"Hideoshi... Morrow?" Lucien started, reading off the card. "You're a detective?"
"Yes," Hideoshi answered, his expression unchanging. "Work keeps me busy most of the time so I didn't notice a café had opened here. How long has this place been running?"
The members of the team scattered around tending to the other customers flinched as their heads propped up at the mention of the word 'Detective'. After sharing a secret glance between each other, they went back to what they were doing as usual.
"Today actually. You haven't missed much. Today's our grand opening, so our prices are cheaper," Lucien smiled, handing the card back to him, calming the tensing air. "Please take advantage of it and order to your hearts content."
"Yes, thank you." Hideoshi responded, sticking the card back into his coat pocket.
Lucien glanced at Oliver before returning into the kitchen. Oliver understood what this meant.
"Deal with the situation, huh?" Oliver thought to himself, as he turned to gaze at the detective that had unknowingly walked himself into a den of hounds.
"So, you decided on anything you're interested in?" Oliver asked with a clear and bright service smile.
"Oh, um, more or less," Hideoshi started, allowing his eyes wander around the store and then fall back on Akira, trying to hide his presence while serving parfaits, and iced teas. "So the friend discount... is because of him?"
Hideoshi drew Oliver's gaze to an uncomfortable Akira by the counter, then Oliver replied with a calm grin.
"Yes. Apparently they're seatmates in the same class."
"Is that so," Hideoshi said, trailing off as he turned to Hikaru sitting beside him.
"You don't have to be so stiff," Hikaru exhaled, taking the menu from Hideoshi's hands. "Their chicken sandwiches are really good. You should try it."
Hideoshi gazed at him for a bit before letting out a small sigh in agreement. "Yes, I'll have that then. With an iced tea please."
"Right away," Oliver responded, taking the menu back and placing in the order.
"So," Hideoshi started, grabbing the attention of Jin who was passing by with an order. "Does this place also run as a bar alternatively?"
"Yeah it does. It switches out at night and extended periods on weekends," Jin answered enthusiastically.
"I see," Hideoshi muttered. "I should stop by sometime then."
"You're most welcome to," Jin responded, before moving on to serve his assigned table.
They all acted calmly, making sure not to do anything rash or unusual as per Oliver's silent request. He had signaled to each of them to act casually, and let him take care of it.
Only two people knew of Hideoshi's position in the Tokyo PD the moment he walked into the store. Oliver who made it a point to know everything to be weary of, and Akira who met him first hand, twice. Of the two, Akira was the most bothered, which was especially clear as he served him his iced tea.
"You attend the same school as Hikaru, isn't that right?" Hideoshi questioned, tearing open a straw and sticking it into his recently served drink.
Akira merely nodded in agreement. Trying to avoid a conversation if possible, but to no avail, as Hideoshi continued speaking.
"I thought Kuroi Hana high school didn't allow their students work part-time," Hideoshi stated, turning to Akira.
"Would you mind terribly if I asked you to help keep it a secret?" Oliver asked with a small chuckle. "Lucien just opened the store so it's going to keep him busy all day, and he doesn't really like it when Lily is stuck home alone."
"Alone?" Hideoshi queried.
"Yes. Lily's parents died when he was very young, so Lucien's had to take care of him by himself," Oliver started. "It isn't working part-time but more like hanging around and helping out occasionally at the store."
"Oh I see," Hideoshi uttered. "You can relax, I don't really have any intention on turning you in. I was just curious."
"Thank you," Oliver responded with a warm smile, before grabbing a note pad from the counter and moving to serve a newly occupied table.
"Where are you from Lily?" Hideoshi asked, adding salt on his sandwich.
Akira took a pause for a bit before answering, "I was born here, but after my parents died I moved to Italy with my brother."
"You don't look alike," Hideoshi remarked, gazing at Lucien who sat in the kitchen.
"I know right?" Hikaru agreed. "I don't think they have two of the same biological parents, right?"
"Uh, yes. Lucien is my half brother," Akira muttered, tossing lines from a pre-written script.
"Knew it." Hikaru stated.
"Oh? Which side?" Hideoshi asked.
"Mother's," Akira answered.
"Just like us," Hikaru acclaimed.
"Lily just moved here, so we thought he was a complete foreigner. He doesn't look like he was born in Japan at all, right?" Mamoru commented.
"Just moved here?" Hideoshi asked, catching on to the bit of information that caught his interest.
"Hm? Yeah. I think he moved here about a week and a few days ago. Really caused an uproar in class."
A thought that sparked an idea raced through Hideoshi's mind, but he decided to log it for now. Lily's transfer coincided with the first sighting of the blue flames, plus the familiar scent of milk candy that constantly came off him, matching the candy dropped at the scene of the Shoda mansion break in incident. It was too trifling to pay any serious attention too, but Hideoshi Morrow was the type of person to trust in his intuition than anything else. Still, he wasn't about to drop everything to follow a lead this vague and ridiculous. So he merely logged it into his mind for now.
"Thank you for the meal," Hideoshi stated, standing up after finishing his meal.
"Oh, Nii-chan, can you give us a ride to the arcade?" Hikaru asked, standing as well.
"Sure," He answered blandly, before paying the bill for his meal.
"See ya later Lily," Hikaru and Mamoru greeted, waving good bye as they left the shop.
BOOM!
Just as they exit the store, the building three shops down exploded, crumbling down in the blazing fire. The explosion was enough to send a vibration throughout the entire shop.
"What was that?!"
"Oh my God! The building just exploded!"
"There were people inside right?!"
"It's a fire!"
Hearing the screams of the bystanders outside, the members of the team, and a few customers raced outside to see what happened.
Gazing at the red and orange view of the fire that illuminated the darkening sky sent Akira into a trance, recalling painful traumatic memories.
'It's...'
"Hello, this is Hideoshi Morrow, there's a fire in district..."
All the sounds faded away as he stared intently at the fire that was swallowing the building it surrounded whole.
'It's the...'
"We have to evacuate the area, there's something wrong with this fire! No matter how many times we douse it, or spray it with an extinguisher, it's not going out. At this rate, it'll spread to the surrounding buildings in no time!"
'This fire... It's the same!"
Suddenly, around him, there was no noise but the sound of the crackling fire, as he repeated the same words in his head. "It's the same."
His memories had hurled him to the time he was eleven and lost his family and will to live. The day he had just become a Holder, as he sat staring at the blazing fire that devoured his house and family. The same familiar orange and red hue that painted the night sky.
'It's... the same.'
'It's the same.'
'It's the same.'
'It's the same.'
'It's the same.'
Snap! Like a tension cord or string giving out, so was his composure, snapping under the weight of the pressure he was feeling.
'IT'S THE SAME!!'
With his sanity snapping, his body burst into hot red flames, quickly changing the air pressure and heat around him as his body engulfed in flames.
"Holy shit!" Jin exclaimed, noticing Akira's innate going out of control.
He had never seen Akira with red flames before, so his reaction was stunted, as he alerted his other team mates.
"Crap!" Damien blurted, gazing at Akira.
"What are you doing you idiot?!" Lesley exclaimed, shocked at Akira's flames.
Oliver exhaled a bit of air, the breath that left his mouth unnaturally visible to the eye, and chilled.
"Quickly, grab him before he brings attention to himself," Oliver stated, activating his innate and cooling down the temperature around him.
"Um, easier said than done. He's blazing. It's hard enough to get close not to talk of grabbing him." Damien stated, baring the heat.
Oliver huffed before steadily freezing the surroundings and the outer layer of Akira's skin, that constantly melted off but was cool enough to grab.
"Now get him out of here!" He exclaimed.
They did as told, circling him and grabbing him.
"Natasha," Oliver uttered.
"On it!" She answered, knowing what to do.
Putting her arms around Akira, and the rest of the guys placing their hands on her, before anyone noticed, they disappeared using her innate.
"What was that?" Oliver asked, a bit out of breath as he looked at Lucien who maintained his calm composure.
"That... is Akira's remaining emotion," Lucien sighed. "Pure unadulterated rage. His wrath... Beautiful, isn't it?"