It's been three months since Jean's tragic death, and since then we had completely lost contact with Niall. And after explaining to Kyo and Ushio everything that had happened, they said that it would probably be best not to try and find him again. There was no doubt that Niall had been going through a lot of emotional pain, even more now that his best friend was gone. Sure, we all desperately wanted to help him, but none of us were stupid. This was something Niall was going to have to deal with by himself, whether we liked it or not. And as for Seraph...well, he had been ignoring me ever since then.
On the bright side, however, Yui and Kiyoko had apparently been taken to the hospital as well and had woken up some time during our absence from the cafe. When I asked Seraph about it, he said that Reiha must have released them for some reason. I had suspected he was lying from the start, but I decided not to press on the matter. Everyone was okay, and that was all that mattered to me.
As for our progress on finding Hanako, activity involving the Midnight Legion had been rather silent. We hadn't encountered a single demon for the entirety of those three months, which I wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved or worried. Either way, I had somehow found it in myself to enjoy my time with everyone without constantly fretting over what was happening to Hanako. Kiyoko had offered me a job at her cafe so that it would be more convenient for me to see them all as much as I could. I was immensely grateful for the kindness everyone was showing me, and I only wished that Niall could have been there with us.
+++
"One cafe specialty coming up!"
It was early one mid-September morning, and I was up to my usual business: working as a barista in Kiyoko's cafe. I had to be honest with myself, I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would, especially having the company of Yuta, Ushio, and Kyo around. Even Yui had begun to take an interest in me, and the two of us often talked when we both were preparing a customer's order over at the coffee machine. It was nice being surrounded by friends. However, I can't say it didn't make me miss the days I spent with Hanako and Suri in college. If only there had been a way for them to meet these people...
"Alright, Morgan, you're on your break now," said Kyo stepping in front of the cashier to take my place. "I have to say, pal, you've gotten pretty good at this job."
"I suppose three months of training is all I really needed," I said with a laugh.
"Mhm...well anyway, Yuta said she wanted to talk to you. She's in the basement."
"Thanks, Kyo."
"Don't mention it."
With that said, I turned my back to Kyo and made my way down the stairs to the basement to find Yuta. Surely enough, she was there, playing a game of pool against herself. The second we made eye contact, she dropped her pool stick and ran over to me, a look of excitement burning in her emerald eyes. I gave her a funny look and opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, Yuta was shoving what looked like tickets in my face.
"Look at 'em!" She said happily. "It took some time to get my hands on them, but alas, here they are! I even got you one, Morgan." She leaned in closer to me and raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome."
I couldn't wipe the stupid look that had been on my face since the moment I entered the basement. "What are they?" I asked. "I mean, I can see that they're tickets, but to where?"
"Oh, that's right, I forgot to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"Ushio's birthday is coming up," said Yuta, grinning widely. "I thought we should celebrate by doing something fun for once. Ushio deserves it. These tickets are to that new amusement park that just opened up on the other side of Aobasani. I've got four. One for me, one for you, one for Ushio, and one for Kyo. I would've gotten a ticket for Yui, too, but like I said, these were really hard to get a hold of, so unfortunately I couldn't get a fifth one."
"So when exactly is your brother's birthday?"
"Tomorrow," she replied. "September 19th. The cafe is closed that day, so it all works out perfectly. You will be able to come, right?"
I smiled reassuringly at her as I carefully took a ticket from her hands and slipped it into my pocket. "Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Thank you, Morgan. You're the best."
"I-I'm not really..."
"Meet at my place no later than ten o'clock tomorrow morning, okay?"
I nodded once to show her I understood. "I'll be there."
+++
I hated to admit it, but I was actually really excited for the trip. I had gone to sleep rather early that night, but ended up not falling asleep until a couple of hours later. It didn't make much of a difference, though, because by the time I reached Yuta's house, I felt surprisingly refreshed and well rested.
"It's about time you got here," said Kyo, walking up to (rather forcefully) tousle my hair. "Birthday boy's about to come out of the house. Get ready to shout..."
"Birthday boy?" I laughed under my breath. "How old is he? Six?"
"Twenty-six, actually," Yuta corrected, popping out from behind Kyo and shooting me a brilliant smile. She was wearing a knee-length blue dress with a red ribbon tied around her waist, which matched perfectly with her blue earrings. She actually looked pretty cute. But there was no way I would have said that out loud. I was far too shy.
"Twenty-six, huh?" I said aloud, looking at the door. "I have to say, he looks good for his age."
Moments later, out of the house came none other than Ushio himself. The second he spun around and found the three of us standing there, he flinched, nearly dropping his house keys in the process. "What're you guys...doing here?"
Yuta ran up to her brother and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly as she whispered, "Happy birthday, Ushio."
Ushio looked stunned for a minute, but he eventually managed to hug her back and say, "Thanks, Yuta."
"Happy birthday, Ushio!" Kyo and I said in unison, earning us a delighted smile from our snowy haired friend.
"I'm guessing this means my trip to the library has been canceled," Ushio said jokingly.
Yuta held out of the amusement park ticket and placed it in her brother's hand. "It's the morning of your birthday and the first thing on your schedule is to go to the library?" Yuta shook her head disappointedly. "I don't think so, buddy. Come on. I'll let you drive this time. But only because it's your birthday, got it? Don't expect me to be this nice all the time." Yuta spun around with the kick of her foot, then tossed Ushio's car keys over her shoulder.
"It's my car, Yuta..."
"Uh-huh."
+++
The car ride to the amusement park was much shorter than I had expected. Yuta, Ushio, Kyo and I spent the entirety of thirty minutes singing and laughing together, and before I knew it we had pulled into the parking lot. The four of us hopped out of the car and made our way towards the park entrance with our tickets in hand.
"It's been a long time since I've been to a place like this," I said quietly to myself as I handed my ticket to an amusement park employee and passed through the gate.
"Kinda makes ya feel like a kid again, doesn't it?" said Kyo, apparently having overheard me. "In my opinion, though, you never really can get too old for these types of things. It's been at least seven years since I last went to an amusement park, but I can never forget the thrill of blood rushing to my head on a looping coaster."
"You can say that again," Yuta chimed in, and her brother nodded in agreement. "What about you, Morgan? You wanna go check out a roller coaster first?"
"Sounds good to me."
"Then it's settled!" Yuta threw out her arm and pointed up ahead at a roller coaster car that was in the process of ascending up a towering climb. She waited until the car dropped suddenly off the edge of the climb before saying, "This roller coaster is rumored to have one of the steepest slopes of any ride in the entire country. Lead the way to our deaths, Ushio..."
We all knew that she was just joking around with that last part, but the serious expression that appeared on her face as she began following her brother towards the ride still shot shivers down my spine.
Unfortunately when we reached the roller coaster, we had to wait twenty minutes in a line before we could actually ride it. It was worth it, though, for the closer we got to the coaster the more excited I became. It brought back memories...good memories. I remembered standing side by side with Hanako in front of a roller coaster when we were teenagers.
Oh, how I missed those carefree days. I wanted something to happen soon, something that would get me closer to finding him. I didn't mean it in the sense that I wasn't enjoying the company of my new friends, but...occasionally, I still felt lonely. When I was with Hanako, the only times I ever felt sad were when he cried. I worried about him a lot back then, and that still hasn't changed. I wanted him to be here. I wanted to be assured that he was okay. But without any sign of the Midnight Legion for the past few months, I was gradually becoming more and more anxious.
"Morgan, are you ready to be plummeted to your death?"
"Huh?"
I must have been caught up in my thoughts at the moment, for I didn't recall ever sitting down beside Yuta in the roller coaster car. She had been eyeing me with a mischievous look, but her attention was soon averted by the low rumbling sound of the ride beginning to move forward. I could see now that Ushio and Kyo were seated right in front of us. And the second our car began its ascent up the slope, both boys looked over their shoulders and shot me a suspicious smile.
And all of a sudden I'm starting to regret this...
Up and up and up we went, climbing the slope at a snail's pace. It could of just been my nerves trying to scare me, but it almost seemed never ending. Yuta, Ushio, and Kyo must have noticed my edginess, for the entirety of the climb, each one of them took turns looking at me suspiciously. They must be enjoying this, I thought. How cruel...
"Hey, guys, I can see my car from here!" Ushio exclaimed once we had reached the top of the slope, our car having come to a stop.
"Wow, you can see everything at this height..." Yuta placed her hand over her eyes to block the sun as she looked out across the amusement park. I had to say, it really was amazing to see it all from above. The crowds of people, the colorful balloons and costumes, all the different rides, the refreshment stands...everything was small, but in detail, almost like a painting.
My train of thought was broken by a single shout from someone at the front of the car. It was then that I noticed everything around me begin to move again. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the sudden decent. When my portion of the car finally tilted forward off the edge of the slope, my eyes were forced open by the great gust of wind that came in contact with my face, drawing a loud, yet enthusiastic scream from my lungs. The roller coaster shot down the slope at an incredible speed, firing back up another hill and wrapping around several loops of track. It was absolutely thrilling. My head was spinning like crazy, but I liked it. After all, that was the whole point of roller coasters.
The ride soon came to a slow start back at the spot where we had begun. After giving myself a moment to catch my breath, I exited the car and followed Yuta and the others to a pavilion nearby, where we all sat down at one of the few empty tables. After a few moments of silence, the four of us looked at each other and began laughing. I wasn't sure if it was due to the roller coaster we had just gotten off of, or simply because of the amusement of one another's expression. However, that didn't really matter.
"That. Was. Awesome," Kyo said between breaths.
"I agree," said Yuta, and I made a noise of agreement.
"So now what do you guys suggest we do?" I asked, but this question was mainly directed at a certain person. "Ushio? What do you want to-"
"Something's happening over there."
Everyone looked up to where Ushio was pointing and soon discovered that a large number of people had begun crowding around a certain area, but they all seemed worried for some reason. "Maybe a ride broke down," I thought aloud, but Yuta immediately cut down my idea.
"That wouldn't happen," she said. "There's no way something like that would happen on the opening day of a new amusement park. It must be something else. Perhaps there are some visitors causing trouble...?"
"Whatever it is is worth checking out," said Kyo enthusiastically, pushing back his chair and gesturing for the rest of us to follow him. We did, and soon Kyo, Ushio, Yuta and I were all maneuvering our way through the crowds of people until we reached the front. It was difficult, uncomfortable, and I was pretty sure I stepped on a foot or two. But we eventually made it.
"I demand to know where he is!!"
There was a woman standing in the center of a giant stage, clutching a microphone in her hand as she furiously scanned the crowd. Her majestic, wavy white hair reached all the way passed her waist, and her dark blue eyes appeared to be filled with immense fear and frustration. It took some time, but I soon remembered seeing her somewhere before. It was in a forest...but what was her name? The memory wasn't clear enough for me to depict exactly who she was. It started with an 'n'....I think...
"That's Natalya!" Yuta exclaimed quietly, but her brother slapped his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.
"Shut up, Yu!" He hissed, shooting her a stern glance. "If she finds out we know who she is, there could be big trouble."
"But what does Natalya want at a place like this?" said Kyo, a puzzled look on his face. "She never seemed like the 'amusement park' type to me."
"Let's just listen to what she says," Ushio whispered. "Maybe we'll figure something out."
The second I returned my attention to the woman on stage, I discovered that three security guards had also come up on stage, most likely to stop her from causing any more trouble. However, as soon as one of the guards took hold of her arm, Natalya threw her fist at his face and knocked him in the jaw, then kicked him down the small set of steps of which he had climbed just moments ago. This drew many dramatic gasps from the crowd, and everyone but Yuta, Kyo, Ushio and I began to run off in different directions. Soon after disposing of the other two security guards, Natalya's sharp gaze locked on us. Then, after a few moments of silence, she pointed at me, then said something that sent a chill down my spine.
"You...I remember you from the forest."
As if on cue, Kyo, Ushio, and Yuta quickly turned their heads to look at me, all with surprised expressions. "You're kidding," Kyo said with a heavy sigh. "Of course you two know each other..."
"I-it's not like that!" I insisted, shaking my head at Kyo. "We met once before, but it's not like we know each other very well. Honest..."
"Its true," Natalya confirmed, slowly taking steps forward until she was at the very edge of the stage. "The memory I have of you...is hazy." She took one small jump off the stage and landed directly in front of me, then leaned in closer and narrowed her eyes. "You...I remember you seeming rather close with the Shadow Keeper. What's your name?"
"It's Morgan," I answered. "And yes, I am a good friend of Hanako's. Or at least...I used to be."
"So I guess that means you haven't spoken to him in quite a while..." Natalya let out a heavy sigh as she turned her head from me, her expression filling with what I thought to be disappointment. "I haven't seen him in many, many years..."
"Is Hanako the person you were looking for?" asked Kyo. "I mean, when you were on stage."
"No," Natalya said bluntly. "I was looking for a man named Ezekiel. Although I am looking for the Shadow Keeper at the same time, finding Ezekiel is my top priority."
"And why is that?"
"Because he must die."
Kyo blinked. "A-and why is that?"
"He once took something that belonged to me," she said. "Now that I have destroyed said belonging, I must also destroy him."
"That's a bit harsh, don't ya think?"
"No. It is what must be done."
"You must have had a miserable childhood."
"I never had a childhood."
Kyo blinked again, then took a step backward and pushed Ushio out in front of him. "...Ushio, take over here."
"Kyo, you wuss..."
"I have no time for your silly games," Natalya said sternly, glaring daggers at the two men. "All I want is to find Ezekiel and get rid of him before he does anything else reckless. I chased him all the way here, but I lost him just a couple of hours ago. However...I know that he is still here...and I must locate him before he brings this whole place down with him."
The complete and utter darkness in Natalya's voice was enough to drain the blood from my face. I took a brief glimpse around me to check for anything suspicious nearby. Instead I found yet another group of security guards rushing towards us, shouting something angrily.
"There she is! That woman that knocked out three of our men!"
"Surrender yourself at once or we will have no choice but to use force!!"
Natalya suddenly took off in another direction without even taking a second glance back at us. The security guards continued to pursue her, guns and tazers in hand. However, it didn't take long for them to lose sight of Natalya completely and begin wandering the amusement park aimlessly, looking for someone they would most likely never find.
Kyo raised his eyebrows and let out a prolonged whistle, seemingly finding the security guards' wasted efforts amusing. "That woman is light on her feet," he said with a laugh. "Ah, but it seems she doesn't remember us from the last time we saw her. That's a shame..."
"So what now?" I asked. "Should we...try to find this 'Ezekiel' she was talking about?"
I looked at each one of their expressions and waited for someone to reply to my question, but no one ever did. They all seemed...distracted by something. At first it was just Yuta looking up at something in the sky, but soon enough Ushio and Kyo both found interest in what she was staring at. Finding myself unable to ignore it, I lifted my eyes as well to gaze upon whatever it was that had peaked their curiosity...and they were soon forced open by the utter shock of what I found. Standing atop a four-story flagpole was a cloaked figure dressed in all black. The figure was wearing a pair of tinted sunglasses, which he just so happened to remove just moments after I looked up. I couldn't quite make out the color of his eyes, but I could definitely tell when they were looking at me. Something about him seemed familiar...in a strange and frightening way.
"Hey!! You with the orange hair!!"
Why is he calling out to me? Should I be worried? Should I run away??
"Stay where you are! I'm coming down there!"
Before I even had the chance to react, this mysterious man leapt off the flagpole and fell to the ground like a heavy rock, yet he still managed to pull off a graceful landing without even getting a scratch. Yuta, Ushio, and Kyo immediately stepped in front of me as if to create a human shield, and they all shot dirty looks at the brown-haired man.
"We won't let you touch him," said Yuta. "I don't know who you are, but I don't trust you..."
The cloaked man seemed offended by Yuta's harsh words at first, but he soon shook them off and put on a bright smile. "Now that's not very nice," he said, breathing a sigh. "Why act so defensive?"
Wait a second...I do know this man...of course. "You're Ezekiel...aren't you?"
Yuta and Ushio fired demanding looks at me from over their shoulders while Kyo simply made a funny noise to express his shock. "You've met him before, too?!" Ushio exclaimed. "Who don't you know?!"
"You are correct. I am Ezekiel," the man said with a grin. "And I overheard in your conversation with Natalya that you are an acquaintance of the princess. That's wonderful! Now I hope you don't mind, uh...Morgan, was it? Right, I have a favor to ask of you, Morgan. Would you mind helping me get away from a psychopathic former angel?"
"Pardon?"
"There you are, Ezekiel!!"
"Come on!" Without waiting for my answer, Ezekiel took hold of my arm and ran off in the direction of a large crowd of people, which he soon began recklessly pushing through to put as much distance between Natalya and himself as possible. And unfortunately...I was unable to break free from his grasp...
"Morgan!!"