Rift

Kouta soon came back into Saki's lab with some bags of groceries.

Kasumi and Yumi were still out cold.

"Did you find out what was wrong with them yet?" he asked Saki.

"Yeah actually. They've been given an anesthesia. I'm thinking halothane or sevoflurane. Anyway, where'd you get money from?"

"Inheritance. I had savings. I had to travel kinda far to get this stuff though. Cops are on me."

Kouta pulled out some snacks from the bag. He handed Saki something to eat as well. He looked over at Akane who was staring at the food. Kouta took a bite of a cookie. He stood up and walked over to her. "Want a cookie?"

Akane quickly turned her head away. "I have my own money. I can buy my own food."

"That's fine. But do you have a cookie?"

She blushed. "I do not."

Kouta held out the cookie. "Then here."

Akane hesitantly took it. "...Thank you."

Kouta walked back over to Saki and sat down on the floor.

"So? You gonna tell me about this plan of yours?" Saki asked.

"I can't tell you everything, but for now let's just focus on breaking away from Shinya. He only wanted me under him so that he could keep me under control. But I'm not as weak as I was then. Also, it's likely that Marie gave me away already."

"Marie? You mean the nurse lady? Why would she do that?"

"Ban said that Marie left on her own accord. That means he saw her leave and let her go. Marie saw everything happen and still left, so I can no longer trust her. We'll get a new place to stay. Somewhere private."

"But how can you buy a property if the cops are watching you?"

"I never said anything about buying did I?" Kouta said matter-of-factly.

Kouta stood up. "Akane. Come here."

Akane got off the sofa and slowly walked over. "Yes...?"

"Work on your response time. Too slow. When we leave out I want you by my side at all times. Watch my back."

She silently nodded.

Kasumi was the first to wake up. She groggily opened her eyes. "Kouta? Where am I... I can't remember what happened."

"Don't bother. I'm just glad you're okay."

Yumi also woke up. She took a look around her and remained silent.

Kouta nodded. "Good timing. We're leaving this place as soon as possible."

Saki picked up one of her beakers filled with some kind of chemical and rubbed it as if it were a pet. "But what about my toys? Can I bring them with me?"

"You can come here by yourself later and do all of that."

Kouta turned towards Yumi and Kasumi. "I'm gonna be honest with you two. It's the least I can do. From this point onward my only goal is to avenge my family, and I'm set on that. I'm going to kill whoever's responsible. I don't want any more distractions. If either of you feel like you can't contribute towards that goal then all I can do is advise you to move out of the city and live a peaceful life elsewhere. Because it's only going to get worse from here on."

Yumi looked down. Kasumi hopped off the bed. "Kouta, do you hear yourself right now? Revenge? That's all you care about? You've never talked like this before, why now?!"

"I'm not the same person I was a few weeks back. What I once thought was sadness and grief has now turned into anger. Like I said, I'm giving you a choice."

Tears welled up in Kasumi's eyes. "Look at you!!" She looked at Akane and Saki. "And the rest of you are okay with this? We're already wanted by the police and you're going on a manhunt?!"

Saki smiled at her. "I'm sorry but this isn't a game for little girls. Kouta owns us. We couldn't deny him even if we wanted to."

Kasumi's mouth dropped open. She looked at Kouta with disgust. "You OWN them?!! Kouta, are you sick?! This is wrong!! Don't you see what you're turning yourself into?!"

Kouta put his hands in his pockets. "I couldn't care less Kasumi. I can only protect what is mine, and those who are close to me."

"...I'm staying with Kouta." Yumi said.

Kasumi whipped around. "You too?!"

Yumi nodded. "I don't want to go back home, and I owe Kouta a great deal. I want to help him achieve his goals. Nothing else matters to me at this point."

Kouta smirked.

Kasumi was extremely angry now. "I know what this is about. You just want to stay close to Kouta so that you can seduce him like all the other boys!"

Yumi looked up with desperation. "What? No! It's not like that, I swear!"

"Don't lie to me, I overheard what you two were talking about the other night! I know!! I've loved Kouta my entire life, and you've never even showed an interest in him until recently!! Is it because he has powers now?!"

Yumi stood up to her. "For your information I've always liked Kouta, but I could just never find myself good enough to tell him!! I truly want to support him from the bottom of my heart, and if giving up my life would help him reach his goal, then I would gladly do it!!" Yumi realized what she'd just blurted out and embarrassingly covered her mouth with both hands.

Kasumi slowly walked to the door and placed her hand on the handle. "This is goodbye Kouta. I can't follow you on this path. I wish you the best." She opened the door and closed it behind her.

Saki folded her arms. "Hmph, ungrateful. If she knew what Kouta had went through just for her then she wouldn't have acted like such a child."

Kouta closed his eyes. "She made her choice. That's what I wanted. I didn't want to drag her or Yumi into all of this. She'll probably hate me now, but that's better than getting her hurt because of me." He walked to the door and swung it open. "Everyone follow me. Put a coat on because it's raining out there."

--

Everyone followed Kouta northward through the city until they reached an empty lot with a enormous abandoned warehouse.

"It's huge..." Yumi said.

"How did you know this was here?" Saki asked.

"My grandpa used to take me here when I was a kid. I always thought it was cool. Never thought I'd call it home one day." Kouta replied.

"It doesn't look much like one either." Saki retorted.

Kouta smiled. "Well this is only a warehouse. Still, it has beds and interior heating and cooling. There's also one or two bathrooms in there too. The police know nothing of this place. It's perfect."

Kouta slid open a giant door that led to an empty storage room. The sound of rain hitting the metal rooftop echoed inside.

"Yeah, I think I'll keep my toys in the lab until further notice." Saki said.

"It's not much, but this is the start. Make the most of it."

Akane rubbed her arm nervously. "We're really on our own now..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll get us on our feet in no time. But as I said, my revenge comes first. We'll get by off the money that I have for food or whatever else we need. Ban will most likely contact us through Akane's phone, so we're waiting for that."