Yuichiro headed back home after he lost track of Senji's whereabouts, tried chasing Senji down but couldn't catch up.
As he walked, Yuichi noticed a man strolling out of his house in a black suit. "Uhn?" Yuichi muttered when he noticed the man didn't move and inch.
"I'll just pretend I didn't see him there." Yuichi muttered to himself as he approached the doorstep.
The man stood at the entrance for some time, staring blankly at the door to what seemed to be a lost in thoughts situation.
"Excuse me, you're in my way.' Yuicho uttered as he stood behind the man with his hands in his pocket.
The man slowly turned around to see Yuichi, "If it isn't Yuichiro Kamina, himself".
Yuichi instantly moved back with a wary look on his face, "…how do you know my name?" He questioned.
The man smiled, "I see, so that's how it is." whistling as he walked away, leaving Yuichi hanging with the question.
Once the man had gone a bit further, Yuichi sighed, "Such weird people." He said before approaching the door.
Baam!
Yuichiro slid open the door and the first thing he saw was Senji seated in the living room with Ava and the rest of the children.
Senji was seated at one spot with an anxious look on his face, his legs were shaking continuously, almost like he couldn't keep calm.
"I'm back." Yuichi voiced as he entered.
Everyone's eyes immediately fell on him.
"Where the hell have you been?! You missed breakfast." Ava asked, standing from where she sat and walking toward Yuichi.
"I just went for a walk, I'll eat later." Yuichi replied, he walked past Ava and straight toward Senji.
"Come with me." Yuichi pulled Senji from the chair and dragged him up the stairs and into his room.
Once they were in, Yuichi locked the door while Senji sat on the bulk bed.
"Relax, I'm not going to tell anyone about the Xynoin incident." Senji voiced before Yuichi could say anything.
Sighing, Yuichi sat down beside Senji, "I should apologize, I didn't expect her to act that way around you…".
"It's not a she… that's a monster Yuu, it almost killed me." Senji muttered, looking at Yuichi intensely.
"Look my point is, she is not exactly bad, she just felt defensive, maybe because she hasn't met another human before." Yuichi responded.
"You need to stop going there." Senji said, looking at Yuichi with the same intense stare.
"What?"
"Xynoins are no good Yuichi… if anyone finds out about this, the military will most definitely come in,... Look at your mom Yuu, you don't really want to put her through all that, do you?".
He fell to the bed and stared up at the ceiling profoundly, "Sure, I won't go there anymore, you happy?" Yuichi proclaimed.
"Better, you jerk." Senji uttered with tears falling from his eyes.
"Rrhh, you cry about everything!." Yuichi voiced out.
"I can't help… ittt." Senji sobbed.
A few minutes later, Yuichi and Senji were seated around the dining table with the rest of the household for lunch.
Each had their food right in front of them, the atmosphere was calm as everyone focused on their food, that was until….
"Yuichi hangs out with a Xynoins outside district 7…! and it's in the form of a girl." Senji suddenly blabbed out.
Silence took over as everybody's eyes rolled over to Yuichi, who was already stunned at what Senji revealed.
"You traitor!" Yuichi shouted, standing from his feet and pointing at Senji, "You promised you wouldn't tell!".
"Look it's not like I want to do this too but…" Senji glared back at him before looking at Akeno, "He took me there, the monster even attacked me with monster claws!" He continued to expose.
"Hey, Trisha… what's a district 7?" A small girl asked as she tugged Trisha's arm sleeves.
Even with the worried look on her face, Trisha managed to force a smile and respond, "Don't worry about that, and eat".
Trisha stood up from the chair and took all the little kids upstairs, mainly because she didn't want them hearing about the Xynoins.
Akeno was unusually quiet and Ava was just carefree where she sat, eating as if she didn't hear anything.
Strrek!
Akeno pushed her chair back and stood up, "Senji, you should head home now, I'm sure your mom is worried about you".
"R-Right." Senji muttered before he stood up from the chair and left the building.
As soon as Senji left, Akeno walked over to Yuichi and stood in front of him with a saddened expression on her face.
"Mom, I can explain…"
Paaa!
Akeno sent a sharp slap straight at Yuichi's face, his head tilted to the left as he was immediately left speechless.
.....
Yuichi received a long speech from his mom, she even banned him from leaving the house till he promised never to go beyond district 7.
In all his years of living, that was the first time anyone has ever seen Akeno raising her hand to someone.
And for Yuichi, it was something he regretted making her do, regardless of the fact that she didn't let him explain himself.
As he laid on his bed alone, a voice came from the other side of the room.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ava, resting her back on the door, spoke from the other side.
"What do you want?" Yuichi responded.
"You should apologize to Miss Akeno, she's worried about you." Ava uttered.
Yuichi stayed quiet for a while before he spoke…
"Hey, Ava, can I ask you something?".
"... Yeah sure." She responded.
"Have you ever seen a Xynoin before?" Yuichi raised a question.
…. "What brought that up?".
"Just answer… have you seen one before?" He asked again.
"Yes I have… or did you forget, my home was ravaged by them, I can still remember them clearly." Ava hinted at a response.
"I see."
Ava suddenly opened the door and walked in on Yuichi.
"Hey! Don't just barge in!..."
"Idiot!" Ava yelled, grabbing Yuichi by the collar and pulling him closer, "Xynoins are dangerous! They kill people, destroy homes and cities, don't just be stupid just because one happens to look like a girl!".
"Fine, I get it." Yuichi muttered, with his eyes looking at the side.
"Good." Ava let go of his collar and walked toward the door, "I heard Miss Akeno informing someone on the phone about the Xynoin you saw, they'll come here tomorrow… don't leave your room." She said before exiting.
Yuichi slept back on the bed before closing his eyes, "She's way too mature for her age… damnit… what should I do here?!".