Eyes of the Vengeful

"So let me get this straight...you two were friends...in a past life?"

"That is correct."

Kyo groaned in frustration as he tried so desperately to get logical answers out of Niall and me. He shot Ushio and Yuta a questioning glance, but they simply shrugged. He slowly turned back to us, then let out a prolonged sigh of defeat. "Okay...whatever...I give up..."

"I'm telling the truth, Kyo," I insisted. "I know it's hard to believe, but I swear I'm not making it up."

"If you look at it this way, Kyo, it's the only possible explanation," said NIall. "How else would we-"

"What's his name?"

Niall narrowed his eyes at Kyo curiously. "I don't understand what you're asking," he said in a low voice.

"You haven't called this guy by his name yet." Kyo pointed at me with his index finger, then raised an eyebrow at Niall. "What's his name? Do you not know it?"

Niall's eyes grew wide for a moment, as if he were genuinely shocked by the question. His gaze dropped slowly, until it eventually fell on me, and I immediately felt as though I was put on the spot. "I..." Tilting his head to the side, he squinted at me. "I don't remember... How can I not remember your name?"

Noticing Niall gradually falling into a state of panic, I placed my hand gently on his shoulder, then looked him in the eye with a reassuring expression. "It's okay," I whispered. "Just call me Hiro."

"But that's not your real name...is it?"

I looked away from him, then shook my head shamefully. "That doesn't matter. If you can't remember, don't worry about it. My name is Hiro now....okay?"

As I looked up at Niall one last time, I watched him nod slowly at my unusual request. "Okay," he replied. "I will do just that."

We had been speaking in a voice too quiet for anyone else in the room to hear, so it was no doubt that we had received a couple of suspicious glances from the others. "Are you two done being secretive?" Kyo hissed, and I sensed him growing just a tad bit irritated with my behavior. I fixed my eyes on him to show that I was listening. "Now that you can actually hear my voice, Hiro, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. Is that alright with you?"

"Go ahead."

"First of all, could you tell me who the man in that photograph over there is?"

My eyes flicked to where Kyo had pointed. I recognized the photograph right off the bat, not by who it was, but from the brief explanation Kyo had given me the previous day. It was of a blonde haired man, and the photograph itself was hanging on the wall, just above the fireplace. I got up from my seat on the couch, then walked over to the photograph to get a better look. "I don't believe I know him..." I said, eyes still fixed on the man's smiling face. It was odd, but for some reason, the longer I stared at his smile, the more unreal it seemed. It was almost as if he wasn't smiling at all, but rather trying to trick me into thinking that he was happy. It's just a photograph, I told myself. You're overthinking it.

"Hiro."

The sound of Yuta's tender, concerned voice brought me back to my senses, and I looked at her. "I'm sorry...I must sound like some sort of madman to you all right now."

"Just come over here and sit down already," she said, and I did just that. Once I had reclaimed my seat on the couch beside Niall, Yuta leaned in closer to me and stared deeply into my eyes, her expression filled both with confusion and compassion. "You're not a madman," she said softly. "Whether or not they believe you, I do. I'll believe anything you say."

Hearing her say these words caused a strange emptiness to form in my chest. How could she say something like that, after knowing that I've been lying to her from the start? I thought, steadily growing more and more frustrated with myself. She doesn't even know my real name...none of them do... "I appreciate your kindness, Yuta," I said shyly, "but I don't deserve it."

"Bull crap."

My eyes shot open as craned my neck to look at Ushio. He had been quiet for pretty much the entire time we were in the house, so I had nearly forgotten he was even here. Ushio was leaning against the back of the chair he was sitting in, his legs propped up on a small coffee table. I opened my mouth and was about to speak, but he cut me off before I could even utter a single word. "I don't want to hear this stuff from you, Hiro," he said sternly. "The look on your face is starting to remind me of myself, so please stop."

What's gotten into him? I asked myself mentally. This doesn't seem like Ushio at all...

"Just listen to me, Hiro..." Ushio leaned forward and looked me dead in the eye, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. "You're on our side now, got it? You said you've spent a long time trying to find your friend, and judging by the way you acted yesterday, I'd say you take it very seriously. You read some of those reports of ours last night, correct? Well, if that's the case, and you read the very first one that Yuta wrote, then you know how my sister and I used to be, and why we're trying so desperately to find the man who was responsible for saving our lives. Please don't think of this as our way of taking advantage of you, but I believe that we can use your relations to the Midnight Legion and the Shadow Keeper to help us get closer to achieving our goal. So, Hiro....what do you say?"

What do I say indeed...? I felt my heartbeat quicken as I contemplated everything Ushio had spoken to me. To say that his sudden change in personality had shocked me would be an understatement, and I truly didn't know how I was supposed to respond to such a request. "I...I want..." I guess there was only one thing I could say. "I want to find Hanako."

Ushio, Yuta, and Kyo all smirked as they listened to my response. "Very good," said Kyo, nodding slowly. "Now that that's been settled, I propose we start a serious investigation...a proper search. We've got an extra pair of hands to help us now, right? And not only that, but a brain that possesses knowledge we've needed for a long time." Kyo held out his hand to me, smiling as he gave his sincerest expression of gratitude. "Whether or not you ever plan on giving us the full truth, that doesn't really matter to me."

I took Kyo's hand without hesitation and began shaking it firmly. I felt happy, having gained the trust of these people, who all had the same desire as I did. However, I was still left to wonder what reason Kyo had for wanting to find Hanako. Did Hanako save his life too? Was he simply helping Ushio and Yuta? Did he find fascination with the whole ordeal? Or maybe he had some kind of grudge against Hanako...? Ah, it's not like it matters, I told myself. You're on a team now, and you're going to have to start trusting people again...get used to it.

+++

"Would you look at that blue haired boy sitting at the counter!"

"He's so cute! And he looks like a high-schooler, too!"

"You should go ask him for his number!"

"No, that'd be awkward! I'm pretty sure he's with his friends..."

"Well, somebody's popular with the ladies..." Kyo scoffed, turning his head away from Niall, who was currently being swooned over by a bunch of teenage girls that happened to be in the café at the time.

Niall hung his head sadly. "It's not my fault," he muttered. "I didn't ask for this to happen..."

I couldn't help but laugh a little at the look of embarrassment on Niall's face. It was obvious that he wasn't used to this kind of thing at all. According to Kyo, Niall had been cooped up in that little house of his for decades, and the closest he'd ever gotten to socializing was during their monthly visits. Still, it was nice to see him finally come out of his shell. I had missed Niall, and I hadn't even known it until I saw his face this morning. To be honest, I was surprised that we were able to convince Niall to come back to the café with us. Remembering the relatively reluctant person he used to be, I had expected him to tell us to go on without him. However, after grabbing the special photograph he hung on his wall, he seemed more than happy to come along.

Apparently, Yui had been watching over the café with the help of a couple of friends of hers while we were gone. She was extremely surprised when we first walked in with Niall by our side, and it was nearly impossible to direct her attention away from him. "His hair is the same color as mine..." She'd laugh under her breath while preparing a customer's coffee. Kyo even had to yell at her a couple of times when the coffee maker began overfilling the cup without Yui's noticing. Other than a few spills and minor mishaps, it was nice and peaceful inside the café. However, this peacefulness didn't last long, for at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the café received a very odd and dangerous customer that threw off all balance it once held.

At the sound of the bell that typically signified a new customer had arrived, in through the door came not a customer, but a small, black haired monkey. It immediately began running in circles around the center of the café, causing all of the customers panic, then it jumped up onto one of the tables. The moment it began screeching, everyone rushed out of the café in a hurry. Everyone, that is, except Kyo, Ushio, Yuta, Niall, Yui, and I. We all stared in astonishment at the small creature, who had now leapt off of the table and onto the counter where Niall and I were seated. Startled by the monkey's rapid movements, I fell out of my chair and landed on the floor, while Niall simply continued to watch the monkey curiously.

"How the heck-...?" Kyo squinted at the little animal. "How did you get in here? Since when can monkeys open doors? Wait, there aren't any monkeys in Aobasani...are there?"

The little monkey began screeching again, but soon stopped upon meeting eyes with Niall. It stopped moving completely, and so did Niall.

It was then that the café door slammed open again, but this time, it was a young, chestnut haired boy who came rushing in. "Suko!" He called, cupping his hands over his mouth to make his voice louder. "I know you came in here..."

It didn't take any of us long to realize that the boy was referring to the little black monkey. Without saying a word, Niall carefully picked the monkey up by the hairs of its neck, then walked over and knelt down beside the little boy. "So this is your monkey?"

The boy's face lit up with pure happiness as he took the monkey from Niall, then squeezed it with all his might. "Thank you, mister!!" He squealed, continuing to laugh with delight as he spun around with Suko in his arms.

"Could you please tell me your name, little boy?" Niall asked, and he waited patiently for the boy to respond.

"It's Haru."

"Now could you tell me why your monkey ran away from you and chased the customers out of this cafe?"

Haru turned his head away, pouting. "Don't blame me," he mumbled. "Suko just didn't like the neighborhood kids I was playing with. It was just a little bit ago that they started picking on me, and I guess Suko got so scared, he wanted to get away from them entirely. I'm sorry if I caused you trouble..."

"Snot-nosed little brat!" Kyo hissed. "You scared away all of our customers!!"

Haru's eyes widened and he jumped back, frightened by Kyo's harsh tone of voice. "I-I-I'm sorry, s-sir! I didn't mean it!"

"Saying you're sorry ain't gonna bring back those people!"

"Kyo. Relax," said Yuta. I could tell just by looking at her face that she was used to this kind of thing. "He's just a kid. Don't be so hard on him."

Kyo's eye twitched for another couple of seconds before he finally started to cool down. "Fine...I'll let him go this time. But if your stupid little pet ever comes in this cafe again, I swear I'll cut him up into little pieces and blend him with my coffee beans."

Well that's morbid...

Suddenly voices could be heard from afar off, and everyone turned their attention to the door.

"Oh, Haruuu...where'd you and your ugly monkey go?"

"Quiet, Eaden. We have to act like good kids, remember?"

"So pretend?"

"Precisely."

Haru shivered, and he held Suko even closer to his chest. "That's them..." He whispered, voice shaking almost as much as he was. "Eaden and Sora...they must've just passed by the cafe..."

CRASH!!

A glass mug shattered. Everything became quiet. Tension in the room grew immediately after those two names were spoken. Eyes were no longer fixed on the door, but on Kyo. His face was burning with intense rage, and I watched in horror as he bent over, picked up a piece of the broken mug, then held it up in the air. "Ushio..." He whispered in a dark voice. My eyes darted to the white haired man, whose expression was filled with as much anger as Kyo's.

"I know," he said, and soon he was equipped with a piece of glass as well.

Yuta and I looked at each other, frantic expressions now plastered on our faces. "What the heck do you guys think you're doing?!" Yuta shouted. Ushio shot his sister a nasty look and scowled at her, soon to be joined by Kyo.

"You guys are scaring me..." I heard Yui whisper, and she took this as her cue to slip away from the others and hurry out of cafe, obviously not wanting to interfere.

"They're getting away, Ushio," said Kyo. "Let's go already."

Ushio made a quiet noise of agreement, then began following Kyo to the exit of the cafe. However, before they could even make it to the door, they were stopped by Yuta. She was now clutching the sleeves of the two boys, and by the determined look on her face, I didn't think she was planning on letting go. "This is extremely reckless," she said in a low voice, staring directly into her brother's vengeful eyes. "You can't just go after them and expect to win. It's stupid, and I won't let you do it."

"Let go of my arm, Yu," Ushio snapped. "This doesn't concern you. Kyo and I are just going to take care of something real quick. I promise."

"That's a lie and you know it. Eaden and Sora are too strong for you to handle on your own, Ushio. You can't kill them with just any old weapon. They're demons, remember? And not just any demons. Surely you recall the last time they beat you-"

"SHUT UP!!"

Yuta jerked her head back, startled by Ushio's increase in volume. She arched her eyebrows at him, almost seeming disappointed by his irrational behavior. "You're acting foolish," she said quietly. "You're being driven by your thirst for revenge, and I won't let that happen. Stay here, Ushio. Don't you dare go."

"Yuta, please don't let this offend you..." Kyo hung his head. I could almost hear him gritting his teeth as he searched for the right words to say to her. "You weren't there. You don't know how horrified we were to see Aiichiro's corpse lying in front of us, and how guilty we felt to know that we were the ones responsible."

"You weren't responsible!!" Yuta yelled, desperation practically dripping from her voice. Her eyes softened their sharp glare, and she now stared sympathetically at both of the boys. "Please...don't go out that door..."

I could almost feel the unbearable pain that Yuta's face expressed as both Kyo and Ushio ignored her warning. It was then, for a reason I could not comprehend, that she released her grip on their arms, and the two men left the cafe, leaving Yuta behind in an emotionally unstable state.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Yuta seriously looked as though her heart had been shattered, but she was refusing to cry. I looked to Niall, who had been holding a very frightened and confused Haru while the brief argument had undergone, hoping that he would say something. Anything. But he didn't. He did, however, release Haru and slowly rise to feet, fixing his eyes on the door. And as he began to walk steadily towards it, I called out to him.

"Niall."

He stopped in his tracks.

"Hiro, I want you and Yuta to stay here and keep an eye on this boy until I get back. Do not leave this cafe no matter what. Understand?"

"No..." Yuta whispered. "If you're going, then I'm coming with you." She faced me, then said with a strong voice, "We can't die until we achieve our goal." Then, without another word, she stormed out of the cafe.

This time I didn't hesitate to take action. I ran after Yuta in an attempt to stop her before she could get too far, but she was fast. Much faster than me. I raced down the block, scarcely dodging the people passing by, using all the strength I had in me to catch up to her. "Yuta, wait up!" I called out to her, but she kept running. How could Kyo and Ushio have gotten so far in such a short amount of time? I wondered.

"If we run a little faster, we may be able to make it in time."

I glanced over my shoulder only to find Niall running at a short distance behind. "Yeah...maybe..." I whispered, directing my attention back to the path in front of me. "Wait a second...did you leave Haru alone back at the cafe?!"

"He'll be fine, don't worry."

"...right..."

Somehow that doesn't sound very reassuring...