Chapter 9

It's an hour before midnight. The Segawa household is silent, though those who are familiar with its nook and crannies would say it is even more silent than usual. While such silence is regular in the cold corners of this modern mansion, it is still missing the muffled screams coming from the closed door to Felix's bedroom as the boy games until morning on his PC. It is also missing the low rumble of Hide's motorbike as he parks in the garage after spending the whole evening out with friends, or his soft steps as he walks to his room; not a word said. Low murmurs would normally be heard from the private office upstairs as the head of the house answers late-night phone calls related to work, but even that is absent that particular evening.

After all, two of the Segawa boys have just left home. For one of them to pull such a stunt is a recurring incident, but to have both is unheard of.

Segawa Yasuo is pacing back and forth on the second floor of his home as he checks his messages for news from the people he sent out to find his youngest. Unlike Hide, Felix knows very little about going outside and even interacting with other human beings. The boy spends a lot of his years being home-schooled and being holed up in his room, playing video games.

So it is a matter of concern when Felix decides to run from home.

Hide knows places to stay and people to trust; the only other people Felix knows outside of this home are those people he often argues with online who probably live on the other side of the globe. Hide leaves on his motorbike, with a duffel bag full of clothes (that he always has prepared somewhere in his room) and other possessions; Felix leaves with a backpack of snacks, his gaming consoles, and a few pairs of colorful socks.

Lastly, Hide normally runs away after a heated argument with his father, and he leaves with an ultimatum, said to his father with such intensity at the door that the older man sometimes forgets that he is indeed speaking to a child and not another adult before the boy slams the door loud and the sharp screech from the tires of his bike would soon follow. When Hide leaves his home, he leaves with a statement that would echo throughout the house for hours to come. Felix, on the other hand, leaves a yellow sticky note on his Father's computer with a short message saying, "You're a meanie!!" and a detailed drawing of a frowning face at the end.

The sight of that sticky note reaches Segawa Yasuo yet again and just as it does, the man feels a headache coming. He rubs the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. It's not a matter of favoritism that he worries about Felix a lot more than he does Hide. Both boys are troubled - more so than he likes to admit; but Hide seems to have found his outlet. Felix, however, is hidden from the public for a good reason.

Somewhere in the distance, he hears the low rumble of a motored vehicle. The sound is very familiar to Segawa Yasuo, especially when it enters his garage and the noise stops to a deafening silence.

Not wasting even a second, the man rushes to the stairs. Downstairs, he takes a turn to reach the door that leads to the garage. There, a figure clad in a leather jacket and dark pants is standing with his back facing Yasuo. His head is covered with a large helmet, but as soon as he takes it off, Yasuo releases a very glad exhale at the sight of that jet-black hair.

"Good that you're home. I was about to call you myself or call that friend you've been staying with. There's an emergency; Your brother just ran away from home," Yasuo tells his oldest son, who is putting his helmet on his bike, "Actually do not take your helmet off. We should go and look around for your brother. We don't want him causing any more trouble than he alre -"

"You actually invited Sora".

"-ady is… I'm sorry?" The older of the two stops to have a good look at his oldest son. Taller than most kids his age, it's easy to mistake Segawa Hide for a grown man. Yet he is only 16. And when he's shooting glares at you like this, it's even harder to see the child in him.

"I said you actually invited Sora," The boy states, his tone rising as he moves his head in tandem with the stress of each word.

Yasuo's brows rise as he tries to read the air around his boy. Then he smacks his lips as he answers truthfully, "I did. I got you what you wanted. To become an Esper; isn't that what you told me last time?" In fact that was the root of their last fight before Hide finally decided to leave the house.

Yasuo isn't blind. The moment Hide was born, he knew the boy was made for something great. Being the son of then Asia's best Esper, Hide easily got confirmed to be an S-Class by his pediatrician. At the age of 6, Hide can carry his nanny with one hand. And soon enough, every person who stayed long enough to see what that boy could do would all gush about how great of an Esper he could be.

Yasuo had always known that the time would come when someone knocked on their door and handed his oldest the offer. That someone is Sora - with his tiny little team and his tiny little dream. Anyone with eyes can see how good of a fit Segawa Hide would make in Sora's team of three; all young, all blessed with a one-in-a-million gift.

Yet Yasuo told Sora no many times.

Perhaps to everyone involved, Yasuo is the one obstacle between Hide and his destined path. But Yasuo knows firsthand what that career and that level of ability can do to a person. He wished none of it on anyone; and especially not on his sons.

But with Ren, everything is possible.

If Hide can have Ren….

"What the fuck".

Yasuo frowns at his son's brash choice of words, "… What did you just say to me?"

"FUCK. FUCK YOU," There is always more intensity in Hide's steps compared to the average person, and Yasuo cannot deny that he's a little anxious when the boy walks up to him, eyes dark with juvenile rage, "You insisted. INSISTED! That I cannot be an Esper, ever! Not while you're still breathing. But now, for whatever reason, you have Sora over, and you offer Felix?? While I am out of your hair, old man!? What the fuck!"

"Words, Hide," He tersely scolds, but is quick to address the rest of his son's concern, "What is this? Are you… jealous of Felix? Hide, you joining Sora's team is always on the table. He wanted you first, and he still does. I am planning for you to join them, eventually, as soon as you come back home".

"No!!" Hide throws both of his hands in the air, and for a split second, Yasuo sees him for the child he truly is, "This is the problem, old man! You never listen!! You don't care to give me what I want when I wanted it, and now that I'm gone you're suddenly all buddy-buddy with Sora? No! I don't need your help anymore. I don't want Sora's team, and I don't want your help!"

"... what? Boy, what do you mean?"

His son is now making his way back to his large motorcycle, "I don't want Sora's team anymore. I'm making my own team".

The older man squints his eyes at that, "…. your own… team? Do you even know what that entails?"

"Shut it, I don't need your help," the boy actually has the gal to show him the middle finger after putting on his helmet and climbing back to his motorbike, "And 'Lix is bunking with me, so call off your men; you won't find him".

The large black bike roars to life; its loud noise echoes throughout. Beyond the still-open garage door, Yasuo glimpses at the large house across the road and catches one of its lit rooms. He swears the curtain behind one of their large windows shifts as the heads behind it quickly try to hide themselves from his gaze. That house; there's a family of five living there - a couple of lawyers with three daughters who all love to spy on his home. He knows the youngest of the girls has been trying to gather the courage to speak to Hide, to no avail.

"Goodbye, old man!" Hide's bike then surfs to the road, leaving echoes of loud motor noise to linger long enough to keep his father company as he waves at the spying girls from across the road. The girls appear stunned that he notices them; but he can see their shadows from behind those light-colored curtains, jumping around in excitement from seeing Hide on his bike (or perhaps from being waved at by the boys' father).

But the interest of some young girls in the neighborhood is the least of Segawa Yasuo's concerns. There are many to think about now; one of them is the fact that he is losing his bargaining pieces to Sora now that his two boys are not home. Second is probably the political disaster Hide might cause by trying to build his own personal army. But out of all this, Yasuo is focused on one thing and one thing only.

"Huh, Hide and Felix are friends now," He tilts his head and crosses his arms, "That's nice".

The man enters his home and turns in for the night.

**

Sora is irritated. The rapping of his fingers on the steering wheel is a telltale sign that he is. Growing up with him, Koukichi easily recognizes these signs no matter how bright and happy of a facade Sora is trying to put.

But does that mean Koukichi has to care?

No, not really. Not when he has another tattoo to get in mind.

He has been scrolling on his internet search for anime tattoo designs the whole car ride and no Sora can get in the way between him and his next ink-related endeavors.

"Can't believe it. The kid had the guts to leave me there waiting. That Segawa Yasuo and his kids - truly a bothersome bunch," and yes, Sora is ranting the whole time - which Koukichi has been listening to with one ear.

"Including Segawa Hide?"

"Well, maybe. I heard he's also a delinquent".

"My fiancé is a delinquent".

"Hn".

"So, including Segawa Hide".

"Yes".

"But we still want him on the team".

Sora smiles thinly, "Yes".

Sora is driving his Classic Porsche 911; a birthday gift from the Takenouchi elder when the boy turned 16. Sora does not take this car out for a ride often, but Koukichi was whining for them to have an outing. He's feeling so cooped up lately, so who can blame him for being a little annoying?

"I still don't know about this Felix though -"

"Wait, who's Felix again?"

This time, Sora sends him a look. "Have you even been listening?"

Koukichi chuckles, "No. Of course not".

He can sense the other rolling his eyes after his blasé answer. Ari and Sora have been discussing the same thing over and over again back in Ari's penthouse; something about a deal with a renowned former Guide named Segawa Yasuo.

Koukichi doesn't understand why Sora is even considering a deal where they have to take in a Guide. It's a known fact that S-Class Espers do not pair themselves exclusively with one Guide. They simply can't. Most of them receive guiding from multiple Guides over a few guiding sessions. Furthermore, Sora hates the idea of leaving his survival in the hands of one person. To him, being fixated on a person like how many Espers are to their exclusive Guide is a weakness.

Personally, Koukichi simply likes the idea of getting tangled up with many different Guides. It keeps things fun and interesting. He has always been the most adventurous out of the three of them.

Perhaps Sora is considering the offer because of Hide; an S-Class teen Sora has had his eyes on for forever. But, Koukichi was sure they were planning to wait until Hide was off-age to recruit him so that they don't require Segawa Yasuo's consent for his recruitment to the team.

"Segawa Yasuo was making this crazy claim that his other son has the ability to deal with Shun-En".

THAT piques Koukichi's attention. "Huh. Really?"

Shun-En has been a source of stress for Koukichi ever since they failed to secure the portal. Close to a hundred students, alongside a few teachers and one scout from YES, are still missing and there was a nationwide witch hunt towards YES Espers for failing to do their job. The whole thing is the main reason he went to the United States. He was looking for a distraction, and fighting mutants is out of the picture since they are benched for three months following the whole Shun-En's debacle due to an internal review.

And at the beginning of that internal review, there were talks of having their organization disbanded.

Koukichi heard Ari has been working extra hard to fight off that possibility; and then, out of the blue, the Government suddenly decided to turn around and help them take over the media's opinion of Shun-En and help YES get back to its feet. It takes a lot from the Government to mute the controversy related to having young Espers helping young victims, but the joint effort from the Government and YES management turns out to be very effective.

Maybe Takenouchi Shuichirou still has it in him to help Sora build his kingdom because Koukichi heard the man himself was the one who mobilized this massive effort to help YES.

At the moment, they are nearing the end of their momentary hiatus. Soon they will call back all of their YES trainees and Espers and start over again.

In the meantime, Shun-En's portal is still very much active, yet unlike many active portals, it is uncharacteristically dormant.

To Koukichi, that school feels like an unfinished business; a real proof of his own shortcomings for failing to save those kids. A lot of them are of his age. While they certainly walk different paths; with him never going to school before becoming an Esper, witnessing them running past their school gates to get away from the growing portal is a haunting experience for Koukichi. It could be him who was walking in their shoes, or Sora, or, God forbid…

… It could be Rika.

"We should take him in then," Koukichi mutters as Sora's car slows down near a school area, "That Felix".

"Yeah, except he ran away in the middle of our planned meeting," Sora rolls his eyes yet again, "And, I don't care for any adult who thinks they can dictate who we should recruit into the team".

Sora's Porsche stops on a deserted path near the school. Koukichi knows this area.

It's Rika's school.

The school bell can be heard all the way to where they are parked, signaling the end of the school day. Soon, they start seeing its female students walking past the turn to the alleyway they're parked in. None of them notices the foreign car.

Two rapid knocks rap on the metallic surface of the convertible car's hard top. Sora does a quick check through the rearview mirror before he pushes a button and the roof of the car folds itself. Rika, dressed in a black serafuku, jumps into the backseat of Sora's car. "Ah. Wonderful. This has always been my favorite ride," she says as she fixes her long hair.

"Better than my car?" Koukichi lifts an eyebrow as Sora starts his car yet again and takes a U-turn.

Unapologetic as always, Rika answers, "Yup".

The roof unfolds back to its original position above their heads. Sora drives them off farther away from Shintokyo and Rika fetches a nail file to smooth her nails. It is in the middle of this silent ride that Sora suddenly says, "Update?"

"None," is Rika's nonchalant answer as she files her nails, quickly getting Koukichi's disappointed groan as a response. "He doesn't want anything to do with me, let alone talk to me. He's saying something about building his own team".

They all grimace at the reminder of building an Esper team. "Why would he do that?" Koukichi's eyes widen as he turns to Sora. Building an Esper team is a lot of work and none of them would want to have to go through all of that again. Sora is exhaling loudly.

The car ride takes on a relaxed speed as they reach the outer rim of Shintokyo, entering a less densely populated area with lush greeneries flanking the road. The car takes a turn towards a small suburb and not long after they find themselves parked in front of their favorite Cafe; a small humble place next to an abandoned railway.

"What does he want?" Sora asks with an air of finality in his tone after he pulls in the hand brake. He is eyeing Rika through the rearview mirror. The girl returns the gaze with an equal amount of heat as the nail filing pauses midway.

"He said he wanted to fight Sora," Rika says.

Sora does not answer.

They then exit the car. Koukichi offers his hand to his fiancé, who takes it in her hand before they walk side by side. Sora walked ahead, following a trail of rocky paths crossing a tiny Japanese garden in front of a traditional Japanese building.

"Welcome! It's nice to finally see the three of you again!" Greets the old lady who owns the Cafe.

"Good afternoon, baa-chan! I've been dreaming about your fruit tart," Sora chirps happily. Seeing him like this, it's hard to imagine the stone-faced Sora; one that strategizes and conspires.

"We have them right over here with our pick of seasonal fruits. With the hojicha latte as usual?"

"And with a serving of dango, baa-chan".

"Yes, and you two?"

The two other teens; the lovebirds they love to call them, stop behind the first teen. One, the boy, is tall, curly-haired, and wearing glasses. At first, his tattoos intimidated the old lady. She grew up at a time when tattoos signify one's involvement with a certain group she wouldn't want in her Cafe. But this boy has proven himself to be very sweet and polite. With him is a girl with beautiful reddish hair who always dresses nicely and has the face of those girls who sing on television.

"We'll just have the wagashi set along with the pot of tea. I'll probably have coffee too later," the tall boy says. The girl bends over the cake display.

"I'll have the apple pie with that, please, baa-chan!"

"One apple pie for Rika-chan," the old lady merrily obliges as she scoops in each and every order to her tray. She is happy to admit that she knows the three by their names as they have been one of her regulars for the last 4 years. "We also have new daifuku varieties, would you guys like to try them?"

The three huddles closer to the display where all the new daifukus are cutely arranged. Soon, fingers are pointing at different daifukus, and the old lady is quick to pick each one. Not long after, she has two trays full of sweets to put aside and reheat before she brings them to the three teenagers.

"Thank you, baa-chan," the shorter boy, Sora, politely says after he finishes his payment.

"The balcony seat like usual?"

"Yes".

The three then walk ahead to their favorite table in the cafe; right on the balcony overlooking the koi pond. The old lady hums as she warms the cakes with her temperature manipulation ability.

"You sound so happy suddenly, baa-chan," says a girl who the old lady just hired as an extra hand at the cafe. She enters the Cafe through the backdoor and is about to tell the Cafe owner of the fancy car parked outside, only to find said owner giggling to herself.

"My favorite customers are currently here, so of course I am happy!"

"They're here? Those kids you told me about??"

"Yes!"

"Ah, I want to see them! I want to see them!" There are many things the old lady has shared about her three young customers, but in every one of them, there's always an air of mystery to the story that makes her listeners question whether they are real. 

Due to her insistence, the Old lady lets her bring all the food to the table. She can carry two trays easily without having to use her hands with her telekinesis - as long as it's not too heavy, of course. She brushes her hair with her fingers before stepping out of the door leading to the balcony. There, she finally meets the teenagers, perhaps not much younger than herself, sitting on the table in the middle of the large balcony. She puts all of the food and the drinks on the table, feeling a little flustered when one of them makes eye contact with her.

"Ah, thank you for bringing this to us".

She blushes and rushes to leave the balcony after she gives them a quick bow. She hides behind the wall and hugs the trays closer to her chest. She swears some of them seem a little familiar; especially the shorter boy who thanked her. Isn't he famous or something? She is sure she has seen him somewhere!

Meanwhile, the three teens continue the conversation they were having in the car. Smile brilliant and eyes twinkling, Sora says to his female companion, "Well then, Rika, if he said he wanted to fight Sora, then you give him Sora".

Slowly, a smile grows in Rika's heart-shaped face as the other's words sink in. "I'll give him Sora," she mirrors.

They start their feast, but while they do, Rika is brewing up a plan in her mind.

It takes her three days to finally set it all in motion.

She walks up to the school Segawa Hide goes to. She lingers around its threshold, just outside its tall concrete fences. And it is just her luck that a student is pacing aimlessly just outside of the gate, conveniently present at the time that she needs a random student most.

It doesn't take long for the boy to notice her, perhaps wondering why someone wearing a different uniform is there or why she is not even at her school, studying, at this time of the day.

"Can I help you?" The boy asks the moment she looks down worriedly at her feet with her two hands hugging herself tight. Like that, she looks like the perfect picture of a damsel in distress.

"Um, my boyfriend goes to this school".

"O-oh, I see," the boy stutters.

"You see, there's...," she pauses to add a little awkward shift in how she is standing, just enough to get the boy more concerned for her, "There's an emergency and I need to reach him. Your school doesn't allow their students to carry their phones with them so I can't just text him."

Rika puts her hands on her lower belly to imply something. The brown-haired boy soon grows flustered as he follows the movements of her hands

"U-um, w-why don't - why do you -," the boy says, but Rika is quick to disrupt him.

"W-would you mind telling him that I'll be waiting for him at the nearby park right after school ends?"

"W-well I….," Rika puts on the best puppy-eye look she can muster. The boy's reluctance is soon met with pity, and he relents, "I'll see what I can do".

"Thank you!" She grabs an envelope from inside the pockets of her school uniform cardigan, "Here. Hand this to him. His name is Hide. Segawa Hide, from class 2-1".

"O-okay, but I -"

"Thanks again! Please give it to him okay!" She runs away before the boy can say no, "Bye!"

Left behind by the school gate, the boy reaches out towards the girl who continues to run farther and farther away as though his extended hand can stop her. "But, but I…," he mutters as he looks down at the pink envelope in his hand, "I'm new to this school".

As he says that, Eru comes out running from the school's administration building. "Ren! Sorry, it took me so long - here's your permit," he hands Ren a piece of paper enlisting him as the new student, hence allowing him to finally enter the school grounds, "I didn't know we have to do the paperwork before you come to the school. Anyway, let's go inside - hm?" Eru notices the tense form of his ward, "What's wrong?"

"Erm, nothing!" Ren quickly hides the envelope behind him, "Nothing's wrong at all, haha".

"All right, if you say so. Oh, and by the way, you'll go by the name Reichi now, okay? Hinata Reichi".

**

To be Continued.