Talk

“Yeah, I’m an idiot.”

They were in a park.

“Masuyo, this is Kisho’s fiancee. Introduce yourself to her.” his mother ushered the boy to stop before a tanned young woman.

“Olá, Masuyo-kun!” she crouched and greeted the boy, “My name is Kaira Julia dos Reis, you can call me Kaira or Julia, whichever sounds best for you! Although you don’t have middle names here… so maybe you should call me Kaira after all… well, it’s up to you!” Kaira said while smiling, “It’s a pleasure to meet you! I hope we can get along well since it seems like I’ll become more of a big sister to you rather than your aunt!”

“It’s obvious she was the one I was supposed to go to first.”

They were sitting on a bench.

“Look here, Masuyo-kun! Look at what I can do!” Kaira typed on her laptop, making all the cellphones nearby ring. After she saw the boy laugh at her little prank, she made the same thing to the vehicles nearby, and the boy kept smiling, amused by her skills.

“Or even second… but I’m such a kid I let a baby get in my way.”

“Masuyo-sama! Masuyo-sama!” a female voice called him, “Isn’t it time to wake up?! According to your schedule, you should be ready to dive in thirty minutes!”

“Huh?” Masuyo blinked twice, he was in his bed, and someone was saying his name.

“Masuyo-sama!” Juria-chan called him once again, “Are you awake?!”

“I am! Can you please shut up now?!” Masuyo sat on his bed. “Oh, shit…” he rubbed his eyes, “How did I end up here?” and murmured to himself.

“Should I answer that?” Juria-chan said with a low voice.

“What?” Masuyo growled.

“The thing is... you ordered me to shut up…”

“Ugh, it was rhetorical.”

“Oh, I’m glad to hear! The answer to your question is: Adda-san and Sute brought you here yesterday!”

“Hmm… wait. For how long I slept?”

“You want to know the exact time, Masuyo-sama?”

“No…” Masuyo put one hand on his stomach, he was feeling incredibly hungry, “Just tell me the hours.”

“You slept for 20 hours, sir!”

“Oh, man. No wonder I’m super hungry… and now I’ll have to go all the way to the restaurant…”

“There’s no need! Sute cooked something for you!”

“Sute?” Masuyo stood up.

“Yes!" 

“That girl is quite a weirdo, after what happened she made something for me, huh?”

"It’s on the kitchen table, Masuyo-sama.”

“Hey, can you please not call me ‘Masuyo-sama’?”

“Okay! Will ‘Masuyo-san’ suffice?”

“Sure.” Masuyo walked to the kitchen table and saw a basket on top of it. He noticed that a piece of paper was stuck under it, “What is this?” the boy picked the paper and started to read it: “I’m sorry for yesterday, I hope these can make you not hate me... Sute.” “What is she talking about? Hate? These…?”

“So, now!” Juria-chan interrupted his line of thought, “What should I wear, Masuyo-san?”

“Huh?”

“Yesterday you seemed displeased with my outfit! I finished downloading my other visuals, so you can choose it now!”

“I don’t really care.” Masuyo opened the basket, inside it a bunch of cold cassava breads were waiting for him. “Ugh. This stinky thing again.”

“THEY AREN’T STINKY!!” Juria-chan growled.

“Geez, it’s just a fact! It’s not like it tastes bad.”

“Hmm… I’m sorry, Masuyo-san.” Juria-chan cleaned her throat, “I just don’t like when others… bad mouth food.”

“Okay…”

“Hey, why don’t you put those in the microwave so I can warm them for you?!”

“Okay…” Masuyo started to take the puffy breads out of the basket.

After finish eating, Masuyo headed to the front gate. He wasn’t in the mood to dive, and he needed to go back to the FuturingTech Building as fast as possible. It was a good thing Addaneye Varon was already waiting for him.

“Oh, good morning, Adda.” Masuyo greeted him, “It’s good you’re already here, it makes things easier for me…”

“Good morning, Masuyo-san.” the chauffeur remained standing still before the front gate.

“So, I need you to drop me near the FuturingTech Building again, okay? I couldn’t finish my business there yesterday…”

“I understand, but I’m afraid this won’t be possible.”

“What?” Masuyo tilted his head, “What are you talking about?”

“I have orders to not let you leave the property alone for now.”

“Huh? Orders? From who?”

“From me.” a voice came from behind the boy, making him turn around to face a tall young man with black hair and eyes eating an ice cream pot.

“Hisoka?”

“What’s up, man?!” Hisoka smiled and then took a spoonful of ice cream.

“What? You’re the one preventing me from leaving?” Masuyo frowned at Hisoka.

“That’s right!”

“Why?!”

“Well, not only because we have a job to do, but also because I want to know what happened yesterday, obviously.”

“Yesterday? Do you mean the Mijiyuu attack or something? I’m sorry but I don’t know much abou…”

“Oh, no!” Hisoka shook his hands as if sending away that topic of conversation, “Yoko-san told me everything about that! I’m more interested in why you slept for so long.”

“Hmm…” Masuyo pondered for a minute, “Now that you say it, I don’t remember what made me sleep like that… but I remember most of what happened yesterday…”

“Great, man! Why don’t you accompany me through the garden so we can talk about it?”

“Grr.” Masuyo clenched his teeth and glanced at the front gate.

“Look, as the leader, it’s my obligation to take care of all of you! Even Yoko-san, who’s older than me by the way.” Hisoka took another spoonful of ice cream, “And to do that, you have to tell me what happened! Then, I can help you do what you need. What do you say?”

Masuyo looked at Hisoka and then to Adda, it didn’t seem like they would give up “Yes, I’m just making their jobs more difficult. But…”

“So, Masuyo.” Hisoka turned towards the garden, “C’mon.”

“Hmm...” Masuyo looked at Hisoka.

"C'mon!"

"Argh." the boy sighed, “Okay…”

The two started to walk through the immense surrounding the buildings of A.M.A's property. After a few steps, Hisoka started the conversation:

“So, it looks like you ran away after the attack. Something related to Kisho Nakai would be my best bet.”

“Hmm... yeah. Didn't Sute or Adda tell you all about it?”

“No, Sute said that everything is fine, and Adda told me ‘It would be best to talk to Masuyo-san or Sute-chan, I’m just the driver’.” Hisoka pretended to be Adda for a moment and then looked at Masuyo: "Of course, if you want to tell me that is."

“Hmm…”

“It's just that... I know Kisho recruited you, but you seem a bit obsessed with him, you know?” Hisoka smiled and shook his hands: “I don't like to pry into your personal lives or anything! I just don't want it to sidetrack you when we have something to do... understand?”

Masuyo nodded affirmatively and looked at Hisoka: “Looks like he just wants to do his job, why couldn’t there be a way to investigate things without getting in their way?”

“We don't know each other for very long... but I believe we can be friends Masuyo! So, even if you don't want to explain everything to me... I want you to tell me how to help.”

“I have to go to the FuturingTech Building.”

“Oh! So FuturingTech has something to do with Kisho…” Hisoka held his chin.

“Not exactly…”

“I get it!” Hisoka started to weirdly get sidetrack from the garden path and was almost hitting a tree, “It's about that thing you asked me the other d…”

“Watch out, Hisoka!” Masuyo tried to warn him, but the man hit the tree and went to the ground.

“Aargh. Shit…” Hisoka rubbed his head.

“How did you manage to hit the tree?” Masuyo stretched his hand to help Hisoka and noticed something weird: “Hey, since when do you have heterochromia?”

“Huh?” Hisoka tilted his head and then squinted his eyes, one was as black as the night and the other, as blue as the ocean. “Oh! One of my lenses fell off... no wonder you look more handsome than usual!” he grinned.

“I don't know what that was supposed to mean but I'll help you find the contact lens.” Masuyo crouched and started to look for it.

“You know, I think the lenses are what Yoko likes on me! Maybe you should change your eye color to impress the ladies, Masuyo.” Hisoka started to search for his lense as well.

“She likes the lenses or the black eyes? Either way, it's kind of a weird fetish…” “Who knows, maybe one day I'll do that…”

“Oh, I found it!” Hisoka picked the lense from the ground and put it in his eye.

“I'm not sure that's advisable…”

“Yeah, Yoko would kill me if she saw that…” Hisoka murmured, “Anyway! I'm sorry for that!” Hisoka stood up with the help of Masuyo, “It’s just that I haven’t slept in some time, hehe.” he smiled and scratched his head, only then Masuyo noticed the bags.

“Since when...?”

“Since before our last dive…” Hisoka stared at the ground.

“Oh. You sure you don't have to rest?”

“I'm good, let's continue!” Hisoka started to walk through the garden again. “So, by any chance, did you want to prove that Kisho could be alive? From what you asked me the other day, this is what it seems.”

“Spot on...”

“Hmm... FuturingTech technology, huh? That's interesting.”

“Yes, so can you let me go there?”

“Look.” Hisoka stopped and looked at Masuyo, “I can promise to let you go wherever you want after we finish the case. You can take advantage of the time Kazashi-chan will be training! But for now, we can't just leave that boy like that! You saw how he acted.”

“Yeah…” Masuyo remembered the boy jumping on him and screaming, and how his world seemed empty.

“So, you went to the FuturingTech Building yesterday! Found anything worth mentioning?”

“The arcade part seems pretty neat.”

“Haha, good one!” Hisoka laughed, “But you know what I’m talking about.”

“No…” Masuyo frowned, “Sute prevented me from doing so.”

“Oh, so that's what happened. You two fought, huh?. Are you mad at her?”

“I don't know... she was probably right in taking me out of there.” Masuyo diverted his gaze, “But she doesn't know how it is…”

“Hey, Masuyo.” Hisoka put one hand on his shoulder, “It looks like Kisho was, or is, a very important person for you. I get how he could cause that effect, but we still have a job to do... I don't want to be too harsh on you but, if Sute stopped you, it was probably for the best. By your face, you seem kind of pissed, so all I can tell you is that you don’t need to be friends with her… but as coworkers, you have to at least respect each other.”

“Masuyo, even if you don't want to play with them, or if they don't want to play with you, I don't care, you at least have to respect the others.”

“I know…”

“You don't have to make that face. I'm not being harsh on you! I just want you to understand.”

“Well, if I was you I wouldn’t mind being a bit more than friends! She cooks so well! Have you ever eaten that cassava bread thing, Masuyo?? It stinks but is delicious!” Hisoka drooled a bit while daydreaming about the food. “Masuyo?” Hisoka shook the boy, “Masuyo are you listening??”

“Huh?”

“Are you with me?”

“Of course, I just... spaced out for a moment…”

“Hmm... I get it. Those breads are something else!” Hisoka let go of Masuyo's shoulder.

“Breads...?”

“So, why don't you make amends with Sute-chan for now and we all go dive a bit to help Hikaru-san?”

“Okay…” Masuyo looked at Hisoka, “But after that, I get to go wherever I want, right?”

“Yep! I just recommend that you eat something healthier than pizza!” Hisoka started to make his way to their headquarters.

“Understood.” Masuyo started to follow Hisoka. “And thanks...” he murmured.

“Don't worry about it, man!” Hisoka grinned and ushered Masuyo.