Yuma looked around, taking in the view of Akira's living room. The warm morning sunlight peeked through the curtains, spilling gently across the room.
He squinted against it, but the light wasn't what irritated him most. What bothered him was the fact that he had woken up right before he could successfully conjure the knife.
He wasted no time. Pushing himself off the couch, he stood up and held out his palm.
Remembering what Serapheria had shown him, Yuma attempted one last time to summon the knife. He closed his eyes and imagined the handle, the edge, and the spine of the blade. Just like before, cold flames radiated from his palm.
Then he felt it.
The weight of the knife settled into his hand.
Yuma opened his eyes. For a second, pride flickered through him. He had done it.
Then disappointment crashed in.
The blade looked... sorry. It barely held its form, cracks running through it like shattered glass. It seemed so fragile that one small huff could turn the whole thing to dust.
It looked nothing like what Serapheria had demonstrated.
With a heavy sigh, Yuma crushed it. The knife lost its form, dissolving into a smokeless blue burn.
Still disappointed, Yuma turned toward the door, prepared to find Akira. Immediately, he screeched in surprise.
Akira had been standing there in silence the entire time.
"WHAT- HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE?!" Yuma shouted.
"Long enough to see that sorry-ass knife..." Akira plainly pointed out.
Yuma glared at him, annoyance mixing with the frustration of his own failure.
"I'd like to see you do better..." Yuma shot back, his tone edged. "...Or at all."
Yuma stifled a chuckle, remembering what Akira had said days before.
Akira leaned against the wall and lifted one hand beside him. Shimmering flakes of ice swirled into his palm, forming a simple knife.
Yuma stared at him, shocked.
Akira returned his look with a smug smirk.
"WHEN THE HELL-"
"Chieno changed his mind ever since this whole thing started and began teaching me. I haven't learned everything, but I'm getting there..." Akira cut him off, lifting the knife slightly. "Still mastered this in a night, though."
Yuma ground his teeth, annoyed by him.
Of course he mastered it in a night.
The prodigy of ice.
'Silver-headed freak.'
Yuma looked at the ground and sighed, wanting to move on. Turning back to Akira, he wondered where Keisuke was.
Before he could ask, Keisuke walked into the living room, almost as if he could sense when he was being thought of. He looked at Yuma, who had sat back down, and smiled.
"Oh hey, Yuma!" Keisuke greeted warmly.
"Hey..." Yuma returned, disappointment from earlier still laced in his voice.
"You feel better?" Keisuke asked curiously.
"Yeah, I'm refreshed..." Yuma replied.
Keisuke looked a bit suspicious but accepted it anyway. He went back into the kitchen, grabbed the breakfast he had prepared for the three of them, and returned with a full plate.
"Everyone eat up. We have a long day ahead of us, and we gotta figure out where we'll start!" he cheerfully told them, handing out the plates.
Akira sat down next to Yuma and placed his food on the coffee table. Yuma followed along, placing his plate on the table as well. Keisuke joined them shortly after.
The three ate in silence.
Yuma's face remained disappointed, Akira looked as stoic as usual, and Keisuke grinned ear to ear like this was the best time of his life.
While they ate, Akira decided to fill them in on what he had found about Daya and Aymar.
"While Yuma was recovering, I had AR try to find anything on the two we're looking for..." Akira said calmly, taking small bites.
Yuma continued eating while turning his head to face him.
"And?" Yuma asked through a mouthful of food.
"Hardly anything. No birth certificate, no address, nothing. Not even a photo. But..." Akira let the words hang, clearly enjoying the anticipation.
Keisuke turned his head too, his cheeks stuffed with food as he waited for Akira to finish. Akira glanced between both of them, making sure he had their attention.
Once he was satisfied, he continued.
"Someone reported a suspicious couple at Sutera Pureisu. Said some foreigners looked like they were stealing... could be them."
Keisuke looked a little shocked, while Yuma barely reacted, even though it was their only lead. It was the only thing they had to find them, and that was better than nothing.
"So... they're criminals?" Keisuke asked carefully, swallowing his food.
"Not necessarily. The guy who reported it doesn't like gaijin at all, so it's likely he just saw them and assumed it. He does this every once in a while," Akira clarified.
"Well... I pray that's the case." Keisuke paused, curiosity creeping into his voice. "Still, how is RA able to get this information?"
Yuma immediately paid attention too.
It was odd that a "private security company" had this much pull.
Akira sighed.
"Rouge Arrow is registered as a PSC, but in reality, it's an organization my father built to handle tasks regarding conduit activities..." Akira explained. "My dad was close friends with Tanabe Yuu."
Keisuke's jaw dropped.
"Tanabe Yuu? You mean the Minister of Defense?" he blurted out.
Akira looked at him like being close to someone who helped run the nation's defense was nothing special.
"Yeah? Why?" he asked, confused by his reaction.
"HOW DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!" Keisuke raised his voice.
"...They served together..." Akira quietly added, still confused as to why this was such a big deal.
Yuma, who had stayed silent through all the chaos Keisuke was causing, finally spoke.
"Your dad's military?" Yuma asked.
Akira nodded before taking another bite.
Yuma didn't press for more and simply accepted it. Even though curiosity gnawed at his heart, he let the matter rest.
Keisuke wanted to ask more too, but after the silence that followed Yuma and Akira's conversation, he decided against it.
For the remainder of the morning, the boys ate and got ready the best they could.
Now they had to take on the task that could change things for better or worse.
***
A cloudy gray sky softened the sunlight above the bustling mall.
Despite it being only an hour after opening, the mall had already attracted a crowd. Lively chatter filled the air as the boys entered.
Akira, who had been walking a few steps ahead, paused at the sight of so many people. The crowd was overwhelming, and Yuma noticed more foreigners than he expected moving between the shops.
Yuma caught up and gripped Akira's shoulder.
"What's the plan?" Yuma asked, willing to follow whatever Akira had in mind.
"We split up. Fourteen hundred, we meet in the middle," Akira said, improvising on the spot.
Yuma could tell he had just come up with that, but Akira's confident tone made it hard to be completely sure. Regardless, Yuma let the matter go and relayed the plan to Keisuke, who was staring at a display in a nearby store.
"Keisuke..." Yuma paused, wondering why he was looking so intently at whatever was inside.
Getting closer, Yuma looked over Keisuke's shoulder to see what had captured his full attention.
With his hands on the case, Keisuke stared at a pair of very expensive-looking necklaces. Each one had a gold-linked chain with a massive white diamond as its centerpiece.
Yuma stepped beside him and leaned in.
"Who are you going to buy that for?" Yuma whispered.
"My mom and sister..." Keisuke said quietly, guilt weighing down his voice. "I really wanna get them something for their trouble. After all, it's my fault they got involved."
Yuma stayed quiet for a moment before giving him a sidelong hug.
"It's not your fault. It's that monster, Killian. We'll beat him to a pulp, and you'll be back with Akame and Aunty."
Yuma comforted him while biting back his own hatred.
The hatred wasn't directed at Keisuke. It came from saying Killian's name.
It was a curse Yuma was now living with, something he would carry in his heart until he killed the man who took his mother from him.
Keisuke turned to him, his face slightly saddened.
"I'm sorry. I'm getting distracted..." Keisuke said, trying to move past his own feelings. "Let's get with the plan. What was it?"
Yuma faltered for a second, thrown by Keisuke's guilt, then gathered himself.
"Akira said to split up and search the mall in parts..."
Yuma turned his head to where Akira had been, only to find him already gone and searching by himself.
"...Guess he's already on it. We'll meet up in the middle at 2 p.m.," Yuma finished, turning back to Keisuke.
Keisuke nodded and patted his shoulder before leaving.
Once Keisuke disappeared into the crowd, Yuma turned back to the case where the necklaces were displayed. He checked the price tag, and his heart dropped.
'792,825 YEN!!'
He had no idea where Keisuke would get that kind of money.
He sure as hell couldn't buy it himself.
In all honesty, Yuma had almost been willing to buy it for him. But after seeing the price, and realizing he would have to throw all his savings into it, he quickly had a change of heart.
Yuma slowly turned himself around and left immediately.
Refocusing on the plan, Yuma walked westward through the mall, following a path he hadn't seen either of the others take.
He walked for a while before coming across a suspicious-looking man.
The man wasn't extraordinary. He looked average, maybe American.
Trying to look as casual as possible, Yuma moved closer. He attempted to sense anything different about the man, but felt nothing.
Sighing, he began to walk away.
But as Yuma took a step past him, the man looked down and patted his pockets.
"HEY!" the man yelled at the top of his lungs.
Yuma turned around, more confused by the yelling than the word itself.
The man immediately grabbed his wrist, shouting in what sounded like gibberish to Yuma. He wasn't speaking a word of Japanese, leaving Yuma to piece things together from his gestures.
Yuma pulled his wrist away and scowled at the man for grabbing him for no reason. The man kept screaming, pointing at his pockets over and over. Yuma was beyond fed up with the situation, but the gestures helped him realize what was happening.
The man thought Yuma had stolen something from him.
Yuma tried to gesture back that he had done nothing, but the man, blinded by his own rage, didn't care. He continued his verbal assault, even trying to grab Yuma again.
Yuma dodged him with ease.
Then the man reeled his arm back for a punch.
Yuma's body shifted defensively. He prepared to put the man down right there, if only to protect his secret.
Just as Yuma bent his knees, ready to dash in for the takedown, a boy stepped between them.
He wasn't tall, maybe only ten or fifteen centimeters taller than Keisuke. If Yuma had to be exact, he would guess thirteen or fourteen.
Though his short stature was apparent, what stood out more was his skin tone. His skin was a warm brown, close to the color of milk chocolate.
His hair was short, jet black, and tightly curled, each curl spaced with neat precision. Sparse hair lined his chin, barely visible unless someone looked closely.
His clothes kept to a muted color palette without being complicated: a simple shirt, baggy sweats, and a hoodie hanging around his neck.
The boy spoke calmly to the man in the same language, then turned to Yuma.
"Hey, could you show him your hands and pat yourself down to show you didn't take his wallet?" the boy asked.
His voice settled low with a quiet weight, but lifted easily when he spoke, gaining a clear, ringing edge.
Pushing aside his curiosity about the boy, Yuma patted himself down and showed that he had nothing to do with the missing wallet.
The man looked at him with dissatisfaction, then turned to the boy and muttered something.
Although Yuma didn't understand him, he could tell whatever the man said definitely wouldn't slide if he knew what it meant.
Yuma looked down at the boy, wanting to thank him for his help.
But just as he was about to speak, the boy held out a wallet and pulled out whatever cash was inside. Once he took the money, he threw the wallet into a nearby trash can.
"Don't worry, the guy was an asshole," the boy reassured him, clearly reading the disapproval on Yuma's face. "Called you something pretty bad. I'm fairly certain I shouldn't repeat it in Japanese."
Yuma looked at him for a moment before stepping closer and tilting his head softly.
"Thank you for your help back there..." Yuma said kindly.
"Don't mention it. It's rough these days..." the boy chuckled softly. "Everyone's so quick to jump the gun."
Then he looked Yuma over.
"You seem lost. Looking for something?" the boy asked inquisitively.
Unsure what else to do, Yuma realized the boy might help him find who he was looking for without even knowing it.
Yuma nodded and followed him.
"I'm new to this mall, but you seem well-versed with it..." Yuma said softly. "Mind giving me a tour?"
Without a word, the boy nodded and walked around, pointing out several stores and restaurants.
Yuma felt a little guilty for using the kid, but the possibility was too useful to ignore.
The more he thought about it, the more excitement sparked in his chest.
'THIS KID MIGHT BE THE KEY TO FINDING AYMAR AND DAYA.'