July 10th, xx14
Kei was meeting someone today. He mentioned it was someone from his childhood, the man who had saved him, but there was a sadness in his eyes as he spoke. When he told Rena about it, she noticed the look that crossed his face. She hoped she could be a comfort to him, just as he had been for her when she talked about her past.
She was working tonight and suggested he meet them at the coffee shop. That way, she could be there to support him. Kei always tried to deny his emotions, but no one can fully escape them, no matter how hard they try. And that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay sometimes. It’s okay to cry.
Kei arrived 20 minutes before he was scheduled to meet his acquaintance from the past. He walked in almost expressionless, millions of questions running through his mind. What does he need to tell me, and why in person? Why now, after so many years? Why is he back?
Kei was so lost in thought that he didn’t realize Rena had come up to his table with his drink, which he hadn’t even ordered yet.
“Kei?” she said softly.
He darted his eyes up to meet hers, quickly flashing his signature smile to hide his inner turmoil.
“Ah, my dove, thanks for the drink,” he grinned as he took the drink from her hand. She slowly sat down in front of him, not buying his smile in the least.
“Kei… I know that wasn’t real. Are you okay?” she asked, looking at him with concern.
He set his cup down and let out a sigh.
“Guess I can’t fool you anymore, huh,” he said with a sad smile.
“Nope,” she grinned, popping the ‘p’.
“I just… haven’t talked to him in years. He moved away almost 13 years ago. I don’t know what he could even want to talk about. It seems so… strange and sudden,” he said with a distant look in his eyes.
“Did it sound like it was bad news?” Rena asked.
“It was hard to tell, but I have a feeling it’s not good news,” Kei said as he looked at his watch to check the time.
“He should be here by now,” he said, looking up at the door. Kei’s eyes widened a little as he stood up. “Oh, he’s here.”
Rena decided it would be best if she went back to work and left the two to talk, but as she stood up and turned around, she saw the man walking through the door. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath hitched for a moment. She couldn’t move; she froze on the spot.
The man came through the door looking down at his feet. Rena instantly recognized him. The last time she had seen him was roughly five years ago, though he looked like he had aged almost twice those years. The bags under his eyes were deeper than before. He still had that 5 o’clock shadow, but it had specks of silver now. He slouched more than usual and had definitely lost a lot of weight.
As the door closed, he looked up and began to scan the place. He finally caught Kei’s glance, who was giving a slight wave of his hand. The man noticed and barely lifted one corner of his mouth in a half-attempt to smile. He walked over, and Rena was still frozen. Kei assumed she wanted to meet the man who had saved him, so once the man approached, he began introductions.
“Hello, Sir, it’s been a while. Uh… I’d like you to meet one of my friends,” he gestured to Rena, who was still standing there wide-eyed and frozen. “This is R—”
“Miss Reyes!?” the man said as he finally looked at Rena.
“-ena… wait, what?” Kei said, glancing between the two who were in a staring match.
“M-Mr. Emerson… W-what are you doing h-here?” Rena managed to stutter.
“I should be asking you that. What are you doing down here in Florida?” Mr. Emerson asked.
“I… My mom left me an apartment down here, so I moved here after… After…” she started to say, but the words caught in her throat.
Mr. Emerson dropped his gaze to the floor. “Ah… Why don’t we sit down? There’s something I need to tell you both.”
They sat back down at the table, and a moment of awkward silence passed before Kei spoke up. “So… Can someone tell me how you two know each other?”
Rena looked up at Kei, tears threatening to fall. She tried to speak up, but Mr. Emerson spoke first.
“When we left all those years ago, I was following my parents. They moved to Missouri and just happened to move across the street from Miss Reyes’ grandmother,” he said softly.
Kei looked at Rena, and it all clicked. The boy she was in love with, the one who broke her heart. “Your childhood friend… was Clark…” he whispered softly.
Rena just nodded her head slowly as she looked down at her hands resting in her lap.
Mr. Emerson let out a soft chuckle. “They were inseparable, those two. It pissed your grandmother off something fierce,” he glanced towards Rena, who just gave a soft “Yeah,” in response.
She finally looked up, glancing between Kei and Mr. Emerson. “What about you two? Kei said you saved him when he was a child.”
“Ah yeah, this guy. His parents had gotten caught up in some bad business, and people were after them. I was working undercover at the time, and when they went to off his family, I tried to stop them. They… still killed his parents, but I was able to stop them before they got to Keiko.”
Rena didn’t miss the way Kei’s face dropped. She reached over and grabbed his hand.
“I felt that it was my fault, so he stayed with us for a while,” he continued.
Rena looked at Kei. “So… You knew Clark?”
“Yeah, I lived with them for two years before they moved. When they left, Touma’s parents took me in,” Kei said as he stared at the table.
Rena let out a sad chuckle. “What a small world.”
Kei looked up at her and gave a lazy smile. “Yeah.”
“Listen, there’s… ” Mr. Emerson started to say, “There’s something you two should know. Clark was… Well, to put it simply, he was on an undercover mission, and he’s gone missing.”
“What do you mean?” Rena asked, confused. She knew Clark wanted to be a police officer like his father, but an undercover mission?
“Miss Reyes…”
“Please, just call me Rena.”
“Rena, he didn’t want me to tell you, but… That’s why he left. He went undercover all those years ago. He was only supposed to be in for three years, and then we’d pull him out, but something happened. He never showed up to the rendezvous point, and we lost all contact. We’ve been searching for two years, but… They’re declaring him MIA next week.”
Rena felt Kei’s hand flinch at the mention of MIA. She was so confused. What does that mean? Why did he have to go undercover? Is that why he never came back?
“What does that mean?” she asked, scared of the answer. She felt Kei’s grip get tighter on her hand.
“It means they’ve decided to stop searching. They are declaring him dead,” Kei gritted through his teeth, staring a hole into the table.
Rena smashed her opposite hand over her mouth as she gasped, tears starting to fall. “N-no. That… He can’t be…”
“I’m sorry. I just thought you should know, Kei. I never expected to run into you here, though, Rena, but he would have wanted you to know. He loved—”
“Why was he undercover?! He was only 15!” Rena interrupted in a semi-shout as she stood up, pushing her chair back, causing a loud screech across the floor.
“He was a stubborn kid. He would have gone regardless of my decision. I didn’t want him to go, but he put up one hell of a fight. It was almost fate that led us there, but it seemed to bite us in the ass. It’s my fault. He wanted to help me, but also it was all to protect you, Rena,” Mr. Emerson said as he looked up at Rena.
“Protect me? From what!?” Rena said through the tears.
“Your father,” he stated simply.
“What does her father have to do with this?” Kei asked.
“That’s where it gets complicated,” Mr. Emerson sighed.
Rena just stood there, not knowing what to think. “I… I don’t… I don’t even…” she started to speak but couldn’t get the words out. The shop suddenly felt so small. The walls were closing in, the lights were dimming. She needed to get out. She turned and rushed out the door.
“Rena!” Kei called out as he jumped up to follow her, but a hand grabbed his arm, stopping him. He turned back to see Mr. Emerson holding him back.
“Keiko…” Mr. Emerson began, looking down at the floor. “Take care of her, please. For him. Clark would be happy if it was you.”
Kei pulled his arm free. “You know, I used to have a lot of respect for you, but now I don’t even know who you are. He was your own son, and you sent him in like he was any other agent.” Kei dashed out after Rena.
“Keiko, wait! There’s something else…” Mr. Emerson called, but Kei was already gone.
On his way out, Kei brushed past Azul walking in.
“Whoa, what’s the rush, birdman?” Azul asked as Kei bumped into him, panic evident on his face.
“It’s Rena, did you see her?” Kei asked frantically, looking around.
“Your little dove flew around the corner. What’s going on? Did you break her heart?” Azul smirked.
“No. It was the old man. He’s here, and apparently Rena’s first love… was Clark. I need to find her.” Kei said in a rush as he dashed around the corner.
Azul stood there, confused, before turning to go into the shop, immediately locking eyes with Mr. Emerson.
“Oh, look what the cat dragged in. You look like shit, old man.” Azul smirked as he casually strolled up to him.
“Touma. You’ve grown up,” Mr. Emerson said somberly.
“Tch, don’t call me that. I hate that name, and I hate you. You left that shithead with us, and now I can’t get rid of him. What are you doing here anyway?” Azul grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“It’s Clark. He was undercover but went missing. They just declared him MIA. I came here to tell Keiko. I wasn’t expecting to see Miss Rena here as well.”
“So that’s why she was in such a hurry. She found out her first love was declared dead. And from you of all people. I think it’s best if you leave now.” Azul’s face darkened.
“Wait. There’s something else I needed to tell Keiko and Rena. Since she’s here, can you two protect her?” Mr. Emerson asked, looking up.
“Protect her from what?” Azul sneered.
“Her father. Does the name Liam Whitlock ring a bell?” Mr. Emerson asked.
Azul’s face twitched at the name. “Yeah, what of it?”
“He’s her father. He tried to take her away, to sell her to the traders, but Clark overheard and insisted he take her place. At the time, Liam had no idea his child’s name or gender, so it made it easy for Clark to take her place. But we think he found out, and I’m afraid he might be coming after her,” Mr. Emerson explained.
“Sounds like you are still shit at your job then. Why should we help you?”
“I quit the force. Don’t do it for me. Do it for him.” Mr. Emerson began to make his way to the door.
Azul said nothing as he walked past him, but once the old man had his hand on the door, he stopped him.
“Hey, old man…”
“Yes?” Mr. Emerson answered, turning his head.
“You still have access to the case files?” Azul asked, turning his head over his shoulder.
“I can get them,” Mr. Emerson replied.
Azul walked over to the register where Lacy was standing. She had been quietly watching the scene unfold, unsure of what to do.
“Hey, blondie, got a pen and paper I could use?” He winked, earning a glare from a pinky behind her.
“Of course…” she softly said as she reached for one. “Is everything alright? Where did Rena go?”
“Don’t worry about it, dollface. Thanks,” he said as he took the items from her. He wrote something down on the paper and walked over to Mr. Emerson.
“Send me the files. As for Rena, it’s not even a question that birdboy will watch over her. Now get lost, old man.”
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