Crime Games | ✓

45. Sympathy to the Enemy

↑ Seiichirou Okigawa above ↑

••●••

'Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered'
— José Saramago

••●••

He was supposed to be leaving the school building. But that was before he saw his upperclassman trekking through the corridor.

"Upperclassman Watanabe!"

Luckily for him, the purple-haired girl spun around, grinning at the black-haired junior of hers that came racing up to her.

"Ah, Atsushi!" she giggled, continuing along the vacant halls when he caught up to her. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

Atsushi fixed his posture, standing up straight. "I was a little too absorbed with my club activities."

Hitomi's lips were turned up in a smirk as she eyed him. "Wow, you must really take your work seriously. Kazuma and I only suggested joining the CRF because we wanted more surveillance of the club too. You didn't really have to join."

Atsushi shook his head. "What kind of role model would I be for the future generations if I don't stop the wrongdoings of a club? Even if you were concerned with whether or not they were indulging in criminal activities, it is the Student Council Vice President's duty to set things straight."

Hitomi let out a laugh at his serious response. She stretched out her arms, pulling them behind her head. "You never do change, huh, Atsushi. You're just like your brother."

The black-haired teen frowned at the mention. It took a while for him to say something. "What kind of guy... was he?"

Hitomi dropped her hands by her sides, staring up at the ceiling. "Well, for starters he wasn't as uptight as you. The only reason he joined the Student Council was for girls."

"Girls?" Atsushi asked, surprised.

"Yes, just to get girls," Hitomi tittered. "He was always snapping at Kazuma because he was so popular with them and often used to say to give him the President role. But even when Kazuma appointed him as the Treasurer, he never slacked once in doing his job. He always took it seriously despite complaining about how much he wanted to be Vice President at least."

Atsushi dropped his head, staring at his feet as he walked. "He... always slacked off at home. He always left me to do the chores and his homework while he played sports and hung out with other people. But I did respect him. I often used to get bullied as a kid for loving school and doing extra work but he always came and beat them up for me. And even though I was taller than him, he'd always try to beat me up to prove he'd always be stronger."

Hitomi laughed at his words. "Atsushi was a midget. He was only 5'2"!"

As Hitomi continued to laugh, Atsushi smiled slightly. "I was looking forward to going to high school with him... but he..."

Hitomi stopped abruptly. Atsushi did as well, snapping his head in he direction. She had an inexpressive look on her face. "Maybe he's still alive. He probably just ran away from home. Who knows if he was kidnapped."

He clenched his fists. "Atori wouldn't run away. He had no reason to."

Hitomi frowned. "And you know this because?" she said. "You didn't know your brother, Atsushi."

Atsushi's eyes widened as Hitomi started walking forward again. He quickly kept up.

"Where are you going?" he questioned.