"...Minji?" Appearing into the room literally into thin air, slowly fading into the room like a ghost, Satou glanced around the first floor. Which was nothing, nobody was there, and Minji definitely wasn't there. Or at least, not on this floor.
He was about to fade away and disappear again, his body becoming invisible, when he was abruptly stopped. The hand on his shoulder appearing on his shoulder had immediately shaken him to the core. His eyes widened and he flinched, reacting quickly.
Grabbing the hand on his shoulder, he easily threw the person over him, and straight onto the ground. Though, his eyes widened in shock and his breath hitched when he saw who it was, immediately letting go. In surprise, his body faded in and out of existence, parts of his body visible while other parts were completely see through and transparent.
"Taichi..." Letting out a pained groan, the shorter black and white haired male had avoided hitting his head in the fall, or attack. He quickly got up from the floor, seemingly unaffected as he brushed down his clothes, then lifting his head to look directly into Satou's eyes with a piercing gaze.
"I finally caught you. You do know how annoying your ability is, right?"
─
"Hey mom, I'm home!"
Pushing the door open, Chieko walked inside and closed the door behind her. She had to get her stuff ready for school tomorrow, which she honestly wasn't looking forward to as much as her mother assumed. She thought her daughter was happy to be reunited with her school friends, even when she hadn't mentioned them all throughout the holiday.
Sometimes her mother was a little oblivious, but that made things easier to hide. "Mooom?" Chieko called out again when she didn't receive an answer, a little confused as to why. She walked through her house, looking around for her mother and where she could be.
It was only five, her mom almost never left the house alone. With no job, she mostly spent her time doing work around the house, or as she used to, keep Chieko company. With Minji's training, just ever since she encountered Taichi and came across the warehouse ─ she had a little less time to spend with her mother. She still had plenty, of course, and she loved every moment that was spent with her selfless, caring mother.
When she still didn't receive any reply when she called out for her mother a third time, she started to worry. She rushed into the other rooms, searching every corner for her mother ─ or some indication for where she was. After she had officially joined Minji, her worries increased by a ton, even if she hadn't encountered any "villains" after Nyx. Had... Something happened to her mother...?
Running back to the living room, Chieko was breathing heavily as her worried eyes glanced around the room. There was no sign of her mother within the entire house, she wasn't here. So then where was she...?
Dropping to her knees, Chieko could only think of one possible solution. She shook her head, trying to tell herself that she had just gone out to get some groceries, buy some extra supplies, she had left the house in her own will.
But still, she rarely did any of that, and when she did go out, for shopping or whatever it was ─ it was always when Chieko was around, who then accompanied her. They went shopping not too long ago, what reason was there for her going out again...?
Panic only growing larger, Chieko remained on her knees, deathly pale gaze on the floor. She was both frozen and silent, mind filled with thoughts racing through her head, searching for answers.
And then, there was a click. Head shooting up, the small click had come from the front door. Racing to her feet, the doorknob on the door slowly turned... The door slowly pushed forward, opening to reveal none other than the person who she wanted to see so dearly.
At that moment, Chieko felt her worries die down when she saw the familiar figure, who looked surprised to see her. "Oh! Chieko, I didn't know you'd be home yet," she told her, walking inside and closing the door behind her. Chieko wanted to just run over to her mother and engulf her into a giant, warm bear hug, and she almost did. She craved physical affection from her mother, and she didn't just want to receive it, she wanted to give it.
But instead, she just stood there with an awkward smile spread across her lips, and a look plastered to her face as if she was staring at a ghost standing right before her. Seeing her pale face, her mother looked at her puzzled, before checking behind her. "Is there something wrong, dear?" She asked, looking back at her daughter with a concerned face.
Closing her mouth, Chieko simply shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but wasn't sure what words to say. "Just..." She trailed off, thinking for a few moments afterwards, "happy to see you." And in fact, she was happy, so happy. That what she had started to consider was true, was indeed false.
But, her anxiety was starting to get out of hand. Every time her mother wasn't where she thought, or assumed, she would have a mini panic attack. Always, the first thought that came to mind, was 'what if they got her?' What if she was located by the villains, who had somehow figured out who she was and her connection to Chieko, and then kidnapped her?
This couldn't go on. Her mother was going to surely realize soon enough something was wrong, and Chieko's heart just couldn't handle all of these out of control emotions, even though she thought that she was used to them. Just the memory of Nyx, who they were, made Chieko feel unsafe.
But, she couldn't let those thoughts and feelings get to her. She had promised Minji to train hard and become a great, and useful hero, also to prove Taichi wrong about those words he had said. She was just overreacting, just like she always did. Everything was fine, Nyx had for some reason left her alone, and although it seems a little suspicious ─ it's relieving, and Chieko hopes never to encounter them again. Or any villain, in fact.
Though, she wonders how possible that hope of hers just might be. She's a hero now, even if she's still training, and if she's an "under-cover" one. She wasn't a hero before, but she still got attacked, and injured. So obviously, whether she liked it or not, whether she had decided to become an "under-cover hero" or not, they already knew who she was, and she couldn't erase that fact. Which meant that she couldn't stop them from targeting her, but at least it meant just her solely. Her mother, didn't need to be any part of this, she just needed to be safe.
After she packed her books for the next day, she found that her mother had already gotten out her clothes and placed them neatly at the end of her bed. Really, what would Chieko do without her...?
Boredly wandering around the house, Chieko was trying to find something to do. She had already prepared for school the next day, got her clothes out and everything. Despite having a shelf full of books, she had already read every single one to the end. And as far as she knew, none of her favourite authors were going to publish a new book anytime soon.
She started to wish that she had stayed at the warehouse, training with Minji for a little longer. Sure, she had school tomorrow, but she wouldn't be staying for that long, and by the looks of it, she didn't have any chores to do. She enjoyed being with Minji, even if it was when she fought against her, it was helping her get stronger. To be honest, the warehouse had slowly become a second home for Chieko.
A smile appearing on her face, laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, she quickly sat up and slipped a pair of shoes on.
"I'm going out for a bit, be back soon!" She called to her mom as she ran past the kitchen with an energetic smile on her face, hopping towards the front door. She was just about to grab the doorknob, when she was stopped by a voice.
"Actually, Chieko, could you help me with some chores around the house first?" The question was a bit of a surprise, since Chieko was almost certain that there were no chores to be done. But apparently, she was wrong. She hesitated, glancing between the door and her mother.
"It's nothing important, is it?"
Biting her lip, she pulled her reached out hand away from the doorknob, and turned around to face her mother, giving a small shake of her head as her smile returned, a little less energetic. "No, nothing like that," she told her as she slowly walked towards her mother.
"Oh come on!"
Filled with absolute rage, Taichi's eyes glowed a bright, bright green. His teeth were gritted in frustration, and hands clenched into tight fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. He was standing in the warehouse, second floor, seemingly all alone. Yet for some reason, angry.
"Stop hiding like a coward, Satou!" He shouted at the top of his lungs at thin air, thinking that something, or actually someone was there, and at first the blond who he was "speaking to" was invisible, even to him, but slowly... he started to fade into existence.
"I'm the coward?" His voice blunt and lacking emotion, as per usual, almost seemed to have startled Taichi, as if he hadn't expected the blond to actually respond, or pop up.
Upon hearing the voice, Taichi flinched, then immediately span around, expecting to see the familiar blank-faced older male standing behind him. Yet... "Oh come on!" Once again, he was gone, as if he had only imagined hearing his voice. If anyone else was there, they'd surely think that he was crazy. Or maybe, they would have caught a quick glance of the person he was searching for.
Taichi grew more and more annoyed with the older male's tricks, he had quickly gotten sick of them.
"Just come out and tell me what's wrong! I know you're hiding something, and you can't deny it!" He continued to shout out with no response. It annoyed him, knowing that Satou heard every word he said, but still didn't say a word back, or even show himself.
"It's nothing for you to worry about, Taichi." A response, finally. Hearing it, Taichi desperately glanced around the empty room, to his dismay not seeing Satou. He opened his mouth to say something, but instead closed it and clenched his fists even tighter.
"I just want to help!" He called out once more, his voice losing its anger and growing more desperate, shifting almost into a plead. Though, even pleading wouldn't make the blond show himself, he was starting to doubt anything would.
"This doesn't concern you, Taichi." That blunt voice felt like a stab to the heart. Satou always wore a blank, emotionless expression, so it was nearly impossible to tell his true intentions, and what he was really thinking. And now, he couldn't even see his face.
Taichi's anger had faded away from his face, and his shoulders slowly dropped. He angered scowl had sunk, and shifted into a somewhat saddened frown, eyes glaring into the ground beneath his feet. "Tell me what's going on, Satou, or I'll have to find out for myself."
When he didn't receive a response this time, a bit of his anger returned. Clenching his hands into fists again, he gritted his teeth, head lowered and expression hidden. As time passed, he suspected that Satou had left the room, although he didn't hear the lift move. Then again, he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, just waiting to hear a voice respond to him. So Satou could have left a while ago, and he had just been standing in this empty room alone.
Gritting his teeth, he lifted his shoulders, and blood began to drip from one of his hands. "Goddammit!" Shouting at the top of his lungs, raising a clenched fist, he punched the wall in anger and frustration. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he only relied on Satou to answer his questions. He had to find another way to figure out what was truly going on, and it surely wasn't going to take long.
"Damn you, Satou..."
Lifting his head, the same blank look on his face and half-lidded eyes, Satou stared up at the ceiling above him, the floor of where Taichi still was. He wondered if the boy had noticed he was all alone now.
Letting out a soft sigh, he closed his eyes for a quick moment and lowered his head. Taking one more glance at the upper floor, he simply faded away, as if he was a ghost.
━
"That was exhausting...!" Letting out an exasperated sigh, Chieko closed her eyes and let her shoulders drop. She had suspected that she only needed to assist her mother with cleaning the dishes, or hanging out the laundry, but noooo.
Instead, she had to do so much more than that. Not only was she tasked with cleaning the dishes, hanging out the laundry, but she was also forced to have a shower. Then she had to bring in the laundry, and sort it all out. Which meant that she had to fold them as neatly as possible. Later on she thought that she had lost something of hers, and freaked out about it, spending at least half an hour looking for it. Turns out she hadn't even lost it in the first place.
Don't get her wrong, she was used to doing stuff like this. But with her mother falling asleep, there was a lot more to do than usual, and she just didn't have the heart to wake her mother up when she looked so peaceful. Earlier, Chieko had noticed that she looked unusually tired, so she just decided to let her rest for a little while.
After doing all of that work, Chieko was feeling exhausted, and wasn't sure if she wanted to head to the warehouse like she had originally planned. Time had passed, and it was probably too late for her to visit the warehouse and ask Minji to continue training her. Then again, it's not like she has anything else to do, Minji that is, due to the obvious lack of villains around. Which, was actually a huge relief, and that's all Chieko thought of it as.
She wasn't sure if she'd be able to train tomorrow, since it was a school day and all. But she should be able to visit after school. Although, she was worried that her mother would grow suspicious about her leaving the house so often around the same time, and will start asking questions. She can't just keep on saying that she's visiting a friend, not when she leaves that many times. So eventually, she would have to do something.
But for now, a nap sounded pretty good.
.
.
.
If only she could sleep.
Sitting up with a groan, it was obvious this wasn't going to work. Despite how much she craved sleep and relaxation after the exhausting day, she wasn't going to get any of it. Which meant, she had to find an alternative.
Glancing around her room, she tried to find something to waste her time on. There wasn't much, she didn't own any electronic devices, including game consoles. She usually spent her time doing chores, simply just spending some time with her mother, sometimes playing a board game with her mother, going out shopping with her mother, or reading her books. Now that she thought about it, her life was pretty boring.
Letting out a deep sigh, Chieko just sat on her bed and silently tried to think of what to do. Her pondering didn't last long, as she spotted something in the corner of her eye, one of her books.
"I got it!"
Taichi shouted out in realization. "It has something to do with that Yuriko person you told me to keep an eye out for, right?!"
Right now, the young male was practically chasing a shadow, and talking to himself. The two were still inside the warehouse, if anywhere else, Taichi would appear like he had lost his mind.
He gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows in frustration when he once again, received only silence, which caused him to doubt if Satou was really there, or he was really just talking to himself. As time passed, he grew more and more annoyed with the lack of response, and appearance he was receiving.
"You know I just want to help! So why won't you let me─"
His voice cut off, and his eyes widened in realization and shock. In the slight distance, standing just outside the door, was Satou.
Breaking into a run, sprinting towards the blond in a desperate motion, his eyes were wide and mouth agape as he reached out a hand. All while Satou just stood there, and stared at him with that damned, blank, emotionless expression he was all too familiar with.
"Satou, wait─don't─!"
It was too late. Just as he reached the door, reaching out his hand towards the blond, the doors were slammed shut with an immense force. Crashing head on into the doors, Taichi stood there, frozen in a daze for a few seconds.
Before the frustration returned, as anger and pain.
He began banging on the doors with heavy fists, kicking with his feet, and screaming at the top of his lungs with a pleading voice full of desperation and pain.
"SATOU!" He cried, throwing his entire weight against the doors, they budged, but that's all. "Please, don't do this! Let me help you, I just want to help!" His voice grew more desperate as the pain became clearer in his cry, continuing to bang on the doors.
He wasn't even sure if Satou was there anymore, standing on the other side of the doors, listening to his pleads, or if he had walked away as soon as he was out of his sight. He probably wasn't there anymore, but for some reason, Taichi only continued to call out.
"I just want to help! Let... let me help...!"
As his knees started to buckle, his tight fists came undone and his hands were shaking, almost as if he was afraid. His legs gave in, and he ended up falling to his knees in defeat, tears that had welled up in his eyes rolling down his cheeks.
He began sobbing between words, "I... I just... I just wanna help you..." His previously frustrated and angry demeanour had been cracked, and a broken, scared side had replaced it.
He was afraid, and he didn't know what to do. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and yet there was nothing he could do about it.
He just wanted to help. But he couldn't even find out what was going on.