A/N: It's been hectic and all, and I'm here flipping tables left and right. It just doesn't set the mood and confidence to write... Haiz
Hope this chapter will give you a reprieve from the current situation around you :) If you're sick, especially with a fever, do see a doctor asap.
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"I'm sorry... It's all my fault." Totsuka apologised. He was currently sitting on one of the couches opposite of the one Mikoto was sitting upon. He watched as his members were doing something to help in the investigation, finding where Anna and Kaiyo had been taken to.
Guilt ate at him more when he remembered that he was there with the two females but were unable to prevent the kidnapping from happening.
He was there. But they fell right into their hands. So so easily...
"It isn't your fault," Mikoto answered. Totsuka looked up from the floor and saw his King helping in the investigation by glancing through a few pieces of papers he was given. "You're an honourable member of the clan. Do not think lightly of yourself."
"King..." Totsuka held out his uninjured right arm. His left was in a makeshift cast using a bandage. "If only I was stronger... If only I was... If only my ability was stronger in terms of attacking..." He trailed off.
"Your power, your abilities, aren't useless." Mikoto lifted his eyes off from the papers in his hands and stared seriously at him. "They are important too. They are needed in some areas that aren't our expertise."
Totsuka stared right back, not knowing what to say. His heart swelled from his compliments, but the guilt and worry overrode them. His head drooped downwards.
"I..." Words trailing, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Lifting his head up and looking over his shoulder, Kusanagi came into his view.
"King is right. It isn't your fault." Kusanagi spoke, "You shouldn't degrade yourself. There are some things that your ability can do that ours couldn't. So hold your head higher."
"But—"
"You were outnumbered. Our enemies are just underlying cheaters who fight with big numbers." Kusanagi put out a few pieces of paper in front of Totsuka's face. With an encouraging smile, he said, "Stop dissing yourself. You may have a slightly fractured arm but you still have another one to do some work yeah? I will work you to the bones my friend. Don't come crying to me." He chuckled lightly amidst the situation, wanting to bring up his—Totsuka—mood before he left Totsuka to himself when he grabbed onto the papers.
Staring at the piece of paper, feelings of gratefulness and solace welled up in his chest, tightening over his heart. He couldn't be more than glad that he met these people from teenage and after many hardships of sticking himself with them, he managed to convince them to let him stay and he grew up with them over the years as a member of HOMRA.
He snapped out from reviewing his early memories when he heard a loud slam from behind him. Turning his head, he saw Kusanagi typing rigorously on his laptop.
"I got the signal!" He exclaimed with much vigour.
Totsuka, "Signal?"
"I called Kaiyo's phone. Although no one picked up, it was ringing, so I had someone trace it for me while I was calling other contacts. I got the coordinates from him and," typing on his keyboard and pressing upon the 'Enter' button, his laptop made a 'ping' sound and a solid defined red pin was marked on the built-in map application he had opened, "this is the location the phone is at."
Members close to him and those around him left their things aside and stood behind him. They gave way to Mikoto and Totsuka who approached as well.
"That's weird..." One of the members commented.
"Are you sure this is right?" Totsuka questioned Kusanagi.
Kusanagi breathed out through his nose. "I would never ask him to find it for me if I wasn't confident in his skills since it would be a waste of time and resources." He pushed his sunglasses higher up the bridge of his nose.
"But the pin is just beside the main road leading up to the central districts... Why would it be there?" Another member voiced out his concerns.
The pin was in an unusual coordinate.
A click of a tongue was heard and all's attention fell upon Mikoto. As he approached Kusanagi, the members gave way to him. Eyes trained upon the pin's location on the map, Mikoto stood back up straight. "Whether they are there or not. We will go." He moved out from the crowd, walking back to the coach he was sitting on previously. He picked up his coat jacket and slung it over his shoulder.
"Even if it is a hopeless clue in the end, for every clue that might seem to get us closer to them, we will take it. If it's a trap..." Sparks of flames flashed on the knuckle of his left fist before his aura manifested into reddish-pink flames, flickering around his clenched fist, "we will burn them all alive till there's not even a single speck of ash left."
"Where is it..." Totsuka was diligently trying to find Kaiyo's phone.
Most of the members had left the bar to help in the task of finding the phone.
"Let me call again." Kusanagi took out his phone and called the number he had been calling repeatedly. As he did so, he was running another program; having it track the call's signal.
The sound of heavy footsteps walking by his side took his attention and Kusanagi turned to his left to see an irked Mikoto gnawing on a lollipop one of the members had given him. He had finished his pack of cigarettes without knowing and did not want to spend time getting a new pack. For it would waste valuable time in finding them, he said. Thus he accepted the lollipop, using it to curb his urge to smoke and ease his stress and anxiety.
--Surprisingly, it was working well.
"There's no ringtone nor sound," Mikoto spoke.
"She might have set her phone to vibration or muted it instead. The latter might have been the case seeing as she has school." Kusanagi pondered. His phone was still ringing, indicating that it was still connected. He stared at his screen. "We might be too far to catch a signal. The program on my phone can't pinpoint the location of the phone is not in its vicinity's limit."
With an irritated click of his tongue, Mikoto kicked a stone pebble onto the pavement before continuing down the street he was on. Stuffing his hands into his jacket's pockets, he side-stepped away from the commuters walking on the same street he was on.
Kusanagi was following behind him albeit at a slower pace. He was actively calling the number multiple times while looking at the program that was running.
"Is there any progress?" Totsuka came up and stride beside Kusanagi.
Said male shook his head.
Mouth pulled into a frown, Totsuka's head tilted downwards.
"It's not your fault." Kusanagi knew at that point in time, that he was thinking from the start till now, everything happened because it was his fault. "So, let's keep up the optimistic front alright? Every second count."
Totsuka gradually pushed his negative emotions to the back of his mind. With a smile on his face, he thanked Kusanagi for the push on his back.
Further up front from the two males, Mikoto stopped on his tracks and looked into the alleyway on his left. Biting lightly upon the stem of the lollipop he had in his mouth, he had a nagging feeling that he couldn't miss this spot.
Just as he was about to disregard the feeling and continue forth, he heard Kusanagi blurting that he caught the signal. Turning around, he saw the two males running up to him.
"Where is it?" Mikoto asked.
Staring at his phone as he walked, Kusanagi stopped in front of the red King. Confirming their location and the pinpoint on his phone, he lifted a hand and pointed into the alleyway by their left. "... In here."
Eyes going wide, Mikoto cursed himself for not trusting his intuition. Teeth gritting harder onto the stem of the lollipop, he stepped into the alleyway.
Totsuka parted from the two males in order to call the other members searching at other areas that they had found the location.
Eyes searching the floors, Mikoto walked past a trash bin. By the corner of his eyes, he saw the dull light just behind the bin he had passed. Squatting down, he realised that it was a phone. On the screen showed a caller calling through with 'Izumo Kusanagi' as the caller ID.
Taking in a quick breath from the surprise, he picked up the phone. "I found it." He informed the male behind him and passed the phone to him. Looking into the alleyway, he stepped further in. Scanning the surroundings, he found nothing but rubbish bins, dirty splotches of water and litters on the ground. Both sides of the alleyway were just the neighbouring buildings' walls. The end of the alleyway was a cut through to the street on the other side.
"There's no indication that the group's hideout is here." Totsuka, who had appeared back by their side in the alleyway, scanned the floors for any visible footprints.
Kusanagi sighed, his eyes looking sombre. "... They must have thrown Kaiyo's phone during the ride to their hideout."
Biting hard on the lollipop, the sweet cracked into pieces in his mouth. "Tsk! DAMMIT!" In his rage, Mikoto kicked the nearest bin. At the point of contact, he released a little of his power; his red aura coated his foot, the reddish-pink flames fanning violently around his foot. The bin flew and ricochet against one of the building, leaving a sizeable hole and broken bricks at the area of impact. The bin further bounced against the floor; its body dented from getting kicked by the immense strength.
"A-Ah!" It was no surprise that Mikoto would do that, but they were in broad daylight. The loud noises would capture the commuters and passer-bys' attention—which they didn't want in that current time.
Grabbing onto their shoulders—ignoring the glare from his King—Totsuka swiftly pushed them out of the alleyway.
Lips pressed together, Mikoto jerked his shoulder from Totsuka's hold and marched forward. His destination, the HOMRA bar.
"What happened? Why is King acting like that?"
Kusanagi, "Well... It looks like this rope's clue had reached the end. It was a dummy."
Member A, "But I feel like he's overly worried."
Member B, "Of course he is! Anna-chan was kidnapped!"
"Kaiyo-chan is a victim too. Don't forget about her." Totsuka shot them a stern look. The members who spoke out looked upon the ground.
"Well," Kusanagi stared at the back of their King who had gained a distance between them, "that might not be the only reason."
Totsuka, "What do you mean?"
"He feels guilty as well. Like how you had felt a while ago. As a King, he always put things on his shoulders. Carrying every weight upon them."
Entering the bar, Kusanagi saw Mikoto lying on the couch with his arm draped over his eyes. Signalling silence using his finger on his lips, he asked the other members who are currently free to help the members out at the streets with the search.
His phone dinged once and he fished it out almost immediately. His shoulders dropped down when he read through the message. His contacts had traced down the van, but they had lost it after the van passed through the underground tunnel.
He had been sighing since the start of the search. It had been close to three hours. Many things can happen within three hours. And if the things that surfaced in his mind happened upon the females, they would be traumatised.
Shaking his head, he rid himself of those thoughts. None of them wants to give up finding the both of them, so he shouldn't have negative thoughts which might cause a drop in his performance.
Regaining his confidence, he trudged towards his laptop, typing away on the keyboard the moment he touched the machine.
Totsuka sat on the stool beside Kusanagi. "If only we had Anna-chan's psychic navigation ability, it would be easier to locate them..."
Totska asked a few seconds later, "... Hey... What are the chances that we can find them?"
The dark blond-haired male's fingers paused on the keyboard for a moment before he turned his head to face his friend. Voice laced with determination, he said: "There are no chances. We will find them. No matter what."
Eyes widening a fraction, he breathed out through his nose. "Yeah..." Head hung low his uninjured hand clenched into a fist. "We will find them."
"..H-Hah!" Gasps leaving his lips as his throat felt dry, his eyes sprang open; wide opened in alarm. Sitting up from his laid position, Mikoto held a hand to his face streaked with sweat from a dreamish nightmare he had gone through within his quick energy nap.
"Mikoto? Is something wrong?" Kusanagi, who had moved from the bar's countertop in favour to work by the couch and its coffee table, asked the redhead with worry.
When Mikoto recovered from his ragged breathing, he turned his head towards his friend with acts of uncertainty. "I had a dream. No... It was more than that."
Kusanagi raised a brow. He raised his hands off from his laptop. "A dream?"
Mikoto grunted. "It was..." his hand slipped down from his forehead and rest just below his nose, "a brief scene of a warehouse..."
"A warehouse?"
Mikoto pondered on his words, trying to remember what he had dreamt about. "There were many. But it was targeted on a lone building. Behind them were tall rise buildings a few distances away." Brows furrowed, Mikoto heaved in air. "I heard cries."
"Cries?"
"Eventually, it switched to a scene inside the warehouse." Other hand clenched into a fist, he seethed, "Someone was holding onto Anna, threatening her while she was screaming that girl Kaiyo's name."
Brows twitching in response, Kusanagi frowned on those words. Before he could speak, Mikoto continued his explanation. "It changed once more and it showed her getting knocked out and dragged elsewhere..." he trailed off.
A spine-chilling sensation crept down from his neck and he felt the same feeling as he did when he was looking into the alleyway while finding for Kaiyo's phone.
--That feeling.
Taking his legs off from the couch, he faced Kusanagi. "You have said that your contacts lost the van in the tunnel, right?"
"Yes."
"Have your contacts and the members search for any warehouses that uses that tunnel to travel through. Specifically, ones that are still close to the city, able to view the city's buildings from their vicinity."
"Understood, but why the sudden orders?" Kusanagi questioned.
Standing onto his feet, Mikoto reached for a cigarette from the pack he had left on the coffee table. "A feeling," he answered vaguely; lighting up the other end of the cigarette.