POV: Hoga Yasahiro.

Date: 26th Nov – Wednesday.

Timeline: *Before Yasahiro and Izumi's fight*

"but I am curious about a thing! Before you fainted in the burning building you were calling someone's name, who might that be?" I said casually as I sought an answer to the question I was the most curious about.

"Nana?" Izumi guessed as he didn't seem to remember clearly.

How to remind him of it?

"it was something like 'ken...ken...'" I hinted for him to guess.

Izumi: 'does he mean Kenta?'

YES! As I thought he really does know him!

"W-Why do you ask?" Izumi asked frowning my way, "because it reminded me of someone I might know," I stated hoping for the answer to be put in words instead of thoughts.

"There is no way you would know him," Izumi mumbled then started heading down the stairs, ignoring me.

Izumi: 'kukuku...'

"Why do you think so!?" I yelled annoyed by not getting what I was looking for.

"because Kenta died fifteen years ago," Izumi answered as he looked at me with eyes filled with sadness.

D-Died? No way, then who was the one I saw? Can demons even die?

Izumi: 'died!? Hahaha nice one...'

So, it was a lie... Why is he lying to me about that?

I rushed down the stairs and grabbed Izumi's shoulders and asked him, "there is no way he died, why are you lying to me?"

Izumi: 'so annoying, if only he believed that...'

"I'm not lying, he really did die" Izumi said while glaring at me.

T-taking me for a fool, why is he lying to me when he knows I can read thoughts? How much of an idiot does he take me for!? I saw that demon not long ago so there is no way he is dead...

"How can he be dead!?" I yelled at him to stop making up stupid lies, "just let go of me," Izumi yelled back.

Did he give up on trying to make up lies!?

"Why are you lying!?" I asked as I grabbed him harder, but he yelled, "lying!?! why the hell do you think I would lie about something like that!?" and raised his fist and landed it on my face and made me fall down, he yelled, "I told you to stop!"

This liar hit me with all his strength.

Izumi: 'you wouldn't have suffered like this if you believed it in the first place.'

"I told you to tell me the truth!" I yelled as I swayed my fist toward his stomach.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

POV: Isozaki Izumi

Date: 26th Nov – Wednesday.

Timeline: *After Yasahiro and Izumi's fight*

As I left the apartment building, I started walking toward the bus stop as I sat down on the bench waiting for the next bus, the corner of my lip started aching, "that bastard sure didn't hold back," I mumbled as I wiped my lips with my palm.

Kenta... huh...

I leaned back on the bench and looked at the clear blue sky, "when was the last time I fought someone like that?" I mumbled closing my tired eyes.

Kenta...

I let out a deep sigh and continue mumbling to myself, "why did he think he was alive? Was he mistaking him for someone else? Or perhaps..."

What am I thinking... I know better than anyone else that he died.

I fixed my posture and mumbled again, "but where should I go now? Going back home will be awkward since we fought in front of everyone, and I don't really want to see that bastard ever again."

"Are you a bad person?" a kid appeared out of nowhere asking me, I moved my head closer to him and said while smirking, "I am."

The kid frowned while looking at me, after thinking for a while he sat next to me on the bench and said, "bad guys never say they are bad."

What is this? No fun.

"If you say so," I said as I leaned back on the bench again, "why do you have so many injuries?" the kid asked me with curious black eyes, "because I fought," I answered briefly.

"Who did you fight?" the kid asked persistently, I shifted my head toward him and answered, "the biggest suicidal jerk in the world."

"Did you lose?" he asked with pity in his eyes, "if I'm like this, the other person must be near his death now!" I stated.

"Why did you fight him?" the kid asked again, I flunked him on his forehead and annoyedly complained, "stop asking so many annoying questions! I want to know why too!"

"You really are strong!" the kid yelled while rubbing his forehead, the kid jumped from the bench and extended his hand toward me, "let's go somewhere fun!"

I got up and started walking away, "go home, kid."

What a noisy brat...

As I started walking heading to no specific location, my mind was getting filled with the thoughts from before.

The more I thought about it, the more I struggled to understand the reason for Yasahiro's actions, why did he insist Kenta was alive? Why does he keep wanting to die that badly? And... Why do I feel like I should stay away from him at any cost before something inside of me breaks again?

My legs slowed their movement till they stopped in front of a gate.

I raised my head to take a look at the place I was in to see that I was in front of Juwan Hospital.

Thinking of it, that guy is here too... Maybe I should meet him since I had that dream again this morning.

My feet started moving again after changing the direction toward the hospital front door, as I entered I started heading toward the receptionist.

"I want to see Dr. Frost," I said as I approached one of the nurses, "We don't have a doctor that goes by that name," one of them answered, I leaned forward and corrected my previous statement, "he should go by the name Fukui Hitoshi now."

The nurse started looking at the computer screen in front of her, and answered, "Dr. Fukui is available today," then after pressing few keys on the keyboard in front of her, she asked, "do you have an appointment? May I know the patient information?" and pulled a sheet from one of the piles in front of her and asked while offering a pen, "please fill your information here, dear patient."

I took the pen and started filling the form, and informed her, "I don't have an appointment," I started scratching the back of my head and said, "if he's busy today, I'll come back again some other day," but the nurse laughed and exclaimed, "you don't have to worry about that."

As I thought that guy must still be a nutcase.

"By the way," the nurse said as she looked at me worryingly, "shouldn't you get your injuries treated first? It looks painful," she asked looking at my bruised face.

"It's fine this kind of injuries don't last long," I answered as I handed the form to her, "which floor is he on?" I asked, she looked at me while frowning not believing what I said and answered, "the third floor, section c."

I started heading toward the elevators and as I pressed the button, the doors opened immediately.

Man, that was fast...

I got inside and headed toward the third floor, and as I reached the third floor, a huge hall filled of people waiting their turn appeared.

In Juwan Hospital, there is four sections in each floor, and the third and fourth floors are filled with doctor's offices where patients go visit them for check-ups and appointment, they each have a small clinic attached to their offices where they treat their patients.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Each section specializes in a specific department, and some have multiple departments depending on the number of doctors in that department, the place where all the sections meet, there is a big hall for patients waiting for an appointment, when it's someone's turn, their name is called through the speakers.

I sat on one of the available chairs near section c, strangely enough the people who were sitting near there moved away from me and kept their distance.

Do I look that bad? That bastard sure did a number on me... Maybe, I should have got treated first, hopefully that guy won't be too noisy about it.

"Isozaki Izumi-sama," the speaker announced, "Isozaki Izumi-sama," it repeated.

Man, that was fast...

I started heading toward section c and stopped in front of an office that had Fukui Hitoshi nameplate on it.

I knocked and entered the office, and a desk with two chairs in front of it and a man sitting behind it appeared in my view.

"Dr. Frost!" I yelled excitedly as I headed toward the man, his eyes widened, and a smile brightened up his face, "Izumi! It sure has been a while! Five years?! You sure have grown up!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"It has been ten years already!" I corrected him, as he took a better look at me he started scolding me, "but what's with the state you are in?! Did something happen? Don't tell me you still get into meaningless fights even though you are an adult now!?"

"That's not it!" I yelled correcting him, "this time it wasn't me who started it," I explained, and mumbled in a low voice, "though I was the first to land a punch..."

"You really are hopeless, if you only can fix that habit of yours, no, that's too much to ask of a person like you," he complained while sighing, "how mean! This really isn't my fault! A guy was just acting up and getting on my nerves!" I explained again.

"Yeah, sure," he said not believing me, and asked, "but why are you here?"

Damn, I really should have got treated first! Yasahiro, you bastard!

"Not like you have any patients waiting, so I came to say hi," I jokingly said, he crossed his arms together and wondered, "I wonder why none of my patients are coming back for check-ups like I instructed them," I smirked and told him, "that's probably because they think you're a nutcase, I thought the same too, ten years ago."

"Even if you say so," he said, "you never missed an appointment," he continued while grinning, "I came for that same reason today," I said while frowning, "I had that dream again this morning," I continued.

"That's weird, didn't it stop before?" he asked with a worried face, I replied, "that was what I thought too."

He got up from his chair and opened another door inside the office, "follow me," he said as he entered the other room.

I followed him inside to see a couch with a table in front of it and a chair right across from it.

"Sit there," he ordered while pointing at the couch, I headed to the place he pointed at and said as I sat down, "you feel like a real doctor like this!" he looked at me with an annoyed expression and complained, "I am a real doctor!"

After I settled down, he sat on the chair and asked, "tell me what happened exactly in the dream."

I lied down on the couch and started talking, "at first I was in a poorly lit room, but then blood started dropping from above, I looked up and I saw him.... His body was swaying back and forth, and the blood kept dripping, I backed off and no matter what I did I couldn't wake up."

"You knew it was a dream?" he asked interrupting me, I looked down and continued, "I wanted it to be a dream..."

"His face was it as clear as always?" he asked while scribbling on his notebook, "that's where it differed than usual, it was the first time that Kenta's face didn't show up clearly," I answered.

"Maybe something happened that reminded you of him..." he mumbled to himself, "Did anything new happen recently?" he asked again without looking my way, I let out a sigh and answered, "nothing much, I got fired from my job then got hired in a higher position but then I got attacked by my housemate leading me to move out, and the apartment I moved to was next to a psychopath who is my president at work who gets on my nerves a lot."

He dropped his notebook down and scolded me, "how is that 'nothing much'!!?" he picked up his notebook and asked, "so, who caused these injuries to you!?" I frowned and complained, "how pushy! Stop preying into that already!"

"Eh!?" he exclaimed with a surprised look, I asked while looking confused at his reaction, "what's wrong?" he said hesitantly, "nothing, it's just not the same kind of answer that I used to get ten years ago so I was taken back."

"How creepy, do you still remember everything from back then!?" I asked showing disgusted look, "well, you always used to answer with 'I don't know' and 'I don't care' which was because you fought for no reason and just fought whoever, but this time it's different," he explained, I frowned and yelled, "that was what I have been saying from the start! That this time it's not me who started the fight!"

"Was it your previous housemate or that president of yours?" he asked scribbling down on his notebook, "does it matter who it was?" I asked, and he giggled and answered, "not really, I'm just curious about it haha."

This nutcase...

"Am I going to have that dream again?" I asked changing the subject, he nodded and answered, "probably."

"Then give me a medicine or something, I was fine for ten whole years, I can't go back to how I was before," I demanded but he closed his notebook and smiled my way saying, "no way I'm doing that."

WHAT!?

"What the hell, man?" I exclaimed angrily, he explained, "before you were a teen-ager and facing his death head-on was a struggle for you, but now you are strong enough to handle facing it, let's not rely on medication this time."

This jerk, it's my fault for relying on a nutcase like him...

I angrily stood up and groaned, "I don't want to face it nor even think about it," he panicked and said, "but this happened probably because something similar happened! If we don't solve it from the roots, you'll suffer every single time something similar-"

I headed toward the door, "I wasted my time, I shouldn't have come here," I said annoyed by the results and how accurate his conclusion was.

He ran up to me and between his huffs he said, "then go visit her," handing me a card, "who is she?" I asked as I took the card inspecting it, "Ikehara Mirai, the world's most famous doctor in this field!"

"Introducing me to your rival? What are you doing?" I laughed off, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "because I'm your friend before I'm your doctor. Go there and instead of running away, this time properly face it."

I brushed off his hand and told him, "stop being so cheesy," and I exited the room, before I closed the door behind me, I mumbled to him, "but thank you... For calling yourself my friend. I'm sorry."

After rushing out of the room, I pressed the elevator button repeatedly, but it didn't come as fast as the previous time.

"That nutcase," I cursed as I kicked the elevator door, I slammed my head on the wall next to the elevator.

How can he suggest that...?

"No, I shouldn't think of it," I mumbled as I fixed my stance, and got inside the elevator that just came.

if I accepted Kenta's death... how can I keep living on!?

I took the card he gave me from my pocket and stared at it, "Ikehara Mirai, huh?" I said as I ripped the card.

As soon as the elevator reached the first floor, I exited and rushed out of the hospital, back to the bus stop.

Nao isn't in this city anymore, so the house should be empty now.

I got on the bus and exited on the next stop, I ran in the direction of my old house.

I don't even have keys, how to get in? ... no, he might have forgot to lock the door again!

I hide behind a wall as I peek over to look at the house, "no one is around... if I jump over the wall..." I mumbled as I was thinking of a way to get inside.

"Are you a stalker?" a voice creeped from behind me, I got spooked out and turned my head slowly to see the brat from before standing behind me.

"Did you follow me here!?" I asked taken back by his sudden appearance, the kid looked over the wall toward the house, and asked again, "are you a stalker?"

YOU are the stalker, brat!

"I'm not, this is my house!" I stated proudly, but the kid frowned and asked, "then why are you sneaking around!?"

Damn, this brat asks so many questions!

"Ah!" the kid yelled as he pointed at the direction of the house, "it looks like you have a guest," he said.

Eh?

I shifted my eyes toward the house again and saw a man with green hair ringing the bell, "eh? This guy..." I mumbled as I scratched my head.

If I remember correctly, he was the detective whom I saw in the hospital that asked about Nao.

"This is bad, he can't see me here," I said as I turned my body to leave the scene, the kid grabbed my shirt and asked me, "who is that man?"

I almost forgot this brat was here!

"He's a bad guy," I said as I pushed his hand away, he turned his head over to the house again and then said, "but he looks like a policeman, if you think a policeman is a bad guy, that would mean you are the bad guy, you know."

What is with this kid? He's so annoying.

The kid smiled and had a grin on his face, as he said, "well, it works better for us if you don't meet him."

Eh? Suddenly, he seems like a different person... what does he mean 'us'?

"by 'us' who do you mean?" I asked him as I leaned closer to him, he smiled my way and asked, "I want to ask you a question."

This brat, asks a lot but never answers anything!

"What is it!?" I asked annoyed by his attitude, he whispered, "if you knew that people were in danger, would you risk your life to save them or would you turn a blind eye to their situation?"

What kind of question is this, coming from a kid?... the right answer would be the first one but after what happened when I went inside that building with Nana, the second choice ...

"I'll ignore it," I answered avoiding eye contact with him, "you ...would ignore it?" the kid confirmed, "yeah," I reaffirmed while nodding.

I shifted my eyes toward him but got surprised by the expression he was showing, he was gritting his teeth, and glaring at me.

"I really hoped that we weren't thrown away like earthworms," the kid said while shaking with anger, "I thought no human would be able to turn a blind eye to our situation, it must have been mistake or something, but now I see. You aren't humans, you guys are just heartless monsters!" he yelled.

What is he talking about?

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I extended my hand toward him, but he slapped my hand away, and threatened, "don't touch me with your filthy hand."

This kid... who is he?...

"You guys might think you are great Veiners, but we are way stronger than monsters like you who threw their humanity!" he said while glaring at me then left without turning back.

Veiners? Monsters? What was all of that about? Talk about overdramatic.

"Weren't you the one I saw at the hospital?" a voice approached me from behind, "what?" I said as I turned around.

The guy with the green hair was behind me with a smile on his face, "haha... if it isn't the detective that I saw before... what brings you here?" I said awkwardly, he answered while smiling, "I came to visit Hisakawa Naoki's house, do you perhaps live in this area?"

"Absolutely not!" I answered immediately while sweating, "I came for a walk!" I explained, he looked at me and asked, "looking like that? You seem like a person who just got out of a fight."

Damn! Why everyone has to bring that up!!!? Not like I can tell a detective I got into a fight!

"I fell..." I answered while avoiding his eyes, he laughed and asked, "what kind of fall was it to cause this kind of injuries!?"

"haha... yeah..." I laughed awkwardly as I turned around to leave, he grabbed my hand from behind me, "w-what is it?" I asked as I nervously turned back to him.

A clink sound echoed through my ear, I looked at the hand he grabbed to see a cuff, I asked while sweating, "w-what is this?"

"Cuffs," he answered while smiling at me, I yelled, "I know what it is, I'm asking why you are putting it on me!?"

A surprised expression appeared on his face as said, "did you think I would believe that? You have to come with me to the station."

WHAT!?? No freaking way!

It's true that everyone wants to see a fire station or a police station at least once in their life, but I never wanted to see it this way!!!

-End of Chapter 26-