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In all fairness, Nakano Kou had to admit he wasn't the best at this secrecy act.
Like everyone with a decent childhood – at least, this was a major qualifier for having had one in his opinion – he'd had his fair share of James Bond and Mission Impossible movies.
He thought he was good at sneaking around, at whispering mysteirous codes, at jumping into action the second he was needed, ready to save the world.
He thought he had tactic down to a t.
Only, when it came down to the actual situation, he messed up. Fine, perhaps he'd spoken Kei's name a little too loudly, given that they were in a public place with a TV on, given that said name was announced on TV every few hour or so with a bounty on his head, given that there were people watching the TV who witnessed him speak said name, and watched said announcement right after.
Fine. So, of course, they had had to flee. What was there to complain about? He ignored the tdismal glance Kei shot in his direction. Fleeing was all they would be doing in the meantime , they were on the run after all. Might get some good practice early on, Kou thought. Those two men had been far too absorbed in their udon anyway. It's not as though they would raise hell.
Fine. So hell had been raised. I seriously suck at this thing, Kou thought. The second glance Kei had shot him had been sharper than a needle . He could see the tiny strategist sitting in the center of Kei's brain, shaking his head at his idiocy and crumpling the list containing this course of action, picking up the one for a Plan B right after. (And there sure was one, a tiny Kei in charge of planning, several tiny Kei in charge of emotions, just like in that new animated movie. Kou loved that movie. He thought that this vision of the body's control centre was a far more pleasant and logical one than the exceedingly dry explanation neuroanatomy gave.)
"We're on the news already." Kei sighed, and Kou's chest would have swelled in pride if they had been on the news for any other reasons than their country's government wanting them dead.
Well, if they could die. Which was the entire reasons they had to flee, which in Kou's opinion was borderline ridiculous. Who wanted to be immortal, in all honesty, if that immortality was the only thing that made everyone want to kill you?
It came with zero benefits. There was the Ghost, but that thing scared him shitless and he couldn't control it in anyway like Kei could, so he couldn't count that.
No, absolutely zero benefits. He was the scrawny teen he'd been before, only now, he was an outcast of society on top of that, an outcast who couldn't even mingle with the people of his own kind. He'd tried, Kou thought, he'd actually tried, to be sociable and get along and hey, maybe they weren't so bad after all.
Only they were.
Admittedly, not all of them, but the one in charge was a maniac who wanted to see the world burn, and since Kou was not on board of that, this was the very first time he had to flee.
He'd met the first kind ajin while running for his life, perhaps a bit too kind for his own good. The man helped him escaped, even it meant that Satou caught him instead. Recalling the scene was awful, like swallowing a tablet and having the substance dissolve too early with the bitter taste plastering to one's tastebuds. The guilt never quite left him alone, not even months later.
Kou tried to focus. Kei, next to him, was being rhetorical and strategical and outlining all the ways in which he was a great fighter, already slipping too far into his mind-set of an evil genius, to pay much, if any, attention to the boy next to him. Kou was not even surprised by now. He was never sure if Kei actually liked him or if he was only pretending to, after all, he had already poisoned him once, and then dumped him in adark, deep hole to rot for several days. What an ass.
"We need someone influential." Kei said, and Kou's eyes lit up, and he slammed his foot on the brakes to wheel the car around so rapidly as though he was trying to set up a new record in Grand Theft Auto.
He was sure that his next idea would literally throw Kei off his socks.
Fine. So it hadn't been that amazing. After all, no-one was there, and Kei was already urging for them to move on, not comfortable with being in or anywhere near Satou's old headquarters. But apparently, he was at a loss for a better idea, as well. It took them both a moment, but then there was a name and a familiar face to go with, although the memory was less than pleasant. And then there was a method, and Kei's carefully crafted blackmail strategy, and adrenaline was pumping through Kou's veins, a grin splitting his face, thinking that he ought to give Kei some credit for that genius mind of his. They could certainly roll with this.
The call to Tosaki cut off abruptly, not because they were ambushed, or because the car broke down, or because Tanaka's Ghost was peeking in through the window. No. The phone battery died, because none of them had had mind for something as mundane as buying a portable charger or even one for the car. Screw it, Kou thought. Tosaki had gotten the memo and he would walk right into their trap. Well, it wasn't a trap, even though they would hold the upper hand for a while. It was a sickly orchestrated offer to form an alliance, one that no-one in their right mind ought to take. But then, Tosaki Yuu was not quite in his right mind, perhaps even as desperate as they were, and since his right-hand woman, no, right hand female ajin, went along with all of his plans, they might have a chance.
I majorly suck at this, Kou thought, when he unceremoniously fell out of his hiding place, right through the ventilation shaft, right in front of Tosaki and crew. He didn't see Kei's face, but he was certain the other Ajin was rolling his eyes in the background. To his defense, the tension had gotten to him, and he'd wanted to prevent Kei from committing a mistake, such as, seriously harming Tosaki's fiancée. The head of the Ajin monitoring committee had already looked as though he wanted to roast them on a skewer the last time, and Kou had an inkling that murdering the love of his life would not contribute positively to their bonding efforts.
In the end, he was glad he'd gotten out as quickly as he had (although he would have to work on his entrances) since only few seconds passed until it all got out of control. Kei's Ghost poised threateningly over the bed of the comatose woman, and as it raised its clawed hand, Kou's heart jumped in his throat. "Stop!" he wanted to scream, knowing it was too late, "Kei, don't!" But then, the Ghost halted in motion. It turned away, floating off as his features slowly dissolved, echoing old words of Kei's about not wanting to do something.
Kou would have cried in relief, right there and then, but when the Ghost's owner rambled on about why it didn't do what I said, this emotion was immediately swept away by the desire to punch a certain someone square in the face.
But he didn't. And as Kei began to convince Tosaki why exactly he would benefit from their aid, Kou couldn't help but feel exhilirated. Kei's words slowly but surely managed to get him pumped up for a fight yet to come, and he didn't realize what he had agreed to until it was too late, until he had already enthusiastically agreed to serving as Tosaki's pawns on the battlefield. But at least, Kou thought, there was a chance that they would not be right in the center of Tosaki's crew from the start.
Fine, maybe they would be. Kou believed it might still all be a delusional dream, as they followed Tosaki and Shimomura back to their car, believed it absolutely had to be one when Kei and him slid into the backseat and Shimomura revved the enginge to life. He held onto that thought until driver's system peeped shrilly and Tosaki snapped: "Seatbelts." into their direction. Clicking the metal in place, which was followed by a peaceful silence from both the vehicle and a disgruntled Tosaki, Kou allowed himself to slowly accept this ridiculous situation as the temporary reality.
They hadn't been driving for long when his stomach growled. It didn't go unheard, and Kei, being the douchebag he was, laughed quietly at the sound. "Can we get some food?" Kou asked, now that everyone else knew anyway, and winced when Tosaki glared daggers at them through the rearview mirror.
"There's a takeaway shop over there." Shimomura offered, "How about that?"
"Fine." Tosaki gave in with a sigh, and she slowed down, parking on the side of the road.
Kou nodded enthusiastically: "Yeah, that's great. Let me out, I'll hurry."
Tosaki merely scoffed. "You stay put, both of you. Nagai is already being broadcast on TV and shouldn't walk around in public and raise suspicion. Since we don't know how much info has leaked about you already, Nakano, the same counts for you. Shimomura will stay here to make sure you two keep your word. No lies and no schemes from your side. None."
His right-hand woman nodded.
"I told you, there are no schemes." Kei threw in, smirking in his direction, "We're allies now, aren't we?"
"I assume." Tosaki said, , "So-" he turned around and graced both of them with an inquiring look: "Any food allergies? No?" he asked, as both Ajins shook their heads.
"Good." Tosaki said, and Kou thought that he was being surprisingly caring, when Tosaki added, "Not that it would matter, anyway, would it?", with a smirk that paralleled Kei's and chilled Kou to the bone.
"Don't even think about leaving the car." he finally said, as he stepped outside. Kou reclined in his seat. He wouldn't need to.
I absolutely hate planning ahead, Kou thought to himself, slinking inside the store. There was a small queue, and for a second he felt incredibly grateful to Tosaki, who'd decided to put up with waiting for their sake. Before he could voice this however, he remembered why he was slinking and instead kept silent. Tosaki, who for now seemed to be busy glaring in the direction of the counter, as though that would speed up the process, didn't need to notice him for this small trip.
His efforts were rendered null and void. "Stop there. What do you want?" he heard Tosaki hiss. Kou noticed that he was still staring straight ahead, even while addressing him, and spoke in a tone low enough not to be heard unless someone was truly paying attention. So that was how this whole secrecy act was carried out, Kou realized, as his admiration for the sour-faced ministry worker grew.
"Just- just taking a short trip, I'll be back." Kou replied, laughing nervously, doing his best to hold his voice at an equally low level.
It was the wrong thing to say, as it did nothing to erase Tosaki's default suspicion – rather, the opposite.
"Where are you going?" the man said, now making eye-contact with him, "Did something happen? Why didn't you stay in the car?"
"I just need to take a short trip." Kou said, desperation leaking into his tone. What else what he supposed to say to make Tosaki the situation?
"Where?" Tosaki demanded.
"Bathroom." Kou mumbled.
"What?" the man frowned, "Again. I didn't hear."
Seriously? Kou rolled his eyes innerly. That was the reward for trying to be quiet and talking in codewords, apparently. He felt his patience wear thin. This was ridiculous.
"I need to pee!" he exclaimed, hoping that a return to his common blatant way of phrasing things would solve the issue. When Tosaki's grim expression was replaced by one of utter disbelief, he finally noticed that the man wasn't the only one who'd heard his statement.
One of the servers sniggered, and Kou wanted to die of mortification.
Tosaki rubbed his temples. "Make it quick." he groaned.
In all fairness, Nakano Kou really wasn't the best at this whole secrecy act.