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Vol 3.13 Arise to the Surface

  In the late evening, as the temperature dropped below 20 degrees Celsius, the cool autumn air set in. A gentle breeze carried fallen leaves, sending them dancing through the night. After a small and private celebration, Yoko and Shouichi closed up the shop and returned home safely. Now, they sat idly in front of the television, watching random shows and engaging in trivial conversations.

  Shouichi soon realised that Yoko had not completely returned to her former self. There were moments when she visibly appeared uncomfortable. He had been carefully tiptoeing around sensitive topics, wary of triggering her fragile emotional state. The awareness of how brittle and delicate the human mind could be dawned upon him.

  Suddenly, his smartphone, resting on the table, began to ring and vibrate. He instinctively picked it up and glanced at the screen. "Akiyama Suzuki" was calling.

  "Who's that?" Yoko cast him a brief glance.

  "Just a friend. I might need to take this," Shouichi replied with a white lie. Who knew what Suzuki had to say? It could be something too sensitive for his mother's current state of mind.

  He hurried out the door before answering the call.

  "Good evening, Akiyama-san," Shouichi whispered.

  "Hello, Shouichi-kun." The officer's voice was authoritative and stern, a clear indication that she meant business.

  "Is there anything you need, officer?"

  "Is your mother with you right now?" She asked, her tone softening slightly.

  "Nope, I'm outside the house."

  "Then come out past the fence. I'm just around the corner." Suzuki's voice was accompanied by faint shuffling noises, suggesting she was walking as they spoke.

  "Oh, okay…" He obediently followed her instructions.

  Once Shouichi stepped through the metal gate, he spotted the beautiful officer a few metres away. Unhurriedly, he walked towards her. Akiyama Suzuki was dressed in her usual blue uniform, complete with her utility belt and police cap. Though her expression screamed exhaustion, she still carried an undeniable charm. From the look of her, she must have come straight from the precinct.

  "Akiyama-san, how's it going?" Shouichi greeted her with a shallow smile.

  "Hi, kiddo." She responded with a quick wave.

  "So, what brings you here?"

  "I just wanted to update you on Kasunagi's case."

  "Oh… that." Shouichi nodded, his fists clenching slightly in anger at the mere mention of that disgusting name.

  "Since he's a repeat offender, he'll be locked up for a really long time…" She began to explain.

  "That's good, right?"

  "Yeah… except it might not be a jail cell." Suzuki hesitated, avoiding his eyes.

  "What do you mean?" Shouichi promptly asked, confusion crossing his face.

  "His lawyer is pretty cunning. They plan to plead insanity. If he's labelled a patient, he'll likely be sent to a mental hospital instead…"

  A heavy silence fell. Anger filled every fibre of his being, barely contained.

  "That man deserves a fate worse than death! How could he get to live comfortably in a hospital when my Yoko…" Shouichi bit his lip bitterly before continuing, "When my Yoko and I can't even live normal lives without fear and terror?"

  "I know how you feel… but we tried for the past two weeks…" Suzuki grimly recounted, her voice laced with frustration.

  "How many years would I be looking at if I killed him myself?" Shouichi muttered, staring blankly into the empty street, cocking his head slightly. His tone was chilling. His predatory gaze sent a shiver down Suzuki's spine — those were the eyes of a killer. The eerie composure he carried bred fear in her heart.

  "Shouichi-kun, you can't think like that! Then you won't be able to stay by your mother's side. Please reconsider." Suzuki raised her voice, desperate to steer him away from such a dark path.

  "You're right. That was just an intrusive thought," Shouichi said with an unsettling smile. "Sorry for making you worry for no reason. I have no intention of pursuing Kasunagi anymore." His voice was eerily monotonous, his gaze still piercing.

  "You really scared me there…" Suzuki pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart pounding.

  "Please don't mind me. I'm sorry," he said, bowing gracefully. Then, lifting his head, he asked, "Is that all, Akiyama-san?"

  "Y-yes… that's everything." She hesitated, almost reaching out to console him but stopping midway. Her mind was clouded with hesitation.

  Shouichi stepped closer, his height making him seem even more imposing. Suzuki looked up at him, her eyes pleading. She rested a hand on his shoulder, and in response, he gently placed his over hers. It was a natural gesture — comforting yet oddly intimate.

  Suzuki's breath hitched. Her heart raced. If he moved even slightly closer, she might just fall deeper. Deeper into the abyss.

  "Sorry!" Suzuki suddenly yelped, blushing furiously and stepping back.

  "That's alright… I'll be taking my leave then." Shouichi turned and walked away, his frame tapering in the dim light.

  Suzuki watched him go, her hands covering her feverish cheeks. "What was that?! I didn't expect him to get so close!" She agonised over their near-intimate interaction. "The air around him… it used to be bright, youthful. Now, it's like the midnight sky, dark yet scattered with flickering stars. It gives off such a dark and masculine vibe…"

  ***

  A week passed without any trouble. Yoko seemed to have returned to herself. Observing her closely, Shouichi could tell she had mostly recovered, yet he couldn't shake a peculiar feeling lingering in the air around her. It was as if something was there; something he could feel in his heart but couldn't define. Since that incident, all his thoughts had been occupied with her, all his prayers devoted to her.

  If he believed everything could simply return to its original state, he was gravely mistaken. A shattered glass could never be truly restored, and the human mind was no different.

  Dressed in his usual school uniform with an apron on top, Shouichi pan-fried sausages, eggs, and bacon. He carefully placed the cooked meats onto a slice of square bread, decorating it with tomato slices and lettuce — a simple yet delicious breakfast.

  "Morning, Shou-kun…" Yoko's drowsy voice echoed down the hallway.

  "Hi, Yoko-san." Shouichi glanced at her. She looked dazzling as ever, her fluffy hair slightly dishevelled, wearing a long black gown that complemented her healthy frame. Yawning, she shuffled towards the kitchen table.

  "Smells so good! What are you cooking?" Yoko sat down, kicking her feet playfully like a child.

  "English breakfast. I used to make it back in Melbourne," He replied flatly, stirring the pan.

  "Woah! Really? My mouth's watering already." Her sleepiness was quickly replaced with excitement.

  "Would you like an OJ?"

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  "What's an OJ?"

  "Huh? Oh, orange juice."

  "Okay!" She nodded enthusiastically.

  As Shouichi poured two glasses of chilled juice, Yoko followed and placed them on the table.

  Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

  "Huh?!" Shouichi flinched, rubbing his blushing cheek. "Didn't expect that."

  "That's my thank-you kiss. Fufufu~" Yoko grinned playfully, skipping back to her seat.

  "Let's eat," Shouichi announced.

  "Thanks for the food!" they chanted together, diving into their breakfast.

  "You look relentless…" Someone called him out as Shouichi absentmindedly stared at the empty space in his classroom. It was already the end of today's lesson and other students had hurriedly dashed out to enjoy their free time. The pretty boy with graphite-black hair unhurriedly turned to the source of the sound.

  "You alright?" Shinji asked him as he shoved his stationary into his school bag.

  "Oh, yeah… I just had a lot on my mind…" Shouichi admitted, hanging his head.

  "Yeah, I've noticed." Shinji agreed, after a short pause, "... Do you wanna talk about it?"

  "I dunno…" Shouichi glanced out of the window, at the pastel blue sky.

  "Sigh* Up to you, man. If you need someone to vent, I'm here for you." Shinji gave his friend encouragement while tapping lightly on his shoulder.

  "Thanks…" Shouichi cut him off, a clear indicator that he wanted to disengage from the conversation.

  "Then… I'll be going to the practice now." Shinji bidded him farewell and turned his back on his friend.

  "Wait! Shinji…" Shouichi suddenly called out to him. There was a hint of reluctance in his expression. As Shouichi fumbled for words, Shinji mindfully waited for him.

  "About Kasunagi…"

  Then Shouichi began to offload Kasunagi's case on the silver wolf, where he was listening to it quietly with a few nods and brief responses.

  "What a hideous man, I should have killed him when I got the chance!" Shinji eventually boiled up with anger after hearing that the man might spend his life comfortably in the mental hospital instead of a cold prison cell.

  "I don't think he deserved to die." Shouichi objected while remaining indifferent.

  "Really? You don't feel anything?" Shinji asked him in an incredulous tone.

  "Of course, I do feel things. I just don't allow it to cloud my judgement."

  "Sigh* It's such a shitty thing to happen, man. I hope you don't beat yourself up to it."

  "I think I'm doing fine…"

  "Yeah… Apart from the gloomy part, I think you are alright." Shinji quipped.

  "Let's go to the practice. I've been itching to exercise." Shouichi made up his mind.

  "For real? You'll come?" Shinji was dazed by his sudden development.

  "Yeah, I guess I don't wanna be a brooding type of guy. Also, Ayane is at the store with my mom today." He explained in a slow and monotonic tone.

  "Lit!" Shinji exclaimed with excitement, his bright aura acted like a sun that lit the entire room. To the point that it was blinding for Shouichi.

  ***

  Afternoon's light illuminated the white buildings, painting them in a yellowish hue. It was about the time when Shouichi and co. completed their club practice. This particular session mainly focused on the endurance and swiftness of the legs.

  To put it simply, running as far as possible, as fast as possible. Apparently, Shouichi didn't hate to join in such a boring but wasn't too keen about it either.

  One thing was that he couldn't seem to beat Shinji's best record for some unknown reasons. His silver wolf friend not only was inhumanly fast but also ran further than other club mates. People did claim that he could be a sports prodigy if he put in the effort.

  "Haaaaaaah haaaaah…" Shouichi rested both hands on his knees, breathing raggedly.

  "Shouichi you got 1 minute 22 seconds for a 600-meter sprint!" Toru, the spikey-haired senior shouted.

  "I'd say that's pretty fast, right?" Shinji asked, sitting on the bench next to his girlfriend, Ito Emi.

  "Yeah! Still, you got 1 minute 13 seconds. About 9 seconds longer than you, senpai." Emi compared their results in an admirable tone.

  "I'm the flash, hehehe." Shinji jested with a big smirk on his face. The two seemed to be enjoying their time together. Shinji had never missed a practice since the two started dating, which was about 2 months ago. With their tall appearance and their mismatched personalities, one could observe that Shinji and Emi were a perfect fit for each other.

  "They are such an amazing and lovely couple." Shouichi struggled to maintain neutrality, devoid of jealousy. But failed miserably as he saw the two were having a hell of a good time.

  "Alright, guys! That's it for today!" Toru announced to the other members to dismiss. And the team let out a loud cheering chant that marked the end of the lesson.

  ***

  After a brief moment, Shouichi had already changed back to his school uniform which was unusual for him.

  "I'm quite sweaty today, probably stank too." He figured, hence the change of clothes.

  While the pretty boy was walking alone, he rounded the corner and ran into a group of 3 seniors huddling together.

  "Let me see it!" A tall one yelled as he reached out to grab the smartphone of his friend's hands.

  "Hey! This is a paid view, bruh!" The owner of the smartphone was wearing rectangular glasses.

  "It's awesome right?" The blondie cheerfully commented. It appeared that they were sharing a funny video or a short clip.

  "Ahhh Ahhhh" The continuous moan of both males and females were heard from the phone speaker. The tall guy ramped up a volume and glued his eyes to the screen.

  "...That's such a disgusting thing to do on the school grounds…" Shouichi thought and walked past them, ignoring their presence entirely.

  Then something hooked Shouichi right back, "Haven't you heard that she works at the cafe in our town?" The glassed dude spoke up to his friends.

  Shouichi's eyes widened and his legs stopped immediately.

  "Yeah, they just reopen it, I've been to the cafe. It's real!" Blondie interjected with a condescending tone as if he won the prize.

  "She's so hot too. I never thought she'd do adult videos. What a greedy bitch!"

  "Shit! We oughta go, maybe she'll let us have a piece or some!" The tall one was firing up.

  "I got fifty thousand yens here, you think she'll let me hit it?" The blondie gestured by humping air.

  "I think the store was called Yoko Sweet Shop or something. It's just 5 minutes from here." The glassed guy narrated. Although he might appear like a nerd at first glance, he actually was on the delinquent side of the scale.

  "Let~." Instantaneously, the impactful punch launched his glasses flying into the air. The two seniors screamed with fright.

  "What the f*ck is your problem?!" The blondie barked with furious. Shouichi's cold eyes rendered them motionless. He unhurriedly walked toward the dropped smartphone that was still playing the video loudly.

  "Answer us! You freaking bastard!" The tall senior demanded as he helped his four-eyes friend to his feet. His friend appeared to be in a numbing pain as his cheek began to turn bright red from the earlier blow.

  "She is not doing adult videos. I'll take the liberty to delete this clip for you." Shouichi clarified while tapping on his smartphone, composed.

  The smartphone auto-locked by itself after a few minutes. "What is the password?" He asked coldly, keeping the killer's eyes fixated on them.

  "Huh? Why would I tell you that? Who the f*ck you think you are?!" The blondie growled with his deep voice. Shouichi observed that he was ready to fight, no… He wanted to fight.

  In an instant, the tall boy kicked Shouichi on the side but he managed to block it with his arm. Shouichi performed a quick backstep to find his position.

  "Let's not fight guys. I'm sorry about the first punch… My intrusive thoughts had won me over recently," Shouichi lifted his hands up as a sign of surrender and truce with his neutral expression.

  "You dumbf*ck! Do you think about that now? Let's screw this snotty kid up!" The tall one sneered at the pretty boy.

  "Sigh*..." Shouichi let out a deep exhale before glancing up at them.

  "Get this, you lil bitch!" Blondie instantaneously launched his first hook which Shouichi would anticipate a mile away. His weak and frail swing would definitely miss him. In a split second, Shouichi decided to counter with his left jap which landed right on his nose.

  "Makoto!?" His tall friend cried out when he saw his friend drop like a fly hit by an electric bat. Then he simultaneously dashed in to try for a low kick.

  "Huh?" Shouichi easily intercepted with his feet before rotating his body to perform a 360 kick on the tall boy's chest.

  "Two down… One remains…" Shouichi mumbled to himself, his expressionless face and furious eyes were awfully horrifying. The glassed boy screamed in fear as pale liquid spurted out of his crotch, seeing his friends rolled down in agonising pain on the ground.

  "Pass…word…" He asked the petrified boy coldly.

  "Uumm… I~I… Umm~um" Nothing but squeaking noise coming out of his mouth as he was too scared to word it properly.

  Shouichi grabbed him by the throat and pinned him up against the wall, he didn't realise that he was essentially choking the boy to death with his inhuman strength.

  "Arrrh arrhh… Plea~please don't kill me" The boy pleaded with tears streaming down on his pathetic face. Then it snapped Shouichi back, he was about to kill someone.

  "Oh…" Shouichi quickly loosened his grip and let him down on the ground.

  "Hhhhhhahhhh hhhhhahhh." The boy gasped desperately for air, rubbing his throat.

  "It's … 4321," He told him the password obediently between his ragged breathing.

  The pretty boy somberly stood there, going through the explicit video clips of Yoko and deleting them all before returning it back to the owner. The 3 seniors were scared for their live, scrambling together before helping each other get out of the spot as fast as their bodies would allow.

  "I've done it again… I f*cking hate myself." Shouichi lamented on his recent actions, regretting what he did. In the glowing evening light, the black-haired boy stared absentmindedly at his trembling hands.

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