❝ ᴛʙʜᴋ//Detective Daikon ˎˊ-

𝚡𝚒𝚡.

𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛
(a/n: we're almost done, folks! just a little more~)

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"Yashiro..." In a paranoid state, Amane paced back and forth in the Wonders' meeting room. It was currently three in the afternoon, a few hours after they had successfully arrested his younger twin brother. Mei, Wonder No.4, was currently working on curing Yashiro. That morning when Yashiro sneaked out, Mei had already finished the cure for the poison, but wasn't able to treat her. Amane repeatedly muttered Yashiro's name in worry.

This was his fault. He shouldn't have allowed her to partake in their mission.

That also didn't change the fact that Yashiro had not only stopped the bomb, but injured Tsukasa in a way Yako, Mitsuba, and Amane never could've done without her.

"Calm down, Amane," Tsuchigomori was devastatingly quiet and calm throughout the entire time Yashiro was gone. "I'm sure... Mei has it all worked out."

Akane was sitting on the No.1 seat. After his little concussion earlier this morning, he was feeling fine now, except for a few minor headaches. He felt guilty for leaving the fight so early. That was just so weak of him. "You can put your trust in our healer... or something," the redhead said, trying to lighten the mood. He wasn't very fond of No.7's guts, but he felt sympathy for Amane because... honestly, if Aoi was in Yashiro's shoes, that's what Akane would feel too.

Sakura was sitting on Mitsuba's seat number three, carrying the heaviest burden and guilt of all. Mitsuba was currently at the hospital, visiting Kou. Sakura felt that it would've been better if she was a little braver and stood up to Tsukasa, instead of blindly following his orders. She sighed wearily. "I'm sorry." Those words felt alien in her mouth.

"It's..." Tsuchigomori raised his head. "... we'll talk about this later."

"At least we all didn't explode," Akane tried for a cheerful tone before miserably failing. "Right?"

Amane sunk to the metallic floor on his knees, feeling more down in the dumps than he had ever had in the past. "Gee, thanks for that attempt, Akane," he said sarcastically. "Really helped us a lot."

Akane opened his mouth to retort and say something back, but Tsuchigomori raised a hand to stop him from speaking.

"We don't talk about this with No.7's current mental state," Tsuchigomori warned him. "He... needs some time to cool off."

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Mitsuba knocked on Kou's hospital room's wooden door, the feeling in his gut worsening with every step he took. This morning was... too much to process. He didn't want to see his senpai Amane all depressed and stuff, so Mitsuba decided to visit Kou again and check if he was awake or doing alright.

Mitsuba pressed his ear against the door. There were no sounds coming from inside. Kou must be asleep. With a brown paper bag in hand filled with sweet potato jellies - Kou's favorite snack. He gently opened the door to the room and closed it behind him without making any sound.

"Minamoto-kun..." Mitsuba teared up at the sight in the room.

Kou was sitting upright at staring at the potted plant near the window, not speaking at all. His blonde hair had become more and more messy as days pass, and he seemed alright. Mitsuba guessed that it would be discharged at least tomorrow. Tomorrow would probably be fine for Kou to return - the Seven Wonders were still wrecked right now, physically but especially emotionally. Then again, considering Yashiro's current condition, that was probably a bad idea.

It's been so long since Mitsuba has last seen Kou awake.

Kou turned back from his potted plant to face Mitsuba. His blue eyes widened in surprise when he met with Mitsuba's pink ones. "Mitsuba-"

In one quick, wordless moment, Mitsuba tackled Kou into a tight embrace. Under normal circumstances, Mitsuba wouldn't even have the courage or pride to do so. He held onto Kou's back as tight and secure as he can without hurting the blonde, and let himself cry tears of joy and guilt. After all, it was Mitsuba's fault why Kou was injured badly like this.

"I'm s-so sorry," Mitsuba sobbed. "I'm so sorry. I-I should have been better! I should've pro-"

"Shhh," Kou shushed Mitsuba from speaking. Slowly, he proceeded to stroke Mitsuba's soft hair in a comforting manner. Kou understood his guilt. He's been through that before. "It's alright, okay? I understand. You did well, nonetheless."

"You don't even know what I did, stupid," Mitsuba was still crying. "You don't know how scared I was all this time! I-It's just that... the past few days have scared me more than I can ever dare to admit. Amane hasn't been feeling very well today. And Yashiro..." Mitsuba let his sentence drift off into silence.

"What happened to Nene-senpai?" Kou asked.

"She's injured pretty badly," Mitsuba was careful about how he worded her situation. "She's healing right now, though."

Kou's breath hitched for a second before his eyes turned sad. "Is that so..."

Mitsuba nodded grimly, still holding onto Kou. These past few days when he visited him and took care of him, Mitsuba grew attached to the stupid blonde. It wasn't bad, though. Kou did have some good sides and traits. He felt relieved now that Kou was okay, but why couldn't he stop crying?

"You're still crying?" Kou gave off a small laugh. "Sheesh. C'mere, you keep boasting about how cute you look yet you're like this when you cry. Fill me in on what happened later, okay?"

"Okay." While Mitsuba was leaning against Kou's chest, the aforementioned blonde used his two thumbs to wipe the tears rolling down the detective's face. Mitsuba used that moment to observe how truly caring Kou was for his friends.

"I'm sorry," Mitsuba muttered again.

Kou smiled cheekily. "You don't have to repeat it again and again. I get it, okay? You don't have to feel too bad about yourself."

"I brought you sweet potato jellies, by the way," Mitsuba brought up the paper bag filled with snacks. "I thought you'd like them."

"Sweet potato jellies?!" Kou's eyes lit up like rainclouds clearing to give way for sunshine. "Awesome! Let's eat!"