Stand

The Break-in

Hi. I know, it's been too long. Do I have an excuse? Other than 'I forgot', no. Sorry...

Now, welcome to the sixteenth chapter of Stand!

~'0'~

Shuu and Hakuryuu, meanwhile, look at Tenma in shock. The brunet just smiles at them. ''Ah, yes, Haru told me about that. The Ishikawa twins all chose those players personally, and some of them have skills that could come in handy if we're going to stop the Ishikawa twins. Mizuno Hisao-san is a great hacker, Hamasaki Akemi-san used to steal as a hobby, and is very good at picking locks and sneaking around, and Shimizu Akio-san and Ueno Hiroki-san are cousins who are from an old and noble family, skilled in all kind of different fighting arts,'' explains the brunet.

The other two turn to stare at the Kanashimi players again. ''Wow...'' mutters Hakuryuu. ''You know, we might even be able to take on the crazy scientists with the help of these players.''

''Might?'' asks Ueno, growling dangerously. ''Oh no, we will.''

Tenma nods happily. ''Yep! Anyway, we should go back to our plan of breaking in at a school controlled by two evil freaky scientists.''

Shuu sweat drops. ''Even so, you shouldn't be so happy about it...''

~'0'~  

''Dammit!'' curses a blue-haired adult loudly, as he punches the bureau in anger. Above his bureau are holograms, showing various news stations.

Another man looks up from where he is working on his laptop, at another bureau. ''What's wrong, nii-san?'' he asks, and Kazuo grits his teeth while nodding to the holograms.

Jirou stands up, joining his brother. His sapphire eyes widen in shock when he sees what made his twin so angry. ''Missing?!''

Kazuo nods. ''Yes, apparently,'' he grits out. ''Three days ago is the last time anyone saw him.'' He scowls. ''We need E12 here! The experiment is almost coming to a close, and we both know how it will end!''

Jirou's eyes narrow, as he nods thoughtfully. ''Yes...'' he mutters in agreement. ''The ending of the experiment... damn it, the brat's smart.''

His older twin looks up sharply. ''Do you think he went away to avoid us?'' he asks, but the younger doesn't react. ''I mean, if he'd be afraid for his safety... no. E12 doesn't know about the experimenting, does he?''

The coach of the soccer club sends him a disbelieving look. ''Really, nii-san? We might be smart, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world is stupid, you know. Even a kid like Matsukaze Tenma will know that something is wrong at this point. According to our predictions, they should be able to talk mentally if they knew about the link at this point!''

Kazuo chuckles sheepishly and nods. ''Hai, hai, sorry, little brother. Forgot for a moment there...'' then he turns serious again. ''So he might feel threatened, right? Maybe that's the reason why he went away,'' suggest the director.

Jirou nods in agreement. ''Yeah...'' he agrees softly, and his brother raises an eyebrow. Jirou ignores him, instead walking back to his own bureau, and looking at his laptop. ''By the way, I've ordered the new chemicals.'' At Kazuo's confused gaze, Jirou chuckles and shakes his head good-naturally. ''You asked me about it a while ago, we've used almost all our chemicals for the experiments. Anyway, they should be here tonight.''

~'0'~  

Tenma, Hakuryuu and Shuu spend the first half of the day after their meeting with Kanashimi at God Eden. After they made a plan to break in at Kanashimi Jr High, the three friends went back to the island where they got a good night of sleep.