Date: September 11
Place: Kyoto Headquarters
[Cedrick]
As we got the equipment that we needed, we were already at the departure ground when I remembered the other gadgets that were only in my pockets.
Noel was reviewing the architecture of the mall with Kikoe as I approached Rei.
"Here," I took her hand and placed the prototype earpiece in her palm. "This is one of the gadgets they wanted us to try," I was about to get the other one when she looked at me dejectedly. "What?" streaks of sweat started to drip down my back the more she just stared at me.
"I don't want it," she started insisting on getting my hands but I immediately raised it up, where she couldn't reach it.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Nothing," she tried averting her gaze. "I don't wanna do the..." I couldn't hear her words properly at the end as she deliberately hushed her tone.
"The what?" I had to ask again, my arms getting tired.
"The re..o...t" It was quite hard to catch her words properly with all the noise and her whispering words.
"The paperwork?" I could only sigh as I finally understood what she meant. "Really?" she was slowly trying to put it in my pockets.
[Rei]
My eyes widened at the sudden grab of both my hands, as hard as I tried to break free, he easily held both my wrists with just one hand, leaving his other free.
"Don't push every paperwork on my plate missy," he murmurs, easily getting my current earpiece and throwing it at Kikoe.
"Catch!" He faced Kikoe and threw it. As soon as he had it in his hands. "I forgot to give you one, right?" he just nodded at Cedrick's words.
"That's mine! You take the new one," I tried to run to him, Kikoe flinched and just looked at Cedrick for confirmation where he just dragged me a few steps away from them.
"Noel, teach him how to set it up," he ordered.
[Cedrick]
"I call the shots! Release me," she wiggles to break free but before she can, I already slapped the new ones in her right ear. "Here's the manuals, but it basically just lets you reach any of us wherever you are," I pulled out my watch and gave her a copy of the said manuals.
"Anywhere?" she confirms as I only nod and reach for my pocket again. She held her hand out without me telling her to. "You know this is a death flag right?" I raised an eyebrow instantly as she said that after I had given her the last item.
[Rei]
"Excuse me?" he was confused, a gentle laugh under my nose.
"You're telling me to marry you before we go out on a mission," I explained, looking at the silver-colored ring in my palm.
"Marry—WHAT," his face lit up like fireworks from how fast he turned red. "Oh my god," he whimpers, hiding his face in both his palms. His legs started to lose their sense of balance as he dropped down sitting on the ground, hiding his face in his knees and hugging it.
I giggled at the sight as the other two just gave us a worried look. I answered with my fingers curling as an OK sign.
"Shouldn't you kneel first before proposing though," I teased further, my fingertips combing away the hair that blocked his face along with his hands. Every skin was warm to the touch.
"Oh shut up," his weak voice made me cackle inside.
[Cedrick]
"It would've been a much fancier one," I whispered, averting her playful eyes that were glistening in the sunlight.
"What's that?" she smiled as I only hoped she didn't hear that. "What's this do anyway?" offering a hand, I reluctantly took it as she helped me stand up.
I took a deep breath, going through my watch again to send her another copy of the manual.
"That's impressive," she comments and holds the ring up to the sky and peeks through it, squinting one eye. She then continued to lower her look down, still peaking but to observe my face this time.
"What?" I held her hand and slowly guided her to drop down the ring.
"When did you get so buffed up," her eyes were lingering around my body.
"Stop it," I guarded myself with my arms as she continued to hover around me, inspecting every side and perspective of my whole build. "Rei..." I helplessly whisper, hoping she would stop being weird.
She then stood in place and put it on her ring finger. "I can't believe they managed to create this, it's gonna be a life changer," she comments, reading its descriptions.
"Yeah, it is," I can only murmur as I shamelessly observe how she inspects the ring on her finger. She looked at it as if she was admiring a promised ring or was it just my imagination running wild?
Her hands extended towards the sky as if she was trying to grab it, but only looking at the glistening ring with the help of some light.
"What's up?" Noel and Kikoe started approaching us.
"Look!" I turned away when Rei enthusiastically boasted about the ring.
"Is there even a chapel nearby?" Kikoe asked in a serious tone.
While Noel whispered near me, "Congrats dude."
[Rei]
"Please stop it," his low tone and sniffles made the whole group giggle.
The fresh air was striking my cheeks, a few of the leaves falling and dancing with the breeze. Every people stepping on the ground, busy and occupied with their own groups. But why does this exact scenery burn my throat, screams meaning to be let out?
**start**
"No, you do it like this," the soft but untuned whispers of the instrument roared in a field where grasses stretched far and wide.
"But I can't, my fingers are too short," my pinky struggled to hold one note that was easily met by someone's soft fingertips.
"Here, I'll hold it," he went behind me and found a solution to my problem as I only strummed to the rhythm.
"It's your turn now," another girl approached us, the boy standing and leaving me to practice. The girl sitting beside me and humming to my unprofessional playing.
There were kids playing tag, some were swinging in a hand-made rope that was tied to the tree with a tire tied to the other end, while the boy earlier was holding the jump rope for other people and swung it a second faster every spin.
The surroundings were full of merry and bliss.
But only a selected few realized how the adults were watching us behind every camera that was hard to spot. The group of kids who longed for freedom from the daily pain and nightmares on the lab beds.
Those were the times when we could meet each other and plan our escape through made-up hand signals and our play with words.
**end**