Chapter 5
Yuri walked down the school steps slowly. Apparently, there are Gods. Whaddya know? That's not weird at all. Ichihari honked from his car. It struck Yuri just then that Ichihari looked not a day over seventeen. Appropriately, his bumper sticker read: How am I driving? Yuri quickly walked over to Ichihari. "Hey, are you all right? I saw those Sweepers." she whispered as he opened the door for her. "Psh. Sweepers will believe anything if you act scared. Remember that. Just get a little tremble-ey and they'll believe you. They think you're on a plane to Hawaii." Ichihari answered, cracking up.
Hawaii, eh? I wouldn't mind being there. She looked around, then leaned closer to Ichihari. "There's a Seller in my class. By his title, I'm guessing he's a drug seller." she said. "You have a Seller in your class? Not surprising. I wouldn't be surprised if one out of fifty of these students were Sellers." he said. "Anyway, why bring that up?"
Yuri told him about PandorA, the God, "Requiem" and his birth mother. Ichihari whistled. "Ryuji won't be happy to hear that." he said. "Why do they call him Requiem?" Yuri asked. "Simple. Every time he makes a kill, he sings for them."
Once back at Ichihari's atelier, Yuri was alone. Ichihari had dumped his keys into a random dumpster, leading Yuri to believe it was stolen. Before he locked himself away into his otaku-zone room, he had left Yuri with a haunting comment. "You look like her, you know. I can tell just by your figure and the contours of your chin and cheeks." Yuri wondered if he meant Yiru.
Yiru. . .The Sweeper had called that name the day after Yuri's fateful encounter with him. Everyone seemed to have known Yiru, and it was unnerving. Keisuke had even called the name with slight affection. Yuri shivered. She wished she could ask Keisuke, but he was gone now.
If you ever need me, call me. he had said. Yuri looked down to her phone. Swallowing, she picked it up and flipped it open. She vacillated, her thumb inches from pressing 'Send'. "Ugh, forget it." she snapped, crossing her arms angrily.
Keisuke sat high up on a wall, watching the sun set. Down below, the crowded alleys were filled with noise, erupting in horror-streaked screams and dealings for the drugs they sold. Hearing those screams was like hearing a car pass by. They lasted only a second, then they faded slowly, and it was one of the most normal things in the world.
He was tired. That's why he hated this place. Every time he saw the winding, tortuous alleys, he felt drained. When he managed to man up a little and walk through them, he was approached by PandorE Sellers, men wanting to hire a hitman, Sweepers for hire, basically anything found in a Black Market. Any vermin you could find, any lesser of society, any diseases on mankind itself would be found in this drug hole.
Because of the clouds, he could hardly see the orange sky. The clouds, however, were stained purple and orange, pink and red. Then, the last bit of sun was covered up, and it was like the colour on the clouds just dripped off. Soon everything was gray and dark, as usual. A snowflake drifted down. As if that snowflake encouraged the rest of them, it began snowing. Keisuke looked up, seeing bright specks of white fall from the dark, melancholy gray.
Just a day later, Keisuke showed up at Ichihari's apartment. Yuri had glanced out the window and saw Keisuke looking kinda like a lost cat. A really bright, bright red cat, that is. Yuri had always wanted red hair. . .She snapped back to reality and called to Ichihari, "U-Um, excuse me, Keisuke's outside!" Ichihari glanced at from his work, looking exhausted. He stood up and opened he door, then walked out, closing the door. Yuri glanced at his computer. There were a katrillion freaking numbers. She had no idea what they were. Cheats to a game, maybe?
She didn't have time to wonder though, because then Keisuke and Ichihari walked in. She stood up and trotted over to Keisuke. He rubbed her hair, taking his jacket off. "So, tell me what we got." he said to Ichihari. Ichihari led Keisuke to his computer and showed the screen. Keisuke looked thoughtful.
"Yea, I have no idea what this means." he said a moment later. Yuri tried to hide her grin. Ichihari let out an exasperated sigh. He sat down and typed away, adding to the numbers. Suddenly, a new number popped up, and it was only noticeable because the other numbers were yellow. This number was blue. "I cracked it. All the information they have on Ninomiya is gone. Her birth date, blood type, skin colour. Everything." he said. "And how much time will that give us?" Keisuke asked. " 'Bout a day." Ichihari said, pushing his chair back. He rode on his chair into his room, and the door shut. Keisuke raised an eyebrow, but then he turned to Yuri. "Hey." he said simply.
"Hello." she replied, blinking. Keisuke laughed, then sat down by her. "Man, it's cold." he muttered, closing his eyes. Yuri noticed he looked drained. She stood up, motioning for him to wait. Keisuke raised his eyebrow again. She returned a second later, throwing a blanket on him. Almost drowning in it, Keisuke pushed it down to his waist, blinking in sudden surprise. "Wha?" he managed, looking to her. Yuri only sat down by him, adjusted the blanket so it was shared between the both of them, and no one was "drowning". "Hey, don't tell me you missed me. How cute~," he cooed, pulling her cheeks. She angrily turned her head to the side. "And now you're mute?" he asked. "W-Well, there's something I want to ask. . ." she said reluctantly. "Ask away. I can't guarantee I'll answer it."
"Did you know Yiru?" she asked. Keisuke stared ahead of him, looking thoughtful once more. "Hmm. No." he said. Liar. "You called her name." Yuri said. Keisuke looked the other way. "Ichihari knows her too. How do you know her?" she said, her voice cold. "No lies?" he said. "No lies." she agreed, nodding. "I used to date your Yiru. I met her while ditching a job. I was no myrmidon." he said. Yuri didn't show it, but she was shocked.So, Keisuke's the boyfriend? No matter how hard me and Dad tried, we couldn't find the rumoured guy. Now he's right in front of me. "You were there when she died, right?" she asked. "Yea." he said flatly. "She fell." 
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