Vesta rushed to grab a first aid kit as Liam moved to get his phone.
"Where is he?" He asked frantically.
"He's at the junkyard!"
"Got it." He began calling the hospital and giving his location. "I'll catch up with you guys. Go now!"
"Right!" They all said.
"Chrys, look after the girls while we are gone." Said Vesta as she rushed out with me. Yato followed as we sped down the hill to the junk yard. I could barely see anything, was it the rain, wind...tears? I didn't know but I sped on anyway. As we turned the corner we saw the junkyard. Smoke blooming in the distance.
"Oh shit!" Yato stopped. "Liam mentioned that there was an explosion but...I....oh god."
"Yato keep moving!" Vesta yelled as she sprinted past us both.
We quickly reached the backend gate and there the carnage ridden hell Scape hit us. Scrap metal was dismembered everywhere with the ghost of sand and dirt in every corner slowly fading away courtesy of the tears of the the clouds. Below us Sweets blood flowed down and out like a fading memory. I snapped back to reality and rushed to sweets side inside the house. He layed there clutching his abdomen as Liam sat next to him trying to put pressure on his wounds yelling at him to stay alive. Vesta rushed in and began reversing the flow of blood back into his body trying to avoid adding bacteria from the floor.
"Hi...da, I...need...H....daaa. Please, th....there.... isn't.... isn't much...t...time." he whispered as he coughed up blood.
"Brother." I moved beside him and knelt down holding his hand.
"Please, just wait for Vesta to finish what she's doing okay. She's almost done healing you. Right Vesta." I said smiling a little....then my blood ran ice cold. Her face was grim. She had tears in her eyes.
"Hida...I'm sorry. He's... he's been... poisoned. There's... nothing I can do."
"Listen child. I need you to know that I love you. I....I know that I wasn't always...th....the most patient brother...I'm sorry Hida. I sh...ould have... trusted your... friends."
"It's okay, you're gonna be okay I-"
"Hida?"
I stopped and started at him.
"Hida, where are you...I...I can't see anything... please, say something."
"TOSHINORI! I'M RIGHT HERE. PLEASE YOU HAVE TO HEAR ME. SWEET, PLEASE!" I Yelled as tears ran down my face.
"Hida, I... please, I...I don't...I don't want to...no, if you can still hear me. You need....to keep... fighting. Get y....yourself out, be fre....free from all this. H....have a...happy life. I...I hope you hear me....Hi...da....ka." his eyes lost focus and he slumped over.
"TOSHINORI....TOSHINORI!!! Please don't go, I don't want you to go. You can't leave me alone like this. Weren't you supposed to protect me. Please Toshi. I...need you...NOOOOOO!" I screamed loud that my voice was gone the next day. When the paramedics came sweet was long gone. Due to our location they had to wait on reserves before they could arrive.
"Hida, Hida. It's time, the other's are waiting." Said Liam as I laid in the darkened chapel. The quiet miasma of sorrow swayed slowly in the air like damp silk. I stood up, pushing of the ghosts of dust as I stumbled into a standing stance. Hisashi spent the day haunting me, trying to make sure that I was okay....but how could I possibly be. My sunken eyes wayed towards his as I shuffled to hug him. Waves of sadness washed over me, pulling me to it's depths while also pushing me to mover forward, just enough to reach shore only to be pulled under again.
"Come on, the others are waiting." He took my hand and led me out and into the grave yard. Liam, Vesta, the kids and Yato sat around Sweets grave. His was placed in a beautiful casket. Liam's parents didn't question his spending this time I guess. Hisashi was kind enough to take care of all the details, in my current state of mind I just....
"Would you like to say a few words?" Asked the pastor.
"I...I...I miss him." Another crushing wave of sadness swallowed me pushing me to the bottom...but this time. I wasn't push back up again, I fell to me knees and sob. Pressure and saliva rushing through my head. I couldn't stop. A large hand was placed on my shoulder. I turned to look up and saw him, Sweets commander. His rough hands rubbing my head gently.
"Sweet was a great warrior but he was also great friend." Tammy walked out from behind the Commander. "No matter how grim things got he stood for what was right, he wanted to make a world where everyone smiled, even the heros."
The captain stood up and walked up to Liam and the others extending his hand.
"Greetings, I am Commander Hendrix." His veins popped out from his arm and that aura of his was there again. Liam looked at him with sunken eyes and shook his hand. That took him off guard.
"I see" he turned away and greeted everyone else. They all walked off and we headed to the junkyard. The kids were sent to my room while the rest of us went into the underground hideout. We all sat around the round table as Liam paced around the room anxiously.
"This....this became fare too real...I." he was shaking like a leaf...was that...fear in his eyes. The thought of him making Sweets death about himself angered me. I stood up to yell at him them he said. "I'm going to clear Hisashi's debt myself." The words sounded so ridiculous that I had to ask him.
"What?"
"I'm going to clear his debt, all of your debts, today."
"Y-you could have done that this HOLE TIME!" I dashed towards Liam in full rage but Hisashi grabbed me.
"Let him explain Hida, there's a reason why he didn't do it sooner. In fact I still think you shouldn't do it." The words struck me like a hammer.
"What could possibly be worth more than our freedom?"
"His freedom." Liam bit his nail nervously as he got ready to explain.
"The easiest way to clear your debt is to agree to a blood pact with my grandfather. Simply put he will do one thing that I ask and in exchange I'll do one thing that he asks. I'm a potential air to the Kara-no-goki name and a powerful miso user, I'll be turned into a mindless killer, I'll be turned into my mom...no...worse, she still has some humanity. I'll ask that he frees all of you guys and clears your debts but in exchange he'll probably ask for me to work under him doing contracts."
"That's....horrible." said I finally responded.
"I'll be alright, I'll...I'll escape, besides my dad would never let me stay in such a system very long."
"You and I both know he can't Liam." Hisashi chirped in.
"Then I'll survive and come out on the other end."
Vesta walked up to Liam "I've been in those programs. You won't survive Liam."
"It's a chance."
Hisashi walked up to Liam and hugged him. He let him go then looked him in the eye.
"So, are you going to let The Peacekeepers get away with killing one of our own."
"What no I-"
"Decided to give up. You and I both know that we can't simply walk away, not now. Liam, come on. Let's finish this and destroy them, you know we can do it."
He took a heavy breath and looked at me, "Hida, it's your call. End this now or we march on."
"We keep going, but after this I'm going with Hisashi. I promised my brother that I'd get out and I will."
Liam walked to Yato and took a seat next to him. "Then we have work to do. Everyone, report."
We all took our seats and filled everyone else in on what we knew.
"Okay, Hida and I took a job at the Vermont Delores, we managed to find a room that had an updraft thanks to a guard. Hisashi, if you focus on that area we might be able to find the elevator."
"Maybe, I'll see what I can do but if I leave too quickly the picture will be muddied." Replied Hisashi.
"In other news Yato and I managed to get the jump suits and quite a sum of money. Maybe we could use that to get any nooks and crannies that we might be missing. Hisashi, the trucks?"
"Cleaned and loaded. We got fake number plates, practically untraceable." He said proudly.
"What about the gallery? Do you know what to steal?"
"Ya." I said, "there are a few paintings that are easy to move around but pricey enough to get the cops full attention."
"Okay that leaves the elevator and key card. We move out in next week Tuesday."
"Tuesday? Who does a heist on a Tuesday?" Vesta asked.
"Making history I guess."
"Actually." I chirped in.
"Let me have this Hida." He snapped.
We all chuckled a little. "Hey.... Hisashi, can I stay with you tonight."
"I would but my campus would freak out. Maybe stay with Vesta?"
"Hisashi, please."
"Aaaah Alright. I'll see what I can pull."
"Alright everyone. We have our jobs, let's give them hell!"
We were all fired up, the cloud of darkness that loomed over my head was cleared out by the storm winds that are Liam. We'll get what we need, and destroy anyone who gets in our way, for Sweet.