You slowly sip from a cup. The tea tastes bitter. You place the cup back down gently. You watch as the liquid in the cup makes small waves.
"Yuki." Aimi softly says. You slowly look up at her.
"I was anxious to ask you this... but I wanted to know." Aimi fidget with the snack in her hand, picking pieces off of it.
"What do you mean?" You ask.
"Did you know what may have happened to Hana...?" She asks. You stare at her, feeling a bit confused.
"No?" You shake your head. "What happened to Hana?" You ask.
"I have no idea... her sister had asked my brother if I might have known something." She says in a soft tone. You furrow your eyebrows slightly, feeling confused.
"I don't understand."
Aimi looks at you before placing the snack down on the plate. She takes a deep breath. She grabs her cup of tea, sipping from it and then holding it away from her face.
"Her sister Mika mentioned Hana leaving one day and then never coming back home..." Aimi slowly says. Your eyebrows raise slightly.
"She's missing?" You ask. Aimi shrugs.
"I guess so... I don't know."
"Did you ask Ren... or Eli?" You question. Aimi stares at you a bit before putting her cup down.
"Yuki..."
"Huh?"
"You didn't hear about what happened to Ren?"
"... no?"
"Ren passed away last year." She softly says.
"HUH?" You jump a bit in shock. "Wait... how?"
"He got hit by a moving vehicle... it was said to be an accident on both accounts... so no one got charged."
"..."
"It's terrifying to think about, honestly... I come back to Japan to find out Ren is dead, and Hana is missing..."
"Yeah... that is- mm.." Your hand wraps around the cup in front of you.
"I'm glad you're okay though... Yuki." She smiles.
"Yeah." You smile back slightly.
You sit at a table in the bakery, thinking about what Aimi said. The sound of the bakery's bell ringing makes you look towards the door. Chifuyu walks in, his face flushed and pink.
"It's cold outside." He smiles. He looks at you, smiling at you.
"Hey, Yuki." He sits down at your table. You smile at him as he does.
"You look bored."
"I am bored." You sigh, rubbing your finger across the table.
"What's on your mind?" He asks, still smiling at you. You look at him. You raise your eyebrow, and then you sigh, sitting back in the chair.
"I found out that my old childhood friends- well... one of them got killed in an accident- and the other one went missing... so yeah, there's a lot on my mind." You softly say, looking up at the ceiling.
"Oh- I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's just odd, that's all-" You sigh, leaning forward against the table. Chifuyu slowly nods and rests his elbows on the table.
"I was meaning to ask you... about the whole situation with the three dieties or whatever... do you know why exactly they're targeting me specifically?" You ask. Though you've already heard a few answers, you're curious to hear what Chifuyu would tell you.
"Mm." Chifuyu leans back in his seat and crosses his arms. "Honestly, I don't know... that's something you would have to ask Baji... I am not well-versed with all of that."
You nod and sigh again.
"Are you worried?"
"Worried about what?"
"About everything?"
"I don't know- kinda but not really..." Your eyebrows furrow as you look towards the window. "I'm mainly just thinking about... my old friend who went missing... and the other who-" You sigh, looking back towards Chifuyu. "It's odd... Thinking about it... it makes me feel extremely uncomfortable for some reason."
"Why do you say that?" He asks, leaning forward a bit. You look at him, your eyes slightly move around as you examine his face.
"I looked up the accident with one of them... it happened the same day Kisaki tried killing me."
Chifuyu's eyes widen slightly. "Do you think it's connected?" He asks.
"No idea. But it's odd- It makes me question when Hana went missing." You softly say. Chifuyu sits quietly for a bit before smiling.
"You want to do some investigating?" He asks.
"Investigating?"
"Mhm. I know how you are; you like to get answers."
"Yeah." You nod, leaning forward and resting your head on your hand. "I really want to get some answers."
"Hehe." You raise an eyebrow to see Chifuyu cheesing at you.
"Why're you so... happy?" You question.
"Let's do it together then."
"Huh?"
"Let's investigate together... like old times." He smiles. Your eyes widen, then relax.
"I don't want to get you involved." You sigh.
"I want to get involved."
Your eyes widen again, then soften. You smile slightly, then nod.
"Okay. Then let's do it then." You smile.
"Haha! Great to do business with you again, partner." He holds his hand out. You stare at his hand before shaking it.
"Yes."
The sound of the bakery's door opening causes you and Chifuyu to look towards it. Baji walks in with a mark on his cheek and a busted lip. He stares at you and Chifuyu, a tired look in his eyes.
You sit on a box in the back of the Bakery. You pour rubbing alcohol on a hand towel and dab at the cut on his lip. He slightly flinches, then relaxes.
"Hanma showed up at your café job? No one knew you worked there other than Draken and me."
"Yuki knows I work there too." Baji replies to Chifuyu. Both Chifuyu and Baji lock eyes with you. You furrow and look down at the hand towel, pouring a bit more rubbing alcohol on it and wiping the marks and cuts on Baji's face.
"I didn't tell anyone... so don't look at me like I did." You huff.
"I didn't think you would." Baji shakes his head a few times and pulls away. He turns around and leans back, resting his elbows between your legs. "Do you think Hanma is still working with Kisaki?" He asks Chifuyu.
"Probably, but it's an odd time to show up."
"No, I don't think the timing is odd..." Baji pushes himself off the box and looks at you. "The only issue I have with all of this is that... I have a gut feeling Mikey and Kisaki are working together again." You look at them both, feeling confused on why they're talking about Kisaki.
"Huh? No way... do you really think...?" Chifuyu says in a shocked tone. Baji sighs and pulls his hair up in a ponytail.
"There's a customer." Baji says, walking towards the counter. Chifuyu looks towards Baji, watching him talk to the customer. Chifuyu slowly looks towards you and takes a deep breath.
"Chifuyu." You softly say.
"Yeah?"
"Would it be a bad idea to do any of the investigating while all of this is happening?"
"No... it honestly feels like how it did last year."
You nod and look towards Baji. He walks back towards you and Chifuyu, wiping his hands with a towel.
"I forgot to tell you both..."
"Huh?" Both you and Chifuyu say, looking at Baji.
"I joined Brahman."
"HUH!? YOU DID WHAT?" Chifuyu shouts.
"Hey, can you not yell?" Baji glares at Chifuyu. Chifuyu fixes his posture and stands stiff. Baji places the hand towel in his apron pocket and looks at you.
"Why?" You ask.
"I want to beat the shit out of Mikey, that's why."
"Can you, though?" You ask. Baji's eyes relax, then they drift towards you. Your eyes slightly widen, and you feel a sudden anxiety in your chest.
"Don't leave before closing. I want to talk to you after I close." Baji says, his eyes still boring into yours. You stare at him before nodding.
Hours pass, and you're starting to feel exhausted. You lean back on the couch as you stare around the living room. It's really different.
"Does Hikari really not live here anymore?" You question. The sound of the door to the living room opens. Chifuyu and Baji walk in. You raise an eyebrow when you see Baji covered in flour and Chifuyu with a pink face and teary eyes.
"What happened?" You ask. Chifuyu slightly laughs, trying to hold it in. Baji's eyes narrow when he hears it. He glares back at Chifuyu, who goes quiet and stands straight.
"Chifuyu got the bowl of flour stuck to the counter because he forgot to clean up sticky sugar glaze..."
"So he pulled it up aggressively, and it got everywhere." Chifuyu snickers. Baji sighs and pulls off his apron.
After Baji cleans himself and gets ready to leave, he looks towards you.
"Let's go." He motions for you to follow.
You follow Chifuyu and Baji down the stairs. Once you both make it outside, Baji locks the door. Chifuyu takes a deep breath, putting his hands in his pockets.
"When you're ready to team up, partner, let me know." Chifuyu smiles. He turns away, walking out of the alley. Baji watches as Chifuyu disappears.
"What's he talking about?" Baji asks. He walks towards his motorcycle, pulling it away from the wall.
"I was curious about something... and Chifuyu said he wanted to help me find out an answer to a few of my questions."
"Questions about what?" He asks, getting on the motorcycle.
"Something regarding my old friends." You softly say. Baji raises an eyebrow and sighs.
"Can't you just say?" He sighs. "Get on." He motions for you to get on.
"It's complicated... I'll tell you when we get to wherever you wanna go." You softly reply.
"Okay. Get on."
You get on his motorcycle, and he pulls off. You lightly hold onto him as he drives down the road.
After driving for a bit, he pulls up to his apartment complex.
"Ah. You still live here?" You ask.
"Yeah."
"Does Chifuyu still live here?"
"No. He lives near his university... in a dorm."
"You aren't going to college?" You ask. He sighs as he gets off his motorcycle.
"I don't know..." He looks at you, helping you off. You both walk up the stairs, and he unlocks his apartment, showing you in and closing the door behind him.
"My mother's mostly asleep, so just walk quietly to my room. Imma make something real quick, so wait for me." You nod and walk into his room. You look around it and then slowly sit on the ground. You pull your legs towards your chest and close your eyes.
Not long later, Baji walks back into the room, closing the door behind him.
"Do you want some?" He asks, showing you a cup of noodles. You slowly shake your head. He nods and sits down beside you. You watch as he eats the noodles.
"You joined Brahman..." You softly say.
"Yeah." He muffles as he eats more noodles. He slowly looks at you, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Why did you want me to come?" You ask. He relaxes his wrist on his thigh, the one holding the noodle cup.
"Do you still like Mikey?" He asks.
"Huh?"
"The question is simple." He says in a low tone. You furrow your eyebrows, frowning a bit. You turn your head towards his window and sigh.
"I don't know... I'm more nervous about his well-being... it's strange being around everyone, and he's not around." You softly say. Baji stands up, causing you to look towards him. He places his noodle cup on a surface and walks towards you, getting down on his knees. Your eyes widen as he opens your legs and leans in to you.
His hands are on both sides of your waist. And he's kneeling between your legs. You watch as his eyes look down towards your lips and then to your eyes. His eyes soften, and you feel his breath on your face.
"Do you like Mikey?" He asks again.