"Again." Eren commanded from the sideline of the school's courtyard.
His boys trained; weeks of slacking off over the new year's and Christmas holiday. A firm, fresh kick to the ass was well overdue, and Eren had to put them through the wringer. Get them back to where they needed to be.
"Sir... *Huff* *Huff* How much longer?" Yuri fell to his haunches after a pentathlon of exercises. From running laps, to pushups and sit ups, even putting in suicides and jumping jacks to complement the torture.
A week since Eren had been to the gate of crimson sand, and the spectre that haunted his mind still hadn't returned.
It didn't need to; too much of his mind was occupied by that smile that seemed to appear everywhere he looked. Looking in the mirror, lurking in his peripherals or even the sanctuary of isolation.
That smile was always there.
Furthermore, nothing from the blood tooth cartel, El Rey Sol or even this La Sombra. The blood tooth cartel may have very well have shut up shop and crawled back into whatever hole they slunk out from.
Eren knew better; this was all the calm before the storm. The cartel was laying out the red carpet for the reaper to walk.
They were lurking, ready with whatever sinister machinations it laid out in the shadows for the Reaper. It was only a matter of time.
Hesitant to follow that lead of battle idol. Fooling himself into thinking that this would all fall into his lap as it has done since he arrived back on Earth.
Or…
Deluding himself into thinking that everything was all right. Perhaps hesitant to step back into the shadows he owned.
"Again!" Eren ordered once more with less emotion in the voice. Yuri still sprawled on the ground, a little defeated from the newfound cruelty of his teacher.
"5 Minutes... Please sir." His tone was one of exhaustion, but not one to quit. He still stood back to full height. He may be tired, but he would never let this man down.
Eren eyed him down. Then drifting over to the other enervated boys.
Waving them to halt their routines, he would allow them his rest.
"Thank you, sir..." A shared sentiment between all the boys. All at different levels of fitness, some better than others.
Artists among fighters, some preferred knowledge to power; however, it didn't matter, they all needed to be brought back in shape and discipline.
"Urghhhh! Why'd ya have ta take us to that buffet Toshiro... My ass has been stuck to the toilet for the past couple days." Dai groaned as he combed his duck tail hair. Keeping its immaculate sheen.
"Well how else are we going to bulk up. If anything, I've not been eating enough!" Toshiro did seem that little bit bigger. Remarkable considering he would give most rugby players a run for their money in terms of pure size and muscle.
"Whatever, being a big fucker isn't always the best. Speed and precision beats strength and size any day of the week. Right sir?" Dai boasted, twirling a butterfly blade on a single finger. Looking to his teacher for confirmation.
Eren kept his back turned; arms folded watching into space beyond the school grounds.
Rumours of their teacher... 'smiling'. At the Silvermane Christmas party no less.
An impossibility, the ever grumpy and stoic Mr. Heart smiling. A black gate would sooner appear in front of the school and suck the whole thing in, than for Mr. Heart to smile.
"What's wrong sir... That smile must've really messed with yer head." Dai attempted to rile up the teacher, a joke that fell flat.
"..."
Eyes were always cold and distant, but now even more so.
The teacher going through his own deformation over the break: Darker circles under the eyes than usual, a pale complexion, it seemed Mr. Heart wasn't taking care of himself one bit.
For a group of pubescent young men, often the finer details would get lost on them. But the only source of positivity for many them; the change was bare for even the most inattentive young man.
Dai turned to the ground. Not sure what else to say; comedy was his forte. His way of dealing with the world, his teacher a source of strength. Now provided nothing but emptiness.
Yuri and Toshiro both too felt a sense of unease from their teacher.
"Sir, are you feeling, ok?" Yuri asked. His voice filled with a genuine concern for his teacher.
"Fine... Rest time is over. Back to work. I want 5 laps, 200 push ups, 200 sit ups and 300 squats." Eren commanded, turning to watch over them again.
"Come on, let's go." Toshiro spoke before Yuri could begin to protest.
All his students felt it. They may have come back slightly unfit, but the Mr. Heart they knew and loved seemed to not have not returned at all.
*Bzzt* *Bzzt*
Mai's name was on the screen. Eren took the phone from his pocket and raised to his ear. Still watching his students as they exercised.
"What."
"Hey... I've got a lead for you." Her tone was low, almost a whisper. Something that Eren picked up on.
"What is it?"
"Meet me at the border of the 17th ward. I'll send you the location." With that the phone line cut out. She didn't sound in any immediate danger. But something was different from the other side of the call. His instincts warned him of it.
Eren turned to face the boys. Now on the far side of the courtyard; doing laps around the track.
An urge to leave them. They were near adults they could handle themselves.
'Why should I babysit them anyway...'
He began his walk towards his bike out the front. They would be fine, right?
However, his body froze. Not some paralysis, or some spell that had been casted. He felt... Wrong.
He was about to abandoned his students. Children that looked up to the man for guidance.
'What is wrong with me!'
Hands began to tug firmly on his hair. Pulling at the white strands, an attempt to rip out what crawled under his skin. The only thing that seemed to distract him, was the pain.
"It's better to leave them... keep them safe. You can't protect them all."
The spectre's disembodied whispers spoke softly. Although no reflection to show of that haunting visage. At least not yet.
'No, I need to guide them. My duty is to these boys. To train and nurture them. Something you will never understand.'
No whispers thrown back; the tugging on the hair ceased and the silence returned. A void filled by nothing but a chilling breeze.
He returned to his post. Keeping a watchful eye on the students. He was going to give the best training, the best education possible.
They deserved that at least that.
***
The evening glow of the city was always one to behold; the skies were a haze of deep oranges and reds, with a tinge of purple as night encroached. So many buildings and skyscrapers casted shadows across each other. Some blocks were darkened, whilst others bathed in the evening glow.
Something despite all the worlds many horrors. This was one of the few things Eren enjoyed the most.
The border of ward 17 was rather a junction between the three very affluent wards. Ward 19; the home of Mega Vegas and various other entertainment industries.
Ward 18; far smaller in comparison. No large skyscrapers or neon lights, just a small suburb that nestled in the centre of ward 17 and 19. But this was the rich could role-play as a normal family.
Ward 19, was the economic powerhouse of Tokyo, fair to say the most important ward in the entire country by a fair margin.
The largest of the three and was filled to brim with towers of businesses, inter-gate trading companies, as well as were much of the resources and gear from all gate clearing endeavours were appraised and sold.
The rich and powerful did their deals here to keep themselves in their place of power.
A parking garage; still filled to the brim with expensive vehicles, but devoid of people, seemed to be a perfect location for the meeting.
Eren was nearly ready to ask Mai for her exact location; there was no need as the smell of tobacco and nicotine filled the air.
A trail of smoke he followed from one of the parked cars, its lesser value stood out among all the expensive vehicles. Just a simple black car; tinted windows and the door opened, heels clicked against the cement as she waited.
"Mai..." Eren said, looking to the detective as she exited the car.
"You're late." A blunt response to match her seemingly blunt mood. She looked as though she had slept 5 hours in the past 3 days, hair messy, eyes puffy and tired. A long drag, inhaling the smoke deep into her lungs. A small sign of relief washed over as the nicotine did its magic.
"I was doing something more important."
"Eh, you've got some balls to talk down to the cops that were this close to throwing you in jail." An accusatory jab. Not like it wasn't warranted in a sense, but she needed him; the RCU needed him.
"You have a lead?" He wanted this to be over. This climbing up a chain of criminals that seemingly had no end. The higher he went the darker the sky turned and deeper the drop into the abyss grew.
"Yeah... I've found ourselves whistleblower. Someone on the inside that is willing to talk." She threw a folder that near skimmed the ground and came to rest at Eren's feet.
"You heard of battle idols?"
There it was… The link that Eren was dreading.
"Yes."
"Well, one of the big names, came forward looking to spill on a lot of information, about the blood tooth cartel, crimson spice... El Rey Sol." A worried look shot over to Eren. Taking another drag and letting out a thick smoke.
"This has got nothing in it." He looked through the folder, a single page that detailed a time and place of meeting. It was in a week's time.
"I know, I know. But it's the best lead we got. An email from someone who wants to meet in person, someone that knows something."
"Yeah... Probably someone that wants to set me up." Eren threw the folder back to Mai.
"Well, that's what you're for. I need you to evaluate this lead."
"Mmmph. Fine..." He was reluctant, but what else was there? With leads as dry as a bone, and La Sombra being as elusive as the Reaper, finding this whistleblower would be the only way to gain information.
Maybe to finally bring down this El Ray Sol. Weed out this shadow before it got to him.
"Good. I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to take a few days off. Been on the grind for 3 weeks now, not exactly healthy." She dropped the smoke on the ground and stomped the embers out.
Eren was nearly tempted to ask the bob cut woman if everything was alright. He may have hated the police and everything they stood for, but for this woman... Like looking into a mirror.
"What's the matter with you?" Mai spoke first. Not even looking to the Reaper. Instead, she kept her eyes to the sky. Watching as the sun finally disappeared behind the skyscrapers of ward 17.
"I could ask the same about you." Eren replied, following her gaze to the sky.
"Work been keeping me up at night. That's it. Nothing more." She shrugged, but the atmosphere felt heavy. A slight tension that neither wished to address.
"I'd say that working for the police has made you just as miserable as the rest of us... But you look like you've always been a miserable bastard." A half laugh left her mouth.
"..."
Eren didn't respond, she wasn't wrong.
"Well, whatever. See you in a week. Don't die or nothing." The ignition roared to life, the tires screeched and the car sped out from the parking garage and onto the streets. Leaving a cloud of smoke in the wake of her departure.
That feeling of mistrust still lingered long after the woman had gone.
A new trait that was quickly making its way to the forefront of Eren's animation.
"Saku..." Speaking into the void.
"Keep an eye on the woman. She's hiding something, and I want to know what." Saku materialized from a dark portal. Bowing low to his master and disappeared once more. He would do as instructed and keep a close eye on the detective.
One look to the car windows and a haunting grin looked back. A dark silhouette that wore the face of Eren. His white iris shrunk as the pupils continued to widen every time he was gazed upon.
He was watching, waiting, preparing...
The fall was coming.