38 - Alpha

"Hello?" Gyouma said, answering the phone as it rang.

"Yes, is this Kayuri Matsumoto's emergency contact?" a female voice asked in perfect German.

Gyouma's heart sank. 'The hospital,' he deduced.

"What is it...? What's Kayuri's status?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice steady.

"We've been trying to reach you for a few hours..."

'Probably because of the flight to Japan... It took a while for my phone services to activate here.'

"And we're sorry to inform you that Miss Matsumoto has... passed. Seven hours ago," the voice informed, attempting to sound sympathetic but failing to mask its coldness.

Gyouma responded simply, "Thank you," and hung up before the voice could say anything else.

He placed the phone neatly on the table outside of Gyarune's interrogation room, his mind blank. He then walked into the room casually.

"Heh, you're here despite your 'boss' telling you to stay away from me?" Gyarune sneered as Gyouma entered, closing the door behind him.

Gyouma sighed. "As a mad scientist, I know exactly what not to do. Now, spill it. Specifically, your boss," he demanded, his chin held high.

'I can't crash yet. I need to find out where he comes from to shut this whole operation down.'

Gyarune took a few seconds, then sighed deeply.

"Ah, screw it. The old man hated me, and everything he ever got, he got it for himself. Whether it be money, women, or power. I had to survive all by myself—"

"I don't care. Just hurry up and tell me," Gyouma cut him off.

"Alright, alright... As long as that guy doesn't beat me up senselessly anymore..."

Gyouma's mind flashed with Kayuri's image and smile.

"Senselessly...?" Gyouma growled.

"Yeah, what are—" Gyarune began, lifting his head to look at Gyouma. Recognition dawned in his eyes. "Oh... you're that scientist... the one I left alive."

"Yes, that's me. Surprised scum like you remember," Gyouma replied, his emotions swirling, his fist clenched as he glared at Gyarune.

"Oh, I remember. After all, I tested the watch on you and that colleague of yours first," Gyarune said with a snicker.

Gyouma's eye twitched. "What...?!"

'Did he do something to her despite her injured state?' he thought, grabbing Gyarune's shirt as he sat in the chair.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" he screamed in Gyarune's face.

'This is bad... I'm losing it...'

'No...'

'...I have nothing left to lose anymore. What worth is doing something good to a world she's no longer a part of?'

Gyarune giggled. "Hahaha..."

"ANSWER ME!" Gyouma's intensity rose as he shook Gyarune violently.

Gyarune smirked pityingly. He slowly raised his head, meeting Gyouma's gaze.

"Not a thing, lol," he murmured with a chuckle.

"What...?" Gyouma let out.

"DON'T MESS WITH ME!" he yelled, bits of spit hitting Gyarune's face.

"It's the truth... Your breath stinks, piss off..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, IT'S THE TRUTH?"

"...."

"Truth be told, I always thought that I'd fuck some chick the moment I got my hand on something sci-fi like that device... But the first thing I noticed when I stopped time," Gyarune began, gazing up at the ceiling as he recalled the moment, "was how all the lights immediately went out, plunging everything into darkness. There wasn't a spark of light anywhere... and then I heard quiet breathing coming from somewhere." Gyouma released his grip and stepped back, his eyes narrowing.

"Not even my flashlight didn't work. A few minutes later, my eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I walked toward the source of that breathing. The most prominent one was from you; I realized that when I got close. It became clear that the device didn't really stop time. It just affected the lights, electronics and caused people to freeze in place. I was really bummed..." he muttered, a look of disappointment crossing his face.

"But then I saw your colleague just a few feet away from you. She was also breathing, but more faintly." Gyouma's fists tightened silently.

"What caught my eye was her blood. She had been pierced with a broken vial in her abdomen when she and some others tried to stop me."

Gyouma's eyes widened, instinctively guessing Gyarune's next words.

"...Her blood kept flowing."

Gyouma let out a sharp gasp.

"So, I just knelt and watched. Her blood kept spreading and flowing, but she didn't react. She didn't even seem to be in pain. Her expression remained the same, but her breathing grew weaker."

'He just watched... When... She could have still lived...'

Gyouma felt a wretch climbing up his stomach, vividly imagining Kayuri forced to stay still for an agonizing duration.

"It's funny when you think about it, really. It wasn't that critical an injury. If I had resumed time and gotten her to a hospital, she'd have most likely survived," Gyarune almost whispered, his eyes glinting as he visualized the broken glass piercing her stomach.

"But I was curious. I wanted to see what would happen if she died—would she just roll on the ground, or remain frozen until her brain stopped functioning? So, I let it continue for about ten more minutes. I've never been so engrossed in something my whole life. At that point, her heart rate dropped so much, you—"

"SHUT UP!!!!!" Gyouma collapsed to his knees, hyperventilating.

Gyarune smiled wickedly, savoring the pale scientist's anguish.

"You couldn't really hear her breathing unless you got reaaaally close," Gyarune continued, relishing the recount. "It was then I got the low power warning on the watch. I had to dip, so unfortunately, I didn't get to watch her die..." he said, watching Gyouma grow increasingly restless.

'She suffered... for so long...!!'

"But I suppose that's a privilege you got, heh." He snickered as Gyouma raised his head, his mind blank with rage.

"Oh, YOU DIDN'T! Ahh, that's a killer!!" Gyarune cackled, examining Gyouma's face. "You rushed to Japan... Let me guess, she died all by herself in some hospital, didn't she!!?"

"BASTARD!!!!!!!!!" Gyouma roared, his scream filled with uncontainable fury as he lunged at Gyarune, his arms aiming for his throat. Gyouma's phone ringing once more outside the door.

It was over in an instant.

Gyarune was free of his binds, and Gyouma was lying on the ground.

"Just kill me." Gyouma murmured, bleeding from his mouth as he looked at the ceiling. His ribs and arm broken as Gyarune was approaching the door outside, stopping in place as he heard the scientist's plea.

"Nah," He muttered as he turned to him momentarily with a snicker, "I thought it was clear by now..."

"Watching people squirm helplessly... Is quite the kicker. Scientist." He said as he opened the door.

Gyouma bit his lips in frustration as he helplessly looked at the ceiling.

"Besides, I got your partner; Hiroki's family to capture for that fat old man of mine," He exclaimed.

Gyouma's face tensed, his eyes widened in realization. He was then trying to move his body and crawl past Gyarune.

Gyarune looked at him with a sigh, "Y'know for a scientist, you're quite stupid." He said, "Thanks for reminding me I need to tie you up." He said as he hoisted him up on the chair, tying the injured scientist to the chair with the same rope he was tied in.

"Alright. Just stay still and watch everything burn from this spot," He casually let out as he exited the room.

"No...! I..." Gyouma strained.

It was then he passed the table near the door, hearing a ringing noise from Gyouma's phone.

"Hmm?" He hummed as he examined the name on the phone.

"Hey," Gyarune let out,

"Who the fuck's Yuuto Sakurai?"

---------------------------------------

'No answer...' Yuuto thought as he and Saki sat, drying up on the bench nearby the river after their kayaking experience.

He looked at Saki.

"Something came up." Yuuto alerted Saki calmly.

"I need to go now."

------------------------------------------

"Well, whatever. Oh, what's this?" Gyarune muttered to himself, his gaze landing on the device next to the phone after the ringing ceased.

[TimeStop Watch™ Pre-Alpha v0.0.1] The label read.

"NO!!!!" Gyouma screamed as he saw Gyarune pick it up.

Gyarune's head snapped towards Gyouma at the sound of his scream.

'Oh my... So that's why he was so confident...'

"Since you stole the first one from me and hid it who knows where, it's only fair I take this..." he sneered, noticing the scientist's reaction.

"I guess this is what you planned to use to stop me, huh?" he mocked, watching Gyouma fume, visibly clenching his teeth.

"YOU BASTARD!!! YOU WON'T GET AWA—"

Gyarune activated the watch with a loud click.

'Damn, the switch on this one is much louder than the first one... But it works just as well...' he thought, observing Gyouma frozen in place, his face contorted in a scream, eyes shut tight from the struggle.

"Hah," Gyarune murmured, admiring the raging, frozen expression.

'Really... Seeing despair like that... Keep it up, scientist. You're earning my favor more and more every time,' Gyarune thought, noticing the light still on.

"Oh? The light's still on..." he mused, examining the device again.

'It says Pre-Alpha... An early version? Well, the fact he brought it means he was confident it works. Maybe it only affects people, not electronics...' he speculated, glancing back at the still-frozen Gyouma.

"Well, it's all I need anyway," he sighed.

"Hiroki Morii... You fucker. You'll pay for beating me up like I'm your bitch," he resolved, his eye twitching slightly as he walked away.