-Chapter 12: The Past isn't just the Past
"What are you doing up here?" Parad asks me, staring me straight in the eyes. "Oh, that sounds absolutely rude like how Hiiro talks. What I mean to say is that I thought you were working and that you wouldn't be up here."
He didn't expect me to come up here? He should have expected it. Why wouldn't I come up here and see him?
I laugh and move next to him. "I was wanting to see you before I go and find the Bugster you guys made. Well, Graphite made. He just keeps on infecting people doesn't he?"
"That is what he is supposed to do. We're going to make this world like my home world. Isn't it a great idea? You'll get to live in it and be free. I won't kill you and I'll make sure no one else tries killing you. There is a reason why you need to live and I just don't know it."
Does he mean game when he brings up his home? I guess that would make sense. But is that his true goal? Does he even have a true goal?
"Once you figure out, you can tell me what makes me so special to keep from getting infected." I look at the buildings across from us and smile. "It is so beautiful up here." I would spin, but that seems like something a fictional character does.
"It is lovely to look at everything from up here. I can basically see the world," Parad tells me, probably grinning. "I enjoy looking over the world and seeing it change slowly for me."
"It isn't changing right now."
"Oh, it is. Every day this world is changing."
"That is true." I turn and look at him, our eyes connecting.
He smiles widely and I smile back. "So, Kara, has Kuroto Dan realized that you stole from him yet?" He asks, pulling out his game console.
"No, he hasn't realized it yet. He is busy pretending to be my ex-boyfriend due to some things I have done. Isn't it funny that he is doing that when he should be investigating with me and the rest of the CR? It is obvious someone close to him took something from him."
I shouldn't be too surprised that he's too stupid to figure it out. He probably thinks I'm mind numbingly stupid or something, which is what he should think. He should really think that I'm stupid so I can get away with it. Also, he should think I want to smash Hiiro.
Parad chuckles. "I'm surprised he is willing to go along with something like that just for the sake of saving face," he replies, chuckling still.
"He bought me a lot of cute clothes the other day. I thought I would be able to get some compliments from the people in the CR but that failed completely."
He stops chuckling. "You mean Hiiro, right?"
"It would be nice to know if he thinks I look good or not. I was hoping for a simple compliment from him, but I didn't get that."
"Why? I don't get why you care about what he thinks. You two ended and that is how it should be and how it should stay," Parad asks me, getting a serious expression on his face.
"We're going to stay broken up." It isn't like we're magically going to get back together anytime soon. "It is how it is meant to be."
"Good because you two need to. I don't think you fit each other."
"Then who fits me?" I am curious about what he thinks. What does the Bugster think about my love life?
Parad grins, his face no longer looking serious. "I think you should figure that out on your own," he says, giving me his best Bugster advice. How long has he been around for?
"Okay, I guess I should do that."
He is onto something. Maybe I shouldn't be worried about how my ex thinks but how others may think about me. Maybe someone else is interested in me.
"So, what are you going to do with your powers you got? Are you going to use it for good?" he questions, sounding curious about my plans. I don't blame him for being curious about it, but I'm going to do what I need to do with them.
"Of course I am. I'm not evil." At least I don't see myself as someone who is evil. "I am going to do the right thing."
"You did something slightly evil to obtain that power." True. Stealing isn't a thing that someone who isn't evil does.
"And you allow innocent people to die for the sake of your race." I think we both are in the wrong here. "We're both in the wrong and slightly evil, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess we all do something evil then," he replies, laughing a bit. "So, are you going to hate me now for doing what I have to do for my race? Are you going to cut me off for doing something that is in my nature? I'm not the only Bugster who wants to take over this planet."
I don't think he's trying to take over this planet. He doesn't seem as invested as Graphite is. He definitely has his own agenda and I want to know what it is.
"No, I'm not going to do that at all."
"Hey, I'm back! Hey, what is she doing up here?" Graphite asks, sounding ticked off. "Do you really have to have her around after what we did for her?"
I turn and look at Graphite, glaring at him. "Why are you even asking that? I'm a guest of Parad's, okay? You should learn how to respect me and greet me." I did nothing wrong to him, so he should get over me being here.
"I'll respect you when you earn it. You're even lucky that Parad has even bothered looking your way."
Parad laughs. "Graphite, chill! Kara is allowed to be up here with us whenever she wants. I only come up here so she can find me and hang out with me. It is fun for the two of us to be around each other like this without anyone knowing about it."
"So, she's a Rider too?" He seriously didn't know that I wanted them for myself and Miyuki?
"Yeah, obviously she's one. We didn't just get it for one person."
"I don't want her interrupting my plans. If she does, I'm killing her and I won't regret it."
"If you do that, I'll kill you. I didn't save her for nothing you know." Parad looks so scary right now. Graphite smirks, turning his head away. "I'm watching you, Graphite. You better stay in line."
"Kara, do you know anything about that annoying Rider who keeps fighting with that Quack Doctor?" Graphite asks me.
Quack Doctor? Does he mean Taiga Hanaya? He's the only one I could see being considered a Quack Doctor.
"I don't think she knows what you mean by that," Parad says, trying to make Graphite word it differently.
"I am sure she does. She is probably figuring it out," Graphite says. "But just in case, I'm talking about Taiga Hanaya. He's going to die to my hand."
"Good luck with that. My friend won't let you touch him. She's pretty into him." Even though Miyuki hasn't admitted to it, she's smitten by Taiga. He is totally her type of guy for some unknown reason.
"I'll just have to destroy her."
"Uh...she's a game character." I rub the back of my neck and look away, refusing to stare into his eyes. "Like you guys are."
"Great." He doesn't sound very thrilled. "An ally is into that man."
Ally? How is she considered his ally? Well, I think that makes her some sort of Bugster doesn't it? I have no proof she's one, but it does make sense. She really must be one of them.
Parad looks at Graphite curiously. "Graphite, why are you asking her about some annoying Rider?"
"Well, he's been up in my plans since he stopped Emu from trying to operate on me. I mean, sure I was a criminal, but that doesn't mean you not do your job."
"Are you upset about that? I would move on. Hiiro isn't going to change his views," I mutter out, rolling my eyes.
"What did you say?"
I clear my throat. "Hiiro Kagami is who you're wanting to know about. And he's not annoying, he's just a cold hearted jerk. I honestly don't know why you even want to know about him."
"I don't really wish to know about him. He's annoying. I don't find him important enough to actually remember like Taiga."
"Hiiro is very important. He's my ex!"
"Ex?" Graphite looks at me, lips curved upwards. "Oh, so that's why he's important then? You're so biased."
"I used to be engaged to him." I have to set the record straight about what we were to each other. "So, yeah, of course I am."
"Ah, I know what that is! That is what humans do before getting married with their relationships," Graphite says, as I look at him. He nods his head, understanding what I meant now. "So, you actually were with him? Isn't that amusing? This is fate."
"What do you mean by that?" I look at him in confusion. "What do you mean by saying that it is fate?"
"You don't know?"
"Graphite, don't you dare say anything else!" Parad orders, trying to shut him up. "Her relationship with Hiiro isn't anything you should meddle with. If she wants to look into his past, she can do that herself. You don't get to say anything you want to her." What does he mean by that?
"What do you want me to talk about then? I just said something and she is going to think about it. You can't stop a human from being so curious."
"You get curious all the time and I have to stop you. What makes you think a human can't stop from being curious?" Parad asks.
"Well, I'm going to tell her unless you want to."
I look at Parad. "What is he talking about?"
"Kara, I need to tell you something about Hiiro."
"What do you need to tell me about my ex that I don't know?"
"Well, Graphite is linked to Hiiro based on something that happened five years ago," Parad tells me. "Five years ago, Graphite was born. He was born from someone Hiiro dated."
"What? I don't get what you two are talking about." I don't know about this at all. Hiiro dated someone other than me?
"Hiiro had a girlfriend five years ago. Graphite was linked to her when she was alive and could feel anything she felt. Well, in a way he could. Much like any other Bugster out there who is born from someone else's life force." So, Graphite was just pretending to forget who Hiiro is?
"He had a girlfriend five years ago? He told me I was the only one who has ever loved and truly been with." Someone has been lying to me. Gosh, I'm going to cry now.
"Kara, don't cry." Parad moves closer to me and wraps his arms around me. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this right away but I didn't know if you would believe me. I thought it would be better for Hiiro to tell you himself. I figured he would since she died at the CR."
I sob into his chest. When did I start crying? And why am I such a huge baby who believes in everything that someone tells me?
He rubs my back gently. "It will be okay." How?
"I should go and check on the person I infected. Going to make sure those pests aren't stopping it yet." Graphite probably just teleported away and isn't going to come back anytime soon. Well, he will pop in to see if I'm gone soon.
"You can just stay here as long as you want to," Parad tells me. "This is your place to hang as well."
I nod. "Thanks." I am so comfortable with this Bugster now.
~.~
Kiriya stares at me as I change his bandages. "How did you find out I was here?" he asks me, staring at me with a smile stuck on his face.
"I saw you last night when I was doing rounds. I managed to avoid Hiiro the entire time," I tell him. "I don't wish to see him."
"Did something happen between you two?"
"Don't worry about it," I tell him, staring at his cuts, and frown a little. "Did something happen last night? You looked like you were having a bad dream." I am pretty sure that he had a bad dream. It is the only thing I can think of.
"Did you see me having a bad dream? I guess you can say that I was. I was dreaming about that black version of Ex-Aid for some reason. It wasn't my usual dream." He has a usual dream?
"Why would you dream of that? We don't know who they are yet," I state. Kiriya having a bad dream? I don't see that happening unless he was to do something absolutely stupid like crashing into something.
"He got on top of me," Kiriya tells me, giving me a slight detail from his terrible nightmare.
On top of him? Okay, that is way too much for me to know about right now at this point of our friendship! He allowed the enemy to let get right on him and slide up on that? That...that is something I could have lived on without knowing.
"I don't need to know that much information!" I don't want to know about Kiriya's sexual fantasies with the enemy.
How can he do that? And about that recolor guy? That's disgusting! That is so different from hanging out with our Bugster enemies!
"No, I don't mean like that! Kara, you're a pervert!" He laughs, amused by me being a bit twisted. "I didn't think that you would be one. You don't seem the type to be thinking stuff like that at all." What does he think I'm like then? An idiot?
"So, he made you crash into something I assume?" I'm going to disregard what he just said. "Or did he crash into you?" Sorry, had to.
He nods a little, rolling his eyes at the last part. "Yes, that is what happened in my dream. I don't know who they are though because in a dream, it could be anyone. Possibly someone you don't even know because they are made up."
Okay, he crashed into something instead of being crashed into. That makes it so much better. Dreaming about the enemy is such a good thing to do apparently.
"Are you lying to me?" I can't tell whether he's being honest with me or not. He's unpredictable and I hate it.
"Nope, I am not lying to you. I really have no idea who that other Rider is. Even if I did, I would just blackmail them," Kiriya tells me, possibly not being honest with me. "I know how to blackmail people really well. That is how I became a Rider." So, he's a criminal on the side of his hospital job? Good for him.
"And you're telling me this?"
"Because you wouldn't tell anyone about how I became a Rider. You don't get involved like that with people you don't have much of an interest in," he answers, grinning. "Can you go ahead and fix up the rest of my cuts?"
"Kara, don't fix him up," Hiiro says. I'm not going to look and I have his voice memorized. Yes, I'm pissed about the girlfriend thing that he decided not to share with me.
"I'm doing my job. So, Hiiro, you can get lost." I seriously hate him right now.
"Go and do your job elsewhere. I'll handle him because that is what I need to do. You, Nurse Amor, need to follow my orders. I have authority over you."
"No, I'm going to handle him and you can deal with it."
Hiiro grabs my wrists, holding them a bit roughly. "I will handle this. You need to go and do your regular duties here," he says. "You are working under me, not yourself. If I tell you to do something, you do it. I don't know why you're being rude to me but going against my orders isn't wise."
"Hiiro, let me go." I glare at him.
He removes his hands from my wrist. "Go and do your job. I gave you an order and you will follow it. Now."
"Fine." I look at Kiriya and bow my head a little bit. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to let Hiiro take care of you. He doesn't think I can be alone with a guy who isn't him." It is pretty true that he can't. He's a baby.
"Kara, don't be like that."
I don't have a good comeback to him, so I'll just go with the generic womanly response. "Whatever."
"You're being childish."
"And you're childish when you are rude to poor Emu." I turn and leave the room, leaving him with Kiriya.
"Kara, why are you storming off from that room?" Miyuki asks me as I approach the Nurse's desk.
I lift the bar blocking the entrance to it and enter the space behind the desk, joining her. I sigh heavily and shake my head. I hate him. I seriously hate him so much right now.
"Hiiro Kagami."
"Oh, I see. Did he do something to you?" she asks, quite curious about why I came rushing over here at the speed of light.
"Not exactly." He lied to me for a while. And by a while, I mean a really long time. "Don't worry about it."
"Good morning girls," Dan says as my eyes connect with his.
What is he doing up here? Shouldn't he be at Genm Corp or in the CR? Does he have to bother us right now after what just happened?
"What are you doing here?" Miyuki asks him, probably staring at him in confusion.
"I came to see how everyone was doing. I went to the CR and no one was down there so I came here. I assumed Hiiro would be up this way since his father told me he was working around this area. So, what are you two up to? Do you want to come to the CR with me for a few and help me set up for the simulation?" He asks, smiling brightly. He seems a bit off today, but I'm going to let it slide.
"We're busy," I tell him, looking down at the piece of paper. "I have to arrange for a few things because this paper has all of what I'll be doing today on it. Apparently, Hiiro is going to make my life hell."
"Are you sure you can use that word when you're working?"
I look at him. "I can say whatever I want as long as I'm not breaking any of the rules here. One little curse word isn't going to kill them. I could just switch to English if you want."
"And I will understand that because I know English. I actually know it because it is important for someone like me to know it. Business is a wonderful world and you should get to know it." Asshole.
"Great. Good for you." I roll my eyes, resisting the urge to groan.
"Kara, be nice to him. He's a guest here," Miyuki tells me, reminding me that he could get me into trouble. I guess I should remember that.
"Sorry, my bad." I look at Miyuki. She's only defending him because he created her. "I didn't mean to come off so rude to him."
He laughs. "Don't be worried about how she's talking to me. She probably does it because she actually cares," he says, still laughing a bit. I sort of want to punch him right now. He's annoying and distracting me from my work.
"Kuroto, why are you here?" Hiiro asks, stepping next to Dan. "I didn't think you would be up here. Also, don't be distracting them from their jobs."
"Sorry, but I was looking for you." He looks at Hiiro. "I need you in the CR."
"I see. Well, I'll let Kara go with you since you two seem to get along so well." He still isn't over me crying on Dan yet!
"Oh, I would go with him but I'm busy working. I'm doing my job unlike some people." I move over to the computer and sit down. "I need to look over some things and maybe I can help. It'll probably take me a few hours."
"Miyuki will handle your work load. Go and work with Kuroto," Hiiro orders. "Miyuki, take over for her. She needs to do her job in the CR."
"Do I get paid for this?"
"Absolutely. I'll have my dad pay you for it. It'll be like if you were doing your job here."
"Great." I bit down on my bottom lip, glaring at Hiiro. He has the wrong idea about me and Dan. We're not remotely close at all.
"Come on, let's go." Dan, shut up!
I exit from behind the Nurse's Desk and step over to Dan. "Okay, let us go. Have fun, Miyuki! Don't let him torture you!"
"I won't let him do that! Besides, he should have fun soon. Taiga is going to be bringing me something to eat today since I cooked for him." She is really into him despite him being so cold and cruel to her. I'm surprised he wants to pay her back by buying her food.
"Okay, good!" I smile. "So, Dan, ready to go?"
"Still doing that to annoy me? Call me Kuroto, okay?" He is so annoyed right now.
"Fine, whatever you say." I look at him. "So, are you going to go with me to the CR?"
"Yeah, sure." He nods. "Come on. Hiiro, I'll see you soon."
"Alright."
We move forward, heading towards the elevator. I look down, staring at my feet. Good thing these don't have shoestrings because I'm not in the mood to deal with them and trip. That would only make me angrier and Dan happy.
"What has you upset today?" Dan asks me randomly.
"Why would you think I'm upset?"
"You're not looking ahead and when Hiiro entered the room, the temperature went down to a very chilling level," he says, stating the most obvious stuff. I could have guessed that to be honest.
"He lied to me for ages. So, I'm mad at him."
"What did he lie about?"
"Me being his first love." I look up, staring ahead at the elevators.
He stops and I stop. "You know about her, don't you?"
"You knew about her? Does everyone but me know about her?"
"Miyuki doesn't know and I know that a few others don't know. Quite a few others to be exact," he tells me. "How did you manage to find out about her?"
"I found out because of someone I know. He managed to tell me about it since he knows someone who knows about it," I reply. "So, who was she?"
"Well, she was his girlfriend. Taiga Hanaya failed to save her from the virus, which caused her death. Hiiro was so upset and I was too. I didn't want anyone to die in that way you know? It isn't a good way to go," he answers. "I didn't know her personally, so I'm sorry I can't say much. I didn't want to tell you about it because it wasn't any of my business."
"I see..."
"Kara, if you need to cry you can. I can hold you if you want someone to comfort you."
"I'm fine." I'm going to hold up. I cried on Parad for a bit and it felt pretty nice to have a good shoulder to cry on.
"Is your way of getting back at him by being a huge jerk about it?"
"I'm not being a huge jerk about it. I'm just being a huge baby about it." It is true. I'm being a freaking huge baby over something that happened five years ago and has nothing to do with me.
He chuckles. "At least you're being honest about how you're being. So, Kara, are you over him now?"
"I'm never going to be fully over him. But right now, I pretty much hate his guts." That is what he gets for lying to me.
"How about we skip going to the CR for a moment and get something to eat? I think you need to get some fresh air and the CR isn't going to help you with calming down about this."
"Just don't try anything on me, okay?"
"I wouldn't do that to you at all. Ever."
"Good."
He better not ever try anything on me or else he'll end up missing.