The silent gym was a pressure cooker of anxiety. Kenjiro paced back and forth, the rhythmic, drunken snores of 9fingers a grating soundtrack to his spiraling thoughts. Where was Jairson? Had the authorities finally caught up with him? The image of the stoic, orange-juice-sipping tank locked away in some dark, forgotten cell was a deeply unsettling one. He was a pain, sure, but he was their pain.
A familiar, disorienting ZUUUUUUHP ripped through the air, and Nomu reappeared in the center of the room, a look of frustrated disappointment on his face.
"I couldn't find him," he announced, his usual heroic confidence completely absent.
Bombom's heart sank. A cold, heavy feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. "W-what now?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
