".....I....I lo-"
*Pow!!*
"Uwaa!!!"
"Kyaaaa!!!"
Both Harue and Yuna were caught by surprise that they fell on their butts since they were in a crouch position.
They both dropped the firework items that they held in their hand.
They wondered what happened by the scary sound of a bullet or something exploding near them.
Yuna was sweating as if she had almost escaped death.
"What.....was that?" Harue was confused.
".....I-I don't know..."
They stood up slowly, still wondering what happened. Then, a boy's voice called out to them
"Senpai!! Are you two alright!?!?"
Fujita came running towards the both of them and Nami was just behind him, following him.
"Y-Yeah...We were just jolted with a sudden fright." Yuna reassured them.
Harue was the one that inquired about the cause of that loud bang noise.
"What was that?"
"Oh, that? Umm..." Fujita's eyes kept wandering off, not being able to say what he wants to say. Hesitation was there.
Nami helped him confess, more like she snitched on him.
"It was one of the rocket fireworks that Fujita-kun did not stick into the sand firmly."
"W-Wait! I was going to say tha-"
"And at the last second, after ignition, it fell on the sand and the rocket flew horizontally rather than up the sky. As a result, it, unfortunately, ended up next to you two."
Nami glanced at Fujita with a piercing glare. He understood its meaning and he acted immediately.
"I-I am very sorry!!!!! Yuna-senpai! Harue-senpai!!"
He got on his knees and begged for an apology from his seniors. The way he envisioned it is getting slapped by Yuna and ostracized by Harue.
That is how his minds work. Always set the worst scenarios possible in your head and quickly look for its solution.
For him, it always works in his life.
"You should be more careful, Fujita-kun."
"Don't blame it on him, Yuna-san. It wasn't his fault anyway."
Harue disarmed the situation and accused no one of this incident. After all, it is an accident. Mistakes happen and it proves that they are humans.
They are not perfect.
"It is alright now, Fujita-kun. Let's go and enjoy with the others."
He reassured Fujita and pushed them to join the others for fun. Yuna also forgave him for the unintentional act.
While Fujita left those two alone, Nami was giving him an earful. She even smacked him at the back of the head.
They were pretty close friends.
Back with Yuna and Harue, they resumed their previous mission. To take as many firework items from the box and return them to the group.
And they just did that, with nothing of much importance happening between them. Of course, no confession was made.
Meanwhile, behind a certain big rock....
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts!!!!"
"Seriously, what the fuck!?! What is this?!?!? Is this God telling me that this relationship is not planned or what!?!?"
Kouki's grip strengthened and Ike experienced more pain from his anger.
"Who is that boy!? That piece of shit boy that ruined the plan!!!"
"I-It's Serizawa F-Fujita! Can you stop squeezing my shoulder!?!?"
"Serizawa!! I am not going to forgive YOU!!!!!!!"
"FIRST LET ME GO, PLEASE!!!"
"Oh? Sorry..."
Kouki finally realized what he was doing outside of his intent. He released his grasp and shrugged him off.
What was more important to him right now was to scold Fujita for ruining his plan.
Did Fujita have to plant a rocket firework at that moment? Did he have to make such a mistake at that moment only? What the hell is this!?!?
Is destiny playing a role here?
Kouki bit his nails little by little like a form of relieving stress.
"Ah, I am running out of time......Fuck!!"
The outburst from him surprised Ike as he stepped away from him. Though, he found it strange that Kouki said such a thing.
"It is not too late. After all, we have tomorrow. If not then the day after tomorrow. Sooner or later, Harue will achieve his objective and attain Yuna."
"I don't have that much time!!!"
Kouki's frenzied expression blatantly aimed at the ground.
Ike was getting worried. He did know the reason why Kouki was acting like this.
Why was he running out of time when Harue was the one confessing to Yuna? Obviously, Ike thought it was weird. So he inquired.
"How so?"
"......Ah.....Sorry for my sudden outburst. Do not mind me....."
Kouki avoided answering. Also, he reverted back to his casual expression.
Ike did not pry any further because he does not judge it to be too serious. Yet the way he was looking so agitated for a brief moment, was worrying.
"I feel bad for Harue... Since that day of the shopping mall terrorist incident, he has gained the courage to confess again after 2 months! This is taking a toll on him."
Kouki was feeling down for his best friend. It is not easy for him, rather, for anyone else to muster the courage and confront their crushes so quickly.
It is more likely that Harue will follow this pattern. Kouki deduced that in the next semester, Harue would want to make his next move.
'It is so far away.....'
Kouki pondered as both him and Ike returned to the group that was having fun with the fireworks on the dark blue starry night.
............
The day after Harue failed his confession, late in the afternoon, the date was the 15th.
The 15th is a date of anticipation, thrill and excitement for Gello.
Because it is the time for another child to meet the demise in the hands of the heartless serial killer, Gello.
The murderer concerned is preying on his next victim at this moment. He was behind a wall at an intersection, surveilling his victim.
It was a boy with a fair-skinned face and attractive facial features. He was carrying a soccer ball, meaning he was in a soccer club in the school he attended. Gello has done his research and found out that he is 14 years old.
Perfect for his bloody experiments.
Always, he would plan to pose as the boy's relative or friend and lure him into a secretive place so that he can do his evil deeds.
Naturally, the boy would not go alongside Gello's plan so cooperatively. Unless there was a catch.
Yes, Gello is a Magic-User.
His power is the one that has been playing a major role in his kidnappings. The power to let someone perceive him as someone else.
Or, if he wants then he can tell a person to look at a ball and make him believe that he was looking at a screwdriver.
His perspective changed. It is an illusion that can greatly endanger human lives if in possession of the wrong hands.
As you can see, that is exactly what is happening.
The boy walked closer and closer to Gello unknowingly. He was humming softly as no one was in the vicinity. Little did he know that he was wrong.
Gello clenched his fists as he prepared to enter the boy's field of vision.
Time to take some action.
"...-!?"
The one who was surprised was not the boy, but Gello. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
He turned around and investigated who was interrupting his plan. Was it a Hero? A civilian? The police?
All sorts of scenarios ran into Gello's mind.
Yet he missed this possible outcome.
"Yemon...? .....Why are you here?"
"To stop you."
"From wha-?"
Gello's eyes had a glint of hatred that sharply glared at Yemon. He felt a slight chill when he encountered such emotion that could be displayed in such a way.
However, it took Yemon just an instance for him to get more adept in front of Gello. It was easy he has spent enough with him so he does know him to some extent
"Don't tell me you are going to say that I should not be doing this."
"That is precisely what I was going to say."
Yemon's unwavering tone addressed him. From the start, he did not like for Gello to expose himself like this.
"Why?"
Deathly aura enveloped as he was reaching for his peak anger. Without that mask on his face, Yemon could not imagine the kind of expression he was making.
Just from his eyes and atmosphere, it was obvious and scary.
"Because I don't want you to get captured."
On the other hand, Yemon's stance was still the same after he was subjected to Gello's anger.
Because he thought that he is way above Gello in terms of strength and fighting.
He can win, that is what Yemon established in his mind.
Anyway, Gello's animosity seems to have subsided when Yemon put forward the possibility of him being caught.
"How am I going to get caught? And how did you even find me?"
"Just a little help from Virus. You may not know this but the Heroes have already caught on how to capture you."
"...."
Gello did not believe him. He was not ready to instantly take his words up.
Just then, the boy that Gello was targeting, walked past them.
The urge of Gello wanting to go and abduct him right away increased as he was closer but he was stopped by Yemon again by the grip of his hand.
Yemon let the boy walk away from the preying Gello.
"Did you not listen to me? Heroes are surveilling."
"And how do you know that!"
Gello smacked Yemon's hand off of him. He understood the intention of Gello's question.
However, he did not want to give him as many details as possible.
That is why he sounded reluctant when he answered him.
"I have connections...."
".....The way you say it is not so reassuring and credible."
"You have to trust my words on this one. You are indeed in danger."
"Then what do you suggest me to do!!"
A rare outburst from Gello that Yemon has never seen before. He has never seen him in a frustrated and impatient state before.
"Can't you.....hold off your killing for a while."
"...." The glare of Gello became more depressing.
"....."
"You are telling me to stop doing the thing that makes me want to live?"
Yemon has had enough of him.
He was more troublesome to deal with than Jo and the others. He cannot just let him off and be exposed in Heroes' sights.
That is why he had to find a solution to this messed up situation.
To satiate Gello's need. To stop him from getting caught.
How is he going to do that?
*Breeep!* *Breeep!* *Breeep!*
Yemon was calling someone on the phone. He did not want to resort to this method but what can he do?
Gello is already on his edge.
Hesitant but helpless, Yemon talked to someone on the receiving end of his phone.
..........
Yemon guided Gello to the underground base. He got in front of one of the rooms that he prepared for the 8 members.
Only Gui, Lumen and Virus used their respective rooms most of the time.
The rest did not want to stay so that their secret life in this group is not endangered. No one in their social life wants their surroundings to get suspicious of them.
Yemon opened the unused room of Gello's and led him inside.
What he found there was truly surprising.
A boy of middle school age was strapped onto a metallic chair.
He was sedated with sleeping pills. Lying unconscious as if it was a corpse, Gello and Yemon approached it.
Gello found light in that boy. He turned towards Yemon and demanded an explanation for this.
"What is this?"
"...."
With a hint of disgust that he managed to hide, he calmly introduced the boy to Gello.
"Kumamori Aota. A 14-year old boy living in the Nara region. He is all yours. From now on, don't do anything reckless like what you did today. Everything that you need, you tell me."
Gello could not believe his eyes. Does Yemon really have that much power?
Who the hell is he? It made Gello get more overwhelmed by the presence named Yemon.
"You.....How did you.....?"
Yemon side glanced at Gello and before he exited the room, he said...
"I have connections."