Guilty Pleasure Friends

Pieces on a Chessboard

From the back of the teacher's lounge a tall figure emerged. Rising from the desk he had been sitting at, he crossed the room with long strides, stepping past the old teacher lady to loom, dark, long-limbed and daunting, like a tower in the door-frame.

"Here I am," said Touma Taishi, fixing them with eerily bright eyes. "You want to talk to me?"

Kuro tensed up. He had never had much to do with this man before, but just from one glance he could tell he was dangerous. Not dangerous in the way Tsurugi was, or the other seniors in the student council, or even the other former Servamps. This was a different danger, less like that of a vicious fighter and closer to that of a monster of ancient legend, a giant spider sitting in its web; a danger that felt darker and older and all the more threatening.

He wanted to turn to Mahiru. Let's get out of here, he wanted to tell him. This guy's dangerous. We should leave.

He swallowed his instincts. Not now, he told himself. He had chosen to follow Mahiru, support his way of doing things, and he would keep his word. Even if it was scary. Even if his gut feeling told him to turn back and get out of there. This wasn't about to turn into a fight. Mahiru wanted to resolve this peacefully. And Kuro would help him in whatever way he could. He was tired of doing nothing. He wouldn't listen to the voice in his head that kept telling him to stay out of things. Not anymore.

So he restrained himself from taking on a fighting stance and forced himself to breathe.

Next to him Mahiru looked perfectly unafraid. Lifting his head, he met Touma-sensei's eyes, his voice perfectly calm, almost friendly as he spoke.

"That's right," he said. "We need to discuss something."

Touma-sensei's eyes moved from him to Kuro and back to him. His expression was unreadable.

"You aren't in any of my classes," he said. "Who are you two?"

His eyes moved back to Kuro, then again to Mahiru, and Kuro knew instantly that he was only asking for show. He knew both their faces, and he knew both their names. What else he knew about them, Kuro didn't want to guess.

"We're from class 2-B," Mahiru answered, clearly not seeing what Kuro saw. "This is Kuro, and I'm Shirota Mahiru, the class representative."

For a moment something seemed to flicker over Touma's face, too quick for Kuro to recognize. He brushed it off as a trick of the light.

"Second-years," said the teacher, his face unreadable once more. "What could you two want from me?"

Touma knew, Kuro understood that. He already knew everything he was asking them about. He was only keeping up an innocent face in front of his teacher colleagues.

If Mahiru sensed the same thing, he wasn't fazed. He was still unafraid.

"To talk to you," he said. "In private."

"A bold request."

Crossing his arms, Touma gazed down on them, his face shadowed by his dark hair. Kuro's eyes fell on the tattoo below his left eye, a zig-zagged black line that looked like it had been drawn into his skin in a thick pen. Like a yakuza, he thought. He wondered why he didn't cover it up. He had always thought nobody could get a decent job with a visible tattoo like that.

"What could you want from me," he said, "that we can't talk about in the teachers' lounge?"

Kuro held his breath, but Mahiru wasn't intimidated at all.

"It's a delicate topic," he said simply.

There was an odd pause. Then Touma nodded.

"I see."

Stepping out of the room, he motioned for the two to follow him. "We can talk in my office then," he said. "It's not far."

Once again alarm sirence flared up in Kuro's head.

A trap? No... was he paranoid?

He glanced at Mahiru, who still didn't seem afraid.

Kuro was just about to push down his instincts and continue on his way when Mahiru's eyes flitted over to him, suddenly questioning. Once again he wanted to pull him back and warn him. Then he remembered the point of this mission, the inevitability. Either they talked to Touma-sensei, now or later, trying to settle this peacefully. Or else... more violence. More people getting hurt. Last time it had been himself and Hugh. Who would it hit next time? One of the Servamps who hadn't been targeted yet... or Mahiru himself?

Don't be scared, he told himself. You're here for a reason. This has to be done.

So he tried to give him an encouraging expression and ventured the tiniest smile.

It was all he needed. Mahiru's face lit up, happy, encouraged, and maybe a little proud. Smiling and nodding, he turned and reached for Kuro's hand as he followed Touma-sensei through the building.

Touma was right about it not being far. In the neighboring building, they found, Touma had a small apartment and an office that could be accessed through a separate door. From the looks of it other teachers might be living in here the same way.

"It's right here," Touma said as he unlocked the office door and led them inside. "Now we can talk in peace."

The door fell shut behind them. Instinctively Kuro searched the room for any and all ways to escape.

Touma sat down at his desk, and suddenly his whole demeanor changed. "Let's get to the point," he said. "You want to talk about the Servamps and C3, am I wrong?"

Kuro tensed like a coiled spring, squeezing Mahiru's hand. Mahiru, however, only nodded. "I know you don't trust us," he said, "but we'd still like to help you."

"We don't need help."

Touma's voice had changed. From the beginning it had been cold, merciless; but now it was laced with a bitterness and anger that hadn't been there before. "C3 can deal with Tsubaki on their own," he said. "We can't afford you deliquents meddling and messing up our plans."

"Don't say that! You can always use some manpower," Mahiru replied, unfazed. "If it's true what they say about Tsurugi-san—"

"Tsurugi is fine."

A chill ran down Kuro's back. Touma's voice had been hardened before; but it was not until now that it sounded truly angry.

"He can still keep going," Touma said. "Kamiya Tsurugi isn't that weak. Even if he isn't doing well right now, I know he'll come back stronger."

Kuro didn't say anything. Mahiru, however, clenched his fists at his sides.

"Is that it?" he asked. "Is that all you have to say?"

Touma stood up behind his desk, tall and terrifying.

"I could ask you the same," he said, "Shirota Mahiru."

The tension in the room thickened. Kuro held his breath. He wondered if he should do something, if he should interfere. But he didn't know how.

"You're Tsurugi-san's guardian!" Mahiru burst out. "You're responsible for him! He trusts you! Shouldn't you at least be worried? Isn't that how family works?"

"Family."

Touma spat the word out like something unpleasant. "What does someone like you know about family?" he asked. "Not everyone is blessed with parents who love them or care about their well-being."

"That's no excuse."

"I'm not making excuses."

"Besides," Mahiru said, "you're not Tsurugi-san's biological family. You chose to take him in. Why would you do that if you don't care about a person?"

Touma smiled grimly. "A kid like you wouldn't understand."

"I do understand!"

Now it was Mahiru's turn to get angry, truly, straightforwardly, honestly angry. "Looking after a kid isn't something people decide to do for no reason," he said. "Especially if that kid isn't yours! Do you know how many relatives who liked me and cared about me didn't want to take me in after my mother died? Taking in a kid isn't a piece of cake! It's a burden and a full-time job, and you have to be ready for it!" Mahiru stepped up to the desk, his eyes not leaving Touma's, staring him down. "You had to have some reason to take him in, right?"

"Some reason to make the trouble worth it," Touma answered. "That doesn't mean I worry or care."

"Then why—"

"Shirota Mahiru."

Mahiru set his jaw. "Wh—"

"Stop meddling."

Mahiru took a step back.

"Our business isn't your business," Touma said, sitting back down behind his desk. "Why should you care about people you barely know? Worry about your own problems first."

"What's wrong with caring about people?"

For a long moment Touma's eyes rested on Mahiru's face, as if searching for something.

"You really do sound like him," he said. "So annoying."

Even Kuro held his breath.

"Like who?" Mahiru asked. "Do you—"

"Shirota Tooru."

Mahiru and Kuro gasped in unison. Mahiru's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "You know my uncle?"

Touma made a sound that was half scoff, half snort. "Know him?" he said, the bitterness and resentment of many years thickly coating his voice. "I wish I didn't. But sadly he was my classmate. In high school."

The more lighthearted, inappropriate part of Kuro felt compelled to make a comment about Uncle Tooru's awful puns, but the more reasonable part restrained him.

"Kept trying to help me," Touma went on, his tone mocking. "Trying to be my friend. Never listening when I told him to mind his business. Clinging to me no matter what I said to scare him off." Once again Touma's eyes passed over Mahiru's face as if looking for a resemblance. "And you're just like him," he added. "Truly Mr. Simple junior."

"That's a compliment."

A smile grew on Mahiru's face. "I've always wanted to be like Uncle Tooru," he said. "I'm proud to hear I take after him!"

"And ignoring everything I said." Touma reached for a box of cigarettes, fishing a lighter out of his pocket. "Mind your business. Go to school. Worry about grades. Melancholy and C3 are our problem, not yours."

"I dunno about C3," Kuro spoke up, "but Melancholy's definitely our problem."

Slowly, slowly, Touma-sensei's eyes rested on him, and the more Kuro looked at them the less he understood them. "Sleepy Ash," Touma said, sounding almost amused. "A school delinquent, or supposed ex-delinquent, now playing the good guy under Shirota Mahiru's influence. I wonder how long you can keep up your little act."

Kuro flinched. The words mingled with Sensei's voice in his mind, calling him a monster, telling him it was all he had ever been, all he would ever be. For a moment the world before his eyes flashed red, and his hands were spattered with blood.

Then his eyes sought Mahiru's, holding his gaze, clinging to it. Another color filled his mind, one that slowly pushed out the red. It was brown, warm, rich, ordinary brown, the color of soil and tree-trunks and stone that kept him grounded in reality.

Sensei had called him a monster. Touma Taishi didn't believe he could be reformed. But Mahiru did. Mahiru knew his whole story and he still believed in him. So why should he listen to those people and not Mahiru?

"Melancholy's our problem too," Kuro continued as if Touma had never said anything. "Not sure if you ever heard the bit about Tsubaki being an ex-Servamp. Or him swearing revenge on us. Or him getting a whole bunch of us almost killed. But, and I hate to say this, we're not getting out of this one."

Touma's expression didn't change. "So you say we, C3, should let one gang fight another?"

Kuro set his jaw. That one had been a heavier hit. But he looked at Mahiru again and reminded himself not to get angry.

"You've asked us for help before," he replied.

"That time ended with someone dying."

Kuro froze.

Once again the world before his eyes sank into red.

Sensei's voice. Sensei's face. His conversation with Tsurugi and the others. The discussion with the Servamps. Red.

No.

That hadn't been his fault. It hadn't been his fault.

No. No! I wasn't wrong—

"That time was not the Servamps' fault!"

The red parted. Kuro remembered to breathe again.

"Oh," Touma said, looking surprised. "So you know the story? You're either more forgiving or more stupid than I thought."

"And you have no idea what you're saying!" Mahiru burst out, and only now did he look genuinely, truly angry. "The Servamps were middle schoolers! High school freshmen at the oldest! The reason someone got killed wasn't them, it was all Sensei's fault!"

The red disappeared.

"Kuro tried to escape from that life," Mahiru continued, now quieter. "He tried to bring Sensei to justice, and then he defended himself. What would you have done in his place? Let him slash up your throat?"

"I wouldn't let things get that far in the first place," Touma answered, "but that's beside the point."

Mahiru's eyes flashed. "Then what is your point?"

"Are you sure you should believe his story?"

Kuro's body went cold.

"Think about it," Touma said, and now there was a poisonous smile on his face. "This is an ex-delinquent who killed the man he should have brought to justice. Don't you think he could only have told you his side of things?"

Immediately Kuro's eyes went to search Mahiru. Frantic. Desperate.

Don't listen to him. Don't believe him. Please—

"Don't you think," Touma went on, "that he could have lied?"

"I don't."

Mahiru stepped in front of Kuro. His body was tense with anger.

"I saw the look on Kuro's face when he told me," he said. "He wasn't lying."

"He could be a good actor—"

"Kuro's my friend."

Mahiru took a step backwards, but he wasn't backing away from Touma; he was inching closer to Kuro. "He's one of my best friends," he said. "I've been constantly beside him for months. I've watched him grow and change. I've watched him open up. I know how he looks when he's sad, or scared, or happy, or angry. I know how he looks when he's lying. Kuro's a bad liar." Mahiru clenched his fists. "I believe every word he said!"

Part of Kuro, the small, fragile part that hadn't quite calmed down since telling his story, wanted to bury his head in Mahiru's shoulder and cry like a child.

The rest of him remained calm, but all of him was stirred. His heart and knees felt soft. It took him all he had not to blurt out to Mahiru, right here, in this teacher's office, right in front of Touma Taishi, that he loved him.

Instead, however, he placed a hand on Mahiru's shoulder, making him turn around.

"Mahiru," he said, "it's fine."

Annoyance flared up in Mahiru's face. "But—"

"It's fine," Kuro repeated. "Not everyone will trust me. That's fine. Not everyone needs to."

Mahiru's shoulders dropped slightly. "But this is just—this is unfair!"

"I don't care." Despite the mess of emotions still going on inside him, Kuro managed a tiny smile. "It's okay, Mahiru."

Before Mahiru could protest any more, Kuro stepped up beside him, meeting Touma's eyes almost without fear. "Anyway, Teach," he said, "you're derailing the conversation. What I'm saying is that Tsubaki is our business too."

Touma's expression remained the same, but Kuro could sense his annoyance, as if he was angry his distraction tactic had failed. "I remember you saying that much."

"And even if you don't wanna ask us for help again," Kuro continued, "Tsubaki's still after us. And we need to defend ourselves."

"Melancholy's destroyed."

"For now."

Kuro stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. "We don't know where Tsubaki is," he said, "but he's out there. And the rest of his gang got arrested and then they got out again. Is C3 watching them too? Are you guys making sure they can't murder us before you deal with them?"

Touma's lips curled up into a confident smirk. "What do you think? We're keeping them under close watch."

"Closer than us? Since, y'know, we haven't actually attacked anybody since Sensei died."

Touma pulled out a cigarette and played with his lighter. "Count on it. Now get out, I have work to do."

Mahiru clenched his fists. "Don't even think we're giving up—"

"Nah, Mahiru."

Grabbing him by the back of his collar, Kuro pulled him away, ignoring his protests. "Let's try again some other time," he said. "This guy's not that easy. He's not listening."

"But you—"

"I'm good. Let's go."

Dragging a reluctant Mahiru, he opened the door and found himself face to face with Tsurugi.

He almost didn't recognize him. The guy's face was haggard, his cheeks sunken in, his eyes deep and matted inside their holes. The shadows underneath were almost dark enough to rival Kuro's own.

"Oh, Mahiru-kun," he said, smiling and waving. "Long time no see!"

Mahiru tried to smile, but he looked visibly worried. "Tsurugi-san..."

"And your Servamp too? Talking to Tai-chan? Now, that's no good. You guys aren't supposed to do anything."

"And you're not supposed to look like me," Kuro replied. "But you do, so we're trying to do something too."

"No idea what you're talking about, I'm doing perfectly fine." Pushing past them, Tsurugi waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, I have to talk to Tai-chan. See you later. Bye-bye!"

The door fell shut, and Mahiru and Kuro were left outside.

"I can't believe this!" Mahiru fumed in an undertone. "They're not listening one bit!"

Kuro gave a shrug, though he himself was feeling frustrated too. "Thought so."

"They're so stubborn! What's wrong with getting a bit of help, anyway?" Mahiru huffed. "Together we're always stronger! Having three sides to this whole mess is just pointless!"

"Maybe." Kuro stretched his arms. "But are you really the guy to complain about other people being stubborn?"

Mahiru went pink.

"Hey," he said, "that's—"

"Just messing with you."

Mahiru tapped a fist against his arm. "Geez. So what do we do now?"

Kuro was silent.

"Dunno," he said after a pause. "Thinking up plans is your job. I'm just backing you up."

"I guess we should talk to the others again," Mahiru mused. "And then come up with a plan. Let's message everyone and then... maybe Misono has an idea. He's good at plans."

Kuro nodded.

"And then... ah, for crying out loud!"

Slumping against the nearest wall, Mahiru kicked his foot against the floor, not even bothering to hide his frustration. "This is so stupid!" he groaned. "Everything could be so easy if everyone just listened to each other!"

Kuro looked at his feet, suddenly feeling resignated. "But people don't."

"They don't, and that's the whole reason we're all in this." Mahiru sighed. "And now Tsubaki's plotting his revenge and Lily almost died and you almost died and Hugh broke his back and Tsurugi-san also looks like he's dying and sooner or later someone's gonna get killed for real if everyone doesn't just stop and listen!"

"But you can't make somebody listen if they don't want to."

"I can keep trying."

"Sounds like a pain."

"And if they don't listen to words, then thinking simply I just have to prove them wrong with actions."

Kuro glanced up. "Maybe you should try that."

"What?"

"Prove them wrong." He gestured at Mahiru's surprised face. "Do something to show them they're wrong. That's what you're good at, anyway."

For a few heartbeats Mahiru stared at him with widening eyes, then his entire face lit up.

"You're right!" he exclaimed. "Thinking simply I just need to show them how it's right... wait." He sobered up. "How do I show them?"

Kuro thought about that for a long moment, but he couldn't come up with a good strategy either. "Dunno," he said at length. "Just do it. I guess it's not the kind of thing you can plan before it happens."

"Hm."

Staring into nowhere for a good moment, Mahiru trailed his fingers over the wall, clearly lost in thought. "So just wait for the right moment, huh," he muttered. "And then be spontaneous."

"Throw yourself into a fight and try to protect people or something," Kuro remarked. "Just try not to die."

Mahiru cracked a grin. "I'll do my best."

"And... me too."

Not meeting his eyes, Kuro tapped a fist against Mahiru's arm, the way Mahiru usually did. "I got your back."

A hand closed around his fist, warm and familiar.

"I know," Mahiru said with a smile in his voice. "Thanks, Kuro."

Kuro didn't dare look at his face.

"...can't deal."

---

"Kill?"

Tinker looked at him like she hadn't heard him right. Shuuhei didn't know what exactly the was written on her face, fear, shock, or maybe disbelief. But not anger. Not yet, it seemed.

"Kill," he repeated. "What can I kill with?"

"Uh... all of these if you try very hard," Tinker said. "But—"

"Which one's easiest?"

Tinker took a step back, her face pale and more serious than he had ever seen it. "Loki-senpai," she said, "what are you trying to do?"

Shuuhei's voice was quiet. "Avenge my father."

"You're trying to kill this person?"

Shuuhei crossed his arms and looked her dead in the eyes.

"What of it?"

Tinker swallowed.

It was easy to read the thoughts going through her head, the possible responses. They all said the same thing. It's not worth it. Killing someone is not the answer. You'll get into trouble for it, do you want to end up in jail and ruin your future over a person like that?

But Tinker was wiser than all of them. She did not say any of these lines out loud. Because she knew something the others didn't; she knew Shuuhei had never once planned his life beyond his confrontation with the guy who had killed his father.

Instead Tinker said something else. Something the others didn't say.

"Are you sure he deserves it?"

Shuuhei froze.

He should get angry at a question like that. He should be furious. How could she dare imply that someone who had killed a man, who had escaped punishment for robbing a young family of their father who had only wanted to help, deserved anything better than death?

And yet his mind only went blank.

"What?"

"Are you sure he deserves it?" Tinker repeated. "Are you sure there's not more to the story than you think?"

Her words managed something no one else had.

Just for a moment, for a split second, Shuuhei wavered.

Then his defenses shot up again, and his doubt was swallowed by anger. "What's there not to know?" he asked, crouching down and snatching one of the weapons off the ground before she could stop him. "He killed a man. He killed someone just trying to do his duty. That's all I need to know. I don't care about his excuses."

His hands shaking with fury, he tucked the weapon under his blazer, spun around and headed for the door. He fully expected Tinker to try and stop him. Everyone would. But he wouldn't listen.

"Loki-senpai."

Yes, exactly.

Shuuhei smiled grimly. What would she ask of him now? Would she try to make him promise not to kill anyone after all? Would she ask for her weapon back? If so, she would get it. Shuuhei could handle this fight on his own, unarmed if he had to.

"I'm not telling you to stop now," Tinker said, and her voice was quiet, gentle, too gentle for someone like Shuuhei. "But if you actually try to kill him, or almost get killed yourself, I will stop you. I promise."

Shuuhei gave a bitter scoff.

"Good luck with that."

Still holding onto the weapon, barely knowing what it was, he stormed out of the room and slammed the door.

---

"I've had enough of this."

Yumikage was bent low over the table, his expression grim with barely-hidden fury. "Have you seen Tsurugi?" he said. "He's dying. That bastard Touma is killing him and doesn't even care!"

Jun was quiet. He had been quiet all day, and all the past days since Tsurugi's unexpected return.

"Jun," Yumikage snapped, "are you listening?"

He nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I'm just thinking."

"Think faster. We can't waste any time or he dies—"

"Yumi."

Yumikage stopped short and shuddered. There was something strange in Jun's expression, something so serious and grim it was frightening.

"Remember what I suggested before Tsurugi disappeared?"

What a question. Of course Yumikage did.

"We're not doing that," he said.

"We talked about this before."

"That was then! Now is now!"

"And now is an even bigger emergency!" Jun shot back. "You've seen Tsurugi. And he's not getting away from Touma-sensei again anytime soon, you know that."

"I do," Yumikage muttered. "But these guys are—"

"I don't care if they can help us."

"Who says they can?"

Jun sighed.

"Their leader is Shirota Mahiru," he said, taking off his glasses and turning them back and forth in his hands. "You know, the class rep, the one from the disciplinary committee. He's a good guy, if nobody else is."

Yumikage scoffed. "How good can he be if he's siding with them?"

"At least he's not siding with people who drive their adopted kids to complete exhaustion, like we are." Jun put his glasses back on. "And he knows Tsurugi. He cares about him, I'm sure."

Yumikage was quiet.

"I don't like this," he said after a long pause.

Jun nodded. "I know."

"I don't want to do this."

"I know."

Silence.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Yumi said at last. "Don't do it."

"Yumi—"

"Don't! They're our enemies!" Yumikage jumped up. "They can't help us anyway!"

"We can at least try it—"

"Without me!"

Their gazes met over the table. Their bodies were tense, as if preparing to fight at any given second.

"I'm serious," Yumikage said after a pause, turning away. "Do whatever you want. But I'm not joining you in this!"

With that he stormed out and left the room, and Jun was left alone.

---

"Good," Mahiru muttered, pocketing his phone. "Now we just have to hear back from everyone."

They were on their way back to the dorms, reluctantly and rather miserably despite beginning to spark a new plan. Tsurugi's face, sickly and haggard, still hadn't left their minds. Part of Mahiru wondered if they should have stayed there, if only to protect him and get help if necessary.

Not that either Tsurugi or Touma-sensei would have let them, of course.

As it was, they could only hope nothing would happen. And have faith that, awful guardian that he was, at the very least Touma would find Tsurugi more useful alive than dead.

"You think he'll be alright in there?" Mahiru asked Kuro, nonetheless. "Tsurugi-san, I mean."

Kuro hesitated for a few heartbeats, as if considering if he should say something comforting or tell the truth, then he sighed and shrugged.

"Not sure," he said. "That office doesn't look like a place where he can work out and break down."

"But it's attached to an apartment," Mahiru answered. "What if he was going there?"

Kuro's steps faltered. His expression turned grim.

"Then," he said, "I don't think we can help him."

Mahiru was quiet. Kuro was right, of course. But it wasn't in his nature to leave such things be. His nature was to help. If there was any way to do something, any way at all, he would.

If there was a way.

He had barely finished that thought when he turned the corner to his room and found someone standing before his door.

For a second he tensed up, remembering the last time someone had waited outside his room like this and what had happened afterwards. Then he relaxed again, ever so slightly. The person in front of him wasn't one of Tsubaki's guys. It was just Kurumamori Junichirou from the student council.

So, C3, he thought. Could be good news, could be bad news.

But Mahiru had always been one to give people the benefit of the doubt, so he chose to approach him and hope for the best.

Besides, he thought, in case something happened, he should be safe as long as Kuro was with him.

"Good evening, senpai," he called out to him. "Are you looking for me?"

Jun turned around, surprised and visibly relieved. "I was," he said. "I was just about to leave since you weren't home."

Behind his glasses Jun's gaze went from Mahiru to Kuro and back again. Assessing the dangers, perhaps. Mahiru didn't think anyone in C3 trusted Kuro too much.

"Uh..." Mahiru broke the silence. "What's up?"

Jun's eyes lingered on Kuro, longer this time. It was clear that he wasn't fully comfortable with him around.

"Ah, feel free to talk to him about anything," Kuro spoke up. "I'm not gonna attack you. Way too much trouble."

Jun gave a brief nod, looking relieved. Mahiru hid a tiny proud smile. Kuro's social skills really had improved, he thought, and maybe even his ability to read the mood.

"Actually, it's a good thing you're there too," Jun said, addressing Kuro directly. "I'd like to talk to as many members of the Servamps as possible." He reached for the doorknob. "Can we...?"

Mahiru unlocked the door, letting the three of them in. "Sure!"

All together they shuffled into the room, sitting down on the floor for want of enough chairs. Mahiru was just about to ask Jun what he wanted to talk about when there was a knock on the door.

"Shirota," Misono's voice sounded through the door, "it's us."

"And us too!" came Hyde's shout from a distance.

Mahiru threw a questioning glance at Jun, who only nodded. Rising to his feet, he opened the door and let in his friends.

"We came here as fast as we could," Misono said as he and Lily stepped past him into the room. "So I take it we need to find a new—" His eyes fell on Jun sitting on the floor, and his voice trailed off.

"Shirota," he whispered not at all subtly, "why is he here?"

"Don't worry, he just wanted to talk to me." Mahiru ushered him inside. "It's okay if he's here... I think."

"Nothing's okay! What's a C3 doing at our meeting?"

Mahiru turned back to the door. Hyde had caught up to the group, standing in the doorframe and pointing a very accusing finger at Jun.

Keeping perfectly calm, Jun rose to his feet, bowing his head slightly and adjusting his glasses. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'm here to ask you all for help."

Now they all blinked. Whatever they had expected, this wasn't it.

"Help?" Mahiru repeated, closing the door behind Hyde with Licht in tow. "With what?"

He had a faint suspicion.

Jun sighed. "Tsurugi."

Knew it.

"He's dying," he said. "And I can't think of anything else to do." His eyes roamed over the round. "Will you hear me out?"

---

Tinker was left in her room, alone, trying to comprehend what had happened.

Shuuhei had taken a weapon from her. One of the weapons she had put together, for him, at his request. To fight someone, to stand a fighting chance. Not to kill. He had never said anything about killing before.

Was he serious? Of that she had no doubt. She had seen the look on his face, heard the tone of his voice. It had held years of hatred, bitterness, deep-held resentment. He had let his anger eat him up from the inside and consume him whole, and now it was finally pushing him over the edge. He was still grieving. He was still angry. He was furious at the culprit and furious at the justice system for letting him down. And he seemed to believe he would never have closure until he got his revenge.

This was wrong.

Tinker didn't know how else to put it. She had no other words. It was so wrong. It shouldn't happen. None of this should. No, none of this should have happened in the first place.

Shuuhei shouldn't have lost his father. The killer shouldn't have gone unpunished. Shuuhei should be happy right now, enjoying his life, working towards the bright future someone like him undoubtedly had. Or at least he should be living normally. Worrying about normal things. And not... and not... something like this.

Couldn't she do something about it?

Couldn't she change something?

She wished she could. If she knew any way to dissuade Shuuhei, to change his mind, she would already have done it. But what could she do? Millions of people had probably already tried to talk him out of it. She had tried to say something she hoped not everyone else had said already. He wouldn't listen. How on earth was she supposed to stop someone who didn't want to listen at all?

Physically?

That might work for some time. But then? It wasn't like she could keep him locked up for the rest of his life or something, right?

But then what?

Tinker walked back and forth, then stood at the window. She didn't know. All she knew was that she wanted to do something. Anything. She didn't want to just stand by and watch.

No, she needed to do something.

She had tried to help him. She had built him the weapon he had taken with him. She had let him walk off with it. To try to kill someone. How soon, she couldn't say. But if she had sped it up, no, if she had made this possible in the first place...

Was this her fault too?

Turning away from the window, she crossed the room and strode towards the door. Forget what she had told him earlier, she should never have let him go. She should have withheld the weapons the moment she heard of his true intentions. Why hadn't she?

Where was he now? Could she still find him and stop him in time?

Her hand closed around the door handle. Something to do. Some way to stop him. There had to be something. She refused to accept that there wasn't. There was always a way. There needed to be.

But was there anything she could do?

Her hand went limp and dropped to her side. She was just a girl who liked gadgets. What could she possibly do in a situation like this? This was way too big for her. She wasn't that strong. She didn't have the power to stop someone from killing someone else in revenge, for crying out loud!

If only she had more power, she...

If only she was stronger, she thought. If only she was strong enough to protect Shuuhei from destroying someone... destroying his own life, even if he didn't want to hear about it right now.

But she wasn't.

She was just Tinker, and she couldn't do anything.

At least, she thought as she reached for the door handle again, not alone.

---

"So that's how it is," Jun concluded. "He's not allowed to strain himself. He's not allowed to fight either." He sighed. "We fear that Touma-sensei will make him train and fight again anyway, and the next time will kill him."

The room was quiet. A heaviness hung thickly in the air, weighing down on shoulders and swallowing all words before they could be said. Mahiru's face was a mixture of anger, distress and sympathy. Everyone else's expressions were varying degrees of grave.

"So, I don't know how to do it yet," Jun said, "but someone needs to do something. And I don't know who else to ask."

The silence drew on. Then Mahiru swallowed and took a heavy breath.

"I'm helping."

The others lifted their eyes to look at him. The heaviness in the room dissipated.

"I don't know about the rest of you guys," he said, "but I'm helping. I can't just do nothing while—"

"And I'm helping too."

Mahiru's head turned around in surprise and delight. "Kuro!"

"I've... I've been there before," Kuro said quietly, not meeting anyone's gaze. "Used by an adult... thinking I had to do everything he said." He swallowed. "Last time ended with someone dead. I'm not letting it get that far this time."

Another silence, no longer heavy but tense. The other Servamps exchanged a glance.

"I still don't like you guys," Hyde muttered in the direction of the ground.

Licht stretched out his legs, leaning back where he sat. "Me neither."

"Angel-chan! Did you just agree with me?"

Licht fixed Hyde's gaze, smirking unapologetically. "You have a problem with that?"

Hyde laughed a little too shrilly, his face a little too pink. "Not one bit! You're welcome to agree with me all you want!"

The brief moment of lightheartedness faded away. The grave atmosphere settled over the room once more.

"We are not all here today," Misono said. "Should we truly make this decision without Tetsu and Hugh?"

"I daresay Tetsu-kun wouldn't mind helping someone," Lily replied. "Besides, didn't you say he knows the Tsukimitsu family?"

Misono frowned. It was clear he still wasn't fully comfortable.

"Try and call Tetsu," Mahiru said, taking pity on him. "And Hugh too. We can get their opinions even though they're not here."

Misono had already pulled out his phone by the time he finished his sentence. Lily smiled and did the same. Kuro, meanwhile, eyed Licht and Hyde with an almost expectant look on his face.

"You guys gonna help?"

Licht and Hyde looked at him, then at each other. It was clear that Kuro's words were repeating in their minds, especially Hyde's. Used by an adult... thinking I had to do everything he said. Last time ended with someone dead.

"Oh, fine!" Hyde groaned, throwing back his head in defeat. "Fine! I still don't like you. But just this once I'm helping save this guy's life!"

Licht clenched his fists. "Me too."

Misono and Lily lowered their phones, both looking dejected. It was clear that neither of them had been able to call Tetsu or Hugh.

"That's fine," Mahiru said. "Let's just make it the six of us for now. If Tetsu and Hugh want, they're free to join us. Okay?"

The others nodded.

"So, there we go," Mahiru added, smiling and turning to Jun. "We're a team now. Let's rescue Tsurugi-san together."