Chapter Text
The plan to save Sei and take down Toue was flawless. Almost completely so. As Clear ran out of a sweetly decorated room with the severely weakened man in his arms, Mink took his revenge on Toue, Koujaku and his team held back guards, and Noiz was left behind in Glitter to watch over everything while disabling the α's from moving, they overlooked one simple thing.
Aoba.
More specifically, Aoba running into Virus and Trip. Before anyone even knew, Aoba was knocked out and Ren was left behind.
Koujaku was the first one to notice, as he was supposed to meet with Aoba on the way out.
"Noiz, Where the hell is Aoba!?" He barked over the phone, Noiz taking a little while to reply as he looked over the security cameras. "I can't find him. He might've slipped out of the building." Noiz answered, in an annoyingly calm tone despite the worry in Koujaku's voice. "Fuck, okay, we'll check." Koujaku answered and ran to the stairs, the entirety of Beni-Shigure following closely behind. They found no trace of the man. Noiz looked over the cams again, finally stumbling upon a clue. "Koujaku. Ren was left behind. We're too late." Noiz spoke, a certain finality in his tone.
Koujaku didn't let himself slip up in front of his friends but he felt a gripping fear emanating from his chest. The cold chill spreading throughout his back. Running back up to find Ren, Koujaku nearly ran into Clear on his way out. "Clear! Have you seen Aoba?!" He shouted after the man. "Master? No, I have not. I'll look for him as soon as Sei-san is safely in someone's care." Clear seemed confused, focusing on the task Aoba had given him. Koujaku didn't have the time to explain and ran back up to a research floor to grab Ren. If they were lucky, Ren would've seen where they went.
"Ren!" No response. Nearby was an α unit slumped over, strangely seeming to activate as Ren was called for. Koujaku didn't take any chances and scooped up the Allmate before the α got up. But as he did, Ren's voice called to him from that direction. "Koujaku! Help- Aoba!" Looking down, the dog had not awoken from sleep mode. Instead, a strange yellow hue had taken on the α's eyes. Koujaku didn't have time to think, stopping in his tracks and looking back at the suspicious robot.
"...Ren?" He asked, finding it a little bit ridiculous. "Mm. There's no time, Aoba was taken." The voice, now clearly belonging to the former dog-allmate, spoke in a grave tone. Koujaku cursed under his breath before lending a hand to the unit to get him to stand. "Let's regroup. Aoba can't be in the building anymore."
They ran, although quite clumsily, through the Tower to get out. Alarms now blaring, due to Mink's part of the plan being successful, everyone seemingly made it out alive.
A couple hours later they all met back up at Aoba's house. Greeted with a confused and perhaps also disappointed Tae-san, it became Koujaku's job to also explain that they had indeed lost her grandson but saved the other one. Sei, now attached to a multitude of tubes, had only survived due to Clear's incredible speed. He was barely conscious however, only being able to look on occasionally.
Ren, who had only been able to move his new body from the sheer adrenaline (or whatever the substitute for it in his system was) now sat on the couch, dazed and looking at his body, sometimes chiming in about facts as to where Aoba was walking before being jumped by...Morphine, according to him.
At the mention of Morphine, Sei's IV stand suddenly fell over. He himself had pushed it despite his horrible condition. "Eh? Sei, you would like to say something?" Clear asked, being the honorary caretaker for him now, leaning in as the dark haired man seemed to speak something in his ear. It didn't need to be hearable to the rest, Clear could pick it up.
"Virus and Trip?" Clear tilted his head, and repeated himself to the rest. "Sei-san only said 'Virus and Trip'. We should look into it! Noiz-san, would you?" He seemed incredibly passionate about the plan, perhaps a little bit beside himself about his "Master" being lost to an unknown group.
Noiz wasn't too interested in following his suggestions, but they had no other option. God forbid Tae has any more reasons to beat his ass. She was a formidable foe.
Tae herself had not said a word since they started explaining, looking worriedly to Sei and the ground.
"Everyone. I would prefer if you left for today. Tomorrow we will look to get more information as to where Aoba is. Clear, you stay and watch over Sei." Tae finally spoke, sounding more exhausted than anything. Mink was the first to leave, and everyone found it unlikely he would return. Then Noiz. Ren stayed, after convincing Tae that he would help around the house for the time being. He had been promptly hit on the head for assuming he wasn't part of the family.
Koujaku was the last to leave, after making sure Tae would be alright. In her own way, she made sure to let him know that she would be.
Clear and Ren were left behind to think.
"I'm concerned, about Aoba I mean." Ren spoke, looking at the ground. Clear nodded. "Did you not get to see where they went?" Clear asked, sounding serious.
"No. I'm sorry." Ren shook his head, looking regretful.
That was the end of their conversation. Sei was moved to a soft guest-room bed, Clear taking up post next to it on the chair.
The next morning, as promised, everyone gathered around the kitchen table, aside from Mink, who was sitting on the living room couch. Sei was still quite weak, but could hear the conversation about to take place.
Koujaku, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak. "According to my guys, there was a sighting of two blonde men and someone who's face was hidden with a hood on their way to the airport." He spoke gravely, looking down at his feet. Tae looked contemplative, clearing her throat. "When was this?" "A few hours ago. I'm sorry, Tae-san I-" Koujaku looked upset, clenching his fist. Tae shook her head. "It's not your fault. Let's focus on getting him back." She spoke, the harsh edge in her words worn down by the grimness of the news. Aoba was definitely already out of the island by now. Possibly even out of the country.
Noiz looked around before speaking. "I can probably look into the cameras to see where they went?" He seemed cool and collected, despite the situation. "Mm. Please do." Tae nodded. She was rarely if ever found using the word 'please' however...Aoba was quite a big part of her life. Being polite wouldn't hurt in a situation like this.
Clear looked beside himself, but soon spoke up as well. "Sei-san was awake during the night. He told me he had some ideas as to what could have happened but...it will take some time until he can explain it." He explained, his fingers fiddling with his gloves, now taken off to be able to care for Sei appropriately.
"We can't afford to wait." Koujaku spoke, his eyebrows knitted together with worry. "But we don't have a choice." He continued, after a pause which most definitely was to think about what state Aoba's beloved twin brother was in. He was in no shape to help, not right now. Rehabilitation could take anywhere from weeks to years.
Tae sighed and looked at the confusing crowd of people that had gathered here just for Aoba. That boy had just begun to calm down...now this? He was lucky Tae had a fairly strong heart.
Eventually, all the information between them was shared but the plan was still inconclusive. They didn't know much about "Virus" and "Trip", only that Koujaku had once seen them talking to Aoba. They seemed normal but...there was just something off when they looked up to see Koujaku. Like they were offended to see someone other than Aoba around.
Mink never spoke up, only absorbing the information. Ren didn't know what to say.
"For now, you will have to wait. I trust that Aoba stays strong for now. Once we get more information we can start planning our next move." Tae spoke, trying her best to sound convincing. Of course she was worried. But Aoba was surprisingly resistant so maybe..?
With everyone but Clear and Ren dispatched again, Tae sat down at the dinner table, her head in her hands. "You two should go check on Sei. Don't worry about me." She said, shooing the two men away from the kitchen before they had a chance to speak. They did as asked, crowding the small guest-room easily.
Sei seemed conscious, eyes perhaps a little unfocused. Clear sat down in his designated spot, and laid his head down on the bed.
Surprisingly, Sei's hand moved to pet the white hair, although slowly and absentmindedly. "Thank you, Sei-san. But please just focus on getting yourself better." Clear's voice was muffled by the mattress. In response, Sei only blinked and pat the head. He was lucky to even be awake right now. Tae was indeed good at her job, bringing a man from the brink of death back like this.
Ren seemed a little worried. "Please don't overwork yourself." He spoke, sitting on the foot-end of the bed. Sei nodded, only very slightly, smiling faintly to get his message through.
Within a week, Sei was already able to do much more. He ate his first proper home-cooked meal (made by Tae, of course). The expression he made when eating was something worth seeing. "....delicious..." Although quiet, his compliment was not ignored by Tae, instead she simply told the man to eat up. Clear had been an honorary Seragaki family member, as he really didn't need to sleep. He was on high alert for Sei's condition, making him an important asset.
Ren, slowly but surely, had started to notice changes in the body he inhabited. The hair of the old α body had darkened substantially, his tattoos slowly forming along. It was as if he was shaping the body himself. The hole in his Rhyme form's throat however had not yet begun forming, which he found to be a good thing. Technically this should've been impossible. The α series was completely and utterly manmade, not made to change at all. But here he was.
Tae, worried sick but not letting it show, took great care to adjust a schedule to care for Sei while also seeing other patients. She found it to be therapeutic to spend time with Sei, of course, she had felt guilty for Sei after she found out what the project was really for back in the day.
Sei seemed to be fairly content now, slowly gathering his lost parts along the way.
Soon his consciousness would be whole again.