Yuki had enough of beating around the bush now. He had something to go on, though it was hard to believe su i went down while they were away. It didn’t make any sense and it seemed that Hiroshi still hadn’t figured it out as well. “Do you know who their leader is? Who’s giving the orders?”

  “Yeah, but you’re not going to like what you see.” Hiroshi slid a photo across the table to Yuki’s group. It was a slightly blurred image taken from a distand through a window, the school. But they all could reize the tral figure in the photo.

  Looking up from the photo, Yuki and Saki both stared across the table with their hands pressed tightly against the edge. “Are you certain?”

  “We’ve seen them giving out orders to the others.”

  Saki was in disbelief over the revetion. She staggered bato the group feeling the ground threatening to fall out from underh her. “This ’t be! No! I-I…” Memories quickly rushed up around Saki. ‘Takako…why are you?’

  Hiroshi went into an expnation for Yuki, but Saki’s mind was already closed off. She only heard pieces of what he said. Every thought went to her friend. She was supposed to be safe from all of it. ‘This ’t be true! She was taken away from here for treatment. They promised they’d help her!’

  None of it made any seo her. It should be impossible for Takako to be doing what they cimed. She couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t Takako. It had to be a lie. ‘She was trapped in her mind, she couldn’t be giving the orders.’ Saki pulled herself clear of her thoughts and focused ba what Hiroshi said.

  Determination carved into her face tightly around her eyes. She already knew what she had to do. ‘I’ll get to the bottom of this and prove to them that they’re mistaken. It’s a lie. All of it is!’

  “Even if we don’t uand how they’re doing it, it doesn’t ge that we still have to fight them. They have no mer their fighting and no pattern that we’ve been able to see either. Sometimes they capture and others just brutally sughter everyone in sight. And I’m not about to let them go around murdering in this city.”

  As Hiroshi trailed off, something really seemed to get to him. It caused his voice to rise and then break. A memory likely came ba that he preferred not to remember. The opening gave Tatsuya the moment to step in and fill in a few more details. “One of the most ret battles with them created that crater you saw before.”

  “They did that?!” Yuki jumped, his body shaking at the thought of how many might have been caught up in it.

  Shaking his head, Tatsuya corrected his assumption. “No, that was caused by one in roup. We had already lost the fight and o retreat, but they were sughtering us. Even those uo fight babsp; It was an ambush. Shiga, she stayed behind to let us escape with those that we could. She…” It was Tatsuya’s turn to e to a grinding halt iions and memories. He looked even more shaken than Hiroshi.

  Yuki and Yori’s sister both immediately knew who Tatsuya talked about. She was another one of their cssmates. She gasped in shock, falling back a little into Yori, but quickly corrected herself. Yuki’s body shook.

  He didn’t know her well. They were only cssmates and for a short time with the start of the new year, but that didn’t ge anything for him. Pain still gripped his chest. ‘I picture her in my mind. She was i club and I saw her staying te a couple of times when I had up. And now…how did things e to this…’

  Rec finally, Hiroshi leaned against the table. “They haven’t made their iions known to us or even tried talking to us. They just a whatever way they see fit. Siakako is their leader, we’ve defaulted to calling them the Takako Fa for ck of a better name.” He looked around at Yuki’s friends seeing their reas. “This is where I want answers from you. Who’s side are you on?”

  “Not her’s!” shouted Yuki quickly iion. A hint of disgust over their as trailed through his fabsp; “We might not have known each other for long, but how could you even think that?”

  Hiroshi stared at Yuki directly, ign the others. “You’re right, we haven’t known each other for long. We barely know each other.” While subtle, he was clear in his ihat it wouldn’t go ued by Yuki.

  Dropping his fists to the table, Yuki matched stares with Hiroshi. He wasn’t being very subtle about it in Yuki’s eyes, even though it didn’t necessarily mean everyone in the room uood. It was somethi only for Yuki. ‘Is this how he’s going to be about me hiding my past from him? I thought he accepted that already.’ Yuki read through the yers of features on Hiroshi’s face trying to uand him. “Don’t trust me?”

  “I don’t trust anyone. Not anymiveuation and potential you say any different?”

  ‘A month did this much to ge him? Is that even possible?’ They might have had the big picture, but Yuki didn’t really feel like he had the full picture. There were still too many things that Hiroshi wasn’t telling him. While he might not have been as good as a traintean in reading others, he khat mubsp; There was moing on, but Hiroshi had no pns to let him in on it. Paranoia and caution, it seemed like the only friends that Hiroshi had left. “For now, my ao you is that I belong to no side.”

  Smming his fists against the table, Hiroshi ground his teeth in frustration with Yuki. “You ’t be ral like this doesn’t affect you just because you’ve been away the eime! There are only two sides, our side and their side!”

  Yuki turned away from Hiroshi to look at his friends. It seemed that they all mirrored simir expressions as himself. They were fused. Hiroshi had them all up against the wall demanding an answer when they only just started to know what the question was. They ime. “I won’t make a decision for you. Everyone should decide for themselves what they want to do.” He started to walk away from the table for the exit.

  Miyako, who out of respect for Hiroshi, remained silee her emotions finally broke. She broke through the group and grabbed Yuki before he could leave. “Where the hell do ya get off thinking you just walk out of here?!” Her rashness immediately had Saki on the offensive along with Yori’s sister. The three women stared down each other.

  Walking around the group to reach Miyako, Hiroshi pced a hand on her shoulder. “That’s enough, Miyako. They’re allowed to leave.”

  “But an—Hiroshi…”

  “It’s fine. They ime.” He got Miyako to release Yuki, which backed dowhers. The sight actually made him sweat a little. ‘Saki sure, but even Yumi. Both of them had looks that could kill…and Yuki…he’s actually even more frightening thahers. It’s buried, but for a moment I swear I could see a look I’ve never seen from him. I ’t put my finger on it, but it’s like even though he knows he’s surrounded by all of us, he knows that we’re no threat to him. But it’s not simple arroga’s more plex than just that…uling…’ Hiroshi questioned if this was really the boy he knew from high school. Eveween the lies of a css or the truth as a deli, her answered what he saw in Yuki.

  “But—“

  Motioning for the door to ope them go. Though he held Yuki babsp; “I expe answer from you.”

  Chapter 295 – Sides

  After all of them left, Hiroshi motioned over Miyako to him. He stared in the dista Saki quickly making for the exit. “Put tails on all of them. Despite what they’ve learhey don’t seem to uand the dire situation of going outside. Keep them away from the high school at all costs.”

  Her eyes lit up a little to see the ahat she knew and respected babsp; “I uand! I will at once!” Miyako jumped double time out of the and Room moving about gathering up teams.

  Tatsuya gnced over at Hiroshi. The look on his face told him how much worry he had over Yuki. “You think he’ll join us?”

  “I guess that depends.”

  “On what?”

  “On which is the real ohe Yuki we know from css or the Yuki we haven’t seen.”

  Outside, Yori took a brisk pace away from the store that hid the secret base. His sister with some curiosity, followed him. “Where are you going?” she thought aloud watg his babsp; The sight of him still left her with pangs of fear, but she learned how to trol it better.

  “I want to see things for myself,” he answered.

  Not expeg a response, she came to a halt. She stared at him, uo say anything, partly out of fear for what she might say and be heard.

  He tilted his head over his shoulders as he stopped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. It seems to be one of my powers.” Yori saw the mixed look of fear and embarrassment. “I only hear surface thoughts. You’re not always in my head.”

  The thought of him being able to hear her thoughts, even if it was the loudest of ones, didn’t give her any more fort. She had too many things that she didn’t want to reveal to him. She didn’t know how much he already knew about her because of it. ‘I’m going to o be more vigint…’ A mental versation with her brave her too many uling thoughts to ti. “Do you not trust Hiroshi?”

  Turning back towards the grass street, he began to walk again. “I believe he believes what he told us, but there’s two sides to every flibsp; I want to see what the other side is. Something about this whole thing doesn’t sit right with me. We’re missing something.”

  * * *

  In the opposite dire, Fumiko parked herself at an interse. She went south, not directly moving towards the school, but her eyes looked in that dire. ‘Saki was the first out…I don’t know what’s going on with her, but she seemed the most shaken by all of this.’

  Taking a slightly meandering route towards the school, she broke into an abandoned building a few blocks away. The whole area was mostly just houses and a few stores. It was a little more built up for businesses further away, but almost nothi past two stories. So it made looking from the roof of the sed floor pretty easy. She could see the high school. Her improved sight gave her a glimpse behind the walls.

  Most of the windows were bed and the grounds of the school looked more like a stru site than anything. Earth tore up and random materials thrown about without care gave little sense of purpose. ‘Knowing Saki, she’s thinking that she hahem all by herself. However, we don’t know what they’re doing to get everyone on their side. If it is so absolute, then we ’t be sant to think we do whatever…’

  Caught in the middle of thought, it was almost too te before Fumiko realized that someone was ihe building. She heard the groaning of the stairs behind her. Immediately, her body reacted by fshing a fireball in her hand. ‘Who is it?’

  * * *

  Yori and his sister held their backs almost up against each other. Everything turned south so fast that they didn’t even realize what was happening until it was too te. Surrounded and outnumbered, her knew what they were going to be dealing with. The situation was uhe ohat they were familiar with from the Atnteans. These people were powered up in the same fashion as them.

  “Yori…how much trol do you have?”

  Grinding his teeth together, he knew he didn’t have the same sort of bat experience as his sister. ‘She’s already thinking about fighting. I’m still thinking we talk our way out…’ She accepted their situation faster than he had. He was still behind her. “I’ve been practig. I’ve had a month while we were in Atntis.” Bck bdes form in his hands in response.

  “Right…” She could tell his hesitation. Her mind was already thinking about owers they might have and how she was going to ter them. ‘I have to remember that he’s not used to this. I probably should take the lead in this…’

  Two figures appeared behind the circle, partially obscured by the others. “Look who we have here,” a girl’s voice said.

  “So this is where you are,” the other replied.

  Yumi’s eyes widened immediately, reizing their voices. She turo her left to see them push through and reveal themselves. “Kaede…Katsumi…what are you doing here?!”

  Grinning with a dark expression, Kaede leaned up against Katsumi, both wearing their school uniform still, though the color scheme ged to bck matg with their dark i. “It’s been a while Yumi, we’ve missed you.”

  * * *

  Iakako’s room, Saki started to e to terms with reality, even though it still didn’t make any seo her. She didn’t uand it. “Are you really Takako?” Her voice almost pleaded for it not to be true. A hope for it all to be an illusion was the only thing that could save her.

  Leaning ba an odd pile of chairs and desks pletely mangled into a distorted mass sat Takako. It almost looked like she treated it like a throne for her and she stared out among her empire. However, uhe st time that Saki saw her, a light had returo her eyes. A dark light that seemed bcker than any moonless night. Just a look was enough to feel the menag presence bleeding off her.

  Takako’s eyes focused on Saki in the moment after hearing her. Her face soured and then grew in happiness only to twist away once more. “Saki Furukawa! I never expected to see you.”

  “What are you doing, Takako?! Why are you doing all of this?!”

  “All of what?” Takako asked, looking genuinely fused. She didn’t seem to uand the question or even what Saki was getting at.

  Saki threw her hand back to the entranbsp; “All of that! The hell that is living in this school!”

  “Is there something wrong?”

  The look of plete fusion actually terrified Saki. ‘What’s the matter with Takako? She doesn’t seem to uand at all what’s wrong with it.’ As it all soaked into Saki’s mind, she realized that Takako knew what happened. It was impossible for her not to know. A she holy didn’t uand the problem with it. She was pletely detached from the whole thing. There was hy, no feelings, no prehension. She accepted the reality and saw nothing wrong in what happened as though it was pletely natural.

  Saki made herself feel even more sick as she uood how pletely broken Takako had bee. “You’re insane! What happened?! Takako!”

  Takako rubbed a finger down her cheek in an absentminded manner. “Am I? Perhaps or perhaps not. Maybe you’re the insane one and I’m sane.” She stood up from her throne and walked down to Saki. “What are you doing here?”

  It troubled Saki that the very sight of someohat she worried and cared about, a friend, made her feel sick to her stomabsp; The stench of death soaked through her very being. She wasn’t i. Saki felt that. She could only steel herself to it all. “I came to see you.”

  g her hands together iement, she walked around Saki, always staring. Her eyes never left her. It was almost as if she longed for her. “To see me! Well isn’t that exg!” Takako pressed her finger up against Saki in the most unfortable manner possible, but cked any hint of knowing it was subsp; “So you’ve e to join me.”

  g her jaw tight, Saki struggled to keep herself in trol. Every part of Takako left her unnerved. Nothing of the friend she knew seemed to be present. She didn’t know the girl that circled around her. “No. I came to stop you.”

  Giggling untrolbly, Takako fell over Saki for the moment. She rested her head o her ear. “Is that right? Is there something I o stop?”

  Fighting the chills up her spine, Saki held fast. “Of course! You’re killing your own cssmates!”

  “Is that right? I think I recall that happening.” Takako jumped off Saki and nded out in front of her. “Is there something wrong with that? Death is part of life. Ending a life is so simple. If it was bad they would have made it harder to do.”

  “You ’t be serious!” Saki took a step forward at Takako, but sehe room ge. ‘I’m being watched still. They’re going to attack if I make any move.’ She eased up her stance.

  Takako ughed until her head seemed ready to fall off. “I’m very serious,” she replied sharply, returning to a semi-normal state. She walked back up to the throne and took her seat once more. “Will you join me, Saki?”

  “Never!”

  Grinning, she leaned forward from her throne. Takako stared straight into Saki’s soul with the most coherent expression she had the eime. “O time, will you join me, Saki?”

  Saki k down, bowing her head to Takako. “Naturally, Takako. What would you have me do?”