to knock on the door so he grabbed the giant metal ring and slammed it three times against the door. The door was immediately opened. "Welcome everyone, to Olc Manor," Shiro held the door open. "I have prepared dinner for us all," he said. "Please come in," Shiro grinned. Gakupo was the first to enter. The inside was just as rundown as the exterior. Shiro shut the door after everyone had entered. Shiro started walking through the manor, and everyone followed silently. He led them to a grand dining room which looked as if it hadn't been touched since the late 1800s. "Take a seat," Shiro pointed to the large table. The four sat down. Gakupo was especially suspicious of all of this. Suddenly, a girl entered the room. " Huh!" She gasped when she saw the four guests. "Brother! Did you invite more guests!?" She exclaimed happily as she wheeled her wheelchair over to her brother, Shiro. "Yes, Jodie. They are my dinner guests." Shiro petted her head. "Would you mind waiting for me in the kitchen?" Shiro asked. With a nod, she left the dining room and headed to the kitchen. "If any of you say a single thing to her, I will kill the boy, you understand?" Shiro threatened. Meiko leaned in towards Gakupo. "You reckon the healer is for the sister?" She whispered. "Probably her legs," Gakupo whispered back. Shiro left the room presumably then into the kitchen. "This place is creepy as hell," Len spoke up. "Whenever we were researchers here, we wouldn't use the main building often. I'm surprised it's this rundown," Toya spoke quietly.

Jodie wheeled through and sat stopped at the end of the table. "Hello everyone! My name is Jodie Black. It's nice to meet you all!" The girl smiled at everyone. "Heya Jodie. My name is Meiko Haigo," Meiko said softly. The girl seemed sweet and innocent. Nothing like her brother. "What's your name?" Jodie pointed to Len. "Oh, Im Len Kagamine," Len tried his best to act polite to the little girl. She seemed only 9 or 10 years old. "You're cute!" She squealed. Len had obviously never received a compliment like that in a while as his face went beet red. "What's your name?" She pointed to Toya next. "Im Toya Aoyagi," He stated. He didn't seem to want to talk. "Mmm, you're a bit weird," Jodie sighed. Len, Meiko and Gakupo had to suppress a laugh while Toya went red. "And you, what's your name?" She pointed to Gakupo. "My name is Gakupo Kamui," Gakupo waved to her. "Gakupo? Are you-" Shiro sprinted to Jodie and held his hand over her mouth. "Jodie, why don't you help me bring all of this through, huh?" He grabbed the handles on her wheelchair and pulled her away. "That's suspicious..." Meiko said quietly so that she could only be heard by those in the room with her. "Have you met her before?" Toya asked Gakupo. Gakupo shook his head. Gakupo remembered that Shiro said to him that Kaito had been yelling his name. Maybe that is where Jodie had heard it? "Let's just sit and get through this without giving Shiro any reason to get angry," Meiko suggested. Everyone agreed and sat in silence until Shiro returned with the food.

He wheeled a metal cart with 6 plates on it through to the dining room. The food on the plate looked weirdly good. He had made spaghetti and bolognese with a salad. "Jodie will be joining us in a minute. Pretend you're my friends. Otherwise, well, I think you know what will happen," Shiro mumbled to the group. Nobody said a word to him. Once Shiro had finished handing out the plate he sat in his own seat which was next to where Jodie was sitting. "Jodie! Come through," Shiro yelled. Jodie instantly came speeding through in her wheelchair with a big grin. "Let's eat," She smiled. Everyone immediately dug in. Walking for 7 hours certainly made you hungry. "Len!" Jodie suddenly said. "Y-yes Jodie?" Len muttered. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked shyly. Len knew where this was going. "No," He mumbled hoping she wouldn't hear him. She did. She gasped extremely loud. "Len do you want to be my boyfriend!?" She grinned. Shiro was glaring at Len. "W-well what does your brother think?" Len stuttered. "Shiro?" She looked up at him with big puppy eyes. "Whatever makes you happy Jodie," Shiro smiled and held her face. "See! He said it's okay!" Jodie grinned. "S-sure then..." Len took a long sip of his water. Gakupo was on the verge of tears at the hilarious situation. "See brother, I told you I can get a boyfriend!" Jodie threw her arms in the air from happiness. "I'm glad," Shiro smiled longingly at her.

"If everyone is finished I shall begin clearing the table," Shiro stood up. "I'll help," Jodie sped around the table. "You collect the condiments off of the table then," Shiro told her. "After this, I am going to tell Kaito abou-" Jodie stopped. Gakupo stood up from his seat. "Jodie, do you know where Kaito is?" He asked. "No don't hurt him! Brother told me not to tell you about Kaito because you want to hurt him! I won't let you!" Jodie yelled at Gakupo. Shiro glared fiercely at Gakupo. 'Sit down' Shiro mouthed the words to him. "Sorry, Jodie. I won't hurt him, I promise," Gakupo sat down quietly. The rest of the group kept quiet too. Shiro collected all of the plates and took them through to the kitchen along with Jodie beside him. "At least we know that Kaito is definitely here," Meiko whispered to Gakupo. He nodded.  Shiro returned with Jodie still beside him. Why don't we head through to the sitting room," Shiro grabbed the handles of his sister's wheelchair and pushed her through, expecting the group of four to follow behind them.

Once everyone was seated, Shiro got serious. "Which one of you is a healer?" He looked towards the group. "Im the lead of defence in Whiterest. I can heal," Meiko stood up. "Perfect," Shiro looked down at his sister. "Heal her legs." He ordered Meiko. Meiko kneeled down in front of Jodie. "What exactly is wrong with your legs sweetie?" Meiko asked Jodie. "I-I- uh- brother why are you doing this!?" Jodie exclaimed. "They are going to heal your legs, Jodie," Shiro explained. "M-my legs are paralysed. The doctors told me I could never use them again," Jodie explained. Meiko looked up at Shiro. "I can't-" Meiko began but Shiro yelled over her. "TRY!" He yelled. Meiko looked back at Jodie and held her legs. "Sweetie, if it begins to hurt, tell me," Meiko started squeezing Jodie's legs while reciting a healing spell. This went on for about two minutes until Meiko was finally finished. Meiko looked back up again. She took Jodie's foot off of the chair and lifted it up. "Can you feel that?" Meiko asked the girl. She shook her head. Shiro got furious. "Do it again. Do it until it works" Shiro growled. "Brother stop! My legs won't work again!" Jodie yelled at her brother. "Shut up!" Shiro yelled at his sister. "Again," Shiro ordered. Meiko repeated the spell again, grabbing Jodie's legs again and reciting the spell. While Meiko was doing this, Shiro left the room. "Gakupo, it's not going to work," Meiko turned around to Gakupo. "Miss Meiko, I'm so sorry about my brother... I don't know what has come over him," Jodie sobbed. "Sweetie it's not your fault, don't cry," Meiko wiped a tear that rolled down the girl's face. Suddenly, Shiro returned, and he wasn't alone.

"Kaito!" Gakupo stood up and ran towards Shiro and Kaito, but Shiro surrounded himself and Kaito with a shield that Gakupo could not enter. Kaito was unconscious, so unable to do anything. Shiro sat back down on the couch with Kaito next to him. "If you don't heal Jodie's legs," Shiro held a knife to Kaito's neck. "I will kill him," Shiro threatened. "SHIRO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Jodie screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm sorry Jodie!" Shiro apologised to his sister. "Everybody refused to heal your legs. This way, they are forced to," Shiro explained. Gakupo loathed Shiro with a burning passion. Kaito was right in front of him, but he still couldn't do anything to save him... "Shiro, they refused because it is impossible!" Meiko yelled at him. "Watch it, woman! I will do it!" Shiro moved the blade across Kaitos neck. Meiko grunted but restarted the healing process for the fourth time. "Len, you go try too," Gakupo said to Len. Len nodded and got down next to Meiko and held Jodie's left leg while Meiko held the right. They focused all of their power on this, Meiko still reciting the spell. "Miss Meiko, Len, please stop," Jodie cried. "I told you to tell me if it hurt! I'm sorry," Meiko apologised and let go. Len did the same. "No," Jodie shook her head. "It didn't hurt," She smiled through her tears. "Then why did you tell them to stop!?" Shiro yelled at Jodie. "Because you have gone insane Shiro!" Jodie screamed. Shiro dropped the knife and shoved Kaito onto the floor. Gakupo wasted no time in getting down next to Kaito. "No Jodie... I just want to help you..." Tears formed in Shiro's eyes. "I hate you," Jodie whispered. Meiko and Len walked back over to Toya. "J-Jodie..." Shiro kneeled down in front of his sister. "You don't mean that..." He lay his head on his sister's legs and cried. "You're all I have left to live for Jodie... I just want you to be happy..." Shiro mumbled. "I don't care that I can't walk. It doesn't matter to me. But when you go around threatening innocent people that's just going too far!" Jodie yelled at him. "Forgive me..." Shiro sobbed. "Please..."

"Kaito! Kaito, wake up!" Gakupo yelled at his roommate who was unconscious on the floor. Meiko kneeled down and placed her hand on Kaitos chest. She was going to make him conscious again. After a couple of seconds, Kaito sat up, staring right into Gakupos eyes. "G-Gakupo?"  Kaito muttered. He couldn't believe his eyes. Was his roommate really right in front of him? "Kaito! You're alright!" Gakupo hugged Kaito as tight as he could. "Oh my god- I thought that... I'm so sorry," Kaito sobbed into Gakupos shoulder. "Kaito I'm the sorry one. It's my fault that you got into this mess," Gakupo somehow squeezed his roommate tighter. "You..." Shiro growled. Gakupo and Kaito broke their hug. Shiro picked his knife back up and pointed it straight at Kaito. "You got into her head. You told her that she didn't need to walk. You manipulated her..." Shiro slowly got closer to Kaito, still pointing the knife at him. Gakupo used his power to push Shiro against the wall on the other side of the room. Kaito stared at Gakupo in shock. "Shiro... You're going to let us all leave." Gakupo walked towards Shiro who was slumped against the wall. "I don't care. I don't care about anything anymore. Go! I want you all to fuck off! That blue-haired bastard ruined everything!" Shiro yelled. "My sister hates me and it's all his fault!" Shiro sobbed. 'He is one emotionally unstable guy...' Gakupo sighed to himself. Meiko walked up to Jodie. "Jodie, sweetheart, do you want to continue staying with your brother?" Meiko asked the girl. "Of course I do..." Jodie sighed. "Well Im sure that my colleagues at Mondreiff halls can organise a place for you both in central Midhaven," Meiko said to her. Jody's face lit up. "Seriously!?" She grinned. Shiro noticed her change in attitude. "I-Is that what you want Jodie?" Shiro asked her seriously. She nodded, full of enthusiasm. "Then let's all get off of this mountain and go to central Mondreiff," Meiko held out her hand. Jodie shook it with delight. "Brother, let's restart," Jodie beamed. "Alright..." Shiro smiled.

"Did he do anything weird to you?" Gakupo asked as he locked the front door. "Im telling you, I'm fine!" Kaito chuckled as he sat down on the couch. "All I want is an explanation from you," Kaito folded his arms. "O-oh yeah," Gakupo sat across from Kaito. "I can't be bothered tonight, how about tomorrow?" Gakupo suggested. Kaito laid back and sighed.
"As long as it's the truth, I don't care,"
"I will only ever tell the truth from now on. Don't worry Kaito,"

Chapter Text

It has been a couple of weeks since… the incident. Kaito has completely recovered and is safe, which is my biggest relief. He keeps asking about magic so I have decided that today, I will explain absolutely everything to him. “Kaito, come here!” I yelled from the living room. I sat carefully down on the couch and organized my thoughts. “Yeah?” He peaked round the wall. “Come sit,” I said and his face lit up. He knew exactly what we were going to be talking about. “As I said, I will only ever be honest with you from now on.” I began. Kaito nodded enthusiastically. “Ask away. Anything.” I chuckled. I guess his excitement is understandable. “When you say that you're going to work every day, where are you actually going?” He asked. “I do actually have a job. Two actually,” I chuckled. His jaw dropped. “You have two jobs!? What are they!?”. “It's a bit complicated but one of my jobs is a store clerk and-” “YOU WORK IN A STORE??” He gasped. Why was that so shocking to him? “Is it near here?” He asked. “No no, It's in Midhaven,” I explained. “Oh I see. So what's your other job?” Kaito continued. “My title in Mondreiff halls is Whiterest Protector,” I explained to my roommate. He looked confused. “Why? Who are you protecting?” He asked. “Everyone?” I chuckled. “From what?” Ah. That was where the confusion was. “The guy who took you, Shiro, he was controlling beings that would be invisible to the naked eye and have them attack people in Whiterest. My job was to protect the people,” I explained. He looked like he was starting to understand.

“Ok next! Do you actually have superpowers!??” He grinned and jumped up off of his seat. I saw this one coming. “Yeah…” I admitted. “Can you show me?!” Kaito grinned childishly. “What exactly do you want me to do?” I chuckled. “Hmm… move the couch while I'm sitting on it!” He jumped back onto the couch. “Pfft okay?” I lifted my hand and aimed it at the couch. The anticipation on Kaitos face was hilarious. I slightly lifted the couch and an ear-piercing scream came from Kaito. “OH MY GOD!!!!” He yelled. I thought it would be funny if I suddenly had the couch hit the ceiling so I moved it quickly upwards and all I could hear was Kaito screaming in joy as if he were on a rollercoaster. “THIS IS AMAZING!!!” He yelled in joy. My heart fluttered as I watched Kaito have an amazing time.

I put the couch back down and Kaito calmed down slightly, “Ahem,” He cleared his throat. “This isn't a question, but I want you to make a promise with me,” Kaito began, getting weirdly serious. “Will you promise to me that if anything happens to you again, you'll tell me?” He asked me. I nodded over and over again. “Of course! With my promise to not lie, I can promise that too,” I smiled. Kaito returned it before running over to me and jumping into my arms. “Thanks…” 

***

“Toya, have you filed the report on the Whiterest citizen case?” A woman yelled across the office. Toya swung back on his chair so he could see her. “Yes, I put it on your desk!” He yelled back. The woman nodded and returned to her office. It was finally the end of the day and Toya could head home. “Good work today Toya,” A coworker said to him as he left the office. “Toya!” Meiko ran over to Toya. “Meiko Haigo? How can I help you!?” He replied in shock. “Since we invited you on that rescue mission, I have become curious about your past research team,” Meiko began. “Oh no… no no…” Toya began walking away from her. “I can't. I really cannot talk about that,” Toya panicked. “A-alright. Sorry for interrupting you then,” Meiko apologized and returned to the library.

Toya returned to his house which was about 20 minutes from Mondreiff halls. “Im home,” Toya announced once he opened the door. “Welcome back!” Kohane shouted back to him from another room. Toya took off his coat and shoes when suddenly someone barged through the front door and knocked Toya over. “What the hell!? Toya yelled at his other housemate. “Ahhhh sorry Toya! But I have amazing news!!” He jumped up and down. Kohane ran through after hearing the commotion. “What is it?” She asked. “It's about An!”