You grab the tube filled with creme and fill the pastry. Izana watches you do so.
"Are you okay?" He asks. You slowly look up at him and nod.
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure... you look like you have a lot on your mind." He calmly implies.
"You've noticed..." You slowly ask. He nods.
"What's been on your mind...?"
You furrow your eyebrows and place the tube and pastry down.
"Why did you go to Juvie?" You blankly ask, looking at Izana. His eyes widen and he furrows his eyebrows, looking away.
"... that's not something I would really want to talk about." He slowly says. You lean forward and furrow your eyebrows.
"If we are going to run a bakery together then you need to tell me!" You insist. He looks at you and then sighs.
"I don't want you to- run off with my words and leave me..." He slowly says.
"Why would I do that?" You ask. He looks away and then sighs.
"I- hurt people... and got involved in bad acts... so they put me in juvenile detention... I guess to reflect on my actions." he slowly says.
"I see..." You wipe creme off the counter and lick it off your finger.
"Mhm... You didn't answer my question earlier." He says, causing you to look up at him.
"Right... My friend- she came to me randomly... telling me about something that I find very strange but also... scary-"
"What do you mean...?" He asks.
"Have you ever killed someone before?" You ask. Izana's eyes widen.
"No- I haven't" He says shaking his head. He looks down at the pastry you just made. "Do you think I'm the kind of person to do that?"
"Honestly- no... but I was just curious if you have met others that have done something similar." You say.
"Yeah... I know a few that have committed a murder... but I don't associate with them... I wouldn't murder someone." He blankly says.
"Mm- I believe you." You slowly nod.
"... what scary thing did your friend tell you?" He asks. You stare at him a bit before looking at your fingers that are sticky and covered in powdered sugar.
"She dated this guy... and fell in love with him... but one day he went missing... She told me this a long time ago- it originally sounded like he ran away from responsibilities... or something... but then she mentioned... recently that when he went missing there was an unidentified body that was found in the river..."
"..." Izana looks down at the counter and furrows his eyebrows.
"Have you heard about that?"
"Yeah... It happened not long before I got sent to Juvenile detention. It was a popular topic. Some people suspected it had to do with a gang... but who knows for sure."
"She wants me to find him... and I have a gut feeling that I should- maybe look into it." You sigh.
"So... how are you going to do it?" He asks. You stare at him.
"I'll show you." You smile.
You stand outside Chifuyu's complex. You stare at Izana who has disguised himself as a different person. He's wearing a black-haired wig and an academia uniform. He also has black contacts in his eyes. You think he looks stupid.
"What's with the disguise again?" You ask.
"If we are going to go around searching for evidence... then I would prefer if people didn't notice me... so I went with the basic look. Black hair, black eyes... private school uniform." He sighs.
"Why would people notice you?" You question.
"I was involved with the black dragons and other gangs... I mean- I was getting involved with a lot of shit." He sighs.
"Mm-"
Your eyes dart towards the stairs when you see a beat up Chifuyu walking down the stairs. You gasp and your eyes widen.
"What happened to you?" You ask in a panic.
"... It's a long story."
"Well... I can hear." You insist. Chifuyu looks at Izana who looks back at him.
"Who's that?" Chifuyu asks.
"Uh... this is my friend." You say smiling at Izana.
"My name is Rhino-" Izana blankly says.
"Rhino? Have I met you before, Rhino?"
Really out of all names... Rhino? You question.
"No... I'm actually not from here..." He slowly says.
"Really? Okay..." Chifuyu slowly says. He pulls you to the side and leans in towards you.
"Where did you find this guy?"
"I've met him... some time ago... he was looking for something sweet to eat but the bakery was closed... we've became friends ever since." You slowly say. Chifuyu slowly nods and then sighs.
"Alright... nice to meet you... Rhino" He hold his hand out to shake Izana's hand. "My name is Chifuyu."
"Nice to meet you Chiufyu." Izana nods. Chifuyu furrows his eyebrows and then puts his hands in his pocket.
The three of you sit in the bakery as you tap the buttons on your phone. Chifuyu and Izana stare at each other blankly. You slowly look at them as they give each other an eye staring contest.
"... mm- Iz- uh- Rhino... you should show Chifuyu the pastries we made together." You smile. Izana slowly nods and stands up from the table. Chifuyu sighs and looks at you as you go back to tapping on your phone.
"That guy is odd... are you sure he is safe?" Chifuyu whispers to you. You slowly look up at him and tilt your head.
"Right... what happened to your face..." You say pointing to the wounds and bruises on his face. Chifuyu takes a deep breath and traces circles on the table with his finger tip. Izana slowly walks back to the table placing the pastries down. Chifuyu stares at the pastries and takes a deep breath again.
"Baji said not to tell you... but it feels wrong not saying anything."
"What do you mean...?" You ask.
"... there's this new gang... that is at war with Toman right now... a bunch of them jumped me..." He slowly says. "They jumped the other members too... I mean- Mitsuya is in worse condition then I am."
"Huh?" You look at Chifuyu in shock. Izana slowly sits down and stares down at the table. "What gang was this?" You ask. Izana slowly looks at Chifuyu who is staring down at the table.
"It's called Tenjiku..." Chifuyu answers.
"Tenjiku?" You slowly repeat. You furrow your eyebrows and look down at your phone. Izana slowly looks at you. His eyes relax when he sees the frustrated look on your face.
"What do you mean Mitsuya is in worse condition...?" You ask.
"He's in a wheelchair." Chifuyu answers. Your eyes widen. Izana takes a deep breath causing you both to look at him.
"I don't mean to be rude... but can we talk about why we are here... I really don't want to hear anything gang related." Izana slowly says. Chifuyu furrows his eyebrows and glares at Izana.
"Right... I'm sorry." You slowly nod. You grab a pastry and take a bite of it. You smile and look at Chifuyu. "You should try some... they're so good." You bubble.
"I'm okay... I don't really have an appetite right now..." Chifuyu slowly says.
"Are you sure?" You ask. Chifuyu slowly nods. Your phone vibrates and you quickly pick it up and look at it. "GREAT! Let's go!" You shout, jumping up.
"Go where?" Chifuyu questions.
"We are meeting up with someone who I know would help!" You smile.
You, Chifuyu, and Izana stand outside of Hina's apartment. The door opens and the person that walks out is Naoto.
"You asked for me?" He slowly says with an unsure look on his face. You slowly nod and smile.
The four of you are sitting in Naoto's room. Naoto sits quietly across from you.
"You know- because I said I want to be a police man doesn't mean I know much about crime... besides this thing happened a few years ago..." He sighs.
"I know... but I thought maybe you are willing to help." You slowly say. Naoto slowly nods and stands up. He grabs a few papers and places it on the table in front of the three of you.
"What am I looking at?" Chifuyu says in a disgusted voice.
"The unidentified body Yuki asked about... this is his autopsy..." Naoto calmly says.
"How the hell did you get pictures of these...?" Chifuyu slowly asks.
"I have my ways..." Naoto replies. You stare at the pictures. Hina wasn't lying when she said that the guy looked melted.
"A few years ago Hinata asked me to find photos of the autopsy... I've saved these since then... are you doing this because of Hinata?" Naoto asks. You slowly nod. "It's about Takemichi isn't it?" He asks. You nod again. Naoto sighs and leans back.
"Like I told Hinata... I believe he just ran away- he seemed like a selfish and inconsiderate jerk anyway..." Naoto sighs. You furrow your eyebrows and look back at the photos. Izana is staring at them very hard.
"Did you find something?" Chifuyu calmly asks. Izana's face gives off a very concerned and frustrated look.
"It looks like someone poured acid on him to lose all trace of identification..." Izana says pointing at the image.
"That's what I said... Like they didn't want the police figuring out who he was..." Naoto says leaning in forward a bit. Izana takes a deep breath and looks at you.
"Do you know if Takemichi was involved in any sort of gang- or whatever...?" Izana asks.
"..." You stare at the pictures and then remember your interaction with Takemichi's friends.
"Yeah- he was." You slowly say. Izana looks back at the photos and sighs.
"I think I may know someone who might know what happened to him." Izana calmly implies.
"Who?" You, Chifuyu, and Naoto asks.
"Have you heard of Kisaki?" Izana questions.
Kisaki...?
Your eyes widen... Why haven't you thought of that from the jump...? Why haven't you asked Kisaki if he knew about this?
"How do you know about Kisaki." Chifuyu huffs.
"Who doesn't..." Izana slowly replies. Chifuyu glares at Izana. Izana slowly stands up and puts his hands in his pockets.
"I'm sure he would know more about this then us..."
"Hell no- we are not going to go to him to ask for his help- NOPE not again." Chifuyu says shaking his head quickly.
"You don't need to... I will do it." Izana blankly answers.
"Huh?" You look at him in shock.
"Why?" Chifuyu questions.
"Because... Yuki cares a lot about this person... I'm willing to do anything if it means I can help Yuki..." Izana smiles. Chifuyu makes a disgusted face.
The three of you leave Hina's apartment. Chifuyu heads back home and Izana and you walk back to the bakery.
"Do you want me to come with you...?" You ask.
"No... it's okay- I can do this alone." Izana slowly says.
"Yeah- but... Kisaki is-..." You clench your sleeves. "I don't want you to involve yourself with someone like him..."
"Are you worried about me?" Izana smiles at you. Your eyes widen and your heart drops. You both are standing in front of the bakery and Izana is smiling down at you.
"It's just-" You slowly say but then stop when you notice him leaning closer to you. He wipes the bead of sweat from your forehead and smiles more.
"It's okay- I'm not afraid of him..." He smiles. You look down at your shoes. Izana looks inside the bakery and takes a deep breath. "You know... the bakery would look so much better if we got a fish tank... and decorated it with some plants."
You look up at him and back at the bakery. He kisses you on the cheek and rubs your head. You quickly look back at him with wide eyes.
"I'll see you later." He smiles. You smile back as you watch him walk away. You walk into the bakery and stop in the center staring around you.
A fish tank and some plants...
You softly smile.
"Not a bad idea..."