The Hollow Hand headquarters were unusually quiet. A meeting was held by Palm in the briefing room since Akio and Katsuko were still missing.
"As you all might have noticed, Takahashi Akio and Kemuri Katsuko have gone missing. Two of our members - Morland Kaelis and Yakedo Makoto - were sent to look for them. However, I haven't received any updates on where they might be, so I've decided to arrange this meeting to see if any of you know something about this case."
Everyone looked at Palm, not knowing what to say. They all seemed rather tense. Kouya however simply crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, while Ermina was sat on his shoulder.
"I might, actually."
Palm's gaze turned towards Kouya.
"Oh? What do you know?"
Kouya rocked back and forth in the chair.
"Well, the day Akio disappeared there was a man with messy blue hair. I think Katsuko had told Makoto, Akio, and me about him before. He was sneaking around the base. I followed him but then he noticed me and after that I can't remember what happened. Oh and I woke up in the storage room afterwards. I'm so glad Meki unlocked the door for me. I was starting to starve in there. Thanks again, Meki."
Meki smiled in response.
"No problem, kid."
Palm hummed in thought.
"So it's safe to assume that man has something to do with Akio's disappearance. But what about Katsuko? Do you think he might be responsible for hers too?"
Kouya shrugged.
"No clue. Maybe?"
Palm sighed at Kouya's indifference.
"Does anyone else have any information?"
One of the newer recruits, a rather shy girl, spoke up.
"Uhm... Kouya, you said the man had blue hair, right?"
"Yeah, why?", Kouya asked curiously.
"I uhm... I may have talked to him the other day...", the girl mumbled shyly.
Kouya's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What!? About what!? And why!?"
Now all attention was on her. The freckled girl looked down at the table, not being able to hold eye contact with anyone.
"Well, I think it was also the day Akio disappeared. I didn't know who he was, but I bumped into him accidentally because I wasn't looking. And then as he was ready to leave again, I noticed he dropped his wallet, so I took it and gave it back to him. And then we just kind of... talked. But he didn't act suspicious or anything, so I couldn't have known. But I did get his name..."
"... And his number."
Almost everyone in the room had a surprised expression on their face.
Except Palm.
His eyes narrowed at what the girl had said.
"You got his number? So technically you could call him and make him meet up with you, correct?"
The girl nodded wordlessly, still looking at the table.
Palm sighed once again.
"Alright. Then please go ahead. We need as much information as possible."
Meanwhile, Vyko freed themselves from Makoto's grip and dusted off their robe.
"You are the reason Akio killed the man. I told him I'd murder you if he doesn't murder him. And you know the funniest part about it? Even though he so obviously cares about you, he took almost thirteen whole minutes to decide. Which means you are not *that* important to him."
"Shut it, Vyko. We both know that one thing doesn't correlate with the other."
The cult leader turned around to look at Akio, who glared intensely at them.
"We do. But does he?", Vyko pointed at Makoto. "Besides, would you openly admit you care about Makoto? That he matters to you more than you'd ever allow yourself to let on?"
Akio's glare intensified, yet he didn't respond.
Makoto stared at Akio and Vyko, listening in on their conversation. He felt his heart beating faster. He would never admit it to himself, let alone to others, but whenever Akio was involved, he felt a tingly sensation in his stomach...
The girl waited in a café for Oliver to arrive, while stirring her tea with a spoon in boredom.
Soon the door opened and said man entered. Oliver had his hair down this time and wore rather casual clothes. He looked around the café to find the girl he had agreed to meet up with.
As Oliver finally found the girl he was looking for, he decided to approach her.
"Hey."
The girl looked up at him.
"Hey, how are you, Oli?", she asked kindly.
Oliver was confused by the sudden nickname, but chose to ignore it. He sat down across from her.
"I'm fine. Why did you want to see me, Julie?"
The girl - Julie - fiddled with her sleeve.
"Do I need a reason?"
Oliver raised an eyebrow.
"No, but I'm sure you have one."
Julie looked anywhere but at him.
"I... I'm not good at lying, so I'm gonna be honest. Do you remember the day we met? It was also the day a distant colleague of mine disappeared. I was wondering if you have anything to do with the disappearance of Akio Takahashi."
Oliver's eyes widened, before returning to their natural half-lidded state.
"Ah so that's why you wanted to see me. And yes. I lured him out of the Hollow Hand headquarters and handed him over to the cult leader. What happened afterwards, I have no idea. Does that answer your question, dearie?"
Julie blushed at the pet name, hiding her face behind her hands, but nodded slowly in response.
"Good. I think we're done here. Goodbye."
As Oliver was about to get up, Julie quickly grabbed his sleeve to stop him.
Oliver hummed in confusion.
"Something else?"
Julie still looked away but didn't loosen her grip on his sleeve.
"If you're already here, why don't you stay for a while longer and drink something with me? I'll pay."
He quickly sat back down. She had him at 'I'll pay'.
Vyko returned to their seat at the table, gesturing for the still standing 'guests' to sit down as well.
Neither Makoto nor Kaelis did. Dolly however sat down next to Akio, examining him from top to bottom.
Akio felt the blood rush to his face again. Why did none of these people know what boundaries are?
"Please back off a bit..."
Dolly did as she was told, moving her chair farther away from Akio, yet she didn't stop the examination.
"Akio."
Akio looked behind himself to find Makoto standing there.
"Yes?"
Makoto's fingers curled into fists.
"I won't leave without you."
Akio continued to stare at Makoto.
"Guess you'll have to sleep here then..."
Makoto's eyes widened. He didn't know how to respond. He didn't expect Akio to be so dismissive. Maybe Vyko was right. Maybe Makoto really wasn't that important to Akio. At that thought Makoto could feel his heart start to ache.
*Why does it matter so much to me whether Akio cares about me or not? I've never cared much about what my friends think about me, so why does it matter now?*
"I wouldn't mind a second project. I have plenty of guest rooms left," Vyko said with a hint of mockery.
Makoto glared at Vyko, yet he made a decision.
"Good. I will stay."
"Makoto, you can't do that. If Akio doesn't want to go, we must take him by force. We needed to get him to the headquarters as soon as we found him. This is what the boss demanded." Kaelis immediately intervened.
"Change of plans. I'm not leaving Akio behind, nor am I going to force him to come. He is his own person. He can make his own decisions, and so can I," Makoto answered firmly.
Kaelis furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
"Makoto. As a subordinate you need to follow certain rules. Which means you can't make *all* decisions by yourself."
Makoto went silent, focusing his gaze on Kaelis.
"In that case..."
"... I'm no longer a member of the Hollow Hand."