Edited by: Waning_Crescents

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Rays of sunlight illuminated the room through the half-drawn curtains and beamed down on the young investigator’s sleeping face. Cal turned from one side to the other, groaning, before he slowly opened his eyes, but squinted at the dazzling bright light.

He yawned, blinked a few times, and then propped his hands on the bed to straighten up. His head throbbed, and he clutched it with one hand as he crawled out of bed with difficulty.

I knew this was a bad idea…just what happened yesterday?

He trudged to the door in a daze, opened it and wobbled outside, not paying any attention to his surroundings.

“Good morning!”

“Morn—“

He froze as he recognized the other’s voice and raised his head. Just a few feet away from him stood Sigal, throwing on a tee-shirt.

In a mix of shock and confusion, he glanced around the room where his gaze fell upon the unknown furniture.

This wasn’t his apartment!

“W-What…Why am I here?”

“Kristian brought you in the middle of the night.”

“Ok, but—“ Cal frantically pointed to the room he just came from. “B-B-But why was I in your bed?”

The fact that he slept in Sigal’s bed concerned him more than why Kristian dropped him off here in the first place.

Sigal leaned against the kitchen counter and curled his lip, partly showing his teeth. “You don’t remember? You were even so rough; I was surprised that was your thing.”

Cal’s eyes widened and his face took the shade of vermillion. “W-We…W-what are you saying?” His heart beat faster than ever, while his body temperature slightly increased as well.

That’s not possible, right? I still have my clothes on and I feel no pain…unless… His mind drifted off. What if he dressed me up afterwards…and either he was that careful or…was I…?

He shook his head. No, no, no, no way!

Seeing the confused and shocked face of Cal, Sigal just couldn’t keep this up any longer, and he burst out laughing. “Relax, I slept on the couch.”

He sighed. I actually had to. The rough part wasn’t even a lie, he kicked and punched in his sleep.

Cal, however, didn’t pay him any heed, he didn’t even hear what the other said and instead delved deeper into his thoughts.

Wait up! If…if…does that mean he saw…? He somewhat trembled as he shifted his gaze slowly to Sigal. Did he?

Sigal grabbed two coffee mugs from the kitchen counter and stepped closer to Cal, handing one to him. “Here, this will help.”

Cal took a step back and stared at Sigal with quivering lips and eyes wide open.

Sigal narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his partner’s expression. “Hey! Did you hear? I said I was kidding. Nothing happened.”

At that, Cal finally snapped out of his daze. He let out a breath of relief, but then knitted his brows and snatched the mug out of the other’s hand. “You are such a jerk.”

“Heard that yesterday too.” He shrugged and leaned against the kitchen counter.

Cal sat down on the couch and took a sip from his coffee as a slight painful sensation on his lip caused him to flinch.

He raised his hand to touch his lip as Sigal grabbed his hand. “Don’t touch it!”

Cal stared at him in surprise.

Sigal let go and looked at him with a serious expression. “Don’t touch it or it might get infected.”

Cal put his hand down and creased his brow. “What happened yesterday?”

“You gotta ask Kristian for details, but apparently you instigated a fight,” Sigal answered, “What were you thinking?”

Cal set the mug down on the table and put one hand on his forehead. ”How should I know? I don’t even remember that it happened.”

That’s exactly why I didn’t want to drink any alcohol. Nothing good ever happens if I do.

“Here.” Sigal put one glass of water in front of him on the table and handed him medication. “That should ease the pain a bit.”

The young investigator glanced at him and took the pill. “Thanks.” Then he put it into his mouth and flushed it down with water. “Anything else happened after Kristian brought me here?”

“No.” Sigal lied without shame. “You went straight to bed.”

Cal let out a sigh of relief and grabbed the coffee mug again.

“There is something we have to talk about though.” Sigal rested his back against the kitchen counter and folded his arms in front of his chest.

“Hm?” Cal sipped on his coffee.

“It’s about the case.”

“What about it? Any news on the culprits?”

“Unfortunately, no.” Sigal gazed at the other for a little while, trying to find the right words. “I might sound like a broken record, but…you have to step back.”

“This again.” Cal sighed, tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from Sigal. “No matter how often you tell me that, my answer won’t change. I won’t quit.”

“The circumstances changed though. It’s not about me wanting you to quit anymore,“ Sigal explained, “But the situation demands it. It’s getting way too dangerous for you.”

Cal scrutinized the other’s expression, which showed real concern and no anger. “What are you hiding?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Back when Sigal had talked to Vince about the case, Vince urged him to come clean with Cal, to tell him about the note. Sigal, however, still didn’t like that idea, but at the same time he knew that Cal deserved to know and maybe there was also a chance that he’d understand if he did.

“It’s about the note,” Sigal said, “They are targeting you because of me.”

“What?” Cal’s eyes slightly widened.

“Yeah, that’s basically what the note meant.” His eyes somewhat darkened. “And that is why as long as you are by my side, you are in constant danger.”

“I see…” Cal put the coffee mug down. That explains his whole behavior back then. That’s why he tried to get me out of there.

“So you understand?”

“I do, but…” He shook his head. “Even if I am out of the picture, their main target is still you.” He gazed at him with a serious expression. “That won’t change, right?”

“I don’t know, maybe, but that doesn’t matter—“

“Of course it does!” Cal cut him off. “Do you really think no one cares about what happens to you or in what danger you could be?”

Cal’s eyes brimmed with frustration. “That’s what you think, right? As long as it’s you, it’s fine, right?”

Sigal was slightly taken aback by that. He did expect that Cal would not just accept his proposal like that, but at the same time he also never would have imagined that the conversation would take this direction.

“Listen—“

“No, you listen!” Cal interrupted him once again. Then he put one hand on his forehead and clenched his own hair in his palm. “I am so sick of you always thinking that you are free to do what you want; that no one cares or worries about you.” He gritted his teeth and slightly trembled. “People care…I…” He choked on his own words, unable to finish his sentence.

Sigal’s eyelids drooped, and he let out an inaudible sigh. “It’s just better this way. Try to understand.”

Cal shook his head, put his hand down and got up from the couch. “I have to lie down. I don’t want to hear more.”

Then he walked to the front door and left, but on his way out he almost ran into Asher, who was about to knock at the door.

“Hey!”

“Sorry…” Cal said absentmindedly as he moved onward.

Asher clicked his tongue and glanced after the young man, but then he just barged into Sigal’s apartment.

As Sigal heard footsteps drawing closer, he assumed Cal came back to say more, and he walked up. “Cal, I—"

“It’s me.” Asher cut in as he walked into the living room. “What was that about?”

“Never mind.” Sigal shook his head. “The better question is, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Relax. I have something urgent to discuss with you. Why else would I be here?”

And that always held true. This man never showed up at his door unless there were some urgent matters to discuss or other job-related emergencies.

Sigal knitted his brows. “What is it?”

Asher leaned against the wall, folding his arms in front of his chest. “It’s about the case.”

“Yeah?” Sigal raised an eyebrow.

“The thing is, I have been thinking about something for a while,” Asher started to explain, “About when this all started anew, the case I mean. There are certain things I can’t understand and appear quite suspicious.”

Sigal knitted his brows. “Like what?”

Asher took a deep breath before he fixed his eyes on the other. “You might not like what I have to say, but…I think something might not be right with your partner.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Just shortly after he transferred to Section 2, you get this message. The case started anew, is it a coincidence or…?”

“What are you implying with this?” Sigal’s voice deepened.

“I am not implying anything, but you have to admit that it does look quite suspicious, right? And if we even assume the whole thing started with the Lester case, I am just saying if, then—“

“He almost died back then!” Sigal cut him off harshly.

“That’s correct.” Asher narrowed his eyes. “Almost died. How come he is the sole survivor? No one beside him survived this drug, so why did he?”

Sigal gritted his teeth, but he also couldn’t completely refute his accusation, because everything he said was true. Everything did start around this time and that Cal survived also edged into a miracle.

“So, you are saying he deceived us? That he is one of them?”

Asher shook his head. “I don’t know, but it’s possible, I guess.”

“That’s nonsense. There is no way he is with them.” Sigal raised his voice. “Everything that happened to him, all the pain he went through, all just to play us? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Is it nonsense though? Or is that just what you wish for?”

“Get out.” Sigal’s deep voice resounded in a mix of cold and fierce, yet in a calm manner, but at the same time it suggested that if Asher wouldn’t get out of his sight, that he would regret it.

Asher got the hint and pushed himself off the wall, but on the way out he added, “Give it some thought. You know I am not totally wrong here.”

The warm afternoon breeze glided through the city, birds chirped away, and the sun slowly descended on the horizon. The people who hustled and bustled along the streets just a few minutes ago cleared out bit by bit, trying to be home before dusk settled in.

Sigal, however, rushed through the streets without any care for the world, even the chattering around him fell deaf on his ears.

Not only did he just raise suspicion about a mole amongst their midst to Vince himself, but even Asher had the same hunch. This left him in a state of confusion and irritation, yet he didn’t want to believe that Cal had anything to do with it, but at the same time he could not completely discard it either.

He recounted certain events in his mind, like the things Cal said or how he acted.

There is a lot I don’t understand. I know he is hiding something, but… Sigal shook his head and clenched one hand into a fist. Something just doesn’t add up here.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

A soft, yet familiar voice penetrated Sigal’s ears, and he stopped in his tracks, his back facing the other person. “Neither should you. Go back.”

Cal remained silent, but then took a few steps forward.

Sigal whipped his head around, facing him. “I said, go back.”

Cal stopped in his tracks as he noticed the change in the other’s demeanor. Sigal’s fists were clenched, his shoulders tensed up and a quite dark aura emanated from him.

“What happened?” Cal asked, worried.

Without regarding why Cal was here in the first place, Sigal wanted him to go back this instant, but mainly because he didn’t trust himself right now. His mind was in shambles after all, he didn’t know what he would do while he still tried to figure out the situation.

However, Cal didn’t budge an inch, but rather pressed for an answer. “What is wrong?”

Sigal fixed his gaze on Cal, a certain danger reflecting in his eyes as he drew closer with heavy steps. Cal swallowed once out of nervousness and even took a few steps back until his back hit a wall.

Sigal stopped in front of him, propping one arm on the right side of Cal’s head, trapping him between him and the wall. “I have some questions for you, and you better answer them honestly.”

Cal stared at him in confusion, not understanding what happened in these few hours that changed him so drastically. The way he spoke and that intimidating dangerous glare, everything gave the impression that if Cal would make one wrong step, he would hurt him. “W-What happened to you?”

“Just answer my questions.” The hue in Sigal’s eyes somewhat darkened, his demeanor alarming at this point. “The thing is, everything in this case started close to when you joined the fray, is that…a coincidence?”

Cal’s eyes widened as he realized what he hinted at. “W-What are you saying?”

“I am saying that there are some things that don’t make sense when it comes to you.” Sigal narrowed his eyes. “You are hiding something. I am just not sure what it is or if it is related to that case.”

Cal couldn’t believe what Sigal implied there, what he accused him of. “Y-You are kidding, right?” His lips quivered. “You can’t be serious!”

“Then explain to me how you survived back then? It was only you, no one else. How did you?”

Cal’s chest tightened and he slightly trembled. “Stop…please stop.”

The sound of Cal's voice snapped Sigal out of it, and he became aware of the other’s expression and reaction. He was shocked about himself, that he went so far. He didn’t want to believe it in the first place, yet he acted in that manner towards him.

He gritted his teeth and shook his head as he retracted his hand. “I…need to be alone. Just let me sort out my thoughts…” Sigal turned and trudged away without looking back.

Still in shock, Cal let his eyes travel after Sigal, not understanding where this suddenly came from. He took a deep breath and yelled after him. “Even if you don’t trust me, I won’t give up on you!” He lowered his voice. “So please, don’t give up on me either…”

Cal put one hand against the wall and the other on his forehead, while he tried to comprehend what just had happened. Why would he even think that? What the hell happened?

However, as soon as Sigal was out of sight, a familiar voice resounded from behind.

“How touching.”

Cal froze on the spot. It was a voice he knew too well, a voice that instilled terror and despair, a voice he hoped he would never ever hear again.

He slowly turned around and his gaze fell upon a man with silver short hair, who just stepped out of the shadows from a building. Cal broke out in a cold sweat, his heart began to palpitate, and he couldn’t breathe.

“Hello, little brother.” Axis grinned maliciously. “Miss me?”