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Mizuki was on the couch alone when Shizue came home, knees tucked up to her chest, trying to pretend like she wasn’t crying. She didn’t move a muscle when her mother came over, just staying there and allowing herself to be pulled over into her side.
“Mizuki, what’s wrong? Where’s Yukuto?”
“H-He… he left.”
It was all her fault. She’d been so angry, but why had she said all those awful things? Why had she punched him? She didn’t want him to go away. She didn’t want him to leave her behind again. He was supposed to be her family, her big brother, but she always just pushed him away when she wanted to tell him to stay.
“Left? What are you talking about?”
“We had a fight. I got mad, and he… he decided it’d be better to leave.”
“That idiot…”
Shizue sounded upset, worry audible in her tone. Mizuki felt worse hearing it, knowing that she had to be the reason her mom was upset now. Everything had been going terribly today, and now things were just going to get worse.
“I’m sorry, mama… I’m sorry. It’s my fault…”
“…it’s okay, Mizuki. It’s okay. It’ll be okay.” Shizue just rubbed her back, letting Mizuki cry as much as she needed. “Today’s been a long day. It’s been long and difficult on everyone. But he’ll come home. It won’t be forever. And then you can kick his ass once he gets home for worrying us, okay?”
Mizuki gave a weak laugh, nodding her head. It was hard to think about anything going right at the moment, not when everything had fallen apart so quickly. It was all such a mess- she was furious with Kuruto still, she was mad at Yukuto for leaving, but she was scared. Nothing ever stayed the way it should, and she hated it. At the end of the day, she’d always end up alone again. With her heart getting worse now, how long would it be until Shizue got rid of her too?
“How’s… Mizuki doing? And Kizzy?”
“They’re… they’re being looked after. They’re injured, but they’ll live.”
“And… what about Date…?”
“We still haven’t found him. But no body is… it’s a good thing, in a way. That means he has to be somewhere. And I know that idiot well enough to know he’s still alive, he’s too stupid to die.”
“Mmh…”
Mizuki knew that Date was one of Shizue’s closest friends, and she knew that her mom was just being strong for her right now. She was a strong person, and Mizuki looked up to her for that. She wanted to be strong too, but for right now, she continued to cry.
Yukuto had parked outside of police HQ, taking Tomi from his eye socket and setting her down on the dashboard. She stared up at him, confusion in her systems.
“I’m dropping you off here, okay? You know how to get down to Pewter’s office?”
“What? What are you saying, Yukuto?”
“You’re not coming with me.”
Tomi felt something drop inside of her when Yukuto spoke, her processors whirring on overdrive as she tried to make sense of his words. It didn’t make sense. That wasn’t logical. She was Yukuto’s partner. So no matter where he went, no matter what, she’d go with him.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“You have to, Tomi. I’m quitting ABIS. I’m leaving and I’m not coming back.”
“I’m not leaving!” She stomped a foot on the dashboard of the car, her pupil quivering and tail hanging low. She had been made to help Yukuto, no matter what. No matter where he went, she went too. “I don’t care if you’re going, I’m going with you! Always.”
“Tomi, don’t you get it? I’m not a detective anymore. I’m not an agent. You can’t come with me.”
“I don’t care!” She didn’t understand why Yukuto was trying so hard to push her away. He was always trying to be so strong, but he’d always trusted her. He’d always talk to her. She’d thought she understood him, so why was he being so confusing now? “I don’t want to leave you! I don’t want to be paired up with anyone else!”
“C’mon, Tomi. It won’t be that bad, don’t be difficult. You could work with Mizuki, she’ll be needing a partner anyways—”
“I don’t want to!”
“Look, you’re throwing a tantrum. Stop that.”
“No! No, no, no!!”
“Tomi, please. Stop making this harder than it needs to be…”
Yukuto was crying, and Tomi would’ve been if she could’ve. But instead she just climbed over onto his hand, hugging it as tightly as she could. She wanted to be there for him, always. He was her partner, her friend. She wouldn’t let him be alone, no matter how much he wanted it.
“Wherever you go, I follow. Always. Because you’re my partner, Yukuto. Only you.”
“Tomi…”
Yukuto held her up to his face, shoulder’s shaking. She hugged his cheek as best she could, wishing she could do anything more for him.
“I won’t leave you. And I won’t let you leave me behind.”
He’d left so many others behind, always pushing forwards and thinking it was for the best. But if she could be there for him, save him from himself even just a little, then that was enough. That was all she needed.
Shizue Kuranushi was seated across from Mizuki Date, with Aiba in one hand. The young girl had healed physically since the explosion, but mentally… mentally, it was a completely different story. They still hadn’t found Date in the months that’d followed, and nobody quite knew how to help her. So Shizue had settled on the only plan she could think of that might do something good, hoping it might be enough.
“Mizuki, I was thinking that you and Aiba should partner up until we find Date. You can use her as your prosthetic eye, and keep her company.”
Phrasing it like that was for the better, she’d learned. Mizuki didn’t want pity- she was a lot like her own daughter, in that sense.
“Are you sure about that? Does Aiba… even want that?”
“I’ve spoken with her a lot about it. She’s decided it’d be a good idea.”
Aiba nodded her head, walking over to Mizuki’s side of the table. The AI had forgotten everything from the week of the HB case- she’d forgotten about Mizuki Kuranushi and Yukuto, she’d forgotten about the explosion, and every other detail that hadn’t been saved somehow. They’d at least managed to save her body, but still…
“Indeed. I would appreciate if you would consider it, Mizuki.”
“Well…”
She was hesitating, and Shizue couldn’t blame her for it. But eventually, she just nodded.
“I’m glad. I can get Pewter to schedule you in for the receptor surgery, then. Does that sound okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
Mizuki held Aiba close to her chest, the frown never leaving her face. She’d been like this ever since Date had gone missing- of course Shizue didn’t blame her for it. It was completely understandable. But that didn’t make it any easier.
“Hey… how’s Ryuki doing?”
That was a question Shizue hadn’t expected. And it was one she really couldn’t answer honestly, because the answer was bad.
“He’s doing okay. He’s on a mandated break right now, and he’s in therapy. Don’t worry about him, okay Mizuki?”
That was only half the story, but she couldn’t say the rest. Because something that’d happened that day had broken Ryuki. He refused to talk about it, and Tama’s data had gotten corrupted in the explosion, so she didn’t know how bad it was. But if he’d been bad before, then… he was worse now.
But that wasn’t Mizuki’s problem. It was hers. Every time she looked at him, she just saw Yukuto now. She remembered coming home, being told he’d left- all she’d gotten was a single message from Tomi saying they were fine, and then the AI had disabled her own GPS.
She had to wonder what she’d done wrong. She’d clearly mishandled things, but she didn’t know how she could’ve done things any differently to make things end better. It was a pointless exercise in misery, and she just… needed to push through it.
She’d been in this profession long enough to know that dwelling would kill you- maybe not physically, but that wasn’t the only way for a person to die.
Kaname let out a bored sigh, leaning against his stall. He’d gotten this job out of pure luck more than anything- it was the best he could do without a real name or memories. He didn’t even really know why he’d ended up in Atami, but something about it had just felt right.
He’d thought that maybe it could help him get his memories back, but it clearly didn’t seem to be doing much. At the very least though, it was something. It was enough to keep him on his feet in his shitty little apartment, and he could figure out the rest of who he was somewhere down the line.
And really, Atami wasn’t bad at all. Sure, customers could be a pain in the ass sometimes, and his bosses were all jerks. But there were nice sights, and he even got out to use the hot springs every now and then. For a guy with no memories, he figured this was a decent place to start making new ones.
Actually, he had to wonder why he wasn’t more worried about not knowing anything about himself. It was almost like he had practice with it or something, a rather insane feeling thought that made him want to laugh.
There was one thing that stuck out to him, though. Just some guy he’d seen on the street once, who hadn’t even noticed him- something about him had felt… strange.
Maybe it was his eyes, he’d thought to himself. Heterochromia was unusual, and his left eye was a striking shade of red. That certainly couldn’t be a common thing. But it also wasn’t like he could’ve approached the guy, he’d moved along before Kaname had even registered anything about him.
If he saw him again, maybe he’d say something. Who knew- maybe the guy had known him before? But the chances of actually seeing him again… well, they felt slim at best. People came and went all the time, and he didn’t exactly get regulars around here. Not yet anyways.
No point worrying about it. If it was something important, he’d probably figure it out sooner or later.
Tama must’ve gone over the data from the day of the explosion a million times, but still something was bothering her. That entire week had been off, really. She’d lied about her data being corrupted before she’d known anything, and she didn’t regret it. He’d risked it all for her, and she’d do the same for him without hesitation.
She hadn’t talked to Ryuki about it, because she didn’t want to force him to remember. He was suffering enough as it was- after he’d told her the truth though, she’d redoubled her efforts of analyzing everything. She needed to understand so that she could protect him.
“Ryuki. It is you, right?”
Date was pinned under a rock, pushing himself up as best he could.
“M-Mr. Date? What are you saying? No, don’t- I’ll get you out. Just don’t move, okay? I’ll help you!”
“Yeah… yeah, that’s impossible. It’s you.” Date muttered it to himself, shaking his head. “Look- I need you to take Aiba for me. I think she got knocked out in the explosion. Her systems are on the cloud, but this body is… it’s important.”
“Mr. Date, don’t talk like that!! You’re getting out too!”
“Ryuki, we don’t have much time. Just listen to me.”
“…”
“The man in the iron mask… how did you know it was Tearer?”
“……”
“And earlier today… Ryuki, it wasn’t you at Marble, was it?”
“Marble…? No, I didn’t see you there…”
“So then… there’s really no other possibility. Ryuki. It was you who ran away, wasn’t it?”
“…… Mr. Date…”
He didn’t have time to answer, foot slipping as he fell backwards.
The rest of the recording wasn’t relevant, but Tama had never been able to figure out what Date had meant. Who had he met at Marble, then? She could say with complete certainty that they hadn’t run into Date when they’d been there, only Mama.
And beside that, there were those strange people in the masks. They looked similar, but acted so differently- Tama had an awful feeling she might know who the person they’d met at Hitomi’s was, once Ryuki had told her everything. But as for the other one… who could that possibly be?
She hadn’t ever stopped thinking about that wink psync they’d done on him. She wasn’t sure why, but it had just felt important. That bird had to mean something, but… what could it be? Who was he trying to protect? What did any of it mean? There was one possibility that returned to her over and over, one answer that would make the pieces begin to line up, but it was impossible in every sense of the word.
“Mmh… Tama…?”
“Yeah, Ryuki?
She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of his voice, immediately pressing her body up against his just a little bit more. There was so little she could do for him, but being here at his side- it helped. Maybe not much, but it helped.
“Could you… order me some food…?”
“Of course, I’m on it.”
“Thanks…”
It was a rarity for him to even notice he was hungry these days, and rarer still to want to initiate a delivery on his own. She was eternally grateful for moments like these, the ones where he was doing just that tiny bit better. Even if things got worse again tomorrow, she’d hold on to this. And she’d keep fighting for him until someday, he could maybe finally forgive himself.
Yukuto leaned back against the wall by the entrance of the club, arms folded and watching the crowd through cheap sunglasses. Working as a bouncer was far from his ideal occupation, but it was better than nothing- it paid well, and he could at least tell himself he was helping someone. Stopping fights and keeping people from getting too rowdy was important, even if it was just at some hole in the wall club.
Even if he probably just stayed hired because he practically never needed any sort of paid leave, that was fine. He still got to pretend like he was doing something useful with his life, shrugging off his injuries and ignoring his past as best he could. It paid well too, enough to cover food and rent. Granted, he wouldn’t exactly call his living space luxury, but it was livable. Better than the institute. So long as he wasn’t living in a basement, he’d take anywhere.
“Yukuto, watch out. That next person entering is carrying something.”
Tomi’s voice perked him up, focusing harder on the person she’d mentioned. He didn’t entirely understand why she’d stood by him all these years, even though he wasn’t with ABIS anymore. Surely it would’ve been better for her to use her processing power the way it was supposed to be used, but every time he’d tried to insist she go back to HQ, she’d refused. Eventually he’d just given up.
‘Looks like… a pocket knife.’
“Should I alert the boss?”
‘Yeah, do that. Just in case there’s another incident.’
He gave a wry smile, ignoring her immediate concern. It hadn’t even been a week since the last time things had gone awry, but he’d already fully recovered. Stab wounds were painful, but still tended to heal up cleanly. The phantom pains didn’t go away nearly as quick, but he could manage it.
And at the very least, this incident wasn’t going to be an issue. The guy was already a bit drunk, and he wasn’t much of a threat- it took minimal effort to pin him down, the pocket knife confiscated after he’d made a couple weak stabs in Yukuto’s direction. Ultimately, he decided to just throw him out. The authorities didn’t pay much attention to joints like this, not even when there were incidents.
It was good, because it meant there was very little chance of anything ever getting back to ABIS. It was good, because it meant he didn’t need to think about all of the family he’d abandoned.
He didn’t spend most of his free time wondering how they were doing, wracked with guilt and regret over leaving. He didn’t spend hours upon hours staring at a wall, daring himself to just suck it up and text Mizuki to apologize, and ask if he could go home. He certainly didn’t ask Tomi at least once a week about whether or not Date had been found yet, just in case. And he definitely didn’t ask her to go through Tama’s data logs, just to make sure that Kuruto was still alive and that he hadn’t fucked up in that way too.
He'd made his choices, and now he had to live with them. Being here was for the better. It meant Mizuki didn’t have to see his face. It meant Shizue wouldn’t need to be frustrated by how much he’d ruined everything. It meant Kuruto would have space, not haunted at a distance by some ghost of his past. It was better for everyone involved.
He couldn’t be a hero. He’d failed. But at least here, he could pretend like he was doing something.
Yukuto and Kuruto sat together on the couch in their parents living room, absolutely glued to the TV. The most recent episode of their favourite anime had just come to a close on a cliffhanger, and they were practically transfixed as they watched the credits start up.
“It… it can’t end there!” Yukuto was the first to move, jumping out of his seat. “Hanpanman can’t lose, he’s a hero! And heroes always win!”
“Yeah, yeah!” Kuruto pumped his arms in a cheer, sitting up on his knees. “He has to win! A hero of justice can’t lose!”
They were both eleven, maybe a bit old for the target demographic for the show at this point, but something about it still kept them entertained without fail. Aside from some imported comic heroes, Hanpanman was their favourite right now- they’d even begged their parents for a themed birthday party around the character, something they’d been overjoyed to receive.
“That’s why I’m gonna be a hero someday!” Yukuto grinned, looking back over to his brother. “I’m gonna be a superhero, and you can be my sidekick.”
“Why am I the sidekick? I’m older!”
“Because I’m cooler. And I’m better at making hero poses. So obviously, I get to be the superhero.”
“That’s not fair!”
Kuruto was actively pouting now, only interrupted by their parents entering the room. He was quickly distracted by an offer of breakfast, grabbing their mom’s hand and walking with her to the table. Yukuto followed after, stomach grumbling.
He liked it here. Mom and dad were nice, and his brother was the happiest that Yukuto had ever seen. He didn’t remember things from before, but he didn’t seem to mind- or even realize it. And he didn’t seem to be forgetting things anymore, or at least, not like before. He didn’t space out as much, he didn’t need to ask about things as much. He was genuinely doing better.
Yukuto liked going to a normal school with other kids. He liked getting to make friends and hang out and play. He liked going to the library to read, he liked going to comic shops with his parents, and he liked going to parks to run around and play hero with his brother.
Yukuto could forget too, sometimes. He didn’t think about the doctor’s office as much anymore, some days forgetting about it completely. He didn’t think about the scary things, the bad videos, the tests or the needles or the pain. He still thought about Mizuki, he always thought about his little sister, but his mom would take him once a week to go and visit her, while his dad would take Kuruto out to play.
He hadn’t been able to protect his brother or his sister much at all, because he was just a kid still. There wasn’t very much he could do, and he’d never been able to bring himself to tell mom and dad about the institute.
But he meant it when he said he was going to be a hero. It was what he wanted more than anything else- to be a superhero who could help protect the weak. He wanted to grow up to be the sort of person that others could rely on. He wanted to be someone his brother could rely on, someone Mizuki could rely on. He’d find all of the bad guys of the world and he’d stop them, make them pay for their crimes. He’d never let someone like Horadori get away, once he was old enough to do something about it.
He'd made himself that promise before, and he’d keep making it. No matter what, some day, he’d become a hero. He’d protect everyone that mattered to him. Yukuto Ryuki would be strong.