Hexus: Neo

*14* Bridge

[4:31PM, January 8, UTC +09:00]

"Oh alright. Please keep me updated. I'll be back soon. Thank you. Good bye."

KOJIRO pressed the end button and threw the mobile phone onto the table. He hissed, carding his fingers through his hair and fisting them in exasperation.

"Bad news, I'm sure."

He looked up at the voice, and tried to give an apologetic expression to the person sitting across from him. The man shook his head subtly and stirred his straw into his peach-flavoured milkshake before looking back down at his phone. He looked to be in his early 20s, his dark brown hair gelled in straight clumps and frosted at the tips with orange dye, ears and eyebrow pierced with numerous silver hoop earrings and his wrists covered with studded black leather bracelets which matched the jacket he wore over a graphic T-shirt. As strange and excessive as Kojiro found his attire, he looked like any other member of hipster crowd in Akihabara. Rather, it was Kojiro who felt out of place, in his dull grey suit and office shoes, seated in a Maid cafe.

"Give me a moment," the man said, looking up from the screen momentarily. His irises flashed gold for a millisecond as he looked back down, touched the screen and raised the device to his ears. Kojiro tried to think of something to say, but sighed instead and grabbed his large paper cup of green iced tea. He exhaled nervously as he lifted the drink to his lips. The slightly bitter taste of the usually hot beverage was offset by the sugary syrup used in the mixture and it played on his tongue in a manner he found weird but enjoyable.

"Koyane? Yes, it's me. Slight problem..." the man said, eyeing Kojiro. Kojiro sat back and folded his free arm across his chest as he swirled the drink in his hand. He didn't like the accusatory glance, but he could understand how things must've looked. This unexpected event meant that he had failed to uphold his end of the bargain.

"I know," the man said with an irritated tone. "Calm down. Yes, what did I want to say...Adam can't make it. Adam, you know, from Hexus. Seriously, calm down, it is not like we can do anything about it. Yes. Yes, I know. Huh. Really? Well, if you think that could buy us some time..."

Kojiro perked up at those words. Anything that bought time at this point was more than welcome. He looked at the man expectantly but the man raised his finger to ask him to hold on.

"I suppose. If there is anything that can be done to stall, do it. Ha ha... Yes. Of course. Even if that means getting Ebisu to disappear for another century. Fine. No problem."

He hung up and pushed the phone back into his pocket. Kojiro wondered for a moment how he managed to fit the large device into such tight-fitting jeans but he threw the thought far into the back of his mind as the man sat up straighter.

"Well, I have good news, and bad news."

Kojiro stifled a groan. It would have been more surprising if this had gone differently but with the way things had been over the last few weeks, he was becoming accustomed to disappointment.

"Bad news first."
"The bad news is tied to the good news," he replied, beckoning to one of the waitresses dressed in an obscenely short frilly black dress. The woman flashed him a coy smile as she wrote down his order and he winked suggestively. She sashayed her hips playfully as she walked off and Kojiro's leg shook impatiently as the man turned back to face him.

"So yes, you get the good news first. And the good news is...Adam can come when he is ready. The meeting has been postponed, more or less indefinitely."

Kojiro's eyes narrowed. "Because..?"
"Because it seems the previous standstill is coming to a resolution."
"I don't understand."
"The only reason we had not acted was because the house was divided. Half of us - including yours truly - wanted a retaliatory attack. I know we have not been throwing our weight around like we used to, but that does not mean we will just lay back and take a bold affront. It invites trouble in the future, makes others think we are weak."