[Mushverse, open to anyone] Yet another rider joins in...

[halfboiledjoker]

This place seems just like any other city. Maybe a bit more hustle-and-bustle than Fuuto, granted, but it doesn't seem like the sort of place to be rife with crime and underground activity.

Then again, I never thought Fuuto could be that way, either.

I park the bike in a spot and pull off my helmet. It's weird, somehow, to think that those rumors of caped dopants could have drifted all the way from here. If it were any other sort of crime, I wouldn't have even been tapped. But the rumors had gotten even Jinno a little nervous, and I owed him a favor or five anyway.

Now if only I could find my way to this high school he wanted me to check out. What was the name again? I check my notes - ah, Amanogawa. It's late enough in the day...I wonder if there are any students wandering about?

Comments

[halfboiledjoker]

I'm fully prepared for him to make a quick, hasty exit, so when he sighs and confirms my suspicions, my elbow slips out from under me and I almost bang my chin off the table in surprise.

What flattens me even more is when he rolls up his sleeve and shows me the scar. It's not...exactly...like the data ports for Gaia Memories, but it's close. Almost like the kids who were sharing the Bird memory.

Dammit. I'll be here for a while.

"What...what happened?" I ask quietly, trying to regain my composure. Hopefully Leo is willing to tell me more.

[surprisingwolf]

He's surprised for some reason, and I'm not sure why. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't this. I slip my shirt back over the scar and push the jacket sleeve back down. "Someone thought it would be a fun idea to torture the engineering geek."

Admittedly, it wasn't because I was in engineering club. But that's not something he needs to know. "People don't need to be supernatural monsters to be evil." My hand falls to my bracelet, and I have no appetite anymore.

[halfboiledjoker]

This boy is a closed book, locked down more tightly than a bank vault. It's a shame something like this has to happen to someone so young, especially since it doesn't seem to have been voluntary.

"Listen," I say quietly, catching his eyes at the most non-threatening angle possible. "You don't have to tell me now. You don't have to tell me anything at all, if you don't want to. But..." I reach into my pocket and pull out one of the fancy cards Akiko made for the agency. I scribble down my cell number on the back and hand it to Leo. "I do have some...background in things like that. Those sort of...marks." I gesture at his covered arm. "If you want to talk, or if you need anything at all, please. Give me a call."

[surprisingwolf]

Marks? What is he talking about? Unless he's a doctor and he knows about scars that shouldn't be.

I take the card with both hands, quickly reading it. He's from a detective agency. Was the whole thing a lie, about his younger cousin? I take a deep breath and force the rising feelings of panic down, at least until I can run and get out of here.

There's always the possibility that he is telling the truth, that he has connctions to the police because of his work, and he really came here to check out the disturbing rumors because he wanted her to be safe. I want to ask if she's real, but I don't think I could face it if she wasn't.

The magic swirls within me, reacting to the panic, but I don't let it out. I'll just have to think of a way out of this as calmly as possible.

With trembling hands, I put the card away. "Thank you," I tell him, and try to not run away right now. That would surely give away what I don't want to.

[halfboiledjoker]

He's panicking, just taking the card from me. I desperately want to run and punch whatever's scared him so completely, but losing my composure now isn't going to help anything. I fight the fuming down and give him a simple nod and a small smile.

"You're welcome. You can call anytime, night or day, I'll answer. Take care, Leo-kun. Do what's best, okay?"

I go pay the bill for both of us. Hopefully that's not the only thing I can take care of while I'm here.