Thick clouds blackened with fury hid the daylight from the city, casting an intimidating shadow over them instead. Heavy droplets of rain angrily smacked against the roof of the house as flashes of lightning lit up the sky loudly, drowning out the news playing on the television in the other room.
Akino was spread out on his stomach. He wrapped his cold feet in the blankets at the end of the bed as the frigidness of the rain crept through his window. With one hand lifting his head up, and the other wrapped around a pencil, he continued writing.
He paused, as he had done so many times already, to listen to the news from the kitchen through the bursts of thunder. It seemed as if Sakagami didn't pay his pleas to change the channel any mind. Although it was annoying being reminded of the tragedy, a part of Akino didn't mind occasionally listening in to what the outsiders were saying. However, there was always the lingering feeling of dread. As much as he tried to distance himself from it, he kept coming back, reminding himself of his actions that day; whether it be the actions he did or did not do.
He kicked the blankets off his feet and sat up, his ankles digging into his bottom. He turned his head and glanced out the shoji window, observing the flashing of lightning through the tinted sheets.
'What a lousy window,' he thought. 'Couldn't Sakagami have gotten a house a bit more modern? I feel like I'm practically being rained on, it's so cold in here.'
He blankly stared into oblivion while facing the window. The creases under his eyes were getting larger, and his frown heavier as the ends of his mouth nearly drooped off his face. He sniffled, not knowing if it was from the cold or his overwhelming need to cry. He backed away from the window, shaking himself out of his trance.
Whilst blindly grasping for the warm blanket at the end of his bed, Akino's hand brushed against a bottle of pills. He sighed, grabbing the full bottle and putting them on the floor, neglecting them for another day. He finally met the blanket and pulled it up to his chest as he fell back into the mattress, glancing at the clock as he did so.
'For the middle of the day… it sure is dark.'
Feeling discomfort under his head, Akino reached under his pillow and grabbed his journal. He lifted it above his face, memories of him and Matoi arguing in the hallway about it immediately flooding through his mind. He cursed to himself as he was yet again reminded of his school. He threw the journal across the room into the piles of clothes in the corner and turned in his bed, facing the wall.
Knocking was heard on the other side of his door. After ignoring it, Sakagami let herself in. Her blonde hair was let loose today; its locks curled from the monotonous bun she'd pin it up in daily. The color in her eyes seemed washed away, but her cheeks were red, presumably from crying.
Akino noticed this. 'She cries more than I do…'
Sakagami slid the door closed behind her and stepped forward, cupping her hands. She stood, silent as the rain plummeted to the roof above them. She watched Akino, curled up in the corner of his bed, not saying a word.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Sakagami accused him, not moving from her spot next to the door. "Its been two days, Akino."
Akino dug his face into the pillow, his eyes still peaking up to stare at her reflection in the clock. "Two days isn't that long."
Sakagami let go of her hands, instead letting them drape against her hips. "It is long. It's a long time to be alone." Her posture stiffened as she kept her emotions in check. "I… I am your mother… and it feels like I'm living in this house alone."
"You being my mom has nothing to do with me and my school," Akino fired back, glancing in her direction.
"It does! I'm here to help you, and you're just shutting me out." Her tone softened.
Akino sat up in his bed, the blankets falling from his shoulders. "So what if I am? I need time by myself, you have no idea what… happened."
The room lit up for a split second, crackling thunder following right after.
The blonde arched her shoulders and pushed out her chest, guarding herself from Akino's anguish inducing words. "You're right, I don't- but I never will if you don't talk to me. No matter the circumstances, pain is universal. I felt the same way when your father disappeared." Sakagami wrapped her arms around herself. "You know I don't remember much, but when I was hurting back before the world fell apart, I had family by my side."
"I thought you let that go. Family and friends don't mean anything in this world, they're all dead after all. You keep forgetting that, it seems," Akino declared, his eyes finally meeting hers in an angst fueled glare.
"You never tell me anything. Nothing about school, even before the accident! I barely know your friends' names, I don't know where you go off to every afternoon, all you ever do is act strange around me anymore, Akino," she whimpered. "Especially now… it feels like you did die in that accident…"
"What?" Akino spun around, nearly jumping off his bed. "You have the gall to say that after so many of my classmates and teachers were killed then ask why I don't talk to you about anything. I don't… and wont… call you anything other than your name, because you're a terrible mother."
Sakagami let out a gasp, tripping over herself as she stepped back into the door. She shook her head, partially trying to dry the tears forming in her dull eyes. "I'm a terrible mother?" Her voice trembled. "I might not be employed… or be the best at cooking, but trust me when I say that while you're at school, I'm working my ass off trying to keep us alive. I go to hundreds of businesses everyday filling out papers and doing hard labor in between to at least pay for the electric bill! Do you know the shit I had to go through to buy you that phone after you broke the last one?! -and the stress I had to endure to get you a refill on your pills even though you waste them by dumping them in the yard!"
Akino's stomach sank, instantly knowing what she was referring to. They day it all started, the day he met Makina for the first time and the explosion that knocked him back… he dropped the pill.
"I know I'm nowhere near the perfect mom! I know I'm not entirely aware of your situation, but I am not clueless!" Tears flooded her eyes and fell down the curvature of her pink face, dripping onto the wooden floors.
"I'm sorry…," Akino apologized, leaning towards her as he emerged from his bed. "I'm not wasting them, I didn't mean to… I dropped it."
Sakagami chewed on her lower lip, eyes swelling with tears. "How could you…?"
Akino lifted an eyebrow, puzzled.
"I know… I know it all," she confessed as her voice trembled. "You're endangering your life for what, Akino? You have no business at the Grand Hall…"
Grand Hall.
Akino stepped back, his knees weak and balance unstable.
"…you have no business with those dangerous people."
Akino's skin tingled with shock and dread.
"…you have no business playing with monsters."
The two stood on either side of the room, silent and staring at each other. Sakagami had her arms around her once again, embracing herself. She stared at her son, feeling ashamed of not being able to say it outright. Akino lowered his head, his unsteady gaze locked on the pattern of the floorboards. His fingertips grazed against his sweaty palm as he trembled.
'She… knew.'
Sakagami's gaze drifted off to the corner of his bedroom. "When I was at the hospital… I knew something was wrong. I already had my suspicions beforehand but…" Suddenly, Sakagami walked towards him, placing her hand on his slumped shoulders. He looked up at her, his eyes showcasing just how vulnerable and defeated he felt. "Whatever your reasoning is, be safe."
Akino's eyes widened and his mouth drifted open as he gasped. Never before has somebody supported him in his goal. Not once.
The corner's of Sakagami's mouth lifted, forming a weak but tender smile. Her eyes refilled with color as she grasped his shoulder tighter, bringing him into a hug. "I am your mother, and its my job to be a good one. I will be by your side… no matter the turmoil we go through."
Akino smiled back, wrapping his arms around her the same way he did on that fateful day.
The harmonious tune of Akino's ringtone broke the tension. He blinked, separating himself from Sakagami's embrace. He walked to his bed and grabbed his phone from under the sheets, glancing at the screen to see a random number's pending call. He looked back at Sakagami who took the signal to exit. Akino pressed the green accept button and lifted the phone to his ear.
"Akino?" The static voice asked.
The boy tilted his head. "Yeah?"
"It's Matoi. Me and the others are at the Grand Hall. I figured you could come on out and get some sun."
"Sun?" Akino took the phone away from his ear, listening to the rain.
"Yeah, it stopped raining here already," Matoi informed him. "Are you available? We haven't seen you in a while."
"Wait…" Akino walked towards his bedroom door, staring at his bare feet. "Are you with Miki and Yukino?" He asked as he was reminded of his and Miki's dual earlier that day.
"Hm?" There was a pause. "Oh, no! I'm with the other Omegas. We could use some help."
Akino smiled, a laugh escaping his lips. "The Omegas need help?"
Matoi paused again, taken aback by his sudden mood change. But before too long, she laughed back. "Hehe, got me there. I just want some company. I promise there's no evil monsters or epic battles going on this time."
Akino's smile remained as he turned around, his eyes meeting the journal. "Sounds good. I'll be there in about ten minutes."
Matoi walked along the freshly wet lawn in front of the Grand Hall, her toes tickled by the grass through her flip-flops. She walked out from the shade of the trees and into the fresh sunlight, dropping the crate of water bottles on the sides of the steps leading to the building's front doors. She looked up at the blue sky, observing the dark gray clouds drifting further into the horizon, disappearing behind the skyscrapers.
"Ah, thank you," one of the Omegas said. This one was on the furthest end of the stairs, closest to the crate of water, sitting with several other exhausted Omegas.
"No problem," Matoi replied, stretching her arms to relieve herself from the strain that heavy crate did to them.
The Omega unscrewed the cap of the bottle and poured it over her face, only some managing to reach her open mouth. She shook her head, sending her short green hair twirling around her head, flinging beads of water around.
Matoi reached into the crate and grabbed a handful of bottles. With uneasy balance, she walked across the staircase and handed each Omega one.
"Hey," an Omega said. Matoi took a double glance, not immediately realizing who was speaking. "You're that girl who fought at Fuji High school, right?"
Matoi chuckled awkwardly as she finished passing out water. "Yeah," she confessed, resting her hands on her hips, feeling cool. "That was me."
"So you're the one who got to fight along Makina!" Another Omega said, deflating Matoi's ego.
She rolled her eyes, nodding her head as she returned to the crate to find it empty. Confused and insulted that her hard labor was taken advantage of so quickly, Matoi shot her head up and scanned the area for the culprits. She sighed, seeing a group of sweaty and dirt-stained Omegas drinking the remainder of the crate.
"Heh," she sighed, "I could've used some."
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to her. She turned to see Akino, drenched with rain crossing the street. She smiled and waved back as he approached her. He tugged at his collar, looking around.
"Its hot out here."
Matoi shrugged, looking around with him, seeing the situation from his point of view. "Yeah, we just got done uh…" Akino waited for her to continue. "… we just finished digging some graves at the city limits," he resumed, her tone changing dramatically.
His smile dropped, but continued the conversation nonetheless, hopefully guiding it in a different direction. "Omegas have to dig graves? Isn't there someone else for that job?"
Matoi nodded and stepped back to stand beside him. "Yeah, but normally there isn't a massacre as big as this one… so there wasn't very many people to do the job. Since there wasn't anything we were doing today, we got the orders to help them."
Akino lowered his head and shuffled his feet through the damp grass. "The news is saying that fifty four have been confirmed dead…"
Matoi's eyes were half-lidded in sadness. "Over one hundred were injured, staff and students and all."
Akino put his hands in his pockets, looking up to the Division-A flag. "How are they going to hide this from the public? People saw the Compactor, there's going to be leaks."
"If Hetsu can re-build entire skyscrapers over night, I'm sure she won't have any problem keeping them quiet."
"Look, its him!" A high pitched voice called out from behind the building, catching Akino's and Matoi's attention.
A young girl with blonde pig tails and a green Omega uniform ran out from the shadows towards the two, a bright, energetic smile on her face. She stopped mere feet in front of them, her head lifted up towards them as a result of her short stature.
"No way, you're Akino Sakagami, aren't you?!"
Akino chuckled, looking to Matoi for assistance who wasted no time addressing her. "Kiku, I told you to be respectful when he came! What are you doing?"
Kiku paid her no mind, instead bowing before Akino at a full ninety degree angle. "You're the guy who beat the Compactor at Fuji High!" She straightened her back and smiled brightly at him. "You're the first ever human to have beat one of those things! To think that a human has the same kill count as I do is astonishing! I guess that says something about my own skills though, doesn't it?" She giggled embarrassingly, rubbing the back of her nape as she sabotaged her own introduction. "I'm Kiku, one of the youngest Omegas in Division-A!"
"Nice to meet you," Akino greeted, feeling no need to introduce himself. "But I do believe that we met already at the infirmary a week or two ago."
Kiku blinked, poker-faced as she reflected on the past with pure embarrassment.
"She's not one of the brightest Omegas in Division-A, either," Asuka stated as she walked out the front doors wearing a sports bra and shorts. The redhead maneuvered past the cluster of Omegas sitting on the stairway and towards Kiku. "Kiku, I told you to get changed."
The small girl looked up to Asuka and puffed her cheeks angrily. "But I like my uniform," she responded with a confident expression. "It looks good on me!"
Asuka raised her eyebrows, viewing her little sister like a parental figure. "If you wear it all the time, you're going to get it smelly. Besides, you have dirt all over it."
Kiku scans her outfit and struts her way into the Grand Hall, pouting.
Matoi cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to her. "Kiku, can you get me a water when you come back?! Thanks!" By then, Kiku was already inside and seemingly didn't hear her, or ignored her. Sighing, Matoi ran into the Grand Hall to get it herself.
A shadow flew past the yard and into the distance, catching Akino off guard. He furrowed his brow and glanced upwards. In the bright blue sky was a pure white bird circling around the sun, singing melodically to the surrounding birds.
"I'm sorry we weren't there sooner," Asuka said, breaking Akino's immersion. "Makina's ear piece must have gotten damaged because her call never came through. I'm sure that if we arrived sooner that less people would have died."
Akino shook his head, dismissing her apology. "No need to say sorry to me, you didn't know. I'm basically numb to it all by this point, if anything… its just more motivation for me to help out. I'm lucky enough to say that nobody in my immediate circle was killed except my teacher. Though, if you want to apologize to anyone, it should be to all the kids and parents who did lose something that day." His eyes met the flag again. "But you probably cant do that because of the rules."
"Yeah." There was a pause before she continued, almost like a breath of fresh air before she changed topics. "Hey, this lockdown is nice though. Omegas can walk around freely, uniform or not, without having to worry about anyone. Its very rare for us to be out during the day unless we go to school. I've been trying to get Kiku into Fuji Middle School but she wont do it."
"She's pretty young to be an Omega," Akino admitted.
"Yeah, she's right at the age limit. Girls can only be Omegas from twelve to twenty five because of our physiology and the way the core and its blood functions. That's why you're such an anomaly; you're the only male to possess Omega traits without being operated on, not to mention being the only human to kill a Compactor!"
"I'm not too sure about it either, honestly. At this point…," Akino took a deep breath, sorting his words. "… I'm just going along for the ride."
"A ride that you got on yourself," Asuka remarked, knowing it would get under his skin.
The boy rolled his yellow eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, how many operations can a person go under?"
"Are you referring to Matoi?" She smiled, connecting the dots right away. "I don't know the exact number, but the more you do it, the more strain you put on your body. Matoi had the operation three times, yeah? I doubt she'll do it again, but if she does, it wouldn't be too long before her body would just give up. Jumping between Omega and human could ruin your body in every way possible, I assume."
Akino chuckled. "It sounds like you know a little bit."
The girl shrugged, her hair falling off her shoulders. "I spend a lot of time in the hospital so I know some things. I'm already nearing twenty five and my body is getting weaker as a result. That's why I'm trying to get Kiku to be the best Omega she can be."
Akino watched as the white bird flew down from the sky to the ground. It perched itself upon an empty birdbath where it stared at the lifeless body of a fellow bird, who's wings had been outstretched along the rim of the bath. The white bird stopped its song and hopped into the bath with the corpse as the others continued with their own song, ignorantly flying in the sky.
"Being an Omega…" Akino started, still watching the birds. "…it sounds tough."
"It can be," Asuka said. "But for some, being an Omega can be a safe haven. Kiku and I were homeless for years. We used to stay with our parents at the nursing home till they passed away and the staff forced us out. Our parents… they didn't leave us anything. I, being over eighteen, wasn't going to separate Kiku and I through foster care, so I took care of us by myself."
"That sucks," Akino acknowledged, taking pity on her.
"It did. Being homeless, Kiku and I slept in alleys with no access to sleeping pills, so it was inevitable that we'd encounter a Compactor. When that day came, Hetsu asked us to be Omegas. Ever since then, Kiku and I have been living in the dorms, eating full meals, and getting plenty of rest." Asuka turned around and admired the buildings before her. "This is the best place for her."
Akino mumbled contently, turning around to admire the city as well.
Matoi walked down the concrete steps with a half-empty water bottle in hand. Kiku, who was dressed entirely with tight fitting green clothing, walked along beside Matoi, skipping every other step.
"We're back!" Matoi called out.
"Yeah, we're back!" Kiku copied.
The four gathered together and with a few nods, Asuka and Kiku walked off to continue their duties. Akino glanced back towards the bird bath to no longer see the white bird. Matoi nudged him, catching him off guard. The blue, purple headed boy scratched his wrist, anxiously approaching a new topic.
"Have you talked to Miki or Yukino recently?"
"No," Matoi answered, a quick breeze picking up her brown hair, "not since they ghosted me in the stairwell."
Akino stuffed his hands in his pockets. "They're… they're struggling just as much as we are. Even more so… they had no clue about Compactors, and they actually had close friends who died. I think… I think it might be a good idea for us to talk to them."
Matoi's expression shifted to a more cautious and concerned look. "Are you sure it's a good idea to get them involved?"
"They already are," he sighed. "I got everybody at the school involved. The least I owe them is an apology… for not telling them anything."
Matoi dug her flip-flops into the mud as she contemplated his proposal. "I don't know. The wound is still fresh, it might be too soon. They might not even want to see us… it seemed like they had a problem with us even before it all went down. I'm honestly surprised that you're doing so well, also."
Akino shrugged. "I'm not, but life goes on and… I asked for it, right?"
The brunette shook her head emphatically. "No, you didn't, Akino. What your ambition is… did not involve that massacre. Don't put the blame on yourself. You saved so many others from dying and their parents are incredibly grateful. You saw how much Miki's dad cried, and how much Mr. and Mrs. Shota cried, how your mom cried. You're a hero, Akino."
Rolling his eyes, Akino swerved towards Matoi as he balanced on the heel of his shoe. "Last week I promised Miki that we'd all get together. You know, the four of us? It's been a long time since we ever hung out. I think the healthiest thing for them is to get out of the house- it was for me anyway."
Matoi spun her head around towards the buildings behind them looking for inspiration. On one of the towers was an advertisement for the upcoming festival which right away gave Matoi an idea.
"How about the Smile Festival? If I recall, Yukino mentioned it when we were talking about her sister. I'm sure she'd want to show up to that."
Akino blinked, surprised by Matoi's brilliancy. "Oh, yeah! That'd be a good opportunity. All we'd have to do is convince Miki to tag along."
She waved her hand in front of him, dismissing his concern. "Psh, he'll go anywhere Yukino goes. You got his number, right? I don't have anything to call them with."
"Yeah, I do. I think Miki texted me Yukino's number, also. So, meet me at my house on Saturday if this all works out?"
Matoi nodded, nudging him again. "It will, we're all friends after all."